Meeting 1st March 2021

EDINGALE PARISH COUNCIL

DRAFT MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

 Meeting of the Parish Council

held on Monday 1^st March 2021

at 7.30 pm, online.

Members present:

Cllr Startin (Chair)

Cllr Cliffe

Cllr Dhillon

Cllr Lacey

Cllr Mason

Cllr Purkess

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

1.    To receive and approve apologies

Cllr Meikle had apologised for technical reasons and his apology was accepted.

2.    To receive any Declarations of Interest

None received.

3.    To approve the draft Minutes of the meeting of 1^st February 2021

The Minutes were approved and would be signed by the Chair at the next face to face meeting of the Council.

4.    To hold the Public Session

The meeting was adjourned to hold the public session; a member of the public raised the matter of the closure of the Mease Meadow Woodlands during the lockdown, when it would have been beneficial for residents’ mental health and well-being to be able to walk there. Cllr Lacey explained that the land was privately owned with permissive access and no right of way and that it had been closed due to felling and clearance of some trees. Other parishioners had approached Cllrs about this, and it was agreed to write to the landowners to ask whether it could be re-opened for the benefit of local people. The resident was thanked for attending the meeting which then resumed.

5.    To receive the Clerk’s Report

Litter

Lichfield District Council had cleared most of the fly tipping reported to them in Harlaston Road and had removed bags of litter collected by volunteers recently from the lanes around the village. Thanks were due to all residents who had helped with this, especially to those who had removed items from the wet ditches which had been a particularly unpleasant task. The Football Club had been contacted about litter at the field which had then been cleared. The litter bin installation at Pessall Lane had been requested.

Road naming

Enquiries had made to Staffordshire County Council and to Lichfield District Council about the naming of the road from Edingale to Harlaston. Neither wished to install name plates. It was unanimously agreed by Cllrs that the road was locally known as Harlaston Road for its entire length within the parish.

Cllr Mason would investigate contacting Google Maps about using the road name.

Matters arising from previous meetings

The tree surgeon’s quote had not yet been received; Cllr Startin would remind him. Cllr Mason would enquire about the quote for the footbridge repair now that it had dried out. The logo design was on-going.

PCSO Costas Karpi had been contacted regarding the parked car in the layby causing difficulty for lorries to pass, but no offence was being committed. The police were monitoring the other vehicle causing concern.

6.    To consider any planning matters

(a) No new applications

(b) Previous applications:

(c) Edingale Cllrs had been invited by Alrewas Parish Council to attend virtual meetings of the Orgreave Quarry Working Group with other local Parish Councils. The Parish Council had been chiefly concerned about the cumulative effect of the proposal on traffic on the A38, although it would not affect the village as was the case for other parishes. These would make a strong case at the Staffordshire Planning Committee meeting which would take place after the May elections.

7.    To consider future meeting dates and location.

As the April and May meetings fell on Bank holidays they would move to the Tuesdays of those weeks. The Annual Meeting of the Council and Annual Parish Meeting would take place on-line on Tuesday 4^th May. The legal position regarding online meetings beyond May was unclear, but meetings at the Village Hall were likely to resume in July after the lifting of Coronavirus restrictions, and there was unlikely to be a meeting in June.

8.    To consider registration of land in Church Walk.

Since the last meeting, the Land Registry had confirmed that the pathway was unregistered. Cllrs felt that it was appropriate to investigate the Parish Council taking on responsibility for it and owning it for the community. The Clerk would check the extent of the unregistered land on mapping software and report back.

9.    To consider correspondence regarding honours nomination

Correspondence had been received from the Vice Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire asking for nominations for honours for people who had served the community. The Cllrs suggested local people who could be nominated for their service to Edingale and it was agreed to gather information for the Clerk to submit the nominations.

10. To consider grant application from Holy Trinity Church

An application had been received for £900 for churchyard maintenance. This was in accordance with the budget and with the Parish Council’s grant policy and it was therefore RESOLVED to approve the application.

11. To receive correspondence

SPCA, bulletins and training information.

Lichfield District Council news items, funding, parking consultation, lottery.

Everyone Health, initiative to improve social isolation and physical fitness.

Came & Co, insurance newsletter. Resident regarding road flooding matters.

12.  To receive Councillors’ Reports

Cllr Cliffe commented that potholes were worsening everywhere and asked whether anything had yet been done about the untidy property mentioned previously. Cllr Purkess said that some residents had been unable to read the notice board due to condensation and Cllr Cliffe offered to clean it.          Cllr Purkess reported that the Village Hall had been given grants while closed and was in a good financial position. It had been suggested that there was a grant opportunity to apply for funding for water butts, but this would not proceed.                      Cllr Mason reported that the road sweeper had been in the village but had done a poor job, this information would be passed on. He also said that the footbridge from Raddle Lane onto Right of Way 12 towards Lullington Road was rotten, and it was agreed to ask the contractor to replace one of the sleepers on it.

13. To receive the Financial Report

The bank reconciliation was given; there was £11,380 in the current account.

14. To approve the payments on the payment schedule

Mrs M Jones, salary and expenses, £343.49 and HMRC PAYE £6.20.  It was RESOLVED to approve the payments, Cllr Dhillon would authorise them.

15. Date of next meeting

TUESDAY 6^th April 2021 at 7.30 p.m. online. The meeting closed at 8.30 p.m.