Meeting 7th October 2019

MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

Meeting of the Parish Council
held on Monday 7th October 2019
at 7.30 pm at Edingale Village Hall.

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

Present: Mrs M Jones, Clerk, and 3 members of the public.

1. To receive and approve apologies
All were present.

2. To receive any Declarations of Interest
None.

3. To approve the Minutes of the meeting of 2nd September 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 member of the public asked about the road closure signs on the road from Harlaston; the Parish Council had not been informed about this but the Clerk would try to find out more.
The churchwarden said that there was now a safer footpath to access the church, it had been levelled and widened.
Highways had levelled and laid new tarmac on Church Drive where roots had lifted the surface. The path in front of the newer houses in Pessall Lane which had been reported many months ago had also been surfaced.

5. To receive the Clerk’s Report
Bins at Croxall Lakes – Staffordshire Wildlife Trust would monitor the need for an extra bin, the problems may have been caused by the extra usage in the summer. Bromford garden land – an update had been received. Dog fouling stickers for display around the village had been received from Environmental Health.
Issues raised at the recent Society of Local Council Clerks meeting – GDPR, Cllrs should be aware of security issues when using their own devices and email addresses; Website Accessibility Regulations, this could be addressed by new website arrangements; wild flower planting on verges, many larger Councils were doing this. RESOLVED to approve the Clerk’s report.

6. To consider any planning matters
19/00042/COU New Buildings Farm, consultation on amended plans; these did not address the Parish Council’s concerns about the number of extra vehicles which would be generated.

7. To consider donating to the Village Hall Committee for the Seniors’ Christmas Party
It was proposed by Cllr Startin and seconded by Cllr Lacey and RESOLVED that the sum of £500 as in the budget would be donated.

8. To consider maintenance required
It was RESOLVED to trim the overgrown hedges in Blakeways Close, Cllr Startin would arrange for a tractor to cut higher hedges along the bank next to the green area and along Croxall Road. Cllr Mason would liaise with Village Gardeners to trim various other lower hedges.

9. To review the taxi service
It had been previously agreed to review this regularly. There had been concerns that the Friday taxi was not well used over the summer but this had now improved; the cost less donations from users was broadly within the budget, the service was appreciated and would continue.

10. To consider Staffordshire County Council’s website proposal
The County Council had offered to provide Parish Councils with a modern website, which would comply with the new accessibility regulations. Cllrs were in favour of proceeding with the silver option and further information would be requested.

11. To receive correspondence
SPCA bulletins
Lichfield District Council; Annual Canvass reminder, ‘Waste less plastic’ poster, What’s on guide, Small business grants, Parish Forum, Friary Grange meeting, Empty Homes week, Polling stations review
Sporting facilities survey
Community Speed Watch correspondence
Staffordshire Playing Fields Association information
Scope, request for location for textile recycling bank
Tamworth Civic Society, Invitation to Armistice Day event, no-one was available to attend.

12. To receive Councillors’ Reports
Cllr Cliffe commented on problems including a raised manhole cover during the recent heavy rain, Cllrs agreed that the Environment Agency should be alerted during flooding incidents.
Cllr Mason reported that the mowing of the area of the field belonging to the school had been very poor this year. The Clerk would write to the School to recommend they used the Council’s contractor.
Cllr Dhillon asked for the Parish Council to enquire about plans to deal with the issue of flooding. The Clerk was asked to write to the Environment Agency as residents of Edingale had been affected by the recent River Mease flooding, many people couldn’t get to work or school and cars had broken down in the floods.
Cllr Dhillon also asked for information from the County Council on future plans for Chetwynd Bridge.
Cllr Dhillon asked for potholes to be fixed in Pessall Lane by Holdings 3 and 4, after the right turn in the road.
Cllr Meikle reported on information from Lichfield District Council’s Parish Forum; there was to be a Community Governance review of the size of parishes, and there was also a new Strategic Plan.
Cllr Startin asked that Highways be requested to cut overhanging branches along the A513 to prevent farm vehicles having to drive in the centre of the road to avoid them.
Cllr Startin said that a drain was blocked outside White Knights cottage and asked for it to be reported. A concrete post over the culvert at the Croxall Road, Catton Road junction needed to be replaced and would be reported to Highways.

13. To receive the Financial Report (a)The bank reconciliation was given, there was £10,439 in the current account, and the performance against budget was in line with expectations. (b)The capital fund stood at £67,838. The Buckinghamshire Building Society funds would be reinvested. It was agreed to add Cllr Purkess as a signatory on the Buckinghamshire Building Society and Cambridge Building Society accounts. (c)The Interim Audit would take place in October. Toplis and Co were approved as auditors again. RESOLVED to approve the Financial Report.

14. To approve the payments on the payment schedule Mrs M Jones, salary and expenses £301.12; Acorn Taxis £ 274.56; The Village Gardeners, maintenance £428.12 RESOLVED to approve the payments.

15. Date of next meeting; Monday 4th November 2019.
The meeting closed at 8.30 p.m.