Minutes of Meeting held on Thursday 11th. July 2024 in the Upstairs Room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon at 7.00pm.
Present: Councillor J. Sargeant (Chair).
Councillors J. Cox, S. Dickinson, D. Hughes, R. Lovell & K. Shaw
In Attendance: John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.
40/24 Apologies for Absence.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor C. Hogan.
41/24 Declarations of Interest.
There were no declarations of interest at this point.
42/24 Chairman’s Address.
The Chairman made reference to the change of government last week with the new regime wasting no time in announcing changes to encourage house building aimed at creating 1.5 million new homes over the next five years. It is likely that we shall see the opening of the floodgates for new house build planning applications in the Green Belt. Let us hope that doesn’t destroy the fabric of our neighbourhood.
43/24 Public Comments.
There was no business under this item.
44/24 Approval of Minutes of Last Meeting.
The minutes of the meeting held on 16th. May 2024 had been circulated and it was agreed that the minutes be signed as a true copy.
45/24 Matters Arising.
(a) The names of the Council’s Staffs. Moorlands Assembly Representatives had been sent in.
(b) The name of the Council’s representative on the Memorial Hall Committee had been sent in.
(c) Sites for Christmas Tree.
The details of the proposed Christmas Tree were again discussed especially the size of the tree etc. Contact would be made with a local garden centre regarding this and the possible supply.
(d) Pedestrian Crossing Lights.
Fixed prices had now been received for the “supply only” of the products needed to install the LED flashing lights on the crossing but with no idea of the fixing charges.
An approach had been to find out the total cost of a similar crossing in an adjacent Authority’s area but this had yet to be determined. This would be awaited in the short term.
(e) Steps from Sutherland Road down to the Canal Towpath.
The Canal & Rivers Trust had again been been approached about the matter and had replied accordingly.
46/24 Other Business.
Wild Flower Seeding.
The lengthsman had been instructed to seed an experimental area at the junction of Denford Road and Micklea Lane.
He had painted the wooden bus shelters but there was still some work on the metal bus shelter.
47/24 Correspondence.
The following had already been distributed to Councillors:-
Moorlands Climate Action Newsletter – Spring 2024.
Parliament Visit from Dame Karen Bradley M.P.
Message from Chair of Staffs. Moorlands Parish Assembly.
Staffs. Moorlands District Council Events Update – Summer 2024.
48/24 Planning Matters.
There was no business under this item.
49/24 Finance Matters.
(a) The External Audit Exemption Certificate had been sent in and acknowledged.
(b) Annual Governance and Accountability Return Approval
The Annual Governance Statement 2023/2024 was perused and the conditions approved.
Approval was also given to the Annual Accounting Statement 2023/2024 and Bank Reconciliation.
(c) Orders for Payment.
It was agreed that the following items be paid:
Recipient | Amount | Reason |
---|---|---|
J. A. Gibson. | £ 192.00 | Agency Work. |
£ 200.00 | Repairing & Painting Bus Shelters. | |
£ 140.00 | Planting of Village Flower Tubs & Replacing Compost. | |
John Bourne. | £ 334.00 | Clerk’s Salary & Expenses (nett). |
H.M. Revenue & Customs. | £ 81.00 | P.A.Y.E. |
The Wheel. | £ 25.00 | Room Hire. |
Ionos | £ 12.00 | Monthly Charge paid by direct debit £6.00 10th. April 24. |
£6.00 14th. May 24. |
50/24 Public Comments.
There was no business under this item.
51/24 Items for Inclusion in the Agenda for the Next Meeting.
None other than previously mentioned.
52/24 Date of Next Meeting.
The date of the next meeting was arranged for Thursday 29th. August 2024 at 7.00pm in the upstairs room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon.
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Minutes of Meeting held on Thursday 16th. May 2024 in the Upstairs Room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon at 7.00pm.
Present: Councillor J. Sargeant (Chair).
Councillors J. Cox, S. Dickinson, C. Hogan, D. Hughes, R. Lovell & K. Shaw
In Attendance: John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.
One Member of the Public.
27/24 Apologies for Absence.
There were no apologies for absence.
28/24 Declarations of Interest.
There were no declarations of interest at this point.
29/24 Chairman’s Address.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
30/24 Public Comments.
It was reported that the planning application for the New Inn would be discussed again by SMDC Planning Committee next week.
