Present:

Cllrs Robinson (Chairman), Hailstone, Freeman, Chown, Rees, Bevan, Smith, B O’Meara, C O’Meara
Clerk – Daphne Robinson
Hayden Wright – BBV, PCSO’s Smith & Marshall
B Cllr Reilly C Cllr Watson
8 members of the public

Public Forum

A number of residents voiced their objection to the proposed Platinum Jubilee project for The Green.  They believe the design is not in keeping with the heritage of the village.  The Chairman explained the project was very much in its early stages and no decision had been finalised.  He thanked them for their views and said the council would take them into consideration as the project progressed.

  1. Chairman’s Remarks
    Cllr Robinson reported that the construction of the Rugby Club was now well underway.  The verges on Gypsy Lane, which had been churned up by the construction vehicles from the Rugby Club had been made good.  This had been dealt with by Mr Lee.
  1. Apologies for absence and reasons given
    Borough Councillor Judy Macdonald
  1. Declarations of Interests and requests for Dispensation
    No declarations had been received by the clerk.
  2. Report from Police
    PCSO Demi Smith introduced herself as the newly appointed PSCO for the area.
    She gave the following report:
    • Suspicious incident reported – A drunken gentleman was trying to access the wrong property.
    • Reports of off-road bikes on land on Marsh Lane – Patrols were being carried out.
    • Report of damage to a security light on Attleboro Lane
    • One burglary attempt reported.
    • PCSO Smith advised patrols in the village were carried out on a daily basis.
  1. To receive a report from Hs2
    Mr Hayden Wright gave a presentation on the proposed excavation of Borrow Pits.  He explained that soil being excavated from the tunnel boring will not be suitable for the high-speed embankments.  The option of importing soil was ruled out as this would involve thousands of HGV movements.  Borrow pits would involve removing soil to use on the embankments and backfilling the pits with the soil excavated from the tunnel boring.  All movement of vehicles involved in this process would use the haul road.  The application for this was currently being considered by Warwickshire County Council.Mr Wright informed the meeting that he was moving from his post as Community Engagement Manager.  His replacement for the short-term would be Cameron Cashmore.  Cllr Robinson thanked Hayden for all his help over the last three years and wished him well in his new appointment.
  1. To approve the minutes of the following meeting:
    a) Parish Council meeting held on 30th December 2021
    Proposed by Cllr Rees, Seconded by Cllr Bevan and Resolved that the minutes were a true record.  The minutes were signed by the chairman.
    b) The Finance Meeting held on 6th January 2022
    Proposed by Cllr C O’Meara, Seconded by Cllr Bevan and Resolved that the minutes were a true record. The minutes were signed by the chairman.
  1. Clerk’s Report
    Registration/Deregistration of the land on Marsh Lane and Plank Lane.
    Meeting with the planning inspectorate had taken place. It was hoped that, now all questions raised by the inspectorate had been answered, a decision should be made by the end of February.Land to be gifted to the parish council from Beaver Metals
    This was still going ahead despite a pre-planning application made by Cornerstone for the erection of a mobile phone mast in the field.

    Land between Birmingham Road and Plank Lane
    Discussions had recently taken place and there had been no further progress on the landowners/land agents allowing a lease for the land to be used as an area for wellbeing.  It was realised that this concept should be shelved for the time being.

    Bowling Club Toilet Block
    Three quotes had been received for the purpose of applying for funding.  Planning permission is not required as it is within the permitted development. Once the spec was finalised the project would be posted on the government website to invite tenders to be submitted.

    CCTV
    No requests for CCTV in the village had been received by the clerk. Having spoken to the police, it was agreed that as the level of crime in the village was very low, to install CCTV would not be the best use of public funds.  The police believe that installing the Number Plate Recognition Cameras would be more effective.

    Old Toilet site project
    Funds of £5000 had been received from the borough councillors to help towards the cost of improving the area of the old toilet site.

    Defibrillator
    The defibrillator would be installed at the community centre on George Road within the next six weeks.

    Meeting with the football club
    A meeting between the football club and the maintenance committee had been requested but no reply had been received.

    Tree Work
    Work was scheduled to be carried out on the oak tree by the allotments on Vicarage Lane on 3rd February.
    A new lime tree had been planted on the playing field.  This was funded by the money received from Western Power Distribution.

  2. To receive reports from borough and county councillors
    Cllr Reilly apologised on behalf of NWBC for the problems with the green bin collections.  Parking wardens would be in operation from the end of February.  Cllr Reilly advised that the wardens would be targeting the centre of the village by the shops and Attleboro Lane.  Parking charges for the car park by the station will come into effect on 1st February.Cllr Macdonald had sent an update on the station building: No further update from Network Rail.  Cllr Macdonald is still trying to arrange a meeting to get more information from Network Rail.

    C Cllr Watson reported that all vegetation clearance by Hs2 should be complete.  Drop kerbs will be installed on Vicarage Lane. The footpaths on Birmingham Road from Mytton Road to the county boundary will be cleared by highways.

  1. To receive an update on the Neighbourhood Plan (NP)
    Cllr Bevan gave the following update:
    Having restructured the document to agree with the references on the Local Plan, the NP was sent to NWBC on 19th January 2022 in order for it to be submitted to NWBC planning committee on 7th March 2022.  A referendum will take place in May 2022.  A ‘Yes’ vote from the referendum will result in the adoption of the document by the Full Council in June.
  1. To receive an update from the maintenance committee including the Playground equipment.
    Cllr Chown reported that he had carried out his monthly inspection and the previous issues were still outstanding.  He reported that the annual external inspection had been carried out with only minor issues needing to be addressed.  The clerk advised she had received a quote to replace the fencing panel on the basketball hoop/goal on the playing field. This was £5542.00.
    It was agreed that the options on what action to take would need to be discussed by the maintenance committee.
  1. To receive an update on the Platinum Jubilee Project and to approve posting the specification on the Government website for tenders.
    Cllr Smith reported that the public consultation held on 15th January had gone well with approximately 100 residents and children attending.  Those attending completed a questionnaire which gave some interesting results.  The 6.5m tower was the most popular, some pieces of equipment would be withdrawn and replaced with more swings especially for toddlers and a swing suitable for disabled children.  After some discussion Cllr Robinson made the following proposal:In the first instance to apply for planning permission on the 6.5m Giant XL and assess  this project once the result of the planning application has been received and hold a second public consultation.Proposed by Cllr Robinson, Seconded by Cllr Freeman and Resolved.
  1. Financial Matters
    a) To approve electronic and future invoice payments.
    Proposed by Cllr. Hailstone, Seconded by Cllr. Rees and Resolved to approve electronic and future payments.  The chairman signed the invoices.
    b) To approve the Precept for 2022/23 submitted by the finance committee.
    Cllr Rees raised concerns over the 10% increase on last year’s precept, believing this to be too much based on residents having to accept rises in other areas such as fuel costs.  Cllr Chown agreed with Cllr Rees but pointed out the finance committee are delegated to submit the information on behalf of the council. Cllr Robinson advised that the finance committee had gone through the figures and budget thoroughly and did not take the decision to submit the increase lightly. The precept requested would be £81164.38
    It was Proposed by Cllr Bevan, Seconded by Cllr Freeman to accept that the council will request a precept for 2022/23 of £81164.38.  Its was Resolved seven votes for and two votes against.  Cllrs Rees and Chown voted against.
  1.   To consider celebrations regarding the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
    The clerk reported a new carnival committee had been formed.  It would not hold a carnival this year but are looking to organise a celebration for the village for the jubilee.  It was agreed that the council would support this with offering the use of the pavilion and members of the council helping out wherever possible.