Chairman’s Initials Date:
777
MINUTES of the meeting of BOBBINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
held on Wednesday 19 February 2020 in the Jubilee Room at Bobbington Village Hall at 7:30pm
PRESENT: Councillor: Cllr. Mrs L Jones (Chairman)
Councillors: A Burton, M Slater, M Snelson, Mrs J Stanton and S Hadgett
Victoria Morris – Clerk to the Council
PCSO Paula Wilkes and Sergeant Dorrington
2 Members of the public
1737. APOLOGIES:
Apologies for non-attendance were submitted on behalf of Cllr. Mrs I Rees and County and District Cllr. Mrs Victoria Wilson.
1738. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:
There were no declarations of interest.
1739. MINUTES:
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of Bobbington Parish Council held on 15 January 2020, a copy having previously been circulated to each member of the Council, be approved.
1740. MATTERS ARISING:
a. Tree Update (Brantley Lane / Crescent)
The Clerk had sought advice from Staffordshire Parish Council’s Association (SPCA), who suggested the Parish Council await further comment / determination. It was agreed that their response would be circulated.
A discussion followed. It was noted that the original tree was not entirely in the curtilage of the property. It was agreed that the position chosen was the best place available within the requirements of the planning condition. The Clerk was instructed to await further correspondence from the District Council.
b. Affordable Housing
The Printers have been instructed and asked to send the questionnaire before the end of February 2020. With respect to the consultation event Lesley Birch (Housing Association) had suggested we leave the timing until the questionnaires are returned.
c. Bobbington website
The Clerk had approached the digital team at Staffordshire County Council for potential meeting dates. It is anticipated a meeting will be held before the end of the month.
An email had been received from Chipmonk Computing with respect to the contract with them which expires on 31 March 2020. It was agreed that whilst it would be ideal to have the new website active at the start of the financial year we cannot be sure this is feasible. As such it was agreed that, subject to the upcoming meeting with the County Council, we would continue the contract and meet the costs of a further year.
Chairman’s Initials Date:
778
d. Unkempt properties/gardens
No further update has been received from Teresa Smith, Senior Tenancy & Estate Management Officer. The Clerk was asked to send a further request for information and then escalate it to management level given this has now been ongoing since July 2019 with very little action to our knowledge.
Whilst we appreciate that other areas also require their attention Teresa did promise several months ago that she would meet with the tenants to discuss the position.
e. CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England) Membership
The Clerk had obtained details of Parish Council membership, which costs £36 per year. It was agreed that membership would be useful should a planning application be submitted by the Airport. The Clerk was asked to submit the membership form and subscription.
f. The National Lottery Community Fund funding opportunities
Cllr. Burton had identified potential funding available to the Parish Council via the National Lottery Community Fund. There doesn’t appear to be any restriction on the number of organisations from a Parish which can apply for funding, therefore, details have already been passed to the school. It was also proposed that details be sent to the Village Hall committee who may be able to apply for assistance with the roof repairs and car parking.
Councillors were asked for ideas of projects that could be funded – the following were discussed: SIDs, village gates, conversion of the red phone box if decommissioned, village fete. It was agreed that an application should be submitted for SIDs.
1741. HIGHWAY MATTERS
a. Water main and cleansing Six Ashes Road
Nothing further has been heard, it is assumed that given the further rain the priority jobs have been delayed with a knock-on effect.
A discussion followed with respect to the various issues. It was suggested a drainage map of the parish was needed. Cllr Hadgett offered to carry out some research, the Clerk also agreed to email Highways to establish whether they had such a map. Once the map has been received, work could be undertaken to establish the cause of the problems. A meeting could then be requested with Staffordshire Highways.
Cllr. Hadgett updated the meeting on the brook and his conversations with various individuals / organisations. It is understood that the landowners are responsible for the brook. Given may of the houses extended their gardens down to the brook they are likely to be responsible. A parishioner present showed the meeting pictures of her garden before and after the event. It was agreed that Councillors Snelson and Slater would take a look and feedback. A community voluntary day was suggested once the weather improves.
