Minutes of Meeting held in St. Chad’s Church Room on Tuesday 3rd. May 2016.

Present: Councillor J. Sargeant (Chair).

Councillors T. Beastall, L. Bills, R. Lovell, D. Sargeant, C. Taylor & S. R. Weston.

In Attendance: John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.

01/16. Apologies for Absence.

Apologies for absence were received from District Councillor N. Hawkins.

02/16. Declarations of Interest.

There were no declarations of interest at this point.

03/16. Chairman’s Address.

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting.

04/16. Public Comments.

There was no business under this item.

05/16. Minutes of Last Meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 31st. March 2016 had been circulated and it was agreed that they be signed as a true and correct record.

06/16. Matters Arising.

It was agreed to forward a “Get Well Soon” card together with some flowers to District Councillor Norma Hawkins. Councillor L. Bills volunteered for this task.

The ongoing problem with the blocked gullies in Sutherland Road at the entrance to Wood Road had still not been resolved. The County Council had again been contacted.

An acknowledgement letter had been sent to the owner of Dunwood Hall. Enquiries had revealed that the District Council no longer informed Parish Councils regarding Premises licences.

Mention was made of an apparent “monstrosity” which had been erected by Severn Trent at the reservoir at Ladderedge. It was agreed to write to Severn Trent to ask if any screening was planned.

The unauthorised advertisement sign attached to the “Longsdon” sign and the traffic cone in Micklea Lane had been reported to Staffs. County Council.

It was reported that:

the Council’s lengthsman had been informed of the litter problem in Denford Road.

the repairs needed to the pavement adjacent to the old New Inn had been reported to Staffs. C. C.

07/16. Correspondence.

Information had been received from Staffs. County Council about possible changes to Neighbourhood Highways Team visits and the suspension of the County Council’s lengthsman scheme. This could result in the agency work being funded by an increase in the precept in coming years.

Information received under this item:

invitation to join the Community Council of Staffordshire – no action.

Clerks & Councils Direct – May 16 issue.

08/16. Planning Matters.

The following plan had been distributed to Councillors, due to the time scale, and they had agreed, by a majority decision, to object to:

SMD/2016/0185 Single Storey Side Extension (re-submission) at Upper Dales, Dunwood Lane, Longsdon.

on the grounds of excessive development in the Green Belt. The dwelling has already had large extensions which must exceed the permitted increase in the size of the building. These objections are similar to a previous application as the new application is only very slightly smaller than the previous proposal.

The following plan had been determined, due to the time scale, by the Chairman who had agreed to forward no objections, subject to normal planning guidelines, to:

SMD/2016/0221 Proposed Gate Access to Field for Agricultural Vehicles at St. James Chapel, School Lane. Longsdon.

The following plans were discussed and it was agreed to forward no objections, subject to normal planning guidelines, to:-

DET/2016/0023 Conversion of Barns to One Residential Dwelling at Gibraltar Farm, Devils Lane.

SMD/2016/0204 Proposed First Floor Extension, Side Extension & Canopy to Rear Extension at The Stable House, Dunwood Lane, Longsdon.

SMD/2016/0229 Demolition of Existing Cow Shed & Construction of Portal Framed Agricultural Building at Gibraltar Farm, Devils Lane, Longsdon.

SMD/2016/0252 Proposed Single Storey Rear Timber Conservatory and Canopy at “Thorncliffe”, Denford Road, Longsdon.

A report had been received from Staffs. Moorlands District Council on preferred site options under the planning proposals for Longsdon village. It appeared that there was no necessity for allocation of sites as new housing could be accommodated with an amended (extended) infill boundary.

Councillors welcomed this news but it was agreed to write to state that the infill boundary should be extended further to take in Micklea Lane and that part of School Lane (adjacent to the A53 Leek Road) as these areas were part of the village.

09/16. Finance Matters.

The end of year invoices for the lengthsman scheme had been sent to Staffs. County Council and Staffs.

Moorlands District Council and had been paid.

The Council’s insurance policy was due to be renewed on 1st. June 2016. Two quotations had been obtained, with similar amounts, but it was agreed to renew the policy, again, with Zurich Insurance in the sum of £312 - 03.

Councillors were issued with an audited end of year Income & Expenditure Account.

A report had been received from the Council’s Internal Auditor which stated that he had worked to the requirements outlined in Section 4 of the Annual Return and also the suggested approach in the Governance and Accountability Practitioner’s Guide. He had found the Council’s internal checking and control system in place were effective and the records and accounts were maintained to a high standard and were in good order. There were no matters which needed to be brought to the attention of the Council.

The Annual Return had been completed using the figures audited by the internal auditor. It was agreed to approve the Annual Accounts and the Annual Return was duly signed accordingly.

The hourly rate of pay for the lengthsman was discussed and it was agreed to leave it unchanged for the moment.

It was agreed to forward a grant of £600 – 00 to the Dunwood First Responders Group – the last grant to the Group being awarded in June 2012.

10/16. Orders for Payment.

It was unanimously agreed that the following items be paid:-

11/16. Public Comment.

There was no business under this item.

12/16. Any Other Business.

It was agreed to write to the owners of the old New Inn site and ask what progress was being made with possible work on the site.

A pot hole in Denford Road would be reported to Staffs. County Council.

A blocked road gully grating would be reported to the Council’s lengthsman after enquiries as to whether he was still undertaking tasks as it appeared that there was always excessive litter in Denford Road.

13/16. Date of Next Meeting.

The next meeting of the Council will be held at 7 - 00p.m. on Thursday 30th. June 2016 at St. Chad’s Church Room, Leek Road, Longsdon.