Minutes of Meeting held on Thursday 5th. May 2022 in the Upstairs Room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon at 7.00pm.

Present: Councillor J. Sargeant (Chair).

Councillors T. Beastall, S. Dickinson, R. Lovell & K. Shaw.

In Attendance: John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.

1/22 Apologies for Absence.

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

2/22 Declarations of Interest.

There were no declarations of interest at this point.

3/22 Chairman’s Address.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

4/22 Public Comments.

There was no business under this item.

5/22 Approval of Minutes of Last Meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 24th. March 2022 had been circulated and it was agreed that the minutes be signed as a true copy.

6/22 Matters Arising.

(a) Resignations of Councillors.

Councillor Hawthorne had tendered her resignation from the Council on the day following the last meeting. The Electoral Office of Staffs. Moorlands District Council had been informed and the statutory notice had been posted on the Council’s website and notice boards.

More recently Councillor Jacquetta Bode had also tendered her resignation from the Council and the Electoral Office had been informed.

It was agreed to write letters of thanks to both retiring Councillors.

It was also agreed, that once permission to co-opt replacement Councillors had been received, the vacancies would be advertised with a view to co-opting new Councillors at the next meeting of the Council.

(b) Longsdon Memorial Hall.

The agreed letter had been sent to the Management Committee to offer any help possible etc and to ask it to produce a current financial statement. A reply had been received which stated that three new members had now joined the Committee and that there had been 150 bookings for the Hall until October 2022 with some weddings booked in for 2023.

It also stated that the requested financial statement had been posted on the Charity Commission’s website.

A thanks reply would be sent and to also inform the Committee that a Parish Council representative would be selected when the Parish Council had a full complement of Councillors.

(c) Memorial Seat.

The Oak York bench from Woodcraft UK had been provisionally ordered with a delivery date of July 2022 after the daughter of the deceased Councillor had been consulted. A suggested inscription had been obtained. However the matter was put on hold due to an overarching family problem. The site for the bench was also left in abeyance for the moment.

(d) The Queen’s Jubilee.

This matter was discussed with numerous suggestions put forward but, due to the small number of Councillors at present, it was agreed not to pursue any activities but to offer support to any groups which were undertaking such.

7/22 Other Business.

A complaint had been received from a parishioner requesting that the Parish Council reports a dangerous defect in the road at the lower end of Micklea Lane. It was reported that one Parish Councillor had already reported the matter to the County Council some weeks previously but the Chairman offered to report the matter again.

8/22 Correspondence.

Already distributed to Councillors :-

Notice of Staffs. Moorlands Energy Fair – 3rd. April 2022.

Community Engagement Meeting Invite from Karen Bradey MP. – 8th. April 2022.

SMDC Developer Contributions – Planning Document (Reminder).

Manchester Airport Future Airspace.

Staffs. County Council – Why Climate Change Matters – 22nd. April 2022.

9/22 Planning Matters.

The following planning application had been distributed to Councillors, due to the time scale, and no objections, subject to normal planning guidelines, had been received to:

SMD/2022/0166 Refurbishment & Alterations to Existing Farmhouse together with Conversion of Adjacent Barn & Link Extension to Form a Single Dwelling at Stone Barn Farm, Sutherland Road, Longsdon.

10/22 Finance Matters.

(a) A copy of the Annual Statement of Account was distributed to Councillors and perused.

(b) It was agreed to appoint Chris Neufeld, last year’s internal auditor, for this year’s internal audit.

(c) It was agreed to continue the insurance with the Council’s Insurer, Zurich Municipal, due to a similar premium amount as last year being received.

(d) Orders for Payment.

It was agreed that the following items be paid:

11/22 Public Comments.

There was no business under this item.

12/22 Items for Inclusion in the Agenda for the Next Meeting.

The narrowing of roadside footpaths in the Parish due to overgrowing hedges and verges.

A review of the Council’s Risk Assessment Policy.

13/22 Date of Next Meeting.

The date of the next meeting was arranged for Thursday 23rd. June 2022 at 7.00pm in the upstairs room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon.