Minutes of the Meeting of Barlaston Parish Council
Held on Tuesday 08 October 2024
Present:
Cllr D Borasinski (Chair) Cllr C Hurst
Cllr J Dando Cllr J Mirceta
Cllr S Oakden Cllr L Pickering
Cllr E Philpott Cllr G Lloyd
Also in attendance:
Parish Clerk: Ms Vivien O’Dunne
County Councillor: Cllr Ian Parry
Two representatives from Stone Community First Responders
Open forum: The Stone Community First Responders (CFR) gave an overview of their activities: recruitment, training, fund raising, community engagement/CPR training and range of their response area (5 miles) which includes Barlaston. The Stone CFR group are raising money to fund a new response vehicle and their attendance was to support their grant application (see item 169).
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- Apologies: were received from Cllrs Tudor, Fisher and Jones. It was resolved to accept these.
- Declarations of Interest: There were no declarations of interest.
- Written applications for dispensations under the Localism Act 2011: There were no written applications for dispensation.
- To approve minutes of the Parish Council Meeting 10 September 2024: These were accepted as a true record and duly signed by the Chairman.
- To approve minutes of the Parish Council Meeting 24 September 2024: These were accepted as a true record and duly signed by the Chairman.
- Matters arising from the meeting of 10 September and 24 September 2024 and not otherwise on the agenda: There were no matters arising.
- Clerk’s Report: See Appendix A. The Clerk gave an update to item 130: The portrait of HM King Charles III has now arrived and will be passed to the village hall committee.
- County Councillor: Cllr Parry attended the meeting and updated as follows:
- Wedgwood Memorial College: there has been no response to Cllr Parry’s emails to the current owners to request a meeting to address issues on the site. He reports that his communications were positive as he hoped to engage with the owners to accelerate the development of the land.
- Lakewood Drive: Cllr Parry has received no response to his communications to the current land owner and is still exploring other options.
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- Boatyard Lane/Canalside highways safety concerns: Cllr Parry has very limited options regarding improving safety at the junction of these roads with Station Road: he is in the process of getting the current signage enhanced.
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- Park Drive/Tittensor Road junction – Double Yellow Lines: Cllr Parry informed Cllrs that this is now in its final consultation phase prior to implementation.
- Broughton Crescent parking issues: He would look into the possibility of providing H Bars outside each property on the Crescent to deter inconsiderate parking.
- Crossing patrol officer safety: Cllr Parry will look to install flashing warning lights to assist the new crossing patrol officer and explained that a pelican crossing may be considered a future option.
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- Flooding on Station Road: Cllr Parry will request that Highways investigate the source of water running onto the road in two locations and will determine actions to stop it.
- Neighbourhood Highways Teams: Cllr Parry informed the Cllrs that these teams would be operating again soon and that Barlaston would have an allocation of time. It was resolved to discuss options at the next meeting.
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- Working groups: This item has been reintroduced to the agenda and the working groups will meet as follows:
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- Sustainability group (includes environment): It was resolved that Cllrs would form sub-groups with the purpose of inspecting assets in their ward and would report on any repairs/new assets needed to the next meeting to assist in budget setting for the 2025/26 financial year. The Clerk would issue Cllrs with a copy of the Parish Council’s asset register. Cllr Oakden will liaise with the Womblers and ask them to report anything in need of repair or care.
- HR committee: It was resolved to convene quarterly meetings of the Clerk with a representative of the committee. The Clerk will organise the first one at a mutually convenient date.
- Finance committee: see item 151(f)
- Community/Patients group: will convene on an ad-hoc basis.
- Aesthetics group: it was resolved to merge this group with the sustainability/environment group at the annual meeting next year.
- Planning & Development committee: the planning committee meets regularly.
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- Training: Cllrs Mirceta and Oakden had recently attended Essentials The Explore Chairmanship course had been booked for Cllr’s Borasinski and Tudor on the 3rd December (19:00 – 21:30). The Clerk noted that there hadn’t been time to complete many training hours in September
It was resolved that the Clerk would add Standing Orders and Financial Regulations to the Dropbox account for easy access by all.
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- Financial matters:
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- The bank reconciliation reports were accepted and signed.
- The schedule of payments report for September 2024 were accepted.
- Implementation of audit recommendations: the clerk had supplied all Councillors with a gov.uk email address and set a forwarder to notify the Cllrs when they had emails relating to Council business. The Clerk reiterate the importance of only using gov.uk for Council business
- Banking arrangements: it was resolved to remove the assistant clerk from the bank mandate and replace with Cllr Lloyd as Chair of Finance once Cllr Tudor has been activated.
- Completion of internal audit on 1st October and recommendations moving forwards:
- The internal auditor recommends that the Parish Council begin the process of migrating the website to a gov.uk domain and brings the administration of the site in-house. It was resolved that the Clerk would look into this and bring information back to the next meeting.
- The Parish Council need to adopt the ICO’s Model Publication Scheme; it was resolved to add this to the next agenda.
