PRESENT:
Parish Councillors Mrs K.Reeves, Messrs P.Bailey, A.Brown, P.Harriman, D.Massie,
Staffs County Councillor, Mr M.Winnington, two members of the public, and the
Clerk, Mrs D.M.Key.
APOLOGIES:
were received from Parish Councillors Mrs S.Dodd and Mr S.Moore, Staffs Borough
Councillor, Mr S.Leighton and Stafford Borough Councillor Mr R.Sutherland.
MINUTES:
The Minutes from the previous meeting were deemed as a true record by those
present and were duly signed by the Chairman, Mr P.Harriman.
MATTERS ARISING:
These would be taken as they appeared on the agenda.
LATE ITEMS
There was one late item regarding highways matters but
this was to be discussed under Highways on the agenda.
OPEN FORUM:
Was not required on this occasion.
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH:
The Clerk was continuing to receive reports from
Mandy Corser regarding the OWL Smart Alert service and was forwarding these to
Councillors. These more recent ones related to national alerts warning against
cold callers etc.
CHURCH EATON VILLAGE PLAYGROUND:
Councillor Mrs K Reeves had inspected the playground during the previous month
and had found it to be in a satisfactory condition. It was noted however that
there was quite a lot of mole activity. Control of moles was discussed and this
was to be further discussed with Councillor, Mr S.Moore. The netball hoop
needed straightening and discussion ensued as to whether to look at purchasing a
new one. Councillor Bailey who was to take the inspection book for the
forthcoming month agreed to look at the hoop and repair it if necessary.
DEFIBRILLATOR PROJECT:
Councillor Harriman reported that the Church Eaton
Relief In Need Charity had very generously pledged £500 towards the purchase of
a defibrillator for the High Street and a further £500 in 2017 for the proposed
one for Marston. The Clerk was asked to write to Mr Stephen Rutherford to thank
the Charity on behalf of the Parish Council.
Possible locations for the first defibrillator were being actively investigated by Councillor Harriman. It was also reported that a quiz evening at The Royal Oak may raise some useful funds towards this project. Councillor Harriman is to draft a flyer/letter to distribute around the Parish in the New Year, to raise awareness of the project and the need to raise funds. The Clerk is to look into whether working phone boxes can have defibrillators installed in them and what insurance implications there may be.
REMOVAL OF BT PHONES :
The Clerk is to contact the Borough Council in January
2017 to check that they have received all the consultation comments that the
Clerk has received over the past couple of months.
PLANNING
The Clerk had received one new planning application
(Reference 16/25068/HOU) for work at Church
Farm, High Street, Church Eaton which would include the
conversion of the former dairy barn
into an extension to the existing dwelling along with the demolition of the
existing extension and an external staircase to allow a link to be created from
the existing house. The Parish Council was not in principal against the
applicant wishing to change the layout of the property but was unanimously
opposed to the external staircase being demolished. It was felt that with the
property being located in the Conservation Area, the staircase was an
interesting and historic feature of the building. The Clerk was asked to convey
these comments to the Borough Council Planning Department.
Creating a
Neighbourhood Plan was discussed but it was again it was felt that this would be
too costly and very time consuming. The Clerk offered to speak with
Councillor
Mr M. Allen from Haughton Parish Council to gauge their thoughts on the
process.
THE GLEBELANDS:
Councillor Mrs K. Reeves reported that at the
forthcoming meeting to be held on December 8th it was hoped that the
remaining position of secretary to the Association would be filled. A brief
discussion followed, concerning selecting Church Eaton representatives for the
Association. Renewal of the lease and the accounts were also being progressed.
FINANCE:
The Clerk had received several invoices which were £20
from Church Eaton Village Institute for the hire of the hall for December’s
meeting, a request for £25.00, also from the Institute towards the purchase of
the Christmas tree and an invoice for £144.00 from John Hall for the final round
of grass cutting and for pruning back the hawthorn in the playground. These
invoices were proposed for payment by Councillor Mrs K. Reeves and seconded by
the Chairman Councillor P. Harriman. All were in favour.
The Clerk also informed the meeting that the Borough Council had emailed information regarding setting the precept for the forthcoming year. The Clerk was to circulate this information to all Councillors so that the precept could be set during the January 2017 meeting.
HIGHWAYS:
The Clerk informed the Parish Council that Church Eaton had not been invited to
the recent Stafford Area Collaboration meeting. This was an oversight and the
Clerk had been in touch with the Creswell Clerk who had been very helpful. As a
result representatives from Church Eaton were invited to attend the next meeting
which will be held on the 18th January 2017.
Councillor Harriman had now received the findings from the recent the recent traffic survey carried out by the County Council. Councillor Harriman briefed the meeting as to the data he had received which concluded that the average speed was 31mph. This data and the summary of the survey were to be circulated to Councillors and Councillor Mrs Reeves was to post this on the village notice board.
Staffs County Councillor, Mr M.Winnington who, was in attendance at the meeting, was informed of the recent concerns the Clerk had received by email from Mr C.Byford. This concerned the poor road conditions on the Church Eaton to Haughton Road which, Mr Byford had contacted the Highways department over. Councillor Winnington asked the Clerk to forward these emails on to him. Concerns were also raised over the flooding caused by water running onto the road near to the Fox Inn at the junction of the Marston Road and Birchmoor Lane. This had been reported to Severn Trent Water who it was understood had visited the site but it was not clear where this water was coming from. Investigations into this matter were to continue.
CORRESPONDENCE:
The Clerk had received the latest Members Digest from Stafford Borough Council.
Former Parish Councillor, Mr Bob Thacker had contacted the Clerk about the
various bus service schedules available on the notice board, web site and bus
stop. Some of this information was out of date so it was agreed to look at
updating this information.
All other correspondence such as that from Neighbourhood Watch and emails relating to the issue raised during the last meeting had been circulated to Parish Councillors.
It was agreed that the next meeting of the
Parish Council would be held on the 3rd January 2017 at 7.30pm in the
Village Institute. The meeting closed at 9.10pm.
PRESENT:
Parish Councillors Mrs S.Dodd and Mrs K.Reeves, Messrs P.Bailey, A.Brown,
P.Harriman, S.Moore, two members of the public, and the Clerk, Mrs D.M.Key.
APOLOGIES:
were received from Councillor Mr D.Massie, Staffs County Councillor, Mr
M.Winnington, Stafford Borough Councillor Mr R.Sutherland.
