| | Attendees: Cllr M Shermer (Chair), Cllr B Wright, Cllr J Mountney, Cllr S Ratcliffe, Cllr L Beckett-Fountain Cllr C Kelly, Cllr K Stratton and Borough Councillor S Sankey Apologies Cllr J Turner and Cllr E Edmonds. The Parish Council would like to send their best wishes to Cllr Turner and hope that she has a speedy recovery. Cllr Shermer welcomed PCSO Shaun Elliott to the meeting. Shaun informed the meeting of the recent crime statistics. He passed on a document to the clerk who will attach it to these minutes and have it put on the website. Also, an electronic copy will be sent out to all councillors. | Clerk |
| | The minutes of the meeting held on the 1st October 2019. The minutes were signed and dated by Cllr M Shermer, and the clerk. These were agreed by all as a true record of the meeting. | |
| | Declaration of interest None | |
| | Adjournment for public participation – Speed Limit on Alton Road – It was raised by Russ Whitehurst that the speed limit of 60 mph was far too fast. It was agreed that this stretch of road went into Alton and the first step would to be contact Alton Parish Council for their thoughts and if possible, join forces to get the speed limit reduced to 40mph. Clerk to contact Alton Parish Clerk.Mural in the Bus Shelter – Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that there had been an article in the Ashbourne Telegraph regarding the Mural in the village. This article was passed to the clerk to put on the website for all to see. Along with some archived documents showing that Denstone Parish Council was the first parish to win the Best Kept Village award in 1956. | Clerk Clerk |
| | Matters Arising/Clerks Report Correspondence Received – The clerk informed the meeting that she would produce a Social Media Policy using the template that was discussed in the SPCA Bulletin dated 3rd October 2019. Lengthsman’ Post – Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that Russell Whitehurst would take on the position of the Lengthsman. The contract was signed by both parties at the meeting. On behalf of the Parish Council, Cllr Shermer expressed her sincere thanks to Cavell Portman for all his hard work as Lengthsman. Accounts – The clerk brought the Annual Check sheet and it was signed by Cllr C Kelly and Cllr S Ratcliffe.Online Banking – The clerk informed the meeting that she had contacted the bank regarding on line banking for the Parish Council but as yet had not heard anything.Website – The clerk informed the meeting that she had contacted Carolyn Hinton and asked her how much time she spent on the website each month. The clerk had also contacted the SPCA with regards to conflict of interest for Cllr Kelly. The SPCA confirmed that the only issue was that Cllr Kelly would not be able to take part in the vote concerning her son working for the Parish Council. A vote was taken with regards to Mark transferring the data onto the new template but it would not be cost effective for him to do the day to day work. Mark would charge £300 for this, which would be cheaper that the original quote of £500. It was a unanimous decision to ask Mark to carry out the work. The clerk was asked to contact Carolyn and ask her if she would like to continue with the website.Precept – The clerk informed the meeting that she would be sending out all the information to discuss the precept at the next meeting.Remembrance Wreath- It was agreed to donate £40 for the wreath and Cllr Edmonds would be asked to lay the wreath on the 10th November.Post Office – The clerk said that she would contact the post office again to see if the time could be sorted out once and for all.PSPO Order – The clerk informed the meeting that the PSPO order had been agreed for the old railway line to the bridge. Cllr Sankey informed the meeting that the problem of the order was enforcing it. The clerk informed Cllr Sankey that she had emailed the enforcement team with some questions as the Parish Councillors were looking to put together a leaflet and deliver it to the entire village. Cllr Sankey asked the clerk to forward the email to him and he would chase it | Clerk Clerk Clerk Clerk Clerk |
| 6. | Planning Applications (Permitted & Refused are decisions by ESBC – There were no applications to discuss. | |
