Minutes of Meeting held on Thursday 24th. March 2022 in the Upstairs Room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon at 7.00pm.

Present: Councillor J. Sargeant (Chair).

Councillors T. Beastall, J. Bode, C. Hawthorne, S. Dickinson, R. Lovell & K. Shaw.

In Attendance: One Member of the Public.

John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.

93/21 Apologies for Absence.

Apologies for absence were received from District Councillor N. Hawkins.

94/21 Declarations of Interest.

Councillors Sargeant & Shaw declared an interest in a planning application to be discussed later

95/21 Chairman’s Address.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

96/21 Public Comments.

There was no business under this item.

97/21 Approval of Minutes of Last Meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 16th. December 2021 had been circulated. A substitute paragraph for Agenda Item 98/21 (a) Longsdon Memorial was produced. It was proposed & seconded that this paragraph be inserted and it was then agreed that the minutes be signed as a true copy.

98/21 Matters Arising.

(a) Longsdon Memorial Hall. (1).

Details of Councillor Bode’s appointment as the Council’s representative on the Memorial Hall Management Committee had been forwarded but later Councillor Bode withdrew her agreement to serve on the Committee.

It was agreed to leave the appointment of a replacement until the Annual General Meeting.

(a) Longsdon Memorial Hall. (2).

The Clerk had been in contact with the Proprietor of Active Wellbeing School which operated in the Memorial Hall and had been given the following facts:-

18 – 20 children were on site between 9-00am and 3-00p.m and all were brought in.

The school wanted more but the number 20 was limited by Ofsted which had visited and given a good report.

Only 8 to 10 children were on site at any one time with others located in Stoke.

On two afternoons per week there is nobody at the Hall.

There appeared to be a problem with planning regarding the building on the car park. It appeared that Staffs. Moorlands District Council could not find the criteria to deal with the application which had been submitted.

She had spoken with the neighbours about their complaints to try to help and had invited them to visit the school but they had declined.

The school was operating on a rolling contract on a month to month basis as long as it is needed.

(a)Longsdon Memorial Hall (3).

It was agreed to write to the Management Committee to offer any help possible with the Council’s website etc to encourage more parishioners to possibly join the Committee and maybe become trustees. The Committee would also be asked to produce a current financial statement by the end of April 22 as this would again give parishioners more information on the Committee’s activities.

b) Memorial Seat.

The Clerk had written to District Councillor N Hawkins to thank her for the Community Grant.

It was agreed to purchase a 5 feet long oak York bench from Woodcraft UK together with a plaque after the late Parish Councillor Richard Weston’s family had been contacted about the inscription. One site for the bench was suggested.

99/21 Other Business.

The forthcoming Queen’s Jubilee was mentioned and it was agreed that this be on the agenda for the next meeting.

100/21 Correspondence.

Already distributed to Councillors :-

20mph Speed Limits Presentation on 1st. March 2022.

Great British Spring Clean.

SMDC Developer Contributions – Planning Document.

SCC County Library Facebook Timetable.

Moorlands Climate Action News – February 22.

A letter had been received from a Kingsley Parish Councillor asking for help maintaining the Churnet Valley Footpath which he said ran through Longsdon Parish. It was agreed that more information was needed as it was suggested that the path did not run through Longsdon Parish.

101/21 Planning Matters.

The following planning application was discussed and it was agreed to forward no objections, subject to normal planning guidelines, to:

SMD/2022/0108 Proposed Detached Garage at Lark Rise, Sutherland Road, Longsdon.

NB. Councillor K. Shaw left the room during the discussion on the planning application.

102/21 Finance Matters.

(a) Bank Mandate.

The changes to the mandate with the Council’s bankers T.S.B. were now complete.

(b) Orders for Payment.

It was agreed that the following items be paid:

103/21 Public Comments.

The member of the public reported that on numerous occasions the school’s equipment in the Memorial Hall had not been cleared when required by other users.

104/21 Items for Inclusion in the Agenda for the Next Meeting.

There was no business under this item.

105/21 Date of Next Meeting.

The date of the next meeting was arranged for Thursday 4th. May 2022 at 7.00pm in the upstairs room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon.