MEETING
Tuesday 13 April 2010 at 7.30 pm in Walton Village Hall
Present: Cllr R Bennett (Chairman)
Cllr I Bearne
Cllr (Mrs) S Francis
Cllr (Mrs) M Grayson
Cllr (Mrs) B Holt
Cllr B Martin
Cllr B Morton
In Attendance: Mr C Kelly (Legal Advisor)
PC S Thornton
Mrs L Harrington-Jones (Clerk)
And 1 member of the public
Apologies for absence were received from:
Cllr J Francis, Cllr B Jenkins, Cllr J Remon, Cllr L Bloomer, Staffordshire County Council (SCC)
Cllr F Finlay, Stafford Borough Council (SBC), Cllr T Reeves, Stafford Borough Council (SBC), Mr K Kelly
2300 Public Question Time
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. The member of the public raised the condition of the grass bank at the bottom of Kitlings Lane, and it was agreed to discuss this further under Matters Arising. There were no further matters raised by any members of the public.
2301 Crime Report for March 2010
PC Thornton reported that there had been several incidents during the month. A vehicle had been stolen from Brocton Road, Milford, and later found abandoned. There had been a number of thefts from vehicles on Cannock Chase. In all cases, the items stolen had been left in full view, and the police were reminding the public not to leave valuables in their vehicles. The chain link at the entrance to the car park at Milford Common had been repaired, and the car park was again being locked at night. There had been no reports of any incidents in the evening at the car park since it was regularly locked. There had been no incidents reported at Holly Bush Field. Mayflower Security had been employed since 1 April 2010, and had displayed their signs at the entrances to the play area. Cllr Martin reported that the area had been locked very late in the evening, and had not been unlocked the following morning. After discussion it was agreed that the Clerk should write to Mayflower Security and stress the importance of locking the area no later than 8 pm, and reopening it no later than 8 am. Action: Clerk
Cllr Grayson reported that youngsters were gathering in the top corner of the footpath from Old Croft Road to Victoria Way where the fencing is in poor repair. PC Thornton offered to contact Safer Routes to School for funding, and this was agreed.
Cllr Bennett thanked PC Thornton for presenting the crime report.
2302 Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 2 March 2010
Page 5, 2294, paragraph 2 ‘Cllr Bennett, commented that both were very similar, with TGM quoting at £7,668 plus VAT and ACME at £7,867 plus VAT, and recommended that the contract should be awarded to TGM as the contractor known to the Council.’
Page 2, 2287, ‘5 January 2010’ should be ‘2 February 2010’.
Councillors agreed that subject to the above amendments the minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2010 were a true and accurate record, and they were signed by the Chairman.
2303 Matters Arising and Clerk’s Progress Report
2285, The Clerk had contacted SCC who would send a representative to view the state of the grass bank at the bottom of Kitlings Lane and contact STWA.
2285, After discussion Councillors agreed that TGM should be asked to reinstate the grass verge opposite the entrance to 184 Main Road, Milford. Action: Clerk
2290, SBC Planning Department had agreed that a Planning Officer would make a site visit.
2293, Cllr Bennett reported that hedging plants had been purchased and 100m of hedge planted at Walton Coppice by volunteers. Ten people had taken part, and the task was accomplished in just over one hour. It was planned to arrange two or three weekend sessions to clear brambles and tidy up accumulated growth. The chicken wire along the fence would be tidied up but not repaired or replaced.
It had been confirmed that volunteers for BKV and Walton Coppice are covered by the current insurance policy. Cllr Bennett thanked Mr C Kelly for his assistance in preparing risk assessments which complied with the requirements of the insurance policy. High visibility vests and a First Aid kit had been purchased.
2294, The Maintenance Contract had been awarded to TGM. ACME had been notified.
2280, Cllr Holt reported that Congreve House had been nominated for listing through the History Society. She had contacted the Conservation Officer with regard to the Bath House at Milford Hall, and attended a meeting of the Heritage Group who would be requesting SBC to adopt local listing as a policy.
2265, Penkridge Arboriculture were scheduled to reduce the height of the trees in School Lane on 22 April 2010.
2281, After discussion Councillors agreed that the Clerk should write to SBC Planning department to check that the various signs and banners at The Barley Mow, Milford, were compliant with current regulations. Action: Clerk
Councillors noted that signs warning of speed cameras were in place on Main Road, Milford. Cllr Holt reported that when travelling through Lancashire she had observed signs that showed a ‘smiley’ or miserable face according to the speed at which drivers were travelling. After discussion it was agreed that a letter should be sent to the Chief Constable requesting similar signs for Staffordshire. Action: Clerk
2304 Financial Matters and Financial Statement
It was proposed by Cllr S Francis and seconded by Cllr I Bearne that the accounts for March 2010 should be approved, and this was unanimously agreed.
Resolved that the Council in accordance with its powers under section 137 and 139 of the Local Government Act 1972, should incur the following expenditure, which in the opinion of the Council, is in the interest of the area or its inhabitants and will benefit them in a manner commensurate with the expenditure:-
To purchase grass seed to improve areas of the village in preparation for the Best Kept Village Competition 2010, to a maximum cost of £17.04.
Resolved that the Council in accordance with its powers under section 137 and 139 of the Local Government Act 1972, should incur the following expenditure, which in the opinion of the Council, is in the interest of the area or its inhabitants and will benefit them in a manner commensurate with the expenditure:-
To purchase book tokens as prizes for the BKV children’s poster competition and laminate the winning entries, to a maximum cost of £110.00.
Resolved that the Council in accordance with its powers under section 137 and 139 of the Local Government Act 1972, should incur the following expenditure, which in the opinion of the Council, is in the interest of the area or its inhabitants and will benefit them in a manner commensurate with the expenditure:-
To purchase hedging plants for part of the boundary of Walton Coppice, to a maximum cost of £148.05.
