Minutes of the meeting of Perton Parish Council, held at Perton Civic Centre on Monday 8^th November 2021, 7.00pm

PRESENT:

Councillors, R Bradley, N Caine, P Davis , K Elder (Chairman), D Glynn (Vice- Chairman), C Rathbone,

J Sherlock, J Turner, Mrs B Walters

Parish Clerk Mrs B Hodgetts

Assistant Parish Clerk Mrs L Higgins

Members of the public – 7

PC S Bridgwater (part of meeting)

PCSO A Tooth   (part of meeting)

96/21 – PUBLIC OPEN SESSION

A resident had two concerns. The trees planted on land near to the lower lake they felt were in the wrong location and could cause safety issues especially when it was dark.  The Chairman confirmed that this was District Council land and they had planted the trees.   The issue of rates at the lower lake was also raised,  there are currently no bait boxes at this site.  The Clerk will raise both issues with the District Council.

Four further matters that a resident wished to raise were being dealt with by Wild About Perton and not Perton Parish Council and therefore the Chairman agreed to respond in due course as  Chairman of Wild About Perton.

The issue of sowing wildflower seeds on the traffic island would be dealt with by District Council as this is their responsibility.

97/21 – APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies received and noted from Cllr Mrs PA Allen, AA Bourke, Mrs A James, Mrs R Heseltine and Mrs L Dew

98/21 – POLICE MATTERS AND REPORT

1. A written report received from PCSO A Tooth was made available for members.

PCSO Tooth introduced PC Simon Bridgwater, member of the Local neighbourhood Team for South Staffs.

Additional comments:

• Temporary CCTV camera will be installed in Anders Square by South Staffordshire Council. District Councillors would like SSDC to inform them of something like this in future in the first instance rather than hearing it at a Parish Council meeting.
• Agreed for a police surgery to be held on 19^th November 6.00pm – 7.00pm at Perton Civic Centre.
• The Chairman thanked PCSO Tooth for attending the Youth Working Party meeting and briefing the members on the Anders Square incidents. This was very useful feedback but does highlight that Perton seriously lacks CCTV infrastructure.
• Theft of catalytic converters was discussed. This is a problem across the district.  There are catalytic converter kits available and the police are working with scrap yards.

1. To note that the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner will be attending an open meeting for locality 4 on 17^th November at 6pm in the Civic Centre. Other parishes in Locality 4 have been invited.

99/21 – DECLARATION OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY AND OTHER INTERESTS

Declaration of other interest received from the following:

• Cllr N Caine for item 102/21a) SPCA training

100/21 – REQUESTS FOR CODE OF CONDUCT DISPENSATIONS

No request for dispensation received.

101/21 – MINUTES

1. Resolved that the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 11^th October 2021 were a true and correct record and signed by the Chairman.
2. Noted for information the draft minutes of the following committees:

• Health & Safety working party held 13^th October 2021
• Queen’s Platinum Jubilee working party held 18^th October 2021
• HR working party held 26^th October 2021
• Finance Committee held 2^nd November 2021
• Youth working party held 3^rd November 2021

102/21 – FINANCE

1. Paid Expenditure Transactions between paid between 01/10/21 and  31/10/21

                                                Resolved payments approved.

Paid Expenditure Transactions      Start of year 01/04/21

1. a) paid between 01/10/21 and 31/10/21

Payment

Reference    Paid date       Tn no  Order                     Gross  Details

DD ASH10      01/10/21              4443                                £174.74  Ash Waste Services            General & Recycle Waste

DD Rates10     01/10/21              4444                             £1,435.00 South Staffordshire Council    Rates – October

DD Website10  01/10/21              4446                                 £30.00  Kalidescope                     Website & Email Hosting

Bacs              07/10/21              4445                                 £50.00  Refunded Deposit               14/09/21

Bacs PEN10    15/10/21              4447                             £2,757.34 Staffordshire County            Pension – September

Bacs IR10       15/10/21              4448                             £2,560.84  Inland Revenue                 Tax & NI – September

Bacs DTE10    15/10/21              4449                                £108.00  Down to Earth                   Grass Cutting to Playground

Bacs ESPO10  15/10/21              4450                                £114.54  ESPO                             Cleaning Materials

Bacs H&S10    15/10/21              4451                                £300.00  John Ellis Associates           Quaterly H&S Consultancy

Bacs SGS10    15/10/21              4452                                £324.00  S G S Systems Limited        CCTV call out and Repair &

Replacement Alarm Fobs

Bacs SPCA10  15/10/21              4453                                 £40.00 SPCA                              Staff Training Agenda/minutes

Bacs L&L10     15/10/21              4454                                 £18.00  Lads & Lasses Schoolwear    Staff Uniform – Fleece

Bacs              19/10/21              4455                                £100.00  Refunded Deposit               09/10/21

