ALBRIGHTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Planning Meeting

Thursday 3rd November 2011 at 7.15 pm in the Red House

 

Minutes of the Albrighton Parish Council planning meeting held on 3rd November 2011 at 7.15 pm in the Red House.

 

PRESENT: Cllrs. D Beechey (Chairman), M Pate (Vice Chair), G Beechey, R Blincoe, S Brown, N Hester, P Illes, D Johnson, P Lusk, J MacLachlan, J Nelson, S Pledger.

 

Clerk: M Ward

 

PUBLIC SESSION:

 

No members of the public were in attendance.

 

1.      APOLOGIES:

 

Cllrs. D Murray (meeting at Shifnal Town Council), S Pate (personal injury).

 

Cllr. S Pate’s apologies were accepted. Cllr. Pledger proposed that Cllr. Murray’s apologies should not be accepted. The motion was seconded by Cllr. Illes and agreed by Council.

 

2.      DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:

 

Personal:

 

None.

 

Prejudicial:

 

None.

 

3.      PLANNING:

 

There were no planning applications or decisions for Councillors to consider.

 

4.      REVIEW OF THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT OF THE OLD SMITHY, ALBRIGHTON AND ANY INITIATIVE BY ALBRIGHTON PARISH COUNCIL REGARDING THE SITE:

 

Cllr. Hester reminded members that the landowner, Mr David Thompson, had attended the Parish Council in January 2011 to update Councillors on his proposals for the Old Smithy but the consequent planning application in June had been withdrawn. Cllr, Nelson had offered to contact Mr Thompson who had agreed to attend a meeting on 17th November which had been cancelled because of the clash with the Albrighton Traders’ Christmas Extravaganza. Cllr Hester said that a new date for Mr Thompson to attend a Council meeting was urgently needed so that Councillors could be informed of current plans and Cllr. Nelson promised to contact him again to arrange a new date when he would be able to attend.

 

5.      REVIEW OF SKATEPARK PROCEDURES AND CURRENT PROBLEMS NEEDING ATTENTION:

 

Cllr. Pledger reminded members of the discussions at the previous meeting on the poor quality of the CCTV images at the skate park which would not be acceptable as police evidence. Cllr. Blincoe confirmed that the cameras were inadequate and needed replacing.

 

Action: the Clerk to write to Shropshire Council requesting an upgrade to the cameras at the skate park.

 

6.      THE NEED FOR GRASS CUTTING BY BUS STOPS ON KINGSWOOD ROAD/HIGH STREET:

 

Cllr. Pledger stated that the grass by the bus stop in Kingswood Road was too long and causing a nuisance and hindrance to bus passengers. Cllr. Pate agreed to take this matter up at Shropshire Council and get the grass cut at the earliest opportunity.

 

7.      ARRANGEMENTS AND QUOTATION FROM ALBRIGHT ELECTRICAL FOR THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS, DECEMBER 2011:

 

Cllr. Johnson informed members that the quotation from Albright Electrical included new bulbs, the hire of a platform and labour for the erection and removal of the lights. The total of £5,805 was higher than the previous year but resulted from the need for more bulbs and the employment of another member of the team on health and safety grounds. Cllr. Pate moved that the quotation should be accepted which was seconded by Cllr. Lusk and agreed by Council. Cllr. Johnson said that new LED bulbs and cabling were needed for the future which lasted longer and were more efficient. Cllr. Hester said that the new equipment could prove useful for the Jubilee celebrations and Cllr. Pledger said that the lights should not be reduced in the area. Cllr. Blincoe stated that funding from the Albrighton Traders might be available to help with the costs.

