ALBRIGHTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting

held at the Red House

Thursday 18th September 2008

 

PRESENT:

 

Cllrs. P Lusk (Chairman), D Beechey (Vice Chairman), R Balkwill, G Beechey,

R Blincoe, N Hester, M Holden, P Illes, R Kidson, D Murray, J Nelson, M Pate,

S Pledger.

 

CLERK:

 

M Ward.

 

PUBLIC SESSION;

 

No members of the public were in attendance.

 

1.      APOLOGIES:

 

Cllrs. D Johnson, S Pate, Sqn. Ldr. G Lee, P.C. R Salt.

 

2.      DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:

 

Cllr R Blincoe declared a prejudicial interest in item 8, Grants Committee.

 

3.      MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS:

 

·        Parish Council Meeting 17th July 2008.

 

Cllr D Beechey proposed that subject to three small alterations to items 2, 9 and 21 they were a true record. The motion was seconded by Cllr G Beechey and agreed by Council. The Clerk would make the amendments before the minutes were signed by the Chairman

.

·        Planning Meeting 7th August 2008

 

Cllr Blincoe proposed that they were a true record, seconded by Cllr Kidson. The motion was unanimously agreed and the minutes were signed by the Chairman

 

 

 

 

·        Planning Meeting 4th September 2008

 

Cllr Nelson suggested amendments to the second paragraph of item 4, Land East of Shaw Lane to read as follows:

 

“Option 3 should be supported subject to the following qualifications:

 

      That the access from Shaw Lane should serve the school and the new

      surgery only and not be a through road onto the new development, except

      perhaps, for emergency vehicles;

 

      That consideration be given to the provision of vehicular access from the

      access road from Shaw Lane to the rear of Dartmouth Terrace, for its

      residents;

 

      That consideration be given to the swapping of open public space with

      phase 2 of the housing development, with a view to alleviating potential

      nuisance to the residents of Shaw Lane.”  

 

      His suggested amendments were put to the Council and Cllr M Pate

      proposed that with these alterations and the substitution of one word

      in item 7 the minutes should be adopted as a true record. The motion was

      seconded by Cllr Blincoe and agreed by members. The Clerk would

      make the amendments before the minutes were signed by the Chairman.

 

4.      MATTERS ARISING:

 

·        Cllr Balkwill asked whether Cllr Pledger was a trustee of the Red House now that she has been appointed to the Management Committee. He was informed that she was.

 

·        Cllr Kidson asked for clarification regarding youth provision at the Red House in relation to item 13 of the minutes of 17th July 2008. Cllr M Pate informed him that the duty of the Red House was to provide accommodation, not to organise youth events or any function on behalf of particular groups.

 

RESOLVED: That youth provision in the village should be placed on a future agenda for further discussion. Cllr M Pate suggested that representatives of the Youth Service should be involved in the discussion and the Shropshire Youth Association could also be invited to participate.

 

·        Cllr Hester asked about Ms S Lowe mentioned in minute number 5 of the meeting on 17th July 2008 relating to the Blacksmith’s House.

 

 

5.      PLANNING:

 

There were no planning items for discussion.

 

6.      DCAE COSFORD REPORT:

 

Sqn Ldr Lee had previously presented his apologies and no report was available. Cllr D Beechey suggested that there were serious problems now emerging regarding the proposal to move the Cosford facility to South Wales because of falling land values and rising costs. Cllr Murray suggested that the Council should write to the Ministry of Defence registering its concern but this proposal was not supported. Council did agree that the local MP should be informed of the Council’s concern over the future of Cosford.

 

RESOLVED: The Clerk should write to Mark Pritchard MP about the wisdom of proceeding with the transfer of the Cosford facility to Wales asking him to represent the Council’s worries to the Government as appropriate.

 

 

 

7.      POLICE REPORT:

 

PC Salt had previously presented his apologies and no report was available. Cllr D Beechey circulated the latest crime statistics for the area during the period 1st April – 31st August 2008.

