Apologies were sent from Cllr. Miss A. M^cCabe and Cllr. Mrs. E. Thomas and the reason accepted.

No declarations of interest were made.

The Chairman thanked the Councillors for their support over the past year.

I am pleased to report that once again the Parish Council has had a very productive year. We attained Quality Parish Council Status which makes us one of the hallowed few in Wyre to have achieved such success, well done to the Clerk and those who contributed.

We undertook a review of the village survey which was recently completed and adopted bye the Parish Council. The revised document will assist us in addressing concerns raised by residents and some elements will assist with the future development for the village I would like to thank all the residents who participated in the exercise.

The Multi Use Games Area has been the centre of some controversy during the past year and the Parish Council has worked hard tin trying to address the problems. One piece of action taken was to obtain planning consent for nets to be erected at the Southern end. Unfortunately, due to the current financial climate, budgetary constraints have prevented the Parish Council progressing this matter further. The current position is that we have received very few complaints over the past few months. We will obviously continue to monitor the situation.

Franklaw Water Treatment Plant has been a continual source of complaint and the management continue to be some what evasive to the point of denial that anything is wrong. On behalf of the Parish Council I would like to assure residents who are affected that we will pursue this matter.

It now leaves me to thank Tim, Gillian and my fellow Councillors and the Police for their continued unstinting work for Catterall Parish Council and the Village.

The Responsible Financial Officer presented the unconfirmed end of year accounts, showing a balance of £13,768.16, but this is not the year end figure.

A small balance carried forward in this financial year and the investment of the reserve account gave the Parish Council a just workable capital. Catterall Playing Field has been well used by the Catforth and District League, through the Brockholes Arms AFC and Inter Marina AFC and Garstang Free Methodist Football Club.

The income from the Parish Lengthsman’s contract we have with Kirkland Parish Council has seen an increased to accommodate increased hours due to further funding gained by Kirkland Parish Council during the year. The Parish Council has undertaken grass cutting work for Lancashire County Council and the creation of an outdoor play area for Cock Robin Playgroup.

The income for the Parish Room is the partnership split that allows access by Pilling and Kirkland Parish Councils to use the phone, internet, stationary, postage etc.

The increase against the budget figure for Parish Maintenance represents the contract work undertaken during the year that we had not tendered for when the budget was submitted. There have been no requests for section 137 grants for the present year. Donations were made to St. Helens church, Bowland Mountain Rescue, North West Air Ambulance and Lancaster Canal Trust.

The Multi Use Games Area has required a number of replacement parts and the CCTV located at the Pickerings Hotel has had problems with the control keypad. The monitor for the CCTV in the Village Hall has been replaced.

The Parish Council is waiting for the second invoice for the grass cutting on Catterall Playing Field and is building up funds to pay for the mole draining of the field.

The decision to carry out a Village Appraisal was taken during the present year and therefore no budget had been put aside. Contingencies show the purchase of capital equipment including the salt grit spreader for use on footpaths during the recent snow and freezing conditions, a strimmer and colour printer.

The report was accepted

Cllr. D. Croston reported that the bookings for the Hall are adequate, a new committee has been formed recently and they are waiting to hear about the grant for improvements.

The trustees are pleased with the steady bookings for the Hall. The annual running costs are £3,000 to £4,000 and the income is up by 25%.

It’s been a good year with some excellent meetings and diverse guests. There is a good working partnership with more input from Lancashire County Council and Wyre Borough Council giving a wider net to consult.

The year started badly but has improved greatly; we are still suffering from the aftermath of the re-organisation of officers within Lancashire County Council. Also the attending officer does not always know of the progress of items which holds up matters.

Cllr. H. Kenyon raised the media article stating that there is to be a motorway exit at Garstang rather than the Broughton By-Pass. Ben Wallace MP is involved in these negotiations. It would be advantageous to remind the MP that an exit at Garstang is geologically unsound and the government does not have the supportive funds and it is not in the Highway Agency’s programme of works until 2022.