31/24 Approval of Minutes of Last Meeting.
The minutes of the meeting held on 28th. March 2024 had been circulated and it was agreed that the minutes be signed as a true copy.
32/24 Matters Arising.
(a) Site for Christmas Tree.
An unofficial approach had been made with a representation of the Memorial Hall but no decision on the suggested site had been made.
Solar lighting of the tree had been investigated and a suggestion of sponsorship for the tree was mentioned.
(b) Wild Flower Seeding.
The lengthsman had been approached and he was familiar with this method. It was agreed to seed an experimental area at the junction of Denford Road and Micklea Lane.
(c) Pedestrian Crossing Lights.
No further update on the cost installing a Pelican style crossing had been received.
The LED flashing lights on a crossing in an adjacent Authority’s area had been viewed and it was agreed that the costs etc be investigated.
(d) Denford Road Speeding.
The matter was still ongoing after the local P.C.S.O’s had been approached.
(e) Steps from Sutherland Road down to the Canal Towpath.
The Canal & Rivers Trust had been approached about the matter and had apparently erected safety barriers but it was reported that these had been placed to one side. The trust to be informed of this.
33/24 Other Business.
It was reported that the lengthsman had the paint and would be painting the bus shelters shortly.
34/24 Correspondence.
The following had already been distributed to Councillors:-
Staffs Police Surgery.
Moorlands Climate Action – What’s On.
Moorlands Climate Action Newsletter – Spring 2024.
Parliament Visit from Dame Karen Bradley M.P.
35/24 Planning Matters.
There was no business under this item.
36/24 Finance Matters.
(a) To receive a copy of the Annual Accounts for 2023 / 2024.
(b) Appointment of Internal Auditor.
(c) Submission of External Audit Exemption Certificate.
(d) Orders for Payment.
It was agreed that the following items be paid:
Recipient | Amount | Reason |
---|---|---|
J. A. Gibson. | £ 168.00 | Agency Work. |
Zurich Insurance. | £ 395.24 | . |
John Bourne. | £ 405.92 | Clerk’s Salary & Expenses (nett). |
H.M. Revenue & Customs. | £ 81.00 | P.A.Y.E. |
The Wheel. | £ 25.00 | Room Hire. |
Ionos | £ 12.00 | Monthly Charge paid by direct debit £6.00 10th. April 24 . |
£6.00 10th. May 24. |
37/24 Public Comments.
There was no business under this item.
38/24 Items for Inclusion in the Agenda for the Next Meeting.
None other than previously mentioned.
39/24 Date of Next Meeting.
The date of the next meeting was arranged for Thursday 11th. July 2024 at 7.00pm in the upstairs room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon.
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Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 16th. May 2024 in the Upstairs Room at The Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon.
Present: Councillor J. Sargeant (Chair).
Councillors J.Cox, S Dickinson, C. Hogan, D. Hughes, R. Lovell & K. Shaw.
In Attendance: One Member of the Public.
John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.
1. Election of Chairman.
Councillor J. Sargeant was elected Chairman for the coming year.
2. Apologies for Absence.
There were no apologies for absence.
3. Election of Vice Chairman.
Councillor Richard Lovell was elected as Vice Chairman.
4. Appointment of Responsible Financial Officer.
Clerk to the Council, John Bourne, was re-appointed as the Responsible Financial Officer.
5. Appointment of Representatives to Staffs. Moorlands Parish Assembly (2).
Councillors J. Cox and S. Dickinson were appointed as the representatives.
6. Appointment of Representative to Longsdon Memorial Hall Management Committee.
Councillor D. Hughes was appointed as the representative.
7. Matters Arising.
There were no matters arising.
8. Other Business.
There was no business under this item.
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Minutes of the Longsdon Parish Meeting held on Thursday 16th. May 2024 in the Upstairs room of The Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon.
Present: Chair J. Sargeant. (Chair of the Parish Council).
In Attendance: Councillors J. Cox, S. Dickinson, C. Hogan, D. Hughes, R. Lovell & K. Shaw.
One Elector.
John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.
1. Apologies for Absence.
There were no apologies for absence.
2. Approval of Minutes of Last Parish Meeting.
The minutes of the last Parish meeting held on 18th. May 2023 had been circulated and it was now agreed that they be signed as a true and correct record.
