Minutes of the Meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council held on 18^th MARCH 2026 

A meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council was held at Eccleshall Community Centre on 18^th March 2026 at 7.30pm. This meeting was followed by a meeting of the Planning Committee at 8.45pm.

   33/26). Present were:-

Councillor R. Taylor (Chairman)                  Councillor R. Langford

Councillor P. Jones                                        Councillor S. Kean

Councillor G. Dale                                           Councillor C. Wilkins

Councillor S. Perren                                       Councillor B. Delanchy

Councillor S. Mifflin                                        Councillor D. Hill

Councillor A. Reid                                            Councillor D. Hall

Councillor D. Feneysey

Mrs Stacey Worden (Clerk)

One member of the public

  34/26).   Apologies

Apologies were received from Cllrs. Gosling, Ryan-Bloor and Borough and County Councillor Pert.

  35/26).  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.

  36/26).   Public Participation:

There was no public participation.

  37/26).  To approve the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 18^th February 2026

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

  38/26).   Severn Trent – Lead Pipe Replacement Scheme update:

Three representatives from the Severn Trent project team, and a representative from Brays Pipeline, the contractor undertaking the work, attended to provide an update on the project. Key points included:

• Circa 380 water samples have been taken, 800 surveys completed and nearly half the properties (800) have signed up to the scheme.
• The team continue to work with customers who have yet to agree, to highlight the importance of having the lead removed. Everyone will need to agree in order for the phosphate dosing to stop.
• To minimise disruption, work will be separated into 5 batches. Of particular note is disruption to the High Street, and they are working closely with Staffordshire County Council to mitigate this as much as possible.
• The Crescent will be the first area of work and will be publicised/blogged to help raise awareness of the process involved.
• The project end date is dependent on several factors so whilst there is no clear date yet, the aim is within the next two years.
• The team will be attending the Community Showcase to promote the work and provide further opportunities for questions.

  39/26).   Report from the Borough Councillor, County Councillor, and police representatives:

Prior to the meeting, PCSO Justice provided an update on key areas of criminal activity. This included:

• Vehicle thefts – High spec/value vehicles are popular, Mercedes, Audi etc. They are often being used in ATM thefts. Car safety tips are shared on police smart alert emails, to include installation of CCTV, use of steering wheel locks, motion sensor lighting and physical barricades.
• Catalytic converter thefts.
• Rogue Traders targeting vulnerable people.
• Doorstep parcel thefts.
• Rural thefts

  40/26).  Committee Updates:

     Highways and Transport:

• No updates to report

  Footpaths:

• Members considered the proposal under consideration by Staffordshire County Council to re-route part of Footpath 95 (Sugnall/Croxton area). Whilst there were no specific concerns as to the proposed route, the Clerk was requested to clarify:
  • That route will be a public highway maintained at public expense and to confirm this is the same proviso as the current route.
  • Who will install the signage and access points, what will the access consist of, and who will bear the cost of installation.
  • To report that the adjacent bridleway is in extremely poor condition and improvements are required to enable suitable access to the footpath.

  Enhancements:

• No updates to report.

    Policy and Resources:

• The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th March 2026 was noted.
• It was resolved to approve the recommended final budget for 2026/2027 at £131,493.00
• It was resolved to approve the recommended virements and earmarking as follows:

Virements (for overspend over £500)

• £1,414 from Lengthsman (4375) to Insurance (4050) to cover shortfall due to increased premiums
• £637 from Lengthsman (4375) to PAYE/NI (4010) to cover shortfall
• £759 from Footpaths (4500) to Watering (4380)

Additional Earmarking:

• £150 – to Clock Maintenance (from Health and Wellbeing 4615)
• £3,345 – to Highways & Transport Projects to cover Broughton Speed reduction work ( 2k from 4400 Elford , £1345 from 4620 Verge Works)
• £1,500 – to Elections fund
• £750 – Open Spaces top up (£750 from 4350 asset repairs)
• £2,000 – Beech Road ongoing/further Youth projects (from 4355 other repairs)
• £1,350 – Neighbourhood Plan top up (1K Ex 4500 footpaths, £350 from 4110 Training)
• £2,800 (estimated) – Balance of outstanding income minus expenditure to ringfence library monies, figure confirmed after year end.