Resolved that the Council in accordance with its powers under section 137 and 139 of the Local Government Act 1972, should incur the following expenditure, which in the opinion of the Council, is in the interest of the area or its inhabitants and will benefit them in a manner commensurate with the expenditure:-
To employ Abbey Forestry to plant trees and mow grass at Walton Coppice, to a maximum cost of £1,718.44.
It was proposed by Cllr S Francis and seconded by Cllr Martin that the above Resolutions be carried, and this was unanimously agreed.
The financial statement for 2009/2010 had been circulated to Councillors for consideration. Cllr Morton proposed that the Business Account with the Co-operative Bank which was kept at £100, and the Deposit Account, should be replaced with a conventional single current account. Cllr Holt seconded the proposal, and it was unanimously agreed.
It was proposed by Cllr Bearne and seconded by Cllr Martin that the financial statement for 2009/2010 should be approved, and this was unanimously agreed.
2305 Planning Matters
10/13405/FUL
15 Oakover Grange, Brocton Lane, Walton on the Hill, Stafford Replacement Window. This application had been considered by the Planning Working Group, who had no comments to make.
10/13398/FUL
17 The Village, Walton on the Hill, Stafford. Two storey side extension, conservatory The Planning Working Group had considered this application. Comments had been submitted to SBC Planning department as the building was within the conservation area, there were concerns about over development of the site and impact on neighbouring properties, what was previously a row of cottages would appear to be semi detached properties.
2306 Asset Register
Cllr Morton was awaiting a reply from the insurers as to whether the policy covered the replacement cost or the written down cost of items. Councillors agreed that the Clerk should write to the insurers to clarify the position. Action: Clerk
Cllr Remon had completed the photographic record of items on the Asset Register.
2307 Revisions to Berkswich Parish Council Manual
Cllr Bennett had circulated suggested revisions to the Manual to Councillors, and these were unanimously agreed. Cllr Bennett asked Councillors to update their Manuals.
2308 Annual General Meetings
Cllr Bennett reminded Councillors that a number of members of the current Council would be standing down in 2011. He would be prepared to continue as Chairman until 2011, if that was acceptable to Councillors, but believed it would be important to have continuity. He asked Councillors to bear this in mind for the next meetings, and to think of encouraging residents to join the Council.
The Annual Parish Meeting, to be held in May, should be called by the Chairman. Councillors discussed whether it was necessary to hold three meetings in one evening, as in the past the Annual Parish Meeting, the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council, and the Parish Council Meeting for May were all held on the same evening. The Clerk had been advised by SPCA that the May meeting of the Parish Council and the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council were one and the same.
After discussion it was agreed to circulate draft agendas with the draft minutes, and to display the agenda for the Annual Parish Meeting in poster form. Action: Clerk
2309 Subscriptions and Donations
After discussion Councillors unanimously agreed to continue membership of the Community Council of Staffordshire, at an annual cost of £22.00.
Councillors decided against membership of CPRE (Campaign for the Protection of Rural England).
Councillors considered membership of the Staffordshire Parish Councils Association (SPCA). The Clerk reported that SPCA administered her training for the CiLCA qualification and would have an important role in proposed future changes to local government. It was proposed by Cllr S Francis and seconded by Cllr I Bearne that the Council should renew their membership of SPCA. Two Councillors voted in favour, three Councillors voted against, and there was one abstention.
2310 Berkswich Parish Fete, Saturday 19 June 2010, 1.30 pm
The Parish Council had traditionally supported the Church Fete. After discussion Cllrs Holt and Morton agreed to display History Society books and Parish Council leaflets in the gazebo, but would prefer a better site to that provided in 2009. The Clerk would contact Mr B Moore to advise him accordingly. Action: Clerk
2311 Maintenance, Visit of Community Gang
The Community Gang was scheduled to visit for two days on 29 April 2010. They would clear the verge on Old Croft Road down to Cannock Road, and after discussion it was agreed that they should be asked to tidy the verges on the Tixall Road from Milford Common to the Railway Bridge. Councillors were asked to contact the Clerk if there were any other tasks for the Gang to complete. Action: All
2312 Community Speedwatch Programme
The Clerk reported that there were six volunteers for the programme, which was the minimum number for the programme to be viable. Unfortunately not all were able to attend the first training session on 15 April 2010, and it was hoped another session would be arranged later in the year. The programme at Baswich had started with nine volunteers, and was now down to two.
After discussion Councillors agreed that volunteers should be encouraged to complete the training, which was free of charge, and should be asked for feedback on completion of the programme. Efforts to recruit further volunteers could be made later in the year. PC Thornton confirmed that the equipment was of good value and should not become obsolete for a considerable time.
2313 Correspondence and circulars received by the Clerk
A list of correspondence received to date had been circulated, and the Clerk listed recently received items of correspondence.
Cllr Bearne would be attending the AONB Parish Councils Meeting on 21 April 2010, and asked if Councillors had any concerns which they wished to be raised. Cllr Grayson provided clarification on the situation regarding the restrictions for dog owners on Cannock Chase.
2314 Matters for the next meeting
There were no matters specific to the next meeting.
2314 Crime and Disorder Implications
Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1988 places a duty on local authorities to consider crime and disorder implications and to exercise various functions on and to do all it reasonably can to prevent crime and disorder in its area. Minute No 2301 had a positive impact on crime and disorder and that all matters have been considered thereto.
The next meeting of Berkswich Parish Council will be held on Tuesday 4 May 2010 at 7.30 pm in Walton Village Hall
The Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance. There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.00 pm.