Minutes of the Meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council held on MAY 21^st 2025

 DRAFT

The Annual Meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council was held at Eccleshall Community Centre on May 21^st  2025, at 7.30pm. This meeting was followed by a meeting of the Planning Committee at 8.35pm.

65/25).  Present were:-

Councillor R. Taylor (Chairman)                   Councillor G. Dale

Councillor D. Hall                                            Councillor R. Langford

Councillor B. Delanchy                                 Councillor D. Hill

Councillor D. Feneysey                                  Councillor S. Mifflin

Councillor M. Gosling                                     Councillor A. Reid

Councillor P. Jones                                         Councillor C. Wilkins

Mrs Stacey Worden (Clerk)

Borough Councillor J. Pert

One member of the public

66/25).   To elect a Chairman and signature of declaration of office.

There were two candidates nominated for the Office of Chairman, Cllrs. Taylor and Jones. Councillor Taylor was duly re-elected as Chairman for the ensuing year.

Cllr. Taylor signed the declaration of office form.

67/25).    Apologies:

Apologies were received from Councillors Perren, Kean and Ryan-Bloor.

68/25).    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.

69/25).   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.

70/25).   To approve the minutes of the Council Meeting held on April 16^th 2025

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

71/25).    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 (VC), Taylor, Dale, Wilkins, Perren (Ch), Hill, Hall, Ryan-Bloor and Reid.

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

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

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

Staffing Committee – Councillors Jones, Delanchy and Taylor.

Other responsibilities/Liaison Reps:

Croxton Playing Fields – Councillor S. Mifflin and the Clerk

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 A. Reid

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, Perren, Gosling and Mifflin.

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, Hill, Reid, Gosling, Dale and Taylor.

Community Centre working group – Cllrs. Dale, Delanchy, Hall, Hill, Ryan-Bloor, Feneysey and Taylor.

72/25).    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.

73/25).    To review and re-adopt the following policies: –

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

• Standing Orders (updated to reflect latest NALC model Standing Orders)
• Financial Regulations (minor update to sections 5.4, 5.7 and 5.11)
• Complaints procedure (updated and expanded for clarity)
• Publication Scheme (minor update to reflect current published documentation)
• Policies, procedures and practices in respect of its obligations under freedom of information and data protection legislation. (content unchanged)
• Code of Conduct (updated to reflect latest model guidance)
• Disciplinary policy (new policy, to link into updated Complaints Procedure)

74/25).    Public Participation

There was no public participation.

75/25).    To receive any reports from Borough and County Councillors and police representatives.

Borough Councillor Pert provided a report. Updates included:

• Pert noted the resignation of the new County Councillor last week due to harassment of himself and his family. There were forty pieces of casework handed over prior to the resignation, which are unlikely to be picked up until a new Councillor is elected. Whilst the by-election date is not yet finalised, 17^th July is a strong possibility. Cllr. Pert expressed his thanks to the Parish Council for its support over the last 8 years.
• He is urgently requesting a meeting of all councillors with the planning team to understand which planning policies are currently enforceable in the current climate, to support parishes who will be responding to a number of speculative planning applications that are no longer defensible with settlement boundary designations.
• Local Government Reorganisation – in Surrey, councils who delayed their elections until 2026 are now seeing phase one of their reorganisation deferred to 2027. This could mean that Staffordshire may also see a drift in the timeline, in which case the Borough elections planned for 2027 may go ahead as initially planned. The Parish Council was encouraged to communicate with the councils on the potential acquisition of assets.
• Borough Councillor Jones provided a report and advised that his term of office as Deputy Mayor was completed. He also noted as he is no longer on the Borough Planning Committee he can vote on parish council planning application responses.

76/25).    Committee Updates:

Traffic Management:         

• There were no updates to report.

Footpaths:

• The minutes of the meeting held on 7^th May 2025 were noted.

Enhancements:

• The Clerk and Cllr. Reid are meeting on site with the appointed contractor for Kompan on Thursday 22^nd May, with a view to work commencing week 2/3 of June. Local residents will be kept informed of the installation plan.

Policy and Resources:

• There were no updates to report.

Events:

• The minutes of the committee meeting on the 7^th May 2025 were noted.
• The council noted the success of the VE Day 80 Celebration Evening at the Community Centre on the 8^th May and agreed to send the chip shop a letter of thanks for their support and the hard work of the staff on the night.
• The British Legion has enquired about procedural options for a road closure during the wreath laying ceremony at the November Remembrance Service. The Clerk has passed on the information received by the Borough Council.