Bacs GAS10    20/10/21              4456                                 £77.35  Contract Natural Gas Ltd      Gas Supply – September

Bacs Elec10    22/10/21              4457                                £389.69  Eon Next Electricity             Supply 1st – 30th Sept

BACS AE10     22/10/21              4458                                 £84.00 Acquiesce Environmental       legionella monitoring & Testing

BacsSPCA10   24/10/21              4460                                 £30.00 SPCA                              Freedom of Information

DDb Water10   25/10/21              4459                                £252.57  Waterplus                        Water charges 08/07-08/10/21

BACSCreditC  28/10/21              4462                                 £79.99  Just Keys Ltd                    Plaque Covid Cobra

BacscreditCar  28/10/21              4463                                £126.91  Gardening Express Ltd         plants for South Inner island

BACS            29/10/21              4461                             £9,816.32  Salaries                          Salary M10

Total                                                                 £18,869.29

1. Cash book to date received and noted for information.
2. Income statement to date received and noted for information.
3. Expenditure and budget to date received and noted for information.
4. Grant request received from Perton First School PTFA to help fund the Big Bug reading scheme. Resolved to approve £500
5. The cost of purchasing 96 heathers for the planting on the inner South Island is £126.91 A resident has generously agreed to fund this purchase.
6. An application for £13,000 funding from NHS Charities Together, Staffordshire & Stoke on Trent will be submitted to help the lonely, isolated and vulnerable residents of Perton Parish. Resolved the Parish Council will support the application.
7. Support Staffordshire Association membership renewal £25. Resolved to renew membership.

103/21 – STAFFING

Resolved to advertise for a part time Admin Assistant, 20 hours per week, Spinal Column Point 7.

104/21 – CONCESSIONARY ROOM HIRE

2022. Codsall Community Arts Festival – 22^nd April 2022. Resolved to approve.
2023. Acorns Charity – short term storage.  Resolved to approve free of charge.
2024. Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent Wellbeing Service – therapy sessions. Resolved to approve £7 per hour until the end of the financial year.

105/21 – SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE COUNCIL

1. South Staffordshire Council written report from Cllr P Davis was noted for information.

Verbal report presented by Cllr N Caine.

The Boundary Commission consultation covers the redefining of ward boundaries and renaming Perton Dippons to Perton Wrottesley.  There will be a reduction of one District Councillor from five to four under the new proposal.  This will be one seat for Perton East, one for Perton Wrottesley and two for Lakeside ward.  The Boundary Commission cannot amend the number of Parish Councillors but due to the proposed boundary changes the wards will be made up as follows:

• Perton Wrottesley, incorporating Dippons will be a 3 member ward
• Kingswood and Trescott 1 member ward
• Perton East, due to the increase in properties – 4 member ward
• Perton Lakeside 7 member ward

Trysull, Bobbington, Lower Penn, Seisdon, part of Shipley and Pattingham will become a two member ward and we understand there may be an amendment to the County Councillor seat.

2022. The Boundary Review consultation period runs from 1^st November to 10^th January 2022. Councillor Caine explained part of the consultation for Perton as part of his report.  Further information needs to be submitted on the relationship with Kingswood and Trescott and re-emphasise how they are valued as being part of Perton Parish.  Resolved to consider the Parish Council submission at the December meeting.
2023. Local Plan consultation period runs from 1^st November to 5pm on Monday 13^th December 2021. Information is available on line and a copy is available in the Civic Centre.
2024. Planning application: –

Application no.: 21/00906/FUL

Location: 18 Bader Road, Perton

Proposed: Two storey side extension and single storey front porch extension

Resolved: No objections raised.

Application no.: 21/01133/VAR

Location: Longville, Pattingham Road, Perton

Proposed: 20/00779/FUL condition 2 – client design changes to original approval, replace approved drawings with amended proposals

Resolved: No objections raised.

106/21 – STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

1. No report available.
2. Flooding Pump House, Dippons Lane – Grey water is being discharged from the pump house into the ditch line . No date has been given by Highways when they will repair the culvert. Severn Trent need contacting again. Video’s and pictures have been forwarded to relevant parties. Resolved Clerk to contact highways for a date and reply to the questions raised by Staffordshire County Council flood team.

The landowner adjacent to Dippons Lane will not complete any work, was it possible for the County Council to complete the work and recharge the landowner?  If this work is completed, it is still believed that Severn Trent are discharging grey water.

1. Highways issues:
2. An open meeting for residents to raise their concerns with officers from highways in respect of the Severn Drive Chicane is re-scheduled for 17^th November at 11am.

PCSO Tooth informed the meeting that the speeding figures from the Speed Impact Device would not support any traffic enforcement.

There needs to be some form of speed restrictions at the chicane. PCSO Tooth is proposing that Speedwatch be resurrected.

