Apologies were sent from Cllr. E. Thomas and the reason accepted.

There had been no progress with the standing water on Cock Robin Lane Lancashire County Council is not going to rectify the problem.

SID is well used and re-located weekly. There are further locations waiting for brackets and this has been held up due to LCES’s work schedule. Extra batteries have been fitted to the device increasing the length of service before recharging and the camera has been replaced.

Lancashire County Council is to reclaim the full width of the lane hopefully to increase the usable surface.

It is a great privilege for me to be completing my fourth year as chairman of your Parish Council. I would like to thank all of my fellow councillors for the support and hard work that they have provided over the year.

Several councillors, including the chairman, attended various training courses through the year which, we hope, will help us to provide a better, more professional service to our residents.

We are currently in the process of installing the second phase of our CCTV programme in the grounds of the Pickerings Hotel. We hope that this, together with the speed indicator devices (SIDS) already in operation, will make a significant contribution to community safety.

In partnership with Kirkland Parish Council, the council is initiating the development of a youth group, under the chairmanship of Councillor Nick Harrison. Some funding has already been obtained and we are hopeful of reporting more progress in the near future.

You will no doubt be aware of the regular newsletters we have been publishing over the past 12 months and this, together with other relevant factors, may now lead to our adoption as a Quality Parish Council.

I would like to thank our local PCSO Craig, who has done a great job over the past year, liaising with the Parish Council. Crime and anti-social behaviour both show significant reductions year-on-year.

I regret to announce that, because of re-location, we shall be losing our deputy chairman, Councillor David Thompson. I would just like to thank him for his many years of hard work on our behalf. This does leave a casual vacancy on the council at the present time.

Thank you all, once again, for your help and support.

The report was accepted.

The Responsible Financial Officer presented the unconfirmed end of year accounts. The Multi Use Games Area has seen welding to the net area and the inspection report, the floodlights on the playing field were repaired and the wall removed in the Youth Shelter. The high cost of the Parish Room is the energy invoice over the past five years, while the cost of SID reflects the purchase on ladders, batteries and new camera. Donations included Garstang and District Partnership, Mountain Rescue, Road Safety Committee, St. Helen’s Parochial Church Council, Royal British Legion and the Air Ambulance.

Cllr. D. Croston reported that the Hall is ticking over nicely with regular bookings. The finances are healthy and new tables and chairs have been purchased. New doors front and back and replacing the window in the Parish Room are planned shortly.

Cllr. D. Harvey reported that the Hall had been granted money to re-roof the main hall of the original asbestos material.

The association is working jointly with the Fylde Association and does a good job at representing the views of the Parish Councils. The Parish representative on the Standards Committee, after a false start, has been appointed. There are regular attendances from the Chief Executive of Wyre Borough Council, officers in Lancashire County Council and the Police, although attendances tend to be irregular. The Wyre Borough Parish Charter is to be adopted next week.

The Chairman reported that the committee liaises with the Police and Lancashire County Council to prevent accidents in the rural Wyre area. There have been many delays and slow progress, due to lack of information coming from Lancashire County Council.

The residents present raised the following matters.

This had been raised with the Police team during the PACT meeting and the resident was satisfied with the way the Police were dealing with the problem.