ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL – POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE – Wednesday, June 4^th 2025

 DRAFT

A meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee was held on Wednesday, 4^th June 2025, following the Enhancements committee meeting, at 8.57pm.

Present were:-

Councillor D. Hall (Chair)                                Councillor G. Dale

Councillor A. Reid                                            Councillor D. Feneysey

Councillor C. Wilkins

Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)

No members of the Public

1).    Apologies:-

Apologies were received from Cllrs. Perren, Taylor and Hill.

2).    Election of Chairman / Vice Chairman:-

Councillor R. Taylor was nominated and re-elected as Chairman for the ensuing year.

Councillor D. Hall was nominated and re-elected as Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year.

3).    Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday March 5^th 2025:-

The minutes, which had previously been noted by the Council, were agreed and signed.

4).   Budget update 2025/26:

Prior to the meeting, the Clerk circulated an updated report detailing balances and expenditure to date against the budget.

This report was received and accepted by members. The Clerk has approached Stafford Borough Council for an estimated cost to the parish of a contested election in 2027. If Borough Council elections are deferred, Parish Councils will have to bear the whole cost of the elections rather than sharing the costs. This could require a considerable budget increase. SBC are calculating an estimate and will advise in due course.

5).   To consider the Deeds and Insurances:

Members considered the updated deeds and insurances report provided by the Clerk and were confident all was in order. It was noted that the addition of the Beech Road equipment is expected to result in a supplementary premium as this would be a substantial increase to the current asset cover levels. The clerk has made enquiries at to what elements of the cost can be included, as installation costs should be factored in.

6).    Consideration of Grant Requests:

• Eccleshall First Responders: the grant is a request for a contribution of £2,000 towards the replacement of the response vehicle, including the required adaptations, estimated at a total cost of £50,000. The First Responders started fundraising for the new vehicle as soon as they purchased the current one and are also applying for a National Lottery grant. It was resolved to recommend approval of a £2,000 grant towards the new vehicle.

7).   Items for next meeting:-

Any items for the next meeting can be forwarded to the Clerk.

8).  Date of next meeting:-

Wednesday 3^rd September 2025, following the Planning committee meeting.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 9.10pm.