MINUTES:
The Minutes from the previous meeting were deemed as a true record by those
present and were duly signed by the Chairman, Mr P.Harriman. It was noted,
however that Mr Patrick Bryant, who had been thanked by letter from the Clerk
for the repair of the notice board, should have been addressed as Dr Patrick
Bryant.
MATTERS ARISING:
The Clerk confirmed that all cheques raised at the previous meeting had been
sent out to the respective parties.
LATE ITEMS
Councillor Mr Simon Moore raised the issue of the
Parish Council developing a Neighbourhood Plan. A lengthy discussion regarding
this matter ensued. Opinions varied as to time and cost and whether a plan would
be needed given that Church Eaton is not a key service village and therefore
unlikely to attract major development. Contrary to this, opinions were expressed
that it could help with strengthening local planning policy. It was agreed that
the Parish Council should look into this further and perhaps in the New Year
invite a representative, such as Alex Yendole, from the Borough Council to
attend a meeting with a view to explaining more about developing Neighbourhood
Plans.
OPEN FORUM:
During Open Forum, Mr John Edwards expressed concerns over traffic calming
measures that may be implemented following the recent highways investigations
into speeding motorists. Mr Edwards was not in favour of speed bumps being
installed, but was assured this was not something the Parish Council was in
favour of either.
Mr Edwards spoke also about the village web site and the Clerk asked Mr Edwards if the Parish Council owed any money towards the up keep of the site as he had not received any monies from the Parish Council for some time. Mr Edwards did have some costs with him which amounted to £47.98. The Parish Council were to look at this under finance. Mr Edwards also requested that he would like to receive more items to add to the web site. With regards to finance Mr Edwards asked whether the Parish Council are to consider requesting an increase in the next precept given that there had been no increase for some time. This was to be discussed further and the precept probably set in the January meeting as per normal.
The results of the recent Best Kept Village Competition were also discussed. It was unanimously agreed that more community effort would be needed if the competition was to be entered every year.
Mr Edwards also commented on the recent proposal to remove the BT phone boxes. He suggested that if the telephony was removed then perhaps a repeater could be installed in each of the kiosks to boost mobile phone reception. This idea was generally well received and would be looked at if BT did remove the telephony.
NEIGHBOURHOOD
WATCH:
It was reported that
many car tyres in the Gnosall area had been slashed at the weekend. The Clerk
was continuing to receive reports from Mandy Corser regarding the OWL Smart
Alert service.
CHURCH EATON
VILLAGE PLAYGROUND:
Councillor Mr S. Moore
returned the inspection book and had found the playground to be in satisfactory
condition with the exception of some litter and mole activity. Councillor Mrs
Karen Reeves took the book for the forthcoming month, although she would be away
from the 19th to the 24th November. Councillor, Mr A.Brown
volunteered to keep an eye on the playground during this time.
The gym equipment in the playground was discussed and for the Parish Council to take ownership of the equipment from CERS. This had been agreed by the Council about five years ago and given that CERS was now planning to disband, the Chairman agreed to contact Mr Phil Jones to confirm this action.
DEFIBRILLATOR PROJECT:
The Clerk had again contacted Welmedical for more information regarding the
costs of purchasing a defibrillator and in the region of £1,500 would need to be
raised to purchase one defibrillator and a heated outdoor cabinet. The cabinet
would be required even if the defibrillator was to be housed in a phone kiosk.
The Parish Council were however keen to look at purchasing a second
defibrillator for Marston. The aim therefore, was to raise at least £3,000 to
purchase two defibrillators. Stafford Borough Councillor, Mr Ray Sutherland had
already kindly donated £200 from funds collected during his year as Mayor to
which the Parish Council agreed to add an additional £500. This was proposed by
Councillor
Mrs K.Reeves, seconded by
CouncillorMrs S.Dodd. All
were in favour. The Clerk was asked to include this information in the next
Parish Magazine report. Efforts were to be made to try and attract funding for
this project locally as well as looking at sources of alternative funding.
Councillor
Mr P.Harriman had contacted Mr S.Rutherford from the Church Eaton In Need
Charities to see if there was any possibility of a donation and the Clerk
suggested that CERS may also have some funds available.
REMOVAL OF BT
PHONES :
The Clerk had now
received a response from BT confirming the consultation period had been extended
to the 11th January 2017. The Clerk had also contacted the Borough Council’s
Planning Department stating that the Parish Council were adamant that BT needed
to reconsider their proposals and that the phones should remain in the kiosks as
mobile phone reception is poor in both these areas and that they did give the
opportunity for emergency calls to be made. The Clerk had also been copied in to
several emails from local residents concerned about plans to remove the kiosks
and who were objecting on similar grounds.
PLANNING
The Clerk had not received any new planning applications.
CONSERVATION
AREA DOCUMENT APPRAISAL
The Clerk had not received any feedback or updates on this matter.
THE GLEBELANDS:
Councillor Mrs K.Reeves reported on the meeting held on 26th
October. This had been very positive with Mr Michael Faarup
taking up position as Chair, with Mr Andy Brown as
Vice Chair and Mr Jeremy Bach as Treasurer. Renewal of the lease and mandate
arrangements were in progress and Councillor Mrs Reeves concluded that the
situation seemed more optimist going forward. There would be another meeting
later in November.
FINANCE:
The Clerk had received several invoices which were £20
from Church Eaton Village Institute for the hire of the hall for November’s
meeting, £47.98 from Mr John Edwards towards upkeep of the web site, and an
invoice from Stafford Borough Council for the civic amenities visit in July.
These invoices were proposed for payment by Councillor Mrs S.Dodd and seconded
by Councillor Mrs K.Reeves. All were in favour.
VILLAGE MEMORIAL:
Councillor Mr
A.Brown updated the meeting regarding the proposed memorial. Plans for a
bench and lighting had now been put aside. Everything was progressing well with
the arrangements.
HIGHWAYS:
The Parish Council had not yet received the findings from the recent traffic
surveys carried out by the County Council although Councillor Harriman had
emailed Mark Keeling to enquire when the findings would be available. This, and
protecting the triangle at Marston, would be discussed at the next meeting. The
Clerk had received several emails from Mr C.Byford who was extremely concerned
about the poor road conditions on the Church Eaton to Haughton Road. Mr Byford
had contacted the Highways department with these concerns. Mr Byford was also
concerned over the further deterioration of the verge around Joan Eaton’s Cross.
It was suggested that the proposed plans to protect the Marston triangle could
be extended to include Joan Eaton’s Cross. Councillor Harriman was to continuing
pressing Mark Keeling on this matter. The plans for the ‘20 Is Plenty’ traffic
scheme outside the school was ongoing although this would probably be
implemented at the start of a new school term. The Clerk had also received
concerns over the state of the Marston Roads from a Marston resident who was
also concerned about removal of the Marston telephone kiosk. The Clerk was to
contact both Mr Byford and the Marston resident.
