PC Minutes 3rd November 2020
| Attendees: Cllr M Shermer (Chair), Cllr J Mountney, Cllr C Kelly, Cllr E Edmonds, Cllr B Wright, Cllr K Stratton, Cllr S Ratcliffe, Borough Councillor S Sankey and Julie Sadler (Clerk).Also present at the meeting was Russell Whitehurst. Apologies Cllr J Turner and Cllr L Beckett-Fountain. | ||
| The minutes of the meeting held on the 6th October 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 Cllr Edmonds declared an interest in item 14 on the agenda. | ||
| Adjournment for Public Participation – None | ||
| Correspondence Received – As a result of emails received during October, the Parish Council have responded as follows:Bagnall’s coach company reported a broken branch lying heavily on top of an electric/BT cable. The PC investigated and by 9.00pm that same evening the branch was removed, and the cables secured by BTA resident expressed concern about the unfinished road markings around the village and the potential danger caused by this. The PC contacted the Head of Highways that same day and were informed that this is a two-phase process and that the second phase will follow. Since that has not happen to date, the Clerk has made further contact and reported the matter once againA concerned resident reported trees overhanging her property with the potential to damage her guttering. This was investigated by the PC and the work was subsequently authorised by the village hall and carried out.Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that she had a request for a contribution towards the Christmas lights in the village. It was agreed that the Parish Council would contribute £82 towards the Christmas lights. The clerk informed the meeting that we had received further guidance from the SPCA stating that the Remembrance service would still be able to go ahead. Planning Training – Jess and Margaret are attending the Planning training via zoom on the 24th November. Denstone College Proposed Changes – The clerk had received confirmation from the college that they were still holding back the buses as previously agreed. Cllr Shermer confirmed that this was noticeable in the morning traffic. Audit 2019/20 Outcome – The clerk informed the meeting that she had received confirmation from the Auditors that the Parish Council had passed the Audit checks for 2019/20. The only issue that was raised was the amount of funds that the council had. This would be looked at when setting the precept for 2021/2022. Budget 21/22 – The Parish Council spent considerable time going through the budget for 21/22. It was agreed that the Clerk would make the changes to the budget as agreed in the meeting and this would then be brought back to the next agenda for the final decision to be made on the precept, after all the councillors had a good chance to look at the new figures. Cllr Mountney sent a copy of the new figures to all the councillors at the end of the meeting. It was agreed at the meeting that due to the continuing uncertainty of the Parish Council being able to meet again anytime soon. The clerk would set up a Zoom account for the Parish Council with immediate effect. | Clerk Clerk | |
| 6. | Planning Applications (Permitted & Refused are decisions by ESBC – P/2020/01062 – Erection of a Detached Garage – Hill House College Road Denstone Staffordshire ST14 5HL – No objections. | |
| 7. | Consultation of Planning Changes – Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that the response from our MP with regards to our potential weakness in the NP, advises the Parish Council that Andy O’Brien will arrange a virtual meeting with a member of the Planning team. It has since been agreed that the NPMG would meet with Naomi Perry from ESBC to discuss this issue further. Meeting to be arranged as soon as possible and Cllr Shermer will report back at the next council meeting. It was agreed that after reading the slides that Cllr Sankey sent out regarding the planning changes there were very little changes from the white paper that was sent out previously. The main issue was that the NPMG have got to continue to be on the ball and address all changes that come our way. Cllr Sankey suggested that we look at how the Parish Council can update the Neighbourhood Plan and who will fund this. These items will be looked at after the meeting with Naomi Perry. | Cllr Shermer |
| 8. | Drains & Ditches – With regards to the drain issue raised by Cllr Beckett-Fountain it was agreed to move this to the next meeting. Cllr Mountney informed the meeting that the ditch behind the shop would be cleared on Thursday. | |
| 9. | Village Planting – Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that she has spoken to Sue Edmonds and she has agreed to take over the planting in the village. Thankyou to Sue.Also, a huge thanks once again to TaylorMade for donating 6 bags of compost to the village. | |
| 10. | 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. | |
| 11. | Website Accessibility – The clerk informed the meeting that the new website was getting better by the day. The clerk also pointed out that the payment for the website had increased this month to cover extra work done on the website. As yet the clerk had still not heard anything further from the SPCA regarding the minimum payment for someone working for the Parish Council. Clerk to chase. Cllr Kelly informed the meeting that it could be within the next month that the old website would be taken down and the new one advertised to the village. | Clerk |
| 12. | Junior Play Area/Village Hall Toilets – It was agreed at this current time to keep the play area in the village closed. The Parish Council has received this year’s report on the play area from the Play Inspection Company. A few minor items were raised and these would be addressed in the next few weeks to see what needs to be done. | |
| 13. | Speedwatch Training – Russ updated the meeting and confirmed that there were 2 volunteers for the training. However, since then the training has been stopped due to the recent changes in lockdown. It was also agreed that a safeguarding question needed to be addressed with the co-ordinator. Russ to forward the contact details to Cllr Shermer. The issue of having permanent signs for Speedwatch was also raised. This would also be followed up. | Russ Whitehurst Cllr Margaret Shermer |
| 14, | Denstone Meadow – Cllr Edmonds informed the meeting that the fishing group have acquired their own insurance. He also confirmed that the path was being laid tomorrow which was excellent news. | |
| 15. | Village Hall – Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that Village Hall had their first meeting. The following items were discussed: A new clock has now been installed at the hall. Russell Whitehurst has now taken on the role of the gardener for the Village Hall as well as being Lengthsman for the Parish Council. The village hall have taken advice on reopening the hall. There are also new signs at the entrance to the hall. | |
| 16. | Highways issues Traffic issues & Stubwood sub-committee – It was agreed that due to the recent correspondence from the SCC the Parish Council would offer the £5000 funding that they received from Sun & Soil for the changes at Stubwood. It was also agreed that if this was not sufficient then Cllr Shermer could extend the offer to £10,000 as long as they could confirm that the project would be completed by the end of March 2021.Potholes & drainage issues in the village – The Parish Council would like to give a huge thanks to Clive for providing a tonne bag for the leaves from the village. Footpaths and Pavements – Nothing. | |
| 17. | To approve the following payments: Proposed by Cllr Ratcliffe and seconded by Cllr Edmonds. 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 October 2020 = £75.00 [LGA 1972 s142 & 144] Clerk’s pay for October (Made by Standing Order) = £397.80 [LGA 1972 s112]Clerks Expenses October 2020 = £22.45Eon Lighting October 2020 = £23.94 [Parish Councils Act 1957 s3]J Etherington – Cleaning Village Hall October 2020 £40.00Russ Whitehurst – Lengthsman October 2020 = £40.00 + £12.99 for broom = £52.99Play Inspection Company – Junior Play Area = £114.00Highways Lighting = £99.61Jacquie Payne – Payment for Seed – Denstone Meadow = £25.40Susanne – Christmas Lights = £82.00 | |
| . | Items for next meeting: Hedge Trimmer – Lengthsman Broadband – Funding | |
| Dates of next meeting – Tuesday 1st December 2020 at 7.00pm via https://zoom.us |
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