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- Councillor Mrs M. Gilbert (Chair)
- Councillor Ms L. Hopkin
- Councillor Mrs S. Wheatley
- Councillor J. Wilton
- Councillor K. Harrison
- Councillor Mrs E. Harrison
- Councillor D. Keating
- Councillor Mrs S. Keating
- Councillor K. Rigby
- Councillor S. Pepper
- PC A. Davies (Police)
- Mr J. Wheatley (Member of the Public)
Clerk
Mrs S.M. Bircumshaw
121/24 Apologies for absence
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor J. Keirnan, Councillor D. Pringle, (Broxtowe Borough Council), Councillor Mrs L. Ball (Broxtowe Borough Council) and Councillor J. McGrath (Nottinghamshire County Council).
122/24 Declaration of Interest
There were no Declarations of Interest.
123/24 Minutes of the last meeting
The Minutes of the meeting held on 15th October 2024 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
124/24 Public participation
John Wheatley was in attendance and will speak to the council in 128/24 items a) and b) before Standing Orders are instated.
125/24 Police report
PC Tony Davies reported that in the last month there have been 3 incidents –
2 thefts from outbuildings and 1 violence against a person reported in Cossall.
It is important that people make sure that their outbuildings are secure.
We were requested to advise if there are any vulnerable residents in the parish who would benefit from a visit by the police to discuss security.
We were also asked if there were any events for which we would like to have the police present, to chat to the public and we said that it would be good to have them attend the Open Gardens event in June.
There is a new Beat Officer on the team – PC Harry Brown.
Any incidents with off-road bikers need to be reported. If there are any problems with reporting incidents via 101 it is possible to report these online.
126/24 County Councillor’s report
No report.
127/24 Borough Councillor’s report
No report.
128/24 Items for discussion
a) 2025 Commemoration of sale of properties in Cossall by the Willoughby Family.
John Wheatley spoke to the council regarding the commemoration of the sale of properties in Cossall – this took place 100 years ago on 23/24 March 1925. John and Sandra are proposing to hold a celebration to mark this occasion on Sunday 23 March 2025 in the Church Hall. This to be a drop-in event between 3pm and 6pm with the same short talk taking place at 3.30pm, 4.30pm and 5.30pm. There will be refreshments on offer.
Display boards will be in place with a heading and information on each one. On the boards, information will be displayed in both larger and smaller formats, Maps will also be on display. The information will include a list of the properties sold, the purchaser/tenant and the amount paid for each property. Lord Middleton will be invited to attend.
The event will need to be advertised in as many local media outlets as possible. John and Sandra will organise the event and keep the Parish Council informed.
They want this to be a low key event and do not want too much emphasis on the refreshment side of it – offer tea/coffee/juice/cake/biscuits – as it is designed for people to come in and take a look at the history of Cossall.
John asked if the Parish Council would be interested in sponsoring the event up to the amount of £350.00. It was proposed and seconded and all were in favour of sponsoring the event for up to £350.00.
b) Church Matters
John Wheatley informed the meeting that James Keirnan and he have been looking into the possibility of changing the floodlights to LED – there are 5 fittings in question. They have found a 100w one with the colour being classed as Amber. It is not possible to obtain a sample so one will need to be purchased in order to see if it is suitable. The cost is around £55.00 +VAT.
It was suggested that one be purchased to test for suitability on the ground (there is one light on the ground and 4 lights at the top of the tower). This was felt to be a good idea and it was proposed and seconded and all were in favour of purchasing a single light.
After trying out the light on the ground, if it is decided to go ahead with the other 4 lights on the tower an electrician will be required to fit them.
The new light to be tested at the next Parish Council meeting
Councillor Mrs Gilbert reported that she had received costings from the church for the electricity for the floodlights –
The church is being charged at the following rates at the moment –
| Standing Charge | £204.80 |
| Unit rate Weekday | £32.90 |
| Night | £31.00 |
| Evening and Weekend | £35.00 |
8.10pm Standing Orders commenced
c) Footpaths and Pavements
The hedge on Newtons Lane, which was overhanging the pavement, has been sorted.
The question was raised as to what is happening with the damaged handrail/steps which go up to the canal from Newtons Lane. A letter had been sent to the landowner earlier this year but we have not received a reply. The Borough Council are not pursuing the matter but maybe we can contact Helen Spencer at County Council again regarding this. It was suggested that maybe the landowner is not actually liable to repair or maintain the handrail.
Helen Spencer will be contacted about this
The pavement on the bottom of Church Lane is covered with leaves, making the surface very slippery. Highways will be contacted to request that the pavement be cleared of the leaves.
Highways to be contacted
d) Roads/Traffic/Bikers
Nothing to report.
e) RCAN
Councillor Harrison reported that Marilyn Reed had attended a meeting held in Awsworth last month and that any funding for larger projects like the church hall car park usually have to be matched.
It would be possible to apply for lesser amounts i.e. for secondary glazing for the church hall windows.
It is also possible to ask for help for various jobs, so it would be a good idea to look into anything we may require. Could we get volunteers to help at the Open Gardens event?
RCAN are having a Centenary Celebration in Ollerton on 6th December.
f) CPRE
Councillor Ms Hopkin reported that the CPRE are holding training courses on planning which could be useful. She will have a look at the cost of the courses.
g) TPO’s (Tree Preservation Orders)
Councillor Mrs Gilbert reported that she had received a reply from Philip Wood – Tree Officer at Broxtowe – which is not very helpful.
In the future it will probably be more useful to just deal with the Woodland Trust. Councillor Mrs Wheatley reported that she has looked on the website for the Woodland Trust and it is very good and in depth. They do not want the What3Words location they require the GPS grid references.