| 7. | Fresh Air Gym – Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that the funding from Awards for All had been withdrawn due to Denstone Meadow applying for funding at the same time and the Community Foundation for Staffordshire had turned down our application as the panel weren’t very convinced that the equipment would be well used. This was discussed at the last Fresh Air Gym meeting and it was agreed to suggest to the Parish Councillors at the next Meeting that the area should be clearedand kept as a well-tended grassy space with benches. A vote was taken and it was a unanimous decision to clear the ground with a view to looking at it again in the future. Cllr Wright agreed to contact Malcolm to see if he would be free on Tuesday 19th and then the following Sat. Cllr Shermer read out a prepared notice to go onto the notice boards, website and Facebook and the school to inform the village what was happening. Cllr Shermer agreed to send the statement to the clerk to send to all councillors for their comments. Cllr Shermer finally thanked all the members of the Fresh Air Committee especially Cllr Kelly. | Clerk |
| 8. | V E Day Celebrations – Insurance – the clerk informed the meeting that Cllr Edmonds had asked her to contact the insurance company to see if the Parish Council’s insurance would cover the celebrations. The insurance came back with a charge of £60ish to cover the event. Cllr Beckett-Fountain informed the meeting that the Sports Trust’s insurance could cover the event to no extra cost, it was agreed that Cllr Beckett-Fountain would contact Cllr Edmonds regarding this. | |
| 9. | Flag Pole & Hedge – Cllr Wright agreed to look at the hedge with the new Lengthsman and report back at the next meeting. Cllr Beckett-Fountain said that she would try and find out who owned the hedge. | |
| 10. | Report of Junior Play Area – Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that she, Cllr Beckett Fountain and Peter Robotham would meet with David Boden on 12th November to discuss replacing the gates in the play area. | |
| 11. | Report of Senior Play Area – Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that Peter Robotham confirmed that he had sorted out the nails that were sticking up on the equipment. | |
| 12. | Highways Issues Traffic Issues & Stubwood sub-committee – Cllr Shermer reported that JCB are acutely aware of the impact of its employees etc. on the local area, for this reason, JCB was pleased to have been asked to consider the Denstone PC/SCC proposal to alter the junction layout in an attempt to limit the speed of traffic rising up Stubwood Hollow at the end of the working day. However, after full consideration, JCB is unable to commit any funding to this scheme. JCB is committed to being a good neighbour, but as Lady Meadow Bridge is a public highway, it is difficult, indeed impossible, for JCB to dictate to drivers which public highway they should use. Employees are encouraged to be respectful of the local community, but it is difficult to legislate for driver behaviour that leads to speeding. JCB undertakes Community Speed watch checks to help encourage better behaviour from motorists in the local area. Richard Rayson, The Strategic Community Infrastructure Manager from SCC presented potential solutions to the Stubwood Hollow junction problem which had been drawn up with the support of Cllr Atkins. These were discussed at length and all agreed that the single gated junction would serve to reduce the speed of drivers as they drove up Stubwood Hill. The Councillors voted in favour of this plan. Cllr Shermer to contact Richard Rayson with this decision. Potholes and drainage issues in the village – Nothing to raise.Footpaths – Cllr Beckett-Fountain informed the meeting that the rights of way committee at Stafford were asking the public that if they see any damaged footpaths whilst out walking, to take a picture and send it to them for action. They are even offering to come along to Parish Council meetings to give a presentation. It was agreed that this would be a good idea. Cllr Beckett-Fountain to contact them.Pavements – Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that the pavement on Marlpit Lane will have the holes filled and it will be slurry filled and sealed. The clerk asked Cllr Sankey if Greenfields could be included at the same time as she had reported this on many occasions and it was as bad as Marlpit Lane. Cllr Sankey agreed to ask regarding this. | Cllr Beckett- Fountain Cllr Sankey |
| 13. | Finance/Payments – To approve the following payments: Proposed by Cllr Ratcliffe and seconded by Cllr Wright. Webmaster pay for October 2019 = £25.00 [LGA 1972 s142 & 144] Clerk’s pay for October 2019 (Made by Standing Order) = £379.28 [LGA 1972 s112] Clerk’s expenses for October 2019 = £9.00 (LGA 1972 s111) Eon Lighting October 2019 = £21.79 [Parish Councils Act 1957 s3] J Etherington – Cleaning Village Hall Toilets October 2019 =£50.00 Cavell Portman – Lengthsman – October 2019 = £15.00 Remembrance Day Wreath = £40.00 J Payne – Denstone Meadow = £31.43 Eon Lighting maintenance = £97.16 | |
| | Items for future Agenda Bench for Bus StopLady Meadows Close Signage | |
| | Dates of next meeting 3rd Dec 2019, 7th January and 4th February 2020 | |
