Minutes of Meeting held on Thursday 8th. May 2025 in the Upstairs Room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon at 7.00pm.

Present: Councillor J. Sargeant (Chair).

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

In Attendance: John Bourne, Clerk to the Council.

One Member of the Public.

27/25 Apologies for Absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J. Cox, C. Hogan & D. Hughes.

28/25 Declarations of Interest.

There were no declarations of interest at this point.

29/25 Chairman’s Address.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the normal Parish Council meeting.

30/25 Public Comments.

The member of the public, speaking on behalf of the owner of an area of land in Sandy Lane, pointed out that the land was registered with the Land Registry and the entrance gate was closed and locked on each New Year’s Day. However, members of the public were continually walking over the land.

It was suggested to him that the best course was for the owner to erect notices such as “Trespassers will be Prosecuted” which would then deter trespassing.

31/25 Approval of Minutes of Last Meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20th. March 2025 had been circulated, and it was agreed that the minutes be signed as a true record.

32/25 Matters Arising.

(a) Pedestrian Crossing and Speed Watch.

A further discussion took place on the need to set up a Community Speed Watch system and how it could be established. The Police Community Speed Watch team had posted leaflets canvassing for participants through some but not all letterboxes in the parish.

It was suggested that contact should be made with the newly elected County Councillor regarding the pedestrian crossing.

(b) Storm Damage.

St. Chad’s Parochial Church Council had been informed of possible grant from the Parish Council for the attention to the damaged trees in the Church yard area.

(c) Dangerous Window.

A report regarding the problem with the dangerous window in a building at the junction of the A53 Leek Road & Sutherland Road had been submitted, with photographs of the window, to the Chief Planning Officer.

This report had apparently been passed to a private firm in Derbyshire who, after establishing the exact situation of the window, had compared the photographs which had been sent in to photographs retrieved from a Google Earth survey in 2023. It concluded this showed that there had been no change in the circumstances since then and that no action could be taken.

The Parish Council decided that it had done its duty by reporting the problem.

33/25 Other Business.

There was no business under this item.

34/25 Correspondence.

The following had already been distributed to Councillors:-

Caverswall Historical Society Event.

Road Closure Notice – School Lane, Longsdon.

Re-cycled Furniture Literature.

Clerks & Councils Direct – May 25 Issue.

35/25 Planning Matters.

The following Planning Applications had been received:-

SMD/2025/0226 Replacement Detached Garage & 1.5m increase in Driveway Width at Brackencroft, Sutherland Road, Longsdon.

It was agreed to forward no objections to this application.

36/25 Finance Matters.

(a) Copies of the Annual Accounts for the year 2024 / 2025 were distributed to Councillors.

(b) It was agreed to appoint Mrs. D. Corbishley as Internal Auditor – the same as last year.

(c) It was agreed that as the Council’s turnover was less than £25,000.00 the External Audit Exemption Certificate be submitted.

(d) The Council’s Governance Statement was perused and approved.

(e) Orders for Payment.

It was agreed that the following items be paid:

(f) The question of the Clerk’s Salary, which had remained constant for two years, was discussed. It was agreed that this be raised by £150.00 per annum.

37/25 Public Comments.

There was no more business under this item.

38/25 Items for Inclusion in the Agenda for the Next Meeting.

There was no further business under this item.

39/25 Date of Next Meeting.

The date of the next meeting was arranged for Thursday 19th. June 2025 at 7.00pm in the upstairs room of the Wheel Public House, Leek Road, Longsdon.