Approved minutes of Full Council Meeting Tuesday Sept 12^th at Stonnall Community Centre at 7.15pm

64 Register of members in attendance

Cllr David Salter (Shenstone Wood End), Cllrs Gail Nicholls, Phil Whitehouse, Ruth Graham & Dino D’Ambrosio (Stonnall), Cllrs Stuart Jones, Lesley Edgley, David Thompson, Christopher Callow, Leona Leung

(arrived late) Simon Fisher (Shenstone), Cllr Emma Scothern & Stuart Harrison (Little Aston).

Shirley O’Mara (Clerk).

Mr Adrian Walters, Chair of SCAR.

65 Acceptance of apologies.

Cllr Mick Cox. County Cllr David Smith.

66 Public Participation.

Members of the public are invited to address Council for a maximum of 15 minutes.

Item 73 pulled forward.

Mr Walters briefed Council regarding the work SCAR is doing to address the problems around Lazy Hill/Chester Rd junction.

A campaign group has been formed with 12 active members and a petition for action has between 600-700 signatures, including some Walsall residents, as part of Chester Rd falls under Walsall Council & sadly the recent fatality at the junction was a Walsall resident.

The group is researching accident data for incidents that are not recorded: near misses, collisions not resulting in police reports. Also, there is a planning application for 8 new homes on the Walsall side of the junction which the Highway Authority consider will have a negative effect on road safety.

There is a meeting between SCAR & Staffs County on 12^th October where the petition will be handed in, with Mr Walters stating that a good outcome would be for both Staffs & Walsall Council & the road engineers to look at this junction and the others in the vicinity and approve whatever it takes to make the road safer.

It was suggested that the Developers may be willing to contribute to safety measures.

67  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

68 To accept and confirm minutes of the last Full Council meeting on Tuesday 11^th July 2023

Duly approved & signed

69 Clerk’s update on outstanding issues from last meeting.

Office flagpole: – the Clerk has established that the flagpole outside the Parish office is on unadopted land. It was agreed that local residents be consulted about next steps before any action taken.

• Malkins Coppice: no response from South Staffs Water. Clerk to chase.

• Update of Standing Orders: meeting with Nat West on Oct 1^st re changing of bank signatories & with Alan Topliss on 4^th to approve other wording. Defer to Full Council on Oct 10^th.

• The Clerk has contacted St. Peters School to ask if next years Full Council meetings may be held on their premises. This follows confirmation from Stonnall Community Centre that they cannot offer Tuesdays throughout 2024. Clerk to chase for decision.

• Volunteer Recruitment Day Sept 16^th Shenstone Community Library 1.30-4.00pm.

Approx 15 wide ranging groups from all Wards are attending. The event was publicised

In the last Parish newsletter, there are posters all over the Wards, on social media, noticeboards & Parish website as well as on Support Staffordshire’s website.

70 To receive reports from District and County Councillors.

Cllr Whitehouse stated:

Lichfield District Council (LDC) is working on a range of different projects across a range of areas. All of these are at different stages of delivery but there is a strong commitment to deliver on these projects. There is significant information on the LDC website giving further information. A flavour of some of these initiatives are:

City Centre Re-Development

– This involves a city-wide strategy to look at all areas for improvement and specialist firms have been engaged to assist with design etc.

– A new Design Code is in progress that means that all such developments should strictly conform to certain set standards, to help Planners to monitor and control development.

– A Cinema will be provided at ’The Debenhams’ building and contacts are due to be signed imminently

– Car Parking improvements are being looked at and, in particular, the old multi-storey on Birmingham Road (near old Debenhams) has to be demolished as it is unsafe, temporary parking will be provided until the development is underway. Better signage for existing car parks is planned for the end of this year.

– As part of re-development, it is planned for the Bus Station to be moved into the Train Station area

-Pedestrianisation is a big part of the plans and so trials of this are in hand to also cover provision of Blue Badge Parking

New Leisure Centre– The old Leisure centre at on Eastern Avenue is due to close and it is planned the new one will be open end of 2024/early 2025.

70 Reform of Planning Services – Work under way to improve the speed and efficiency that customers receive.

Local Plan 2040- Recommended that the plan being worked on for 2040 is stopped and instead a new plan to be worked upon to reflect better the needs of the Lichfield area.