 

8.      COMMITTEE REPORTS:

 

·        FINANCE COMMITTEE

 

The Chairman invited the Clerk to outline the discussions in the first Finance Committee meeting earlier on 18th September 2008. The Clerk informed members that Cllrs had gone through the Bank Reconciliations for the end of May and the end of August which showed that spending was on course with no major concerns in the budget. Half way through the year recurrent expenditure stood at 49% of the allocation with other areas below that figure regarding the budget agreements. All members of Council would now receive a full Bank Reconciliation statement on a quarterly basis throughout the year for their information and for monitoring purposes.

 

The Committee had also agreed that the Main Deposit Account and the Mower Account, both at Lloyds/TSB in the village, should be closed and members had agreed to ask the full Council to review current Standing Orders and Financial Regulations in future meetings. Items in the Asset Register which were currently listed with a nil value would be amended. All such entries would be valued at £1.00. It had also been agreed that a full finance risk assessment should be undertaken by the Clerk and presented to Council for approval before Christmas 2008. The Committee supported the existing policy that a complete list of cheques for signing should be presented to full Council each month.   

             

·        GRANTS COMMITTEE:

 

The Grants Committee had met on 18th September 2008 to consider a request from the Albrighton Traders Association for a grant in support of the Shop Watch Scheme. Members of the committee had considered the request and approved a grant of £300.00 Cllr D Beechey proposed that the suggested grant should be supported, seconded by Cllr Balkwill.The motion was unanimously approved.

 

It was suggested that a final meeting was needed to present the accounts for the 2008 Playscheme. Members also agreed to send a card and some flowers to the Playscheme Leader following her recent operation.

 

 

 

 

9.      REPORT OF MEETING BETWEEN THE COUNCIL AND LONDON MIDLAND:

 

Cllr D Beechey reported on a meeting he had had with the Clerk and three members of London Midland on the condition of Albrighton station. The revised parking arrangements initiated by London Midland on 14th September had caused some concern and Cllr M Pate said that this reinforced the need to consider extra parking in the development east of Shaw Lane. Cllr Beechey told members of the agreement by London Midland to remove the derelict bicycle shed, repair the perspex platform shelters, tidy up the station approach, install a new sign, and repair an information system for passengers on the platform to Wolverhampton and beyond. He and Cllr Illes were being interviewed by Radio Shropshire on the current position on the 19th September and the Clerk confirmed that he had also written to Network Rail about the litter on their land and the poor state of the bridge which needed repair to the metalwork before it became suitable for painting by London Midland. He had also been in touch with Tromans estate agents regarding the deteriorating condition of the former restaurant on the platform to Telford and Shrewsbury.

 

Cllr Illes reminded members that the County Transport Strategic Plan needed to take account of the need to develop the station and there was discussion about the possibility of leasing the land adjacent to the station approach for additional parking.

 

RESOLVED: Cllr Murray to contact the owners of the land to ascertain whether they would be agreeable to some form of leasing arrangement for station parking until such time as the land is sold for housing purposes.    

 

A discussion on disabled access to the Wolverhampton platform proved inconclusive because of the large amount of funding that would be needed to provide disabled access to all parts of the station.

 

10.  CONTINUING QUALITY PARISH COUNCIL STATUS

 

The Clerk reported that he had been in touch with SALC and they had confirmed that it was time for the Council to re-submit its application to retain Quality Status. Work would need to be done on the Council web site and a review of the criteria would need to be undertaken.

 

RESOLVED: The further development of the Council web site to be placed on the next agenda.

 

It was agreed that the Chairman and Vice Chairman would work with the Clerk to ascertain what work needs to be done prior to re-submission and report back to the Council.

 

 

 

11.  CHRISTMAS LIGHTS:

 

The Clerk informed members of the quotation from Albright Electrical for the labour costs of the installation of the Christmas lights and members agreed that the quotation should be accepted and the lights should be operational from 1st December to the end of January 2009. It was accepted that this year’s lights could incur electricity charges from E.On. Discussion took place regarding who should switch on the lights.

 

RESOLVED: Cllr Blincoe to contact Pat Richards to ask him if he would switch on the lights on the 1st December.

