Minutes of the meeting of Perton Parish Council
held on Monday 11th January 2021, 7.00pm
Meeting held virtually via Microsoft Teams.
Members were informed that the meeting would be recorded and deleted once minutes were approved.

PRESENT:
Councillors Mrs PA Allen (Chairman), D Glynn (Vice- Chairman), AA Bourke, R Bradley, N Caine, P Davis, Mrs L Dew, K Elder, Mrs A James, C Rathbone, J Sherlock, J Turner, Mrs B Walters

Staffordshire County Councillor K James – part of the meeting
Parish Clerk Mrs B Hodgetts
Admin Assistant Mrs L Higgins

Members of the public – None

107/20 – PUBLIC OPEN SESSION
No public present.

108/20 – APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies received and noted for Cllrs Mrs R Heseltine,

109/20 – POLICE MATTERS AND REPORT
A written report received from PCSO A Tooth was accepted for information and a copy attached to these minutes.
The matter of staff testing and face coverings at Sainsburys was discussed. Clerk to contact the store and confirm arrangements for testing and face covering compliance.

110/20 – DECLARATION OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY AND OTHER INTERESTS
The following declarations were made:
• Item 113/20 a) payment transaction number 4244 – Cllrs Mrs P Allen,

111/20 – REQUESTS FOR CODE OF CONDUCT DISPENSATIONS
No requests for dispensation received.

112/20 – MINUTES
a) Resolved that the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 14th December 2020 were a true and correct record. The Chairman to sign in the Clerk’s office as soon as practical.
b) Noted for information the minutes of the following committees:
• Finance Committee meeting held on 5th January 2021.

113/20 – FINANCE
a) Paid Expenditure Transactions between 01/12/20 and 31/12/2020

Tn No. Cheque Gross Details
4227 DDRates12 £1435.00 South Staffordshire Council Rates – December
4228 DDWebsite12 £30.00 Kalidescope Website & email hosting/maintenance
4229 DDAsh12 £156.12 Ash Waste General & recycle waste
4230 BacsConcept £192.00 Concept Elevators (UK) Ltd Annual Service Contract 01.11.20 to 31.10.21
4231 BacsRICOH £221.01 Ricoh Rental and charges for copies
4232 BacsESPO £199.21 ESPO Various: see parts
4233 DDWater 11 £169.09 Waterplus Water supply/used 9th April to 29th October
4234 BacsBT11 £92.76 British Telecom BT OneBill
4235 BacsPen 12 £3186.86 Staffordshire County Pension Fund – November
4236 BacsIR12 £2707.41 Inland Revenue Tax & NI – November
4237 DDGas11 £519.51 Contract Natural Gas Ltd Gas supply – November
4238 DD Elec11 £509.69 Npower Business Electricity supply 27 Oct to 30 Nov
4239 Bacsaudit £720.00 Mazars External Audit for year ended 31/03/2020
4240 BacsSalary £10658.14 Salaries Month 09 (December)
4241 BacsExting £217.80 Banner Fire & Security Annual Maintenance & 3 replacement extinguishers
4242 BacsAE12 £84.00 Acquiesce Environmental Legionella monitoring and testing December
4243 BacsCafe29 £480.00 Café 29 Ltd 48 x Christmas Eve Meal boxes
4244 Reimburse £390.00 Mrs P Allen 14 emergency gift cards SSHA & Bromford
Total £21,968.60

b) Cash book received and noted for information. Copy attached to these minutes.
c) Income statement received and noted for information.
d) Expenditure and budget to date received and approved.
e)
114/20 – GRANTS
A grant request has been received from The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Staff Choir. Resolved to approve a grant of £250.

It was suggested that they forward a copy of their account for the next financial year and there maybe
a further grant available. Council would also like to know how many of their choir are Perton residents.

115/20 – STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
a) County Councillor James reported that a conversation had been had with the Strategic Community Infrastructure Manager regarding the speed cameras on the Bridgnorth Road at Trescott. There are issues with the Police and how they operate the cameras, but he will visit and assess the site when restrictions are lifted. The meeting time to be confirmed with the clerk to enable members of council to attend.

b) Speed cameras were discussed at item a) Councillors have been to Trescott and cleared some of the footpaths.

Safer Roads Partnership have unfortunately confirmed that Speedwatch could not carry out checks on this stretch of road due to the 50mph speed limit.

The Mobile Speed Enforcement Team have been approached to see if the speed van can do anything at this site, no response received to date.

c) Wrottesley Park Road signage. The council still feel that it is important to warn road users of pedestrians crossing. County Councillor James feels there may be more opportunity for support when the new County Council is elected in May.
d) Gritting and Grit bins were discussed. It had been reported to the County Council that the grit bins were empty during the very cold weather experienced. The bins were replenished recently. It was noted that residents are using the grit for their own personal use.

Wrottesley Park Road is on the Primary gritting route with The Parkway and Gainsborough Drive on the secondary route which is gritted in severe weather.

Wrottesley Park Road should be re classified as a B road with the increase in traffic.

Clerk to gather information on current and proposed grit bin sites.

