SHENSTONE PARISH COUNCIL
Serving Little Aston, Shenstone, Stonnall, Shenstone Wood End, Lynn, Parish Council Office 25C Main Street Shenstone WS14 OLZ
Tel: 01543 481 947
e-mail: <admin@shenstone-staffs.gov.uk >
web: www.shenstone-staffs.gov.uk
Approved Minutes from virtual meeting of Full Council held on 9th June 2020 via Zoom at 7:00pm
Meeting held under regulations made in the Coronavirus Act 2020 and, under s.7 of Schedule 12 of the Local Government Act 1972 the need for an Annual Meeting is dis-applied so this meeting therefore replaces that scheduled.
1.0 Register of members in attendance:
Cllrs David Salter; Sheila Beilby; John Branch; Nicki Gobran; Nicola Macdonald; Gail Nicholls; Kelly Harrison; Neil Perry; David Thompson, Nick Smith; Stuart Jones. Cllrs Darryl Godden & Lesley Edgley joined via audio only.
District Cllrs Joseph Powell & Elizabeth Little.
Clerk: Shirley O’Mara
2.0 Acceptance of apologies.
Cllrs Val Neale & Mick Cox. District Cllr Brian Yeates.
3.0 Acceptance by Councillors that the meeting will be recorded and retained by the Clerk. It will not be live streamed or shared without permission of Council.
Unanimously accepted.
Cllr Salter then asked for the thanks of Council to be recorded regarding the volunteer efforts since the Covid-19 crisis & congratulated the volunteers on the Persimmon Homes “Community Champion” Award of £500.00
4.0 Public Participation.
None
5.0 Election of Chair and Vice Chair.
To receive nominations for the role of Chair and Vice Chair and to elect to these positions. Cllr David Salter & Cllr Sheila Beilby were unanimously voted to continue in the roles of Chair & Vice Chair of the Council for 2020/21. There were no other candidates.
6.0 Declarations of interest.Members should consider whether they should partake in any discussion or vote on matters on the agenda unless they have a dispensation:
None.
7.0 To accept and confirm minutes of the last Full Council meeting on Tuesday 10th March 2020:
Signed and approved. There were no issues raised by Council. The Clerk reminded Council that there is the outstanding matter of the lease of the Diamond Jubilee Allotments which expires shortly. The Clerk has written to the Solicitor of the land owner to ask for discussions regarding an extended lease.
8.0 To elect members to the following committees- confirmed as follows:
Neighbourhood Planning & Property- Cllrs Thompson, Salter, Branch, Smith, Cox, Jones & Perry.
Finance, Legal, Health & Safety- Cllrs Beilby, Salter, Nicholls, Macdonald, Jones & Gobran.
Employment Committee- Cllrs Salter, Beilby & Nicholls.
Lawn Cemetery Committee- Cllrs Salter, Thompson & Cox.
Lammas Land- Cllr Jones.
9.0 To Elect Members as representatives on Outside Bodies- confirmed as follows.
Shenstone Village Hall (1)- Cllr Jones
Shenstone Playing Field (2)- Cllr Jones
Richard Cooper Room (3)- Cllr Salter
Stonnall Village Hall (3)- Cllrs Beilby & Nicholls
Stonnall Youth & Community Centre (2)- Cllrs Cox & Neale
Stonnall Playing Field (3)- Cllrs Beilby & Nicholls
Little Aston Recreation Ground ( LARGA) (2)- Cllr Salter
Little Aston Village Hall (2)- none
Staffs Parish Council Association- none
Quarry Committee- Cllrs Thompson & Nicholls
Highways joint working group- Cllrs Salter, Perry & Nicholls
Cllr Smith expressed interest in a position with LARGA. Cllr Salter said he did not think there was another available position on the committee but would check & advise.
Cllr Nicholls said that she had not been asked to take part in any meetings re the Quarry Committee. Cllr Little said that she understood County Cllr David Smith was arranging a meeting soon & she would advise re date/time.
10. Chairs Honorarium.
Councillors agree on an allowance for the Chair of the Parish Council in order to undertake official business.
RESOLUTION: The honorarium of £1200.00 was unanimously agreed. Cllrs Perry & Beilby queried whether this sum was sufficient & Cllr Salter stated that it was enough to cover calls/admin costs, etc.
11. To receive reports from District and County Councillors:
Cllr Powell suggested contacting Lady Susan Bamford who still has funds available for grants of £1,2K.
Cllr Little stressed the importance of making sure businesses are aware of the Lichfield District Council grant funds available & direct any interest to the Economic Team.
