Minutes of the Meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council held on

22^nd January 2025

A meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council was held at Eccleshall Community Centre on 22^nd January 2025 at 7.30pm. This meeting was followed by a meeting of the Planning Committee at 8.35pm.

   1/25). Present were:-

Councillor R. Taylor (Chairman)                   Councillor G. Dale

Councillor A. Reid                                           Councillor P Jones

Councillor B. Delanchy                                 Councillor D. Hill

Councillor D. Feneysey                                  Councillor C. Ryan-Bloor

Councillor M. Gosling                                     Councillor S. Kean

Councillor D. Hall

Mrs Stacey Worden (Clerk)

One member of the public

    2/25). Apologies were received from Cllrs. Perren, Langford, Wilkins and Mifflin.

    3/25). 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.

    4/25). Public Participation:

A resident advised that the Speed watch team is still active, although there are only three members at present. It is planned to undertake some sessions when the weather improves, as it has been observed that speeds in the area are increasing.

    5/25). To approve the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 20^th November 2024.

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

    6/25). Committee and working group membership:

Cllr. Hall requested to leave the Traffic Management Committee and join the Footpaths Committee, which was approved.

    7/25). Report from the Borough Councillor, County Councillor, and police representatives:

Borough Councillor Jones advised he attended the Police Drop-in session held by PCSO Higgins at the Co-op on Saturday 18^th January.

    8/25). Committee Updates:

    Traffic Management:

• The minutes from the meeting on the 9^th January 2025 were noted.
• It was resolved to approve the recommendation to print and circulate the parking survey letter, at a cost of £23 for 75 copies
• It was resolved to authorise the Clerk to proceed with the speed indication device repair and submit an insurance claim if required.

Footpaths:

• No updates to report

Enhancements:

• The minutes from the meeting on the 4^th December 2024 were noted.
• It was resolved to approve the recommended quotation of £600 for painting of the telephone box at the washpits.
• It was resolved to approve the recommended contractors for renewal of the Grounds Maintenance contract from 2025 to 2027. The contracts will be awarded as follows:

Jacksons of Eccleshall:

o            Elford Heath, triangle near Kerry Lane – x 10

o            Offley Hay Village Hall – x 8

o            Rose Bay Willow Herb (cutting back) – x 3

       Trent Grounds Maintenance:

o            Kerry Lane verge (bench site) x 10

o            Washpits, Eyeswells footpath, Croxton Play area, Bishops Court mowing-  fortnightly

o            Picnic Site, Pump Site, Eyeswells strimming/hedge, 2 verges opposite Croxton play area –  monthly

o            Eyeswells and Bishops Court Hedge – annual cuts

o            Footpath 13, Hartlands Rd alley –  x 3

o            Church St and Castle St. Verges – x 4

o            Strimming of vegetation on wall, Stafford Road- x 3

• Members noted the planned involvement in the Sakura Cherry Tree project. A suitable site is to be confirmed.

    Policy and Resources:

• The minutes from the meeting on the 4th December 2024 were noted.
• Members resolved to approve the recommended draft budget for 2025/26 of £129,451.00.
• It was resolved to approve the recommended Precept for 2025/26 of £84,200. This is a 1.1% increase for the Parish Council and a 2% increase to residents due to a slight decrease in the tax base. It was reported that for a band D household, the increase will be approximately 6p a month.

    Events:

• The minutes from the meeting on the 8^th January 2025 were noted.
• The Council noted the plans for the VE Day commemoration on the 8th May 2025. The committee will be discussing a proposal to include businesses and residents in a window dressing competition.

    9/25). To consider the suggestion of including a community group directory on the parish council website

There is a community directory already in existence on the Eccleshall Guide website. Members agreed it would take considerable additional resource to set up and update a separate directory which was not practical at present. It was resolved to signpost the Eccleshall Guide website from the Parish Council website. It was also agreed to request permission from groups attending this years Community Showcase to display their contact details on the council website and for the groups to advise any updates accordingly. Generic email addresses are preferable, as they are less likely to change.

