Minutes of the Annual General Meeting followed by the Stone Parish Council Meeting held in Stone Parish Rooms on Tuesday 12 th November 2019 commencing at 7.30pm.
Present: Councillors Mr John Jordan (Chairman), Mrs Hilary Baxter, Mrs Pauline Hart, Mr Derek Killingworth, Richard Wignall, Graham Higgs, Mrs Diane Bird.
In attendance: Mr S Clee Clerk, Bill Waldron Lengthsman, WPC Derya Mustafa, District Cllr Lisa Jones, County Cllr Marcus Hart & 7 members of the public.
Apologies: Mrs Pauline Hill.
214 Confirmation of the Minutes
The minutes of the last meeting held on 10th September 2019 as previously circulated were approved and signed by the Chairman.
215 Declaration of Interest for a) The Meeting and b) Any Changes to be notified to the Registers of Interests and Gifts & Hospitality;
a) None declared. b) There were none.
216 Public Speakers:
WPC Derya Mustafa addressed Council relating to three reported since we last met involving a vandalised vehicle in Stanklyn Lane, theft at Stone Sales Showground and burglary at Kittiwake Drive.
217 Planning Matters:
The Council noted the current list of Planning Applications approved and pending by WFDC. Council also discussed Planning Application No 19/0653 at No 2 Bissell Estate Cottage and RESOLVED to recommend approval.
218 Councillors Reports
Written reports had been received and circulated to all councillors from County Cllr Hart & District Cllr Lisa Jones prior to the meeting. Both Councillors were present and gave a briefing on there earlier submitted reports.
219 Correspondence & Progress Reports
There was no additional correspondence.
220 Community Speed Watch
Mr David Perridge addressed the Council from the Road Safety Partnership Unit. He was invited as Councillors were concerned at the speed of traffic along Stanklyn Lane He explained 85% of motorists abided by the law and respected the speed limits on most roads. 10% of people were on the cusp of abiding by the rules however measures other than speed enforcement cameras were needed to deter them from speeding. This can be achieved by County Council Highways in the form of Gateways entering the area, road markings, traffic features on the road and signage. He was aware discussions had been ongoing with the County Council on a range of issues around Stanklyn Lane and encouraged the Parish Council to take those actions first before enforcement cameras were deployed. The Chairman thanked Mr Perridge for his attendance and stated discussions would be held later on the agenda and a range of issues would be looked at to address the speeding issues along Stanklyn Lane. Mr Perridge left at 20.20pm.
221 Stanklyn Lane Gateways & Speed Camera
The Clerk reported several meetings had been held between the Chairman/Vice Chairman and Worcestershire County Council Highways regarding the ongoing speeding along Stanklyn Lane entering our Parish from the Summerfield & Worcester Road direction.
Having visited the site with Highways it was recommended to install Village Gates at 3 locations where they will visibly display to motorists there are entering the 30 MPH Zone. The County Council promised they would refresh the road markings and install 30 MPH road markings on the carriageway at all the entrances. It was further recommended a new Vehicle Activated Sign (VAS) should be purchased which would dissuade motorists from driving above the speed limit. County Cllr Hart had offered to fund 50% of the costs if the Parish Council made up the difference.
Following a lively debate Council RESOLVED to accept Cllr Harts offer and agreed to proceed with the quotations received amounting to £5,400.00.
222 Meeting Dates for 2020
The Council RESOLVED to accept the dates for 2020 and publish them accordingly. Namely the meetings will be held on; 14th January 10th March 12th May 14th July 8 th September & 10th November 2020. All the meeting would commence at 7.30pm in Stone Parish Room.
223 CALC Report
Councillor Killingworth presented a paper on a recent CALC/NALC Conference he had attended. He was keen that training be part of legislation requiring all Parish & Town Councils to adopt a scheme ensuring all Councillors take part. He stated there was a great deal of untrained Councillors within the first tier of Local Government. The Chairman thanked Councillor Killingworth for his informative paper and congratulated him on the work he was doing within the CALC organisation
224 Finances
a) It was noted the Bank Balance currently stands at £15, 672.98 which includes earmarked reserves and grants for specific works.
b) Accounts amounting to £2,057.21 made retrospectively were approved.
c) The Council noted the Income & Expenditure Spreadsheets circulated with the agenda for Municipal Year 2019-2020.
d) Council Noted the Budget Review Working Group would be meeting soon to look at Next Year’s Budget requirements with their recommendations going to the next Council Meeting.
225 Date of the next Meeting
There being no other business the meeting ended at 21.06pm. The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 14th January 2020 commencing at 7.30pm.
Chairman
14th January 2020