Minutes of Meeting held on Thursday 22nd. June 2023 in the Upstairs Room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon at 7.00pm.

Present: Councillor J. Sargeant (Chair).

Councillors S. Dickinson & K. Shaw.

Four Members of the Public.

In Attendance: John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.

14/23 Apologies for Absence.

Apologies for absence were received from R. Lovell.

15/23 Declarations of Interest.

There were no declarations of interest at this point.

16/23 Chairman’s Address.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance at this meeting with Co-options and Finance Matters to be discussed.

17/23 Public Comments.

A resident of Limes Avenue informed the Council of problems with a culvert in a field adjacent to her residence causing alleged flooding of her property. She had contacted Severn Trent Water who said they could not help but she now wished to find the owner of the field. She was given as much information as was available.

18/23 Approval of Minutes of Last Meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 18th. May 2023 had been circulated and it was agreed that the minutes be signed as a true copy.

19/23 Matters Arising.

(a) Declaration of Office.

All the elected Councillors had now signed the Declaration of Office.

(b) Co-option of Councillors.

The three vacancies for Parish Councillors had been advertised.

Three applications had been received – Jo Cox of 42 Newcastle Road, Leek, Conor Hogan of Bank End Farm, Leek Old Road, Longsdon and David Hughes of “Holdenby”, Denford Road, Longsdon.

A secret ballot was held on the three names and all were duly co-opted.

Jo Cox is already the elected District Councillor for the area.

(c) Memorial Seat.

It was reported that the memorial seat had been delivered to the Chairman’s address. The Council’s lengthsman had been contacted and had agreed he would be able to remove the existing seat on Micklea Lane and form a new base for the new seat. It was agreed to ask him to carry out the work.

(d) A thank you letter had been sent to retiring Councillor T. Beastall.

20/23 Other Business.

(a) White Lines on the main A53 Leek Road, Longsdon.

This matter was left in abeyance until the next Council meeting.

21/23 Correspondence.

The following had already been distributed to Councillors :-

Invitation to a Code of Conduct Training Session at Staffs. Moorlands District Council.

Info from Chief Inspector Mark Barlow, Moorlands Local Policing Commander.

Info from C. P. R. E.

Info from District Councillor Matt. Swindlehurst of S. M. D. C.

22/23 Planning Matters.

The following planning application had been received for discussion:

SMD/2023/0267 Single Storey Side & Rear Extension at “Woodridge”, Wood Road, Longsdon.

It was agreed to forward no objections to this application.

A report was given that an initial assessment of the planning application at the old New Inn site by a planning officer suggested refusal of the application on Green Belt grounds.

23/23 Finance Matters.

(a) The following items were distributed to Councillors and perused:-

The Annual Internal Audit Report 2022/23.

The Annual Governance Statement 2022/23.

Accounting Statement 2022/23.

Bank Reconciliation 2022/23.

Explanations of Significant Variations 2022/23.

Certificate of Exemption – AGAR 2022/23.

All the items were accepted and it was agreed to forward the External Audit Exemption Certificate to the external auditor.

The Internal Auditor, Marion Corbishley, had commented on the well-kept and easy to understand accounts and had given a very generous low-cost service for the sum of £35.00. She must also be applauded for the donation of that sum to charity.

(b) Clerk’s Salary.

It was agreed to increase the Clerk’s salary by £100.00 per annum.

(c) Orders for Payment.

It was agreed that the following items be paid:

24/23 Public Comments.

Overgrowth of footpaths and hedges in School Lane were reported. Councillor Cox agreed to report this to District Councillor G. Heath.

Various potholes in Sutherland Road were also reported. Chairman Sargeant offered to report these.

25/23 Items for Inclusion in the Agenda for the Next Meeting.

Discussion on the White Lines on the A53 Leek Road (Deferred from this meeting).

26/23 Date of Next Meeting.

The date of the next meeting was arranged for Thursday 10th. August 2023 at 7.00pm in the upstairs room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon.