Parish Council Meeting 4 Nov 2021

Draft Minutes

1. Attendees: Cllr M Shermer (Chair), Cllr S Ratcliffe, Cllr K Stratton, Cllr C Kelly, Cllr B Wright, Cllr E Edmonds and Borough Councillor S Sankey and Julie Sadler (Clerk).

Apologies: Cllr J Turner, Cllr L Beckett-Fountain and Cllr J Mountney

2. The Minutes of the Meeting held on the 7^th October 2021 – The minutes were agreed by all as a true record of the meeting and were signed and dated by the Chair.
3. Declaration of interest – None
4. Adjournment for public participation – It was raised by a couple of parishioners that they would like to thank the Parish Council for all their hard work in getting the footpaths around the village resurfaced and also all the recent work done on the Old Railway Line. It has made a huge difference. Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that thanks had been passed onto Richard Rayson from Highways and also Steve Williams the Ranger.
5. Matters Arising/Clerk’s report
   1. Correspondence Received –

• Bridge over the River Churnet – Borough Councillor Sankey informed the meeting that he had heard from South Staffordshire Water. And, after a lot of consideration they will not be restoring the bridge over the River Churnet. Both parishioners who attended the meeting a couple of months ago have been informed. Cllr Shermer thanked Cllr Sankey for his help with this matter.
• Zoom Account – The clerk informed the meeting that zoom account was up for renewal in November. It was unanimously agreed that this would be renewed as it is exceptionally useful to have for all kinds of meetings. Action Clerk to renew.
• Denstone College Footpath – Highways Act 1980, Section 118 & 26 Application for Concurrent Public Path Extinguishment and Creation Orders Public Footpath, Denstone No 22A (Part) and 33 (part) at Denstone College – The clerk informed the meeting that she had received confirmation from Robin Carr that Denstone College have withdrawn the application and therefore the footpath will remain the same as it is now. The matter is now closed.
  1. Lease for Old Railway Line – It was unanimously agreed that the Parish Council would go ahead with renewing the lease. Clerk to start proceedings. Action Clerk
  2. Alton Towers Traffic – The clerk informed the meeting that she had heard from Cllr Mountney that the meeting will possibly take place in December. Cllr Mountney to confirm. Action Cllr Mountney
  3. Bus Shelter – The clerk informed the meeting that Cllr Beckett-Fountain had informed her that she had not been able to speak to Mr W Ratcliffe as yet. However, she would try and do this before the next meeting.
  4. Precept 2022/23 – The details of the budget for the precept were gone through in great detail. It was agreed that the clerk would update the spreadsheet with the suggested changes and forward this onto all Parish Councillors and a decision on whether to raise the precept would be made at the next meeting. Action Clerk

6. Planning (Permitted & Refused are decisions by ESBC)
   1. P/2021/01160 – Outline planning permission for the erection of a dwelling with all matters reserved – 1.2 Acre Field, Stubwood Lane, Denstone, Staffordshire – It was unanimously agreed that the parish council would object to this application based on the document prepared by the Neighbourhood Planning Monitoring group. The clerk would forward this document to the ESBC. Action Clerk
   2. P/2021/01311 – External alterations to Classroom Building to include replacement of existing roof covering and dormer tiles and associated flashings and trims, repairs to roof structure as uncovered. Addition of new central dormer feature to rear elevation. Addition of new ridge skylights. Replacement of rear elevation window units with cill’s lowered to ground floor level to create new floor to ceiling windows & new external doors. Installation of free-standing canopy structure at rear. Addition of new entrance lobby and rear exit to Talbot Building. External landscaping works to include creation of new raised terrace along rear elevation with associated hard and soft landscaping, balustrading, steps, terrace seating and new pathways. Modification of drainage to suit. Addition of planter seating adjacent to main entrance. Talbot Building external areas modified and regraded locally to suit new ramped lobby and rear entrance. – Denstone College Denstone.
   3. P/2021/01313 – Listed Building application for internal and external alteration, repair and refurbishment works to the Classroom Building and Talbot Building. External works to include replacement of existing roof covering and dormer tiles and associated flashings and trims, repairs to roof structure as uncovered. Addition of new central dormer feature to rear elevation. Addition of new ridge skylights. Replacement of rear elevation window units with cills lowered to ground floor level to create new floor to ceiling windows & new external doors. Installation of free-standing canopy structure at rear. Addition of new entrance lobby and rear exit to Talbot Building with associated internal alteration and redecoration. Internal works to comprise general repair and refurbishment, new & replacement doors and alteration to ground and first floor layout. Installation of passenger lift. Internal ceiling reconfigured within 4 no. classrooms to follow raking roof line and install new insulation and roof lining. External landscaping works to include creation of new raised terrace along rear elevation with associated hard and soft landscaping with balustrading, steps, terrace seating and new pathways. Modification of drainage to suit. Addition of planter seating adjacent to main entrance. Talbot Building external areas modified and regraded locally to suit new ramped lobby and rear entrance – Denstone College

