ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL – ENHANCEMENTS AND PRESERVATION COMMITTEE – Wednesday, June 4^th 2025

 DRAFT

A meeting of the Enhancements and Preservation Committee was held on Wednesday, 4^th June 2025 at Eccleshall Community Centre, after the Planning Committee meeting, at 8.30 pm.

  Present were:-

Councillor R. Langford (Chairman)     Councillor G. Dale

Councillor D. Hall                                   Councillor P. Jones

Councillor A. Reid                                  Councillor D. Hill

Councillor C. Wilkins

Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)

No members of the public

 1).    Apologies:-

Apologies were received from Cllrs. Perren, Taylor and Ryan-Bloor.

2).    Election of Chairman / Vice Chairman:-

Cllr. Langford took the chair to receive the nominations. Councillor S. Perren was nominated and re-elected as Chairman for the ensuing year.

Cllr Langford requested nominations for Vice-Chair of the committee and Councillor Langford was re-elected and took the chair for the meeting.

3).    Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 2^nd April 2025:-

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

4).   Asset inspections:-

• The Clerk provided an update on the asset inspections – to date ten benches have been refurbished, as well as three noticeboards and painting of the railings at the Washpits and cleaning of the lectern. Members were requested to complete their outstanding checks and report to the Clerk who can arrange for required remedial works at the earliest opportunity. The Clerk will also check when the full cut of the washpits is due – the last cut was only partial, possibly because the bluebells in that area had not finished flowering.

5).   Refurbished BT boxes:-

• BT box on the Washpits

Painting of the box is underway. Cllr. Hill had mentioned the use of the box as a public wi-fi service to the vicar at Holy Trinity. There has been no progress on any interest by the Scouts or the School to use the box as a display area.

6).   Croxton Play area and Outdoor Gyms:

• Inspection Reports:

Members received and considered the latest inspection report. The overall assessment of the park is low risk, with no areas requiring immediate attention since the replacement of the trim trail. There are some minor items of low risk such as missing caps, gate closure timings and repainting work. It was resolved for the Clerk to forward a highlighted copy of the report to Mr. Sheard to assess and fix the snags. The report also noted a split on one beam on the balance boards. The clerk has contacted Streetscape who has advised that there will be natural variations in the wood, but if the split widens and is of any concern, the equipment is covered by a full ten-year guarantee.

The park has now been jet washed, ahead of the well dressing festival.

7).   Beech Road Community Park:

• Installation is due to commence from the 16^th June, with a 3 week build time and 1 week set aside for any snagging and completion of an independent inspection before it is handed over and open for use.
• Nearby residents will receive a flyer to advise of the upcoming works and an on-site contact for any concerns during installation. Normal working hours are between 8 and 5pm weekdays, and the team will be mindful of residents and the limited access/parking. The footpath through the site will be temporarily closed for safety reasons.
• The park will be open as soon as it is signed off, with an official launch planned for a later date, yet to be arranged.
• Phase two of the project, the design and installation of planted areas, will be from autumn onwards, both to avoid the busy summer period and also to provide the opportunity to see how the park is used in terms of flow of people so the planters are in the best positions. Allotments Association representatives attended the last working group meeting, had a number of suggestions and were keen to help. The group will also be looking for sponsorship and/or advice from local garden centres.

7).   Lengthsman Scheme

Members were asked to forward any areas of work to the Clerk for consideration.

 8). Correspondence:

• Resident correspondence was received in relation to overgrown hedges along pavements near to Bishops Lonsdale School. One hedge on the same side of the road as the school has already been trimmed back to improve access. The Clerk has contacted the school about trimming the hedge to the front of the car park to the front of the Community Centre, which they are responsible for. There has been no response to date, although it was noted that as we are in the nesting season, there may be nests in the hedge that will prevent cutting back until later on.
• Concerns were raised about the hedge near to Linacre Road, opposite Redhill, which is so close to the road that larger vehicles have to wait and pass as single file traffic. The Clerk will submit a report to Highways for action.

 9).  Items for next meeting:-

Any items for consideration to be sent to the Clerk.

10).  Date of Next Meeting:-

August 13^th 2025, following the Planning Committee meeting.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.55 pm.