Minutes of the Meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council held on 18^th JANUARY 2023

Minutes of the Meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council held on 18th January 2023

A meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council was held at Eccleshall Community Centre on 18^th January 2023 at 7.30pm. This meeting was followed by a meeting of the Planning Committee at 8.55pm.

1/23).   Present were:-

Councillor P. Jones (Chairman)           Councillor B. Delanchy

Councillor R. Taylor                            Councillor C. Wilkins

Councillor S. Kean                              Councillor A. Reid (from 7.35pm)

Councillor D. Hill                                   Councillor S. Perren

Councillor C. Ryan-Bloor

Mrs Stacey Worden (Clerk)

Borough and County Councillor J. Pert (until 8.00pm)

No members of the public

2/23.)    Apologies were received from Cllrs. J. Jones, Mifflin, G. Dale, L. Dale, Leather and Langford.

3/23).   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.

4/23).   Public Participation:

There were no members of the public in attendance.

5/23).   To approve the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on November 16^th 2022

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

6/23).   Elford Heath Great Crested Newt Project –Jonathan Groom, Staffs Wildlife Trust.

Mr. Groom was unable to attend and sent his apologies.

(Cllr. Reid joined the meeting at this point).

7/23).   Report from the Borough Councillor, County Councillor, and police representatives

Borough and County Councillor Pert provided a verbal report. Items included:

• The County and Borough Councils are in the process of budget setting. Stafford Borough Council has saved £600k from the budget due to a further sharing of services with Cannock Chase Council. A Council Tax increase of 2% is being proposed by the Borough.
• The Stafford town centre regeneration works have commenced, with £20 million of central government funding.
• There are now around 30 Warm Spaces within the Borough for those who want to access a warm space with a hot meal and drinks.
• The speed limit changes previously consulted on will be implemented within the next 3 months, to include extension of the 30mph zone on Castle Street/A519 Newcastle Road and buffer zones leading up to it.
• Those eligible for free Covid and flu jabs are being urged to take them up, to alleviate pressure on the hospitals.

Borough Councillor P. Jones provided a verbal report. Items included:

• A public surgery was held in the library on Saturday 14^th January and the next one scheduled for Saturday 11^th
• The next Borough Council meeting will be held on Tuesday 24^th
• Volunteers from the footpaths marshals and litter pickers will be attending an evening at the Mayor’s Parlour on Thursday 19^th

There was no report or attendance by police representatives.

8/23).   Committee Updates:

  Traffic Management:

• There were no updates to report.

Footpaths:

• Ten circular walks have been completed and volunteers will be starting to walk the routes in order to check them before publishing.  One route that includes Bishops Wood will benefit from additional footpath signage within the area. This is a separate project and it is hoped there may be match funding available from the County Rights of Way team to improve the signage in this area.

Enhancements:

• The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th January 2023 were noted.
• It was resolved to approve the recommendation to purchase replacement marker posts for the edge of Copmere Picnic site at a cost of £52.31 plus shipping.
• It was resolved to approve the recommendation to proceed with the lengthsman proposal, with an allocated budget of £3000. The Clerk will publicise the opportunity and collate expressions of interest. It was noted that some activities overlap with those undertaken by the County Council, but its schedules may not coincide with the need for the works to be completed. The Clerk will liaison with County officers to avoid duplication if planned works are imminent and also to check if certain works require permissions.
• It was resolved to defer a decision on the recommendation to proceed with the Great Crested Newt project at Elford Heath until Mr. Groom is able to attend the meeting to answer questions. The Clerk will invite him to the February meeting.

(Borough and County Cllr. Pert left the meeting at this point).

• It was resolved to approve the recommended contractors for renewal of the Grounds Maintenance contract from 2023 to 2025. The contracts will be awarded as follows:

Jacksons of Eccleshall:

• Elford Heath, triangle near Kerry Lane – x 10
• Offley Hay Village Hall – x 8
• Rose Bay Willow Herb (cutting back) – x 3

Trent Grounds Maintenance:

• Kerry Lane verge (bench site) x 10
• Washpits, Eyeswells footpath mowing, Croxton Play area, Bishops Court – fortnightly
• Picnic Site, Pump Site, Eyeswells strimming/hedge, 2 verges opposite Croxton play area – monthly
• Eyeswells and Bishops Court Hedge – annual cuts
• Footpath 13, Hartlands Rd alley – x 3
• Church St and Castle St. Verges – x 4
• Strimming of vegetation on wall, Stafford Road- x 3

  Policy and Resources:

