Meeting 9th July 2018

EDINGALE PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

Meeting of the Parish Council
held on Monday 9th July 2018
at 7.30 pm at Edingale Village Hall.
Members present:
Cllr Dhillon (Acting Chair)
Cllr Cliffe
Cllr Lacey
Cllr Mason
Cllr Meikle

Mrs M Jones, Clerk, and 7 members of the public.

1. To receive apologies
Cllr Startin and Cllr Wesley had apologised, the apologies were accepted.

2. To receive any Declarations of Interest
None

3. To approve the Minutes of the meeting of 4th June 2018
The minutes were approved and signed by the Chair.

4. To adjourn the meeting, to hold the Public Session (maximum 15 minutes) and to reconvene the meeting.
The Chair of the Village Hall Committee reported that the bank account was in a good position. More spending was planned; new chairs and tables were required and it was hoped to work on the car park drainage with voluntary help. Summer Show preparations were well in hand. The play lodge had been ordered and hopefully would be installed before the Summer Show.
Two residents had attended to express their concerns about parking. Cars parked inconsiderately when there was an event nearby, even blocking the drives. The Chair of the Village Hall Committee said that in future people booking the Village Hall would be made aware of where to park.
A resident of Clifton attended to ask about the bus hire scheme, as he would be attending a public meeting about this the following evening. Cllr Mason summarised the current scheme and said that economically it would be preferable if Clifton and Harlaston joined.
A representative of Catton Hall attended to apologise for the traffic chaos caused by the organisers of the Bearded Theory Festival. He explained how this had occurred and what was being done to prevent it happening again. He was very sorry for the disruption to local people. Key lessons had been learnt and a traffic management plan had been established to involve the Police and Highways. He was confident that it would work much better next year or the organisers would not be allowed to hold future events. He would work with the local community and keep the Parish Council informed, including well in advance a copy of the Traffic Management Plan to allow local views and concerns to be taken into account.

5. To receive the Clerk’s Report
Dog issue letters had been prepared and Cllr Meikle had delivered these with the report cards; he was thanked for this by the Chair.
The play lodge had been ordered from Sovereign Play, the deposit had been paid but there was no date yet for installation. A plaque would be arranged.
Silhouettes to remember the fallen of Edingale would be ordered for use at a local commemoration event to mark the 100th anniversary of the World War One Armistice.
Highways had fixed some of the potholes in Pessall Lane and would be contacted again with details of two remaining ones.
Cllrs Startin and Dhillon had met the mowing contractors, who had said that the grass collector was under repair and they had not been able to remove mown grass. Cllrs said that Cllr Startin had assisted with this.

6. To receive correspondence
SPCA bulletins
Lichfield District Council regarding changes in law affecting houses in multiple occupancy
Cllr Yeates regarding lack of funding for the Friarsgate development
Highways England, A38 night closures earlier in July

7. To receive Councillor’s Reports
Cllr Mason reported on the People’s Orchard, the first trees had been funded and would be planted in the autumn. He said that the Open Gardens event had gone very well, it had been the most successful yet with around £4440 raised for local causes.
Cllr Meikle said that he had delivered letters and cards about dog issues to most properties and would also take copies to the school, pub and church so that everyone was involved. The Village Hall would also display these. It was already having an effect in raising awareness, although only a small minority of owners had caused problems.

8. To consider any planning matters
(a) Applications: 18/00826/FUL Wayside, Croxall Road, kitchen extension; a response had been sent that there was no objection. 18/00843/85 Croxall Road, rear extension. RESOLVED no objection.
(b) Asset of Community Value: nomination of the Black Horse was due again; it was RESOLVED unanimously that re-nomination should be done.

9. To receive an update on the bus service Cllr Mason reported that he was still in contact with the County Council. It was agreed that the hire service remained affordable with donations and was still well used, although numbers were down a little over summer. There had been no response yet from Clifton or Harlaston to the suggestion that they used the service.

10. To consider response to traffic problems at Catton This had been covered during Open Forum; contact details had been given so that local people could be kept informed about events.

11. To consider Rights of Way maintenance The Parish Council had received several reports about overgrown paths within the parish. Cllr Lacey said that this was the responsibility of the County Council. However it was pointed out that County had categorised local paths as C routes, with low priority for clearance work, and they now encouraged volunteers to assist as there was very little funding. Cllr Mason offered to strim nettles on the path near his field. The Parish Council currently did not have a contractor who could keep the paths clear. Prior to reletting the grounds maintenance contract, the scope of works would be reviewed to include any additional services such as clearance and strimming. RESOLVED to continue to report problem areas to the County Council and to landowners.

12. To consider request from Lichfield District Council for public buildings to be used as emergency shelters The Chair of the Village Hall confirmed that this had been agreed previously.

13. To receive the Financial Report The bank reconciliation was given, along with a comparison of payments against budget. Donations towards the bus service had been banked via the Post Office, and details would be sent to Councillors. RESOLVED to approve the Financial Report.

14. To approve the payments on the payment schedule Mrs M Jones, salary and expenses, £270.24; Perennial Landscapes Ltd, grounds maintenance, £357.00; Elford Parish Council, half share of Solus bus hire, £405; Edingale Village Hall, Let’s Play rental £200 RESOLVED to approve the payments.

15. Date of next meeting; Monday 3rd September 2018

The meeting closed at 8.30 p.m.