77/25).    Summer newsletter

Work on the newsletter will commence in June, and there is plenty of content due to the recent VE Day events, as well as ongoing projects and updates on the work of the council. Any suggestions for further content can be forwarded to the Clerk. Cllr. Jones requested some content for inclusion in the Gazette and will liaise with the Clerk.

78/25).   To receive the notes from the Climate Change Working Group meeting and consider recommended actions for approval, to include costs for a bulb planting scheme

   Members were provided with the working group notes, as well as a completed biodiversity audit document and a map showing the green spaces in Eccleshall that could be considered for biodiversity enhancements.

Key points of the discussion included:

• It was resolved to approve the creation of an EPC Biodiversity Policy and ensure biodiversity was a regular agenda item to ensure it remains an active consideration
• To express interest to the Ecclian Society in progressing the idea of a voucher scheme with local garden centres for customers to receive a £10 voucher for a discount against purchase of pollinator friendly hanging baskets. Time is needed to develop the scheme so it could be marketed against a redemption period of May 2026. £350 could be allocated in the 2026/2027 budget subject to a suitable proposal. It was noted that ideally the scheme would need to target those who would not already install baskets, or it would not result in an overall increase in plants. A workshop format may help to do this.
• Members considered whether the council might work towards a ‘butterfly friendly town,’ but more information on what species we currently have is needed. A local resident undertakes a yearly audit which could help. Cllr. Gosling has expertise in this area and agreed to explore further.
• It was resolved to contact Staffs Wildlife Trust to enquire about the cost for obtaining data on fauna/fungi inhabiting the parish area.
• Planning responses should embed recommendations for increasing the biodiversity of the sites under development.
• Tactical sites such as verges and small grassed areas were identified where an increase in pollinator friendly plants could be considered. Many are owned by the Borough, County or Homes Plus, so permissions would need to be granted.
• It was resolved to approve the expenditure of up to £100 for the purchase and planting of English Bluebells, to be undertaken in the autumn. Suggested sites included the Eyeswells open space (Parish Council owned land), and the Borough Council owned area by the toilets in the location where snowdrops are not planted. The Clerk will need to obtain permission for this area. Some planting could be undertaken close to the hedges on the Jubilee Field, so as not to prevent the area being used for games.
• Gosling agreed to write an article for the summer newsletter on butterflies.
• The working group will arrange a follow up meeting late June. More members are needed to support the work of the group.

79/25).    To consider the request from Holy Trinity Church to contribute to costs for improving access to full fibre broadband at the Church and properties in the surrounding area

Members considered the proposal from Holy Trinity to contribute £500 towards the cost of a full fibre installation project, against a total estimated cost of £6,118.10. Openreach are expected to contribute £2,800 via a government grant. The installation will allow businesses and residents on the High Street and Church Street to also access full fibre and provides the potential to install a public Wi-Fi network along the High Street. The council resolved to approve the contribution of £500.

80/25).   To receive the Clerks Report, containing liaison representative updates.

  The Council received the Clerk’s report. The minutes of the last Allotments Association meeting were also received.

81/25).   Correspondence: –

• There was no correspondence for consideration.

82/25).   Chairman’s Report: –

• Over the last few weeks there have been a number of successful events delivered, including the VE Day celebratory events, and thanks were expressed to all involved.
• Taylor advised there were nineteen exhibitors booked into the Community Showcase on the 16^th June, with numbers to be capped at 25 to ensure there is enough space and tables available at the Church. The Scouts have kindly agreed to help again with serving refreshments. Leaflets are printed and will be delivered over the next week. Cllrs. Jones, Langford, Gosling, Wilkins, Mifflin and Taylor are available to support the event.

83/25).    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 and Clerk 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  3^rd June to the 14^th July 2025 inclusive.

A5 – To accept the financial report to end April 2025. It was resolved to accept the financial summary.

A6 – To approve accounts for payment May 2025:-

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. Cllrs. Taylor and Reid will process the approvals.

84/25).    Items / Date and Venue for next meeting: –

The next meeting of the Parish Council is scheduled for June 18^th, 2025, Offley Hay Village Hall, commencing at 7.30pm.  Severn Trent will be in attendance to provide an update on the lead pipe replacement project and ongoing plans to address flooding in the town centre area.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.30pm.