Minutes of the Meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council held on MAY 15^TH 2024

The Annual Meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council was held at Eccleshall Community Centre on May 15th 2024, at 7.30pm. This meeting was followed by a meeting of the Planning Committee at 8.35pm.

64/24).  Present were:-

Councillor R. Taylor (Chairman)                   Councillor G. Dale

Councillor M. Gosling                                     Councillor C. Wilkins

Councillor S. Perren                                       Councillor R Langford

Councillor D. Hill                                             Councillor P. Jones

Councillor S. Mifflin                                        Councillor D. Hall

Mrs Stacey Worden (Clerk)

2 members of the public

65/24).   To elect a Chairman and signature of declaration of office.

There was one candidate nominated for the Office of Chairman. Councillor Taylor was duly re-elected as Chairman for the ensuing year.

Cllr. Taylor signed the declaration of office form.

66/24).    Apologies:

Apologies were received from Councillors Kean, Ryan-Bloor, Delanchy, Feneysey, Reid and Borough and County Councillor Pert.

67/24).    To elect a Vice-Chairman and sign the declaration of office.

There was one candidate for the Office of Vice-Chairman. Councillor  Wilkins was duly re-elected as Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year.

Cllr. Wilkins signed the declaration of office form.

68/24).   To consider Councillor requests for dispensation and accept Declarations of interest    relating to items on the agenda.

There were no requests to receive, and no declarations of interest were made.

69/24).   To approve the minutes of the Council Meeting held on April 17^th 2024

The minutes, which had been previously circulated, were agreed and signed.

70/24).    To appoint Committees and Liaison Representatives.

It was resolved to approve the current membership and liaison responsibilities as listed below:

Committees:

Planning Committee                            All Councillors. Cllr. Delanchy (Ch),  Perren (VC).

Traffic Management Committee      Councillors Jones (Ch), Langford, Perren, Dale, Wilkins, Hill, Reid (VC), Ryan-Bloor, Taylor, Hall and Gosling.

Enhancements Committee               Councillors Jones, Langford, Taylor, Dale, Wilkins, Perren (Ch), Hill, Hall and Ryan-Bloor (VC).

Policy and Resources                       Councillors Taylor (Ch), Dale, Perren, Wilkins, Hall (VC), Hill and Feneysey.

Footpaths                                               Councillors Taylor (Ch), Mifflin, Wilkins (VC), Perren and Hill, together with co-opted members – Mr. N. Davenport and Mr. Graham Cole.

Events                                                    Councillors Dale, Taylor, Jones (Ch), Hill, Gosling, Perren and Feneysey.

Staffing Committee                              Councillors Jones, Delanchy and Taylor.

Other responsibilities/Liaison Reps:

Croxton Playing Fields                                     Croxton Councillors

Allotments                                                            Councillor S. Perren

Eccleshall Community Centre                        Councillor D. Hill

Parish Councils Assoc.                                    Clerk

Parish Forum                                                       Clerk

Police Liaison Officer                                        Clerk

Flood Action Group                                           Councillor S. Perren

Eccleshall First Responders                          Clerk

Offley Hay Village Hall                                       Clerk

Press Officer                                                        Councillor P. Jones

Ecclian Society                                                   Councillor G. Dale

Internal Auditor                                                   Councillor S. Mifflin

Independent Internal Auditor                          Mrs. Kim Squires

Slindon Residents                                             Councillor M. Gosling

Children & Young Peoples Champion          Councillor D. Hill

Croxton News                                                      Councillor R. Langford

Newsletter Editorial Team                               Councillors P. Jones, R. Langford and R. Taylor

Current Working Groups:

Sustainability and Climate Change (direct to Council):-      Councillors Langford, Reid, Hill and non-council member Mr. David Llewellyn.

Business Plan (P&R):-    Councillors Reid, Hill, Jones, Wilkins and Langford.

Youth Engagement (direct to Council):-    Councillors Hill,  Reid, Perren and Ryan-Bloor.