3. Matters Arising.
The Chairman reported that this is the annual opportunity to say thank you for the good work put in by each of you Councillors. Giving up your time to attend meetings, being observant when travelling around the parish and considering where and how the Council can make improvements to benefit our parishioners is certainly commendable.
It has been pleasing to see a little good humour sneaking into meetings once again. While the topics of discussion are commonly of importance their debate doesn’t always have to be depressingly dry to find the most appropriate resolution.
My particular thanks go to the officers of the Council, Vice Chair Richard Lovell, representatives to the Parish Assembly Councillors Keith Shaw and Simon Dickinson and, of course, the Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer John Bourne who has kept the wheels turning for nearly 18 years, Having District Councillor Jo Cox on board as Parish Councillor has added another dimension to the meetings. With her two hats she has been able to bring information to the table which would have potentially been unavailable and she has been able and willing to apply additional pressure to official bodies to respond to issues alongside that exerted by this Council.
As ever, the continuing sorry saga of the lamentable eyesore that is the New Inn shows no sign of being resolved in the near future after the SMDC Planning Committee failed to make a decision on the latest planning application. It seems astonishing that the decision was deferred giving the architects the opportunity to negotiate plan changes. This after an interim report of almost a year ago indicating likely refusal appears to have been completely ignored. It’s hard to see who benefits from further procrastination. It’s certainly not Longsdon.
4. To Receive a Report for the Year 2023 / 2024.
Councillor John Sargeant was again re-elected as Chairman with Councillor Richard Lovell re-elected as Vice Chairman at the Annual General Meeting of the Council.
Councillors S. Dickinson and K. Shaw were elected as representatives on the Staffs. Moorlands Parish Assembly.
John Bourne, Clerk to the Council, was appointed as the Responsible Financial Officer.
Since the recent resignations the Electoral Office of S.M.D.C. had issued statutory notices and the Council had then advertised the vacancies on the Council on two occasions. Eventually, three applications were received and after a secret ballot was taken Jo Cox, Conor Hogan & David Hughes were duly co-opted. Jo Cox is already the elected District Councillor for the area.
All the Councillors, including those elected, had now signed the Declaration of Office.
Estimates for the coming financial year were prepared. Councillors agreed that the precept requirement would be £5,250.00, a slight increase on last year.
The annual accounts of the Council were audited again by the internal auditor. There were no adverse comments from her.
As the Council’s turn-over was less than £25,000 it could be exempted from an external audit. This option was pursued, and the necessary forms were certified, signed and forwarded to the external auditor.
No requests for S 137 payments were received.
The Council’s defibrillator machine had reportedly been used. As a result, new replacement pads and a new battery were purchased and fitted. The national Circuit was then updated.
The Council’s insurance was again renewed with the Zurich insurance company with its quotation being only very slightly more than last year.
Due to the Data Protection Regulations the Council again registered with the Information Commissioner in the sum of £40 – 00.
The County Council had been contacted to ask for an adjustment to the white lines on the A53 Leek Road near to the pedestrian crossing but due to a staff absence no reply was received. After further contact no solution was forthcoming.
Enquiries were made about converting the crossing to a light controlled Pelican Crossing but a price quoted was very excessive. Further enquiries are being made with an option to perhaps append LED Lights to the current globes of the crossing.
The large Remembrance Day Poppies were again displayed around the village on signs, trees etc. and further new material was purchased for future years.
The village flower tubs were again planted twice for the summer and winter periods by the Council’s lengthsman.
An oak Memorial Bench was purchased in memory of the late Councillor Richard Weston with the aid of a grant of £175.00 received from former District Councillor Hawkins’ Community Fund. The new Bench with an inscription plaque had been sited at the junction of Denford Road and Micklea Lane.
A grant of £150.00 was also received from the current District Councillor Cox’s Community Fund for the painting of the bus shelters.
Numerous planning applications were discussed with no major objections being forwarded. However continued efforts to clear up the old New Inn site came to nothing in spite of a major Planning Application on which any decision has been deferred.
The problem with a vehicle parked near to the pedestrian crossing causing visibility problems for vehicles emerging from Sutherland Road was referred to the Police. This problem was then resolved.
Other items passed on to other authorities were:
Overgrown hedges etc in School Lane, dangerous steps from Sutherland Road down to the top canal, grass verges overgrowing pavements etc etc.
5. Any Other Business.
There was no business under this item.
