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Parish Council Meeting

Agenda

You are summoned to attend a meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council, to be held at 7.30pm on Wednesday 19 February 2025 at Eccleshall Community Centre. This will be followed by a meeting of the Planning Committee.

 

COUNCIL AGENDA

 

1.      To receive and note apologies for absence

 

2.      Declarations of Interest and Councillor requests for dispensation relating to items on the agenda

 

3.      Public Participation

 

4.      To approve the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on January 22nd 2025

5.      To receive any reports from Borough and County Councillors and police representatives

 

6.      Committee Updates:

Traffic Management:

  • No updates to report

Footpaths:

  • To note the minutes of the meeting held on the 5th February 2025

Enhancements:

  • To note the minutes of the meeting held on the 5th February 2025
  • To approve the recommended quotation for replacement of the trim trail at Croxton
  • To approve the recommended quotation for cleaning of Croxton play area
  • To approve the recommended quotation for remedial work to an Ash tree on the Jubilee Playing Field
  • To agree the revised proposal for the Sakura Cherry Tree project, to receive one tree for the Jubilee Playing Field

Policy and Resources:

  • No updates to report

Events:

  • No updates to report

 

7. To agree instigation of the Freedom of the Parish Awards, to be presented at the October Civic Service proceedings

 

8. Beech Road:

    • To receive a project update
    • To approve signing of the lease agreement with Stafford Borough Council to lease Beech Road for a thirty year period and to take on all associated maintenance costs

 

9.      High Street Boost – funding update and outstanding fund allocation

 

10.   Relaunch of the Climate Change Working Group, confirm membership, appoint a lead and arrange a meeting to agree first steps

 

11.   To receive the Clerks Report, containing liaison representative updates

  • Notes from the recent Stone Area Parish Liaison group meeting circulated

 

12.   Correspondence

  • There was no correspondence for consideration at the time the agenda was published

 

13.   To receive the Chairman’s Report

 

14.   Financial Matters:

  • To accept the Financial report and bank reconciliation to 31st January 2025.
  • To approve accounts for payment February 2025

 

15.   To request any future agenda items and confirm the date and venue for the next meeting of the Parish Council –  March 19th 2025, Eccleshall Community Centre, 7.30pm.

S. J. Worden………

Clerk to the council – 13/02/2025

Minutes

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON 19TH FEBRUARY 2025

A meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council was held at Eccleshall Community Centre on 19th February 2025 at 7.30pm. This meeting was followed by a meeting of the Planning Committee at 8.50pm.

  17/25). Present were:-

Councillor R. Taylor (Chairman)      Councillor G. Dale
Councillor A. Reid Councillor R. Langford
Councillor B. Delanchy                 Councillor D. Hill
Councillor D. Feneysey Councillor S. Mifflin
Councillor M. Gosling Councillor S. Kean
Mrs Stacey Worden (Clerk)
Borough and County Councillor Pert, PCSO Gareth Higgins
No members of the public

   18/25). Apologies were received from Cllrs. Perren, Jones, Hall, Wilkins and Ryan-Bloor.

   19/25). 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.

   20/25). Public Participation:

There was no public participation.

   21/25). To approve the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 22nd January 2025.

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

   22/25). Report from the Borough Councillor, County Councillor, and police representatives:

Borough and County Councillor Pert provided a report. Updates included:
  • Local Government Reorganisation – following a request by central government in the recent white paper, local authorities have been asked to undertake a restructure, replacing two tier systems with a single unitary authority. The economic size for a viable council proposal should encompass a population size of approximately 500k. Initial proposals have been requested by the end of March. Stoke on Trent City Council is proposing a merger with Newcastle under Lyme and Staffordshire Moorlands to form a unitary council. This would be slightly under the target size, at approximately 480k. New strategic authorities would be above the unitary authorities. There will be opportunities within this reorganisation for Parish and Town Councils as they will be the local voice for residents. This could include the potential for asset transfers and the provision of more services at a local level.
  • Potholes – the large pothole at the top of Stafford Road has been repaired. Staffordshire County Council has allocated £15 million for highways improvement schemes, with an additional 30k of pothole repairs, and £2.4 million towards flooding resolution.
  • Local Flooding – Cllr. Pert is in ongoing discussions with Highways and Severn Trent regarding the increased and newer flooding on Castle St/Newcastle Road, identifying what has changed in the area in recent months that may have created the issue and obtaining supporting evidence. Camera works are being undertaken on Newcastle Road in the coming week to survey the drainage system.
  • PCSO Gareth Higgins provided a crime activity report for the parish area which was received by members. The report allowed for a breakdown of crime types and a year-to-year comparison.

