Meeting 6th February 2023

Meeting of the Parish Council
held on Monday 6th February 2023
7.30 pm, at Edingale Village Hall

Members present:
Cllrs Startin (Chair), Cliffe, Dhillon, Maskery, Mason and Meikle
Present: Mrs M Jones, Clerk, three members of the public
15/23. To receive and approve apologies
Cllr Lacey had apologised for health reasons and his apology was accepted.

16/23. To receive any Declarations of Interest
None given.
17/23. To approve the draft Minutes of the meeting of 3rd January 2023 The draft Minutes were approved and signed.
18/23 To adjourn the meeting, to hold the public session, to reconvene
A member of the public commented on the new gateways and said that they enhanced the village and would hopefully slow traffic as it entered Edingale. He thanked all who had organised these.

19/23 To receive the Clerk’s Report
The claim for a contribution to the gateways and signs would be submitted to the National Forest by the end of February. Information on payment for the installation was still awaited from Highways’ contractors.
There had been no further response from the manufacturers regarding the supplied signs not fitting the gateways; they would be contacted again on the matter.

20/23 To consider any Planning matters.
The Planning Department at Lichfield District Council had approved the recent application at Fort Joe, 22/01580 FUH.
They had refused the application for dog kennels at Mease Meadows 21/01129 FUL due to insufficient information on noise and the possible impact on the River Mease SSSI catchment.
21/23 To consider development of a Parish Council logo
A proposed design had been submitted, with two variations and it was agreed that the suggested logo was very good. Minor modifications would be requested for consideration at the next meeting.

22/23 To consider replacing the flags
Cllr Lacey had suggested that the flags at the school needed replacing. The school would be contacted to confirm where the keys to the flagpole were and to ask for agreement to putting a new flag up on the premises, and the Clerk would then order one of an appropriate size. Cllr Cliffe suggested that it would be appropriate to purchase a new Union Flag to mark King Charles’ Coronation this year.

23/23 To consider joining CPRE Staffordshire
The Clerk would obtain information on the cost of membership and the Parish Council would then review this.

24/23 To consider maintenance
Further to correspondence on this issue from a villager it was agreed to request a quote from the contractor to put stone over the muddy area within the kissing gate leading to the field below the church.
Cllr Startin gave an update on hedge cutting at Moores Croft by his contractor. They had trimmed as much as possible but it was too wet to complete the work with the vehicle. It was noted that this section was not the responsibility of the Parish Council and Cllr Maskery would raise it with the Village Hall Committee as it was on their land. A neighbour had contacted the Parish Council about this and his message would be forwarded to Cllr Maskery. The Parish Council thanked Cllr Startin for organising and paying for the work of his contractor.
Cllr Mason had asked the Parish Council to consider work to the bank to the right of Blakeways Close. Some work had begun but it would be impossible to use a vehicle. It was agreed to ask the Parish Council’s contractor to quote to get a skip and cut back some larger bushes, then the hedge could be laid properly in Autumn.
Staffordshire County Council had offered to pay for an additional grass mowing of the verges in March.

25/23 To consider correspondence on Chetwynd Bridge.
Christopher Pincher MP had contacted the Chief Executive of Staffordshire to express the concerns of the Parish Council about the effect of the weight limit on local businesses and school transport and was still awaiting a reply. He had also contacted Derbyshire County Council asking for an update on Walton Bridge which could be used as alternative; they had confirmed that they were working with the developer on the bridge design and flooding resilience, which had caused delays.
The engineer for Chetwynd Bridge had sent details of their website that contained information on plans for a new bridge.

26/23 To consider Best Kept Village Community Competition
The head Judge of the competition had intended to attend prior to this meeting to advise on what the judges looked for but had cancelled due to illness. Cllr Meikle would attempt to reschedule this, there would also be a briefing meeting in Stafford. Cllr Meikle said that entry could open in early March and there would be an emphasis on community spirit. Next month tidying up and obtaining signs would begin, and the School and Village Hall would be contacted to encourage their involvement. Cllr Mason would obtain 2 new plant barrels. Weeds would need spraying in March. Judging could begin as soon as 1st May.
27/23 To consider May 2023 elections
Parish Council elections would take place on Thursday May 4th, and nomination forms would need to be taken to Lichfield District Council by early April. More information should be available at the next meeting.
Cllr Meikle said that it was important to encourage candidates with new ideas for the village to come forward. Facebook and website posts would be prepared to encourage new members to apply to join the Parish Council.

28/23 To receive Councillors’ Reports
Cllr Cliffe mentioned a deep pothole on Croxall Road near to the Grange and Cllr Startin said the ‘What 3 words’ app was very useful for reporting locations.
Cllr Maskery had been asked about the safety of trees on the strip of land in Church Lane. It had previously been established that this land belonged to the church. The tree surgeon would be asked to check them and if work was required the church warden would be informed.
Cllr Maskery would submit a grant request form for the Village Hall Coronation event at the next meeting.
Cllr Mason said that the tree trimming had not yet been done and the tree surgeon would be reminded.
He asked whether there had been any feedback from the electrician; this would be requested when the Christmas lights were organised later in the year.
Cllr Meikle had said that some villagers had commented on the speed of vehicles on Pessall Lane. However Cllrs agreed that as this was covered by the national speed limit there was nothing to be done.
Cllr Meikle confirmed that two hedges previously discussed had now been cut back.

29/23To receive Correspondence
SPCA bulletins and Cllr training information
Enquiry about Black Horse, there was no change to the current status.
Lichfield District Council design codes project
Lichfield Police information, to be displayed on the notice board and website.

30/22 To receive a Financial Report
The bank reconciliation stood at £8,473.
It was RESOLVED to approve the report. See appendix 1.

31/22 To approve payments on the Payment Schedule.
Staff costs; salary, expenses, pension and PAYE, £466.49
Acorn Taxi, £183.60
Society of Local Council Clerks membership £88.50
Village Gardeners, hedge clearance and skip hire £300
It was RESOLVED to approve the payments; Cllr Dhillon would authorise these.

32/23 Date of next meeting
Monday 6th March 2023.
The meeting closed at 8.45 pm.