2024 September

MINUTES OF THE SWYNNERTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

     Held on Thursday, 26 September 2024 at Swynnerton Village Hall

Councillors in attendance: Cllr Roy James (Chairman)

Cllr P Cheadle, Cllr P Marsh, Cllr N Adams, Cllr E Mateu

Cllr J Deaville, Cllr N Leeson

Stafford Borough Council:  Cllr Roy James

Stafford County Council:  Cllr J Pert

In attendance:  L Davies (Parish Clerk)

Public Question Time

1. The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. To consider matters raised by members of the public

• A resident addressed the meeting to present the community petition regarding the need for a safe pedestrian crossing across the A34 to Cllr Pert. Cllr Pert informed the meeting that the petition would be put before the County Council at the next County Council meeting on 10 October.
• Residents also enquired when the speed cameras on the A34 would be upgraded.
• A resident of Tittensor raised that the hedge on the interior of the play at Tittensor requires cutting back.

3. Reports from County and Borough Councillors
   • The County Council has provided £8m additional funding for highways.
   • The speed limit on part of the A519 at Beech is being reviewed to reduce to a 40mph limit.
   • Permanent signage at Hanchurch, following the cessation of HS2, is still in process.

Parish Council Meeting

1. Apologies for absence received

Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr T Love and Cllr D Bishop.

2. Declarations of interest, to consider written requests from Councillors to grant dispensation (under S33, Localism Act, 2011).

none.

3. Approval of the Minutes of the Parish Council meetings held on Thursday 8^th August 2024

     The minutes of the last Parish Council meeting were considered, APPROVED and signed by the Chairman.

4. Discuss matters arising from the Minutes not covered in the Agenda

No matters were discussed.

5. Review of the planning committee observations

       The planning applications received and decided since the last meeting were reviewed by the meeting.

6. Receive the Clerk’s report – correspondence received and progress report on matters not on the agenda
   • The Clerk’s report was considered, and matters noted.
   • The Clerk noted that no contact could be made with Highways regarding the new grit bins. Clerk to contact Cllr Pert.

7. Financial Matters
   • It was proposed seconded and AGREED that payments for the village hall in the Parish should be increased to £750 – for Tittensor this is to include the £200 rent for the play area.

* At agenda item 9, concerns were raised regarding the ability of Hanchurch village hall to continue to take bookings in the medium term due to banking issues and refurbishment requirements. It was therefore, AGREED that the payment to Hanchurch should be withheld. *

• The purchase of remembrance wreaths was APPROVED.
• The payments for September were presented for approval, duly APPROVED, and signed.
• The financial statements and bank reconciliation to 31 August 2024 were considered and signed.
• The conclusion of the audit was received. From 31 March 2024, it will be a requirement of the external auditor that every Parish Council has a .gov.uk email. The costs of a .gov.uk domain is £100 per year. It was proposed that Netwise UK should be contracted to supply the email account(s) – each email account costing £24 +VAT per year. It was AGREED to proceed as proposed.

8. To agree quote for gully cleaning on Winghouse Lane and request from Stone Rural Parish Council to share the cost of travel time for the gully cleaning machine
   • The cost of hiring the gully machine from Burntwood is £950 plus £225 tipping (excl VAT).
   • Stone Rural Parish Council have requested to share the costs of the gully machine. The split of time would be a third of the total cost to Swynnerton Parish Council.
   • It was agreed to proceed with hiring the gully machine to clean 4 gullies in Tittensor in conjunction with SRPC.

9. To consider concerns by Hanchurch Village Hall with regards to entry and exit into the hall
   • A representative from the village hall, expressed that due to poor lighting and the speed of traffic on the Whitmore Road that users of the hall had difficulty in entering and exiting the car park.
   • It was suggested that the village hall committee should provide a detailed grant request for any items that require funding.
   • The representative noted that difficulties with access to banking facilities are currently hindering the new trustees of the village hall. It was also noted that essential repairs are required to the hall and the hall may need to close until matters are resolved.

• To discuss matters raised by residents with regards to grit bins and waste bins in Hanchurch
  • Gritting of the Whitmore Road – it was noted that this road is on the primary gritting route and therefore if the road is not being gritted, residents should report this to the Highways department.
  • Gritting of the entrance to the village hall – this be the responsibility of the Management Committee.
  • A request for a bin along the Whitmore Road was considered. It was agreed to approach the Borough Council to understand whether a bin could be placed on the grass verge on the junction of Whitmore Road and Northwood Lane. It was noted that the cost of legals, the bin and charge for emptying the bin (£5 per time) would be to the account of the Parish Council.

• To discuss additional equipment at the park in Swynnerton
  • The Borough Council had confirmed that the Parish Council have permission to install goal posts at the park in Swynnerton. Clerk to get a quote for the cost of installation – it was noted that this may not be until the new year.

12. To consider options to improve the quality of information from the SID at Groundslow.
    • Branches of trees on Winghouse are interfering with reading from the SID and producing statistics showing higher volumes of traffic and lower average speeds.
    • The trees however have TPO’s on them and it is unclear how much / how many would need to be cut back to solve the issue. However, it was also noted that the trees were also interfering with passage of pedestrians on the grass verge. It was AGREED to write to the residents again to encourage them to apply to the Borough Council to prune the trees.
    • It was also agreed to increase the speed at which the SID is activated to minimise the impact of the tree branches.

13. Update from the Parish Council Traffic Safety Working Group
    • The statistics from the SIDs in Tittensor were shared with the meeting.
    • The working group continue to work with the school, the village hall and PCSO to improve parking at the First School.

• Consider proposed meeting dates and venues for parish Council meetings in 2025

A draft schedule was provided to Councillors. Cllrs to contact the Clerk with any proposed amendment to the dates.

• The next Parish Council meeting will be on Thursday 24th October 2024, 7.15pm at Tittensor Village Hall.      

There being no further business, the Chairman closed this Meeting.