Minutes of the Meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council held on 16^th March 2022

A meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council was held at Eccleshall Community Centre on 16^th March 2022 at 7.30pm. This meeting was followed by a meeting of the Planning Committee at 8.40 pm.

Prior to the meeting, the Council expressed their condolences at the passing of Bev Thompson, who was a well-respected member of the community and had dedicated so much of his time undertaking works to keep the town centre looking its best. Thoughts were also extended to Ukraine and the suffering inflicted on its inhabitants from the current conflict.

The meeting opened with prayers

31/22). Present were:-    

Councillor P. Jones  (Chairman)           Councillor L. Dale

Councillor R. Taylor                              Councillor J. Jones

Councillor G. Dale                               Councillor S. Perren

Councillor A. Reid                                Councillor C. Wilkins

Councillor S. Kean                                Councillor B. Delanchy

Councillor D. Hill

Mrs Stacey Worden (Clerk)

No members of the public

Borough and County Councillor J. Pert.

32/22.)  Apologies were received from Cllrs. Langford, Mifflin, Leather, Amos and PCSO Higgins.

33/22). To consider Declarations of Interest and Councillor requests for dispensation relating to      items on the agenda.

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

34/22). Public Participation:

There was no public participation

35/22). To approve the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on February 16^th, 2022

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

36/22). Report from the Borough Councillor, County Councillor, and police representatives

County Councillor Pert provided a verbal report. Updates included:

• 4 local businesses were recognised in the recent Taste of Staffordshire awards. Stafford Borough Council is continuing its campaign to promote Eccleshall as a visitor destination.
• Work is ongoing to catch up on gully emptying. Issues are caused in certain areas (an example is on Green Lane) where landowners are discharging water into highways drains. EPC are asked where possible to persuade landowners to maintain their own ditches and discourage this activity.
• A grant of £450k has been recently awarded to SBC to help to tackle homelessness.
• A £1 million fund is being used to support implementation of energy saving measures to reach a borough carbon neutral target by 2040.
• Pert attended a formal opening ceremony for the new buildings at Stafford College, which has greatly improved its facilities and quality of course provision over the last few years.

Cllr. Reid enquired regarding the possibility of the County Council extending key rural bus routes to support those post 16 children who were struggling to travel to school/college. It was advised that extension of a route via Croxton was unlikely due to lack of demand but extension of a service to incorporate Standon/Cotes Heath was under consideration. Feasibility is yet to be determined, but if possible, start dates would aim to be in line with the commencement of the summer term.

Cllr. Peter Jones provided a verbal report. Updates included:

• A conversation with a planning officer about the potential Meecebrook garden development noted that it would be delivered over approximately 30 years and would consist of at least 6,000 properties. However it would need to be agreed and fit within the Local Plan, which is still under revision.
• His last surgery session raised a number of issues, none of which were within the remit of the Parish Council.

Members extended their congratulations to Cllr. P. Jones on his re-election to the position of Deputy Mayor for Stafford Borough.

The police statistics provided by PCSO Higgins prior to the meeting were received. It was noted that the policing area of Eccleshall is different to the Parish area.

37/22). New appointments to Committees:

It was resolved to appoint Cllr. Hill as a member of the Events, Enhancements and Footpaths committees.

Cllr. J. Jones advised the Offley Hay Village Hall committee now meet on a Wednesday evening so will clash with Council meetings and make it difficult to attend. The committee are happy to share its minutes for our information.

38/22). Committee Updates:

  Traffic Management

There were no updates to report. The next meeting will be held on the 6^th April.

Footpaths:

• The Circular walks project is ongoing, with 4 of the 11 proposals submitted to date. It is expected to be a longer term project, looking towards the autumn for completion.
• The increased incidence of cigarette butt littering outside pubs was raised. The Council has asked for information on which pubs and they will be asked to help keep areas clear of butts.
• The Doorstep walks leaflets are awaiting a final draft from the Borough Council but at present there is no-one in post who is responsible for the project. Cllr. Pert agreed to take this back for follow up, as it would be helpful to obtain the walks by the 7^th April, ahead of a Crown Surgery Health and Wellbeing event.

Enhancements:

• The outdoor gym installation will be undertaken from the 16-18^th March, and preliminary work was in evidence at the community centre site.

Policy and Resources:

• To note the minutes of the meeting held on the 2^nd March 2022.
• It was resolved to approve the final Budget for 2022/23. A copy will be appended to the minutes.

