Print this pagePRESENT
- Councillor Mrs M. Gilbert (Chair)
- Councillor Ms L. Hopkin
- Councillor J. Wilton
- Councillor J. Wheatley
- Councillor Mrs S. Wheatley
- Councillor K. Harrison
- Councillor Mrs E. Harrison
- Councillor D. Keating
- Councillor Mrs S. Keating
- Councillor K. Rigby
- Councillor D. Mason
- Councillor Mrs L. Ball (Broxtowe Borough Council)
- Councillor J. Longdon (Nottinghamshire County Council)
- Kashmir Purwal (Member of the Public)
Clerk
Mrs S.M. Bircumshaw
01/21 Apologies for absence
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor D. Pringle (Broxtowe Borough Council) and PCSO P. Keeley (Police).
02/21 Declaration of interest
There were no Declarations of Interest made.
03/21 Minutes of the last meeting
The Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 17th November 2020 were approved as a correct record.
04/21 Public participation
Kashmir Purwal introduced herself as one of Broxtowe Conservative’s approved candidates for the next County Council Election. She advised the meeting that she would like to be as involved as possible up to the elections.
05/21 Police report
There was no report.
06/21 County Councillor’s report
Councillor Longdon reported on a request received for gritting of Robinette’s Lane and informed everyone that as this was a minor road it was not possible to include it in the gritting program.
Councillor Longdon reported that he has sent through all relevant information regarding COVID and other issues. Councillor Harrison raised a question on the COVID vaccination roll-out in Broxtowe – Councillor Longdon will chase this up at the County Council. There is more happening in the Erewash area than Broxtowe at the moment.
07/21 Borough Councillor’s report
Councillor Mrs Ball told the meeting that she had received the COVID vaccination on Saturday – due to having a Derbyshire based doctor.
Councillor Mrs Ball reported that the ski slope planning application has been deferred back to the developer. It was put forward at the last Planning Meeting but the finances did not work out favourably due to council requests. It will be revisited in the next meeting to see if a compromise can be reached.
Councillor Keating reported that there is more activity going on at the ski slope than just making it secure. Councillor Mrs Ball said that although there has been a site visit, this was not raised at the planning meeting. There is a lot of work to be done on site if the application can be got through and it will be a great asset for Cossall.
Councillor Wheatley asked what will happen if planning permission is not granted as there are a lot of walkers along there? Questions were raised asking if the site owners will be told to replant trees if the planning application does not go ahead.
Councillor Ms Hopkin reported that there have been a lot of new perimeter (serious metal) fences put up. Do the developers need planning permission to erect this? Councillor Mrs Ball will look into this.
Councillor Mason reported that the security fencing has pushed motorcyclists down the path to gain access on to the site via the canal towpath, which is very worrying.
Questions were asked if there is to be any further action from Broxtowe following the information regarding the pinch points for the illegal bikers that was gathered from Awsworth, Cossall and Trowell over a year ago. Councillor Mrs Ball will speak to Councillor Pringle regarding this.
08/21 Items for discussion
a) Church matters
The Christmas lights were very popular. Councillor Wheatley advised that a permanent socket can be installed above the gate for future use. Also the floodlights need testing and there is some cabling in the tower which is degrading and needs replacing. It has also been reported by residents that the floodlights keep going off and then coming back on again.
It was proposed and seconded, there was a show of hands and all were in favour of Councillor Wheatley arranging for these works to be carried out.
The Quinquenial Report on the church reports that the stained glass windows are in need of attention as some are in danger of falling out and they also need to be professionally cleaned. This will all cost in the region of £5,000. Would the Parish Council be interested in helping out with this cost? It was proposed that the Parish Council will put some money towards this and will agree, in principle. This proposal was seconded; show of hands and all were in favour.
Councillor Wheatley informed the meeting that he has done the electrical testing and that he noticed there are dozens of pools of water all over the place in the church due to the roof leaking – the roof is in a very bad state and needs sorting out.
Is there anything the Parish Council can do to add weight to getting the help needed for this problem to be sorted? There have been numerous attempts to find where the water is getting in with no success. Can we let Gillian Thornhill/Marilyn Reed know that they have the backing of the Parish Council for any weight we can add? It was proposed and seconded, show of hands and all were in favour.
Bell Tower – Councillors Wheatley and Rigby need to get together regarding the matter of filling in the planning application form. Broxtowe Borough Council don’t seem to know how to put the information on the digital form, so the hard copy form can be used. Councillor Mrs Gilbert is happy to also help with this via a Zoom meeting.
The Smart Meter has been fitted in the church and we already have a reduction in the monthly direct debit payment – £28/month down from £40/month.
b) Footpaths and pavements
Councillor Longdon reported that a metal kissing gate on FP9 is not allowed due to the landowner not agreeing to this.
It was reported that the bridge at Millennium Park is very slippery. Councillor Mason will put some chicken wire down.
Opposite where the Tent people were a large section of fence has been removed which has widened the entrance allowing bikes and horses to go down there. Councillor Longdon will report and look into this.
Councillor Keating reported that all the boards have been replaced on the bridge across the canal that we had reported as dangerous – a good job done. Signs have been put up informing that the bridge will not bear the weight of horses. Councillor Ms Hopkin reported that there were no signs on the bridge when she walked past this morning.
Councillor Mrs Wheatley reported that, walking up near Babbington Hall on the footpath 8, there is a lot of slurry running down the path.
Councillor Ms Hopkin told the meeting that she has reported this, on more than one occasion, to the Environment Agency. Emails will be sent to the Environment Agency and Kimberley Town Council regarding this issue.