- To update the risk register with regard to the office computer, lone working and website management and to seek to eliminate risks
- To determine preparation for budget setting 2025/2026: The Clerk presented the proposed time line:
- The Clerk to start to prepare budget for 2025/26 based on known costs and expenditure
- November PC meeting – Cllrs to bring wish lists and projects forward for discussion
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- Late November: the Clerk to meet with Cllr Lloyd to work on draft budget
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- December: Finance Committee meet to finalise budget
- January Parish Council meeting – approve budget
| September Expenditure – Standard | GROSS | VAT | NET | Payment |
| Vivien O’Dunne – Salary / Expenses September 2024 | BACS | |||
| Buxus Green – September Grass Cutting Inv 202418 | 1081.50 | 0.00 | 1081.50 | SO |
| Tesco mobile – Inv 134218563782 | 15.10 | 0.00 | 15.10 | DD |
| BT Broadband and Phone Inv M060T2 | 39.30 | 6.55 | 32.75 | DD |
| Barlaston Methodist Church Inv 160 chq: 002863 | 750.00 | 0.00 | 750.00 | Cheque |
| Methodist Church Coffee Mornings 6 @ £20 chq: 002864 Inv162 | 120.00 | 0.00 | 120.00 | Cheque |
| Viking – Inv 471020205 – Toner cartridge | 85.13 | 14.19 | 70.94 | BACS |
| Stafford Borough Council: Allotments 29/09 – 24/12 Inv 1000133012 | 300.00 | 0.00 | 300.00 | BACS |
| HMRC Employer’s NI Jul – Sept | 136.06 | 0.00 | 136.06 | BACS |
| Stafford Borough Council – Bin emptying 3 months: 7070295440 | 447.31 | 74.55 | 372.76 | BACS |
| Pozitive Energy Electricity: Inv 26181620246413567 | 110.12 | 5.24 | 104.88 | DD |
| JRB Enterprise Ltd – Dog bags (12 x 800) Inv 27523 | 348.48 | 58.08 | 290.40 | BACS |
| Graham Burdett/Creative Landscapes Playfort/Bus Shelter work | 320.00 | 0.00 | 320.00 | BACS |
| Karen St Leger (August/September salary & expenses) | 320.68 | 0.00 | 320.68 | BACS |
| Forvis Mazars LLP – External Audit 2023/2024 Inv 2412892 | 552.00 | 92.00 | 460.00 | BACS |
| Royal British Legion Industries – Tommy Figures Inv #D8240 | 715.00 | 119.17 | 595.83 | BACS |
| Income – Standard | GROSS | VAT | NET | Payment |
| Knights Solicitors | 1,037.49 | 0.00 | 1,037.49 | CHQ |
| Barlaston Allotment Association (29/09/24 – 24/12/2024) | 300.00 | 0.00 | 300.00 | BACS |
| Barlaston Village Hall – Electrical Installation Condition Report Inv 653 | 524.13 | 0.00 | 524.13 | BACS |
| Barlaston Village Hall – Gas and electric (June and July 2024) Inv 652 | 430.10 | 0.00 | 430.10 | BACS |
| Lloyds Business Bank – Interest | 104.41 | 0.00 | 104.41 |
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- Production of a Heron: The Clerk reported that Canon Jones is open to the idea of a joint publication. He suggests a joint publication be produced for the July/Aug and Dec/Jan issue each year and that he is happy to investigate costings. It was resolved to accept this suggestion, pending agreement on costs. Cllrs Dando, Oakden and Pickering would work with the Clerk to put together ideas for content.
- Remembrance figures: The figures have been ordered and will feature the wording “Gifted by Renee Robinson”. It was resolved to site a pair by the Parish Council bench on the green adjacent to Orchard Place and at the bottom of Queen Mary’s Drive subject to insurance and landowner permissions. Cllr Borasinski would install them.
- Remembrance wreaths: It was resolved to purchase a wreath at a cost of £20 from the Stone branch of the Royal British Legion. The Clerk to check with the Assistant Clerk as to whether the Parish Council usually fulfils any other obligations – it was resolved to allow a further £20 as a contingency,
- Buxus Green: No report has been received; Cllr Hurst reports that the delay was due to illness. Cllr Hurst would liaise with Buxus Green to ensure the scheduled bench and tree works were undertaken along with a request that special attention be paid to grass surrounding the War Memorial.
- Meadow Road lease: The Clerk had made an immediate response but so far no update received.
- Cricket Club lease: The Clerk had made an immediate response but so far no update received.
- Downs carpark: The Clerk issued a copy of the Village Green bylaws to Cllrs present; these indicate that the Parish Council have no powers to act with regard to the current issue of people sleeping in their vehicles on the carpark.
The Clerk reported that she had informed the local PCSO of this activity. The Clerk will invite the PCSO to the November meeting and will advise parishioners to contact the police if they see any anti-social or criminal activity taking place. Although the Parish Council has a CCTV camera on the car park it isn’t monitored and any footage will only be released by request from the Police due to GDPR requirements.
