Berkswich Parish Council 8 July 2025

BERKSWICH PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Berkswich Parish Council Annual Meeting held on

Tuesday 8 July 2025 at 7.30 pm at Walton Village Hall

Present:       Cllr Alan Taylor (Chair), Cllr Malcolm Millichap, Cllr Ann Millichap, Cllr Sue Francis, Cllr Tim Luker, Cllr Michael Norris, Cllr Bob Gilson and Cllr Beverley Hughes

In attendance:   Mrs Sue Fullwood, Clerk/RFO

Cllr Taylor welcomed everyone to the meeting.

25/81        Public Session

There were no members of the public present at the meeting.

25/82        Cannock Chase Fire Risk – Rob Horton, Station Manager, did not attend the meeting.

25/83        Apologies – received from Cllr Caroline Pearson (Vice Chair) and Cllr Vicky Campbell as they had other commitments.

25/84        Minutes of the meeting held on 3 June 2025 – Resolved: It was agreed that the minutes were accurate and should be signed by the Chair.

25/85         Declarations of Interest regarding items on the agenda.  None.

25/86        Clerk’s Report for June 2025

Resolved: the report was accepted unanimously.  Cllr Francis thanked the Clerk for saving all the meeting papers as PDFs.

25/87        Potential Speed Watch Scheme for Berkswich

                 Despite the Clerk displaying the leaflet on noticeboards, the Council’s Facebook page and local Facebook groups, there had not been any volunteers for Speed Watch from Berkswich.  It was felt that Speed Watch volunteers were sometimes abused and confronted by speeding motorists which would discourage people from volunteering.

25/88        Speed Indication Device for Brocton Road

Resolved: Council agreed with the recommendations in the Clerk’s report and approved the anticipated expenditure of £4,837 (excl. VAT). Action: Clerk

25/89        Review of Attendance at the Parish Fete on 22 June 2025

                 Cllr Taylor thanked Cllr Pearson for organising Council’s attendance at the fete.  The Council’s stand was remote from the main circulation area and in consequence had a negligible attendance from members of the public. Concern was expressed that the Clerk had not given the Council Banner and information leaflets to Cllr Pearson before she had gone on leave and apologised for this oversight.  The Chair added that he had not considered it either.  Cllr A Millichap said that was the Clerk’s job.  The Clerk responded that managing appearance at the fete was not her job and that a councillor had been responsible for that.  The Clerk became upset and said that she felt she was being accused of not doing her job properly.  She added that she felt some councillors did not appreciate how many hours she had worked after the June meeting in order to prepare for the July meeting, submit the AGAR paperwork to Forvis Mazars, and complete her appraisal before going on leave, or that she had been responding to Council emails and Facebook messages whilst on leave.  She added that she had over 50 hours accrued time before leaving the room.  Resolved: Cllr Pearson to raise the concern over positioning with the organisers in the hope it can be redressed in future years.  Action: Cllr Pearson 

The Chair took the minutes from this point in the meeting.

25/90  Employment Policies

The Clerk had used the updated templates on the NALC website to draft these new employment policies with more still to follow.  Resolved: Council approved the following policies unanimously: Annual Leave Policy; Carers Leave Policy; Compassionate Leave Policy; Disciplinary Policy; Grievance Procedure; and Sickness Absence Policy.  Clerk to update the policies on the Council website Action: Clerk

25/91        Financial Matters

1. Bank reconciliation and expenditure for June 2025 – Resolved: Approved unanimously.

1. Budget report for June 2025 – Resolved: Approved unanimously.

• Interest Rates on Short Term Investment Account

Concern was expressed that with current volatility of interest rates it would be unwise to undertake the upheaval of moving accounts only to find that the new location was no longer sustainable. Resolved: Remitted to the Finance Group to produce a recommendation for the September meeting.

The Clerk returned to the room and expressed concern that comments directed at her earlier in relation to the Church fete were unjustified and left the meeting at 8.00 pm.

25/92        Reports from other meetings

• Environment Group

Cllr Luker had attended the Cannock Chase National Landscape annual conference.  A new 5-year plan had been published (a copy was circulated) together with a new guide to the landscape.  Cllr Luker had made contact with an ecologist residing in the parish who would be meeting members of the Environment Group shortly to discuss opportunities for enhancing biodiversity in Walton Coppice.  Work was progressing on clearing vegetation overgrowth in the Coppice which had risked stifling recent planting: the survival rate of the latter was better than anticipated.

25/93        Items for the Agenda for the Annual Parish Council Meeting scheduled for Tuesday 2 September 2025

Items agreed were: Touch developments, Oldcroft Road; Electric bikes and road safety; short-term investment accounts; Clerk’s salary and grading.

Item 25/94 was not used on the agenda; numbering continues from Item 25/93 to Item 25/95.

25/95        Clerk’s Appraisal and Salary Review

Item deferred until the September meeting of the Council. It was suggested the Council explore how the concerns raised earlier by the Clerk might be ameliorated.

Meeting closed at 8.20 pm.