37. Poulton Forum April 2026

Your PUBLIC FORUM. Hosted by Poulton & Carleton Residents’ Association. Held on Tuesday, 21 April 2026 at 7:00pm at St Chad’s Church in Poulton.

Poulton Forum Tuesday 21 April 2026

Hosted by POULTON & CARLETON RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

Summary of main points discussed, decisions and action agreed

Introductions

1.1 Slav Baran (Residents’ Association Chair) welcomed those present to the 37th Forum meeting.

Approximately 50 members of the public attended plus Lancashire County Councillor Alf Clempson, and Wyre Councillors Peter LeMarinel, Roger Berry, Colette Birch, Lesley McKay. Apologies from LCC Cllr Jan Schofield, Cllr Simon Bridge, Cllr Steve Nicholls, Jane Smedley, Steve Livesey, Peter Gibson.

Minutes from last meeting approved

FOOD RECYCLING SCHEME

2.1. Guest speaker Daniel Matthews, Wyre Council regarding the food recycling scheme.

The food recycling scheme in Wyre Borough Council is a Local Authority mandate of the Environment act 2021. All the bins have been delivered across the borough ahead of schedule. Tetra pack cartons are now being collected and are also recyclable. For the scheme to be successful, participation is needed. A compositional analysis of grey bins was conducted last year, report shows 34% of grey bin waste is food based, this figure is hoped to rise to 65% by 2035.

Other local authorities have changed the frequency of their waste collections, however, Wyre council are to remain the same with food waste collection being
weekly. Every household has been issued a small kitchen caddy and a larger caddy for outside along with a roll of biodegradable bags, blocks of flats will also have purple lidded bins for their collections. The bins can take any food waste ie: pet foods, egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds, bones etc. they will not take liquids. After collection, the waste will be taken to a Lancashire Renewables anaerobic digestion facility, where food is broken down and bio gases such as methane are collected to power recycling facilities, making them carbon neutral. The left over organic material is then sold on as a soil enhancer with a
financial benefit to the County Council. There is a current campaign to bring awareness to residents which can be found on social media, community events etc.

Q1. Well done on the presentation – How is it possible to get more rolls of biodegradable bags?
A1. You can tie an empty bag onto the handle of the larger caddy and the collections will deliver a new roll of bags, you can also contact Wyre council for further rolls.

Q2. Where are the recycling facilities?
A2. There are two sites, one in Preston to start with and a second site in Thornton.

Q3. The caddies are lightweight and will blow away, the handles are weak, the bin men will have to bend to pick up the caddies and how many vehicles will be needed to collect the food waste?
A3. As there are already four wheelie bins per household, it was decided that another would be too many causing problems with space. The handles are lightweight, but can be locked in place onto the caddy. If a caddy is damaged by weather, it will be replaced by the council. The council are working with Veolia who are collecting the food waste, over time they will decide on the best practices. There are 10 new 7.5 tonne vehicles, which are a lot smaller than the usual HGV’s, they are similar to a large skip on wheels and provide easier access to the rural lanes to make collections easier.

Comments:
The tetra drinks packs, although difficult to to recycle due to the plastic/aluminium layers inside, can still be recycled and go into the red bin.
A suggestion was made to put the food caddy into a wheelie bin after being emptied on a windy day.
There are no collection calendars for this year, you can download dates online or call into the Civic Centre where they will provide dates.

FLEETWOOD – POULTON RAILWAY

3.1 Guest Speaker David Barton

2019 saw a visit from politicians, Boris Johnson at Thornton railway station, ordered a feasibility study which was for the reopening of Fleetwood to Poulton railway, the study was positive. Network Rail were sent in to do costings and monies were available. Labour were then voted into power and the scheme was cancelled. Currently, MP Lorraine Beavers is enthusiastic and has brought up the subject in parliament, on social media and has become a member of the railway society.

A decision has yet to be made on a heavy rail or a train/tram railway to join at Fleetwood and make a loop, both options are to be discussed. The Association of Train Operating Companies looks at the lines most suitable for reopening, Poulton has been in the top three for many years.

Fox Brothers are in the process of purchasing Fleetwood Docks. They are hoping to land aggregate and import inland. There is a potential to reimplement the railway to move aggregate, the tracks stop at Jameson Road, Fleetwood, the tracks beyond that point are no longer there, if the railway reruns and Fox Brothers fund it, the railway can go back to Fleetwood Docks and possibly be a passenger service.

The tidal barrage has been discussed at the end of River Wyre to provide a foot bridge to Knot End, this will be useful in case of a power station opening, Fox Brothers are to sign off on this in June.

The light rail/tram idea comes past Jameson Road to run alongside Amounderness Way and cross over at some point. The proposed route is online and is favoured by Lancashire County Council.