CORRESPONDENCE:
The Clerk had received the latest Members Digest from Stafford Borough Council.
The Clerk had also received a new weekly update on pothole repairs from the
County Council. The Clerk also gave information concerning the forthcoming
luncheon for the Mayoress and the Borough pantomime. Mrs Dodd took the
information as she had some interest in attending. The Clerk also circulated
some notes from the Borough concerning the last Paris Forum.
All other correspondence such as those from Neighbourhood Watch and emails relating to the issue raised during the last meeting had been circulated to Parish Councillors.
It was agreed that the next
meeting of the Parish Council would be held on the 6th December 2016
at 7.30pm in the Village Institute. The meeting closed at 8.55pm.
PRESENT:
Parish Councillors Mrs
S.Dodd and Mrs K.Reeves, Messrs P.Bailey, A.Brown, P.Harriman, D.Massie,
S.Moore, Stafford Borough Councillor, Mr R.Sutherland, five members of the
public, and the Clerk, Mrs D.M.Key.
APOLOGIES:
were received from Staffs County Councillor, Mr M.Winnington.
MINUTES:
The Minutes from the previous meeting were deemed as a true record by those
present and were duly signed by the Chairman,
Councillor Mr P.Harriman.
MATTERS ARISING:
The Clerk
confirmed that the Hanging Baskets and Tubs Competition vouchers had been sent
out to the three winners and that this year’s judges, Mr and Mrs Spilsbury from
Seighford had been formally thanked by card. This year’s Best Kept Village
Competition Judges Comments had been forwarded to the Parish Council.
LATE ITEMS
:
There were no late items.
OPEN FORUM:
During Open
Forum, Mr Pearson, a resident at Smithy Croft, expressed concerns over the
re-drawing of the Conservation Area Boundary as proposed during the recent
Conservation Area Document appraisal. Mr T.Houghton had similar concerns that
areas currently in the Conservation Area were to be removed. The Parish Council
were to discuss this further during the meeting.
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH:
The Clerk had received
a report that a sit on mower had been stolen from the Haughton area.
DEFIBRILLATOR PROJECT:
Following Martin Watson’s visit last month, the Clerk had been able to obtain a
quote from Welmedical, the company MrWatson recommended. This was for £770.00
plus Vat for an order placed before November the 1st but with other
potential costs such as a heated cabinet and batteries etc this would probably
increase to over £1,000. The Parish Council felt it was probably too soon to
place an order as funding and a location was still being sought. The Clerk was
asked to contact Welmedical again for more information regarding these costs and
to report these to the next meeting of the Council, when it was hoped this
matter could be progressed. It was unanimously agreed that the Parish Council
would make a donation towards this project when exact costs were known.
CHURCH EATON VILLAGE PLAYGROUND:
The Chairman reported that he had replaced the crutch strap on the swing cradle
seat. Re-painting of the railings and rocking horse were to be deferred until
spring. Councillor D.Massie returned the inspection book and Councillor S.Moore
took this for the forthcoming month. It was noted that the roadside Hawthorn had
been pruned back by Mr John Hall.
REMOVAL
OF PAY PHONES :
It was reported that
notices had been put up in both of the parish phone kiosks located in the High
Street and at Marston. The notices stated that BT intended to remove the phones
and kiosks due to little use. The notices, dated the 23rd September,
also advised that there was to be a 42 day consultation period and that any
comments should be made to the local planning authority. The Parish Council
were adamant that BT needed to reconsider their proposals and asked the Clerk to
write to them pointing out that the phones should remain in the kiosks given
that mobile phone reception is poor in both these areas, and that they do give
the opportunity for emergency calls to be made. If this approach proved to be
unsuccessful, adoption of both of the kiosks for future community use would be
considered by the Parish Council.
PLANNING
:
The Clerk had not received any new planning applications.
CONSERVATION AREA DOCUMENT APPRAISAL
:
The Parish Council discussed the appraisal and resulting draft
document. It was also reported that the Clerk and several Parish Councillors had
been able to attend the road show arranged by the Borough Council’s Conservation
Officer Mr Alan Taylor in the Institute on the 15th September.
Responses to this consultation were to end on the 7th October and the
Parish Council discussed their response at some length, taking into
consideration the comments made by local residents. As a result the Clerk was
asked to make the following observations:
VILLAGE
NOTICEBOARD:
The
recently vandalised village notice board had now been repaired, and the Council
expressed their thanks to Mr Fred Annis and Mr Patrick Bryant for assisting with
this. To this end the Clerk was asked to write and thank them.
FINANCE:
The Clerk presented a
budget to cover Parish Council income and expenditure from October 1st 2016
until the end of March 2017. The Clerk had received two invoices which were £20
from Church Eaton Village Institute for the hire of the hall for October, £188
from JWH for recent grass cutting. The Clerk also presented a £20 invoice to
cover this gardening year’s vouchers for the Tubs and Hanging Baskets
Competition. These invoices were proposed for payment by Councillor Mrs S.Dodd
and seconded by the Chairman, Mr P.Harriman. All were in favour. A cheque for
the Clerk’s quarterly fee of £532 along with a cheque to HMRC for the relevant
tax of £3 were also raised and approved.
The Clerk had received formal notification that this year’s audit conducted by Grant Thornton was now complete. The Clerk reported that the auditor’s had requested in future that the return form needed to be signed at the meeting where submission of accounts were made.
VILLAGE
MEMORIAL:
Following a short discussion, the
Parish Council agreed to donate £200 towards this project. This was proposed by
the Chairman and seconded by Councillor Mrs K.Reeves. All were in favour.
Councillor A.Brown declared an interest in this matter.
HIGHWAYS:
The Parish
Council had not yet received the findings from the recent traffic surveys
carried out by the County Council. This, and the triangle at Marston, would be
discussed at the next meeting. The Clerk had contacted Mr & Mrs Boden who, had
raised concerns over speeding motorists.
Following Mr Nick Lakin’s concerns about cyclists riding two or three abreast on the narrow lanes, the Clerk had forwarded these concerns on to the Highways Department and Staffs County Councillor, Mark Winnington, but as yet had not heard anything back. Mr Harriman had been researching cycling road policy from the West Midlands Police and was to contact Mr Lakin over his findings.
