Parish Council Meeting April 2026

Denstone Parish Council Meeting Minutes

www.denstonevillage.org.uk

Draft Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 7^th April 2026 at Denstone Village Hall, College Road, Denstone, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, ST14 5HR. The meeting commenced at 7.09 pm

Attendees: Cllr Turner (Chair), Cllr Shermer, Cllr Mountney, Cllr S Owen, Cllr A Oldroyd-Clarke, Cllr S Ratcliffe, Cllr E Edmonds, Cllr M Flower Borough Cllr Steve Sankey and J Sadler (Clerk)

4 members of the village present.

1. Apologies Cllr B Wright and County Councillor Gary Hales
2. To receive declarations of interest – None
3. To approve the minutes of the 9^th March 2026 – The minutes were proposed by Cllr Owen, seconded by Cllr Shermer and approved by all as a true record of the meeting. These were signed and dated by Cllr Turner (Chair).
4. Public Participation
5. Wooden Bridge off the Railway Line – Cllr Sankey raised this issue. Cllr Turner informed the meeting that this was discussed some time ago. The reason that nothing further had been done was that the Parish Council could not ascertain who owns the land. Cllr Mountney agreed to look into this further. Action Cllr Mountney.
6. New Footpath on Oak Road – Cllr Sankey asked if the Parish Council were aware of what is happening with this. The clerk informed the meeting that during the recent visit from SCC, the clerk and Cllr Turner were informed that this was being looked into by SCC. It was agreed that the clerk would chase this. Action Clerk
7. Matters Arising/Clerk’s report
   1. Correspondence Received
      1. Insurance Quote – The clerk informed the meeting that she had received this year’s quote from Zurich. However, the quote showed an increase of 11%. It was therefore agreed that the clerk would go back to Zurich to try and achieve a decrease in the amount quoted. Action Clerk
      2. Nature Weekend – Cllr Edmonds informed the meeting that he had spoken to Denstone College regarding children of ages 8, 9 and 10 coming down to Denstone Meadow to meet with Nick Mott on Monday 27^th April.
   2. Parking in Denstone – The clerk brought the agreed laminated signs to the meeting to give out to several members. The remainder were given to Cllr Oldroyd-Clarke to keep at the Tavern for anyone to take and use in the village. Cllr Turner stated that she thought that since being discussed parking has improved in the village.
   3. Railway Line Leak – The clerk informed the meeting that she had not heard anything further regarding this but she would chase again.
   4. Extra Defibrillator – The clerk informed the meeting that after contacting the lighting contractors for SCC she was informed that they do not allow defibrillators to be placed on any of their equipment. It was agreed that as this was not possible, we would look again at having a solar defibrillator. This was looked at previously but no action was taken due to the cost. Cllr Ratcliffe asked for the quote to be sent to him again and he would ask JCB if they would contribute to the cost on behalf of the village. Action Clerk and Cllr Ratcliffe.
   5. SPCA Annual Subscription – the clerk informed the meeting that the annual subscription invoice had been received. It was unanimously agreed by the councillors to pay the subscription of £376.63.
   6. Lengthsman serviced equipment – As agreed the lengthsman equipment had been serviced by TaylorMade. The clerk had received the invoice. The cost was £175.50. This was unanimously agreed by the councillors.
8. Planning (Permitted & Refused are decisions by ESBC) – Cllr Shermer
   300. P/2025/01221 – Land South of College Road Denstone – Appeal against the refusal of permission in principal application for the erection of up to 9 self-build dwellings – appeal reference 6006486 – The Parish Councillors received a document prior to the meeting written by Urban Vison at the request of the Parish Council regarding this appeal. It was unanimously agreed that the document would be sent to the planning inspectorate and a copy to the planning department at ESBC. The Parish Council unanimously agreed up to £300.00 for the work carried out by Urban Vision. Action Clerk
   301. P/2026/00304 – Crown lift branches overhanging road by up to 5.2 metres from ground level, Crown lift branches overhanging footpath by up to 3 metres from ground level and crown reduction by up to 3 metres to the side overhanging the lawn of three Copper Beech trees (T1, T2 & T3 of TPO 259) – Tom Boden Memorial Sports Trust. Bowling Green College Road Denstone. The Parish Councillors agreed that this work must be done to keep the area safe. It was agreed that the clerk would send comments to ESBC that they support this application. Action Clerk
9. Highways – Cllr Oldroyd-Clarke
   1. Potholes – Cllr Oldroyd – Clarke volunteered to send several pictures to the clerk of potholes that needed reporting to the SCC. Action Cllr Oldroyd-Clarke and Clerk
      1. Bridge – Cllr Sankey raised the issue of the stone work which is still awaiting action on the bridge. It was agreed that the clerk would contact Cllr Hales to see if this could be brought forward as it had been damaged for a long time. Action Clerk
   2. Feasibility Report – No update regarding this as yet.
   3. Data B5031 – The clerk informed the meeting that data collection was carried out from 20^th – 27^th She had contacted SCC for the outcome and would hopefully have the report before the next meeting.
10. Playground – Cllr Flower
11. Cllr Flower informed the meeting that all checks were currently up to date.
12. Hedge cutting and Tree pruning – The tree was pruned and the hedge cut during March. The cost of this was £360.00 and was agreed by the Parish Council at the last meeting.
13. Village Hall – Cllr Shermer
    1. Cllr Shermer informed the meeting that the Village Hall Committee had passed on their sincere thanks to the Parish Council for adopting the Noticeboards and bench.
14. Miscellaneous
    1. War memorial – Cllr Turner informed the meeting that she had passed on the contact details of the Stone Mason to Cllr Edmonds so the cost of the stone could be established. Action Cllr Edmonds
    2. Notice board repair – Cllr Oldroyd- Clarke had already started the staining of the noticeboards and the purchase of some new tiles for one of the roofs. Thank you to Cllr Oldroy-Clarke for his work on this.
    3. Best Kept Village – Cllr Flower raised the issue regarding the Best Kept Village Competition. Cllr Turner confirmed that, as agreed at the September Parish Council meeting, the Parish Council would pay the cost of £35.00 to enter the competition and the clerk would produce a poster stating that the village had been entered. Action Clerk
15. Payments – To approve the following payments

Cllr Turner went through the payments individually. The payments were proposed by Cllr Ratcliffe, seconded by Cllr Edmonds and agreed by all. All payments would be processed online by Cllr Shermer and Cllr Flower. All invoices would be signed and would be returned to the clerk once actioned

25. Carolyn Hinton – Website – pay March 2026 £25.00 [LGA 1972 s142 & 144]
26. Clerk’s pay for March 2026 (Made by Standing Order) = Net Pay £577.71 [LGA 1972 s112]
27. HMRC – Clerk – Tax – March 2026 – £144.40
28. Clerk Employee National Insurance – March 2026 – £45.77
29. Clerks expenses – Travel – £9.00
30. Lengthsman – March 2026 – £124.08
31. Taylor Made – Service for equipment – lengthsmans equipment – £175.50
32. D Green Tree Care Ltd – £360.00
33. SPCA – Annual Subscription – £376.63

1. items for Future Agenda
   1. Village Flowers

Date of next meeting – 11^th May 2026 at 7.00pm Village Hall Denstone. This will be the Annual Parish Council meeting where a new Chair and Vice Chair would be voted in.