DRAFT MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

 Meeting of the Parish Council

held on Monday 7^th September 2020

at 7.30 pm, online.

Members present:

Cllr Startin (Chair)

Cllr Cliffe

Cllr Dhillon

Cllr Mason

Cllr Purkess

Present: Mrs M Jones, Clerk

1.   To receive and approve apologies

Cllrs Meikle and Lacey had apologised and the apologies were accepted. District Cllr Ashley Yeates was unable to attend.

2.   To receive any Declarations of Interest

None

3.   To approve the draft Minutes of the meeting of 6th July 2020

The Minutes were approved and would be signed by the Chair at the next face to face meeting of the Council.

4.   To adjourn the meeting, to hold the Public Session, to reconvene the meeting.

No members of the public had attended.

5.   To receive the Clerk’s Report

Highways had completed work on the Catton Road and Harlaston Road potholes. Works to pavements in the village would take place but the dates were not yet known. A notice had been received regarding the 40mph limit across Chetwynd Bridge and the Parish Council had sent a further request to extend the limit towards Croxall to include the River Mease bridge.

The Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire had requested that thanks be passed onto all who had helped the community during the pandemic and his message of thanks had been forwarded to as many volunteers as possible.

Fly tipping in Harlaston Lane had been reported to Lichfield District Council.

The Clerk had completed website accessibility training. The Clerk would prepare a plan explaining how the Parish Council was working towards compliance with the website accessibility regulations and forward this to Councillors.

6.   To consider any planning matters

RESOLVED no objection to these applications.

7.   To consider felling of the oak tree on Croxall Road

There had been concern among villagers about felling of the extremely old oak tree. The tree surgeon had confirmed that it was rotten and could not be saved, and it had been felled safely. The Parish Council would investigate the possibility of planting an oak sapling in an alternative site, and this would be discussed at a future meeting.

8.   To consider correspondence regarding playground parking

A resident of Moores Croft had asked whether the Village Hall car park could be used by parents using the play park, as residents were not always able to park outside their homes and this was a problem for those with mobility problems.       Cllr Purkess confirmed that the Village Hall Committee had no-one available to open the gate each day and could not leave it unlocked for reasons of security.

9.   To consider Code of Conduct Training

Lichfield District Council’s Parish Forum would be held online on 17^th September at 6pm. All Councillors were encouraged to log onto the meeting for training on the new Code of Conduct, and several confirmed that they would do so.

10.                To receive correspondence

SPCA; bulletins and details of training, Cllrs Mason and Meikle were likely to book

Lichfield District Council news updates, voter registration reminder

Trent Rivers Trust; River Mease works on Cllr Startin’s land to increase the capacity of the river when full

County Council and District Council; Covid-19 funding information

Clifton Parish Council; Clerk vacancy

Resident regarding fence heights; advice sent to contact Bromford Homes

Several residents asking for the re-opening of the play area; subsequently opened by the Village Hall Committee with appropriate signage

Resident enquiring about derelict property on Hatchett Lane; reply sent confirming that it was still maintained

Family history query; reply sent following information from Mrs Mason

Resident asking about a bus to Tamworth College; the Parish Council had no information about any service.

11.                To receive Councillors’ Reports

Cllr Cliffe asked if the taxi service was running again. Cllr Mason had spoken to one of the users, but they were not yet ready to resume this.

Cllr Cliffe also reported on potholes in Pessall Lane becoming deeper.

Cllr Mason said that the fly postings had not been removed. The Clerk had asked the person responsible to take them down.

Cllr Mason had not yet met the fencing contractor as he had been busy with harvest, but he would ask him to also quote for a damaged finger post when he met him to look at the footbridge.

Cllr Dhillon reported sad news of a local death.

He also reported local drug dealing and the Clerk would contact PCSO Costas.

12.                To receive the Financial Report

The current account stood at £14037.

The capital fund totalled £68557.

It was RESOLVED to approve the increase to the Clerk’s salary as set out in the 2020-2021 salary award.

13.                To approve the payments on the payment schedule

It was RESOLVED to approve the payments.

14.                Date of next meeting

Monday 5th October 2020 at 7.30 p.m. online. The meeting closed at 8.10 p.m.