Parish Council 7 February 2023

Minutes of Berkswich Parish Council Meeting held on
Tuesday 7 February 2023 at 7.30 pm at Walton (Berkswich) Village Hall

Present: Cllr Sue Francis (Chairman), Cllr Malcolm Millichap (Vice Chairman), Cllr Ann Millichap, Cllr Alan Taylor, Cllr Tim Luker, Cllr Graham Kilford, Cllr Caroline Pearson and Cllr Ben Rowell.

In attendance: Two members of the public and Mrs Sue Fullwood as Clerk.

Cllr Francis welcomed everyone to the meeting.

1 Public session

Kitlings Lane

The gentleman from Kitlings Lane who attended the Parish Council meeting on 6 December 2022 asked if the Parish Council had written to any Kitlings Lane residents regarding parking. Cllr Francis asked the Clerk to read the relevant sections from the minutes aloud and then confirmed that no-one had been written to. As it was a neighbour dispute it was felt that the Parish Council should not get involved. Cllr M Millichap suggested that if the gentleman were to also contact Highways at the County Council it would amplify the message.

The gentleman left the meeting at 7.35 pm.

23/1 To note apologies for absence – Cllr Margaret Crossland as her dog was due to have an operation on 8 February – apologies were noted; and Cllr Andy Cooper as he was at an SBC meeting – apologies accepted.

23/2 To record Declarations of Interest regarding items on the agenda – None.

23/3 To approve minutes of the Council meeting held on 6 December 2023 – Resolved: agreed as a true record.

23/4 Update on matters arising which are not agenda items

School Lane – Keyzor’s had commissioned another company to apply for road closure for the works and because of the notice period of 12 weeks, work was due to happen on 19 and 20 April. Resolved: Clerk to write to residents of School Lane in March to make them aware. Action: Clerk.

Parking – Cllr Luker had attended a meeting where it was mentioned that the Methodist Church on The Rise were looking at closing off their car park which could cause more parking issues around Walton High School. It was also noted that the garage at the bottom of The Rise seemed to be offloading cars from transporters on a regular basis. This could be reported to SBC Planning department if it continued.

23/5 Funding opportunities for local landscape projects – The Environment Group had met with C Manning from SCC on 17 January regarding grants for landowners. They met with one project in mind, but then asked if the hedgerow at Walton Coppice would be eligible. Colin had confirmed that the coppice was close enough to the AONB and encouraged the Council to apply before the panel meeting at the start of February. The application had been successful and the Council had been awarded enough funds to complete the hedgerow. Resolved: Council agreed to accept the grant and that the Clerk could sign and return the agreement. Action: Clerk. Colin Manning to be invited to the March meeting. Action: Clerk Cllr Francis thanked Cllr Taylor, Cllr Luker and the Clerk for their work on the grant application.

Cllr M Millichap added that there were many grant schemes available to the Council for developing safe and inclusive community spaces, such as the Asda Foundation and the B&Q Foundation.

23/6 Arrangements for planting a tree for Queen Elizabeth II – The tree and guard were at the Clerk’s home and were due to be planted on 9 February. Resolved: memorial plaque to be unveiled on 19 February at 2.30pm and the Mayor to be invited. Action: Cllr M Millichap. Event to be publicised on Facebook and noticeboards. Action: Clerk

23/7 Clean Air Campaign – Cllr Luker had met with contacts from Walton High School and Berkswich Methodist Church and they had received 6 packs of materials from SCC. Discussions took place regarding the best places to put the material.

23/8 Telephone Box – Cllr Francis had met with a gentleman from TGM and asked him to give three separate quotes for painting the outside, painting the inside and putting up a new shelf inside. Discussions were held around making the telephone box a larger project for the future to include replacing windows and then applying for grant funding. Resolved: an additional shelf to be put up by TGM. Action: Clerk

23/9 Plans for Picnic for Coronation of King Charles III – The Clerk had booked a face-painter but had not been able to book an ice cream van. Resolved: Cllr M Millichap to invite Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire or the High Sheriff to the event. Action Cllr M Millichap Resolved: Cllr Pearson and the Clerk to work on the event planning. Action: Clerk

23/10 Retained EU Law (Bulldozer) Bill – Staffordshire Wildlife Trust were running a campaign to stop the Government from scrapping all the EU environmental laws at the end of 2023 without reviewing them. Resolved: Cllr Luker to draft a letter to the relevant MP and bring it back to the March meeting.

23/11 SCC’s Consultation on Division Boundaries – Discussions took place about the comparative size of urban and rural divisions. Resolved: Berkswich Parish Council would not respond to the consultation.

23/12 Additional Grass cut in March 2023 – SCC had offered funding for an extra grass cut in March 2023 for a nominal amount. Resolved: Council agreed to accept the offer and to ask TGM to do the extra cut. Action: Clerk

23/13 Financial Matters

i. Bank Reconciliation and expenditure for November and December 2022 and January 2023 – Resolved: Agreed unanimously.
 

 
ii. Budget reports for December 2022 and January 2023 – Resolved: unanimously approved.

23/14 Planning – the Parish Council response to the amended application for 40 dwellings at Old Croft Road had been submitted in January and planning committee was on 23 February for this application.
23/15 Other Meetings
i. Environment Group – Covered in items 23/5, 23/7 and 23/10 above.
ii. Village Hall Council of Management – Cllr Kilford confirmed that he had stepped down as Treasurer of the VHCM in January. Cllr Pearson said that VHCM were still keen for the Parish Council to clear the cupboard. Action: Clerk

23/16 Agenda items for the next meeting

The next Berkswich Parish Council Meeting would take place on Tuesday 7 March 2023 at 7.30 pm at Walton (Berkswich) Village Hall. Agenda items agreed were: Local Landscape Projects Funding Opportunities (guest to be invited).

Meeting closed at 8.40 pm.