ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL – HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORT COMMITTEE MINUTES- Wednesday, January 7^th 2026

 DRAFT

A meeting of the Highways and Transport Committee was held on Wednesday, January 7^th 2026, at Eccleshall Community Centre at 7.55pm, following a meeting of the Planning Committee.

Present were:-

Councillor P. Jones (Chair)                              Councillor C. Wilkins

Councillor D. Hill                                                Councillor S. Perren

Councillor G. Dale                                              Councillor M. Gosling

Councillor A. Reid

Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)

No members of the public.

1).    Apologies:-

Apologies were received from Cllrs. Ryan-Bloor, Langford and Taylor.

2).   Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, October 1^st, 2025:

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

3).   Staffordshire County Council Highways:

• To receive an update on the consideration of a school crossing point on the Newport Road:

Staffordshire County Council has advised that an assessment of the area in question is still ongoing with additional assessments required before they can advise on whether it meets the criteria for installation of a new crossing point.

• Request for an additional bus service to include Drake Hall

Unfortunately, Staffordshire County Council has advised that the balance of costs to operate this service with predicted passenger numbers is not a feasible use of the limited budget available. The response noted that approximate cost of operating a 5 day a week service is £128,000 per annum. Members agreed to respond to the correspondence to clarify that a new route is not requested, but two additional stops to an existing route, along the Swynnerton Road, rather than the bus turning at the junction.

• Additional updates:

Following a lack of response to the council’s previous request for additional grit bins in key locations, the Clerk has re-submitted the requests for consideration. There is also a need for a grit bin on Sancerre Grange but until the roads have been adopted, this can’t be requested from the County Council. It was suggested that these should be supplied by the estate management company.

It was noted that recent publicity on the 2026/2027 Staffordshire County Council budget includes proposed cuts to school crossing patrols and grit bins, so this may reduce the likelihood of these requests being approved.

Members raised the issue of a lack of signage at the roundabout to Sancerre Grange, notifying road users that they are approaching a roundabout. As there can be speeding vehicles and users taking the roundabout the wrong way, this would be an asset. The Clerk will ask Highways to consider installation of the correct signage.

The Welcome to Eccleshall sign is still awaiting replacement. The Clerk will chase Highways for an update.

4).   Correspondence

• There was no correspondence for consideration.

5).   Items for the next meeting

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

6).  Date of next meeting:- 1^st April 2026, following a meeting of the planning committee.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.15pm.