Berkswich Parish Council 4 March 2025

BERKSWICH PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Berkswich Parish Council Meeting held on

Tuesday 4 March 2025 at 7.30 pm at Walton Village Hall

Present:       Cllr Alan Taylor (Chair), Cllr, Caroline Pearson (Vice Chair), Cllr Sue Francis, Cllr Beverley Hughes, Cllr Ann Millichap, Cllr Malcolm Millichap, Cllr Michael Norris, Cllr Bob Gilson, Cllr Tim Luker, Cllr Vicky Campbell

In attendance:   One member of the public and Mrs Sue Fullwood, Clerk/RFO were in attendance.

Cllr Taylor welcomed everyone to the meeting.

25/17    Public Session

1. The member of the public noted that the phone box/book exchange had been wrapped in protective material and asked when further action would be taking place. The Clerk confirmed that an order had been placed for the repairs to be done by a local business and no timeframe had been given.

1. The member of the public noted that the hedge had been cut back next to the tennis court and passed on his thanks.

• The member of the public commented that work had not been undertaken on the flower beds on Milford Road since the last meeting. The Chair responded that the Clerk had been in correspondence with TGM and work was due to start that week, w/c 3 March.

1. Following item 25/1 e) of 4 February, the member of the public had attempted to clean the milestone but found it to be in a very bad condition with flakes of white paint hanging off it. He felt that it needed to be stripped and repainted and suggested that a new milestone might be preferable.  The Chair responded that the milestone was SCC’s property and responsibility but he felt it would be low on their list of priorities.  The Chair had spoken to a contact at the Milestone Society and been told that they were aware of the milestone in Berkswich Parish and had had an arrangement with SCC to maintain the milestones around the county at their own expense but the cost of the paint had become prohibitive.  The Chair had put milestones on the agenda for TVCG on 10 March in the hope that local councils could make a collaborative effort to take responsibility.

1. The member of the public raised concerns about branches overhanging the pavement further along Main Road. Resolved: Clerk to write to the landowner asking them to cut the branches back.  Action: Clerk

25/18    Apologies – SBC Cllr Peter Edgeller sent his apologies.

25/19    Minutes of the Meeting held on 4 February 2025 – Cllr M Millichap was thanked for taking the minutes in the absence of the Clerk.  Resolved: Cllr Vicky Campbell had been missed from the list of councillors present.  With this amendment it was agreed that the minutes were accurate. Action: Clerk

25/20    Declaration of Interest regarding items on the agenda.  Cllrs A and M Millichap declared personal interests regarding item 25/31 ii, that they had known the owners of 7 Main Road for years.

25/21    Clerk’s Report for February 2025 – Resolved: The report was accepted.

25/22    Village Green Application

             Cllr Hughes knew a Justice of the Peace and had passed his details to the Clerk.  The Clerk had met with the JoP and the application had been witnessed by him and submitted to SCC.  The Land Charges Co-ordinator had passed the application to their legal team for advice.

25/23    Antisocial Behaviour at Broc Hill Way

             The Chair had not received further information but hoped that representatives from Stafford Borough Police would attend TVCG where he could raise the issue.  Cllr Campbell had seen a report of a similar issue in Kidsgrove.  The police were at Cannock Chase most weekends about the issue.

25/24    Proposal to change the July meeting date to 8 July

             The Clerk would not be able to attend Council on 1 July so the Chair asked if councillors would prefer to postpone the meeting to 8 July or if someone else would like to take the minutes.  Resolved: Meeting to be rescheduled to 8 July.  Action: Clerk

25/25    Repairs to the Telephone Box/Book Exchange

             A joiner who lived locally had given a quote for the repairs and this had been accepted by Zurich Insurance.  The Clerk had submitted a purchase order to the joiner and was waiting for the work to be completed.  Cllr Francis said that the lady who tidied the books and the gentleman who took extra books to Shugborough could no longer help.  Cllr Pearson offered to keep the phone box tidy and to take extra books to Shugborough once the repairs were complete.