Q1. Would the loop tram continue to Kirkham?
A1. It has been discussed to reimplement to St Anne’s and beyond, but there are no definitive answers yet.
The railway society as of 2019, has changed and now concentrates on restoring their rolling stock and having a heritage site around Hillhouse, Thornton.
Membership for the railway society is £15 per year and for that you will receive a newsletter 4-6 times a year and you can go onsite as a member. There is an open day once a year where you can see the stock of trains to include an 1880’s carriage which is being worked on currently and a pigeon carriage which is being restored. Details can be found on the website pwrs.org

Q2. If Network Rail is helping, will they extend Poulton Platform back to what it was?
A2. Network Rail have halted their costings. It would have to be looked into as to whether the Pendolino will be stopping at Poulton. Cannot answer whether the platform will be extended.

Q3. The heavy rail power station was mentioned, will they transport waste?
A3. Not in the remit of the railway.

JEAN STANSFIELD PARK/BOWLING CLUB

4.1 Guest Speaker Cllr Peter Le Marinel

The 100 year centenary of opening of the Jean Stansfield park is to take place on June 20, from 10am to 4pm. There will be lots of entertainment being put on that has been organised by Wyre Council Events Team, which includes, human hedges (don’t ask), Victorian street theatre, Van Dunk Olympic swimmers, a buzz wire and stilt walkers, the community hall will be open for toilet use and also Poulton in Bloom are opening Café Bloom for refreshments including food, drinks and hot dogs, along with a tombola and craft stall. The Bowling Club will also be open and will have a children’s obstacle course and will have
tea and coffee available for a contribution, I’m also pleased to say that I have secured some funding to refurb the toilets at the bowling club that were in dire need of an upgrade and the work should all be completed before the event. Residents are invited to bring along a picnic on the day if they so wish. The Town Crier will be opening the event.

WYRE COUNCIL UPDATES5.1. Delivered by Cllr Peter Le Marinel and Cllr Roger Berry

Cllr. Peter Le Marinel:
Fouldrey Avenue planning application has been refused, there has been no appeal and to date no new applications.

The Government are proposing radical changes to planning committees. Residents should be fully aware how these proposals will affect them and the people they voted for to represent them. Residents will no longer be able to ask their elected Councillors to call in an application that is under 9 units. They will no longer be able to get called in.

Items such as, change of use from a residential property to a children’s care home, a neighbours application that they believe will cause them to be overlooked, or a neighbours application that they believe will be detrimental to their amenity or many other things that they believe will impact themselves or their community, these decisions will be made by a senior Planning Officer. Applications over 9 units will also be extremely limited for being brought before the planning committee to be scrutinised and decided on. But, if it’s a tree preservation order, worry not, you will be at the front of the queue.

Currently, an application that comes before the committee that is refused, can then be appealed by the applicant, however, with Mr Reeds new proposals any application over 150 units that is refused, either by officers or the Committee, will go directly to Mr Reed for him to make a decision, with no need for an applicant or developer to make an appeal, this, is not democracy.

Councillor Le Marinel said these proposals from Steve Reed are a direct attack on democracy. Residents and elected members are being side-lined by unnecessary meddling from the Secretary of State. What happens in peoples communities when it comes to planning matters, should be able to be scrutinised and councils, committees, applicants and developers be subject to that scrutiny, this is a blatant back door attempt by this government to push through changes that they think will speed up more development, in order to meet their target of 1.5 million homes over the term of this parliament, a target that is already way off course and will never be hit. There is a consultation taking place but finishes in 5 days time. He added, “residents and councillors still have a small window to object to these changes during the consultation and I would strongly urge them to do so.”

Cllr. Roger Berry:
We are very pleased that the cricket pavilion has been reopened at Cottam Hall after extensive renovations. It’s fair to say that the facilities within the pavilion are first class. The next step is to proceed with the rest of the master plan for Cottam Hall which is to include a walkway all around the park, a play area, better drainage and parking facilities and areas for trees. This is a priority for the Council and we are hoping to announce commencement of work in a few months time.

There is now a new operator for Wyre Council Leisure Centres in Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Poulton and Garstang. It is Parkwood Leisure who operate many centres in England and we shall be working with them to improve facilities. At Poulton, they are planning to update facilities in the gym, improving changing facilities and looking to reopen the spa.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS

1. BENEDICT DRIVE/NORMOSS ROAD – 102 AFFORDABLE HOMES – 71 affordable rent. 31 shared ownership

There has been great opposition, firstly this is green belt, the fear is that it will be granted:
Further applications to develop further land to edge of Grange Park.
Secondly, proposed access to the estate via Marina Avenue where already considerable on street parking in a street fairly narrow. At present waiting to hear from developer on how they propose dealing with the access issue.

To answer Wyre Councils Affordable Home Officers requirement that all the properties should be for affordable rent.

STAINING SOLAR FARM

To North and East of Staining village it is all in Fylde and has to be dealt with by Fylde council. The main issue is during construction period, whether local landowners will be able to gain access to fields down Smithy Lane and everyone is waiting for Lancashire County Councils Highways view on this.
For other users, Staining Lane would remain open.

