Meeting 2nd December 2019

DRAFT MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

Meeting of the Parish Council
held on Monday 2nd December 2019
at 7.30 pm at Edingale Village Hall.

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

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

1. To receive and approve apologies
Cllr Dhillon and Cllr Lacey had apologised, the apologies were accepted.

2. To receive any Declarations of Interest
Cllr Cliffe declared an interest in the planning application at her property.

3. To approve the Minutes of the meeting of 4th November 2019
The minutes were approved and signed by the Chair.

4. To adjourn the meeting, to hold the Public Session and to reconvene the meeting.
A resident thanked all the organisers on behalf of those who had attended the Senior Citizens’ Christmas Party. It had been a lovely meal and everyone had enjoyed the occasion. The Parish Council were thanked for their contribution of £500 and one of the organisers said that they hoped to undertake fund raising next year as the numbers attending were increasing and they would like to cater for more people.
A resident asked whether a Give Way sign could be installed to replace the priority signage at the bridge on the road to Croxall, as traffic travelling towards the village went too fast here and there had been some near misses. The Clerk would raise this with Highways and also report damage to the bridge wall at this location.
The proposed village pond was mentioned. The Chair said that the Parish Council supported this in principle although there were concerns about safety and the loss of open space, this would be discussed later.
Concerns were also raised about the renewed planning application at The Black Horse. It was now proposed that two parking spaces for the dwelling would be provided in the pub car park; residents were concerned that at busy times this would lead to the pub’s clients parking on the road.

5. To receive the Clerk’s Report
The phone kiosk removal proposal had received several objections which had been summarised and sent to the District Council for submission to BT. Good progress was being made on the new website by the County Council’s digital team. More information had been sent to them and an updated draft version would be sent to Cllrs in due course. The trees at the island had been trimmed to stop large vehicles knocking the branches, this had been delayed due to the flooding, which had meant that the Christmas lights had not yet been installed there. The electrician would be asked if he could make an additional visit to do this during December. The lights at Blakeways Close and the school looked very festive. The District Council had advised the Parish Council that as this was election time the rules of Purdah applied; this was a restriction on publicity by Councils which related to politicians.

6. To consider any planning matters (a)19/01606/ABN Broadfields Farm, extension of existing agricultural building to form general storage. No impact on neighbours, RESOLVED no objection. (b)19/01633/FUL Black Horse, demolition of outbuilding and building of one bedroom studio dwelling. Councillors expressed concerns about parking as it was now proposed to extend the pub car park to allow two parking spaces for the new dwelling, which could lead to increased parking on the road outside. Other concerns were the parking of construction vehicles, the dwelling being situated in close proximity to the road, the effect on the Asset of Community Value and the location of the sewage tank. RESOLVED to object. (c)19/01642/FUH Church Farm Barn, replacement of timber screen; no impact on neighbours, RESOLVED no objection. (d) Western Extension to Barton Quarry application, no further comments to be sent. (e) Consultation on Lichfield’s Local Plan, consultation events would take place at Alrewas and other local venues.

7. To consider flooding events
Cllr Startin reported on the recent flooding around the Pessall Lane junction after a day of heavy rain onto land already saturated from heavy rainfall. Highways had subsequently cleaned the gullies. The pumps taking storm water and foul water up to the Severn Trent works seemed to not have worked effectively and this would be reported to the Environment Agency. They would also be asked whether indicator posts could be installed to show the depth of floods on local roads which had been impassable when the Mease and Tame had flooded. The Parish Council had reported to Derbyshire Highways the flooded route through Lullington, they had unblocked a drain and would inform the landowner that it should be kept clear. The road between Clifton and No Man’s Heath would be reported to Highways, as it had also flooded badly. The problems had been discussed with a representative of the Environment Agency. The cost of preventing the Mease flooding was prohibitive but a member of their Resilience Team would attend the 6th January meeting to advise the community. Villagers would be encouraged to attend.

8. To consider proposal to construct a village pond
Useful information had been circulated, signage or fencing could be appropriate. The insurers had confirmed a pond on the Council’s land would be covered by Public Liability insurance. Exact details of the proposed location and further details were required, however the proposer had been unable to attend so this would be deferred to the next meeting.

9. To consider quote for next year’s maintenance
The quote from this year’s contractor had been received, with a minor increase to take account of extra work to be done. RESOLVED to accept the quote.

10. To consider the draft budget for 2020 -21
This was deferred to the January meeting when hopefully Cllr Dhillon would be able to participate in the discussion.

11. To receive correspondence
SPCA bulletins and AGM information
Cllr Ashley Yeates, details of Local Plan meetings
Lichfield District Council information on elections, Christmas events, housing in later life project, Parish Forum on 7th January
Tame, Anker and Mease catchment newsletter
Rawlett 6th Form consultation
Staffordshire Police newsletter

12. To receive Councillors’ Reports
Cllr Mason advised that £500 should remain in the next year’s budget for the Senior Citizen’s party.
Cllr Meikle said that the meal had been wonderful and congratulated all concerned with organising the party. He was also pleased to see that the hedges had been tidied but deplored the sight of five lots of dog mess along Pessall Lane, Cllr Cliffe added that anyone seeing the irresponsible owner should report them. Cllr Meikle reported that a hedge near Church Lane was growing over the footpath and would attempt to speak to those responsible to make them aware of this.

13. To receive the Financial Report (a)The bank reconciliation was given; £6878 was in the current account. (b Capital fund – Buckinghamshire Building Society new bond opened, £574.97 interest received. Co-op deposit account £69.16 half year interest. RESOLVED to approve the Financial Report.

14. To approve the payments on the payment schedule Mrs M Jones, salary and expenses £284.47; Acorn Taxis £tbc; RESOLVED to approve the payments.

15. Date of next meeting; Monday 6th January 2020. Environment Agency to attend. The meeting closed at 8.40 p.m.