• It was resolved to approve the recommended virements for 2021/22 as below:

Agreed in September 2021 and further noted:

• • £3,000 from Bus Subsidy (4300) to Jubilee Events (4800), as per agreed budget
  • £1,000 from Traffic Management other (4635) to Jubilee Events (4800), as per agreed budget

Approve March 2022:

• • £4420 from Projects (4600) to Health and Wellbeing (4615) for outdoor gym
  • £2000 from TM other projects (4635) to Health and Wellbeing (4615) for outdoor gym
  • £1000 from TM other projects (4635) to Repairs (4355) for Ash Tree removal

• It was resolved to approve the recommended additional earmarking for 2022/23 as follows:
  • £98 – to Croxton Play Area (unspent budget)
  • £2,000 – to Allotments (rents and general reserves)
  • £660 – Elections (accumulated reserves)
  • £2,000 – Beech Road/Youth Projects
  • £1,000 – to Community Centre (general reserves)

This will bring total earmarked reserves up to an estimated figure of £58,646.61 (subject to outstanding expenditure).

• The business plan working group membership was agreed to consist of Cllrs. Reid, Hill, P. Jones and Wilkins. The group will arrange to meet to review the current plan and feed back in due course.
• It was resolved to approve the grant of £380 to support provision of a PA system for the  Eccleshall Festival Street Market.

Events:

• The minutes of the committee meeting on the 2^nd March 2022 were noted.
• Planning for the Jubilee activities is progressing well. Posters are going up around town and will be updated with ticket sales information when finalised. A response is awaited from the Co-Op regarding possible sponsorship/advertising links with the cake competition. The art competition is now likely to be hosted at the Community Centre.
• A grant application has been submitted to the National Lottery Community awards scheme for £2,500.

39/22). To consider the requirements and schedule for printed publications in 2022.

It was agreed that this year’s print publication plan will consist of an events programme (end April/early May); a post event Jubilee commemorative brochure (in lieu of a June Newsletter) and a winter newsletter (end November). Community members will be asked to contribute photos for inclusion in the brochure.

40/22).  To consider the response from the Ecclian Society regarding the proposal for a joint tidying project.

The Council welcomed the response from the Ecclians, who were supportive of the proposal and has requested that the Council draw up a list of projects and areas that need attention, with timescales. It was noted that these were not expected to include duties that were the responsibility of the Borough Council or other bodies. Members were asked to submit suggestions to the Clerk and these will be discussed by the Enhancements Committee at its next meeting.

41/22). Planning for the Annual Parish Meeting to be held on 11 May, 2022:

It was agreed that a small working group would be beneficial to plan the content and logistical arrangements for the meeting. The group will consist of Cllrs. P. Jones, Reid and Hill, who will arrange a meeting at the earliest opportunity.

42/22).  Dog fouling:

Members noted this was an ongoing issue and difficult to resolve. It was noted the majority of areas had bins nearby to dispose of the waste and previous attempts by the church to provide dog bags resulted in the box being destroyed within a week. Notices were recently put up by a resident and have since been removed. It was agreed to refer to the Footpaths committee for further discussion. Research will be undertaken to determine issues experienced in other areas and if any effective solutions were implemented. It was agreed to support a low profile campaign to raise awareness of the health issues of leaving dog waste, and using noticeboards, newsletters and linking to national campaigns to encourage owners to clean up after their dogs.

43/22). To receive the Clerk’s report, containing liaison representative updates.

The Council received the Clerk’s report.

44/22). Correspondence

• The response from Baroness Vere of Norbiton to Sir Bill Cash regarding the vacant seat scheme was received. Members noted their disappointment that exemptions were granted but not taken advantage of.
• The resident correspondence regarding tidying of the town was received. It was felt that the residents concerns would be addressed via the planned joint project with the Ecclians.
• The request for the creation of a footpath, via Chebsey Parish Council was considered. The Parish Council were happy to add its support of the resident proposal to the support expressed by Chebsey Parish Council but noted that it would also not be able to provide financial support.

45/22). Chairman’s Report:-

There were no updates to report.

46/22). Financial Matters 

To accept the Financial report and bank reconciliation to end February 2022:

It was resolved to accept the financial summary, which includes the bank reconciliation up to and including the 28^th February, 2022.

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

To approve accounts for payment March 2022:-

Authorisation was sought for payment of the following accounts:

All were in favour and the cheques were signed accordingly.

Staffing

• The implementation and payment of the annual NJC National Salary award for the Clerk and Assistant Clerk, backdated to 1st April 2021, was noted.
• It was resolved to approve the nominal ad-hoc overtime hours for the Assistant Clerk to support additional short term workload generated by the Jubilee event. Hours will be planned and approved by the Clerk and it is anticipated to be 1-2 hours maximum over the next few weeks. Whilst this is planned within the staffing budget it is anticipated that they would mostly be in lieu of overtime hours by the Clerk, so there would be no, or minimal, overall increase in cost.

47/22). Items / Date and Venue for next meeting:-

The next meeting of the Parish Council is scheduled for 20^th April, 2022, at Broughton Parish Rooms at 7.30pm. Agenda items can be forwarded to the Clerk for consideration

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.36pm.