Minutes of the Meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council held on

16^th OCTOBER 2024

A meeting of Eccleshall Parish Council was held at Offley Hay Village Hall on 16^th October 2024 at 7.30pm. This meeting was followed by a meeting of the Planning Committee at 8.25pm.

 135/24). Present were:-

Councillor R, Taylor (Chairman)                   Councillor G. Dale

Councillor A. Reid                                           Councillor R Langford

Councillor B. Delanchy                                 Councillor D. Hill

Councillor D. Feneysey                                  Councillor P. Jones

Councillor M. Gosling                                     Councillor S. Perren

Councillor D. Hall                                            Councillor C. Wilkins

Councillor S. Kean

Mrs Stacey Worden (Clerk)

PCSO Gareth Higgins

One member of the public

  136/24). Apologies were received from Cllrs. Mifflin, Ryan-Bloor and Borough and County Councillor Pert.

  137/24). To consider Declarations of Interest and Councillor requests for dispensation relating to        items on the agenda.

There were no requests to receive, and no declarations of interest were made.

  138/24). Public Participation:

There was no public participation.

  139/24). To approve the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 18^th September 2024.

The minutes, which had been previously circulated, were agreed and signed.

  140/24). Report from the Borough Councillor, County Councillor, and police representatives:

Cllr. Jones reported that himself and Cllr. Reid had completed the Borough Council planning training required for those who sit on the Borough Council planning committee.

PCSO Gareth Higgins provided a crime activity report for the parish area which was received by members. The report allowed for a breakdown of crime types and a year-to-year comparison. An engagement event is provisionally planned for Saturday 23^rd November, subject to Co-Op approval for siting of the mobile police station on the car park. Once confirmed, the council will help to publicise the event.

  141/24). Committee Updates:

    Traffic Management:

• The minutes of the meeting held on the 2^nd October 2024 were noted.
• County Cllr. Pert has advised a project group has been set up with County Highways to progress the initiative for a reduced speed limit in the Broughton crossroads area.

Footpaths:

• The Heritage Walks booklet has been published and copies are available in the library as well as a download from the parish council website.

Enhancements:

• The minutes of the meeting held on the 2^nd October 2024 were noted.
• It was resolved to approve the recommendation to purchase to purchase a replacement bench for the Newport Road of a similar design from Glasdon at a cost of £631.77 plus VAT plus removal of old bench, build and installation of new bench for £200.
• It was resolved to approve the recommendation to purchase Christmas trees and associated services as follows:
  • £2359 ex VAT for the supply of Norway Spruce trees, quantities 71 x 4.5ft trees, 1 x 25ft tree and 1 x 20ft tree, including delivery and installation by Woods Farm.
  • £155 ex VAT for the supply of cherry pickers by Traction for light installation and removal.
  • £997 ex VAT for the installation and removal of lights on the two large trees by Andy Scattergood.
• It was resolved to approve the recommendation to purchase a dog bag dispenser for land by the Community Centre outdoor gym at a cost of £191 plus VAT and nominal installation costs.

    Policy and Resources:

• There were no updates to report

    Events:

• Taylor has spoken to the Carter-Motley family about the proposal to have a beacon lighting event on 8^th May 2025 for the VE Day 80^th Anniversary celebrations They are happy to consider this but wish to know the outline event plan before confirming. The next meeting of the Events committee is on the 6^th November, and any proposals from the working group can be considered and fed back after this meeting.

142/24).  Borough Council High Street Boost campaign – to note receipt of funds, receive any feedback from traders, and discuss potential event proposals

Stafford Borough Council has unexpectedly deposited the available £6,000 into the Parish Council bank account for allocation to events that fit their criteria to increase footfall to Eccleshall Town Centre businesses. Members were keen to ensure that the funding was not wasted. Cllr. Reid has spoken to local businesses and one suggestion is to create a town trail with items located in town centre businesses. There could be a Christmas and a Valentines themed trail, and some traders have expressed an interest in helping with this.

Cllr. Reid will ask whether the funding could be used to appoint a professional co-ordinator to help prepare the proposal, costings and deliver the event within the short timescale. If the trail could invest in a format and items that could be rolled out in future years this will be an excellent use of the available funding. The council resolved to approve funding for the town trail, subject to receipt of a formal proposal. Cllrs. Reid, Hill and Perren will form a working group to progress this.

The council also resolved to delegate to the Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman of the council, to consider and approve any other suitable event proposals, to ensure delivery was not impacted by the need to bring to a full council meeting.

 143/24). Beech Road – to consider and approve the proposal to accept the preferred supplier for the play area project, subject to final design amendments, receipt of s.106 funding and approval of lease agreement.

• Approval of recommended supplier. Members considered the report provided, which included a summary of the procedure by which the tenders were assessed, and a summary of the scoring undertaken by the four representatives of the working group. It was resolved to approve the proposal to appoint Kompan as the preferred supplier for the play area project, subject to final design amendments, receipt of s.106 funding and approval of lease agreement. The next steps will be to refer this to the working group to undertake any required tweaks to the design and put this to public consultation prior to final design approval. Members requested additional clarification on the proposed surface material and installation methodology to ensure that it was not subject to the shrinkage issues experienced at Croxton play area. It was noted that there will be a requirement to allocate a budget for ongoing maintenance of the area, inspections and repairs to the equipment, but this can only be estimated once the design is finalised, installed and the grounds maintenance element can be assessed. The equipment will be covered by initial warranties, with variable terms depending on the materials and type of equipment.
• Update on lease agreement. A draft copy of the lease agreement has been received for review. As this is a binding legal document and must be assessed professionally, it was resolved to approve delegation to the Clerk, in conjunction with the Chairman of the Enhancements Committee, to agree a fee and appoint a solicitor to review the terms of the lease and undertake any required negotiations.

144/24). Clerk’s report, containing liaison representative updates.

• The report was noted with no additional comments.

145/24). Correspondence

• No correspondence has been received for consideration

146/24). Chairman’s Report:-

• Taylor, Jones and Langford attended the Parish Council Civic Service on Sunday 13^th October.
• Community Library: the wasp infestation issue appears to have been overcome, from a combination of nest removal and the seasonal changes. A management group meeting was held on the 14^th October to discuss a number of operational matters, with Cllrs. Taylor, Wilkins and the Clerk in attendance as council representatives. Also on the group are three library volunteers and Helen Farr, the SCC Community Support Officer. The volunteers are happy with the way the library is running and we will continue to hold regular meetings.

 147/24). Financial Matters

• To accept the financial report and bank reconciliation to 30^th September 2024:

       It was resolved to accept the financial summary, which includes the bank reconciliation up to and  including 30^th September 2024.

Payments made since the last full Council meeting were received and noted as follows:

• To approve accounts for payment October 2024:-

Authorisation was sought for payment of the following accounts:

All were in favour and the accounts will be paid accordingly. Cllrs. Taylor and Reid will process the approvals.

   148/24). Items / Date and Venue for next meeting:-

The next meeting of the Parish Council is scheduled for the 18^th November, Eccleshall Community Centre, at 7.30pm. Agenda items can be forwarded to the Clerk for consideration.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.25pm.