Meeting 6th December 2021

DRAFT MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

 Meeting of the Parish Council

held on Monday 6th December 2021

at 7.30 pm, at Edingale Village Hall

Members present:                                                                                           Cllr Startin (Chair)                                                             Cllr Cliffe                                                                             Cllr Dhillon                                                                         Cllr Lacey                                                                             Cllr Mason                                                                           Cllr Meikle                                                                           Cllr Purkess

Present: Mrs M Jones, Clerk, one member of the public.

104.To receive and approve apologies

None received.

105.To receive any Declarations of Interest

None received.

106. To approve the draft Minutes of the meeting of 1st November 2021 The Minutes were approved and signed by the Chair.

107. To hold the public session

No comments were made by the public.

108.To receive the Clerk’s report

Signs had been installed by Highways on Harlaston Lane warning drivers of pedestrians. The resident who had first raised this issue had been thanked.        She had also reported a water leak on the hill on Croxall Road to South Staffs Water and had showed the location to a member of their staff. This had been a concern previously but had not been satisfactorily dealt with; Cllrs hoped it could be resolved before it caused problems during freezing conditions.

The Christmas Lights had been installed by the electrician. A strand of lights on the island were hanging down since recent storms and had been looped around the road sign, he would be asked if he could fasten them up securely.

Data Protection renewal was due in January.

109.To consider any planning matters

New application: 21/01576/FUL, 6 Holding, Pessall Lane, Creation of a menage for private use. It was RESOLVED that there were no concerns on planning grounds but Planning would be asked whether this covered its use for a livery stables.

Former applications: the applications at Church Hollow, Mease Meadows and New Buildings Farm were still awaiting decisions by the Planning Department.

110. To consider progress on village name signs

Cllr Mason would meet a representative of a sign firm to measure up and discuss details to obtain a quote and would report back to the next meeting.

111. To consider supporting a ’20 is plenty for Staffordshire’ scheme

The campaign was discussed and it was felt that the Parish Council would support a 20mph scheme for the village, although they would need to find out more information and residents would need to be consulted. Cllr Meikle offered to investigate this further and to find out the availability of information materials such as posters.

112. To consider options for improving biodiversity in the parish

Cllr Mason had purchased wildflower seeds for planting over the winter on four zones to be left unmown and had discussed locations with the contractor. This included an area behind the notice board, Cllr Purkess would contact the nearest resident who had requested this.

113. To review maintenance contract for 2022

It was RESOLVED to sign the contract and to include an appendix detailing the sum to be paid.

114. To consider the draft budget for financial year 2022-23

The draft budget figures had been circulated. It was agreed that due to rising costs and an additional sum of £1000 allocated for a village Jubilee celebration the precept sum requested would be increased to £15,000. This would represent a rise of £1.58 per Band D household over the year. It was RESOLVED to approve the budget, see Appendix 2.

115. To receive Councillors’ Reports

Cllr Cliffe asked whether the bank at Blakeways Close had been cleared, the volunteer would be contacted to confirm that he would be covered by the insurance and asked to do this work. She also asked about an incident near the football field, however the Parish Council had no information on this.

Cllr Meikle said that the Seniors Christmas Meal had been very enjoyable and the feedback from those who attended had been very positive. It was agreed that the organisers and volunteers were to be congratulated on such an excellent event.

He had been asked by a resident about a branch jutting out on the road side just after the railway bridge; Cllr Startin would look into how it could be safely removed.

Cllr Lacey asked for a pothole opposite Church Farm to be reported to Highways.

Cllr Mason raised two planning queries which could be unauthorised development and these would be passed on to the District Council.

116. To receive correspondence

Staffordshire Parish Councils Association bulletins, training information and AGM information.

Lichfield District Council, news items.

Information from Healthwatch Staffordshire and Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.

PCSO Costas Karpi enclosing a poster for the Community Speedwatch scheme. This would be promoted in the Spring to encourage more residents to take part.

117. To receive a Financial Report

A bank reconciliation was given. The current account stood at £14,748.88; capital totalled £69,379.06.

It was agreed to re-invest the whole of the matured sum in the new Buckinghamshire Bond and the form was signed by the signatories.

RESOLVED to approve the Financial Report, see Appendix 1.

   118.To approve the payments on the payment schedule

Mrs M Jones, salary and expenses, inc. debrillator pads, £457.31;

HMRC, PAYE, £17.60

Village Gardeners, hedge cutting, £130;

Staffordshire County Council, website maintenance £131.95;

KFL Electrical, Christmas Lights £288.00

It was RESOLVED to approve the payments, Cllr Startin would authorise these.

 119.Date of next meeting

Wednesday 5^th January 2022, 7.30 at Edingale Village Hall

The meeting closed at 8.40 p.m.