The Parish Council agreed that though they did not object to application P/2021/01311 and P/2021/01313 they would like clarification as to whether any of these applications would mean an increase in numbers of children at the school, which would in turn have an impact on the traffic in the village. Action Clerk to contact ESBC

1. P/2021/01335 – Demolition of existing barn and erection of two No. detached dwellings and associated detached double garages/home office buildings to the rear served with new access (amended description) – Ford Croft House Oak Road Denstone ST14 5HT – It was unanimously agreed that the clerk would ask for an extension on this application so that it can be discussed again at the next meeting after the NPMG have had a chance to consider it. Action Clerk to contact ESBC
2. P/2019/01489 – Cllr Shermer updated the meeting raising the following points.

Planning process update

• Mitigation for flooding information was submitted before the most recent deadline
• Awaiting a decision notice to be issued once the above information has been reviewed and assessed by ESBC planning department.

Legal Process Update

• Solicitor has been appointed and very encouraging 1^st meeting with them.
• Barrister is lined up ready to draft ‘Letter before Claim’ as soon as decision notice is given.

Denstone Matters Update

• 2 meetings have been held and lots of activity underway, the team of volunteers from the Village are really taking ownership of this community group and progressing well.
  • Bank Account in process of being set up for all monies raised
  • 1 Entertainment event planned for Nov 26^th – Music night – DM will be sending out flyers and putting up posters in village to promote.
  • Also, a Gin tasting evening is being prepared, this will be limited to 40 people, but depending on take up, a second event could be planned if needed

7. Speeding Traffic on Alton Road – Russ informed the meeting that there had been several incidents of speeding on Alton Road. Cllr Sankey volunteered to look into this with Russ. It was agreed that this would be brought back to the next meeting once Cllr Sankey had time to investigate this matter further. Action Cllr Sankey and Russ
8. Broadband – Cllr Sankey informed the meeting that he had sent the list of validated properties to OpenReach and was waiting to hear from them with regards to a date for a meeting.
9. Defibrillator Training – The clerk informed the meeting that she had agreed a date with the nurses from the college who were conducting the training. The training will take place on Saturday 8^th January 2022 10am to 12pm in the village hall. Action Clerk to create a poster for the event that will be put on the noticeboards, website and the Facebook page. Action Clerk
10. Denstone Show 2022 – The clerk informed the meeting that she had heard back from Zurich regarding the 2022 show being put on the parish council’s insurance. Zurich had confirmed that there would be no extra charge as long as there are only around 250 people attending the event, all third-party providers have their own insurance in place and a full risk assessment is carried out on the event. Based on this information the councillors were happy to go ahead. Clerk to contact Sally Sankey and update her of this. Action Clerk
11. Village Hall – Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that there was nothing further to add at this time.
12. CSW – Russ Whitehurst informed the meeting that there were now 8 volunteers trained to do Community Speed Watch in the village. Currently they are doing 2 exercises a week. This is proving very effective.
13. Highway Issues
14. Lady Meadow Lane. The clerk informed the meeting that she had heard back from ESBC who are looking into this. Clerk to chase. Action Clerk.
15. Potholes & drainage issues in the village – Nothing to add.
16. Footpaths and Pavements – Nothing to add.
17. Finance/Payments – The payments were proposed by Cllr Edmonds and seconded by Cllr Wright. The cheques were signed at the meeting and the clerk will distribute
    25. Webmaster pay for October 2021 = £25.00 [LGA 1972 s142 & 144]
    26. Clerk’s pay for October 2021 (Made by Standing Order) = £397.80 [LGA 1972 s112]
    27. Clerk’s expenses – Stationery = £24.00
    28. Eon Lighting October 2021 = £25.01 [Parish Councils Act 1957 s3]
    29. Highway’s lighting Maintenance = £101.20
    30. J Etherington – Cleaning Village Hall Toilet September 2021 = £50
    31. Russ Whitehurst – Lengthsman October 2021 = £122.95
    32. Tracy Hyder – Gardener = £26.00
    33. Hags – SMP Ltd – playground – £637.20
    34. S Edmonds – Denstone Meadow – £66.00

       items for Future Agenda

Date of next meeting: The next Parish Council Meeting will be on Thursday 2^nd December 2021 at 7pm in the Village Hall Denstone.

Denstone Website – http://denstonevillage.uk