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Minutes of Meeting held on Thursday 28th. March 2024 in the Upstairs Room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon at 7.00pm.
Present: Councillor J. Sargeant (Chair).
Councillors J. Cox, S. Dickinson, C. Hogan, D. Hughes, R. Lovell & K. Shaw
In Attendance: John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.
Two Members of the Public.
14/24 Apologies for Absence.
There were no apologies for absence.
15/24 Declarations of Interest.
There were no declarations of interest at this point.
16/24 Chairman’s Address.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
At this point a report was given on today’s Staffs Moorlands Planning Committee meeting which had been monitored by two Parish Councillors. They reported on the discussions which had taken place on the Planning Application for the old New Inn site. The application had been recommended for refusal on Green Belt grounds by the Council’s Officers but the Committee had agreed to defer any decision until a later date.
Councillors Lovell & Shaw were thanked for their viewing of the meeting and for the report.
17/24 Public Comments.
A resident who lives on Leek Road gave a report of flooding on theA53 main road outside his residence which had been continual for the last six months. He had great delight in reporting that the blocked drain had now finally been cleared and the problem solved. He wished to thank the County & District Councillors for their help in the matter. He was thanked for his report
18/24 Approval of Minutes of Last Meeting.
Minutes of the meeting held on 8th. February 2024 had been circulated and it was agreed that the minutes be signed as a true copy.
19/24 Matters Arising.
(a)County Council Correspondence.
A suitable reply had been sent to Staffs County Council, with a copy to County Councillor Gill Heath, regarding the amazing reply from the County Council.
(b) Defibrillator Upgrade.
The spare parts has been received and fitted and The Circuit informed.
(c)Site for Christmas Tree.
A further discussion took place on the siting of the tree and it was agreed to contact the Memorial Hall for permission. Possible solar power lights were also mentioned.
(d) Lengthsman’s Instructions.
The lengthsman would be instructed to summer plant the village flower tubs and to be questioned about possible wild flower seeding to grass verges.
(e) Pelican Crossing.
County Councillor Gill Heath would be contacted to see if she could obtain a more realistic figure regarding the proposed upgrading of the Pedestrian Crossing to a Pelican type.
It was reported that some additional LED flashing lights had been sited on a crossing in an adjacent Authority’s area. These to be inspected and discussed at the next meeting.
20/24 Other Business.
The question of vehicle speeding in Denford Road despite the 30mph limit was mentioned. Various sorts of signs were mentioned but it was agreed to contact the P.C.S.O.s in the first instance for their input on the matter.
21/24 Correspondence.
The following had already been distributed to Councillors:-
Moorlands Climate Action - Newsletter.
Invite to SMDC Chairman’s Charity Night.
King’s Portrait Offer from Dame Karen Bradley M.P.
Healthwatch Survey.
Road Closure Notice for Dunwood Road.
Letter from Dame Karen Bradley M.P. – re Churnet Valley.
22/24 Planning Matters.
Comments had been sent in for the Planning Application from the last meeting.
Contact had been made with Staffs. Moorland District Council to ask about the current situation with the recent planning application for works on the old New Inn site. A reply had been received but this had now been overtaken by events reported earlier in the meeting.
23/24 Finance Matters.
(a) Precept Request.
The Precept Request for 2024/2025 had been accepted by Staffs. Moorlands District Council.
(b) Orders for Payment.
It was agreed that the following items be paid:
Recipient | Amount | Reason |
---|---|---|
J. A. Gibson. | £ 168.00 | Agency Work. |
John Bourne. | £ 364.00 | Paid to British Heart Foundation for Defibrillator Spares. |
The Wheel. | £ 25.00 | Room Hire. |
Ionos | £ 12.00 | Monthly Charge paid by direct debit £6.00 10th. Feb 24. |
£6.00 10th. Mar 24. | ||
£ 10.80 | Web Hosting Charge by direct debit 10th. Mar 24. |
24/24 Public Comments.
Comments were received about the current state of the steps leading down from Sutherland Road down to the top canal. This was reported to be a serious Health and Safety issue and would be reported to the Canals & Rivers Trust for their investigation.
25/24 Items for Inclusion in the Agenda for the Next Meeting.
Listing of tasks for the Council’s Lengthsman to undertake.
26/24 Date of Next Meeting.
The dates of the next meeting was arranged for Thursday 16th. May 2024 at 7.00pm in the upstairs room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon.
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