Beech Road Play area:- Councillors Perren, Reid, Hill, Ryan-Bloor, Dale and Feneysey plus local residents: Bishops Lonsdale PTFA representatives – Sam Cliffe, Aimi Lacanivalu, Victoria Goatman; Nursery Proprietor – Hannah Bull; Special needs advisor – Katherine Hodgkinson; Residents local to Beech Road – Stephanie Delicompagni, Lisa Lambert, Emma Griffiths, Rose Westwood; Rotary Club Representative – Sylvia Keris.

Town Centre Vision working group:- Councillors Langford, Perren, Hall, Hill, Reid, Gosling, Dale and Taylor.

Update on Eccleshall Flood Action Group:

Membership has declined over the past 2 years and there are currently only 4 group members. The group looked at whether it would benefit from being operated within the structure of a Parish Council committee/subcommittee, but it was decided that due to the constraints this would impose, it would be best to remain as an independent group. Cllr. Perren noted the importance of ensuring a councillor would be part of the group to provide reports and liaise with the council where support and action is required. The group will be reforming in autumn with a formal constitution which will enable them to apply for funding opportunities.

71/24).    To consider the Council’s Deeds and Insurances

It was resolved to defer this item to the next Policy and Resources committee meeting, to allow for full consideration.

72/24).    To review and re-adopt the following policies: –

    The following policies were reviewed and re-adopted with any changes as noted below: –

• Complaints procedure (content unchanged)
• Standing Orders (content unchanged)
• Financial Regulations (content unchanged pending new model document from NALC for full review)
• Publication Scheme (minor amendments to include the availability of the bench to bench and the circular walks booklets)
• Policies, procedures and practices in respect of its obligations under freedom of information and data protection legislation. (content unchanged apart from contact details).
• Risk Assessment Summary – (new document adopted to supersede the Financial Risk Assessment).
• Risk Management Policy (new document adopted).

73/24).    Public Participation

A resident spoke to update the council with regards to the unresolved works on Church Street, where traffic lights have been in place for months. The resident also reported a lifted kerbstone on the Sancerre Grange roundabout which is in the path of drivers and a safety concern. The clerk will chase up both  issues with highways and also report the kerbstone issue to other relevant authorities to obtain urgent resolution.

A resident spoke to raise awareness of an initiative in other areas where white lines are painted on a strip of wide pavements to allow for large vehicles to mount the kerb when parking and not provide an obstruction to traffic flow. It was noted that the setts along the High Street are unsuitable for vehicles, and they would be damaged as a result. However, this would be referred to the Vision working group for its consideration.

74/24).    To receive any reports from Borough and County Councillors and police representatives.

Borough Councillor Jones provided a report and advised that the mayor making on Saturday 11^th May went well and he was now Deputy Mayor of Stafford for another term.

PCSO Powell was unable to attend the meeting but had provided feedback on how best to access local crime statistics via the police website and to let her know if members had questions about specific incidents in advance of meetings so that she could look up the information and feedback.

75/24).    Committee Updates:

Traffic Management:         

• Representatives of the committee had a productive meeting with highways representatives on Friday 10^th Issues raised included the positioning and visibility of the pedestrian crossing, improvements to signage in the related area, parking issues and potential solutions and concerns about the Sancerre Grange roundabout in relation to speeding and vehicles not taking the correct route round. The County Council has since advised indicative costs for some works and the option to pay for a feasibility study of the area. This will be given full consideration at the next Traffic Management meeting to recommend actions to move forward.

Footpaths:

• The minutes of the meeting held on 1^st May 2024 were noted.
• It was resolved to approve the recommendation to proceed with design and manufacture of the information boards for Bishops Wood at a cost of £861 plus VAT.

Enhancements:

• The notes from the latest working group meeting were circulated to all members. The group has considered the feedback from the survey in depth (there was a very good response rate and constructive suggestions) and has drafted up a wish list of requirements. These will be used to obtain some initial designs and quotations for discussion at the next meeting, which is proposed for the 9^th The Clerk advised she is looking into the legal requirement to advertise the tender via Contracts Finder due to the value of the contract to be entered into. It was resolved for the Clerk to undertake any necessary advertisements and actions required to proceed with obtaining quotes for the project.

