Penkridge Parish Council
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held in Room 1 of the
Haling Dene Centre Penkridge on Thursday 31st March 2022 at 7.00 pm
Present
Councillor Victor Kelly [Chairman]
“ John Eastwood
“ Mrs Petula M C Hughes
“ Anthony Minshall
“ Mrs Vivienne Smith
“ Alan Smallwood
Also in attendance were
SSC Cllr Mrs J Chapman
Library Volunteers Mrs Sue Egan
Mrs Christine Robinson
Mrs Jennifer Thorpe
Seven Members of the Public
1. Apologies
Apologies were received from Councillors Mrs Helen Adams, Andrew Adams, Mrs Isabel Ford, Ms Jacquie Lech, Andrew Lenz and Calvert Stonehouse.
2. Welcome
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
3. Minutes
Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 21st March 2019 be accepted as a true and accurate record and be signed by the Chairman.
4. Matters Arising From The Minutes
There were no Matters Arising from the Minutes.
5. Chairman’s Report
A copy of the Chairman’s report was read out and attached to the official copy of the minutes.
6. Penkridge Community Managed Library
Library Volunteers Mrs Sue Egan and Mrs Jennifer Thorpe gave a presentation to those present. A copy of the presentation is attached to the official copy of the minutes.
7. Parishioners’ Comments/Questions
SSC Cllr Mrs Jo Chapman asked why the Village Toilets were closed last week.
The Chairman advised that the Village Toilets are open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and the opening days and times are on the Toilet’s Noticeboard.
Mrs Dorothy Briggs of Cannock Road said the Community Speed Watch Group were doing very good work and advertisements were due to be displayed for new Volunteers, she said that new signage had also been ordered.
Mr Alan Stevens of Haling Road said to try and negotiate the potholes in both Haling Road and Cannock Road were so bad he tried to avoid these roads particularly when taking his disabled daughter out in the car as the journey proved to be a very uncomfortable. He also thanked the Parish Councillors who were members of the Community Speed Watch and said within the past 3-4 months over 50 cars had been reported travelling over 50 mph on a 30 mph road. He said there had been poor comments on Social Media but one of the objectives of the Speed Watch was to protect the young and elderly.
Cllr Minshall asked what all the small cameras were in the village.
The Chairman advised that they had been installed by the West Midland Interchange to monitor traffic and air pollution.
Cllr Eastwood asked if it could be checked that any West Midland Interchange Traffic travelling through the village would still be fined.
He also advised that the traffic calming on the Cannock Road wre starting to deteriorate between the Boat Public House and the Haling Dene Centre entrance. There had also been several potholes marked on the Pottal Pool Road for repair.
Cllr Eastwood said following the presentation by Staffordshire County Council to the Parish Council on their vision for the future there were several aspects that should not be lost but receive attention such as Cuttlestone Bridge.
Regarding the Neighborhood Plan Steering Group who would choose/elect members to the Group, the local schools should be included.
He was pleased to hear that the Library Police Cells would be opened to the public it was good news for the village, his late wife had saved a few books from being destroyed, which he had, and they related to the Cells.
Mr Tim Rowlands from Stafford said there was three items he wished to raise:
Firstly there was a poor show from Councillors at the Public Meeting.
Secondly, he thanked Cllrs Eastwood, Lenz and Minshall for inviting him to a site meeting at the junction of Lower Drayton Lane.
Lastly the Quiz Nights that he attended with Little Marsh Park had been cancelled and moved elsewhere due to the additional cost of the Bar provision.
Cllr Tony Minshall advised that the mast on the Market Car Park was an eyesore when entering the village and obscured the view of the Church.
Mrs Christine Robinson, Croydon Drive, asked if the health concerns for the cell phone mast had been investigated which affected children’s health.
Cllr Eastwood said the financial loss on the Public Bar was not a considerable amount of money.
The PA advised that it was in the region of £5,000.
Mrs Minshall, Stafford Road, asked who was responsible for cleaning the road signs when entering the village.
She apologies as she did not realise presentations could be undertaken at the meeting but asked if she could give a little information for the Voluntary Car Scheme. She advised that she helped with the Scheme when Bevan Craddock became ill and had taken over certain parts since he passed away. They were looking for new Volunteers and asked if she could have posters placed on the Village Noticeboards and drop some leaflets into the Haling Dene Centre.
Mrs Minshall also said could she thank the Council, on behalf of Mrs Cradock, for the memorial bench in the Haling Dene Grounds in memory of Cllr Bevan Craddock.
Mr Tim Rowlands asked if the Round Table would be responsible for paying for the bar provision at the Fun Run.
The PA advised that they would be responsible, but the Council may agree to waive the Bar Hire charge as it was a Community Event.
Mr Gary Poston of Croydon Drive asked what law did not allow the public into the Finance and Resources meetings where the budgets and Precept are discussed, if it was staff salaries, they are not individually discussed as they are on national pay scales and with tenders other Parish Councils let the public attend their Finance meetings.
The Annul Parish meeting would also be an ideal time to include a breakdown of finances such as what happened to the extra Precept for the Library.
Mr Geoff Wright asked if planning were to go ahead on the land adjacent to the Cherrybrook Estate.
The Chairman advised that this was included in the South Staffordshire Local Plan but currently there was no planning on that site.
8. Neighborhood Plan
The Chairman advised that the Parish Council agreed to set up a Neighborhood Plan at their December 2021 Full Council meeting and South Staffordshire Council had approved the designation of a Neighborhood Area for the whole of the Parish. Notices had been placed in both he PPC News and in the Penkridge Advertiser asking for representatives to put their names forward to be a member of the Steering Group. The Steering Group who would take the Plan forward and would include two representatives of the Parish Council. The Plan would have the support and help of the Parish Council. The Neighborhood Plan organisation would also help and guide the Steering Group together with their Technical Support Team. The Steering Group would nominate their own Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer and would have their own constitution.
9. Date and Time of Next Meeting
Thursday 16th March 2023 at 7.00 pm.
The meeting closed at 9.25 pm
Chairman …………………………………………… Date ..…………………………………………
