Hilderstone Parish Council

Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 28th November 2018 at 7:30pm

Present: Cllr. Shelley (Chairman), Cllr. Crump, Cllr. Stringer (Vice Chairman), Cllr. Woodward, Cllr. P Davies, Cllr. Clark, Cllr. J Davies and Mrs Amanda Kingston (Clerk). There were no members of the public or press present.

1. Chairman’s Welcome. Cllr. Shelley welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Apologies. Stafford Borough Cllr. Harp, Staffordshire County Cllr. Parry

3. Minutes of the last meeting. These were read, amended, approved and signed.

4. Matters arising. None

5. Public Participation. None

6. Borough Councillor’s Report. Cllr. Harp was not in attendance to provide a report.

7. County Councillor’s Report. Cllr. Parry was not in attendance to provide a report.

8. Planning. 18/29577/HOU at Netherfield 7 Barnes Croft, Hilderstone, Stone, Staffordshire, ST15 8XU. Conversion of loft space in existing garage to habitable room with toilet facilities plus four roof lights. Re siting existing garden wall to edge of homeowner boundary, retaining existing grassed service strip. The Parish Council have no objections to the above application.

Status of Earlier Applications:
18/29353/HOU at Woodcutters, Creswell Road, Hilderstone. The application is described as a proposed two story rear extension and orangery. Refused on the grounds that it exceeds the 70% development guideline.

18/29357/FUL at Highfields Farm, The Annexe, Sandon Road, Hilderstone. The application is to remove condition 3 from the approved application 05/04087/FUL. Awaiting Decision.

18/29235/FUL at Heathy Close Farm Sharpley Heath Road Hilderstone Stone ST15 8SJ. The application is described as a proposed agricultural building to house, feed and finish livestock. Allowed.

18/29154/HOU at 2 Spot Lane, Spot Acre, Stone. The application is described as two storey alterations and extension to the rear of a dwelling. Allowed.

9. Traffic and Highways. The vehicle activated sign (VAS) requires repair or replacement. There is no funding available from Staffordshire County Council (SCC) Highways, however the Parish Council may purchase a sign if sufficient funds can be raised to cover the cost of equipment and installation as well as ongoing repairs and maintenance. Resolved Clerk to obtain costings for a variety of options including battery and solar operated signs.

The road signs in the village require cleaning. Resolved Clerk to speak with Bill Holmes.

There are temporary signs that advise there are ‘no road markings’ at the Hardiwick crossroads. They have been there for some time, and road markings are in place. Clerk to follow up with SCC highways.

10. Footpaths/Village Maintenance/Best Kept Village. Stafford and Rural Homes (SARH) have been contacted to cut back the hedge overhanging footpath 14.

Cllr. P Davies has reported several footpath faults to SCC. Emails to be forwarded to the Parish Clerk to keep on file.

A streetlight on footpath 14 near the play area is not working. Clerk to report to SCC Highways.

The Village Hall Management Committee will, once agreement from the Conservation Officer is obtained, have the hedges surrounding the Village Hall cut back to the same level as at the front.

The Best Kept Village Competition 2019 was discussed. Resolved Clerk to confirm that Hilderstone Village will enter the competition for 2019.

The hedge bordering Priory Cottage has still not been cut. Details have been passed to SCC Highways for enforcement. Clerk to follow up progress with SCC Highways.

11. Village Events. The Chairman extended thanks to everyone involved in the superb Remembrance Service on Sunday the 11th November to mark the 100-year anniversary of the First War.

The film night was reasonably well attended, and the race night went well.

Forthcoming Events:

Hilderstone Coffee Morning, Saturday 8th December, 10am – 1pm in Hilderstone Village Hall.

Carols around the Crib, Sunday 9th December, 3pm at Christ Church Hilderstone. The accompanying exhibition is open to the public from 11am to 3pm.

Village Christmas Party, Tuesday 11th December, 7.00 for 7.30pm in Hilderstone Village Hall. Resolved: The Parish Council to contribute £500 towards the cost of delivering the event.

Christmas Concert, Saturday 22nd December at Hilderstone Village Hall. Further details to follow.

Bingo Night, Saturday 19th January at Hilderstone Village Hall. Further details to follow.

12. Correspondence.
• Carol Service invite – Stone Town Council
• Carol Service invite – Stafford Borough Council
• Email regarding blocked drains in Cresswell Road
• Members Digest 248

Members Digest 247 (Cllr. Crump)

Performance Reporting 2018-21 (p2.1-2.21)
The Cabinet considered a Review of Performance Reporting arrangements to support the new Stafford Borough Council business plan, which can be found at https://www.staffordbc.gov.uk/corporate-plan This will provide the opportunity for a more robust scrutiny process.

(p.6.34) A man has been ordered to pay over £2000 for dumping rubbish in a village near Stafford. You can help catch fly tippers in confidence at grimewatch@staffordbc.gov.uk or by calling 01785 619402.

(p6.35) Warmer Homes Stafford give free and impartial energy advice, including information on energy efficiency grants and the warm homes discount. For further information telephone 0800 677 1785 or visit www.warmerhomesstafford.org.uk

13. Finance. The monthly accounts were presented and signed by the Chairman. The current account is £13,187.59 in credit and the deposit account £3123.07 in credit. Although most of these funds are allocated as indicated by the monthly accounts which are circulated to all Councillors prior to each meeting. The following payments were approved:

1. Weston Ground Maintenance – £132.65
2. Mrs A Kingston expenses – £55.30
3. W H Holmes Grounds Maintenance – 190.25

The final proposed budget for 2019-2020 was discussed. Resolved by unanimous agreement to approve the 2019-20 precept request of £10,285. This represents a 10.9% increase on the 2018-19 budget equating to an extra cost of £3.33 per band D property per year. The increase in spend primarily relates to increasing costs for Highways and village maintenance following reductions in service by Staffordshire County Council.

14. Any Other Business.

More litter picks are required. Clerk to contact Streetscene.

Following the recent service for Remembrance, a query was raised regarding the possibility of planting trees as a memorial to the fallen service men and women from the local area. This will be added to the agenda of a future meeting for further discussion.

Feedback was provided from the recent Stone Parish Liaison Meeting. The discussion focused largely on HS2 and on the consideration given to the response of Parish Councils to planning applications.

An update was provided on the development of Stone Town Centre, which is going well.

15. Date of next meeting.  The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 23rd January 2019 at 7.30pm. The meeting closed at 9.15pm

………………………………………………… Cllr. M. Shelley, Chairman. 23.01.19