County Councillor James has not heard anything regarding additional infrastructure required for further development. This will need to be looked at with the Local Plan.

116/20 – SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE COUNCIL
a) District Councillor written reports previously distributed from Cllr P Davis and Cllr Mrs R Heseltine were noted for information, copy attached to these minutes.

Additional Comments
Cllr N Caine informed the meeting that he is reporting faulty streetlights and potholes. Dippons Lane path is in need or renovation, it is incredibly muddy.

The Chairman updated the council on the Crematorium Appeal. The information provided by the Parish Council introduced new flooding maps. Also, the barrister representing South Staffordshire Council at the hearing made the decision, during the appeal hearing, to promote the Wergs site as he felt it was a better site to promote. This was not approved via the South Staffordshire Council Planning Committee or Cabinet.

The Chairman has sent a letter of complaint to South Staffordshire Council in relation to COVID-19 grants. The Parish Council has received only £2,000 towards its loss of income due to lockdown restrictions as it is a precepting authority. Other voluntary organisations such as Village Halls and Pavilions have received a £10,000 grant. This does not feel equitable, lack of income has to be recovered through the precept. The Chairman of Wombourne Council is also disappointed that they have not received any help.

The Chairman also raised the issue of COVID-19 testing in Perton. The sessions booked have now been cancelled as they are centralising the sessions, all sessions appear to be at Wombourne Library. Clerk to confirm if future sessions will be held in Perton. The Chairman has made the local GP’s aware of the Civic Centre’s capacity should it be required for vaccinations.

b) Rats – South Staffordshire Council have agreed to cut the shrubs back which should help, also Perton First School have agreed to cut back the vegetation on their site. Lakeside Medical Centre has been approached but have not responded at present.
It will be hard to control the rat population while the ducks and geese are being fed. Hopefully the cold weather will have an impact which we may be visible over the next few weeks.
c) The District Council awarded the Parish Council a £400 Christmas Fund grant. This grant paid for 48 hot meals to be delivered to lonely, isolated vulnerable residents. The Parish Council worked with PCSO’s, The Church At Perton, Housing Officers and volunteers. Comments from residents were very positive, “best thing that’s happened to me all year” Thanks also to Councillor Mrs R Heseltine for the additional chocolate present added to the boxes.

Resolved Clerk to write a letter of thanks to Café 29 and the volunteers for their involvement

117/20 – CLERKS REPORT
Weekly reports having previously been distributed were noted for information.

118/20 – POLICIES FOR REVIEW
Resolved that the following policies were approved with additional comments to the Grants Policy
a) Email & Internet
b) Grant – to invite all recipients of a grant to attend the Annual Parish Meeting to provide an update on how the grant was used.
c) Lone working
d) Media
e) Noticeboard
f) Petty Cash
g) Public participation

A home working policy will need to be adopted to run alongside the Lone working policy.

119/20 – ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
A report previously distributed was accepted for information, copy attached to these minutes.
120/20 – COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR STAFFORDSHIRE
A decision on the grant request should be available this week. This grant is to provide isolated residents with a small activity bag. The Parish Council may need to be approached for any additional funding requirements.
121/20 – FOOD BANKS
Kingsway food bank has provided a further 15 food parcels between 28th November and 26th December 2020. This is a total of 88 since March 2020. Resolved to approve a further grant of £625 from the COVID-19 funding.
122/20 – MAY DAY CARNIVAL
Due to the uncertainties around the virus the Carnival Committee has made the decision to cancel the event for 2021.
123/20 – DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING via Microsoft Teams
Monday 18th January 2021 at 7pm Full Council – Precept
Monday 8th February 2021 at 7pm Full Council

Crime & Disorder Implications Section 17 of the Crime & Disorder Act 1998
Where relevant any decisions made at the Parish Council meeting have taken this duty of care into consideration.

Meeting closed at 8.36pm

Signed ………………………………………………………………… Date: …………………………………………
Chairman
 

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING CRIME REPORT 14/12/2020 – 10/01/2020

Public bodies can only disclose information if they have the power to do so. Section 115 of the Crime and Disorder Act provides a power to exchange information where disclosure is necessary to support the local Crime Reduction Strategy and Partnership in achieving the aims of the Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy and objectives outlined within it.
The degree of disclosure that takes place must be proportionate and relevant to the level of social ill or criminality it is intended to counter or prevent.
The information is only to be processed in relation to crime and disorder purposes. Information will be handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, the Human Rights Act 1998 and any other relevant legislation governing disclosures and will ultimately be disposed of in a secure manner.
• Main headlines since the last meeting:

• We have TWO burglaries, entry was gained into property but nothing taken in first incident and no entry was gained just damaged garage door before alarm sounded on the second.

• One Criminal Damage to motor vehicle where wheel arch has been ripped off,

• We have had TWO theft from vehicles, CAT Converter taken and car broken into for small amount of money

• TEN ASB calls these include neighbour disputes youth and adult related issues, drugs and nuisance vehicles.

