ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL – ENHANCEMENTS AND PRESERVATION COMMITTEE – Wednesday, February 5th 2025

A meeting of the Enhancements and Preservation Committee was held on Wednesday, 5th February 2025 at Eccleshall Community Centre, after the Planning Committee meeting, at 7.45 pm.

Present were:-
Councillor R. Langford (Chairman)                  Councillor G. Dale
Councillor D. Hall                                                 Councillor P. Jones
Councillor R. Taylor                                             Councillor D. Hill

Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)
No members of the public

1). Apologies:- Apologies were received from Cllrs. Perren and Ryan-Bloor

2). Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 4th December 2024:-

The minutes, which had previously been noted by the Council, were agreed and signed.

3). Asset inspections:-

• Members were circulated the new 2025 asset inspection sheets, to commence in spring.

4). Refurbished BT boxes:-

• BT box on the Washpits
  Cllr. Hill has asked Bishops Lonsdale Academy PTFA if they are interested in decorating the box and is chasing up a response. Cllr. Dale will check the condition and whether it needs locking.
  The Clerk is locating the paint from the other refurbishments to see how much is left to use on the washpits box, but additional supplies will be needed.

5). Croxton Play area and Outdoor Gyms:

• Croxton play area trim trail:

Members were provided with three quotations for replacement of the trim trail. The designs aim to provide a like for like replacement in terms of play factor but to also reduce the issue of rotting base posts and strimmer damage. The proposals were carefully considered and the committee resolved to recommend acceptance of the quote of £8550 plus VAT for Streetscape to supply and install a new trim trail, consisting of:
o Stimba Balance Slalom
o Stimba Single Balance Beam
o 4 Flower Stepping Posts
o Stimba Wobble Board
o Stimba Slalom Rope Walk
The Clerk will ensure that any work does not clash with the Well Dressing Festival on the 14th June.

• Cleaning of Croxton play area:

It was resolved to recommend the lengthsman undertake a thorough clean of the play area in May, prior to the Well Dressing Festival, at a cost of £325 plus VAT.

• Inspection Reports:

The next inspection is due this week, and the report will be considered at the next meeting.

6). Climate Change working group:

There have been previously unsuccessful attempts to plan a meeting with the working group, and members are keen to relaunch this. The working group has a large scope of work, to include the formation of a Biodiversity strategy, an audit of current actions and to consider Bee Friendly initiatives. Identifying a lead for the group will help move this forward, but many of the members currently have limited availability. However, although the project may seem large, it can be broken down into small initiatives over a longer period of time. The council already contributes to biodiversity in a number of ways, and these just need to be collated. It was also suggested that the council could work further with local wildlife groups and consider a display at the Community Showcase to encourage public involvement.
Current members of the group are Councillors Langford, Reid, Hill, Perren, Gosling, Mifflin and non-council member Mr. David Llewellyn.

It was resolved to:

Add the relaunch of the working group to the main council agenda
Request for a lead to be appointed and arrange a meeting
Cllr. Langford will help with an article for the summer newsletter, encouraging beneficial planting schemes for gardens

7). Tree Works – Jubilee Playing Field

• The Clerk has clarified the ownership of the trees near the boundary of the Borough Council owned strip of land. The Borough trees are within the conservation area and an application is being made to undertake remedial works. There is one large Ash tree that falls within the council boundary that requires remedial work to maintain it to a reasonable size. It was resolved to recommend approval of the quote of £1030 plus VAT, to include the cost of a TPO application.

8). Sakura Cherry Tree project

The Clerk submitted an expression of interest to receive up to three trees for planting within the parish. The Council has been advised that numbers can’t yet be confirmed due to overwhelming interest, and that the location must be provided prior to allocation. The trees require a 7 metre space, out of the wind and easy access to water. Due to the size, it was agreed to recommend amendment of the request to a single tree, for placement on the Jubilee Playing Field, in an inner corner, with a suitable clear space around.

9). Beech Road:

• A new draft lease has been supplied but the recommended change from our solicitor has not been included, so this has been referred back to the Borough Council for amendment. There are also further slight changes under review prior to approval but they do not appear to be of concern. The Clerk is chasing this to aim for approval at the February council meeting.
• The s.106 funding of £90,277 has been approved and the call-in period ended Tuesday 4th February without any issues, so the council expects to receive the funding soon.
• The Clerk is also following up on permission to scrap the existing equipment, which requires separate sign off.

9). Lengthsman Scheme

Members were asked to forward any other areas of work to the Clerk for consideration. Planned works include:
• Clearance of narrow pavement at Croxton where there is encroaching vegetation and debris.
• Tidying of the woodland area around Croxton Park, to include removal of loose/fallen branches
• General Croxton tidying works in May, prior to the Well Dressing Festival.

10). Correspondence:

• Correspondence was received regarding some graffiti on fencing on the Sancerre Grange estate. As it is on private property, is outside of the Borough Council remit.
On a separate note, a member had recently requested a litter pick of a roadside hedge after a recent spillage of rubbish and was very happy with the speed of the response and action.

11). Items for next meeting:-

Any items for consideration to be sent to the Clerk.

12). Date of Next Meeting:-

April 2nd, 2025, following the Traffic Management Committee meeting.
There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.40pm.