CORRESPONDENCE:
The
Clerk had received the latest Members Digest from Stafford Borough Council. The
Clerk had received notice that Mr Justin O'Doherty was to step
down as village correspondent for the Staffordshire Newsletter. Mr Nick Lakin
was to be his successor. The Clerk had sent an email thanking Justin for all his
help over the years publicising Parish Council matters.
All other correspondence such as those from Neighbourhood Watch and emails relating to the issue raised during the last meeting had been circulated to Parish Councillors.
It was agreed that the next meeting of the Parish Council would be held on the 1st November 2016 at 7.30pm in the Village Institute.
The meeting
closed at 9.20pm.
PRESENT:
Parish Councillors Mrs
S.Dodd and Mrs K.Reeves, Messrs P.Bailey, A.Brown, P.Harriman, D.Massie, S.Moore,
Stafford Borough Councillor Mr S.Leighton, Mr Martin Watson from the West
Midlands Ambulance Service, two members of the public, and the Clerk, Mrs
D.M.Key.
APOLOGIES:
were
received from Stafford Borough Councillor, Mr R.Sutherland.
MINUTES:
The Minutes from the previous meeting were deemed as a true record by those
present and were duly signed by the Chairman,
Councillor Mr P.Harriman.
MATTERS
ARISING:
Councillor
Mrs K.Reeves reported that there had been no developments regarding the proposed
EGM of the Glebelands Sports Association but would update the Parish Council as
soon as this was arranged. The Clerk had forwarded concerns from Mr Jeremy Bach
regarding the current situation with the Glebelands and whether it could become
an official green space. It was agreed to see what the outcome of the EGM was.
LATE
ITEMS
:
There were no late items.
DEFIBRILLATOR PRESENTATION:
Martin Watson, a First Responder with the West Midlands Ambulance Service,
attended the meeting. He gave a very informative and fact filled briefing about
not only how and where to obtain a defibrillator from, but also some good
suggestions on a potential location, maintenance and training awareness issues.
Mr Watson recommended firstly exploring suitable locations for the defibrillator
which would need to have access to an electrical supply. He also highly
recommended approaching Welmedical, a company specialising in the sale of
approved defibrillators. As a result the Clerk is to both obtain a quote for a
defibrillator for the next meeting in October and start to look at possible
funding streams. It was mentioned by the Clerk that £200 had already been
donated from Stafford Borough Councillor, Mr Ray Sutherland from his previous
mayoral fund. Mr Harriman thanked Mr Watson for his attendance.
OPEN
FORUM:
Mr Jerry
Jones updated the meeting on the considerable progress that had been made with
the proposed village memorial. It was estimated that the project would require
around £1,750 plus a small contingency fund, but £1,400 had already been raised.
Mr Jones asked whether the Parish Council could provide a donation. It was
agreed that the Parish Council would make a donation. This would be finalised
at the next meeting following consideration of budget figures prepared by the
Clerk.
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH:
The Clerk was still
receiving regular updates from Mandy Corser and these were then being forwarded
to Parish Councillors. The more recent ones had been concerned with issues of a
national nature such as cold calling and awareness of computer fraud.
CHURCH
EATON VILLAGE PLAYGROUND:
The Clerk had now received the replacement crutch strap parts for the swing seat
and Councillor Harriman was to look at fitting these. Councillor P.Harriman also
returned the inspection book and had inspected not only the playground but all
of the pieces of equipment. The playground railings and rocking horse were noted
as requiring re-painting and the Clerk was asked to advertise for a volunteer in
the Parish magazine to assist with this. The roadside Hawthorn needed pruning
back again. The Clerk was asked to notify John Hall about this. Mr David Massie
was to take the inspection book for the forthcoming month.
BT
TELEPHONE BOX:
The
Clerk had received an email from Ralph Howarth over his concerns about the poor
condition of the village phone box. The Clerk was asked to contact BT about
whether the box could be re-painted or if they could supply paint so the Parish
Council could undertaken this work. Mr Howarth had kindly offered to do this.
Adoption of the phone box was again discussed but it was still felt that both
the village phone box and the one in Marston should stay as they could be used
for making emergency call given the poor mobile phone coverage in these areas.
PLANNING
:
The Clerk had not received any new planning applications and had not been
contacted over any planning issues however things had moved on quite rapidly
concerning the Conservation Area Appraisal. The Clerk has now received a
draft copy of the Conservation Area Document from the Borough Council’s
Conservation Officer, Mr Alan Taylor. Comments were required by the 7th
October. A road show about the appraisal has been arranged in the Institute for
the 15th September by Mr Taylor. The draft appraisal document and a
feedback form were available on the Borough Council’s website at
www.staffordbc.gov.uk/conservation-homepage
The Clerk was to send each of the Parish Councillor’s a copy of the draft which would then be discussed at the October meeting.
VANDALISM OF VILLAGE NOTICEBOARD
:
Mrs Dodd was to contact
Mr Tony Lendon who had kindly agreed to look at repairing the vandalised notice
board to see when he could carry out this work. The damaged doors were still
being looked after by Mr Ralph Howarth.
HIGHWAYS:
Chairman
Mr Peter Harriman had now met with Staffs County Councillor, Mr M.Winnington and
Staffs County Highways representative, Mr Mark Keeling. During this meeting it
was agreed that a traffic survey was to be carried out during September to
monitor traffic speeds in the Village. The Clerk was asked to update the local
residents who had originally raised the issue of speeding motorists. Mr Harriman
was to, through the school, look at getting the ‘20 is Plenty’ scheme back for
the High Street. Traffic calming measures were discussed. This could potentially
be at a minimum cost of £15,000. The Parish Council agreed however to continue
pressing Highways for more to be done but would await the traffic survey
findings.
Mr Nick Lakin had contacted the Council over his concerns about cyclists riding two or three abreast on the narrow lanes. This was discussed at length but the Clerk was asked to forward Mr Lakin’s concerns to the Highways Department and Staffs County Councillor, Mark Winnington as it was felt that the Parish Council had no powers that could be employed in this matter.
The Clerk was asked to see whether the lack of gulley emptying around the Parish could be included in the next agenda for the forthcoming Parish Forum to be held on the 29th September.
There were no updates regarding the triangle at Marston.
BEST
KEPT VILLAGE COMPETITION:
Mrs Reeves had attended
the presentation evening for this year’s awards where Church Eaton had finished
joint second with Haughton in the small village category. The Clerk had offered
to frame the certificate.
HANGING
BASKETS & TUBS COMPETITION:
This year’s competition had kindly
been judged by Mr and Mrs Spilsbury from Seighford.
Their winners were as follows.
