Approved minutes of the Neighbourhood Planning & Property Committee Meeting Wednesday 6^th July 2022 at 4.30 at Shenstone Parish Office.

1 Register of members in attendance:

Cllrs David Thompson, David Salter, Val Neale & Stuart Jones Shirley O’Mara (Clerk)

2 Acceptance of apologies.

Cllrs Nick Smith, Gail Nicholls & Rita Hancocks

3 Public Participation.

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

None

4 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

5 To elect Chair of Neighbourhood Planning & Property Committee

Cllr Thompson was unanimously re- elected after being proposed by Cllr Salter & seconded by Cllr Jones.

6 To accept & confirm Terms of Reference for the Neighbourhood Planning & Property Committee.

Duly signed & accepted

7 To accept and confirm minutes of the last Neighbourhood Planning & Property Committee Meeting 3^rd May 2022.

Duly signed & accepted

8 Planning applications- update including outstanding applications and objections.

• The objection for the Shenstone Business Park proposed development on the grounds of the consultation being less than satisfactory has been submitted with a letter to the Leader of the Planning Committee awaiting response.

• Planning application 22/000283 in Little Aston which was objected to by Council but approved by Lichfield DC, is causing a great deal of concern & nuisance with what was originally a house extension resulting in near complete demolition. Cllr Salter has written to Planning to ask for an explanation & raise concerns including health & safety matters.

• 22/00086 Eastridge Croft: after permission granted at appeal for demolition of one bungalow & erection of two, the land is now up for sale. The Committee expressed disappointment at this outcome.

• 22/00758 Land rear of 8-16 Main Street, Shenstone. An objection has been submitted re the application to build a two-storey dwelling of two apartments on the grounds of over development, the appearance of cramming, the proposal being of higher density than the properties in the surrounding area and there not being adequate parking & access arrangements.

• 22/00328. Development of 5 dwellings on farmland in Little Hay. Cllr Thompson will take a closer look.

• 22/00745 New Rd, Shenstone. An objection will be drafted for Full Council consideration on the grounds of the proposed extension being clearly forward of the building line.

9 Bioregional Feasibility Study: update & next steps.

The report from Bioregional is expected on July 15^th with a meeting of the Working Group to follow asap w/c 18^th July. There will then follow a Zoom meeting with Bioregional between 18^th-20^th. Cllr Jones stressed that whilst supportive of the project the report itself needs focus as residents are looking for hard facts such as how much will it cost, what is the impact on the environment? Also, only a fraction of the village is engaged & this needs to change. All the Committee agreed.

Cllr Jones also said the idea of confining works to one small area is absolutely crucial in order to be containable and lessen the environmental impact. Again, Committee were in full agreement.

10 Shenstone and Little Aston Neighbourhood Plan

RECOMMENDATION: that County Cllr David Smith lead on the Stonnall Neighbourhood Plan review in conjunction with Parish Council as there are clearly areas that overlap.

Cllr Thompson will over the next two to three months re-write the tender document for Shenstone & Little Aston with a view to start the review in Jan-Feb 2023. By this time the Planning Inspectorate will have assessed the Lichfield District Local Plan and made comments.

11 St Johns Cemetery Restoration & safety work on gravestones & fencing: update.

Faculty permission is required by the Diocese before any work can take place.

This is likely to take some time so interim arrangements need to be approved to ensure safety, especially with the opening of the tower in October. The Clerk will liaise with Rev Liz to seek approval for these actions.

12 St John’s Cemetery Maintenance Specification:

As best practice, contracts will be re-tendered at the end of March. There will be a mid-year review in October in line with the half year Forecast. The Clerk will update the specification. It was noted that the work to date by the Lichfield District Council team has been excellent.

13 A.O.B.

– Following the submission of a grant request from Shenstone Tennis Club for £3,000 towards lighting installation the following recommendation was made. RECOMMENDATION: On the basis that the Committee of the Tennis Club have so successfully fundraised much of the funding required, the Committee recommend Full Council approval for the full amount.

– Richard Cooper Road bench: Full Council to decide on which bench to purchase at next meeting

– There have been calls from concerned residents about cyclists cutting through the Church Close to Main Street right of way at speed with repeated incidents of near accidents. After discussion the Committee made the following recommendation. RECOMMENDATION: to purchase and erect “Cyclists dismount” signs for erection at both ends of the right of way and then monitor the situation.

12 Next meeting of Neighbourhood, Planning & Property Committee Tues Oct 25^th 5.30pm Shenstone Parish Office