Minutes of the 130th Annual General Meeting
Thursday 16th May 2024 at Daintry Hall
following the Annual Parish Meeting
Present :- Councillor Huw Williams, Chairman
Councillor Georgina Baily, Vice Chairman
Councillor Jacqui Lea
Councillor Alastair Bayley
Councillor Brian Evans
Councillor Richard Edwards
Councillor Jon Burwood
Cheshire East Ward Councillor Lesley Smetham
Brenda Lomas – Clerk
- Apologies for absence – none
- Public Participation – none – no member of the public were present
- To Elect a Chair and Vice Chair for 2024-25
Nominations for Chairman : Cllr Georgina Bailey nominated Cllr Huw Williams Seconded by Councillor Lesley Smetham
Huw Williams accepted the position as Chairman for 2024/25
Nominations for Vice Chair : Cllr Huw Williams nominated Cllr Georgina Bailey Seconded by Cllr Lesley Smetham – Georgina Bailey accepted the position as Vice-Chairman for 2024/25
Chair and Vice Chairs signed the acceptance of office forms
- To receive any Declarations of Interest
Huw Williams made a declaration in respect of the new entrance created to land owned by Mark Bullock on Church Lane – which is adjacent to the Chairman’s home
- To review, approve and sign the minutes of the previous two meetings held on 11th January 2024 and an extraordinary meeting held on 22nd March 2024
Councillors approved the minutes
- To discuss any matters arising from the minutes of the meetings
Ongoing matters as detailed below - To discuss the upcoming D-Day80 celebration – 6th June 2024
70 tickets had been sold so far – it was determined that we need to sell 75 tickets in order to break even. Huw will organize a message to be sent round via Sue Bullock’s e-mail list to advertise a last chance to purchase tickets. The event has already been advertised in the parish magazine. Huw to organize the final advertisment
James Bailey is organized to ring the church bell at 6pm
Huw has organized a video screen to display wartime pictures at the front of the Church. Huw to organise
The church ladies will put flowers in church
Bunting and chairs and tables outside the church door to be erected by Huw and helpers. Huw to organize.
Jonathan of Light tech has kindly offered to light up the outside of the church and possibly also the inside of the church
Malcolm Kidd will allow parking of cars on his field – and in the farmyard if it is wet weather. Car parking marshalls were identified. Georgina & Brenda to take tickets at the entrance of the church.
The fish and chip van will be positioned in the Daintry Hall car park – it was agreed that ticket holders should obtain their food en-route from the car park before entering the church – to avoid congestion in the church.
Toilets – the church toilet and Daintry Hall toilets will be available. Brenda Lomas to provide toilet rolls, soap, towels and to clean them afterwards.
A risk assessment is required to be completed – to included fire extinguishers by the beacon – Huw to complete the risk assessment
The work to repair and relocate the beacon is almost completed. The anticipated cost of the works is greater than originally anticipated – mainly due to the amount of repair work which has been required, the cost of relocation, the increase in the cost of materials and concrete plus the cost to renovate the basket. At present – the costs are estimated to be £1500. Mark Bullock, Huw, Graham Samson to complete the beacon. - Planning Applications
No new planning applications to consider.
It was discussed that the planning application 24/0830C for the land behind Daintry Hall to convert an agricultural building into a dwelling had been refused and that the planning officer had considered the points raised by the Parish Council. - Planning Enforcement
a) Tinker Bells Hollow, Bramhall Hill Lane
It is understood that the mobile home on the site is not being lived in at present
b) Land behind Daintry Hall
The issue of the illegal deposition of waste has been reported to the Environment Agency (EA). From EA public records – it appears that the land operator, Andrew Syson became registered as an authorized waste carrier/dealer in April 2024. However, there is no information that the land is authorized as a waste disposal site.
c) Creation of entrance to field on Church Lane above Rode Hall Farm
On advice from the planning enforcement officer, the Clerk had reported this to John Denwood, Highways for his consideration of the new entrance from a highways safety issue. Prior to the PC meeting – the Clerk had sent a further e-mail to John Denwood to enquire of the position – but had not received a further response. Clerk to make a further request for a response.
d) Shellow Lane Lodges
The concerns raised at recent PC meetings as regards the outfall from the septic tank flowing into the nearest stream has been reported to the EA by the Clerk. - Highways – the following highways issues were discussed:
a) Update on progress on traffic issues on Bank Lane /Church Lane
It was agreed that this had been covered during discussions with PC David O’Connor in the Parish Meeting
b) Flooding / drainage issues on Bank Lane & Bramhall Hill and drainage issues on Church Lane
An employee of Light Tech at Bramhall Hill Farm on Bramhall Hill had written to the Highways Department, the Parish Council and also to the MP, David Rutley as regards the flooding of Bramhall Hill and Bank Lane as she was unable to access her workplace and also considered the routes and road surfaces had become dangerous following recurrent bouts of flooding. The outcome of her communications resulted in a site visit by David Rutley, MP – which Councillor Georgina Bailey attended. Other local residents were also in attendance. David Rutley, MP witnessed a stranded vehicle in the Bramhall Hill road, deep pot holes, poor road surface and detrius. He advised that he would take up the matter with the Highways Department. In terms of Bank Lane, it would appear that the adjoining landowner (who’s field is at a lower level), banked up the soil under the boundary hedge approximately one month ago – to stop the water from flooding his field. This has exacerbated the time taken for the water to disappear from the road surface. The Highways Department have confirmed that there is a continuing drainage problem but have given no time scales in terms of when it can be resolved. PC to keep the flooding issues on the agendas
Councillor Lesley Smetham advised that she is doing a ward tour with Andy Simpson of Highways tomorrow – and so she will ask him about the drainage issues then. Councillor Smetham to feed back the response from Andy Simpson.