Slav Baran wrote to MP Andrew Snowden, the reply is as follows:
Dear Slav,
I have been advised as follows by Fylde Council: “Whilst the application is entirely in Fylde there are properties in Wyre that are neighbouring the site and so have been notified of the application, and a site notice has been posted at the end of Smithy Lane to capture any passing interest. If any residents of Wyre want to make comments they are welcome to do so and can either submit their comments by email to planning@fylde.gov.uk or can submit them online. This is from a link on the website where the scheme can also be viewed here https://pa.fylde.gov.uk/Planning/Display/26/0023. The time limit for comments is to 10 May 2026”

Unfortunately I am not able to attend the meeting on the 21st, but I’d like to make it clear that I am personally opposing the project, and have submitted comments to that effect.
I hope that this is useful. If there’s anything further I can do to support Poulton residents on this, please just let me know.
Kind regards
Andrew Snowden, Member of Parliament for Fylde

LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANISATION

Background – Government plans to abolish the current two tier system of the 15 councils in Lancashire and replace them with new unitary authorities that will deliver all services. Wyre council submitted to government our preferred option that there should be three unitaries in Lancashire and one of those would be a unitary council comprising Wyre, Blackpool, Fylde and Lancaster, we feel this option will be the best to deliver better services, stronger leadership and faster growth whilst staying connected to our communities.

Early this year the government consulted on the preferred options of the Lancashire councils. This consultation was directed at all the councils in Lancashire, neighbouring councils, business leaders, the police, health authorities and other agencies. Wyre council submitted a detailed case for the option we prefer and commented on the other proposals. We felt that the proposal for just two unitaries would be too large and remote from local communities. As regards the proposal for the four unitaries, which would link Wyre with Blackpool and Fylde – whilst this did have advantages, it was felt it would not have the financial strength and recourses to serve all the areas and deal with the various social issues in Blackpool. An alternative option for four unitaries linked Preston, Fylde, Blackpool and the Western part of Wyre, which included Poulton, which we just did not think would work at all for us and would split Wyre in two – The Eastern section joining Lancaster and Ribble Valley. The final option would link Wyre with Lancaster and this was not seen as a viable proposition.

We expect to hear from government as to its decision by mid July when we presumably will hear how they have decided to divide the Country into unitaries, how many councillors each unitary will have and when elections will be held for councillors for the new unitaries – we think this will be May 2027 and when the new unitaries will take over from the existing councils – we think will be May 2028. In the year before the new unitaries take over, it operates in a shadow form with the existing councils to ensure that all services and personnel are in place to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible.

Q1. What happens to services after unity?
A1. Police and fire will continue the same, social services will be delivered by the new unitary, they will have to amalgamate services from Blackpool and Lancashire County Council, but hopefully will keep the same officers.

LANCASHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL UPDATE

6.1 County Cllr. Alf Clempson

I think we all know the main issue at the moment in the whole of Lancashire is the state of the roads, has Poulton been in a worse state? Yes, but in the past, issues were fixed quickly and now they just don’t seem to be getting done. It would be very easy for me to just blame the current administration at County Hall but, I believe the situation is much more complicated than that, there are many factors like the weather which not only causes potholes but hampers them being fixed. Staffing levels which I am highlighting. The inability for Poulton’s roads to deal with the over development in the town and unfortunately, there are many more. I am complaining at the highest level and will not stop until the situation vastly improves.

ISSUES:

I am chasing improvements on Breck Road, Longhouse Lane, the flags on Chapel St Mews, Lower Green and many more.

On a brighter note, the first residents parking scheme has been passed and we are just waiting for it to be started.

This year Curzon Road is being resurfaced, I believe in May, and Grizedale Ave/Bleasdale Ave/Garstang Close are all in this years programme.

As development in and around Poulton continues, many issues cross my desk from safety outside schools to irresponsible parking leading to obstruction. I continue to work with the police on many issues. As always please do not hesitate to contact me or attend my surgery on a Saturday morning between 10 and 12 in the New Penny Café. Recently I have missed some because of LCC Chairman duties so it may be good to just check with me before popping in.

Q1. If a vehicle is damaged by pot holes deemed not deep enough, will the council pay for damage.
A1. If you can get a photograph of the pot hole, it can be looked into.

Date of Next Meeting

Details of the next meeting will be advised in due course.

CHAIRMANS UPDATES

7.1 Delivered by Slav Baran
The population of Poulton is based on the census, figures as follows:
2001 census – population 18,264
2011 census – population 18,495
2021 census – population 18,115

I wrote to the council under the freedom of information, the dwellings in Poulton between 2021 – 2025 increased by approximately 600
The population is estimated to be 20,619 to include Breck, Carelton, Tithebarn and Hardhorn wards.

Notes of previous meetings and local events are on www.visitpoulton-le-fylde.co.uk

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