Policy and Resources:

• There were no updates to report.

Events:

• The minutes of the committee meeting on the 1^st May 2024 were noted.
• The council noted the decision to participate in the 2024 Christmas tree festival.

76/24).    Appointment of the Internal Auditor for 2024-25.

The Council resolved to approve the re-appointment of Kim Squires as the internal auditor for the period April 1st 2024 -31st March 2025.

77/24).    Summer newsletter – request for content and cover image

Work on the newsletter will commence in June, and members were asked to contribute to the newsletter by providing articles and photos to the Clerk for inclusion in the newsletter. Cllr. Hill will provide a YEP article and Cllr. Gosling will provide a report on the First Responders.

78/24).   To consider and resolve adoption of the revised Forward Plan

  Members were provided with an updated copy of the Forward Plan for 2022-2025, amended to reflect the current budget and planned/current activities of the council.

It was requested that the document be amended to include more detail on the proposed partnership with the County Council to run Eccleshall Community Library, as this is now a major project for the council. It was agreed that this will be undertaken, and the document brought back for approval in June.

79/24).   Update to the proposed community library partnership and to receive the associated risk report.

Cllr. Taylor provided an update on activities to date which has included a meeting with County Council representatives  and a further meeting with county representative and volunteers. The meeting with the volunteers was to understand the current structure of the library and how the roles previously undertaken by Rotary Club members will be picked up by the parish council and volunteers to ensure a smooth handover. A document was circulated to members which summarised the risks and mitigation in place in relation to the planned library partnership. This has been reviewed and agreed by the County Council as an accurate and thorough representation of the risks. The council were in agreement.

80/24).   To receive the Clerks Report, containing liaison representative updates.

  The Clerks report was received by the Council.

81/24).   Correspondence: –

• Correspondence was received from E.ON requesting approval to paint the streetlight columns black in the town centre. At present there is a mix of grey and black. The council was in favour of this course of action.

82/24).   Chairman’s Report: –

There were no further updates to report.

83/24).    Accounts: –

A1 – To receive the Internal Audit report. Copies of the report were circulated to members in advance of the meeting. The report advised that there were no matters to be brought to the attention of the council. The Parish Council resolved to accept the report.

A2 – To Approve the Annual Governance Statement (Section 1 of the Annual Return). The Annual Governance Statement was considered by the Council in detail, and it was resolved that all matters had been adequately complied with. The Chairman signed the form accordingly.

A3 – To consider and approve the Accounting Statements (Section 2 of the Annual Return). Copies of the statement had been circulated to members in advance of the meeting. It was resolved to approve the statement of accounts, and this was signed by the Chairman.

A4 – To note the date of announcement and the commencement and ending dates for the accounts public inspection period. This was noted by the Parish Council. The period is from the  4^th June to the 15^th July 2024 inclusive.

A5 – To accept the financial report to end April 2024. It was resolved to accept the financial summary.

A6 – To approve accounts for payment May 2024:-

Payments made since the last full Council meeting were received and noted as follows:

Authorisation was sought for payment of the following accounts:-

All were in favour and the accounts will be paid accordingly.

A7 – Payment of balance of work undertaken to the Eagle sculpture. There has been no further feedback received in relation to metal scrap value to offset the outstanding balance owed to the artist of £800. Cllr. Dale proposed to pay the outstanding balance and noted the inconvenience caused to the artist throughout the project. Cllrs. Taylor, Jones, Gosling, Dale, Hill, Hall and Perren voted in favour of this resolution. It was therefore resolved to approve the payment of £800 in full and final settlement of the work undertaken by the artist. It was further agreed that the Clerk would include this payment for approval with the above list to ensure prompt settlement.

84/24).    Items / Date and Venue for next meeting: –

The next meeting of the Parish Council is scheduled for June 19^th, 2024, Offley Hay Village Hall, commencing at 7.30pm.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.32pm.