Berkswich Parish Council 3 December 2024

BERKSWICH PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Berkswich Parish Council Meeting held on

Tuesday 3 December 2024 at 7.30 pm at Walton Village Hall

Present:   Cllr Alan Taylor (Chair), Cllr Caroline Pearson, Cllr Sue Francis, Cllr Beverley Hughes, Cllr Michael Norris, Cllr Bob Gilson and Cllr Tim Luker.

In attendance: Mrs Sue Fullwood as Clerk.

Cllr Taylor welcomed everyone to the meeting.

24/169      Public session – none present.

24/170      Apologies – Cllr Vicky Campbell as she was working; Cllr Ann and Cllr Malcolm Millichap as they were unwell; and Stafford Borough Councillor Peter Edgeller as he was at an SBC meeting.

24/171      Minutes of the meeting held on 5 November 2024 – Resolved: It was agreed that the minutes were accurate.

24/172       Declarations of Interest regarding items on the agenda.  None.

24/173       Clerk’s Report for November 2024 – Resolved: the report was accepted.

24/174      Flower Beds on Main Road

Cllr Francis had been visited by TGM and they had explained that the quote for all the beds would be better value in the long run as it included digger hire which would need to be repeated at each stage if the work was spread out.  Cllr Norris said that some of the underspend for 2024/25 could be used to do the work in this financial year.  He added that he had looked at all of the flower beds and each was as bad as the next so it would be difficult to identify which to do first.  Resolved: Cllr Francis proposed to go ahead with rejuvenating all 11 beds using the 2024/25 budget, seconded by Cllr Hughes and agreed unanimously.  Action: Clerk

24/175      Land Adjacent to 19, 21 and 23 The Village

The Clerk had chased a response from SCC with regards to if there was a right to apply to have the land registered as a village green and if there was a landowner statement for the land. Item adjourned to the next meeting.  Action: Clerk

24/176      Grant Application from Berkswich Methodist Church

The applicant had confirmed by email that the defibrillator had not been purchased and they were still trying to raise funding. Resolved: Church to be offered a grant of £500 towards the purchase.  Action: Clerk

24/177      Draft Parish Council Leaflet

The Clerk had reformatted the leaflet to a two-fold double sided A4 sheet and edited some of the information to bullet points. Resolved: It was agreed that the leaflet was ready to be printed and the Clerk should ask for quotes from printers for how many could be purchased for £200.  Action: Clerk Leaflets would be used for fetes, published on the website, placed in the phone box, the Village Hall and Cllr Gilson would put one in each of the three Berkswich Parish Churches.

24/178      Plans for 80^th Anniversary of VE Day and VJ Day in 2025

Item discharged – no further action.

24/179      Grounds Maintenance provider for 2025

                 The Clerk had asked for quotes from 5 different contractors.  Of those 5 only one had provided a quote, two had replied saying that they wouldn’t be quoting and two had not responded at all.  Resolved: Agreed unanimously to accept the quote from TGM.  Action: Clerk

24/180      Traffic Lights on Holdiford Road

Cllr Luker said that in his experience since the installation of the traffic lights on Holdiford Road, vehicles were now going faster over the bridges – they seem to feel they can go faster because they have got the green light.  It is not safe for pedestrians trying to cross the bridges, particularly when vehicles have got stuck between the two sets of lights, if there are two vehicles adjacent to each other there is nowhere for pedestrians to go.  Cllr Francis felt that it was hard to gauge now because of the additional traffic caused by the Radford Bank roadworks.  Resolved: to be kept under review when traffic levels were back to normal.

24/181      Response to Remote Attendance at Meetings Consultation

Cllr Luker felt that remote meetings were not as effective as face-to-face meetings. It was felt that remote meetings shouldn’t be custom and practice, but it would be useful to have the facility in case of pandemic, etc.  Microphones and software licences would be expensive.  It was agreed that a mix of face-to-face and remote attendance would be the worst of both worlds.  Resolved: It was agreed not to respond as a Parish Council but that anyone could respond as an individual if they wished to.

24/182      Replacement of Wooden Planters Around the Parish

The Secretary of Berkswich Football Club regularly replanted the planter under the Walton on the Hill sign on Old Croft Road and had notified the Clerk that the planter was in need of replacement.  Cllr Hughes had been discussing it with her neighbour who had offered to replace the planter like-for-like.  Resolved: It was unanimously agreed to accept the offer with grateful thanks. Action: Cllr Hughes  Clerk to check state of the other planters in the parish and report back to the February meeting.  Action: Clerk

24/183      Financial Matters:

1. Budget for 2025/26

The Clerk had prepared figures which had been discussed by the Finance Committee. Resolved: The budget was agreed unanimously.  Cllr Francis passed on thanks to the Finance Committee.

1. Precept Demand for 2025/26

The percentage increase for the Precept for 2025/26 was suggested as 3.2% by the Finance Committee.  Resolved: The 3.2% increase was agreed unanimously.  Clerk to confirm to SBC.  Action: Clerk

• Current Budget Surplus

Covered in item 24/174.

1. Confirmation of Internal Auditor for 2024/25

Resolved: Clerk to request that Sandie Morris continues to be Internal Auditor for the Council.  Action: Clerk

1. Bank Reconciliation and Expenditure for November 2024 – Resolved: Agreed unanimously.

1. Budget Report for November 2024 – Resolved: The budget report was unanimously approved.

24/184      Financial Matters:

1. Planning Status for Walton Garage 24/38959/FUL

Cllr Taylor had prepared a draft response to the member of the public who had attended the meeting on 5 November. Two councillors had checked the plans and they showed planting at the roadside and room for the transporters to turn.  Resolved: Clerk to send response to the member of the public.  Action: Clerk

1. Ratification of response to Planning Application 24/39841/HOU proposed alterations and extensions at 31 The Village, Walton on the Hill

The Council’s objection letter had been sent to SBC before the deadline of 28 November.  Resolved: Unanimously agreed.

• Planning Application 24/39750/FUL at Pretty Pots, The White House, 76 Main Road, Milford

It was felt that Pretty Pots were not taking the parking issues seriously enough.  One councillor had seen children travelling from Berkswich Primary School having to cycle right into the road to pass cars parked on the pavement there.  Resolved: The draft objection letter was unanimously agreed.  Action: Clerk

24/185      Reports from other Meetings

1. Environment Group – The hedgerow plants had been delivered to the Clerk’s home and had been moved around to Hollybush Coppice. Cllr Luker and Cllr Taylor had met with the teacher at Berkswich Primary School earlier on 3 December and she hoped to get the pupils to plant all of the plants before Christmas.

Cllr Norris asked for an update on the hedgerow planting at Walton Coppice.  Cllr Luker confirmed that quite a few of the plants had failed, but the hazel plants were doing quite well.  Cllr Francis added that it would be best to review the hedgerow planting in Spring 2025.

24/186      Agenda Items for the Next Meeting scheduled for Tuesday 4 February 2025 at 7.30 pm in the Main Hall, Walton Village Hall

Agenda items agreed were: flower beds on Main Road; land adjacent to 19, 21 and 23 The Village; planning status for Walton Garage; planters around the parish.

The meeting closed at 8:25 pm.