First Place 2 Ashley Croft
Second Place Heathmynd, High Street
Third Place 7 Parkers Close
Highly Commended were Cherry Tree Cottage and Willow Cottage in the High Street.
The first three winners would, as is customary, each receive a National Gardening Voucher which the Clerk was to arrange. She was also asked to formally thank Mr and Mrs Spilsbury.
FINANCE:
The Clerk had received
several invoices namely £20 from Church Eaton Village Institute for the hire of
the hall; £94 from JWH for recent grass cutting. The Council insurance had been
renewed with Zurich at a cost of £576.68. This had been agreed with the Chairman
as the insurance was due to expire on the 5th September. The invoice
for the replacement crutch strap from Wicksteed came to £ 142.33 and the Clerk
had received an invoice from Stafford Borough Council for the April Civic
Amenities visit for £82. These invoices were proposed for payment by Councillor
Mrs K.Reeves and seconded by Councillor Mrs S.Dodd. All were in favour.
The Clerk had received a query from Grant Thornton over this year’s audit to confirm the details of unpresented cheques which the Clerk had responded to and had received confirmation that the audit was now complete.
CORRESPONDENCE:
The
Clerk had received the latest Members Digest from Stafford Borough Council and
notification of the forthcoming Parish Forum on the 29th September at
7.00 pm at the Civic Suite in the Borough Council offices.
All other correspondence had been circulated to the Parish Councillors.
It was agreed
that the next meeting of the Parish Council would be held on the 4th October
2016 at 7.30pm in the Village Institute. The meeting closed at 9.30pm.
PRESENT:
Councillors Mrs S.Dodd and
Mrs K.Reeves, Messrs P.Bailey, A.Brown, P.Harriman, D.Massie, S.Moore and the
Clerk, Mrs D.M.Key.
APOLOGIES:
were
received from Stafford Borough Councillor, Mr R.Sutherland and Staffs County
Councillor, Mr M.Winnington.
MINUTES:
The Minutes from the previous meeting were deemed as a true record by those
present and were duly signed by the Chairman,
Councillor Mr P.Harriman.
MATTERS ARISING:
Councillor
Mrs K.Reeves reported that there had been no developments regarding the
proposed meeting of the Glebelands Sports Association but would update the
Parish Council as soon as this was arranged.
The Clerk, who had recently reported a very deep pothole at Apeton, had now received notification that a works order had been raised to carry out the required repair. The Clerk had found some Parish maps which had been archived and which would be useful for Councillors to use during their discussion of Parish matters. The Clerk asked Councillor Mr P.Bailey if he could return the Parish maps that Mr Trevor Houghton had kindly lent to the Council.
The Clerk had also contacted Mr and Mrs Boden about the proposed meeting the Chairman was to undertake with Highways echoing their concerns over speeding motorists, particularly on the Wood Eaton Road.
The Clerk was also liaising with the Borough Council’s Conservation Officer, Mr Alan Taylor regarding the current appraisal of the Church Eaton Conservation Area document.
LATE
ITEMS
: Mr Justin O'Doherty had asked members of the Parish Council if they be would be happy to have their
photographs taken for use on the Village web site. The members of the Council
had no objection to this proposal but would prefer a group photograph to be
taken rather than individual ones.
OPEN
FORUM:
During Open
Forum it was reported that the Village Festival had gone well despite the wet
Friday.
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH:
The Clerk was still
receiving regular updates from Mandy Corser and these were then being forwarded
to Parish Councillors. There had been a break-in at a local farm. It is
understood that keys to vehicles had been taken and outbuildings broken in to
CHURCH
EATON VILLAGE PLAYGROUND:
The Clerk had contacted Wickstead Play Equipment with photographs of the cradle
seat supplied by Councillor Harriman with regard to ordering new crutch strap
parts. Councillor Mrs S.Dodd returned the inspection book which Councillor Mr
P.Harriman was to take for the forthcoming month. Councillor Mrs Dodd had
commented that the rails into the play ground could do with re-painting. The
roadside Hawthorn needed pruning back again.
PLANNING
:
The Clerk had not received any new planning applications and had not been
contacted over any planning issues.
DEFIBRILLATOR PROJECT:
Councillor Mr P.Harriman reported that Mr Heward, a representative of the West Midlands
Ambulance Service, had confirmed he would attend this meeting but had not shown
up. Councillor Mr Harriman is to contact West Midlands Ambulance Service yet again.
VANDALISM OF VILLAGE NOTICEBOARD
:
Mr Tony Lendon had
kindly agreed to look at repairing the vandalised notice board. The damaged
doors were still being looked after by Mr Ralph Howarth. Mr Lendon was to
collect these from Mr Howarth
VILLAGE MEMORIAL:
Councillor Mr A.Brown updated the meeting on the latest developments concerning
the proposed memorial. The memorial was likely to be sited in the Institute
garden and would probably be engraved with generic wording rather than
individual names. A stone mason was being contacted. A donation towards funding
would probably be requested soon.
HIGHWAYS:
Councillor
Mr Harriman was arranging a meeting with Staffs County Councillor Mr
M.Winnington and County Highways’s Mark Keeling as soon as possible to discuss
recent issues raised. The Clerk had contacted the Highways Team requesting
various jobs to be carried out including sign cleaning, cutting back vegetation
and investigating flooding at Apeton, near the Old Rectory and at Joan Eaton’s
Cross.
Mr
P.Harriman had discussed the triangle at Marston with Mr David Swift.
Mr Swift was pleased that plans were afoot to try and preserve the triangle as
he was not sure he could continue mowing it. Plans were still being considered
to either place planters, planted tractor tyres, boulders or to fence the
triangle off. Mr Steve Cox was happy to help with lifting any installations in
to place. Mr Harriman was to confirm these plans with Highways.
BEST
KEPT VILLAGE COMPETITION:
There were no updates on this matter.
FINANCE:
The Clerk had received
an invoice for £20 from Church Eaton Village Institute for the hire of the hall.
The Clerk had printed off revised Welcome Packs at a cost of £8. Councillor Mrs
Reeves forwarded an invoice for £67.50 for plants for the village troughs.
Councillor Mr Harriman similarly had an invoice for £49.49 for plants for the
Marston troughs. These invoices were proposed for payment by Councillor Mrs
S.Dodd and seconded by Councillor Mr S.Moore. All were in favour.
Councillor Mrs K.Reeves asked that fact that the Clerk had been informed of the forthcoming pension auto enrolment be minuted.
CORRESPONDENCE:
The
Clerk had received the latest Members Digest from Stafford Borough Council.