   10/25). Safeguarding Training Courses

Members considered the options available for online training and face to face training courses. Whilst the current activities of the council and its members may not be considered necessary to warrant the need to complete safeguarding training, it does provide a general awareness of where there may be concerns. It was noted that any training would require ongoing refresher training to ensure knowledge is current. The council agreed that this should be considered for library volunteers, and this will be added to the next library management team meeting for further discussion. If it was agreed to offer face to face training, councillors could be invited to attend.

   11/25). Beech Road – to receive feedback on the working group meeting, public information session, progression of the lease agreement and to approve the amended quotation for the play area.

The public information session was held on the 10^th December and the plans were very positively received. Members of the Allotments Association attended and expressed an interest in helping with the community garden proposal. The lease is awaiting some minor amendments after a solicitor review. It was resolved to approve the amended quotation of £99,858.40 for the supply and installation of the play park, which includes the proposed amendments by the working group and provision of gate signage. The Borough Council are considering the s.106 funding application at its cabinet meeting on the 23^rd January, and if approved, will then go through a 2 week call in period, after which the funds will be made available. Holy Trinity church has also agreed to provide funding of £1,313 for the Minibeast HQ and Finger maze activity panel, which is excellent news.

  12/25). Clerk’s report, containing liaison representative updates.

• The report was noted with no additional comments.

  13/25). Correspondence

• Members noted receipt of the resignation letter from the Eccleshall Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator and expressed their thanks to John Baldry for his commitment and hard work in supporting Eccleshall.
• Flooding:
  • Ongoing flooding of properties on High Street and Castle Street. The council received a summary of correspondence from a resident experiencing flooding, and correspondence from County Councillor Pert who is working with Severn Trent and County Council teams to find out the reason for the increased flooding. Residents and Parish Councillors also met with representatives from Leigh Ingham MP’s office to raise concerns and lobby for action. It is important to note there are two issues under consideration – the historic flooding of the area, and the newer element of the problem which has floods increasing in intensity and duration, evidenced by ingress into nearby property basements and water pluming up from grids as well as ongoing generalised road flooding. Any incidences must be reported, preferably with photos and/or videos, to strengthen the evidence base.
  • Flooding issues in Slindon. Members noted the resident concerns and will raise with the relevant Highways officer to ask for support. It was noted that although there have been significant recent improvements in some areas of the highway, the larger pipework is still feeding into the existing system which may just move the problem elsewhere such as Sytch Lane.
  • It was noted that the Eccleshall Flood Action Group is not active at present and is asking for a new chairman to lead the group as Cllr. Perren has resigned from the position.
• Members considered the correspondence from Holy Trinity for PC involvement to lobby for upgrade to full fibre access. Cllr. Reid reported that the transition to a full fibre network is being rolled out with an aim to switch to full fibre by the end of 2026 which will provide this access. However, there are issues yet to resolve, as it will remove the existing landline system, In a power cut, this means a reliance on mobile phones signals, which is not always available. There needs to be alternatives in place to support vulnerable people who currently rely on a landline. Cllr. Reid will circulate further information to the council when available and this will be shared with Holy Trinity.

  14/25). Chairman’s Report:-

• Taylor provided an update on Eccleshall library, which is going well. Volunteers are happy with how the library is running, and we are in the process of undertaking DBS checks of all volunteers as per agreed policy. Cllr. Taylor and Helen Farr of the County library team met with the principal of Bishops Lonsdale Academy to agree a programme of visits to the library. Each class group will attend over 5 dates (am and pm), and will participate in an activity session. Each child will also be issued with a library card and choose a book to take home. Eight volunteers have expressed an interest in supporting the activity, to run when the library is closed on Mondays. Cllr. Ryan-Bloor asked if baby reading packs were still given out as part of a government initiative. The Clerk will investigate whether these are available.
• Dates will be set for two working group meetings – the Community Centre group (to which Cllr. Feneysey will be added) and the Town Centre and Parking Vision Group.

  15/25). Financial Matters

• To accept the financial report and bank reconciliation to 31^st December 2024:

       It was resolved to accept the financial summary, which includes the bank reconciliation up to and  including 31^st December 2024.

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

• To approve accounts for payment January 2025:-

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.

     16/25). Items / Date and Venue for next meeting:-

The next meeting of the Parish Council is scheduled for the 19^th February 2025, 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 8.30pm.