Minutes of Meeting held on Thursday 9th. November 2023 in the Upstairs Room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon at 7.00pm.

Present: Councillor J. Sargeant (Chair).

Councillors J. Cox, C. Hogan, S. Dickinson, R. Lovell & K. Shaw

In Attendance: John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.

One Member of the Public.

53/23 Apologies for Absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor D. Hughes.

54/23 Declarations of Interest.

There were no declarations of interest at this point.

55/23 Chairman’s Address.

The Chairman reported that there had been an unfortunate incident today involving a horse on the A53 at the top of Sutherland Road. Information received later suggested that the horse had had to be put down after it had been spooked, unseated the rider, bolted, and collided with a vehicle.

He also reported that he had displayed the Remembrance Day poppies on the main road through the village. However, they were showing signs of wear and tear and, if agreed, the purchase of more raw materials would enable the manufacture of some new poppies for next year.

The content management system underpinning the Council’s website had been updated following a major release and is now on version 5 but staying current means that documentation and user forums are available to us free of charge should they be needed.

56/23 Public Comments.

There was no business under this item.

57/23 Approval of Minutes of Last Meeting.

Minutes of the meeting held on 21st. September 2023 had been circulated and it was agreed that the minutes be signed as a true copy.

58/23 Matters Arising.

(a) Memorial Seat.

The Council’s lengthsman had completed the work of installing the new memorial seat.

(b) No reply had yet been received, in spite of a reminder which had been sent after the last meeting, regarding the issue with the white lines on the A53 Leek Road together with possible problems with the speed indicator sign. It was agreed to contact County Councillor Heath and the County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways to express concerns regarding no replies.

(c) The lengthsman had cut back the overgrown grass verges on the pavements on the A53 together with removing the weed growth adjacent to the notice board near the pedestrian crossing.

A similar problem on School Lane had already been reported to Staffs. County Council and would be reported again.

(d) Tree Preservation Order No.SM.327 (Park Lane)

A letter had been sent to the District Council objecting to this particular Tree Preservation Order.

59/23 Other Business.

The system for reporting Highway Issues to Staffs. Moorlands District Council was outlined.

It was agreed to contact Leek Police regarding the parked vehicle on the A53 Leek Road which was creating visibility problems for traffic emerging from Sutherland Road and pedestrians using the adjacent pedestrian crossing.

60/23 Correspondence.

The following had already been distributed to Councillors:-

Polling Places Review from Staffs. Moorlands District Council.

Business Premises Survey from Staffs. Moorlands District Council.

Sutherland Road Closure Order.

61/23 Planning Matters.

The following planning application had been received for discussion:

SMD/2023/0520 Outline Consent for Erection of Single Dwelling with Means of Access Considered & All Other Matters Reserved at The Firs, Sutherland Road, Longsdon.

At this point Councillors Cox, Hogan & Shaw declared an interest and took no part in in the discussion.

By a majority decision it was agreed to object to this application on the following grounds:

It is a proposed new dwelling in the Green Belt without exhibiting very special circumstances.

The application seeks to be considered as limited development in the Green Belt but two new builds have already been permitted on Sutherland Road within the last five years and to allow a third would indicate that limits are not being applied.

The plans say that the number of vehicles parked will be unchanged at three but all three are shown to be associated with the new build. The existing dwelling would have no provision for parking if the new build was to be sold as a separate entity.

62/23 Finance Matters.

(a) Orders for Payment.

It was agreed that the following items be paid:

(b) It was agreed to increase the Lengthsman’s hourly rate to £12.00 per hour.

(c) Information had been received from Ionos that its monthly charge would be increasing to £7.00 incl. V.A.T.

63/23 Public Comments.

There was no business under this item.

64/23 Items for Inclusion in the Agenda for the Next Meeting.

There was no business under this item.

65/23 Date of Next Meeting.

The date of the next meeting was arranged for Thursday 14th. December 2023 at 7.00pm in the upstairs room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon.