Minutes of a Meeting of Shobnall Parish Council

held at the Princess Street Training Enterprise and Education Centre, Princess Street, Burton upon Trent on Monday 16 July 2018 commencing at 7.00pm

PRESENT

Councillor Dennis (in the Chair)

Councillors Dittmer, Donlan, Hoare, Shilton and Yousaf

In attendance

Councillors McKiernan and Walker (ESBC)

PCSO Worden

PUBLIC FORUM

No members of the public were present

2018-19/051       APOLOGIES

Councillor Lewis

RESOLVED           That:

1. The apology for absence be approved.
2. A leave of absence for a period of six months from the date of this meeting due to ongoing business commitments be approved for Councillor Lewis.

2018-19/052       Declarations of interest

Councillor Shilton declared a disclosable non-pecuniary interest in Minute No. 2018-19/-063 (Grange School: Proposed Multi Use Games Area as he is a Governor of the school).

2018-19/053       Written dispensation under the localism act 2011

No applications for dispensation had been received.

2018-19/054       Updates to Councillors’ register of interest forms

No changes to members’ registers of interest had been notified.

2018-19/055       Minutes of the Council meeting held on 18 June 2018

RESOLVED           That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 18 June 2018 be approved as a true record.

2018-19/056       Matters arising from the Council meeting held on 18 JUNE 2018

2018-19/035 ESBC Enforcement: The Clerk reported that a formal request to ESBC for Shobnall Parish to be included in the enforcement programme and ESBC had responded saying that an Action Week was scheduled for Shobnall in December 2018.

2018-19/037 Gordon Street Surgery

RESOLVED           That a letter be sent to NHS England and the CQC asking for an update re monitoring the surgery and asking if there is anything that the parish council can do to help as Members are receiving adverse reports from patients.

2018-19/041.01 The Link Park

• The Clerk had reported that contact had been made with the County Council asking about the feasibility of The Link Park and the tree areas in the vicinity to be the subject of a Community Asset Transfer to the Parish Council. Updates will be provided to the council as and when information is available.

RESOLVED   That the information be received and noted.

• The Clerk reported that contact had been made with Bloomin’ Gardens & Landscapes Ltd. The council’s Purchase Order (which had been emailed to them on 23^rd May) had been overlooked, consequentially the works were not included in their schedule of works. After several emails to Bloomin’ Gardens they had now responded to say that grass seed will not take in the current hot weather and the work will be best done in the autumn. The Clerk has asked that confirmation of the commencement date be communicated as soon as this is confirmed.

RESOLVED   That the information be received and noted.

• A Member asked if fitness equipment for older users could be provided on the site once the BMX track had been returned to grass.

RESOLVED   That brochures be obtained for perusal at the next meeting.

2018-19/043 Lanyards

The lanyards and ID badge holders had been ordered. The Clerk had printed photo ID cards using the photos currently on the website and these were handed to Members at the meeting.

2018-19/045 re P/2017/00791 Access to Lower Outwoods Road

The council’s comment was forwarded to ESBC and the Planning Officer responded by asking if the council had offered an alternative solution. Following liaison with the Chair and Vice-Chair a further response was sent to ESBC saying that Members had taken the view that the original plan should stand, i.e. that rising bollards should be used to control traffic.

2018-19/057       REPORT FROM PCSO

PCSO Worden reported that crime in general in the Ward had decreased compared to other years and there are no hot spots of criminal damage. He referred to ongoing anti-social problems at Unity Park (which is ESBC’s responsibility) and said that he thought the fencing for the games area should be higher and that LED lighting needs to be considered so that there are no dark corners on the site.

PCSO Worden also reported that an instance of underage drinking had been dealt with at The Link Park and this area continued to be visited regularly by officers.

2018-19/058       Report from the Borough Councillors

Councillor Walker gave an update:

• Blocked drains, roadside flooding problems remain at Alma House, Waterloo Street, Shobnall Street, Shobnall Road and Princess Street and these have been reported to the County Council for resolution; the halal meat market has reported a loss of trade due to the presence of roadside flooding outside the shop. He reported that Amey are taking 12 months to respond to complaints. Councillor Walker stressed that residents should be encouraged to report problems to the County Council via their website.

RESOLVED   That a letter be sent to County Councillors Fisher and Clarke asking where Shobnall is on the priority list for works to be undertaken letter to be (copied to Borough Councillors McKeirnan and Walker), stressing that this has become a quality of life issue for pedestrians who are splashed by vehicles driving through the roadside puddles.

• Fly tipping remains a problem – areas affected include the top of Vernon terrace and Princess Street – and he encouraged people to report incidents to ESBC when they occur.

RESOLVED   That ESBC be asked if fly tipping has increased since the introduction of tip charges at the household recycling sites.

• Unity Park – Councillor Walker noted that the see saw has been missing for over 12 months and he said that ESBC are looking to upgrade the Park and ESBC Officers are due to meet with Borough Councillors. Members noted that other pieces of missing equipment had not been replaced over the years and that people do use the play area and this area can be very busy, but problems have been experienced for a long time in the games area (see PCSO’s comment in Minute No. 2018-19/057).

RESOLVED   That an update be requested from ESBC.

Councillor McKeirnan gave an update:

• Café Zen: Three more meetings have been arranged for July, August and September 2018 and a poster had been provided to the Clerk which would be uploaded to the council’s website.
• Cancer Prevention event – Councillor McKiernan reported that she was still trying to arrange something at the Princess Street Centre in September.
• Councillor McKiernan reported that she had a question to the June ESBC council meeting asking what was being done to keep Marks & Spencer in the town and she had not received a satisfactory answer. She had subsequently come across a LGA paper on town centre regeneration which she had passed to ESBC – she had now been invited to participate in quarterly meetings.

2018-19/059       Report from the County Councillor

None tabled.

2018-19/060       Financial matters

2018-19/060.1    Schedule of Payments 

                                 RESOLVED           That the payments be approved.

2018-19/060.2    Bank reconciliation 

RESOLVED           That the above was a true record.

2018-19/061       Insurance Policy

Members were reminded that the council’s current insurance policy with Zurich Municipal was due for renewal on 15 September 2018. The council had paid an annual premium of £941.09 for the current policy.

The Clerk informed Members that she had revised the policy schedule to ensure that all the council’s assets are adequately covered, that the Official’s Indemnity and Fidelity Guarantee were included.

Three insurance companies or brokers who specialise in local council insurance had been approached for quotations based on a 1-year term, and 3-year 5-year long-term agreements:

                                Quotation A

No quotations had been received

Quotation B

3-year term                                        £408.80 per annum plus £25 administration fee = £433.80*

Quotation C

                                1-year term                                        £873.90

3-year term                                        £837.21 per annum*

5-year term                                        £800.52 per annum*

*The premium would only rise over the term if:

• the sums assured increase
• the levels of indemnity increase
• the council’s claim history is poor

RESOLVED           That Quotation B (supplied by WPS insurance Brokers) be accepted in the sum of £408.80 plus £25 administration fee per annum on a 3-year long-term agreement.

2018-19/062       Planning matters

P/2018/00723

60 Waterloo Street, Burton Upon Trent DE14 2NB

Change of Use from Class 3 residential to Class D1 Massage therapy centre, single storey rear extension, alterations to the front and rear elevations including shop front

No comment

P/218/00726

60 Waterloo Street, Burton Upon Trent DE14 2NB

Display of two non-illuminated fascia signs

No comment

P/2018/00751

Central Depot (Global Brands Ltd), Derby Street, Burton Upon Trent DE14 2LE

Erection of single storey extension to warehouse

No comment

P/2018/00816

18 Halcyon Way, Burton Upon Trent DE14 2JR

Erection of a two storey side extension and single storey rear extension and relocation of boundary fence

Councillor Shilton asked for time to visit the site before commenting, if no response was received from Councillor Shilton by 01 August 2018 a “No comment” response would be submitted to ESBC.

2018-19/063       Councillors questions

 s.106 Agreements

Members noted residents of six properties on Bridgewater Road had been promised that rear access parking would be provided to them when properties behind them on Shobnall Road were demolished, however this had not been included in the s106 agreement and therefore the parking had not been provided.

The above issue raised a query as to how much s106 monies were available for the Shobnall Ward and where those monies had been or would be spent.

RESOLVED           That a request be made of ESBC to provide information relating to how much s106 funding was available for the Shobnall Ward and how this money had been spent or how it was intended to spend those monies in the Ward.

Bus Shelters

A Member asked if a bus shelter could be provided at the Town Hall bus stop. It was agreed that if a bus shelter was to be provided at this location it should be in keeping with the building. It was also noted that as The de Ferrers Academy was opening in the Town Hall Annex the Principal could be asked if they were considering providing a bus shelter at the location for use by their students (and the public).

Grange Community School: Proposed Multi Use Games Area (MUGA)

Councillor Shilton informed Members of the proposed MUGA at the school, stating that it would be used solely by the school during school hours and used by local groups outside normal school hours (administered by the Burton Albion Community Hub). He said that the school were making grant applications and it would be beneficial if the parish council would provide pump priming funding for the project. He asked that the parish council invite Rebecca Elson, a Governor at the Grange Community School who was leading the project, to make a presentation at the next meeting.

RESOLVED           That Rebecca Elson be invited to make a presentation at the September 2018 meeting of the parish council.

2018-19/064       Correspondence and Circulars

• Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) – Annual Conference 10/11 October 2018

RESOLVED   That, subject to confirmation that the conference agenda is of value to the parish council, the Clerk be authorised to attend the SLCC’s Annual Conference and that the delegate fee, accommodation, travel expenses, etc will be met by the parish council.

• Staffordshire Playing Fields Association

RESOLVED   That as the parish council is not a member of the SPFA it does not wish to pay the annual subscription.

• SPCA Bulletins weekly Bulletins had been received. Items of note were:
• Information Governance: A Guide to Information Governance which will provide guidance to parish councils on GDPR/DPA/FOI etc will be published by the end of December 2018.
• Early Help for Children & Families – Referral Practices: Staffordshire County Council rolled out the new Early Help model that supports children and families in Staffordshire in Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Stafford and South Staffordshire on 02 July 2018.

RESOLVED           That enquiries be made as to whether the Early Help model was also available in East Staffordshire.

• National Association of Local Councils (NALC) – Annual Conference 30/31 October 2018

RESOLVED           That the Clerk be authorised attend the NALC Annual Conference and that the delegate fee, accommodation, travel expenses, etc will be met by the parish council.

2018-19/065       Receive reports from representatives

RESOLVED           That this item be merged with Members Questions on future agendas.

2018-19/066       Items for next meeting

• Presentation by Rebecca Elson re the Grange Community School Multi Use Games Area (MUGA)
• 2019/20 Budget and precept

Date of next meeting

Monday 17 September 2018 at the Princess Street Training Enterprise and Education Centre, Princess Street, Burton Upon Trent.

The Meeting closed at 9.05pm