   23/25). Committee Updates:

  Traffic Management:
  • Cllr. Pert advised he is awaiting a site visit to Broughton Parish Rooms in relation to the speed decrease project. He will update residents accordingly.
  • The committee has not received any follow up details on the actions taken back by the County Highways officer from the meeting in November. The Clerk will chase again and copy in Cllr. Pert to help progress some responses.
  • Cllr. Pert has arranged for the slabs in front of Selwyn Court to be re-washed.
Footpaths:
  • The minutes from the meeting on the 5th February 2025 were noted.
  • Management of the KETT team has been passed to Cllr. Wilkins.
Enhancements:
  • The minutes from the meeting on the 5th February 2025 were noted.
  • It was resolved to approve the recommended quotation of £8550 from Streetscape for replacement of the trim trail at Croxton play area
  • It was resolved to approve the recommended quotation of £325 for a full clean of Croxton Play area, to be planned for May.
  • It was resolved to approve the recommended quotation of £1030 plus VAT for remedial works to an Ash Tree on the Jubilee Field.
  • Members noted the revised proposal to request one tree, to be located on the Jubilee Playing Field.
    Policy and Resources
  • No updates to report
    Events:  
  • Plans for the tickets and marketing are ongoing. The Clerk will arrange for the event to be uploaded to the What’s On Eccleshall website.

   24/25). Freedom of the Parish Awards

It was agreed to instigate Freedom of the Parish awards this year, to be presented as part of the Civic Service in October 2025. The awards are given to individuals in recognition of an exceptional contribution or service to the community over a prolonged period. The Clerk will circulate a nomination request to all members and the list of prospective candidates will be reviewed and finalised by members prior to formal resolution.

   25/25). Beech Road:

Project Update: The s.106 funding has been approved in full now the call-in period has lapsed, and the council will receive the full contribution of £90,277 once the contract with Kompan is signed. It was noted that any lease agreement with the Borough would be passed on to any new authority who takes over the land.
Lease agreement: The Council has received an amended lease from the Borough Council, which is under review by our solicitors due to some minor differences to the initial draft beyond those requested. The Clerk has a meeting arranged with the solicitor to receive his comments and he has also agreed to liaise directly with the Borough Council solicitor on behalf of the Council.
It was resolved to delegate final approval and signing of the 30-year lease to the Clerk, in conjunction with the Chairman of the council, acting on the advice of the Council appointed solicitor. Beech Road lead councillor members are also happy to support the review. Once signed, the play equipment contract can be finalised to enable scheduling of the work at the earliest opportunity.

   26/25). High Street Boost Funding

The Council still has £500 left of the £6000 allocated by Stafford Borough Council, which must be spent before the end of March, or returned.
Cllr. Hill will ask her resident contacts if they have any eligible projects for delivery before the end of March that would benefit from the funding. It was also suggested that there could be a book hunt/trail in conjunction with the primary academy but would require volunteers to organise this. If there are no proposals put forward in the next few days, it was resolved to offer the remaining funds towards the Eccleshall Festival, if a specific activity was identified that could further boost footfall.

   27/25). Climate Change Working Group relaunch

The working group membership was confirmed as Cllrs. Reid, Langford, Perren, Gosling and Mifflin. Cllr. Reid will ask if non council member Mr. David Llewellyn still wishes to be involved. Cllr. Langford will arrange a meeting so the group can appoint a lead, discuss initial steps towards a Biodiversity audit of the current council’s contribution, and consider simple activities such as those that contribute to a Bee Friendly town. The aims are to provide an interim report to the April Parish Council meeting and a final report with recommendations to the July meeting.
Whilst this is a large topic, it needs to be broken down into small, manageable activities and engage other community groups/residents. Ideas included a display at the Community Forum and a window display in the library.