Waste Disposal– Work under way to improve efficiencies of re-cycling all waste but especially Green Waste and looking at food waste too. 

Residents Surgeries: On 7^th October in Stonnall & 28^th October in Little Aston, residents will have the opportunity to meet & ask questions of representatives from County, District & Parish.

Cllr Doug Pullen is also looking at attending a future Parish meeting.

Cllr Salter mentioned that a public space protection order will shortly be presented to Cabinet for a consultation regarding dog fouling & dog control.

Also, meeting on site with Staffs Highways on Weds 13^th re Shenstone Gateway on Birmingham Rd.

Cllr Salter also raised, with a view to an in principal agreement, to adopt the phone box on Smarts Avenue for £1 subject to the population of the covered area meeting the criteria for funding. Cllr D’Ambrosio is investigating & all of Council were supportive of the initiative.

71 Finance.

Current financial position & transactions for approval as of 12^th Sept 2023. Link to financial transactions spreadsheet

Nat West Current Account £905.00. Nat West Business Reserve £53,821.66. Nat West Liquidity Account ring fenced funds for ear marked projects £94,943.11. Unity Bank £157,063.62

There was a query of a double payment on the transactions spreadsheet which the Clerk said she would investigate: RESOLUTION: there is no double payment- an incorrect line of data was included which should have been deleted.

Next meeting of Finance, Legal, Health & Safety Committee Tuesday Sept 26th, 2023, at 5.30 pm Shenstone Community Library.

The Clerk then briefed Council by reading the feedback from the Mazars external audit.

Council was required to adopt income and expenditure reporting on accounts for 2022/23 as it was the third year that income and expenditure exceeded £200,000. However, a receipts and payments basis was adopted. The Clerk was unaware that this was a requirement and the audit approved by the internal auditor.

The new accounting must be adopted for 2023/24 and the 2022/23 figures restated to reflect the requisite adjustments of debtors and creditors.

The Clerk is investigating whether the current ledger accounts system can be modified to reflect the phasing of income & expenditure in such a way that we meet the new requirements but also maintain the reporting capabilities which it currently offers. This is a lot of extra work but, if successful, much less than starting from scratch with something new as well as potentially also operating the existing ledger. It must meet the internal auditor’s approval also. A meeting is scheduled for early October.

72 Planning.

Approve planning applications received in last month and update on any objections/ developments. Link to planning spreadsheet

Cllr Thompson briefed on: – 5 Church Close- permission granted.

• 18 Eastridge Croft- investigations ongoing re public stop order.

• 40 St Johns Hill, Haddon House Linfield Assets developments: Being examined.

Cllr Salter requested that a proposed development on Raikes Lane of additional agricultural building is also looked at as potential for increase in heavy vehicles.

Next meeting of Neighbourhood Planning & Property Committee Tuesday Oct 24th at 5.30pm

Parish Office

73 Feedback from County Highways meeting Sept 5^th.

Cllr Nicholls said that she felt the meeting was the exact same one she sat through five years ago. Cllr Whitehouse stated that it was disappointing to hear that whilst acknowledging problems, Highways offer any excuse not to spend money on doing anything about them. Staffs CC do not have the money or the appetite so that Parish should find a way to sort out themselves or nothing will be done at all. These sentiments were widely shared by Members with Cllr D’Ambrosio commenting that whilst the data was well presented there is much more to be discussed than was addressed and there are no meaningful next steps.

A long discussion followed with Cllr Whitehouse proposing a working group to look at what we can do. Whilst no immediate volunteers came forward the Clerk will follow up to establish interest and move on from there. It was acknowledged that whilst Council hold ring fenced funds for traffic calming these funds should not be used to supplement actions that are a County responsibility.

74 Neighbourhood Plans: feedback from meeting with Lichfield District Council Officer 19^th July.

Update on tenders and decision: Cllr Thompson reminded Council of the email and documentation previously shared giving full background to date .

1. The Parish Council to proceed with the reviews of the Little Aston, Stonnall and Shenstone Neighbourhood Plans.

2. The Parish Council to apply for £7,488 of funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to review and revise the Little Aston and Shenstone Neighbourhood Plans to the first stage revised Draft Neighbourhood Plan stage by March 31^st 2024.

3. The Parish Council to fund the Stonnall Neighbourhood Plan review from the ring fenced £11,040.10 budget to achieve the first stage revised Draft Neighbourhood Plan for Stonnall by March 31^st 2024.

