33. Poulton Forum October 2023

Your PUBLIC FORUM. Hosted by Poulton & Carleton Residents’ Association – notes of Poulton Forum October 2023.

Poulton Forum Monday 30 October 2023

Held on Monday 30 October in St Chads Church starting at 7pm
(Hosted by POULTON & CARLETON RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION)

Notes of previous meetings and local events can all be found in this section on www.visitpoulton-le-fylde.co.uk

Minutes of POULTON FORUM on MONDAY 30 OCT 2023 at 7pm

Summary of main points discussed, decisions and action agreed

1. Introductions and Finances

1.1. Lesley Middleton (Residents’ Association Chair) welcomed those present to the 33^rd Forum meeting. Approximately 60 members of the public attended plus Blackpool North and Cleveleys MP Paul Maynard, Lancashire County Councillor Alf Clempson, and Wyre Councillors Roger Berry, Colette Birch, Stuart Fielding, Peter Le Marinel, Lesley McKay, Steve Nicholls, and Andy Walker. Apologies had been received from some members of the public and Councillor Simon Bridge.

1.2. Lesley reported that there is currently c£100 in the Association’s bank account, monies used to meet running costs such as admin, the IT platform, etc. Cash donations would be gratefully received at the end of the meeting. (Lesley can provide the Association’s bank account details for residents not present. lesleymiddleton84@gmail.com)

2. Homeless Hounds – Dog Rescue on the Fylde Coast

Pauline Etchells and Jill Maxwell-Carr (accompanied by rescue dog Miss Piggie) gave a presentation on the work of this registered charity. Stray and abandoned dogs that are picked up by dog wardens are only kept at pounds for 7 days. If not re-homed they are put to sleep. Homeless Hounds (HH) rescues such dogs and houses them in their own kennels and tries to find a new forever home or temporary foster home. If a home cannot be found, HH will house the dog for life – they never put down a dog unless a VET advises it.

HH is funded by donations and sponsorship. Typically, kennel costs are £10 per night and VET fees (for neutering, vaccination, and micro chipping) between £200 and £500. Their one paid employee is the Kennel Manager and chief fund-raiser with everything else done by volunteers. The demand for rescue services has increased dramatically following Covid and the cost-of-living crisis. Volunteers are needed to help with caring for the dogs, dog walking, providing transport to Vets and new homes, finding potential new owners and fosterers, and fund-raising.  And new owners, fosterers and sponsors are always needed. More information can be found at www.homelesshounds.org.uk

3. Doherty’s Destiny

Joanne Hargreaves-Doherty gave a presentation about this Thornton-based registered charity which she set up in 2017 after her 16-year-old son took his own life. The broad aim is to raise awareness of teenage suicide and mental health issues among young people.

The charity was given some funds by Carlton Crematorium and decided to install ‘talking benches’ in various locations. These benches, of which there are now six, have supportive messages, such as “it’s good to talk”, and contact details on them. One of the benches is in Carleton Cemetery alongside the bereaved post-box. A seventh bench and post box are to be unveiled in Lytham Cemetery on 13^th November.

The charity has also employed someone to deliver a school project. This ‘Positive Mindset Programme’ entails a 6-week series of sessions to be delivered to 11-16-year-olds in local High Schools. So far it has been delivered in 13 schools across the Fylde, at a cost of £2k each. The Covid experience has reinforced the need for such support and the charity is hoping to develop a further programme for older, college students. Discovering that there was no local bereavement support group, one was set up which meets at Cleveleys’ Library on the last Tuesday evening of each month. More information can be found at https://facebook.com/dohertysdestiny/ and the email contact is DohertysDestiny@hotmail.com

4. Masterplan for Cottam Hall Playing Fields

Dean Blackhurst gave a presentation on the development of this plan which Wyre Council has commissioned his company (ReLandscape Ltd) to produce. Cottam Hall fields is an 8.65 hectare open green space which has football and cricket pitches and a community garden. It is home to several local sports teams and the RAF Cadets group and is managed by Wyre Council. The objective is to produce a community-driven blue-print for improvements.

The work done so far has focused on consultation with residents, the sports clubs, and other key stakeholders. As well as using the Wyre website and other social media, there have been two consultation events involving local schools and other users. Baseline data is currently being collated but emerging key issues are the poor pitch quality, lack of footpaths, poor condition of the pavilion, insufficient carparking capacity and the impact of anti-social behaviour.