25/26    Bluebell Hollow Play Area

             The Council had been contacted with regards to a fallen fence around the play area.  The Chair stated that he believed that responsibility for the play area still rested with the housing developer.  Cllr Norris asked if the Parish Council would take ownership of the play area.  The Chair responded that the Parish Council were offered it 20 years ago, but without any funding for the future maintenance and therefore declined the offer.  Resolved: Clerk to write to the developer to clarify if they are still responsible for the play area and ask them to repair the fence.  Action: Clerk

25/27    Play Area at Hollybush Playing Fields

             One of the junior swings had been broken for months and although Kompan had agreed to repair it they kept pushing the date back.  Resolved: Clerk to contact SBC to ask for suggestions of local swing repairers and to tie the swing up with hazard tape again.  Action: Clerk

25/28    Hedge Trimming near The Crescent

             The hedge at 21 Milford Road was hanging over the pavement quite badly and causing a hazard to pedestrians.  Resolved: Clerk to write to the homeowner to bring their attention to the issue and ask them to cut the hedge back.  Action: Clerk

25/29    Wooden Planters Around the Parish

It was suggested that the planter on Brocton Lane should be removed as the person who previously tended it no longer did.  It was agreed that 4 wooden planters should be purchased.  Cllr Francis suggested purchasing them from Chase Aqua Rural Enterprise (CARE) a non-profit organisation based in Penkridge.  Resolved: Clerk to contact CARE and it was unanimously agreed for £150-£200 to be set aside for the planters.  Action: Clerk

25/30    Financial Matters

• Bank reconciliation and expenditure for February 2025 – Resolved: unanimously approved.

• Budget report for February 2025 – Resolved: unanimously approved.

SBC Councillor Peter Edgeller and SCC Councillor Ann Edgeller observed the meeting from 8.10 pm.

25/31    Planning Matters

• Stafford Borough Council’s Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) 2024 Update

Cllr M Millichap suggested that the Parish Council could make an offer to the landowner to purchase the Old Croft Road site. The site could then be used to plant fruit trees that the parish would be invited to harvest or a blossom orchard with part being used as a car park to reduce the parking issues on Old Croft Road.  Cllr Norris responded that the idea had merit.  Cllr Francis felt that there was no point discussing the issue without knowing how much the landowners would want for the sites.  Cllr Pearson suggested that land could be used for allotments as previously discussed at council meetings.  The Chair felt that it might be better to wait for the Stafford Local Plan to be published as the landowners were not likely to sell the land when there was still the potential for it to be sold for housing as it would fetch a higher price.  The potential to purchase the land as a community asset was discussed using crowdfunding or similar schemes.  Resolved: Clerk to contact CPRE to ask for their expertise on matters such as this.  Action: Clerk

• Response to planning application 25/40181/HOU at 7 Main Road, Milford

The Chair had prepared a draft response to the application.  Resolved: response agreed unanimously.  Action: Clerk

25/15    Reports from other Meetings

• Environment Group – Cllr Luker and Cllr Taylor had completed the planting at Hollybush Coppice. There was a meeting booked for 12 March with the FiPL officer so she could check everything had been done to specification and then the grant money could be paid.  Cllr Luker had attended a Purple Horizons Rewilding event which had been interesting.  Former FiPL officer, Colin Manning had also attended and he had informed Cllr Luker that the FiPL program had been extended to March 2026.

• Village Hall Management Committee – The committee had not met since the last council meeting. Cllr M Millichap suggested that Cllr Pearson could propose that Walton Village Hall advertised upcoming events in the church newsletter as Brocton Village Hall did.

25/16    Items for the Agenda for the next meeting scheduled for Tuesday 1 April 2025

Update from the National Trust team about Shugborough

Meeting closed at 8.30 pm.