Minutes of a virtual meeting of Shobnall Parish Council

held on Monday 20 July 2020 commencing at 7.05pm

Present

Councillor Dennis (in the Chair)

Councillors Dittmer, Donlon, Hoare, Shilton and Yousaf

In attendance

Borough Councillor McKiernan

Mary Danby, Clerk

Public Forum

No members of the public were present at the meeting.

2020-21/042                Apologies

Councillor Asghar (problems with logging onto the Zoom platform)

Resolved      That Councillor Asghar be granted an extended Leave of Absence from attendance at meetings from 20 July 2020 until the 19 October 2020 meeting of the council due to problems being experienced in logging onto the Zoom platform.

2020-21/043                Declarations of interest

None declared.

2020-21/044                Written applications for dispensations under the Localism Act 201

None were received.

2020-21/045                Updates to Councillors’ Register of Interest Forms

No updates were notified.

2020-21/046                Minutes

Resolved      That the Minutes of the meeting held on 15 June 2020 be approved and signed as a true record.

2020-21/047                Matters arising from the previous meeting

Children’s Writing Competition (Minutes Nos. 2019-20/181.2, 2020-21/006 and 028 refer)

The Clerk reported that despite a further approach, a response had yet to be received from Grimm & Co.

Borough Councillor McKiernan suggested that now may not be a good time to progress the proposed competition and that it should be left until towards the end of the 2021 academic year.

Councillors discussed how the competition might operate and the level of prizes that could be awarded, e.g. £500 for each school and a prize for each winner. It was noted that the council would operate the competition and an external judge(s) would be invited to judge the entries.

Borough Councillor McKiernan, who is also a Governor at the Grange School, agreed to speak to the Headteacher at the Grange School to seek an opinion on whether a writing competition would be welcomed, the best time for a competition to be run and what criteria would be required for the council to operate it.

AGREED        That this item be deferred to the next meeting for further consideration.

Mobile CCTV (Minute Nos. 2019-20/181(b, 2020-21/006 and 028 refer)

Councillors received further information on the mobile CCTV camera specification, Guidance relating to the use of mobile CCTV cameras and what the council can and cannot do.

Resolved      That, having taken account of the all the information and guidance provided to Councillors, the council does not progress the proposal to purchase and operate a mobile CCTV camera.

2020-21/048                County Councillor’s report

No report was available.

2020-21/049                Borough Councillors reports

Councillor Walker had provided his report via email:

• A lot of time had been taken up with fly tipping, Vernon Terrace is probably the main hot spot, but also household items are being left in the street.
• He had also been asked about the old farm building which sits between Victoria Street and Derby Road regarding its present condition and state of repair, but he was waiting an answer from the building inspectors.
• Shobnall Fields is still a problem with littering and large gatherings taking place. Residents are concerned of the lack of patrols from Enforcement Officers and a Police presence. He said that had been in an email exchange with the controlling group and the Officers concerned and he will keep on pursuing this issue, especially now because of the spike in Covid-19 cases which over the last few days had been front and centre of everything, and it had been about getting the message out into the community about the need to be careful and take the right precautions.

Councillor McKiernan reported that:

• Public Health were leading meetings of Borough Councillors, mosque and community leaders in dealing with the Covid-19 spike in the Anglesey, Shobnall and Horninglow and Eaton wards. The message remained that everyone should socially distance and wash their hands. A mobile testing unit was available for people who have symptoms.

Councillor Yousaf objected to the term “community leaders” as these people had been identified by the Borough Council and were not elected or appointed to speak on behalf of the community. It was Agreed that the use of this terminology be submitted for potential discussion by the Parish Forum.

• Councillor Yousaf referred to the Duke of York planning application which had been permitted and to which residents had objected as no parking spaces were to be provided in a heavily built-up area. The parish council had also objected to the application. He asked if the decision could be called in. Councillor McKiernan advised him that this is not possible. It was Agreed that Councillor Walker be requested to inform the Planning Committee of the council’s disappointment that the application have been permitted without parking spaces being required.

2020-21/050                Financial matters

2020-21/050.1            Schedule of payments

Resolved      That the above payments be approved and that the documents be signed at the next face to face meeting of the council.

2020-21/050.2            Bank reconciliation

Resolved      That the above was a true record.

2020-21/050.3            Earmarked Reserves (EMRs) as at 20 July 2020                                      

Resolved      That the above information be noted.

2020-21/051                2020/21 Budget as at 30 June 2020

Resolved      That the Budget report showing receipts and payments as at 30 June 2020 be received and noted.

2020-21/052                Shobnall Parish Council website

It was noted that there had been 64 visits to the website in the 30 days to 10 July 2020.

2020-21/053                Planning matters

2020-21/053.1            Planning applications

Resolved      That the following observations be submitted to ESBC:

2020-21/053.2            Planning decisions

Resolved      That the notified planning decisions be received and noted.

2020-21/054                Councillors Tablets (Minute No. 2020-21/041(b) refers)

Councillors received comparative quotations for 8 No. Apple iPads 128Gb and 8 No. Samsung Tab S6 Lite 10.4” 64Gb Wi-fi tablet and they were requested to confirm their device preference.