She also explained that LDC are looking at how to make the district safe & asked Council to be mindful of our open spaces following issues in parks across Lichfield. She stressed that it is still very early and a learning process for everyone after lockdown
12. Finance: Transactions for approval & financial position as June 9th 2020.
Financial transactions spreadsheet
Cllr Edgley asked for an explanation of the monthly payment to Tonks Tree Services for Little Aston Recreation Ground. Cllr Salter explained that this was the grounds maintenance contract, similar to the contract with LDC for Shenstone but with the specialist knowledge required for that site.
Current financial position: Unity Bank £185,438.17 Nat West current £905.00 Nat West Res £53,308.00
Nat West Liquidity £161,949.35. This account is earmarked funds to cover the potential Stonnall Youth & Community Centre rebuild, cover unknown legal costs of management agreements & associated investigation as well as revised Neighbourhood Plans.
Total: £401,600.92
The Clerk is currently pulling together all documentation for Alan Topliss (Auditor) to complete the internal audit. This will include copies of minutes confirming our reserved funds and our intentions to use them. It is essential that Council are clear on what these funds are for and start to make plans to use them.
Cllr Thompson agreed that in terms of plans for Stonnall Youth & Community Centre (SY&CC) we need to move forward and will set up a meeting of the Working Group in the coming weeks.
Cllr Nicholls asked if more funds could be moved into the Nat West Liquidity Account as much more is likely to be required once work starts on SY&CC. The Clerk agreed this can happen as long as the reasons for doing so are agreed, understood and clearly documented.
Cllr Beilby asked if we have received invoices from South Staffs Legal Services re their recent work. The Clerk stated that we have not and this, as well as many of the Community Grants awarded, are still outstanding due to the impact of Covid 19.
This has been highlighted to the Auditor.
RECOMMENDATION: The Employment Committee recommend an increase of 68p per hour for the Lengthsman to an hourly salary of £11.68.
A recommendation of 51p per hour from £8.21 per hour minimum wage to £8.72 for the Asst Lengthsman as well as payment of travel expenses as the Lengthsman claims mileage. Any increases back dated to April 1st.
Cllr Mick Cox via the Clerk proposed that the increase should be rounded up so that it is £12.00 for the Lengthsman & £9.00 for the Asst Lengthsman. This was seconded by Cllr Edgley & unanimously agreed by Council.
RESOLUTION: Increase hourly salary to £12.00 & £9.00 respectively, back dated to April 1st plus expenses for Asst.
Cllr Smith expressed his appreciation for the Lengthmen in dealing with a recent job in Little Aston.
Cllrs Salter & Beilby then briefed Council on the negotiations going on with NALC regarding pay increases to Clerks. Discussions have been delayed due to Covid 19 so no increase has been agreed as yet. After some discussion, it was agreed that the Employment Committee would meet again to discuss the situation
13. Planning applications:
Planning applications list June 2020
Cllr Thompson explained that following recent successes with regard to submitted objections, the neighbourhood plan continues to be highly effective.
Cllr Salter explained that with regard to the LAPRA application to install gates in Little Aston, a loophole has been found and a certificate of lawfulness granted allowing the gates to proceed. However, LAPRA are not automatically proceeding but are putting this to the community.
14. Set date to review standing orders – including permission for online meetings & recordings.
Council will agree date for the meeting in the next weeks. Cllr Macdonald asked if the Code of Conduct is included. Cllr Salter explained that this is a separate document but is referred to in the standing orders.
15. Allocation of Lichfield District council funding for the reopening of high streets safely due to Covid19.
There were general discussions on how funding would work and for how long as well as how it could be potentially used. It was agreed that the Clerk would find out more information such as how the funding will work, for how long it may be available and how applicants can apply and then a communication compiled sharing this with local businesses.
16. Shenstone Christmas Market. Consider request for Council support of £1000 towards 2020 Christmas Market.
This was proposed by Cllr Thompson, seconded by Cllr Perry & unanimously agreed.
RESOLUTION: £1000 to be awarded in support of a 2020 Christmas Market.
17. E-bulletin. Consider distribution of e-bulletin going forward.
Views were exchanged on how to communicate with residents going forward.
The e-bulletin is now emailed to approx. 10% of homes in the Parish but despite a plea in the last edition, which was delivered as a paper copy to all homes, the number of requests to have it electronically have stalled. Paper copies are popular but incur printing costs and rely on volunteers for distribution. Views varied across Council but it was agreed that the Communications Group- Cllrs Jones, Gobran & Harrison- would meet and agree a way forward to put to Council. In the meantime, the Clerk will produce a June bulletin.
18. Date of next meeting
14th July 2020 via Zoom.
