Minutes of the Longsdon Parish Meeting held on Friday 8h. May 2026 in Longsdon Memorial Hall, Leek Road, Longsdon.

Present: Chair J. Sargeant. (Chair of the Parish Council).

In Attendance: Councillors C. Hogan, D. Hughes, R. Lovell & K. Shaw.

Two Electors.

Rachael Powell, Trustee of the Memorial Hall.

John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.

1. Apologies for Absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J. Cox & S. Dickinson.

2. Approval of Minutes of Last Parish Meeting.

The minutes of the last Parish meeting held on 8th. May 2025 had been circulated, and it was now agreed that they be signed as a true and correct record.

3. Chairman’s Address.

The Chairman thanked each Councillor for giving up their time to attend our meetings this year. Attendance had been very good.

Special thanks to the Vice Chair, the Clerk and the representatives of the Council for taking on the extra responsibilities.

He said that it had been great to have a little spontaneous good humour break out in the meetings from time to time. Such basically serious events are otherwise naturally dull and uninspiring.

It’s now unsurprising that the disgrace of the derelict New Inn continues despite approval for the latest planning application being granted months ago. There seems to be no appetite for removing the eyesore.

It’s also not easy to identify what improvements the Reform County Council have made to our area in its first year. The road surfaces certainly don’t seem markedly smoother. Let’s hope for better this year.

4. To Receive a Report for the Year 2025 / 2026.

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 J. Cox and S. Dickinson were elected as representatives on the Staffs, Moorlands Parish Assembly.

Councillor D. Hughes was elected as the Council’s representative on the Memorial Hall Management Committee.

John Bourne, Clerk to the Council, was appointed as the Responsible Financial Officer.

Estimates for the coming financial year were prepared. Councillors agreed that the precept requirement would be £5,500.00, 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 would be certified, signed and forwarded to the external auditor.

The Council’s insurance was again renewed with the Zurich insurance company with its quotation being only slightly more than last year.

Due to the Data Protection Regulations the Council again registered with the Information Commissioner in the sum of £52 – 00.

S137 Payments.

The village flower tubs were again planted twice for the summer and winter periods.

The large Remembrance Day poppies were again displayed around the village, but some had disappeared. Additional material had already been obtained for future years.

A Christmas tree was again purchased and was then displayed outside the Memorial Hall on Leek Road during the Festive period. The council paid for an external electrical socket to be installed with the defibrillator cabinet which re-sited slightly during the process. Further adjustments to the socket are still required.

A planning application for the provision of a farm shop on the old New Inn site was eventually approved by SMDC Planning Committee on appeal after original refusal.

A report of a dangerous window on a building at the junction of Leek Road and Sutherland Roads was sent in and the matter dealt with.

Unfortunately, no progress has been obtained regarding the safety of pedestrians using the pedestrian crossing on the A53 Leek Road despite the efforts of the Parish Council.

5. Any Other Business.

There was no business under this item.