Cllrs Mrs Wheatley and Ms Hopkin to gather the necessary information
Information is given on the size of trees that they are interested in and 11 of the trees measured by Councillors Mrs Wheatley and Ms Hopkin fit the criteria. They require photos and information on the condition of the trees. Councillors Mrs Wheatley and Ms Hopkin will revisit the 11 trees which can be included and take photos/measurements and provide the GPS locations. Councillor Mrs Wheatley will upload the necessary information to the Woodland Trust once all the information is collected.
Cllr Mrs Wheatley to upload the information to the Woodland Trust website
h) Floral Displays/Christmas Tree
It was reported that some plants have had to be replaced so new plants have been purchased.
The question was raised regarding the Christmas tree/lights. Councillor Mrs Gilbert will speak to Lewis Winter at Trinity Farm to find out when the Christmas tree is expected so she can arrange for the delivery and installation. Once this is sorted she will inform Councillor Rigby and John Wheatley so that they can sort out the lights.
Cllr Mrs Gilbert will find out when the tree will be available and advise regarding light fitting
i) Checking of Defibrillators
Councillor Wilton reported that he has checked the defibrillator in the phone box on Church Lane. Everything seems ok but he could not find an expiry date for the battery and the door is a bit stiff on the defibrillator. The main door into the phone box is not closing properly and the general cleanliness is poor due partly to the main door not closing. There are a lot of leaves inside the phone box. It was also noted that someone is putting books inside the phone box, this is not good as the defibrillator and bleed control kit need to be readily accessible – it is also a fire risk. Phone box is also being used as a urinal! John Wilton volunteered to keep a check on the phone box and keep it tidy.
Cllr Wilton to keep a check on the phone box
j) Painting of the Phone Box
Now the weather has turned this has not yet been done.
k) Winter Newsletter
The newsletters were handed out for delivery.
l) Memorial bench
Gillian Thornhill’s son is working on the wood in France, ready to refurbish the bench. This will then become a memorial bench for Gillian Thornhill.
m) Commemoration for the end of WW2
It was suggested that a nice floral display to commemorate both dates – 8 May for VE Day and 15 August for VJ Day be displayed on the lych gate at the church.
It was felt that there should be something at the Newtons Lane end of the parish as well. Councillors Harrison and Mrs Harrison will give this some thought to possible floral displays and bring their ideas to the next meeting for discussion. Everyone else to consider additional ideas.
129/24 Correspondence
There was no correspondence.
130/24 Planning applications
Avant – There is a problem with the people from Avant – both ourselves and Awsworth Parish Council require quarterly meetings but Avant are not responding to our requests. Councillor Pringle and Councillor Mrs Ball will be asked to look into this
Cllr Pringle and and Cllr Mrs Ball to be asked to look into this.
It was also suggested that a representative from Broxtowe’s planning department be invited to attend a meeting. As the meetings are jointly held with Awsworth we will need their agreement to do this.
It was also reported that there is parking on the pavements again; blocking it by the site entrance and that Newtons Lane is not being kept clean from mud deposited by site traffic.
Almshouses – We need to ask Gurjit Mahal for an update on what his intended schedule is. There has been no activity at the site for quite a while. It is understood that there has been a problem with a cable on the property.
Gurjit Mahal will be asked for an update
Broxtowe Borough Council are holding a Planning workshop in January 2025 to advise on how to use their new software to access planning applications/decisions.
131/24 Finance
Councillor Rigby reported on the proposals from the Finance meeting held last month.
The budget codes were gone through step-by-step which gave us a total estimated figure of spend for 2025/26 of £14,357.20. Bearing in mind that, until this financial year, we had a 0% increase in the Precept for 3 years, it was proposed that we increase the Precept by 5%, taking it up to £14,385.00 for the next financial year. This proposal was seconded and all were in favour.
132/24 Accounts for payment
| The following accounts were approved for payment | ||
| Mrs S. Bircumshaw – Clerk’s Salary/Poppy Wreaths | £521.26 | (£479.67/£33.60/£7.99) |
| Cossall PCC – Room Hire – 19/11/24 | £35.00 | |
| Mr R Heard – Website Administration | £70.00 | |
| Mr C. Gilbert – Winter Newsletter/Hall Clean | £175.00 | |
| Mr K. Harrison – Plants | £13.55 | |
| Bank Charges and Fees | £8.00 | |
| TOTAL | £822.81 | |
| Payments for December 2024 | ||
| Mrs S. Bircumshaw – Clerk’s Salary | £479.67 | |
| Mr R. Heard – Website Administration | £70.00 | |
| Bank Fees | £8.00 | |
| Total | £557.67 | |
| Income since 15/10/24 | ||
| Bank Interest | £23.36 | |
| TOTAL | £23.36 | |
| Deposit Account | ||
| Reserve | £7,000.00 | |
| MTFS | £750.00 | |
| TOTAL | £7,750.00 | |
| Balances @ Bank – October 2024 | ||
| Deposit A/C | £6,225.65 | (-Res/MTFS) |
| Current A/C | £205.06 | |
| TOTAL | £6,430.71 | (Available) |
| Balances @ Bank – November 2024 | ||
| Deposit A/C | £4,749.01 | (Reserve/MTFS deducted) |
| Current A/C | £324.58 | |
| TOTAL | £5,073.59 | (Available to spend) |
133/24 Date and time of next meeting
The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Tuesday 14th January 2025, commencing at 7.30pm in the Church Hall.
The meeting closed at 9.00pm.