• The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th January 2023 were noted.
• Members considered the recommended draft budget for 2023/24, of £107,043.00. The budget was amended slightly from the original proposal to reduce the expenditure and also reduce some of the proposed earmarking. The resulting budget ensures that the precept will not increase for residents. The shortfall of income will be managed by the prudent use of reserves within the recommended balances advised as good accounting practice by the Joint Panel on Accountability and Governance. It was resolved to approve the draft budget.
• It was resolved to approve the recommended Precept for 2023/24 of £82,950. This was a 0.4% increase for the Parish Council and a 0% increase to residents (due to the increased tax base).
• It was resolved to approve the recommended changes to the bank signatories as follows:
  • To remove Cllr. L. Dale
  • To add Cllr. A. Reid and Cllr. R. Taylor
• It was resolved to approve the recommended grant allocations as follows:
  • Broughton WI (Croxton Well Dressing) – £400
  • Eccleshall Community Amateur Dramatics – £500
  • Katharine House – £200
  • Eccleshall Tennis Club – £200
• The clerk advised that the Parish Council insurance policy has been renewed with our existing provider, Gallagher, who were able to provide a competitive quote.

  Events:

• The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th January 2023 were noted.
• The committee is proposing to deliver a family oriented community picnic to celebrate the Coronation on Monday 8th May. Details are yet to be finalised but possible activities to be considered include a band, kids activities such as a bouncy castle and provision of food and drink for those not wanting to bring a picnic. It was resolved to approve this course of action and the committee will update the council with full details as the planning progresses.
• It was resolved to approve a budget of up to £5,000 for the Coronation event, which may include an element of grant provision to support other coronation events.

9/23).   Update to discussions with Stafford Borough Council regarding the Eagle Street Art location.

Stafford Borough Council will consider whether the Eagle Street Art can be sited on the open space by the Stone Road, at a cabinet meeting on the 9^th February. If approved by the Borough Council, the Parish Council will then consider whether to accept this course of action, which entails leasing part of the open space around the structure for a 30 year period and to maintain that piece of land along with the Eagle Street Art.

The clerk is checking whether Amey will still install the Street Art free of charge.

10/23). To provide an update on options for purchase and installation of an appropriate hearing loop system to improve meeting accessibility.

Members considered a number of systems as researched by the Clerk. Due to the use of multiple venues the main considerations include portability and suitability for different type of venue. Options included:

• Installation of a permanent room loop with portable amplifier and mic to move between venues.
• Fully portable loop system with additional loop cabling which could be permanently installed in the Community Centre but would need to be set up each time at other venues due to the maximum 8x8m loop size.
• An option (Roger On system) which did not require a room loop but operated with neckloops and a desk mic/receiver.

The council were in favour of the ‘Roger On’ portable system which did not require a room loop and came with 5 neckloops in the initial kit (but can support up to 10). Members wished to explore if the system could be purchased with a trial period so that it could be returned if unsuitable. It was resolved for the clerk to check their returns policy and if this had provision for a trial period to ensure it was suitable for our venues, to purchase the kit at a cost of £1365 plus shipping.

11/23).  Clerk’s report, containing liaison representative updates.

The report was received and noted.

12/23).   Correspondence

• The follow up correspondence from Forestry England regarding Big Bishops and Little Bishops Wood forest management was received by members, It was noted that they had provided a clear response to the concerns raised. The Clerk will liaise with Forestry England to take them up on their offer of a site visit and arrange a suitable date.
• The Council noted receipt of a thank you card from Buckingham Palace in response to the Council’s condolence letter on the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
• Members received the NALC conference report provided by Cllr. Reid and thanks were expressed for taking the time to produce the summary. One point of note was in relation to Neighbourhood Plans – current law allows for a NP, and a Local Plan, to be stricter than national guidelines.
• Correspondence from CPRE (The Countryside Charity) was considered regarding Parish Council membership opportunities. It was noted that the group may be able to offer support with the current Local Plan concerns relating to Meecebrook. It was resolved to approve membership of the CPRE at a cost of £60.

13/23).   Chairman’s Report:-

• The Chair will be attending the Stone Parish Liaison meeting next week.
• The procedure for the upcoming elections in May 2023 was outlined to members and the Clerk will circulate any further information provided by the Borough Council when available. It is hoped that forms will be available to distribute but it is each councillors responsibility to complete and submit them to the Borough offices in Stafford. It was suggested that arranging an informal Q&A session for residents would be helpful to encourage those who may be interested in standing to be a parish councillor.

14/23).  Financial Matters

• To accept the Financial report and bank reconciliation to 31^st December 2022:

 It was resolved to accept the financial summary, which includes the bank reconciliation up to and  including 31^st December 2022.

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

• To approve accounts for payment January 2023:-

Authorisation was sought for payment of the following accounts:

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

It was also resolved to arrange payment of the agreed grants prior to the next meeting.

15/23).  Items / Date and Venue for next meeting:-

The next meeting of the Parish Council is scheduled for 15^th February 2023, Eccleshall Community Centre 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 8.55pm.