Wickstead Play Equipment had sent a letter enquiring whether the Prish Coulncil wished them to carry out another playground inspection.
All other correspondence had been circulated to the Parish Councillors.
It was agreed
that the next meeting of the Parish Council would be held on the 6th September
2016 at 7.30pm in the Village Institute. It was also agreed that there would be
no meeting in August unless a high priority matter was raised. The meeting
closed at 9.15pm.
PRESENT:
Mrs S.Dodd and Mrs K.Reeves, Messrs P.Bailey, A.Brown, P.Harriman, D. Massie,
S.Moore, six members of the public and the Clerk, Mrs D.M.Key.
APOLOGIES:
were received from Stafford Borough Councillors, Mr R Sutherland, and Mr
S.Leighton.
ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN AND
VICE-CHAIRMAN:
Mr Peter Harriman was nominated for
the post of Chairman by Mrs S.Dodd. This was seconded by Mr P.Bailey.All were in
favour. There were no other nominations. Mr Harriamn was duly re-elected as
Chairman. Mrs Sheila Dodd was re-elected to the post of Vice-Chairman after
being proposed by Mr P.Harriman and seconded by Mr A.Brown. All were in favour.
There were no other nominations.
MINUTES:
The Minutes from the previous meeting were deemed as a true record by those
present and were duly signed by the Chairman, Mr P.Harriman.
MATTERS ARISING:
Mrs K.Reeves reported on the recent Glebelands Sports Association meeting. The
annual return had been submitted on time. Committee members wanting to leave
their positions had agreed to stay on until replacements had been found.
LATE ITEMS
Maintenance of the village troughs was
discussed. The painting of the troughs with wood preserver had been delayed due
to poor weather conditions. Councillor Mr A.Brown volunteered to help with this.
Chairman Mr Peter Harriman also volunteered to help but would be away until the
27th May.
OPEN FORUM:
Mr John Hitchens was concerned that his address
appeared to have changed following the delivery of a wheelie bin caddy to
‘Common Road’.
John was always under the impression that he lived on Bradley Lane. The Parish Council are to investigate John’s query. Also concerns were expressed that fire hydrants were not being maintained. Certainly Mr Hitchens was concerned that one located in Apeton had become very overgrown. This was also to be investigated. Mr Hitchens also reported concerned over several potholes on the road to the village from Haughton.
Mr Jackson expressed several concerns over the proposed planning application for a
detached single dwelling house and garage on land to the rear of St Editha’s Church. Mr Jackson’s comments were echoed by Mr J.Green.
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH:
There were no updates reported.
CHURCH EATON VILLAGE PLAYGROUND:
Mr Harriman had inspected the cradle seat and while the seat was showing some
signs of wear, he confirmed that the fittings would need some attention in the
future. As a result the Clerk was asked to contact G L Jones to enquire about
obtaining replacement parts. Mrs Reeves also asked whether there was any
warranty regarding this equipment. Mr P.Bailey took the book for the forthcoming
month.
PLANNING
The Clerk had recently received one new planning application
for a single detached house and garage
on land to the rear of St Editha’s Church. After much discussion the Parish
Council were unanimously opposed to this application.
Councillor Mr A.Brown declared an interest and took no part in the discussion. The Clerk also declared an interest as the applicant had used the company she works for. The Clerk was asked to write to the Borough Council’s Planning Department to convey the following concerns.
DEFIBRILLATOR PROJECT:
It is hoped that a representative from the West Midlands Ambulance Service will
be in attendance at the June meeting to discuss installing a defibrillator for
the Parish as well as training requirements and maintenance.
VILLAGE MEMORIAL:
Mr A.Brown had no updates to
report concerning the proposed memorial although there had been an article
featured in the Village Voice about installing a memorial.
HIGHWAYS:
The triangle at Marston was discussed with plans made to install some means of
preserving the grass area from the erosion by traffic. Boulders and or planted
tractor tyres were discussed. Mr Steve Cox was to be approached to see whether
he could help with the installation. Mr Harriman is to discuss this further with
Mr David Swift.
Jobs for the Highway’s Team visit in July were discussed. The Clerk asked for requests for any work to be
carried out. A letter from County Highways detailed proposals to cut back on the
hours these teams would be able to carry out work was also noted.
NOTICEBOARD REFURBISHMENT:
Councillor Mrs S.Dodd was to chase up this matter with Mr Tony Lendon who had
very kindly agreed to look at both the map and Parish notice boards with a view
to carrying out some refurbishment.
BEST KEPT VILLAGE COMPETITION:
Mrs K. Reeves confirmed that the children’s posters
had now been displayed. A budget for a maximum of £180 was set for re-planting
the troughs and plans were made to move the trough from the High Onn road end of
the village to a location outside the playground. The Clerk was about to appoint
a judge for this year’s hanging baskets and tubs competition.
FLOWER FESTIVAL
Mrs Dodd reminded the Parish Council that a flower
arranging event was planned for the 12th May to try and raise funds
for the forthcoming flower festival. A fun fund raising quiz sheet was also
being arranged.
FINANCE:
Mrs Helen Bellamy had agreed again to undertake the
internal audit of accounts. The Clerk was also checking out two unpaid invoices
from JWH for grass cutting relating to last year and would report on this at the
next meeting.
The Clerk had received an invoice from Mr John Edwards for the lamination of poster for BKV amounting to £4.50. This was proposed for payment by Mr P.Harriman and seconded by Mr A.Brown. All were in favour.
CORRESPONDENCE:
The Clerk had received the latest Members Digest from Stafford Borough Council.
An email from Alan Taylor, the new Stafford Borough Council Conservation Officer
had been received enquiring as to the progress of the appraisal of the
Conservation Area Document. The Clerk had replied and had sent a copy of the
emails sent to the former officer, Penny McKnight. Mr Taylor was keen to
progress this by June which was felt by the Parish Council to be a bit over
optimistic. The Clerk was to reply on this matter.
The Clerk also asked all Councillors to look through the latest Welcome Pack and to advise her of any changes so that a new version could be produced.
All other correspondence had been circulated to the Parish Councillors.
It was agreed that the next meeting of the
Parish Council would be held on the 7th June 2016 at 7.30pm in the
Village Institute. The meeting closed at 9.30pm.
PRESENT:
Mrs S.Dodd and Mrs K.Reeves, Messrs A.Brown, P.Harriman, S.Moore, Stafford
Borough Councillors, Mr S.Leighton, Mr R Sutherland, Staffs County Councillor,
Mr M.Winnington, two members of the public and the Clerk, Mrs D.M.Key.
