Parish Council Meeting March 2024

Minutes of Denstone Parish Council Meeting 11^th March 2024

1. Present Cllr J Turner (Chair), Cllr B Wright, Cllr J Mountney, Cllr M Flower, Cllr M Shermer, Cllr E Edmonds, Cllr Stratton, Cllr Ratcliffe, Borough Councillor Steve Sankey (ESBC) and Julie Sadler (Clerk)

Apologies: Cllr C Naylor

There were 7 Members of the village at the meeting.

2. The Minutes of the Meeting held 12 February 2024 –The minutes were approved and agreed by all as a true record of the meeting. They were signed and dated by Cllr Turner.
3. To receive declarations of interest – None
4. Adjournment for public participation
   1. Connect Fibre – Cllr Sankey informed the meeting that he had not yet heard from Mary Freeland from Connect It was agreed that the clerk would forward contact details to Cllr Sankey. Action Clerk
   2. Old Railway Line – Cllr Sankey raised the issue again regarding the standing water on the railway line. It was agreed by the Parish Council that they would wait for the weather to dry up and if the water was still there then further action would be taken.
   3. Carparking Survey – Cllr Sankey informed the meeting that he had received a link to the car parking survey regarding raising the cost of car parks in the area. It was agreed that this would be put in the minutes and also on Denstone Matters Facebook page. Link to the survey

https://online1.snapsurveys.com/ESBC-car-parking-survey Action Clerk

5. Matters Arising/Clerk’s report
   1. Correspondence Received – the clerk raised the issue of renewing the annual subscription for CPRE. It was unanimously agreed the Parish Council would not renew the subscription. Action Clerk
   2. July Meeting Date – it was unanimously agreed that the July date would be moved to the 11^th July 2024. Clerk to contact the Village Hall to move the booking. Action Clerk
   3. Annual Meeting date – it was unanimously agreed that the Annual Meeting would be held prior to the monthly meeting on the 8^th April 2024
   4. Village Volunteers – The clerk informed the meeting that she had received a good response with 5 volunteers.
   5. Drains and leak on College Road – after a long discussion it was agreed that a spend of up to £500 would be paid to RTS to clean the drains on College Road and if possible some on Hollis Lane. However, the Parish Council agreed that this would not solve the problem of flooding in the village. It was agreed that Cllr Sankey would contact SCC (Cllr Atkins) for their help and advice regarding this problem. Action Clerk and Cllr Sankey.
   6. Insurance Claim – it was unanimously agreed that the Parish Council would accept the insurance claim for the bus shelter. The Parish Council agreed to pay the remainder of the cost of the repair. Clerk to contact the company to carry out the repair. Action Clerk
   7. Defibrillator update – the clerk informed the meeting that she had received a quote for the new pads. Payment for this was agreed. Action Clerk
6. Planning (Permitted & Refused are decisions by ESBC) – Cllr Turner
   1. Bank House Farm appeal – the clerk confirmed there was no further update on this yet but she would keep chasing. Action Clerk
   2. P/2022/00045 – The clerk confirmed that she had received an email from the enforcement officer at ESBC who had confirmed that this had been sorted and the parishioner who raised the issue had been informed.
   3. Footpath update – The clerk informed the meeting that as the 5^th property was yet to be occupied there is no further action on this.
   4. NP update – Cllr Turner informed the meeting that the Examiner’s report had now been completed. The next stage will be the referendum. This will take place sometime in June but is now in the hands of the ESBC.

Cllr Turner expressed sincere thanks to the NPMG  group on behalf of the Parish Council for all their work on the Neighbourhood Plan.

7. Highways
   1. Feasibility Study – Cllr Shermer confirmed that she has received confirmation from SCC that the feasibility study is actively being looked at and the engineer is hoping this will be completed in the next few weeks. Hopefully there will be a further update at April’s meeting. Action Cllr Shermer
   2. Speeding on B5031 – Cllr Mountney confirmed that she had heard from Denstone Farm Shop but was awaiting the outcome from Alton Towers regarding the funding towards installing SIDS on the B5031. Hopefully there will be a further update at April’s meeting. Action Cllr Mountney
   3. Data Collection B5031 – It was unanimously agreed by the Parish Council that they would pay for the 7 day count of £374. It was agreed that the appropriate dates for the count would be forwarded to Cllr Turner to pass onto the clerk. Action All councillors and Clerk
   4. Potholes – As there are numerous potholes in the village it was agreed that the link for reporting potholes to the ESBC would be included in the minutes again and put on the Denstone Matters Facebook page. https://apps2.staffordshire.gov.uk/web/reportfault/#divSelectionHeader Action Clerk
8. Liaison
   2024. Village Hall – Cllr Stratton confirmed that the Annual General Meeting of the Village Hall would be held on 21^st March 2024. It was unanimously agreed that Cllr Stratton would be the representative for the Parish Council for the forthcoming year.
9. Play Area
   2023. Cllr Flower confirmed that after Easter he would prepare a plan to carry out all the issues raised on the report in December 2023. Cllr Flower also confirmed that the license for the play area had been passed to the TBMST for signature. This would then be returned to the clerk.
10. Miscellaneous
    1. Bus Shelter Insurance claim – Please see item 5F.
    2. War Memorial – Cllr Edmonds confirmed that he and a member of the village are looking to source some natural stone to repair the War Memorial. If anyone has any suggestions regarding this then please contact Cllr Edmonds. Action Cllr Edmonds
    3. Carved Tree – Cllr Flower confirmed that the tree was a sycamore tree which is soft and would therefore rot. It was agreed that Cllr Ratcliffe would contact the groundsman at JCB to see if the tree could be lifted and placed on a piece of wood to slow down the rotting process. Action Cllr Ratcliffe.
11. Finance
    75. Internal Audit – it was unanimously agreed that the clerk would contact the internal auditor. The cost of this would be £75.00. Action Clerk
    76. Solicitor’s letter – Cllr Turner confirmed that the solicitor’s letter, which had been sent to all councillors over the weekend, would be sent out in the next couple of days. This was unanimously agreed. The spend for this letter was agreed at the October 2023 meeting. Action Clerk
12. Payments – To approve the following payments:

The clerk went through the payments individually. The payments were Proposed by Cllr Edmonds and seconded by Cllr Stratton. All payments would be processed online by Cllr Shermer and Cllr Flower apart from the payment for Sue Ratcliffe which would be made by cheque. All invoices would be signed and would be returned to the clerk once actioned.

25. Lascombe Consulting – Website – pay for February 2024 = £25.00 [LGA 1972 s142 & 144]
26. Clerk’s pay for February 2024 (Made by Standing Order) = £494.32 [LGA 1972 s112]
27. Clerks expenses (stationery) February 2024 – £45.63
28. J Etherington – Cleaning Village Hall toilets February 2024 = £40.00
29. N Power – Electricity – February 2024 £50.74
30. Stuart Smith Lengthsman – February 2024 £69.96
31. Sue Ratcliffe – Dog Poo Bins = £106.00
32. Urban Vision – Payment for work on the Neighbourhood plan. This was a grant that was received from Groundwork UK – £2425.00 VAT £485 total £2910.00

items for Future Agenda

None

Date of next meeting:  Monday 8^th April 2024 Annual Meeting at 7.00 pm followed by the Parish Council meeting at 7.15pm  in the Village Hall Denstone.