Print this pagePresent
- Councillor Mrs M. Gilbert (Chair)
- Councillor Ms L. Hopkin
- Councillor J. Wilton
- Councillor J. Wheatley
- Councillor Mrs S. Wheatley
- Councillor K. Rigby
- Councillor K. Harrison
- Councillor Mrs E. Harrison
- Councillor D. Keating
- Councillor Mrs S. Keating
- Councillor D. Mason
- Councillor Mrs L. Ball (Broxtowe Borough Council)
- Councillor D. Pringle (Broxtowe Borough Council)
- Councillor J. Longdon (Nottinghamshire County Council)
Clerk
Mrs S.M. Bircumshaw
97/20 Apologies for absence
Apologies for absence were received from PCSO P. Keeley (Police).
98/20 Declaration of interest
There were no Declarations of Interest made.
99/20 Minutes of the last meeting
The Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 20 October 2020 were approved as a correct record.
100/20 Public participation
There were no members of the public present.
101/20 Police report
There was no report.
102/20 County Councillor’s report
Councillor Longdon reported that he had passed Councillor Wheatley’s phone number on to the appropriate person at Nottinghamshire County Council, regarding the broken stile on the footpath at the bottom of Councillor Wheatley’s drive. Councillor Wheatley reported that the repair is a “botch” job. Councillor Longdon will look into this.
Nothing else to report other than the County Council is just ticking over due to COVID.
103/20 Borough Councillor’s report
Councillor Pringle told the meeting that the truck which was stuck on Church Lane last month was operated by the same company his son works for. He sent the photos to his son who looked into it. Apparently it was a Polish (Agency) driver and he left the next day.
Councillor Mrs Ball reported that the Ski Slope planning application is likely to appear on Planning Committee Meeting Agenda on 9 December. The planning application needs to be read thoroughly and if there are any concerns/questions to let either Councillor Mrs Ball and/or Councillor Pringle know so they can take them to the Planning Meeting.
Councillor Wheatley reported that the owners have been knocking down trees and moving earth – surely that is not what exploratory work should be?
The landowner put up signs but they were torn down and thrown into the canal. Councillor Keating reported that a huge area has been cleared, seems in preparation for some major work. The landowner is doing far more than just making the land safe. Is it possible for him to extend the Industrial Estate or will it be houses as in the original plan? It was questioned how much work could be done next to a nature reserve without planning permission.
Councillors Pringle and Mrs Ball could be asked to talk on our behalf at the Planning Committee Meeting, we need to look at the planning details and if there are any objections we can write in with our views. The Agenda for the Planning Committee Meeting will be posted on the Broxtowe Borough Council website and we can then sort out a One Item Agenda to discuss the plans.
Councillor Ms Hopkin reported that when out walking a couple of weeks ago she is convinced that she saw a Planning Notice regarding the 250 houses off Newtons Lane. Councillor Mrs Ball reported that she has also heard that notices were put on lamp posts. The application has not been submitted yet.
Officers from Broxtowe Borough Council usually go out and put the applications up but due to the COVID situation it is now up to the applicants to let neighbours know. It looks like this is not being policed at all and we were advised that if a neighbour posts a notice but does not tell you, you need to ask them about it.
Regarding number 43 Church Lane Councillor Mrs Ball told the meeting that the planning permission for the wall and gate was passed last year and the Conservation Officer approved it.
The people are still in the tent on Millennium Park. Councillor Mrs Ball got involved and assumed that it had been sorted via Outreach. There are now 3 tents and they all look new. Councillor Mrs Ball will look into the situation again. Do the County Council have a responsibility as the tents are on their land? Councillor Longdon will see what he can do.
Councillor Rigby suggested that clarification is needed in this situation and someone along the line may have to get tough. There is a statutory duty to house people if they declare themselves homeless. If these people have not declared themselves homeless to Broxtowe Borough Council action to evict will be needed as we will have a problem. Councillor Mrs Ball will ask if they have declared themselves homeless and report back via the Clerk/Councillor Mrs Gilbert with any feedback. Councillor Mason reported that the tent area gets larger every time he goes by. People are taking food to them every day and they don’t seem to be interested in getting accommodation.
104/20 Items for discussion
a) Church matters
A letter of thanks will be sent to Broxtowe Borough Council for clearing the leaves and cleaning the War Memorials for Remembrance Sunday.
Four separate donations (all Charitable) have provided 1000 bulb LED lights on a first come, first served basis. 16 sets of lights were supplied to be lit throughout the Parish over Christmas. Residents who received them are all absolutely delighted. Councillor Mrs Ball will let the Mayor of Broxtowe know so that video can be taken. Hopefully most of the lights will be up by 2 December.
The question was raised as to whether the Parish Council is intending to put lights up around the church/church hall area. Councillor Mrs Harrison suggested that a set could be put in the tree at the church, after discussion regarding this it was decided that it would be better to light up the Lych Gate rather than the tree. A set of 600 lights can be purchased for £20. Need to ask church PCC if they are happy for us to do this. Councillor Mrs Gilbert will contact Marilyn Reed/Gillian Thornhill and will purchase the lights and let everyone know. This was proposed and seconded and all were in favour. A further proposal was then made that 2 sets of coloured lights be purchased for the Lych Gate. The proposal was seconded and all were in favour.
b) Footpaths and pavements
Nothing to report.
c) Off-road bikers/traffic
Nothing to report.
d) Almshouses
There will be a virtual meeting with the architect on Thursday evening (7pm via Zoom).
