Meeting 5th September

DRAFT MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
Meeting of the Parish Council
held on Monday 5th September 2022
7.30 pm, at Edingale Village Hall

Members present:
Cllrs Dhillon (Acting Chair), Cliffe, Mason and Meikle
Present: Mrs M Jones, Clerk, 5 members of the public
75/22. To receive and approve apologies
Cllrs Startin, Maskery and Lacey had apologised, the apologies were accepted.
76/22. To receive any Declarations of Interest
None received.
77/22. To approve the draft Minutes of the meeting of 25th July 2022 The draft Minutes were approved and signed.
To adjourn the meeting, to hold the public session, to reconvene
Two members of the public explained their concerns about the land behind the Parish Council notice board. Although they had no objection to flower planting they were concerned about the planting of trees and the possible future effect on drainage from tree roots. This had been raised in a letter to the Parish Council and would also be discussed later in the meeting.
Another resident was thanked for his hard work clearing bushes from the bank adjacent to the Parish Council land in Blakeways Close.
78/22 To receive the Clerk’s Report
The solar panels at the Village Hall were due to be installed on 19th September. Following completion of the work the requested donation would be paid from the current account and then transferred from the capital fund (Co-op instant access account).

The village name signs had been produced and delivered to Cllr Mason. The Highways contractors Amey would install them in due course. The grant would be claimed from the National Forest when all costs had been paid.

The Chetwynd Bridge weight limit was now operative from 5th September.

The defibrillators needed to be checked for a software update.

The headteacher had been contacted again about the school field and it had been mowed recently.
79/22 To consider any Planning matters.
(a) 22/01224/FUL, Glebefields; an application had been made for a new dwelling which would replace the conversion of the agricultural building previously granted and be served by the recently constructed drive. It was agreed the Clerk would ask the planner on the legalities and then respond to the consultation.
(b) Approvals had been granted by the District Council for applications for extensions at 28 Blakeways Close, Ferrers Cottage, Lullington Road and 9 Pessall Lane.
(c) The District Council had confirmed submission of the Local Plan 2040.
(d) A Neighbourhood Planning course would be held online on 13th September and some Cllrs expressed an interest in attending this for information.

80/22 To consider tree planting.
It was agreed that there were few available locations for any new trees.
There had been some doubt whether the new cherry tree had survived the heat wave, but a resident had watered it and hopefully saved it.
Tree inspections were due and this would be organised as soon as possible. It would be helpful to clarify ownership and record all trees on Parish Council land.

81/22 To consider development of a Parish Council logo.
It was agreed to defer this item to the next meeting.

82/22 To consider hedge cutting and tree work at Blakeways Close.
Following consideration of a letter received from a resident it was agreed to remove some overhanging boughs from a tree on Parish Council land, as long as other neighbours did not object. The contractor would be asked to strim the weeds from below the hedge; he was due to trim the hedges shortly as this could not be done until September.

83/22 To consider matters raised regarding use of land behind the Parish Council notice board.
Cllrs discussed the points raised by neighbours and agreed that there was no room on this land for new trees which could also damage drainage with their roots. It was agreed that as the Parish Council was responsible for this land it would not permit other trees to be grown on this area. The Cllrs were in favour of planting which encouraged wildlife and added to biodiversity in the village but not of anything which could cause a nuisance to local people. It was agreed that as the Parish Council managed this land, as no other owners were registered, it should monitor its use. Cllr Mason would communicate the outcome of the discussion to the residents who had asked for permission to plant on the land.

84/22 To consider siting of Christmas lighting in the village.
As the replacement tree for the one which had blown down near the school was too small to support a set of Christmas lights it was agreed that for the next year or two a Christmas tree would be purchased and installed nearby. The trees at the island and Blakeways Close would continue to be used to display the seasonal lights.

85/22 To receive Councillors’ Reports.
Cllr Cliffe reported that the newly cleared path through the open land off Rowley Close needed weed-killer, the contractor would be asked to do this. She also mentioned hedge cutting nearby; Cllr Meikle would discuss this with the householder.
Cllr Meikle mentioned the large amount of litter on the verges along Raddle Lane and Harlaston Lane. He would attend the Best Kept Village awards evening. He also expressed concern about the dangerous state of the roadworks near the island on Croxall Road, this would be reported.
Cllr Mason reminded everyone present about the village show on the following weekend, which would be opened by Cllr Alan White. He said that conversations were taking place with Trent Rivers Trust about the Pingle meadow. He offered to attend to the kissing gate on the path to Harlaston through the churchyard. Cllr Mason also mentioned the donation towards the Seniors Christmas Party would need to be applied for soon. He asked that Cllr Startin be asked about any hedge cutting plans. He also suggested that the Parish Council keep in contact with Cllr Wheelton for updates regarding the Walton Bridge.

86/22 To receive Correspondence
SPCA bulletins and training information
Cllr Wheelton of South Derbyshire Council; Lullington Solar Farm refusal
Lichfield District Council; Local Councillor fund, £300 per District Councillor available to local organisations; Council tax support scheme consultation; consultation on submission of Local Plan

87/22 To receive a Financial Report
See appendix 1

88/22 To approve payments on the Payment Schedule.
Staff costs, £388.83
Acorn Taxi, £183.60
Village Gardeners, mowing and strimming £569.50
JACS, gateways, £3991.32
It was RESOLVED to approve the payments; Cllr Dhillon would authorise these.

89/22 Date of next meeting Monday 3rd October 2022.

The meeting closed at 20.40 pm