   28/25). Clerk’s report, containing liaison representative updates.

  • The report was noted with no additional comments.
  • Dog Fouling – the Clerk is liaising with the Borough Council team for support with patrols and signage on the Jubilee field and councillors will monitor and feedback on the condition of the field. Areas on Sancerre Grange are also of concern, which needs to be raised with Vistry.
  • Members also received notes from the latest Stone Area Parish Liaison group meeting, provided by Cllr. Jones. Cllr. Reid offered to contact Stone with a view to arrange a visit to the Heritage Centre.

   29/25). Correspondence

  • There was no correspondence for consideration

  30/25). Chairman’s Report:-

  • Cllr. Taylor provided an update on Eccleshall library. A series of school visits have been arranged with Bishops Lonsdale Academy, to commence in March. Children will visit in year groups and County officers will run activities/explain how the library works. Each child will be able to join the library and borrow a book. Colour in bookmarks have been designed for each child to take home.

  31/25). Financial Matters

• To accept the financial report and bank reconciliation to 31st January 2025:
It was resolved to accept the financial summary, which includes the bank reconciliation up to and  including 31st January 2025.
Payments made since the last full Council meeting were received and noted as follows:
Regular monthly payment (Standing Orders/Direct Debits):
Japhlin – maintenance contract £40.85  VAT £8.17  TOTAL £49.02
Paid since the last meeting:  
Library DBS Payment reimbursements x 4 £21.50 ea (see separate sheet for names) TOTAL £86.00
Trent Grounds Maintenance – Jubilee Playing Field Hedge cutting £150.00 £30.00 VAT  TOTAL £180.00
A.G. Jones – SIDS Movement £30.00 VAT £0.00 TOTAL £30.00
Broughton WI – Well Dressing group grant TOTAL £450.00
Elan City – Speed Device Repair £735.37 VAT £147.07 TOTAL £882.44
Encashment Cheque – Library Petty Cash reimbursement TOTAL £33.30
• To approve accounts for payment February 2025:-
Authorisation was sought for payment of the following accounts:
Staffing Costs TOTAL £2,720.52
Staff Expenses (BACS £89.74), balance s/o) £137.47 VAT £12.67  TOTAL £150.14
Library DBS Payment reimbursements x 4 (see separate sheet for names) TOTAL £86.00
Holy Trinity – Churchyard maintenance  £195.00
Holy Trinity  – Floodlighting Contribution £165.00
Broughton C of E –  Churchyard maintenance £135.00
Croxton C of E – Churchyard maintenance £135.00
Slindon PCC – Churchyard maintenance £135.00
Eccleshall Methodist – Churchyard maintenance £85.00
Broughton Parish Rooms – Grounds maintenance £55.00
Broughton Parish Rooms – Hall Hire £140.00
Eccleshall Community Centre – Hall Hire £825.00
D. Jacques – storage of footpath materials £5.00
Offley Hay Village Hall – Hall Hire £140.00
Eccleshall First Responders – Annual Defib Sponsorship and support grant £1,100.00
Mr Priekulis – Fairoak defibrillator, annual electricity contribution £20.00
Cartridge People – office consumables £23.83 VAT £4.76 TOTAL £28.59
Cartridge People – toner cartridge £41.17 VAT £8.24 TOTAL £49.41
Creative Copy n Colour Limited – Parking letter printing TOTAL £23.00
HAGS – Croxton play area inspection £75.00 VAT £15.00 TOTAL £ 90.00
Marley Creative Ltd – Eccleshall Library replacement signage £300.00 VAT £60.00 TOTAL £360.00
A.G. Jones – SIDS movement and repair to solar panel connection £120.00
All were in favour and the accounts will be paid accordingly. Cllrs. Taylor and Jones will process the approvals.

     33/25). Items / Date and Venue for next meeting:-

The next meeting of the Parish Council is scheduled for the 19th March 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 8.45pm.