| | Attendees: Cllr M Shermer (Chair), Cllr C Kelly, Cllr E Edmonds, Cllr B Wright, Cllr S Ratcliffe, Cllr J Turner and Cllr L Beckett-Fountain. Borough Councillor S Sankey and Julie Sadler (Clerk).Also present at the meeting was Russell Whitehurst. Apologies Cllr J Mountney, Cllr K Stratton | |
| | The minutes of the meeting held on the 3rd November 2020. The minutes were agreed by all as a true record of the meeting and will be signed by the Chair and the clerk at the next available meeting. | Clerk and Cllr Shermer |
| | Declaration of interest None | |
| | Adjournment for Public Participation – None | |
| | Correspondence Received – The Clerk informed the meeting that she had received a thank you from Cavell for the donation to the Royal British Legion. Planning Training – Cllr Turner gave feedback on the planning training that she and Cllr Shermer attended on the 24th November. She expressed that the training was very useful and will bode well for future planning applications.Budget 21/22 – After further discussions it was unanimously agreed that the Precept would be £15,500 for 2021/22 which is exactly the same as last year. Clerk to complete and return the appropriate paperwork to the ESBC. | Clerk |
| 6. | Planning Applications (Permitted & Refused are decisions by ESBC) – P/2020/01489 – It was agreed by the Parish Council that the last objection submitted on the 8th January 2020 was very good however, it was agreed that this objection needed to be in more detail as it was the only chance of representing the council and the village. So much work has already been put into this application, but it is the first real challenge against the Neighbourhood Plan and the fear is that if it gets approved then all green spaces could be at risk as the proposed build is outside of the Agreed Settlement Boundary of the Neighbourhood Plan. It was therefore unanimously agreed that the Parish Council would employee a consultant to write the objection with input from the NPMG. The cost of this would be at the most £1200 plus VAT however, it is felt that this will be money well spent for the village. The first Zoom meeting with the consultant will be on Thursday 3rd December at 10.00am. The Parish Council would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the those on the NPMG for all their hard work and time spent on this and several other applications. P/2020/01268 – Listed building application for repair and refurbishment works to classroom building, external works to include repair of windows and doors, repainting and installation of new flue, internal works to include replacement doors and alterations to layout. Denstone College, College Road, Denstone.ST14 5HN – No objections from the Parish Council. | |
| 7. | Fireworks in the Village – Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that a resident has raised concerns regarding the number of individual fireworks displays by households in the village around the 5th November this year. The increased number is due to the fact that many group displays were cancelled due to Covid 19 restrictions. It was agreed that the clerk would reply to the resident and confirm that the Parish Council wish to highlight the need for caution in the future when using fireworks to celebrate events such as the New Year. This is a rural area and as such we all have a duty to safeguard the rural animals, cows, horses etc and also the large number of domesticated pets. However, it is not the Parish Council’s responsibility to police such activities which are, as such, not against the law. The Parish Council feel sure that the residents of Denstone parish will show consideration for this is the future. | Clerk |
| 8. | Dog Fouling – Cllr Wright informed the meeting that it had been brought to his attention by a resident of the village that there had been an increase in the amount of dog fouling on the footpath between Alton Road and Marlpit Lane. Cllr Sankey said that he would take this up with the enforcement team at ESBC. Cllr Turner informed the meeting that she had still got some signs which she would put up in the area concerned. It was also raised that the bins on the railway line were overflowing. This was a combination of the grey bin not being emptied for a couple of weeks and also the increase in the amount of waste being left from customers having takeaway drinks etc from Denstone Farm Shop. The clerk had already contacted the ESBC regarding the grey bin, Cllr Edward agreed to talk to the Farm shop to see if there was anything that they could do to help matters. | Cllr Sankey Cllr Turner Clerk Cllr Edmonds |
| 9. | Consultation of Planning Changes – Please see decision on item 6a. | |