The next stage will be to design solutions and among the ideas thus far emerging are to install a 3G pitch, a new building encompassing a café, WCs, changing rooms etc, new pathways, an off-lead area for dog walkers and more bins. The next steps are to refine the brief and produce a draft masterplan for further consultation before submission of a final version to Wyre by end February. Once the plan is approved, detailed business cases will need to be prepared to support funding bids for the various elements agreed. Development of the plan has been funded by central Government but the sources of funding for implementation will depend on the projects themselves and could include The Lottery, Sport England, and others.

5. Wyre Council Update

5.1. Councillor Le Marinel expressed thanks to the Poulton-in-Bloom team who have made a magnificent Remembrance Day curtain for St Chads, helped by a £500 grant from Cllr Clempsons Armed Forces fund. He then provided an update on various issues. Work to erect a mobile phone mast in front of the Methodist church has been stopped. A Regeneration Framework is being developed to address future challenges and opportunities to ensure the economic wellbeing of Poulton. A consultation exercise took place in June and key points made included concerns about housing and traffic, specific focus needed on Market Place, enhancing the events calendar, and holding more markets. The potential projects being considered were outlined. There will be further public consultation in the Autumn with the draft report published on line and drop-in events held in the Teanlowe Centre and Poulton Library.

5.2. In response to questions Cllr Clempson confirmed that he will continue the action he has been pursuing for some time to get the very poor condition of Chapel Alley tackled, possibly flagging it specifically as a Health & Safety concern. Rules have been changed to allow Traffic Enforcement officers, rather than the police, to enforce parking restrictions in Market Square however the situation is still problematic – possibly because of the amount of re-development work going on. Both Cllr Clempson and Paul Maynard, MP, are in contact with the Railway companies opposing their plans to close station ticket offices. Cllr Berry agreed to look into the problem of the badly lit pathway off Ravenswood Ave. Cllr Nicholls reported that four new street lights are to be installed along the path to Station Road in Jean Stansfield Park.

6. Lancashire County Council Update

6.1. LCC Councillor Alf Clempson provided the following updates. He has no news from Network Rail on the Holts Lane pathway. LCC have refused the request to close one end of Argyle Road but he is pursuing it. A consultation exercise is under way about residents’ parking permits in Derby Road. The provision of a carpark in the housing development on Tithebarn has now been included in the Local Plan and Wyre will be responsible for its management. Resurfacing work has been done on Poplar Ave and Normoss Road and priorities now include Rydal Ave, Tithebarn Place and Elletson Street. Some improvements to pavements have been done but more is needed. The flooding issues in Poulton seem to have eased but residents should continue to inform Alf of any new problems – on flooding, pavements, and road surfaces; including when contractors appear to have gone AWOL.

6.2. In response to questions, Alf confirmed he is looking at all options to best manage parking on Rydal Ave. LCC has done a pot-hole survey but their system for identifying repairs required does not seem to be working and he continues to chase them. There is a lack of parking enforcement outside Seniors and the Co-op in Normoss and Alf will consider what might be done, possibly with those business’s support. There is no news on re-opening the footpath from Garstang Road to Little Poulton Lane. Alf will look at the reported dangerous pavement opposite Tithebarn Park and he will raise the question of unhelpful 60mph signs on the A585 with Highways England. He has raised the issue of flooding in the Tesco entrance/exit on Garstang Rd but needs photographic evidence that the problem extends beyond Tesco’s boundaries.

(Alf encourages residents to contact him about their concerns at any time. His contact details are: email alf.clempson@lancashire.gov.uk , mobile 07983 335630 and at his informal surgery in the New Penny Café between 10.00 and 12.00 on Saturday mornings.)

7.  Any Other Business

7.1. Well done to the Poulton-in-Bloom team who were given a Gold award by the RHS.

7.2. Cllr Birch reported that the Wyre-in-Bloom team are working on the Cottam Hall garden, including having a poly-tunnel installed. They are appealing for more volunteers.

7.3. Poulton Rotary’s Bonfire & Fireworks event will take place on Saturday 5^th Nov at Cottam Hall fields, starting at 5.30pm. For safety reasons, attendees are asked not to bring their own fireworks or any alcohol.

7.4. Garstang Road East will be closed to all vehicles overnight from 8.00pm to 5.30am between 6^th and 10^th Nov. From 20^th Nov there will be a 2-way traffic light system in place Mon – Fri, 8.00pm – 5.30am for approximately 2 weeks.

7.5. Paul Maynard, MP will be meeting Network Rail shortly to discuss the Fleetwood-Poulton railway link.

8. Date of Next Meeting

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

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