Minutes of Meeting held in St. Chad’s Church Room on Thursday 14th. May 2015.

Present: Councillor J. Sargeant (Chair).

Councillors L. Bills, T. Beastall, R. P. A. Lovell & S. R. Weston.

In Attendance: John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.

1/15. Apologies for Absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor C. Taylor & District Councillor N. Hawkins.

2/15. Declarations of Interest.

There were no declarations of interest at this point.

3/15. Chairman’s Address.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Bills for preparing the meeting room.

4/15. Public Comments.

There was no business under this item.

5/15. Minutes of Last Meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26th. March 2015 had been circulated and it was agreed that they be signed as a true and correct record.

6/15. Matters Arising.

It was proposed, seconded and agreed that Councillor Taylor be allowed to sign the Declaration of Office document before or at the next meeting.

The Chairman remarked that the Council need to consider how to fill the vacancy on the Council as it was three years since there was a full Council.

The defibrillator, sited at Longsdon Memorial Hall was now operational. It was suggested that the digital number to open the exterior box should be made available to members of the Memorial Hall etc to speed access to the equipment. As Councillor Taylor had the number, it was agreed to negotiate with him on his return to duty.

It was reported that the replacement post box in Sutherland Road had been fixed but was not available for use at present. The matter could be advertised in the press when it was in use.

The damaged cast iron cover over a water main stop cock in Denford Road had again been reported to Severn Trent as no action had been taken from the previous report.

The issue with the property in Sutherland Road had been reported to the Planning Enforcement Department of Staffs. Moorlands District Council but no reply had been received. It was agreed to contact the office again for an update on the matter.

It was reported that:

the sunken kerb, damage to grass verges and loose direction signs had been reported to Staffs. C. C.

the end of year invoice for the lengthsman scheme had been paid by Staffs C. C.

the end of year invoice for the lengthsman scheme had been paid by Staffs. Moorlands District Council.

the fault on the heating system in the Church Room had been rectified.

7/15. Correspondence.

Notification had been received from the Pensions Regulator informing the Council of its legal duties to enrol staff into a workplace pension scheme. The Council must register the name of a contact for the Council by 30th. April 2015. The Clerk had already forwarded his name as the contact. Later information suggested that the Council would not meet the criteria for operating the scheme at present.

County Councillor G. Heath had informed the Council that the Highways Team would be visiting the parish around 20th. May 2015 for two days. It was agreed to inform the Clerk of any work needed over the next few days and the list would be forwarded to Councillor Heath.

She would also be informed of the need for the poles and lights of the pedestrian crossing in Leek Road to be cleaned.

Other information received under this item was:

notice of Councillor Training Courses on 27th. May / 17th. June 2015 from Staffs. Parish Councils’ Ass.

Police & Crime Commissioner’s People Power Fund – posted on notice boards.

Community Funding/Re-invigorated Neighbourhood Watch etc. from Police & Crime Commissioner.

Clerks & Councils Direct – May 15 issue.

8/15. Planning Matters.

Due to the time scale the following planning applications had been distributed to Councillors:

There were no objections, subject to normal planning guidelines, to:

SMD/2015/0189 Change of Use of Building to Car Hire Business including Associated Wash-off Bay Extension and Parking Area at The Outlook, Devils Lane, Longsdon.

Comment was made that the proposal was an excellent form of diversification of existing farm buildings.

Councillor J. Sargeant declared a prejudicial interest in the matter and did not append any comments.

9/15. Finance Matters.

Councillors were issued with an unaudited end of year Income & Expenditure Account. This would be forwarded to the internal auditor who had been contacted. A meeting with him had been arranged for 21st. May 2015.

Three quotations for the Council’s insurance had been received. It was agreed to accept the quotation from Zurich Insurance in the sum of £301 – 35 subject to the finer details being perused by the Chair and Vice Chair.

It was reported that changes were being made to the auditing system of small Parish Councils with a turnover of less than £25,000 – 00. No external audit would be required but, under a new Transparency Code, greater publicity of the Council’s financial affairs would be needed. These would be published on the Council’s website.

10/15. Orders for Payment.

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

11/15. Public Comment.

There was no business under this item.

12/15. Any Other Business.

Mention was again made of the collapsing roadway verge into a water course on Dunwood Lane at Lyme House Farm, Dunwood Lane. This to be reported again to County Councillor Gill Heath.

13/14. Date of Next Meeting.

The next meeting of the Council will be held at 7-30p.m. on Thursday 2nd July 2015 at St. Chad’s Church Room, Leek Road, Longsdon.