Councillor Mrs Harrison reported that in Bramcote village, at the top near the bend, the pavement is very narrow and barriers have been put up. Councillor Mrs Harrison asked if it would be a good idea to put some up from Councillor Mrs Gilbert’s house to the end of the bend to stop cars/lorries mounting the kerbs? Councillor Longdon will look into this – Bramcote is in Broxtowe.
Councillor Wheatley asked if there can be some wooden bollards put opposite the phone box on Church Lane. Councillor Longdon will look into this because these bollards would prevent parking that blocks off the pavement.
c) Off-road bikers/traffic
Nothing to report.
d) Almshouses
Councillor Wheatley reported that the electricity company wants to read the meters, even though no electricity is being used. Contacted Gurjit Mahal but no key has arrived yet. Councillor Wheatley will follow up.
e) Floral displays
These are nicely planted up.
f) Neighbourhood plan
There was a meeting last Thursday. It was agreed to send out a notice to invite people to look at the draft of the plan when it goes on the website. It was proposed and seconded, show of hands and all in favour that this notice will be an insert with the Spring Newsletter.
g) RCAN
Councillor Harrison reported that we are members now and believes that there are a number of things that RCAN can help us with, the Neighbourhood Plan being one of them as they have helped a few places in Nottinghamshire with interviewing the public etc. There would be a cost to have a consultation. Councillor Harrison will discuss options with Marilyn Reed, RCAN can attend one of our Neighbourhood Plan Zoom meetings
RCAN can offer funding advice for the Neighbourhood Plan and help with events – ie the Open Gardens. Can advise regarding the re-opening of Village Halls, safely under COVID restrictions. Included in membership is consultation on rural crime and projects like combating loneliness.
They also provide a consultancy service within all areas of Nottinghamshire. Councillor Harrison will pass on a list of our issues – off-road bikers, noise,etc.
Membership is a trial period for us – Councillor Harrison will look into things happening countrywide and will get the information to RCAN regarding help for our issues.
h) Spring Newsletter
The Tent people have now gone to Birmingham and the mess they left was cleared up by the County Council very quickly.
Ian Ward the organiser of our local Practical Conservation Volunteer group sadly died before Christmas and this group might not get going again. Therefore, Councillor Mrs Gilbert passed on information about the volunteer group at Shipley to the three parishioners who showed an interest following the article in the last newsletter. Councillor Harrison will ask if RCAN know of any nearby conservation groups.
Councillor Mrs Gilbert will order and purchase the seeds before the next meeting for distribution with the Spring Newsletter.
Councillor Mrs Gilbert asked for any other contributions to the newsletter.
Parents in the Parish are trying to provide things for children to do during the Covid restrictions. It was suggested that the Parish Council could organise a drawing competition with specific age groups open to children living in the Parish or with grandparents living in the Parish. It was suggested that local artist Sue Campbell might agree to judge the competition. Councillor Ms Hopkin will supply Sue’s contact details. The theme could be to draw anything from nature.
A prize could be offered. Councillor Wheatley proposed to offer £100 for prizes – 3 x £35 for 3 different age groups – 6 years and under, 7-11 years and 12-16 years. This proposal was seconded; show of hands and all were in favour.
Councillor Rigby will look back through past issues to see if anything needs re-working.
Email Councillors Rigby/Gilbert with any further ideas and they will circulate a draft of the news letter before the next meeting.
i) Proposals for expenditure
There were no further proposals for expenditure.
j) Possible proposals re Stanton site
Councillor Rigby reported that he has seen articles in several local newspapers and allegedly the site is going to be developed industrially for warehousing etc.
The next Local Plan is 2028/29 and Erewash are looking for more space to put up houses. At the moment it seems to be for industrial development but Erewash will surely put in more applications for housing as they will be desperate for housing. Need to keep a look out for developments.
Councillor Harrison asked where the proposed land is for 10,000 housing development – off
Lowes Lane – where Hallam Plant was near Seven Oaks pub? Railway Hub (as per
Councillor Mrs Gilbert’s email). The only railway hub Councillor Rigby is aware of is HS2.
Are there trials of the old disused track in the area being carried out?
There are articles on the internet – Stanton site land polluted. Polluted land can be cleared up and used for housing.
k) Defibrillator
Councillor Mrs Gilbert told the meeting that she had two quotes for maintenance of the defibrillator – Seal Calibration £119 +VAT also included heart rhythm shock.
The other company Safelincs do all the checks but the heart rhythm shock – £95 +VAT.
The new battery pack was just under £90 last time we purchased one. Councillor Wheatley said he is quite happy to keep checking the defibrillator.
Councillor Mason asked the question – if we carry on maintaining the defibrillator and it doesn’t work who is liable? If we get it tested professionally and obtain a certificate we are not liable. It was felt that we should get the annual test and it was proposed and seconded, show of hands and all were in favour that we use Seal Calibration at a cost of £119 +VAT.
The broken glass needs replacing in the phone box. Councillor Wheatley proposed that we cut a square out of Perspex and replace broken glass. The proposal was seconded; show of hands and all were in favour.
09/21 Correspondence
There was no correspondence.
10/21 Planning Applications
There were no Planning Applications for discussion.
11/21 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 (Dec 2020) | £14.39 |
| Mrs M. Gilbert – Envelopes for seeds | £14.44 |
| Mr C. Gilbert – Construction & finish of 3 notice boards | £418.00 |
| EON – Direct Debit – Church floodlights | £28.00 |
| Total | £930.58 |
Income since 20/10/20
| VAT Refund | £220.17 |
| Bank Interest | £0.33 |
| Total | £220.50 |
Balances @ Bank
| Deposit A/C | £18,590.29 |
| Current A/C | £262.26 |
| Total | £18,852.55 |
12/21 Date and time of next meeting
The next virtual meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Tuesday 16th February 2021, commencing at 7.30pm.
The meeting closed at 9.00pm.