PC Minutes 6th October 2020
| Attendees: Cllr M Shermer (Chair), Cllr J Mountney, Cllr C Kelly, Cllr E Edmonds, Cllr B Wright, Cllr J Turner, Cllr K Stratton, Borough Councillor S Sankey and Julie Sadler (Clerk).Also present at the meeting was Russell Whitehurst. Apologies None | ||
| The minutes of the meeting held on the 1st September 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 heard from Mr Bostock regarding the trees and he had suggested replacing the old trees with Cherry Trees. The Parish Council thought that this was a great idea and Cllr Shermer had already contacted TaylorMade who had agreed to fit them free of charge. TaylorMade had also confirmed that the stumps of the old trees did not need removing as they do not cause them any problems when they are mowing the grass. TaylorMade advised Cllr Shermer to send them a reminder in November. The Parish Council would like to pass on their sincere thanks to TaylorMade for all of the work that they do in the village. Trees- See item (a) above. Planning Training – The clerk confirmed that Cllrs Shermer and Turner had been allocated places on the planning training on the 24th November 2020 which is being provided by the SPCA. Public Right of Way – The Public Rights of Way Officer confirmed that if anymore problems were raised regarding the footpath then they should be reported to the Police. Remembrance Sunday – It was unanimously agreed that a wreath would be obtained from the Royal British Legion and a donation of £40 be given in return. Cllr Edmonds agreed to lay the wreath on the 11th November. Clerk to contact Cavell regarding the delivery of the wreath. Speedwatch Training – This is due to take place at Denstone College on the 7th October, posters are on the noticeboards and the website. Denstone College Proposed Changes – The clerk informed the meeting that she had heard back from Denstone College, they are aware that there are more cars at present, with the Covid 19 situation as lots of parents are bringing their children rather than sending them on the College busses, this is not their ideal situation but they cannot force them to use this service. Another issue was raised regarding Denstone College and the reoccurring problems with the busses. The clerk was asked to contact the College and remind them of the promise made to the Parish Council regarding holding back the buses. | Cllr Shermer Clerk Clerk | |
| 6. | Planning Applications (Permitted & Refused are decisions by ESBC – There were no planning applications to discuss at this time. | |
| 7. | Consultation of Planning Changes – It was unanimously agreed that there were no further amendments to be made to the document sent out prior to the meeting. Cllr Shermer therefore agreed to forward it to the Policy Comms at NALC. It was also agreed that the clerk would send a letter to Kate Griffiths MP to follow this up. Cllr Sherner expressed her sincere thanks on behalf of the Parish Council to Jacquie Payne for all her hard work in putting this together. It was also agreed that Jacquie would contact Naomi Perry for a follow up. | Cllr Shermer Clerk Jacquie Payne |
| 8. | Drains & Ditches – It was agreed that Cllr Mountney would ask Gary Plant for a date for dealing with the ditch behind the shop. Cllr Beckett-Fountain raised the issue of problems with the drains on the main road. She agreed to send photo’s and a map to the clerk who would then report to SCC. | Cllr Beckett-Fountain Clerk |
| 9. | SCC COVID19 Support Fund – Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that she had received an invoice for £99.90 from the Denstone Voluntary Car Scheme. It was unanimously agreed that this could be paid out of the fund. Cllr Shermer reminded all that if anyone knew of any other group that need money out of the fund then they should contact her. There is currently £274.10 left in the fund. | |
| 10. | Website Accessibility – It was unanimously agreed by all councillors that Carolyn along with Cllr Kelly had done an excellent job in creating a new website in line with the accessibility regulations that came into force on the 23rd September 2020. There were still some issues with the finance documents but these would be rectified shortly. It was agreed that the new site would be sited on the domain of the old one but currently they were running parallel. As soon as everything was sorted the old one would be taken down. It was agreed that once this is the case we would then advertise and promote the new site. The invoice that was received for the work being done was agreed. | Clerk |
| 11. | Junior Play Area/Village Hall Toilets – It was agreed at this current time to keep the play area in the village closed. However, this would be reviewed again at the next meeting. In the meantime, the clerk would contact the clerks at Mayfield, Ellastone and Rocester and see what they are doing regarding their play areas. | Clerk |
| 12. | Gardeners – Cllr Shermer would like to express her sincere thanks on behalf of the Parish Council to Pauline and John Jilbert for all their hard work in the Village. It is greatly appreciated by all.The Lengthsman will be taking over the majority of the work apart from the planters. Discussions are currently taking place with another member of the village regarding this. The final payment was agreed. | Clerk |
| 13. | Denstone Diary – It was agreed due to the lack of activities in the village this year because of Covid 19, next year’s Diary would be a smaller version. | |
| 14, | Denstone College Proposed Changes – see item 5g. | |
| 15. | Tom Boden Memorial Sports Trust Licence for the Play area – The clerk informed the meeting that she had still not received the licence for the play area. Cllr Beckett-Fountain said that she would look into this and get back to the clerk. | Cllr Beckett-Fountain |
| 16. | Denstone Meadow – Cllr Edmonds informed the meeting that it had been difficult this year to move things on with Covid 19. However, the fencing will be delivered and installed in the next few weeks. Once this is complete the notices will be installed regarding health and safety. TaylorMade will also then be able to carry out the work on the paths. The clerk had contacted the insurance company with regards to the meadow and particularly the fishing aspect. The insurance company came back with some further issues so it was agreed that Peter Robotham would forward to the clerk some further information for the clerk to pass onto the insurance company. The Parish Council signed off all the risk assessment documents for the Denstone Meadow. | |
| 17. | Highways issues Traffic issues & Stubwood sub-committee – Cllr Shermer received the following update from Richard Rayson – In terms of Lady Meadow Lane It is currently with Amey Highways for pricing. He suspected due to the fact it will not require a traffic regulation order (TRO), they could possibly deliver just before / just after Christmas (all depending on Highways resources and suppliers).Potholes – Nothing raised. Footpaths – NonePavements – None | |
| 18. | 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 September 2020 = £352.98 [LGA 1972 s142 & 144] Clerk’s pay for September (Made by Standing Order) = £379.28 [LGA 1972 s112]Clerks Back Pay April – October – £129.64Eon Lighting September 2020 = £22.49 [Parish Councils Act 1957 s3]John Jilbert – Gardener – £660Denstone Voluntary Car Scheme – £99.90J Etherington – Cleaning Village Hall September 2020 £50.00Russ Whitehurst – Lengthsman September 2020 = £90.00Royal British Legion – Donation Wreath – £40.00 items for Future Agenda Clerks Salary Move to Level 15 SLC1 – Closed Meeting It was unanimously agreed to move the clerk’s salary to Level 15 of the SLC1. It was also agreed for the backdating to be paid to April 2020. A new standing order was agreed to forward to the bank. | |
| Dates of next meeting – Tuesday 3rd November 2020 at 7.00pm via https://zoom.us |
–.