Highways have advised that there will be a regular inspection schedule in respect of the drainage issues on Church Lane.
c) Gritting and Grit Bins
The Chairman advised that he had not received a response from the Highways Department in respect of the request for a grit bin to be put in place at the Park Road area of the village. Councillor Edwards discussed that there is a grass verge at Park Road and agreed to consult Chris Carlise of Park Road as regards who owns the verge and therefore whether the Parish Council could pay for its own grit bin to be installed in that location. Richard / Huw to make further enquiries re the suggested grit bin
- Finance
a) To approve the Audited Parish Council accounts
Lynn Petts has kindly audited the 2023/24 Parish Council accounts in preparation for the Clerk’s submission to the external auditor, P K Littlejohn. Accounts were approved. Cllr Brian Evans raised the point that a bank reconciliation was undertaken by him some months ago. Clerk to check whether this comes under the PC’s own adopted regulations – and if so – the frequency at which a bank reconciliation had been decided to be appropriate.
b) Update and approval of annual expenditures for 2024/5
i. ChALC membership – £77.52
ii. Zurich Insurance – £207.84
iii. Hire of Daintry Hall – £30 per meeting
iv. Website and email hosting – Tech Division – £154.65
Approved
c) Discussion regarding any future expenditure – to include the parish council laptop
Huw advised of additional expenditure for tickets and flyers for the D-Day80 event of £65.
The PC laptop has been checked by TechDivision due to the Clerk finding it too problematical to effectively use. The laptop is approximately 8 years old. The choice is either to pay for an upgrade of the current laptop – estimated to be £200 or to purchase a new or refurbished laptop with installed up to date software. Tech Division could offer a refurbished laptop of approximately 1-2 years old for £300 – plus an additional cost of £70 for the installation of word, excel and the transfer of data etc. Cllr Jon Burwood advised that he regularly has access to newish laptops as part of his work and would be happy to donate one to the parish council.
Councillors agreed that a replacement laptop would be the best option. It was noted that there would be further costs involved in the transfer of licenses, files and information. Clerk to progress
d) On-line Banking for PC
The Natwest bank have recently advertised a Community Banking account which is an ‘on line’ account. It is normally for new customers only. Clerk to enquire if the Natwest would transfer the current Natwest PC account (cheque book based) to become a Community Banking Account.
- To discuss a Neighbourhood Plan
Cllr Brian Evans advised that he had attended and found the recent training from ChALC to be very interesting and provided a brief update of what he had learned. The undertaking of a Neighbourhood Plan will involve a significant amount of work – possibly for around two years – and undertaken by more than one person. It would force the community to come forward to a discussion on the vision for North Rode – for example to attract younger persons to reside in the village, to enhance the environment and/or to offer support for older residents. A Neighbourhood Plan has to be approved by CEC and also a Planning Inspector. It becomes a strong legal document in terms of future planning applications in the village. Brian recommended that, as the CEC Local Plan is to be changed in the near future – that the PC considers the outcome of those changes before making any decisions on whether it would benefit North Rode to have its own Neighbourhood Plan.
Councillor Bailey advised that she is scheduled to attend a Marton PC meeting to discuss their completed Neighbourhood Plan and the steps taken by the PC to complete it. Councillor Bailey to attend a Marton PC meeting and to feed back - Parish Council website
Huw currently maintains and updates the website but would be happy for others to become involved. He is keen to introduce additional Local History onto the website. - Communication with Parishioners
Huw has put a link in the village newsletter to direct residents to the PC website - Congleton Area Rural Parish Council Liaison Group
Georgina and Huw attend the meetings – which were re-started several months ago – mainly to discuss the impact of the Congleton Link road on the parishes. - How can we Improve our Parish Environment
Litter picking was the main point discussed. Cllr Jon Burwood offered to organize a litter picking group. ANSA will provide equipment. Traffic warning signs are possibly required for the busy roads in the village. Cllr Jon Burwood to organize - Move from Gawsworth Ward to Sutton Ward
It was considered that this would only have minor implications i.e. a different ward Councillor – albeit – the PC would be sorry to lose Councllor Smetham following her hard work on behalf of North Rode over many years. - Frequency of Parish Council Meetings
The PC currently have quarterly meetings with additional meetings arranged if required.
Dates of next two meetings
Thursday 22nd August 2024 and Thursday 21st November 2024
The meeting closed at 10.15pm