Berkswich Parish Council 2 June 2026 7.30 pm

BERKSWICH PARISH COUNCIL
Meeting of the Council
Tuesday 2 June 2026 at Walton (Berkswich) Village Hall,
Green Gore Lane, Walton on the Hill at 7.30 pm
MINUTES
Present: Cllrs A.Taylor (Chair), S. Francis, M. Norris, V. Campbell, M. Millichap, A. Millichap, R. Gilson, B. Hughes
In attendance: SBC Cllr P. Edgeller
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Public Session – 2 members of the public present raised the issue of white painted stones placed on a grass verge along Kitlings lane. The issue relates to the large size of these as they are larger than was agreed by County Highways with Old Croft Road residents when the issue arose previously. Residents advised to contact SCC Cllr A. Edgeller and County Highways. Agreed the Chair would also contact Highways
The Chair noted that the Clerk had been absent and it was not known when she would be able to return to work. In the immediate short term the Chairman would undertake the clerk’s duties but if the absence continued a more sustainable arrangement would need to be found. Members asked for their best wishes to be communicated to the Clerk.
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Apologies– Cllr Luker
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Minutes of the meeting held on 5 May 2026 Agreed as an accurate record.
Approved nem con
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Declarations of Interest regarding items on the agenda. None
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Clerk’s report for May 2026. Accepted
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Annual Governance and Accountability Return
a)
To accept the Internal Auditor’s report for 2025/26
Accepted nem con
b)
To approve the Annual Governance Statement for 2025/26 Approved nem con
c)
To approve the Accounting Statements for 2025/26
Approved nem con
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Policies
a)
AI Policy it was sensible for the Council to have an AI policy as this tool was going to become more ubiquitous in coming years. Agreed to accept the AI generated AI policy as there was not a current one to adopt from NALC.
Proposed Cllr Millichap; seconded Cllr Francis. Agreed nem con.
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Financial Matters
Agreed to defer this item until the July meeting of Council as the relevant financial papers were not available.
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Reports from other meetings
a. Staffing Committee
i. Minutes of the Extraordinary Staffing Committee held on 30 April 2026 Staffing Committee had identified some factual inaccuracies in the content: Chairman to prepare an amended text. Staffing committee feedback identified that tasks need to be categorised to manage the hours available to the council as it is impossible to complete everything immediately.
ii. Recommended that the Clerk/RFO’s annual increment be agreed backdated to 1 April 2026.
Proposed Cllr Taylor, seconded Cllr Campbell. Agreed nem con.
Also that the Clerk’s annual appraisal be held no later than March in any year to allow ample time for any future increment to be implemented.
b.
Environment Group
Following adverse comment from the FiPL grant officer a tidying-up exercise had been carried out in Walton Coppice and tenders were being sought for strimming in both woodlands.
When work began on taking the backlog of maintenance in the coppices in hand three years ago a number of good quality hand tools were purchased by the Parish Council in anticipation of volunteers coming forward to assist. This has not materialised and the mostly unused tools are now surplus to requirements. As
they were acquired with grant aid at no cost to the Parish Council the chairman proposed to transfer them (and a large number of surplus tree guards) to other public or charitable bodies being assisted by the Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme around Cannock Chase. Agreement from FiPL would also be needed; the chairman would be speaking to the case officer very soon.
Proposed Cllr Taylor; seconded Cllr Francis. Carried nem con
c.
Village Hall Council of Management
Cllr Hughes is awaiting a date to attend the meetings and Cllr Pearson will continue as a trustee.
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Items for the agenda for the Parish Council Meeting scheduled for Tuesday 7 July 2026 at 7.30 pm to be sent to the Chairman for inclusion
20:30 meeting closed.