Agenda item

To confirm as correct, the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 13^th November 2025.

The Minutes of the Council meeting held on 13^th November 2025 were provided.

Regarding Minute 210 – Confirmation of Minutes, on the matter of Declarations of Interest, Councillor Melisa Fisher reminded members that she had explained that no declaration had been necessary at the meeting on 25^th September in connection with her husband’s letting of various premises, as these did not meet the definition of an HMO.  This was now recorded in the minutes of 13^th November 2025.  She asked whether Councillor Heap would offer an apology for the statement he had made in leaflets circulated in Baxenden about the matter, which she considered to be untrue.  Councillor David Heap responded that he had noted the original declaration which had been made by Councillor Fisher and he had subsequently issued a correction to his statement to confirm that Councillor Fisher’s husband owned the properties in question.

In respect of Minute 213 – Local Government Reorganisation Proposals, Councillor Zak Khan commented that he would still wish to see clarity around the answers to the questions he had asked at the meeting (last paragraph, Page 18 of the Agenda), particularly in relation to the views of Hyndburn residents during the consultation.  He asked if any further information was available.  Councillor Munsif Dad indicated that the consultation responses had not been broken down into results for individual boroughs but were Lancashire-wide.  Accordingly, no further details were available.

In connection with Minute 211 – Question Time: 11) War Memorials, Councillor Steven Smithson reported that he had not yet received the list of war memorials scheduled for restoration and would still like to see this.  He noted that some works had already been slipped into 2026/27 but was keen to see progress as the memorials were important.  He asked if a reply could be made available to residents.  Councillor Munsif Dad responded that the funding available for the maintenance of memorials in the current year had already been spent.

Regarding Minute 211 – Question Time: 6): Community Township Funding, Councillor Steven Smithson, thanked Councillor Clare Pritchard, Portfolio Holder for Transformation and Town Centres, for her written response.  He noted that the Budget report had identified £80k of funding and that a separate report had subsequently been provided to Cabinet about the Cabinet Action Fund.  He clarified that he was not seeking information about the Cabinet Action Fund, which the Leader of the Council had announced would distribute some £20k in grants.  He expressed the view that the controlling group was not clear about what funding was available.  Councillor Munsif Dad responded noting that that Township Fund and Cabinet Action Fund had originally been separate concepts and the initial advice received had been to establish two separate application procedures, one for each funding stream.  However, the two funding streams had ultimately been amalgamated.  A working group had been established to recommend the award of the grants, which would then be signed off by the Leader of the Council.

In respect of Minute 210 – Confirmation of Minutes, on the matter of Question Time (King George V Playing Fields), Councillor David Heap noted that recent poor weather had impacted upon the programme of works.  He asked for an update as to progress.  The Mayor reminded all members that this item was not a question and answer session, but that councillors were welcome to respond if they so wished.  Councillor Stewart Eaves, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services, indicated that he had recently discussed progress with the Head of Environmental Services.  Freezing conditions and heavy rainfall had slowed the drainage works in recent weeks, however works were due to recommence shortly.

Resolved                                    -    That the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 13^th November 2025 be approved as a correct record.