| 10. | Drains & Ditches – The Parish Council would like to thank Gary Plant for clearing out the ditch behind the shop. Also, a huge thank you to RTS for clearing that drains in the village. With the regards to the drains, it was agreed that Cllr Wright would adapt one of his maps of the village originally made for Best Kept village to map out all the drains in the village. These can then be numbered and a copy sent to highways. Then when there is a problem the clerk can report the drain by number so highways know exactly which one, we are referring to. Thank you to Cllr Wright for taking on this task. | Cllr Wright |
| 11. | Hedge Trimmer – The new hedge trimmer is on order from TaylorMade for £500. Thank you to TaylorMade for the discount. | |
| 12. | Broadband Funding – It was agreed that Cllr Sankey and Cllr Beckett-Fountain would move this forward, even if it was not required now it could be needed in the future. Clerk to put this on the agenda for January’s meeting. Cllr Turner said that she would contact a friend who as been involved in this in the past for further information. | Cllr Sankey Cllr Beckett-Fountain. Clerk Cllr Turner |
| 13, | Climate change action fund – Cllr Sankey informed the meeting that unfortunately, the cycling route from Rocester to Uttoxeter was not viable, this had been looked at several times by Cllr Atkins. | |
| 14. | SCC COVID19 Support Fund – Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that there is still currently £274.10 left in the fund so if anyone is aware of anyone who requires some of the funding please contact the clerk. | |
| 15. | Website Accessibility – There was nothing further to report this month regarding the new website. | |
| 16. | Junior Play Area/Village Hall Toilets – It was agreed that the Junior Play Area would now be opened to the public. The clerk would produce a poster with regards to following social distance rules. | Clerk |
| 17. | Speedwatch Training – Russ updated the meeting and confirmed that it was not necessary for him to be DBS checked. He would however have to have written consent from both the student’s parents for him to carry on. These have not been received as yet. Therefore, nothing further can be done at this time. Russ also received confirmation today that both of the students were now isolating due to Covid 19. | |
| 18, | Denstone Meadow – Cllr Edmonds informed the meeting that the footpath has now been laid and the plastic reinforcement will be done before the end of the year. | |
| 19. | War Memorial Area –Russ has done a considerable amount of work on the pavement around the war memorial but it definitely needs repointing. Cllr Edmonds to get advice regarding this. | Cllr Edmonds |
| 20. | Denstone College – The clerk received an email from the college informing the Parish Council that the coaches from the college are still being held up at the present time to help with the flow of the traffic. The Parish Council would like to thank the college for the update. With regards to the changes at the college, the Parish Council have been confirmed that there will be no physical building at the college so the traffic should not be affected too much. The new section will be open in September 2021 and there will be an increase of 35 to 40 pupils. The college are looking at running 3 mini buses to help stagger the impact. Cllrs Shermer and Edmonds will meet again with the college around easter for an update. | |
| 21. | Highways issues Traffic issues & Stubwood sub-committee – Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that the offer of £5000 was made to Highways and this was gratefully accepted. Cllr Shermer informed that the markings on the road had now been completed and the new speed signs had now been implemented at Stubwood. They did however leave the poles in front of the new signs. Clerk to report this and ask for them to be removed. Potholes & drainage issues in the village –Nothing. Footpaths and Pavements – Nothing. | |
| 22. | To approve the following payments: Proposed by Cllr Edmonds and seconded by Cllr Ratcliffe. The clerk informed the meeting that she would send all of the invoices to Cllr Shermer for the outstanding payments. Cllr Shermer would then write the cheques and sign them and get a second signature from either Cllr Stratton or Cllr Edmonds. Webmaster pay for November 2020 = £25 [LGA 1972 s142 & 144] Clerk’s pay for November (Made by Standing Order) = £397.80 [LGA 1972 s112]Clerks Expenses November 2020 = £9.12Clerk – Payment for Annual Subscription for Zoom =£143.88Eon Lighting November 2020 = £23.94 [Parish Councils Act 1957 s3]J Etherington – Cleaning Village Hall November 2020 £40Russ Whitehurst – Lengthsman November 2020 = £75SPCA Training for Planning 24th November £60.00Junior Play Area – Sports & Leisure Seat and Hangers =£95.40+£96.00 = £191.40Marmax Recycled Products – Denstone Meadow – £1931.12 | |
| . | Items for next meeting: Nothing | |
| | Dates of next meeting – Tuesday 5th January 2021 at 7.00pm via https://zoom.us | |
