Minutes of Meeting held in the upstairs room of The Wheel on Thursday 18^th October 2018.

41/18. Apologies for Absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor T. Beastall.

42/18. Declarations of Interest.

There were no declarations of interest at this point.

43/18. Chairman’s Address.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

He reported that the wreath for the Remembrance Sunday Service had been purchased.

He also gave details of the Council’s email address site which had been compromised but this had now been rectified.

44/18. Public Comments.

One member of the public raised objections to a planning application for an amenity building in Sutherland Road on the grounds that there were problems with the proposed access and increased traffic on a narrow lane especially if a caravan park was established.

The owner of the site then gave his reasons why permission should be granted. The amenity building would be used by fisherman on an adjacent site and could also be used by dog walkers. The project was to assist with helping his farm to be profitable.

District Councillor Hawkins asked what comments the Council had forwarded to the planning application in Mollatts Wood Road. She was informed of the Council’s objections which had been sent in.

She also reported on difficulties with insuring a lengthsman by another Council.

45/18. Minutes of Last Meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 rd. August 2018 had been circulated and it was agreed that they be signed as a true and correct record.

46/18. Matters Arising.

It was reported that the work to renew the support post to the “Longsdon” village sign had still not been completed. It was agreed to write to the contractor asking if he could complete the work or should another source be investigated.

A reply had been received from the Staffordshire Moorlands District Council’s Building Control Department stating that in their opinion the old New Inn building was not in a dangerous state.

The large quantity of graffiti on the protective hoardings at the front of the building had been painted over by the owners. However they had suggested that work on the building would not be commencing until Spring 2019. It was agreed to write to Staffordshire Moorlands Enforcement Officer to establish whether the original planning permission details had expired.

The Chairman reported on discussions with a possible candidate for the post of the Council’s lengthsman. Further details were awaited.

Staffordshire Moorlands D.C. had been contacted again about the dangerous state of the bus shelter opposite the old New Inn. A reply stated that the matter had been passed to a different department for attention. The Clerk reported that there were no grants available for new bus shelters. Various leaflets of new shelters were perused and it was agreed that more information on one particular shelter be obtained and the County Council be approached regarding the siting of the shelter on the pavement outside the Memorial Hall.

An email had been sent to the Moorlands Council regarding the missing dog waste bin near Horse Bridge. A reply stated that the area supervisor would carry out a four week monitoring procedure of the area.

A letter of thanks had been received from the Douglas Macmillan Hospice expressing their gratitude for the Council’s donation of £100 – 00 to the organisation.

A letter of complaint had been sent to the North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group expressing concerns about the closure of beds and relocation of some services at Leek Moorlands Hospital. Meanwhile an email had been received from Leek Town Council asking for support in their efforts to reverse the aforementioned cuts in services etc. It was agreed to forward a supporting reply.

47/18. Correspondence.

Information received included:

• Notice of the closure of the Community Council of Staffordshire
• Notice of Consultation on Staffordshire Moorlands Revised Statement of Gambling Policy
• Information & Poster on Scam Mail from Royal Mail – posted on website and notice boards.
• Clerks & Councils Direct – September 18 issue.

48/18. Planning Matters.

The following planning applications had been distributed to Councillors, due to the time frame, and it had been agreed to forward no objections, subject to normal planning guidelines, to:

• HNT/2018/0014 Demolition of Extensions & Construction of Singe Storey Side/Rear Extension at 2 Dunwood Lane, Lonsdon.

Councillors had agreed to OBJECT to:

• SMD/2018/0525 Demolition of Redundant Timber Stable, Erection of a Timber Frame One Bedrom Single Storey Dwelling at The Stables, Mollatts Wood Road, Leek on the following grounds:
  • The site is within the Green Belt.
  • It is not an infill site and there are no exceptional circumstances for this development.

An application, SMD/2018/0549 Erection of an Amenity Building on land off Sutherland Road, Longsdon in an adjacent parish was mentioned. Due to the vast number of public objections to the proposal, it was agreed to forward the Council’s objections on the following grounds:

• Inappropriate development in the green belt.
• The development is on agricultural land and there is no application for change of use.
• The development will progress into a permitted caravan site which will have a dangerous access onto a narrow lane and will generate more traffic onto Sutherland Road / Micklea Lane which both have dangerous accesses onto the main road A53.
• There could also be a problem with satellite navigation directing caravans down Park Lane which is a single track road which is certainly unsuitable for caravans.
• No ecological survey has been submitted with the application.
• There are no details for the disposal of sewage with no mains sewers in the area.
• The development is sited on a possible flood zone.

49/18. Finance Matters.

The Council had been registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under the Data Protection Bill.

A quarterly account update was distributed to each Councillor.

50/18. Orders For Payment.

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

• The Wheel. £ 25 – 00. Room Hire.
• GeoXphere Ltd. £ 43 – 20. Parish Online Fee.
• John Bourne. £ Clerk’s Salary.
• John Bourne. £ 51 – 18. Clerk’s Expenses.
• H. M. Revenue & Customs. £ 56 – 00. P. A. Y. E.

51/18. Public Comment.

The member of the public raised the question of the hoardings at the old New Inn site, hardcore deposits and a white metal cabinet on adjacent land. This matter to be included in the letter to SMDC Enforcement Dept.

52/18. Any Other Business.

Items mentioned under this category included:

• A car parked dangerously on a bend in Denford Road – this was being investigated.
• Speed of vehicles in Sutherland Road.
• Longsdon Memorial Hall was investigating the availability of grants.
• Painting of the public seats – awaiting the appointment of a lengthsman and a suitable weather period.
• Notice of a special Valentines Dance at the Memorial Hall.

53/18. Date of Next Meeting.

The date of the next meeting of the Council was arranged for Thursday 13^th December 2018 at 7 – 00p.m. in the upstairs room of The Wheel public house, Leek Road, Longsdon.