4. The Parish Council award the contract for the complete the entire review of the Neighbourhood Plans of Little Aston, and Shenstone to Navigus Planning Ltd, Lushington Road, Manningtree, Essex for a total of £11,475.

5. The Parish Council to negotiate the addition of the work required to complete the entire review of the Neighbourhood Plan of Stonnall with Navigus Planning Ltd based on their submitted day rates and overall project plan.

6. The Parish Council to approve that if the application for government funding is unsuccessful in 2023/24 or in 2024/25, use will be made of the Parish Council ring fenced Neighbourhood Plan review resources of £25K for Little Aston and Shenstone and also the Staffordshire County Council ring fenced £11,040.10.

The following decision was made;

RESOLUTION: Full agreement of all points made & on full examination of tenders received by Chair, Vice Chair & Chairs of both main committees during recess the contract was awarded to Navigus.

Grant funding of £7,488.00 has also been secured. Local liaison with the consultants and public consultation is required before the end of March.

Cllr Thompson asked for volunteers from each of the three Wards to work as Parish Council representatives liaising with the consultant on taking planning forward. Cllr Graham volunteered for Stonnall & Cllr Leung for Little Aston & Cllr Thompson for Shenstone.

75 Lammas Land Boundary incursion: feedback from solicitor & consideration of next steps.

The Clerk informed Council that the latest letter from Pickerings Solicitors states that there has been no response from the other parties Solicitor and that next steps would be a letter advising that Court proceedings will be initiated if there is no response in the next 14 days. RESOLUTION: Unanimously agreed to instruct Pickerings to issue the letter before action.

76 Consideration of three tenders for the restoration of path in Lower Lawn Cemetery.

RESOLUTION: The tender was awarded to D.MCCarthy Brothers (Lichfield) Ltd.

77 Trees in Lower Lawn Cemetery: report of roots damage to Wall in Eastridge Croft.

Cllr Salter met with Gareth Hare, Tree Officer of Lichfield DC, on site at the cemetery to look at the trees causing damage to the wall. On inspection, he reported that the Hornbeam, which is the one nearest the corner and is currently causing damage to the wall, is in poor condition due to its location on free draining high ground and he would have no objection to that tree being removed. The two Ash trees are themselves sound. However, their proximity to the wall is justification for their removal.

He does not agree with the suggestion of root barriers as they are too close to the wall meaning that the working area is within the major root growth zone which would likely cause serious damage to the health and stability of the trees.

In respect of the new damage to the wall, he is of the opinion that the wall is stable enough, with it being just a slight ’lifting’, that once the Hornbeam is removed and the roots start to rot, the wall will settle back, and the crack will close. It may then need re-pointing to form an adhesion.

Even in a conservation area it is not an enforceable requirement to ‘replace’ the trees with new ones. However, Gareth would expect us to do so and has given a couple of suggestions; one could go on the opposite side of that end of the ground, near the bin-store and he suggests, as an aesthetic addition, a sweet chestnut, centrally in line with the slope entrance. If we do plant a third it would be for us to decide where.

The next step is for us to determine the way forward at full council and then complete the relevant application forms to LDC Planning stating precisely what our intentions are.

RESOLUTION: Unanimous decision to submit removal application for works to be approved by LDC. Replacement of trees also approved including like for like in relation to the Ash trees.

78 Consideration of purchase of tree in Main Street, Stonnall to replace a damaged tree removed previously.

Deferred to October Council pending further investigations.

79 The Heat Networks Delivery Bid for Detailed Feasibility Funding.

Cllr Thompson briefed Council on a recent meeting with Lichfield District Council and South Staff Water where it was agreed that the District Council are prepared to make the bid to central government for detailed feasibility study funding, following confirmation that South Staffs Water have the funding for the local contribution requirement.

80 Noise Complaint- Stonnall.

Cllr Whitehouse briefed Council on a noise complaint made by a resident regarding an end of term party at St Peters School. Cllr Whitehouse has spoken with both the resident & the school with the matter now resolved.

81 Consideration of lock up garage for Lengthsmans tools.

RESOLUTION: Lengthsman to investigate options & costs & report back at a later Council meeting.

82 Next meeting of Full Council 10^th October Little Aston Village Hall, 2023 7.15pm