APOLOGIES:
were received from Parish Councillors, Mr P Bailey and Mr D Massie.
MINUTES:
The Minutes from the previous meeting were deemed as a true record by those
present and were duly signed by the Chairman, Mr P.Harriman.
MATTERS ARISING:
Mrs K.Reeves mentioned the lack of road sweeping along kerbs in the village. Mr
Harriman was to chase this up. The Clerk was still in the process of obtaining
an OS map of the Parish.
LATE ITEMS
There were no late items other than Mrs Reeves
reporting on her concerns over the Glebelands Sports Association. Mrs Reeves was
aware that the annual return had not been completed and that some members of the
Gebelands Sports Association may not be continuing with their roles on the
committee. Mrs Reeves is to update the Parish Council at the next meeting.
OPEN FORUM:
Mr T.Houghton commented on the condition of the roads
in the Parish. He felt that while some potholes were being attended to he would
still like to see improvement in the condition of the Marston roads. Staffs
County Councillor, Mr M.Winnington reported on a recent mapping exercise carried
out by the County Council to identify drainage gulleys in a bid to improved road
drainage. He also stated that the reporting of potholes to the County Council
was important, despite the fact that less funding was being made available to
County Councils for Highways matters, and that local parishes were being
encouraged to try and get more involved in carrying out basic highway
maintenance such as gulley and ditch clearances. Mr Houghton discussed the poor
road conditions and flooding by Joan Eaton’s Cross.
The request for a new finger post on the junction of Little Onn Road and Slab Lane was discussed, as there had been some confusion to its location. The Clerk is to contact Councillor Winnington over this matter.
Councillor Mr S.Moore discussed flooding in the Wheaton Aston and Marston area and whose responsibility this was. No action was recorded.
NEIGHBOURHOOD
WATCH:
The Clerk had
continued to receive, since the last meeting, several alerts and information
regarding Neighbourhood Watch which had been forwarded to Parish Councillors.
Apparently there had been some minor changes to the organisation. There had
still been no visits by the PCSOs to either the local market or coffee morning
despite the Clerk forwarding the dates of these events.
CHURCH EATON
VILLAGE PLAYGROUND:
Mrs K.Reeves returned the
inspection book. She had found the playground to be in a satisfactory condition,
although she felt the cradle seat might require some attention. Mr Harriman was
to inspect this and report to the Council. The Clerk had contacted Mr Hall who
was happy to continue with this season’s grass cutting contract. It was reported
that the grass had already been cut. Mr A.Brown took the book for the
forthcoming month.
PLANNING
PLANNING
The Clerk had recently received one new planning
application for a
proposed first floor side extension over existing ground floor kitchen at Heron
Hall, Birchmoor Lane, Marston application number 16/23902/HOU. The applicant,
Councillor Mrs S.Dodd, declared an interest in this matter as did Stafford
Borough Councillor, Mr R.Suthertland and took no part in any discussion. The
Parish Council had no objections to this proposed development.
HEART
DEFIBRILLATOR
Interest in obtaining a
defibrillator was gaining momentum. Mrs Dawn Jones who was in attendance at the
Annual Parish meeting pledged her support and it was hoped that she, the
Chairman and other interested parties such as Church Eaton’s School headmaster
Simon Shaw and Bea Byford could be involved in progressing this further. It was
hoped that the Parish Council could apply for some further funding to help
finance this project. Plans were in motion to invite a representative from a
defibrillator company to attend a future meeting with more information about
installing the device, maintenance and training. Stafford Borough Councillor, Mr
Ray Sutherland was to ask a representative from Derrington Parish Council to
contact the Chairman as to the process of obtaining and maintaining a
defibrillator following their recent installation.
VILLAGE MEMORIAL:
Mr A.Brown had no
updates to report concerning the proposed memorial. Stafford Borough Councillor,
Mr R.Sutherland had looked into whether there were any funds available from the
Borough towards erecting memorials but had found there were none.
HIGHWAYS:
These matters had been discussed during open forum, although the triangle at
Marston was to be added as a specific item to the agenda of the May meeting
following Mr Harriman’s recent talks with Mr David Swift.
NOTICEBOARD REFURBISHMENT:
Councillor Mrs S.Dodd had been in
contact with Mr Tony Lendon who had very kindly agreed to look at both the map
and Parish notice boards with a view to carrying out some refurbishment.
BEST KEPT VILLAGE COMPETITION:
Mrs
K. Reeves confirmed that the entry had been submitted and that the children’s
posters were in hand. Mrs Reeves had also drafted an open letter to be included
in the Clerks report for the Parish magazine about this year’s entry. The
village troughs were discussed, specifically moving the one on the High Onn Road
nearer to the playground to try and stop the thefts of plants which had occurred
during the past two years.
FLOWER FESTIVAL
Mrs Dodd reported that a flower arranging event was
planned for the 12th May to try and raise funds for the forthcoming
flower festival.
FINANCE:
The Clerk had prepared a budget for future expenditure
to the 1st of October, which showed that the Parish Council had healthy funds to
cover all planned expenditure until this date. It was generally felt however
that for any large financial commitments funds needed to be built up again
following a lot of charitable donations during the previous financial year. The
Clerk had also received the annual Return from Grant Thornton to be returned by
June 24th. Mrs Helen Bellamy was to be asked to carry out the
internal audit.
The Clerk had received an invoice for hire of the Village Institute amounting to £20 for March. The Clerk’s quarterly fee of £531.80 plus a cheque for tax of £3.20 were raised.
Following a request by Mrs Dawn Jones, on behalf of the Church Eaton Recreation Society who were organising this year’s Village Festival for a donation towards the festival insurance, the Parish Council agreed a donation £100 would be given. This was proposed for payment by Mr P.Harriman and seconded by Mr A.Brown. All were in favour.
CORRESPONDENCE:
The Clerk had received an invitation for the Chairman to attend the forthcoming
Mayor Making Ceremony in May. Mrs S.Dodd was to attend in the Chairman’s place.
The Clerk had also received the latest Members Digest from Stafford Borough
Council, along with information concerning next year’s Pride In Your Patch
Awards.
The dates for this year’s Civic Amenities visits had also been received which were for the 9th April, 30th July and 26th November. The Clerk was asked to publish these in the next Parish Magazine and a poster was given to Mrs Reeves to put on the Parish Council notice board. It was agreed to request a later date for the first visit next year as there was not a lot of time following receipt of dates to publicise the visit in April. These dates and information had been sent to Mr John Edwards to post on the Parish web site.
All other correspondence had been circulated to the Parish Councillors.
