Minutes of Meeting held in the upstairs room of The Wheel on Thursday 6^th February 2020.

72/19. Apologies for Absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor D. Sargeant.

73/19. Declarations of Interest.

There were no declarations of interest at this point.

74/19. Chairman’s Address.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. He apologised for the incorrect date of the meeting listed on the Council’s website – now corrected.
He thanked Vice Chair R. Lovell for information given on the possible take-over of the Pointon’s Business which could have implications on the old New Inn site.
He also thanked the Clerk for his efforts with the Defibrillator machine (to be reported later).

75/19. Public Comments.

District Councillor Hawkins gave information on the situation with Meadowcroft, Denford Road which was an ongoing situation since 2016.
She also raised the subject, together with the owner of the site who was present, of a planning application for Camping Pods etc on land in Sutherland Road. They asked if further information had been received.
The Clerk pointed out that the application had been determined by the Council in July 2019 when objections had been sent in. No further information had been received since that date.

76/19. Minutes of Last Meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 12^th December 2019 had been circulated and it was agreed that they be signed as a true and correct record.

77/19. Matters Arising.

Contact had been made with the West Midland Ambulance Service in order to register the defibrillator on The Circuit, the national data base. However, on checking the machine the Ipads had passed their expiry date. After consulting with the Chairman a new set of Ipads costing £31.66 + V.A.T. had been obtained from the British Heart Foundation. On fitting them into the machine the battery was then shown to be flat. After consulting, again, with the Chairman a new battery costing £133.33 + V.A.T. was obtained from the British Heart Foundation. These actions were sanctioned by Councillors.
The machine was now working correctly and instructions to show the indicator signs on the machine showing the correct operation were issued to Councillors. It was agreed to ask the Memorial Hall Committee to also check the indicator signs periodically.
The defibrillator had now been registered on The Circuit.
It was also agreed not to obtain a second defibrillator machine at this time.

A letter had been received from the Environmental Health Department of Staffordshire Moorlands Council on the issue of a very untidy site in a Conservation area adjacent to the top canal in Denford Road. It stated that formal action could not be taken.
As the site was in a Conservation area, it was agreed that a report should be forwarded to the Canals & Rivers Trust pointing out the untidiness of the site with detritus everywhere and a possible problem with a septic tank.

No written quotation had yet been received from EWH Construction for the repairs to the dilapidated bus shelter opposite the old New Inn. It was agreed to contact Staffordshire Moorlands District Council to ask why previous requests for repairs were never undertaken.

A request for the courtesy of a reply had been sent to the Infrastructure Manager of Staffordshire County Council regarding the near misses etc. with persons using the pedestrian crossing on the main A53 Leek Road near the junction with School Lane and Sutherland Road. A lengthy reply had been received including Highway Code instructions for pedestrians using the crossing and pointing out that any major improvement could not take place. Councillors felt very disappointed with the reply and agreed that the reply should be published on the adjacent notice board and stating that any reports of near misses be sent directly to the Manager.

The Police had again been contacted regarding the dangerously parked car near to the junction of the A53 and Sutherland Road again causing visibility problems for traffic emerging from Sutherland Road. No reply had been received to date.

The possible water main leak in the grass verge in Leek Road, Longsdon near to the entrance of Dunwood Lodge Farm had been reported to Severn Trent Water. A report had been received that the water did not test as being mains water but it had agreed to monitor the situation.

The dangerous pothole and road surface at the junction of Denford Road and Leek Road had been reported numerous times to the County Council but there had still been no action. 

78/19. Correspondence.

Information received included:

• Staffordshire Moorlands District Council’s Chairman’s Charity Quiz Night – Friday 21st. February 2020.
• Best Kept Village Road Show at various locations.
• Advertisement for VE Day Celebrations products.
• Clerks & Councils Direct – January issue.

79/19. Planning Matters.

The following planning applications were considered:

• SMD/2019/0757 - 758 Proposed Works & Regularisation to Rowley Gate Farm, Devils Lane, Longsdon including Listed Building Consent.
• SMD/2019/0769 Proposed Single & Double Storey Extension to Existing Dwelling at Sunnycroft, Wood Road, Longsdon.
• SMD/2020/0001 Demolish Existing Single Storey Kitchen Block & Outside Toilet at Rear & Replace with Two Storey Rear Extension at Grove Cottage, Leek Road, Longsdon.
• SMD/2020/0025 Erection of Two Storey Rear Extension, Alteration to Existing Openings, & Erection of Canopy to Front Elevation at White Chimneys, Devils Lane, Longsdon.

There were no objections to these applications subject to normal planning guidelines.

• SMD/2020/0053 Outline Application with all Matters Reserved for Proposed Construction of a New Two Storey Dwelling on Land at Mollatts Wood Road, Longsdon was also considered.

It was agreed to OBJECT to this application on the following grounds:

• The site is within the Green Belt.
• The proposal cannot be classed as infill and there are no special circumstances.

80/19. Finance Matters.

It was reported that a Re-declaration of Compliance had been made with The Pensions Regulator.

A quarterly update for the Council’s accounts was distributed to all Councillors.

The Clerk / Financial Officer produced estimates for final Income & Expenditure and end of year balances for the current year and estimated Income & Expenditure for 2020 /2021. After studying the figures, it was agreed that the Precept Requirement for 2020 / 2021 be £5,000.00 which would result in the Band D property charge being £17-73, an increase on last year of 9.92%.

81/19. Orders for Payment.

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

• The Wheel.   £25.00 Room Hire.
• J. A. Gibson.   £160.00 Agency Work
• John Bourne.   Clerk’s Salary (nett)
• John Bourne.  £53.89 Clerk’s Expenses.
• British Heart Foundation.  £179.99 Defibrillator Spares.
• H. M. Customs & Excise. £70.00 P. A. Y. E.

82/19. Public Comment.

There was no business under this item.

83/19. Any Other Business.

It was reported that the wooden rails of the public seat in Sutherland Road were in need of paint / preservative. This matter to be passed to the Council’s lengthsman.

84/19. Date of Next Meeting.

The date of the next meeting of the Council was arranged for Thursday 26^th March 2020 in the upstairs room of the Wheel public house, Leek Road, Longsdon.