Minutes of the Longsdon Parish Meeting held on Thursday 8h. May 2025 in the Upstairs room of The Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon.

Present: Chair J. Sargeant. (Chair of the Parish Council).

In Attendance: Councillors S. Dickinson, R. Lovell & K. Shaw.

One Elector.

John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.

1. Apologies for Absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J. Cox, C. Hogan & D. Hughes.

2. Approval of Minutes of Last Parish Meeting.

The minutes of the last Parish meeting held on 16th. May 2024 had been circulated and it was now agreed that they be signed as a true and correct record.

3. Chairman’s Address.

The Chairman thanked Councillors and said it had been pleasant working with them.

Thanks also to Vice Chair Richard, parish assembly representatives Jo & Simon and thanks to David Hughes for showing willing with the Memorial Hall.

We couldn’t do without the steady hand of the Clerk & Responsible Financial Officer, John Bourne, and together it has been a reasonably decent year.

In particular, championed by the Vice Chair, the Christmas Tree was a great addition to the calendar. There was something of a learning curve with eco-friendly, safe power but ultimately the sparkling spruce was well received and I would be happy to see it on the agenda again this year.

Depressingly all efforts to improve safety at the pedestrian crossing were thwarted by the County Council and the disgraceful saga of the New Inn continues to drag on fuelled by indecision at the District Council.

What our newly elected Reform County Councillor. Bob Egginton and the newly elected Reform County Council as a whole will do for our area will be very interesting.

4. To Receive a Report for the Year 2024 / 2025.

Councillor John Sargeant was again re-elected as Chairman with Councillor Richard Lovell re-elected as Vice Chairman at the Annual General Meeting of the Council.

Councillors J. Cox and S. Dickinson were elected as representatives on the Staffs. Moorlands Parish Assembly.

Councillor D. Hughes was elected as the Council’s representative on the Memorial Hall Management Committee.

John Bourne, Clerk to the Council, was appointed as the Responsible Financial Officer.

Estimates for the coming financial year were prepared. Councillors agreed that the precept requirement would be £5,250.00, the same as last year.

The annual accounts of the Council were audited again by the internal auditor. There were no adverse comments from her.

As the Council’s turn-over was less than £25,000 it could be exempted from an external audit. This option was pursued, and the necessary forms were certified, signed and forwarded to the external auditor.

The Council’s insurance was again renewed with the Zurich insurance company with its quotation being only very slightly more than last year.

Due to the Data Protection Regulations the Council again registered with the Information Commissioner in the sum of £40 – 00.

S137 Payments.

A grant for £200.00 was made to the Douglas Macmillan Hospice.

Storm damage had occurred to trees at St. Chad’s Church causing branches to land on the pavement of the A53 Leek Road, The Church Council had been contacted and had been informed that grant aid could be available from the Parish Council.

The village flower tubs were again planted twice for the summer and winter periods and the bus shelters and various seats were painted by the Council’s lengthsman.

The large Remembrance Day poppies were again displayed around the village but some had disappeared. Additional material had already been obtained for future years.

A Christmas tree and suitable lights were purchased and were then displayed outside the Memorial Hall on Leek Road during the Festive period.

There were concerns expressed about the state and security of the old New Inn site especially the external barrier boarding. The concerns were report to the SMDC Chief Planning Officer together with a report of a dangerous window on building at the junction of Leek Road and Sutherland Road.

The safety of pedestrians using the pedestrian Crossing on the A53 Leek Road was discussed numerous times, with contact made with the Community Highways Manager and County Councillor Mark Deaville. No suitable replies were received.

The Parish Council even offered to help fund the installation of LED lighting attachments to the existing Belisha beacons as had been installed in an adjacent Authority’s area but the County Council’s Lighting Team were not in favour of these.

5. Any Other Business.

There was no business under this item.