 

12.  THE LET’S TALK MEETING:

 

The Let’s Talk meeting took place in a positive atmosphere on 11th September and covered a number of items including the proposed move of the Cosford training facility, parking in the village, disabled parking in the Crown car park, the Shaw Lane development, new play equipment and road signs. Council agreed that further signing to help strangers navigate the works in the High Street were needed and there was discussion regarding the need to close off the central part of the High Street which was having a negative effect on some traders. Cllr Nelson explained that rate reductions could only be made if businesses were affected for a long period and those that wished to make a claim would need to contact the valuation officer. Councillors felt that this was an issue that the Albrighton Traders’ Association could take up with its members.

 

Further concern was expressed regarding the Arriva bus service and members quoted examples of drivers failing to stop at the bus stops despite complaints that had already been made to the company.

 

RESOLVED: The Clerk to write a letter to Barhale to thank them for their consideration and efforts to keep the inconvenience caused by the major works in the High Street to a minimum.

 

RESOLVED: The Clerk to discuss with Ian Holland whether it would be possible for traffic to use Ashfields, which should be combined with some traffic calming measures, in order to keep the High Street open to help traders.

 

RESOLVED: The Clerk to contact Park Right  to discuss a more flexible approach to parking in the centre of the village while the road works were on-going.

 

RESOLVED: The Clerk to write a further letter to Arriva stressing the need for all drivers to stop at all bus stops in the village.

 

Other issues that the Council identified for debate in the coming months are youth provision, the Leisure Forum, transport, Clock Mills, the Shrewsbury Arms and the proposed Talbot Road development.

 

13.  LIST OF CHEQUES FOR APPROVAL:

 

The list of 15 cheques included as Appendix A was approved.

 

Cllr. Illes agreed to get new quotes for the trade containers which were made available at intervals in Abney Avenue following the increase in charges from Pink Skips resulting from higher fuel costs. 

 

14.  CORRESPONDENCE;

 

The two letters from Mr Brian Bennett regarding gully cleaning and the land at Elm Road/Cross Road and the letter from the Boundary Committee noting the Council’s submission were noted.

 

The Chairman went through the other correspondence including a letter from the Chief Executive of Punch Taverns regarding the future of the Shrewsbury Arms.

 

Cllrs Blincoe and Kidson agreed to attend the reception at Cosford on 26th November from 3.30 – 9.00 pm. The SALC AGM is on 15th November 2008 and Councillors wishing to attend are asked to inform the Clerk.

 

Cllr Blincoe drew attention to the police under manning of the Shifnal and Albrighton area in response to a consultative document on policing.

 

15.  COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS:

 

Cllr Kidson reported that he and Cllr Hickman of Donington Parish Council had made representations to the design team working on the Bushfield estate and as a result plans had been brought forward to mid February, 2009. He also drew members’ attention to the rule change regarding the paving of front gardens that comes into operation on 1st October 2008. He also informed the Council that approximately 50% of householders in Albrighton have unadopted sewers. He had written to two MPs involved in this matter but said that DEFRA were considering not taking up the option of adopting all sewers on the grounds of cost. Cllr G Beechey reminded members that all householders had to pay their water rates regardless of whether their local sewer was adopted or not.

 

Cllr M Pate informed Councillors that the structure for the new unitary authority was now in place and people had been confirmed in their new positions.

 

The Chairman informed members that a joint meeting of the two parishes will shortly take place although no date had yet been agreed. He also told members that Cllr S Pate had asked about a Council dinner and whether this tradition could be revived. Members agreed that it was a good idea and it would help to promote unity and a common purpose. The Chairman promised to look into the possibility.

 

 

 

 

16.  TIMES AND DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS:

 

Planning Meeting Thursday 2nd October 2008 at 7.15 at the Red House.

 

It was agreed that the siting of plastic collection skips should feature on the agenda.

    

Parish Council Meeting Thursday 16th October 2008 at 7.15 at the Red House

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Signed…………………………………..Date………………………………….

Chairman