The total earmarking is estimated at £42,645.58 (subject to final confirmation of the library balance).

• Members noted the community grant allocations of £1,000 to Eccleshall Amateur Dramatics and £750 to Katharine House Hospice.
• Members considered the request from Staffordshire Search and Rescue Team for a donation towards the purchase of a drone to allow for faster and more thorough searches in the local area. It was resolved to approve a donation of £500 and for the Clerk to process this in the March payments.

    Events:

• The minutes of the meeting held on the 4th March 2026 was noted.
• Members were provided with programmes for the Eccleshall Music Festival running 27-29 March.
• The committee are looking to plan a Country and Western evening at the Community Centre, with a provisional date of 19^th Further details will be provided in due course.

    41/26).  Biodiversity Update:

• Members received the notes from the latest Biodiversity Working Group meeting.
• Four bird and two bat boxes have been purchased as agreed. The bird boxes will be erected at the earliest opportunity. Cllr. Reid has been in contact with a local bat organisation to arrange a bat walk in the summer, and they will advise on suitable locations for bat boxes, which will be used from the autumn onwards.
• The vouchers for the lavender plant voucher scheme were distributed, and the garden centres are in the process of distributing the plants. Feedback has included the need to specify a max number of plants per person to prevent people trying to claim 5 or more plants at a time. Another suggestion is to note on the voucher that it would be free with any purchase, to support the local businesses involved and encourage additional planting.
• It was resolved to approve the submission of an application to become a Bee Friendly Town. Cllr. Langford has prepared a comprehensive application form detailing the actions undertaken along with photo evidence. The Council thanked Cllr. Langford for her efforts.

   42/26).  Community Showcase – to receive any content suggestions and to approve costs for printing, to include delivery of flyers

The Showcase will be held on Tuesday 9^th June, and the invitation to local community groups has been sent out this week. It was resolved to approve the printing of 2000 flyers at a cost of £108, plus distribution costs estimated at £270, for mid-May distribution.

   43/26).  Community Resilience planning and creation of a Community Emergency Plan

A meeting is still to be arranged with the Rural Development and Resilience Manager at Support Staffordshire around their availability, and a date will be circulated when available.

    44/26). Clerk’s report, containing liaison representative updates.

• The Clerk’s report was received and noted.

    45/26). Correspondence

• It was resolved to approve the request from Eccleshall Scouts to use Elford Heath on Saturday 21^st March for a den building activity. The group has all relevant risk assessments and insurances are in place.
• The Ecclian Society are planning a poppy installation over the remembrance period and have identified the open space by the roundabout as the best location, using the existing Christmas tree foundations to install a post to create a waterfall display. The Clerk has contacted the Borough Council on their behalf to clarify the permissions needed. If needed, it was resolved that the council would apply for permission on behalf of the Society.

    46/26). Chairman’s Report:-

• The ‘Blood in the Clock Tower,’ traitor’s style event ran successfully on the 14^th
• The Chairman asked members of their views on whether the town centre area should be a 20mph zone, due to the safety concerns at the pedestrian crossing. Members noted that this was surveyed some time ago with no public interest. In busy periods, vehicles are often very slow anyway. Members discussed the dangers of the crossing and the urgent need to repaint the lines to improve visibility. The Clerk has submitted multiple requests via report it that have been deemed non urgent, and been unable to escalate with direct contact to highways officers. It was resolved to write to Leigh Ingham MP to raise concerns about the crossing and the lack of action, and to explore opportunities to raise the profile of the issue more publicly.

    47/26). Financial Matters

• To accept the financial report and bank reconciliation to 28^th February 2026:

       It was resolved to accept the financial summary, which includes the bank reconciliation up to and  including 28^th February 2026.

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

• To approve accounts for payment March 2026:-

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.

• It was resolved to approve the signing of letters to Unity Bank and the CCLA to authorise the updating of all signatory emails to the new addresses.

    48/26). Items / Date and Venue for next meeting:-

The next meeting of the Parish Council is scheduled for the April 15^th 2026, Broughton Parish Rooms, at 7.30pm.

Any agenda items can be forwarded to the Clerk for consideration.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.40pm.