Meeting 2nd March 2020

DRAFT MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

Meeting of the Parish Council
held on Monday 2nd March 2020
at 7.30 pm at Edingale Village Hall.

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

Present: Mrs M Jones, Clerk, and 7 members of the public. The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

1. To receive and approve apologies
Cllr Dhillon had apologised as he was away. Approved.

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

3. To approve the Minutes of the meeting of 3rd February 2020
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 member of the public asked about the pumping station, which had recently failed to clear floods effectively at the Pessall Lane/School Lane junction with Croxall Road. The Chair said that this was Severn Trent’s responsibility, the representative of the Environment Agency at the recent meeting with Councillors had offered to contact Severn Trent about upgrading the pump. The poor pumping capacity could be the result of being blocked with non- flushable items such as baby wipes. The Clerk would contact Severn Trent to raise these concerns. A local farmer said that he had cleaned out the cattle grid and this should also improve flooding around Pessall Lane.

5. To receive the Clerk’s Report
Trees at Rowley Close land – the tree surgeon had been asked to do the work and would be reminded to do this before the bird nesting season.
Drug dealing – it had been reported that drugs were being sold in the village, the correspondent had been advised to contact the police with information.
Fly tipping – this was becoming a problem across Lichfield District and any dumped waste seen should be reported to the District Council.

6. To consider any planning matters Applications:
20/00176/FUL Raptor Farm, Raddle Lane Siting of two static caravans and retention of storage facilities, hawk, pigeon and quail enclosures No objection
20/00021/FUH Mytholme Cottage, Croxall Road Conversion of garage to form residential annex with increased ridge height to
include first floor section No objection
20/00310/ABN The Grange, Croxall Road Erection of general purpose agricultural building No objection

RESOLVED no objection as these had no impact on neighbouring properties.

7. To consider outcome of meeting regarding flooding
The Chair reported on a meeting between Councillors and representatives of the Environment Agency and Trent Rivers Trust, who had described a project to improve the River Mease. Proposed measures to hold more water further up the catchment area could slow the flow at times of heavy rain so that less severe flooding occurred around Edingale. The problems experienced due to the extreme rainfall over the winter in Edingale were explained to them. They could assist with contact with other agencies and Cllr Mason offered to correspond with them on these issues.
Cllr Lacey expressed concern about whether emergency services could reach Edingale during severe flooding events and it was agreed that the Clerk would contact the Ambulance Service to ask about contingency planning.

8. To consider proposal to construct a village pond
Leaflets had been delivered to consult residents on their views about the proposal to site a pond on the land at Rowley Close. Around 30 responses had been received, with a two thirds majority against the plan, mostly due to concerns about flooding of the site, as the leaflets had been delivered at a time when the brook had flooded. Some were also concerned about safety for children. Although the Councillors had felt there were many advantages to the proposal, they understood these concerns and it was resolved not to proceed with the pond.

9. To consider Best Kept Village competition
The competition had been relaunched as a community competition, reflecting community activities in villages, and with new sponsorship. Cllr Mason and Mr Pilgrim had attended a recent presentation about this. Entry to the competition would be made shortly.

10. To receive correspondence
SPCA bulletins, employment policies, CPRE planning training event
Lichfield District Council, relevant news items added to the Parish Council website www.edingale-pc.co.uk
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue draft safety plan consultation
Staffordshire County Council, grass cutting and weed control; this year 6 cuts on verges, weed spraying next to kerbs once a year
Came & Co insurers newsletter
Pensions Regulator; re-enrolment date
Community Foundation; Shropshire floods appeal
South Derbyshire Planning; Walton Bridge replacement to be provided by developers of Drakelow Park when no more than 400 houses had been built.

11. To receive Councillors’ Reports
Cllr Cliffe said that Highways should be asked to rod or jet the drains by the school, as these were silted up and couldn’t cope with heavy rain. Cllrs agreed that all gullies in the village should be checked, and Cllr Meikle said that they should put a camera down to see where the drains were blocked.
Cllr Cliffe also asked that Highways be notified of potholes at the junction of Croxall and Catton Roads, as the floods had made these worse.
Cllr Mason asked if there had been any response from Harlaston Parish Council, he would contact their Clerk. The Clerk would enquire whether Harlaston had made any progress with Highways regarding the poor state of Scotland Lane.
Cllr Lacey had heard of complaints about lorries breaking the weight limit and travelling through the village, if registration numbers were noted these could be reported. It was pointed out that some may have been travelling legitimately to local businesses.
Cllr Purkess would report a failed street light in Church Lane.
Cllr Startin was pleased to hear that the Black Horse pub would be reopening later in March under new ownership.

12. To receive the Financial Report (a) Bank reconciliation; there was £7,370 in the current account since the receipt of the VAT claim but prior to this week’s payments. A donation request for churchyard maintenance had been recently received, this and an invoice for Village Hall rent would be paid next month. The Capital Fund stood at £68,528 in total. (b) As payments during the year were over £25,000 due to the car park payment the forthcoming Audit would need to be checked by the external auditors rather than be self-certified as last year, this would cost £200. RESOLVED to approve the Financial Report.

13. To approve the payments on the payment schedule Mrs M Jones, salary and expenses £277; Acorn Taxis, hire £280; Prontaprint, leaflet printing £42; Staffordshire Parish Councils Association, training £20 RESOLVED to approve the payments.

14. Date of next meeting; Monday 6th April 2020, 7.30pm
The meeting closed at 8.40 p.m.