 

8.      ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF COSFORD STATION AND THE LACK OF DISABLED FACILITIES AND UPDATE ON ALBRIGHTON STATION:

 

The Chairman reported that there were to be no ramps for the disabled at the rebuilt Cosford Station and a letter from Network Rail was read out outlining their plans for the development of the facility. A lift was suggested as an alternative to ramps but this was thought to be too costly and Cllr. Illes said that the Council would need to accept that there would be no more funding available for this work although he would try to arrange another meeting with Network Rail. An email from a local resident was read out regarding parking at Albrighton Station but it was pointed out that the land belonged to the owner of the caravan park who needed to get his caravans up and down the station approach. Cllr. Illes said that Network Rail would want to charge for any enhanced parking arrangement which would see more users parking on the road to avoid charges. Cllr. MacLachlan said she was concerned about the parking at the junction of Shaw Lane and Station Road and the closure of Cosford Station was going to add to the problem. Members agreed that the police should be informed and their assistance requested in order to prevent an accident.  

 

Action: the clerk to write to the local police seeking their involvement and assistance regarding parking in Station Road and Shaw Lane.

 

9.      UPDATE ON NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING FOLLOWING THE PRESENTATION BY MR J BERRIMAN:

 

Cllr. Lusk distributed a new proposal for Albrighton Parish Council together with Donington with Boscobel Parish Council, the Civic Society and the Albrighton Traders to become a Neighbourhood Planning Front Runner. The proposal to work with a commercial partner had not proved viable but Mr Berriman had agreed to go ahead with the revised proposal which would be submitted on 4th November 2011. A working party would need to be formed if the bid was successful and £20,000 would be available to support the work which would be completed in 18 months. The Chairman thanked Cllr. Lusk for all of his hard work in pushing through this initiative and Cllr. Pate suggested that the LJC could be approached for extra funding if the project was agreed. Cllrs. D Beechey, Lusk, MacLachlan and Nelson agreed to serve on a working party formed to work on this initiative.

 

10.  INTRODUCTION OF THE 101 NUMJBER TO CALL THE POLICE WHEN IT IS LESS URGENT THAN A 999 CALL:

 

Notices advertising the new service had been posted in the office window and on the notice board and an article had been placed in the Parish Magazine. The police would be managing a large scale advertising campaign to bring the new service to the attention of people.

 

11.  DELIVERING LOCAL PRIORITIES THROUGH PARTNERSHIP WORKING:

 

A consultation on partnership working had to be returned to Shropshire Council in January 2012 and Cllr. D Beechey agreed to do the first draft and bring it to the nest meeting on 24th November.

 

12.  REPORT ON THE USE OF CLOCKMILLS FOR SENIOR FOOTBALL FOLLOWING PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS:

 

Cllr. Blincoe said that his discussions with official bodies had suggested that the field would have to be dug up and reseeded before it could  be used for senior football and that the changing rooms at the Loak Road facility would not be available for users of the Clockmills pitch. The Football Association had said that no funding would be available unless there was at least a 15 year lease on the ground. Senior football on this pitch was unlikely, therefore, but junior football might offer a greater opportunity and Cllr. Blincoe agreed to approach the Loak Road organisers about this possibility who would be free to apply for grant funding from the Council if they wished to go ahead.

 

Cllr. Blincoe was thanked for all of his hard work with regard to this matter.

 

13.  ITEMS FOR THE AGENDA FOR THE APC MEETING 24TH NOVEMBER 2011:

 

Cllr. Pledger asked that the E.ON emergency pack for power failures be placed on the next agenda.

 

14.  CORRESPONDENCE:

 

·         Clerk and Councils Direct November 2011 issue.

 

Distributed to members.

 

·         RBS Software Solutions – Fees and charges for 2012.

 

Received and noted.

 

·         Geonomics – Market Towns Revitalisation Programme

 

Received and noted.

 

15.  DATES AND TIMES OF FUTURE MEETINGS:

 

·         Extra meeting on the budget 2012/13 and Council finance Thursday 10th November 2011 at 7.15 pm in the Red House.

·         Albrighton Traders Christmas Extravaganza Thursday 17th November 2011 at 6.30 – 9.00 pm in the High Street.

·         Parish Council meeting Thursday 24th November 2011 at 7.15 pm in the Red House.

 

There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.30 pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Signed....................................................................Date..............................................................Chairman