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- Bus shelter repair and ongoing issue with overhanging branches: the Clerk will write to the landowner to request the trees be cut back and also get a quote for the outstanding repair.
- Water on Station Road: this item was covered by the County Councillor (item 148)
- Recipient for the Wedgwood Bowl and date/location of presentation: It was resolved to postpone the award until the new year to bring the award in-line with the financial year so that a presentation may take place at the Annual Parish Meeting in May 2025.
- Parking issues:
- Broughton Crescent – see item 148 (v). The Clerk will contact the Headteacher and request that two Parking Buddies be put on the road outside the school and the remaining two be used by the new crossing patrol officer outside the church (and be stored just behind the church wall).
- Malthouse Lane – it was reported that the turning area at the top of the lane, adjacent to the Cricket Club kissing gate, was being used as a parking area and causing problems with vehicles needing to turn. The Parish Council have no power to act. Cllr Pickering would feedback at the next meeting as to whether the ‘No Parking’ sign was still in situ.
- Village Green – This item was requested by Cllr Tudor and it was resolved to defer it to the next meeting in her absence.
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- Speeding issues on Wedgwood Drive – The Speedwatch group have concerns regarding excessive speed of vehicles on this stretch of road. It was resolved to request the statistics and forward them to Cllr Parry as the Parish Council have no power to act.
- Offer from JN Bentley’s Corporate Social Responsibility Champions: The Parish Council have received an offer to give support to a Parish Council Project from JN Bentley (currently working on the land adjacent to Severn Trent’s Strongford Sewage Works).
The Parish Council resolved that the Clerk would accept their kind offer and request support with fencing/bases for equipment in the proposed play area.
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- Memorial bench request: The Parish Council have received a request from the executors of the estate of Lindsay Willis (deceased) for a memorial bench with a plaque and inscription. The executors have completed the bench application form and forwarded a cheque for £200 being the maintenance fee required under the bench policy. It was resolved to grant the request; the Clerk will advise the executors on a suitable bench to purchase which will be sited by the tree outside the old library building, replacing the recently broken one.
- Risk Assessment updates and determine actions:
- Biennial tree survey recommended works / costings – The Clerk will remind Cllr Fisher to chase this up.
- RoSPA report works progress update – The Clerk reported that the Council’s usual ground workers hadn’t responded to her requests to complete the work. It was resolved that the Clerk would source a new local business to undertake the works.
- Use of .gov.uk email addresses for Cllrs – It was noted that some Cllrs were having issues with their address so the Clerk would make time to provide assistance prior to the next Parish Council meeting.
- Broken bench on village green – The Clerk would endeavour to ensure that this be removed by Remembrance Sunday.
167. Weekly play reports / recommendations from appointed Cllrs: None received at the meeting.
168. Correspondence: The Clerk reported correspondence regarding speeding on Station Road and an email from AED Donate informing that the defibrillator on Barlaston Park had been deployed; the pads have been replaced and an invoice raised.
169. Grant applications – It was resolved to grant £500 to the Stone Community First Responder Group.
It was resolved to donate £300 to the Royal British Legion.
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- Planning decisions – Application 24/39548/HOU at 73A Meaford Road described as Proposed single and 2 storey rear extension: There were no objections to this application.
- Items for inclusion in next agenda
Parking on the pavement adjacent to the Plume of Feathers
Homes Plus development land at Barlaston Park
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- Date of next meeting(s) – 12 November 2024
clerk@barlaston.staffslc.org.uk
Clerk’s Report September 2024 Appendix A
161 Wedgwood Memorial College – no updates received.
221 Neighbourhood Plan review – The assistant Clerk is in the process of drafting the updated Neighbourhood Plan.
21 Crossing Patrol Officer – A new crossing patrol officer is now in post
228 Drainage issues on the Village Green (below the War Memorial) –Cllr Hurst has reinstated the tickertape and is to advise on the date drainage works are to commence. It is also noted the bench ends still need to be removed.
282 Risk assessment updates – Tree survey. The Clerk has requested N&J Tree Services Ltd to visit the Village Green to re-quote for the trees which are under the ownership of the Parish Council, this has yet to happen. Cllr Fisher has agreed to a meeting, date to be confirmed.
63 Planning application validation guidance letter issued to Stafford Borough Council – A formal FOI request has been submitted as the initial response has not been dealt with. This has now been directed to the relevant department and we still await their response. It is critical that the Borough Council observe the Neighbourhood Plan Protocols alongside the new Housing Needs Assessment and Design Guide document.
99 Relocation of the waste bin adjacent to the bridge on Station Road – The Clerk submitted a request to the Borough Council to have this relocated. No response received.
124 Complaint regarding notice board adjacent to the Plume of Feathers – the clerk has responded to the complainant
126 Overgrown hedges – the Clerk has circulated the Parish Council guidance graphics in the church gazette, social media and the notice boards.
130 Portrait of HM the King – still not received. The Village Hall committee are happy that it will be located in the Village Hall,