It was agreed that the next
meeting of the Parish Council would be held on the 3rd May 2016 at
7.30pm in the Village Institute. The Clerk asked the Parish Council to send any
nominations for the election of Chairman and Vice Chairman to her prior to this
meeting. The meeting closed at 9.10pm.
PRESENT:
Mrs S. Dodd and Mrs K. Reeves, Messrs P. Bailey, A. Brown, P. Harriman, D.
Massie, S. Moore, Staffs County Councillor, Mr M. Winnington, PCSO Dianne
Lutwyche, two members of the public and the Clerk, Mrs D. M. Key.
APOLOGIES:
were received from Staffs Borough Councillor, Mr S. Leighton and Mr R.
Sutherland.
MINUTES:
The Minutes from the previous meeting were deemed as a true record by those
present and were duly signed by the Chairman, Mr P. Harriman. As an addendum
however, the invoice presented by Mrs K. Reeves for the planting of the tree in
recognition of former Chairman Mr T. Houghton’s service to the Parish Council
also reflected payment for compost regarding the village troughs.
MATTERS ARISING:
These would be taken as they appeared on the agenda.
LATE ITEMS:
There
were no late items.
OPEN FORUM:
This was not required on this occasion.
NEIGHBOURHOOD
WATCH:
PCSO Dianne Lutwyche
was in attendance to discuss local policing matters. Ms Lutwyche offered to
attend the local coffee morning in the Institute and or the monthly market to
offer crime prevention advice. With regards to contacting the local police the
non emergency number she advised was still 101. Also if suspicious vehicle
activity is being reported it is essential that vehicle registration marks are
noted and passed on to the police and also the police are currently interested
in any suspicious activities linked to red or white vans.
Ms Lutwyche reported that the Neighbourhood Watch scheme was currently undergoing a series of changes. For more information regarding this she recommended contacting Ash Connor. She also reported that she had leafleted the Village with information regarding crime prevention information but had not received a single response.
The Chairman thanked Ms Lutwyche for her attendance at the meeting.
HIGHWAYS:
The Clerk had received a series of available dates and times for the requested
inspection of the Parish highways from Mr Mark Keeling, Community Highways
Liaison Officer who would be in attendance with Mr Simon Griffiths co-ordinator
of the Community Highways Teams and Staffs County Councillor, Mr M. Winnington.
Mr Harriman was agreeable to attend any of the suggested dates and the Clerk was
asked to inform Mr Keeling of this and to copy Councillor Winnington into the
arrangements. Several locations for this inspection were named, most notably the
roads in Marston, Slab Lane and the ford area at Apeton. Councillor Mrs K.
Reeves also expressed concerns that the road gulleys within the Parish had not
been cleared. Mr P. Harriman further asked Parish Councillors to let him know of
any highways matters that required attention.
Following recent concerns expressed over the condition of the finger post located on the Gnosall Road, Councillor P. Bailey had put it back up from it’s leaning position. Councillor A. Brown had taken photographs of the ‘abandoned’ post at Longnor Gorse on the Lapley Road which was barely readable. Councillor Brown was asked to email the details and photograph to the Clerk so that she could send this on to Staffs County Councillor Mark Winnington who would then be able to request a new post.
VILLAGE
PLAYGROUND:
Mr P. Harriman returned the
inspection book and had found the playground to be in a satisfactory condition.
He had also checked all the equipment and had noted that one grip handle was
missing of the rower. Discussions ensued over the low balancing trail and
future maintenance suggestions should they be required. Councillor D. Massie
took the book for the forthcoming month.
PLANNING:
The Clerk had recently received one new planning application for a garage and
store at Number 5 Smithy Croft. There were no objections made to this proposal.
HEART
DEFIBRILLATOR
The Chairman had spoken with local
supporters to this project, namely Mrs Dawn Jones and Mrs Bea Byford. He was
hoping to have a further meeting with them before the next meeting in February.
As a result of this, it was hoped more specific plans would be in place to
progress this matter.
REQUEST FOR A
WAR MEMORIAL:
Mr Jeremy Jones was again in
attendance to update following his recent request concerning the installation of
a new war memorial for the Parish. He reported that a steering committee
under the auspices of the Village Institute Committee had been formed and that
he was gaining good support for the memorial. Parish Councillor, Mr A. Brown
also reported on this matter in his new role as the Parish Council
representative.
CIVIC AMENITY
VISITS 2016:
The Clerk had received a letter
from the Borough Council regarding civic amenity visits for 2016. After
discussion it was unanimously agreed to request three visits at the usual venue
the Royal Oak. The third visit would free as is customary. The Clerk was asked
to notify the Council of this.
VILLAGE
TROUGHS:
The Chairman had surveyed the Parish
troughs and reported that the trough on the High Onn road should be moved to
avoid the plant being stolen which was now a recurring event. Suggestions were
made to move the trough nearer to the Village playground. The Gnosall Road
trough needed repairing or replacing. The Parker’s Close one had been repaired
and the Oak Close one seemed alright. The trough in the High Street needed
painting with wood preserver.
FINANCE
The Clerk had received several invoices to be paid namely; the Village Institute
who had invoiced the Parish Council for the hire of the hall for January’s
meeting amounting to £20.00. The Clerk had also received an invoice from
Stafford Borough Council regarding election charges amounting to £93.51. These
were proposed for payment by Mrs S. Dodd and seconded by Mr S. Moore. All were
in favour.
The Borough Council had also requested that the Parish Council set their precept requirements for the forthcoming financial year 2016/17. Following discussion of the information sent by the Borough, including the council tax incurred for band D properties the Parish Council unanimously agreed to request a precept which would not increase or reduce the council tax for parishioners. The Clerk was asked to notify the Borough of this decision which was proposed by Mr P. Harriman, seconded by Mr A. Brown. All were in favour.
CORRESPONDENCE:
The Clerk had received a Members Digest from Stafford Borough Council plus a
letter from Mrs Diana Walkerdine complaining about the poor road conditions and
heavy traffic in Slab Lane plus the neglected fingerpost at Longnor Gorse
opposite the entrance to Slab Lane on the Lapley Road. The Clerk had telephoned
Mrs Walkerdine prior to the meeting and had confirmed that her letter would be
presented to the Parish Council. The Clerk is to update Mrs Walkerdine on these
matters.
All other correspondence had been circulated to the Parish Councillors.
It was agreed that the next meeting of the Parish Council would be held on the 2ndFebruary 2016 at 7.30p.m. in the Village Institute at 7.30 p.m.
The meeting closed at
8.45p.m.