MINUTES OF A MEETING OF HARLASTON PARISH COUNCIL HELD IN THE VILLAGE HALL ON Monday 24 September 2018 AT 7.30pm

Present:                   Cllrs P Whitehouse (Chairman),

S Forest, C Foster, S Hills, Louise Collins, E Hollis (part)

In attendance:        Mr I Van Arkadie (Clerk), 2 members of the public

Apologies:               There were none.

Declarations of Interest

There were none

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The minutes of meetings 0n 16 July were approved. This was proposed by Cllr Foster, seconded by Cllr Forest and duly carried.

Co-option of New Councillor

As there had been no requests for an election in the specified time period, it was agreed to co-opt Mrs Emma Hollis as a parish councillor. This was proposed by Cllr Armstrong, seconded by Cllr Forest and duly carried. The chairman welcomed Mrs Hollis to the Parish Council.

Public Open Forum

A member of the public present raised the issue of whether Harlaston should join Elford and Edingale in supporting the joint bus initiative operated in partnership with Solus Coaches. The member of  the public pointed out that whilst the service currently in operation had its limitations, it did at least represent a level of service where at present there was none. There was some discussion and it was agreed to discuss it in detail later in the meeting as this mattee was on the agenda.

Matters Arising and Correspondence

Further correspondence had been received about the proposed developments and the creation of a new business park adjacent to the M42. The major point of concern for Harlaston was the potential traffic impact and this had been discussed at the July meeting. It was agreed that the Clerk would write to the relevant highways authority, thought to be Leicestershire County Council, expressing the parish council’s concern.

The Parochial Church Council had asked the Parish Council for a contribution of £182.00 to the cost of hammer repairs to the church clock. After some deliberation, the council agreed to defer a decision on this until the likely dispersal of future monies raised at the Open Gardens was known.

Finance

The Clerk reported that the balance stood at £22,718.71 at the end of August compared with £18,534.34 for the same period in 2017.

There was then a discussion over the funding of the redevelopment of the playground.

The balance reported included monies transferred in from the Business Reserve Account (12/6/13): £77.31; money transferred from Village Green Account (12/6/13): £4,890.30; money paid in from Coventry Building Society Account  - Playground Account (3/3/14)  £2,367.90.

The meeting was asked to note that the Parish Council had been in receipt of additional precept of £2,863.00 for development works on the village playground in 2017-18 and again in 2018-19.  development. A total of £1951.00 had been further raised for the playground through donations and events in the village. These figures were included in the current account balance. This meant that a total of £10,044.90 was currently held for the redevelopment of the playground. 

The clerk reported that confirmation had now been received from Lichfield District Council concerning the CIL monies associated with the Fish Pits Farm development. The total amount payable was to be just over £18,600 though payments could be staggered over a lengthy time period.

With regard to the playground it was agreed that the Clerk would contact Councillor White’s office at Staffs County Council to determine if the £1,000 in community funding could still be made available. It was further agreed that Councillor Foster would explore other sources of potential funding. The Clerk would supply Councillor Foster with details of the company that had supplied the new outdoor equipment as part of the refurbishment of Edingale’s village playground.

On a more general note it was agreed that the Clerk would henceforth include details of fixed costs and projected expenditure in the financial reports in order to supply a more rounded picture.

Planning

It was known that an application had been made for changes to the development at Fish Pits Farm. As far as was known these were fairly minor changes to the floor plan of the planned properties.

A number of villagers had raised the fact that new garages had been erected off Haselour Lane. The Clerk was asked to notify the planning department to make them aware of this.

It was agreed that the Clerk would henceforth provide a list of existing planning applications to each meeting.

Buses

There was considerable discussion about the buses. Concerns were expressed that the current partnership arrangement operated by Edingale and Elford would not actually meet the needs of the local communities. This was because there were only 2 return journeys each week and the timetable (outward around 9.30 am returning around 1.30 pm) would not suit local people. The notes of the discussion at the July meeting and the information received from Edingale Parish Council on costs were considered. This assumed that sufficient return journeys per week would be made from Harlaston to generate £30.00 income through voluntary contributions. On this basis the net cost to the Parish Council would be approximately £935.00 per year. It was agreed that there were questions over the long term sustainability of the service; Councillor Collins also asked about liabilities and insurance cover. After some discussion it was proposed by Councillor Foster that a pilot project be entered into to determine demand and take-up. The Parish Council would review the situation after 3 months and would expect take up to at least equal the figures included in the Edingale estimates. The Parish Council reserved the right to make its own decision on this and no commitment was given at this time. Concern was expressed that pilot projects could often be difficult to withdraw from. Given the lack of a consensus the Chairman called for a vote. The outcome of this was it was agreed to proceed with a pilot with 4 votes in favour and 2 against. The Clerk was asked to make enquiries to find out how to progress this.

District and County Council Matters

There was none.

Any Other Business

Cllr Armstrong reported on the Community Speedwatch which had now run 7 sessions and recorded 117 instances of excessive speed with details being passed to the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership. All were impressed with the success of this. It was hoped to be able to secure a grant for £800 to purchase more equipment. All commented on the new speed advisory warning signs in Wigginton which were regarded as effective and attractive.

The Chairman reported that he planned to paint the mileposts once he had the requisite paint. Thanks were expressed to Mick Brown for the donation of a bench to the village. Thanks were also expressed to Sue and Derek Forest for the donation of the plants in pots.  

The Clerk was asked to again contact Highways regarding blocked gullies in the village.

Open Forum

No issues were raised.

Date of Next Meeting(s)

Monday 26 November 2018

The Clerk would ensure that this was publicized in the parish magazine.