Minutes of Meeting held in St. Chad’s Church Room on Thursday 2nd. October 2014.

Present: Councillor J. Sargeant (Chair).

Councillors T. Beastall, R. P. A. Lovell, C. Taylor & S. R. Weston.

District Councillor N. Hawkins.

One Member of the Public.

In Attendance: John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.

41/14. Apologies for Absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor L. Bills.

42/14. Declarations of Interest.

There were no declarations of interest at this point.

43/14. Chairman’s Address.

The Chairman reported that he had attended the last meeting of the Moorlands Parish Assembly held on 11th. September 2014.

He mentioned that the SHLAA system was supposed to be confidential but the Assembly was unhappy to hear that the public knew of parts of it.

He reported that he was not sure whether the village tubs had been replanted but suggested that they could remain as they were until the winter planting. A replacement tub was required at the end of Leek Old Road due to a motor accident.

44/14. Public Comments.

District Councillor Hawkins gave a report to Councillors on the details of the Core Strategy. A recent press report had been inaccurate in its details of the system. She suggested that the Council pays close attention to future instructions and pointed out that the map for Longsdon did not show the whole village with the village boundaries being too small. The public consultation would be next and suggested that Councillors look around the area and suggest suitable sites ready for the consultation.

She also pointed out that even though an enforcement order for a property was not being issued the questions of rates etc. was being looked into.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Hawkins for her report.

45/14. Minutes of Last Meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 7th. August 2014 had been circulated and it was agreed that they be signed as a true and correct record.

46/14. Matters Arising.

The Canals & Rivers Trust had been informed that the Council had accepted its quotation for the fixing of the Council’s own wooden bench seat on the canal towpath. A grant from the Churnet Valley Living Landscape Project. had been applied for and approved and this amounted to £425 – 00 or 50% of the total cost. It was agreed to accept the terms and conditions placed on the grant approval. The Wykeham type bench seat would now be ordered. It was also agreed that a suitable plaque be arranged to show that the Parish Council had instigated the installation of the seat.

The £400 – 00 contribution towards the defibrillator machine had been sent to the British Heart Foundation and the machine had now arrived. This was placed on display for Councillors. Confirmation of siting at the Memorial Hall would be sought and Councillor Taylor would enquire about the availability of an exterior case to house the machine.

It was also agreed to contact the Heart Foundation about any insurance needed for the machine.

Information had been received from the police regarding the setting up of a Community Speed Watch programme. Notices regarding this had been displayed on the notice boards. The member of the public present who originally raised the matter was also given the information.

Letter had been sent to Staffs. County Council, with copy to County Councillor G. Heath regarding an upgrade to the pedestrian crossing on the A53 at the Sutherland Road junction. An acknowledgement had been received from the County Council.

It was reported that:

the request for a replacement box had been forwarded to Royal Mail.

the quarterly invoice for the lengthsman scheme sent to Staffs. County Council had been paid.

the half year invoice for the lengthsman scheme had been sent to Staffs. Moorlands District Council.

the letter regarding the memorials at St. Chad’s had been passed to the Parochial Church Council the displaced 30m.p.h. sign in Denford Road had been reported to Staffs. C. C. and had been replaced.

the number of road signs which required cleaning had been reported to the lengthsman.

letters of thanks had been sent to Staffs. County Council and Western Power Distribution.

letter regarding the rats at the old New Inn had been sent to the owners.

the Clerk reported that the notice board in Leek Road had been repaired.

47/14. Correspondence.

Information received under this item was:

Staffs. Moorlands Parish Assembly Newsletter – Sept 14.

Annual Report and invitation to subscribe to Staffs. Playing Fields Association – no action.

48/14. Finance Matters.

The report on the Annual Return had been received from the External Auditor. There were no matters to be brought to the attention of the council and there would be no fee for the audit.

49/14. Planning Matters.

Due to the time scale, Councillors had been consulted on the following planning application and had agreed to forward no objections, subject to normal planning guidelines to:

SMD/2014/0460 Variations of Conditions 2 & 9 (13/00301/FUL) at Wallgrange, Sutherland Road, Longsdon.

Letter had been sent to Staffs. Moorlands Council asking why a number of sites shown on the SHLAA plan were shown as potential development sites and yet were not classified. A reply had been received giving information on the matter. The Clerk reported that he had received information that the whole programme for the Core Strategy had been delayed and the public consultation exercise may not take place until after the District Council elections in May 2015.

50/14. Orders for Payment.

It was unanimously agreed that the following items be paid:-

51/14. Public Comment.

There was no business under this item.

52/14. Any Other Business.

It was agreed to purchase the usual wreath for the Remembrance Sunday Service.

A letter had been received from the family of former Clerk, Gordon Hansell, thanking the Council for varnishing the commemorative seat in the porch of St. Chad’s Church. However, a lady who was cleaning the brass plaque on the seat reported that she had damaged the new varnish coat but offered to pay for the damage. It was agreed to ask the Council’s lengthsman to attend to the matter and charge it to the Council.

It was suggested that plaques could be fixed to the village tubs to show that they were maintained by the Parish Council. Costs of these to be obtained.

Deep pot holes in Leek Old Road to be reported to Staffs. County Council Highways.

A discussion took place on the distribution of planning applications to Councillors between meetings due to the time scale factor. It was agreed that applications for minor works should be determined by the Chairman and Clerk but with any major items distributed as normal.

53/14. Date of Next Meeting.

The next meeting of the Council will be held at 7-30p.m. on Thursday 4th. December 2014 at St. Chad’s Church Room, Leek Road, Longsdon.