1. The chicane at St. Andrews – Highways have repaired one of the potholes at the speed bump but not the second one, why only do one when they have to close the road. Were the bus company informed that the work would be carried out? There were delays due to the work being carried out.  The chicane is a problem area and it was suggested that another open meeting should be arranged to discuss this.  The Chairman suggested that this be looked at after the Severn Drive meeting has been held.

• Community Speed Watch, unfortunately there are no volunteers trained and licensed to continue with the scheme. Councillor Glynn is unable to continue as coordinator due to personal reasons.  Volunteers required for Speedwatch has been advertised in the free magazine but no response so far. Resolved Cllr P Davis agreed to take on the coordinator role again and organise some training for the volunteers currently offering their support.

1. 20’s Plenty for Staffordshire was discussed. The scheme would propose wide area 20mph signed limits without the necessity to install speed bumps. The idea is good but who will police and enforce? More information is required.  The Chairman will contact the group to obtain further information.  Resolved to be looked at again in the new year.  Resolved to investigate putting 30mph stickers in the sides of the redundant bus shelters, also requesting some 30mph stickers for wheelie bins from Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership.

107/21 – POLICIES

Policies The following policies were reviewed:

1. Public Participation at meetings – Resolved no amendments
2. Social Media – Resolved no amendments

108/21 – REPORTS

1. Weekly Clerks reports having previously been distributed were noted for information. Clerk to confirm if there is a counter for visitors to the website.
2. Environmental report – nothing further to report.
3. Heating system – the heating has now been turned back on and the water is being heated via the electric immersion heater. There are proposals to install a further gas boiler in the boiler room that serves just the hot water, leaving the main boilers for heating.  Further suggestions have been raised, waiting for quotes to be received.  A meeting will be scheduled when more information is received.

109/21 – ANDERS SQUARE

Correspondence has been received regarding a fall in Anders Square.  The clerk  has forwarded the photographs and letter to Sainsburys Estates Department.  Several areas of Anders Square have been marked for repair, they are waiting for the quotation then will need approval for the work to be completed.

110/21 – PERTON VILLAGE SHOW

The committee that has managed the village show have sadly agreed to cancel all further shows.  Due to the lack of volunteers the task of running the show had greatly increased.  It has been agreed that the Christmas Fair Committee and Perton Carnival will received a grant of £300 each from their remaining funds as per their constitution.  This leaves a small balance in the bank account should anyone wish to resurrect the event in the future.  A vote of thanks to Councillor Davis for the years that the show ran.

111/21 – BUS SHELTER

The bus shelter at the bottom of Richmond Drive has been vandalised, several panels have been damaged.  A quotation from Shelutions for an aluminium replacement back at a cost of £570 was presented to the council.   Resolved to accept the quotation.  There may be additional chargeable work required on the end panels. Authorisation has been given to the Clerk to proceed with any repair on the end panels and if any point in the future another shelter is vandalised, the Clerk has the authority to replace the back panels with aluminium.

112/21 – CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

It was agreed to hold Citizen of the Year 2021/22.  This year it should also include groups that help in the community.  Resolved that Parish, District or County Councillors cannot be nominated but they can nominate.

113/21 – DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING

Full Council Meeting of the Parish Council – Monday 13^th December 2021 at 7pm, Perton Civic Centre

Meeting closed at 8.52pm

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

Chairman

Financial Summary – Cashbook

Summary between 01/04/21 and 30/10/21 inclusive.

Balances at the start of the year

Ordinary Accounts

Co-operative Bank                                                                                                            £3,253.47

HSBC Current Account                                                                                                    £14,806.80

Petty Cash Account                                                                                                             £250.00

Public Sector Deposit Fund                                                                                            £116,000.00

Total                                                                                                                             £134,310.27

RECEIPTS                                                                                Net                         Vat                  Gross

Parish Council                                                              £229,229.28                     £0.00          £229,229.28

Civic Centre                                                                   £37,373.38                     £0.00           £37,373.38

Total Receipts                                                              £266,602.66                     £0.00          £266,602.66

PAYMENTS                                                                              Net                        Vat                    Gross

Parish Council                                                               £86,652.00               £3135.68             £89,787.68

Civic Centre                                                                   £64,663.79              £2,416.85             £67,080.64

Total Payments                                                            £151,315.79              £5,346.69            £156,868.32

Closing

Ordinary Accounts

Co-operative Bank                                                                                                             £2,753.47

HSBC Current Account                                                                                                    £10,041.14

Petty Cash Account                                                                                                              £250.00

Public Sector Deposit Fund                                                                                             £231,000.00

Total                                                                                                                             £244,044.61

Uncleared and Unpresented

Statement Closing

Ordinary Accounts

Co-operative Bank                                                                                                             £2,753.47

HSBC Current Account                                                                                                     £10041.14

Petty Cash Account                                                                                                              £250.00

Public Sector Deposit Fund                                                                                             £231,000.00

Total                                                                                                                             £244,044.61