Minutes of Meeting held in the upstairs room of The Wheel on Thursday 5^th September 2019.

32/19. Apologies for Absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor D. Sargeant.

33/19. Declarations of Interest.

There were no declarations of interest at this point.

34/19. Chairman’s Address.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. 

35/19. Public Comments.

District Councillor Hawkins raised the subject of a County Council planning application for a temporary waste recycling facility at Rowley Gate Farm. She expressed concerns that there would be a huge increase in traffic on the narrow lanes and also at the junction with the A53. She also mentioned possible incineration of the waste on the site and the hours of work and asked the Council to mention these issues to the County Council.

The state of the old New Inn was mentioned to her and she offered to take up the matter.

36/19. Minutes of Last Meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 4^th July 2019 had been circulated and it was agreed that they be signed as a true and correct record.

37/19. Matters Arising.

The invoice for the new bus shelter had been received and as this was for the quoted amount the Chairman and the Clerk had arranged payment as agreed. It was also agreed that this asset should be added to the Council’s insurance policy.

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council’s Environmental Dept. had again been contacted about the Himalayan Balsam on the plot of land in Sutherland Road. A reply stated that the Department did not have legislative powers to control it.

An agreement had been received from the Holly Bush Inn at Denford to site a defibrillator in its area. However the premises had now changed hands and it was agreed to contact the new lessees to see if the permission was still valid.

The reported acrid odour near to St. Chad’s Church had been reported to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council’s Environmental Health Department and acknowledged.

The tree branches / hedges encroaching onto Devils Lane had been reported to Staffordshire County Council.

38/19. Other Matters for Discussion.

A report was given of accident damage to the “Longsdon” sign at the junction of Dunwood Lane. The wooden post had been displaced and the wrought iron signage damaged. On instructions from the Chairman quotations for the repairs had been obtained. Edward Heath Construction had quoted £100.00 to straighten and secure the post and disguise the slight damage to the timber of the post. To repair the metal framework, burn off the deteriorated coating on the metal, attend to the rust spots and then coat it again was quoted as £250.00 + V.A.T.
It was agreed that both these quotations be accepted and the order given for the work to take place.

The Council’s Risk Assessment Policy had been updated and was perused. It was agreed to approve the policy and to review it at the A. G. M. each year.

39/19. Correspondence.

A reminder of the need to renew the Data Protection Certificate, in the sum of £40.00 had been received from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Other information received was:

• Details of Manchester Airport Future Airspace.
• Notice of Staffordshire Moorlands Police Open Day 2019 – Sunday 8th September 2019.
• Clerks & Councils Direct – September 19 issue.

40/19. Planning Matters.

The following plans had already been distributed to Councillors due to the time scale:

• SMD/2019/0397 Erection of Single Dwelling & Detached Garage on land adjacent to Prospect House Farm, Sutherland Road, Longsdon.

It had been agreed to OBJECT to this application for various reasons.

• *SMD/2019/0410 Proposed Side Extension to Dwelling infilling gap in Front of Existing Garage & Kitchen to Create Larger Kitchen / Shower Room & Laundry Whilst Existing Garage is to be Converted into Downstairs Bedroom. Additional Parking Space to be Created in Front of the Dwelling at Greendale, Denford Road, Longsdon.
• *SMD/2019/0430 Variation of Condition 1 Relating to Application SMD/2018/0698 on Land adjacent to Whitehaven, Leek Road, Longsdon.

*There were no objections to these applications.

An application had been received from Staffordshire County Council for a Temporary Waste Recycling Facility at Rowley Gate Farm, Devils Lane, Longsdon. No comments were received so the Chairman sent in no objections so long as the operations were temporary.
However, in the light of the concerns expressed earlier by District Councillor Hawkins, it was agreed to write to the County Council re-iterating these later concerns.

The following planning application was discussed:

• SMD/2019/0512 Proposed Replacement Garage with Annexation Over at The Spinney, Leek Road, Longsdon.

There were no objections, in principle, to this application but there was no support if the annexation was to be a dwelling in its own right.

41/19. Finance Matters.

Refund of the V.A.T. paid in the year 2018/2019 had been applied for and had now been received.

An account update ending 31^st July 2019 was distributed to Councillors.

42/19. Orders for Payment.

• EWH Construction. £ 1,602 - 00. Construction of Bus Shelter (already paid, as agreed)

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

• The Wheel. £ 25 – 00. Room Hire.
• J. A. Gibson. £ 180 – 00. Agency Work.
• Information Commissioner. £ 40 – 00. Data Protection Fee.
• D. Ingman. £ 60 – 00. Internal Audit Fee.

43/19. Public Comment.

A member of the public raised the issue of a footpath on School Lane which was becoming obstructed by overgrowing hedges / bushes etc. It was agreed that as this was a highways matter the issue be reported to Staffordshire County Council.

44/19. Any Other Business.

A report was received of overhanging branches in Sutherland Road catching passing cars. As these were in the grass verge of the road it was agreed to ask the Council’s lengthsman to trim them back.

Mention was made of building operations taking place on land adjacent to Micklea Farm, Micklea Lane. The matter to be reported to Staffordshire Moorlands Planning Enforcement Dept. for investigation.

The current dangerous state of the old New Inn was again mentioned with the Council’s reports always being dismissed. District Councillor Hawkins had agreed to take up this matter.

The current dangerous state of the bus shelter on the A53 opposite the old New Inn was again reported. In spite of promises from Staffordshire Moorlands District Council nothing had been done. It was agreed to ask EWH Construction for some ideas of the repairs required and an indication of the cost of these. The matter would then be discussed again.

45/19. Date of Next Meeting.

The date of the next meeting of the Council was arranged for Thursday 17^th October 2019 in the upstairs room of the Wheel public house, Leek Road, Longsdon. A provisional date for the following meeting was set at Thursday 12^th December 2019.