Resolved      That:

• 8 No. Apple iPads 128Gb be ordered via Computer Lifeline at a total cost of £2,992.00 plus £100 purchasing and consultation fee (it was noted that the iPad price may be different at the point of purchase).
• Councillors may purchase an existing Acer tablet at a cost of £5.00 if they wished.

2020-21/055                The Local Government Boundary Commission for England

Councillors were advised that the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) had opened a consultation on its suggestions for new ward boundaries for East Staffordshire Borough Council. This was set to be the final consultation before the LGBCE make their final decisions.

The consultation period will run until 07 September 2020 and they were inviting responses on the proposed boundaries, proposed names, and proposed number of councillors per ward.

The LGBCE had set out proposals for 36 Councillors across 16 wards, and this involves changes to the boundaries of all the existing wards. Once finalised, the changes will come into effect at the next Borough Council elections.

Draft recommendations affecting Shobnall Parish:

The LGBCE were providing revised parish electoral arrangements for Shobnall parish: Shobnall Parish Council should comprise 11 councillors, as at present, representing two wards:

Resolved      That the draft recommendations affecting Shobnall Parish be noted.

2020-21/056                Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC)

 The Clerk sought retrospective approval for a booking for her to participate in a webinar on creating accessible Word and PDF documents for uploading to the council’s website on 03 August 2020 at a cost of £30 plus VAT.

Resolved      That retrospective approval be given for the Clerk to participate in the above webinar at a cost of £30 plus VAT.

2020-21/057                To receive questions from Councillors

 2020-21/057.1            Fly tipping

Councillor Yousaf said that ESBC should be asked to take action to deal with the fly tipping problem in the Ward. Reference was made to Vernon Terrace and that residents were putting rubbish on the street outside their homes expecting the council to take it away. It was said that ESBC has a responsibility to residents to clear the persistent fly tipping and that the problem has been there for 20 years. Borough Councillor Walker be requested to put the following requests to the ESBC:

• A CCTV camera be used to monitor Vernon Terrace and culprits to be caught and fined for fly tipping.
• Multi-lingual signage be erected on Vernon Terrace to warn people not to fly tip.
• ESBC to be asked to provide a list of actions taken to deal with the problem and their plan in the short term and longer term to alleviate fly tipping.
• A multi-lingual leaflet be produced telling people not to fly tip and that the leaflet be delivered to all residents.

2020-21/057.2            Dropped kerbs at the junction of Princess Street/Albert Street

Councillor Yousaf reported that people are still not happy with the location of the dropped kerbs and asked that County Councillor Clarke be informed of this.

2020-21/057.3            Junction Grange Street/Shobnall Road

Councillor Dittmer reported that the overgrown hedge had not been cut back and was now causing significant concern for pedestrian and road users’ safety due to restricted visibility.

AGREED        That the overgrown hedge be reported to County Councillor Clarke and that the issue report previously made to Staffordshire Highways be escalated.

2020-21/057.3            Derby Street/Borough Road

Councillor Shilton asked that County Councillor Clarke be requested to investigate if parking enforcement can be implemented on Derby Street/Borough Road to prevent vehicles from parking into the road and causing potential safety issues for other road users. Vehicles are often seen parking two or three deep into the road from the kerbside when using the fast food outlets in the area.

2020-21/058                Correspondence and Circulars

2020-21/058.1            Staffordshire Parish Councils’ Association (SPCA)

It was noted that SPCA’s weekly newsletters had been circulated to all Councillors.

2020-21/058.2            Highways England

The weekly A38 Traffic Management Bulletins had been circulated to all Councillors.

2020-21/058.3            East Staffordshire Borough Council (ESBC)

Draft Parking Standards and Brewery Building Conversion Supplementary Planning Documents – Consultation

Councillors were advised that ESBC had prepared two draft Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD) on which they were seeking views. Supplementary Planning Documents provide guidance on key development plan policies and how they will operate.

The Parking Standards (SPD) provides applicants and developers (including valuers, landowners, and other interested parties) with information about the Council’s parking requirements, to assist in the planning of new development proposals and in making planning applications.

The Brewery Building Conversion Design Guidance (SPD) provides advice to applicants and developers (including valuers, landowners, and other interested parties) to guide the development and reuse of Brewery Buildings. Good design standards will support preserving the long and rich history of Brewing in Burton (which dates back as far as the 12th Century).

The two SPDs were published for consultation on Monday 20^th July 2020 until 5pm Monday 31 August 2020. Any representations will be considered and reported to Members. Any proposed consultation changes, if accepted, will be incorporated into the final adopted document for use in determining planning applications.

Resolved      That Councillors should email the Clerk with any comments they wish to make on the above consultation documents by 13 August 2020 to enable collated responses to be submitted on behalf of the council.

Next meeting

Monday 21 September 2020 commencing at 7.00pm via Zoom unless otherwise notified.

The Meeting closed at 8.56pm

Signed …………………………………………………….

Date ……………………………………………………….