Cllr. Hadgett has contacted Cllr. Mrs. Wilson to highlight concerns with the District and County Council’s webpages for flood victims
Chairman’s Initials Date:
779
b. Street scene / weed spraying
An email had been received from the District Council with respect to weed spraying. It was agreed that the position had not changed since the original decision – this service is not considered cost effective,
1742. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES
Corbett School
Nothing to report.
Village Hall
The Clerk had received an email from Mrs Southall, who has remained Chair of the Bobbington Village Hall Committee. At their last meeting it was suggested that the Parish Council be asked if they would be able to send a representative to committee meetings? Whilst no one was able to commit on a regular basis, Cllr. Hadgett did offer to attend if he was available.
Church of the Holy Cross
Mrs Humphries had informed the Clerk that the mole catcher would be attending soon.
Community Speed Watch (“CSW”)
Cllr. Burton reported that there had been one activity since the last meeting – 67 cars were recorded, with the fastest travelling at 38mph.
A discussion followed with respect to the speed camera vehicle and the potential benefits of having it parked in the village every 2-3 weeks. A similar arrangement had been adhered to in Hilton, Near Bridgnorth a number of years ago, as a result it is very rare for someone for anyone to speed along that patch.
Police Crime Report
PCSO Wilkes and Sergeant Dorrington attended the meeting. They reported that tools had been stole from a vehicle in Lutley Lane and a Land Rover Discovery stolen from Six Ashes Road. A number of successful operations have taken place locally.
More funding should be available towards the end of the year to enable extra officers to be recruited.
South Staffordshire Council locality meeting
The Clerk had attended the recent locality meeting to explain stronger three tier working. The three tiers being County Council, District Council and Parish Council. The aim is to focus on new ways of delivering services (driven by data and intelligence, supporting services that have a visible impact on the community and ensuring members remain the voice at the heart of their community.
1743. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
There were no questions.
1744. FINANCE
Chairman’s Initials Date:
780
a. Cheques
The following cheque was proposed by Cllr. Mrs Stanton and seconded by Cllr. Hadgett
i. CPRE £36.00
1745. PLANNING MATTERS
a. Received
i. APP/C3430/W/20/3245585 – 16 Brantley Crescent Bobbington DY7 5DB 19/00659/FUL – Appeal 3 bedroom detached dwelling house with integral garage – No further comments
ii. 19/00910/FUL – Proposed detached garage, Primrose Cottage Gospel Ash Road Bobbington Stourbridge DY7 5EE – amended plans – No objections
b. Responded to:
c. Outcomes:
d. Enforcement matters:
An email had been received from Mr Marsh with respect to the SSDC Spatial Housing strategy and infrastructure delivery asking if there was any interest in a non-political action group to combat proposals to erode the Green Belt. A discussion followed. The Clerk was asked to express an interest should a meeting be arranged.
1746. AIRFIELD MATTERS
A meeting has been held with Eliot Baker (Planning and Asset Manager MCR) and his colleague who had tried to highlight potential benefits of developing the airfield. Those present had challenged them on a number of issues including highways. The Councillors present had concluded that on the information presented there were no benefits to the Parish.
1747. CORRESPONDENCE
Circulated by email prior to the meeting:-
Voluntary sector news for Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent 30/1/2020
South Staffordshire Council – Council news 151, 152, 153, 154, 155
Staffordshire Parish Councils Association (SPCA) bulletin 16/1/20, 23/1/20,
30/1/20, 6/2/20, 13/3/20
SSC Street scene update
SSC Garden waste
2020 Volunteer star awards nominations, closing date 3/4/2020
SSC Final notice South Staffordshire BT notification of 27 payphones
SSC Good Life enquiry
Best Kept Village (BKV) community competition 2020
SSC Parish Summit 2020 survey
Streetscene – various responses re road sweepers
SSC – weed spraying from SSC
SSC The place narrative for South Staffordshire
CPRS – SPCA planning training session
1748. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Chairman’s Initials Date:
781
The Chairman and Councillors wished to thank the Parishioners for the Community support demonstrated during Storm Dennis.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING 18 March 2020.
Meeting Closed