Any questions that haven’t been covered please drop me an email and I will get back to you as soon as I can?
I would like to share some feedback I have had for the Turkey baps that were given to some of the vulnerable members of the community on Christmas Eve. The residents I recommended to receive the baps were so grateful some were brought to tears and called me to ask me to thank everyone involved. One of the males said it was a wonderful surprise that made his Christmas!! It was a fantastic project which I hope we can replicate again year on year.

PCSO 16722 Ashley Tooth

Agenda item 113/20 b)

Financial Summary – Cashbook
Summary between 01/04/20 and 31/12/20 inclusive.
Balances at the start of the year
Ordinary Accounts
Co-operative Bank £602.91
HSBC Current Account £10719.54
Petty Cash Accounts £250.00
Public Sector Deposit Fund £130,000.00

Total £141,572.45

RECEIPTS Net Vat Gross
Parish Council £227,647.97 £0.00 £227,647.97
Civic Centre £16,033.58 £0.00 £16,033.58

Total Receipts £243,681.55 £0.00 £243,681.55
PAYMENTS Net Vat Gross
Parish Council £124,325.81 £4,078.13 £128,403.94
Civic Centre £88,267.85 £2,320.74 £90,588.59

Total Payments £212,593.66 £6,398.87 £218,992.53

Closing Balances
Ordinary Accounts
Co-operative Bank £2,763.68
HSBC Current Account £13,247.79
Petty Cash Account £250.00
Public Sector Deposit Fund £150,000.00
Total £166,261.47

Uncleared and unpresented effects

Statement Closing Balances
Ordinary Accounts
Co-operative Bank £2,763.68
HSBC Current Account £13,247.79
Petty Cash Account £250.00
Public Sector Deposit Fund £150,000.00
Total £166,261.47

Agenda item 116/20 a)
District Councillor’s Report 11.01.2021
Since the last Parish Council meeting I have attended the following:
Informal Cabinet: 2
Cabinet
Cabinet Member Briefing
Covid Outbreak Briefing: 6
Local Outbreak Control Board: 3
South Staffordshire Local Outbreak Control Group
Community Safety Catch Up
Locality Forums – discussion on format for Round 2
Planning
Locality 5 Site Assessment
I have met with Andy Aston and Ryan Taylor (SSC) to highlight/discuss various issues in and around Perton.
Unfortunately, there are still so called “fishermen” who seem to think that the law i.e. signs around the Lower Lake prohibiting fishing does not apply to them. Fortunately, Keith (Elder) retrieved the sign which had been uprooted.
We had a “BOGOF” situation! I reported a fallen tree in Bluebell Walk and whilst carrying out the removal of the tree, the team also did some extra work whilst there.
I continue to support residents when required.
I also provided festive chocolate treats to be included in the Christmas meal boxes for those identified as elderly and/or vulnerable residents.
Rita Heseltine (Lakeside)

Agenda item 116/20 a)
December report – Philip Davis Member for Perton Dippons
Since the last Parish meeting, I have attended the meetings and briefings listed.
December 14th Risk management by Michelle McLean virtual meeting.
Tuesday December 15th there was a training session for members entitled “Making Legally Sound Planning Decisions “This was presented by Piers Riley Smith a Planning Barrister from Kings Chambers. It was a very interesting, factual and informative hour.
Thursday December 17th was the turn of locality 5 for the site assessment discussion. Kelly Harris and her team will now take away all the comments and points raised by local members for more in depth discussions in the new year.

Agenda item 119/20

Environmental Issues

I attended the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust AGM held online just before Christmas and asked a question about Nature Recovery Networks in relation to South Staffordshire. The Trust responded as follows:

‘We are currently looking at coordinated ways to get people involved in the Nature Recovery Network through an enhanced community engagement programme. We’re still working on how to do this with limited resources, so that keen wildlife enthusiasts, groups, communities and schools can all play their part in nature’s recovery – and contribute to a network of Wildlife Champions across Staffordshire and the UK.

We have also recently finished Nature Recovery Network mapping in South Staffs, working with the local authority. The map and accompanying policies will be included in the forthcoming public consultation as part of the Local Plan process. Following the adoption of the Nature Recovery Network in the area we will aim to work with groups such Wild About Perton to identify activities that can be done in their localities that can contribute to improving local biodiversity and secure nature’s recovery in accordance with the Nature Recovery Network.

Nature Recovery Networks are a major commitment in the Governments 25-year Environment Plan. It is my understanding that the South Staffordshire map, identifies a series of biodiversity offsetting sites identified as either Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 in various locations including Perton. Biodiversity offsetting is a system used predominantly by planning authorities and developers to fully compensate for biodiversity impacts associated with economic development, through the planning process. Under many offset systems, receptor sites are areas of land put forward by companies or individuals looking to receive payment in return for creating (or restoring) biodiversity habitats on their property. The biodiversity restoration projects are financed by compensation from developers looking to offset their biodiversity impact.

The part of the Local Plan which deals with nature recovery and potential biodiversity offsetting sites in Perton will be of particular interest to people locally with an interest in the future of our local environment during the public consultation phase of the new Local Plan.
Keith Elder
Parish Councillor, Lakeside Ward