Minutes of Meeting held in the upstairs room of The Wheel on Thursday 23rd. August 2018.

Present: Councillor J. Sargeant (Chair).

Councillors T. Beastall, B. Bromley, R. Lovell, K. Shaw & S. R. Weston.

In Attendance: District Councillor N. Hawkins.

John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.

28/18. Apologies for Absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor D. Sargeant.

29/18. Declarations of Interest.

There were no declarations of interest at this point.

30/18. Chairman’s Address.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

He thanked the Clerk for organising all the details for the annual audit including submission of the External Audit Exemption Certificate. All the relevant details had been published on the Council’s website.

31/18. Public Comments.

District Councillor Hawkins gave details of the Planning Committee’s decision on the planning application for the erection of a single dwelling on land adjacent to Prospect House Farm, Sutherland Road, Longsdon. The plan would not be approved until such time that an issue with sewers on the land had been resolved.

She also gave details of closure of beds and relocation of certain services at Leek Moorlands Hospital and suggested that the Council writes to register its objections to these closures. This was agreed.

32/18. Minutes of Last Meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 28th. June 2018 had been circulated and it was agreed that they be signed as a true and correct record.

33/18. Matters Arising.

It was reported that the work to renew the support post to the “Longsdon” village sign would be completed the following day. Concern was expressed about the delay but it was agreed to leave the matter in abeyance for now.

Email had been sent to Staffs. Moorlands District Council’s Building Control Department pointing out the unsafe condition of the old New Inn building but no reply had been received. It was agreed to write again.

Mention was made of a large quantity of graffiti which had appeared on the protective hoardings at the front of the building. It was agreed to write to the owners about this matter and also to ask when any work on the building would be commencing.

A letter had been sent to the Council’s lengthsman asking if the outstanding work could be undertaken or would he prefer that the Council employs another lengthsman. No reply had been received. It was agreed to investigate whether another individual would undertake the work involved with the scheme - approx. ten hours per month.

Staffs. Moorlands D.C. had been contacted again about the dangerous state of bus shelter opposite the old New Inn but no reply had been received. It would be contacted again.

Some guideline prices had been obtained for suitable bus shelters especially for a suggested site outside the Memorial Hall. Further information would be obtained for the next meeting and also whether grants were available.

34/18. Correspondence.

A request for a financial donation had been received from the Douglas Macmillan Hospice. It was agreed to forward a cheque for £100 – 00 to the organisation.

Other information received included:

offer of a Commemorative tree from Karen Bradley MP for the Queen’s Canopy – oversubscribed.

New Governance for Fire & Rescue from the Staffordshire Commissioner.

Notice of submission of Staffs. Moorlands Local Plan to the Secretary of State.

35/18. Planning Matters.

The following planning application 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:

SMD/2018/0416 Reserved Matters relating to Application SMD/2018/0578 detailing the Appearance, Layout, Scale & Landscaping at Proctor’s Nursery, Leek Road, Endon.

It was reported that a written appeal had been lodged for land South of Hillcrest, Sutherland Road, Longsdon

36/18. Finance Matters.

It was reported that there was a need to register the Council with the Information Commissioner’s Office under the Data Protection Bill in the sum of £40 – 00 per annum. This was after the Chairman had contacted the Information Commissioner’s Office for further information. It was agreed that this be paid.

37/18. Orders for Payment.

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

38/18. Public Comment.

There was no business under this item.

39/18. Any Other Business.

The question of the missing dog waste bin near Horse Bridge was again discussed. The history of the removal of the bin and attempts to replace it were reported. It was agreed to write again to the Moorlands Council asking if a solution could be found with the Parish Council possibly buying a bin subject to it being emptied.

Councillor Lovell, the Council’s representative on the Memorial Hall Management Committee reported that the Hall was doing well at the moment.

40/18. Date of Next Meeting.

The date of the next meeting of the Council was arranged for Thursday 18th. October 2018 at 7 – 00p.m. in the upstairs room of The Wheel public house, Leek Road, Longsdon.