Councillor Mrs Gilbert has sent some plans and video through for everyone to look at before the meeting. It was mentioned that Sonia Pike’s house is going up for sale – if Gurjit Mahal gets wind of this there is a worry that he may purchase it for access to the Almshouses, as he had approached the Pikes at the start regarding this.
A letter will be sent to Christine Danby at Broxtowe Borough Council informing her that we have no proof that much work to secure the building has been done – due to COVID many people are at home and nothing has been seen – it is our belief that not enough has been done.
There are no provisions for car parking facilities shown on the plan. Things will be discussed on Thursday but we must not have Parish Council discussions in front of the architect – need to listen and take in what he says and discuss after he has left the meeting. Councillor Mrs Harrison suggested that everyone who has questions should send them to Councillor Mrs Gilbert for her to put the questions forward at the meeting.
e) Floral displays
These are looking fabulous. Councillor Rigby suggested we should consider removing the VJ display soon. Will need 4 men to move it and Chris Gilbert will help with his trailer.
Councillor Mrs Gilbert will arrange a date.
f) Neighbourhood plan
The next meeting is due to be held on 8 December 2020.
g) RCAN
Councillor Harrison reported that he has been in touch regarding the status of our membership application and it will be dealt with in the next few days. Once our membership has gone through, Councillor Harrison will contact them to see if they can help with a couple of topics.
h) Christmas newsletter
This is now at the printers. Councillor Mrs Gilbert has got the stamps/labels etc for posting. Managed to get a discount off the wild flower seeds – Councillor Mrs Gilbert contacted the firm – the price without VAT is £225/kilo and we can have them at £200/kilo so the cost will be £240 including VAT. Councillor Rigby thanked Councillor Mrs Gilbert for all her hard work on the Newsletter and Councillor Mrs Gilbert thanked Councillor Rigby for his input too. Everyone needs to think of topics for the next Newsletter.
i) Proposals for expenditure
At the Finance & General Purposes Committee meeting held prior to this meeting, the following proposals were made for consideration/approval. The Precept is to stay the same as last year at £11,646.00, the Clerk will receive a 1% salary increase (£4978.29pa/£414.86pcm) and S137 expenditure budget will remain at £1000.00.
It was proposed and seconded that these proposals be approved and all were in favour.
j) Possible proposals regarding Stanton Site
Councillor Rigby reported that he had been going through some old literature and found an old document regarding the battle he had fought over this.
There is room for 10,000 properties on this site and the Erewash Borough Council proposal uses 2,000, which is the number of properties allowed without having to have a major arterial road, leaving a further 8,000 for inclusion in the next Local Plan (2023). Need to watch this carefully as Erewash will do anything to put a main road into Nottinghamshire and possibly through Cossall.
Councillor Harrison raised the question regarding infrastructure ie schools. Schooling would be through Derbyshire County Council. The issues would have to be tackled as and when they arise.
Our main concern is any incursion into our territory with regards to traffic. Could be ongoing for many Local Plans to come but now Erewash cannot build one more house without the road. This proposal has been reduced to 3 Plans (from 7 Plans). We need to keep a close eye on this. Councillor Rigby will pass the planning document over to Councillor Mrs Gilbert to pass to the Clerk for safekeeping.
105/20 Correspondence
A letter has been received from Seal Calibration who offer a full service for defibrillators.
Councillor Mrs Gilbert read out the contents. It was decided to find out the cost and discuss at the next meeting in January. At the moment Councillor Wheatley checks it now and again. We could also get a comparative quote from someone else.
It was reported that a piece of glass in the bottom of the “phone box” is broken. Councillor Wheatley will look and see if Perspex will be better. These 2 items will be put on next Agenda.
The EON Smart Meter has now been fitted in the church.
106/20 Planning applications
Awaiting the Planning Application for the Ski Slope, which should go to Broxtowe Planning Committee on 9 December.
107/20 Accounts for Payment
| The following accounts were approved for payment | |
| Mrs S. Bircumshaw – Clerk’s Salary | £410.75 |
| Mr R Heard – Website Administration | £45.00 |
| Mrs M. Gilbert – Zoom Monthly Subs (October) | £14.39 |
| Mrs S. Bircumshaw – Phone Rental (Nov) | £33.60 |
| Mrs S. Bircumshaw – Petty Cash | £30.00 |
| British Legion Poppy Appeal Donation | £220.00 |
| Mrs M. Gilbert – Stamps/labels for Christmas Newsletter | £182.86 |
| Mr C. Gilbert – Design/Print of Christmas Newsletter | £104.00 |
| EON – Direct Debit – Church Floodlights | £40.00 |
| Total | £1,080.60 |
| Cheques for payment in December (Post-dated 15 December 2020) | |
| Mrs S. Bircumshaw – Clerk’s Salary | £410.75 |
| Mr R. Heard – Website Administration | £45.00 |
| Mrs M. Gilbert – Zoom Subscription (Nov) | £14.39 |
| EON – Direct Debit – Church Floodlights | £40.00 |
| Total | £510.14 |
| Income since 20/10/20 | |
| Bank Interest | £0.17 |
| Balances @ Bank | Nov | Dec |
| Deposit A/C | £19,369.79 | £19,370.00 |
| Current A/C | £702.98 | £192.84 |
| Total | £20,072.77 | £19,562.84 |
108/20 Date and time of next meeting
The next Virtual meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Tuesday 19 January 2021, commencing at 7.30pm.
Councillor Mrs Gilbert thanked everyone for their continued support on Zoom and Councillor Wheatley thanked Councillor Mrs Gilbert.
The meeting closed at 9.00pm.