Parish Council Meeting January 2024

Minutes of Denstone Parish Council Meeting 8^th January 2024

1. Cllr J Turner (Chair),Cllr Mountney, Cllr B Wright, Cllr Ratcliffe, Cllr M Flower, Borough Cllr Steve Sankey and Julie Sadler (Clerk)

Apologies: Cllr M Shermer, Cllr E Edmonds, Cllr Stratton – There were 5 Members of the village at the meeting.

2. The Minutes of the Meeting held 11^th December 2023 – The minutes were approved by Cllr Ratcliffe seconded by Cllr Flower 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
5. Pothole – outside the Farm Shop – it was agreed that Cllr Turner would take some pictures and forward them to the clerk to report to SCC. Action Clerk and Cllr Turner
6. Old Railway line – Water issue – Cllr Sankey raised that the issue has still not been resolved on the railway line clerk to report to South Staffordshire Water. Cllr Sankey stated that he would also report this to them. Cllr Wright suggested that the planning application for Francis close be looked at to see if there was a soakaway. Action Clerk and Cllr Sankey
7. Gullies on Alton Road – The gullies on Alton Road was raised by a member of the public. It was agreed that if no reply received by the 11^th January to the email issued to Cllr Atkins on the 3^rd January the clerk would chase. Action Clerk
8. Drains in the village – The issue was raised regarding the number of the blocked drains in the village. Pictures had already been sent to the clerk, Cllr Ratcliffe agreed to send further pictures regarding the blocked drains on College Road. Action Clerk and Cllr Ratcliffe.
9. Speed limit on Alton Road – this was raised again by a member of the public. Clerk to contact the clerk at Alton Parish Council again regarding their support. Action Clerk
10. Councillor Vacancy – Mr C Naylor introduced himself to the meeting informing them that he wished to join the Parish Council. It was unanimously agreed that Mr Naylor would be co-opted onto the Parish Council and he was asked to join the councillors. Clerk to send out usual forms and information. Action Clerk
11. Councillors Responsibilities – It was raised by Cllr Flower’ that he could no longer check the financial accounts as he now signed the cheques. It was therefore agreed that Cllr Wright would now work with Cllr Ratcliffe in checking the financial accounts. Clerk to update the accountabilities accordingly and send to all the councillors. Cllr Turner asked for the accountabilities to be left on the agenda for further discussion at the next meeting. Action Clerk
12. Matters Arising/Clerk’s report
    1256. Correspondence Received – the clerk informed the meeting that she had received an email from ESBC regarding the footpath that was raised during the last meeting in connection with P/2023/01256. The ESBC had confirmed that this issue would be passed onto the enforcement team. Clerk to chase if no further response before the next meeting. Action Clerk
13. Planning (Permitted & Refused are decisions by ESBC) – Cllr Turner
    1. Bank House Farm appeal – the clerk informed the meeting that there was nothing further to report at this stage. Clerk to continue to chase. Action Clerk
14. Highways
    1. Feasibility Study – The clerk informed the meeting that Cllr Shermer had sent an update regarding the feasibility study. Stating at this time there was nothing further to report but hopefully we would know more before the end of this financial year.
    2. Speeding on B5031 – The clerk informed the meeting that the cost to have 2 new SIDS purchased and installed would be approximately £6000. It was agreed that instead of moving the SIDs from Stubwood it would be more beneficial to try and purchase 2 new SIDs. It was agreed that Cllr Mountney would contact the Farm Shop and Alton Towers for a contribution towards the cost of the SIDs and Cllr Shermer and Cllr Edmonds would ask Denstone College for a contribution towards the cost of the SIDs.

The clerk also raised that sometimes funding can be obtained from the Police Commissioner. Cllr Sankey volunteered to contact the Police Commissioner on behalf of the PC.

Russ Whitehurst suggested as a member of the CSW he would contact Michelle Shaker to see if she was aware of any funding. Cllr Naylor stated that the clerk should also look at the Staffordshire Road Safety Group. Action All to report back at the next meeting.

The clerk also informed the meeting that she contacted SCC regarding the possible data the SCC held for the B5031 but as yet had not received a response. Action Clerk to chase.

1. Drains on College Road – this was discussed in item 4d.

10. Liaison
    1. Village Hall – Cllr Turner informed the meeting that there was nothing new to report.
11. Play Area – Cllr Flower
    1. Play area inspection report – the clerk had sent the report out prior to the meeting. Cllr Flower stated that the report had confirmed that there was a trip hazard by the safety gate. Cllr Turner suggested getting the company that had recently installed the fence back to have a look. Cllr Flower agreed and volunteered to do this. It was agreed to maybe get a working party together in the spring to look at the other issues as they were all low risk. Clerk to send a copy to Laura Bosworth at the Sports Trust. Action Cllr Flower and Clerk.
12. Miscellaneous
    1. DE-Fib at North end of the Village – It was unanimously agreed that this would be put on hold for now as a suitable place for a defibrillator cannot currently be found.
    2. Bus Shelter – Cllr Turner informed the meeting on behalf of Cllr Edmonds, all being well he will meet with Glass Company tomorrow so they can measure up and estimate the cost of the replacement. Action Cllr Edmonds.
    3. War Memorial – no update at this time. However the Parish Council would like to send sincere thanks to RJS for the work carried out on the War Memorial after the flooding. Clerk to send a letter of thanks. Action Clerk
    4. Website Review – Nothing to report at this time. This will be moved to the next meeting. Action Clerk
    5. Village Volunteers – The clerk informed the meeting that due to illness she had not been able to produce the poster as yet but this will be done before the next meeting. Action Clerk
    6. Carved Tree – Clerk informed the meeting that she had contacted the man who had originally carved the tree. However, no response had been received as yet. Action Clerk to chase.
    7. The Bus Service – The clerk informed the meeting that she had received an email from Trent Barton Bus Company stating that as far as they are aware there are no plans to reduce the service or stop all together between Ashbourne & Uttoxeter. If anything does happen then the local authority and parish councils will be notified.

Cllr Sankey did also raise the issue of the Staffordshire Moorlands Community Transport. It was agreed that he would work with the clerk on looking into this. Action Cllr Sankey and Clerk.

13. Finance
    1. Precept 2024/25 – Cllr Turner confirmed that the clerk had issued information prior to the meeting regarding the precept. She also confirmed that the precept had only been increased twice over recent years and had also been reduced one year during this period too. The Parish Council have always tried to cover any increases in cost without increasing the precept. However, this year due to several items of correspondence that have been received from members of the village, the Parish Council have found themselves having to contact professional bodies, for advice and support, which has become expensive.  Therefore the councillors view is that they have no alternative but to increase the precept to cover these costs and any further professional costs that may be presented in the next financial year. It was therefore unanimously agreed to increase the precept for 2024/25 to £20,000.00. Clerk to complete the necessary forms and send them to the ESBC Action Clerk
14. Payments – To approve the following payments:

The clerk went through the payments individually. The payments were Proposed by Cllr Ratcliffe and seconded by Cllr Wright. 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. Lascombe Consulting – Website – pay for December 2023 = £25.00 [LGA 1972 s142 & 144]
26. Clerk’s pay for December 2023 (Made by Standing Order) = £494.32 [LGA 1972 s112]
27. Clerks expenses December – £5.40
28. J Etherington – Cleaning Village Hall toilets December 2023 = £40.00
29. N Power – Electricity – December 2023 £54.86
30. Stuart Smith Lengthsman – December 2023 £28.75
31. Stuart Smith – Square Handled Shovel – £32.00
32. The Play Inspection Company Ltd £105.00 VAT £21.00 total £126.00
33. Denstone Village Hall – Hire of Hall =£30.00

items for Future Agenda

Date of next meeting:  Monday 12^th February 2024 at 7.00 pm in the Village Hall Denstone.