Heath Hayes & Wimblebury
Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting,
Held on Wednesday 4th April 2012.
Heath Hayes Library, Hednesford Road, Heath Hayes.
Present;
Cllrs J. Bernard, (Chair), D. Baker, Vyv Baker, A. Bernard, J. Beddows, B. Bottomer,
L. Bullock, A. Dean, D. Todd, R. Todd, A. Spicer & M. Sutherland.
In Attendance;
Mr Craig Woods and one other resident.
Mr Ray Smythe, Clerk.
Chair’s Announcements and Public Participation.
There were no matters arising.
1. Apologies.
The meeting began at 7.30pm.
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr Val Baker.
Resolved:
· To accept the apologies.
2. Declarations of Interest.
2.1 Cllrs J. Bernard, D. Todd and R. Todd.
Item 5.1 – Members of Cannock Chase District Council Planning Control Committee.
2.2 Cllr L. Bullock.
Item 8.4 District Council Street Cleaning Arrangements. (Employer in same field).
Item 10.2 Business of the Year. (Relative employed at store).
Item 11. Burntwood Town Council. (Relative Member of Town Council).
Resolved:
· To note the declarations.
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3. To Approve the Minutes of the Meeting on 7th March 2012.
Approval of the minutes was proposed, seconded and agreed.
Resolved:
· To approve the minutes of the meeting.
4. Matters Arising from the Minutes.
There were no matters arising.
5. Clerks Report.
The Clerk’s Report was noted and accepted with the following additional comments.
5.1 Council.
(Item 9.3) It was agreed to send a letter to the outgoing Chief Executive Officer of the Staffordshire Parish Councils’ Association, Mrs Viv Evans, to thank her for her service and assistance to the Council over the last five years.
Resolved:
· To write to the SPCA.
5.2 Heath Hayes Cabin.
There had been a meeting of the Management Committee and the minutes would be circulated.
Resolved:
· To circulate the minutes.
5.3 Hayes Green Community Centre.
There had been a meeting of the Management Committee and the minutes would be circulated.
It was hoped that Cllr A. Bernard and the Clerk would attend a meeting on 30th April with the District Council to investigate options with the lease for the Centre.
Resolved:
· To circulate the minutes.
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6. Report of Meetings.
There were no reports.
7. Consideration of draft policy of “Public attendance and participation in Council meetings.
An initial draft policy document was circulated and discussed. It was explained that the aim of the document was to welcome members of the public to meetings and to inform them of the procedure, should they wish to raise any issues during the Public Participation session before the Council meeting.
The general layout was accepted. It was thought that the list of Councillors on the back page might be better in alphabetical order, rather than in their electoral wards.
It was proposed, seconded and agreed to adopt the draft policy.
Resolved:
· To adopt the policy.
8. Best Kept Village.
8.1 Current position and developments.
It was reported that issues affecting the application, such as the condition of the BT phone kiosks and the bus shelters were being monitored and it was hoped to arrange for any remedial work to be undertaken prior to the judging.
8.2 Litterpick – 7th April.
The Council had accepted an offer from Mr. C. Miller to arrange a litterpick on Saturday 7th April between 10am to 4pm. Volunteers were invited to meet outside the Hayes Green Community Centre at 10am and would be supplied with the appropriate equipment.
8.3 BT Kiosks in the area.
The redundant kiosk in Melbourne Road, Heath Hayes, had not yet been removed. Repairs had been requested for the kiosks in Hednesford Road and Heath Way, Heath Hayes.
8.4 District Council street cleaning arrangements.
The current arrangements for the street cleaning had been detailed in the Clerk’s Report.
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9. Health Issues in the area.
9.1 The closure of Dr Singh’s Surgery in Heath Hayes – Current position.
The Council had received a letter from the Primary Care Trust stating that the closure would go ahead on 1st May. The Council discussed the matter at length and it was agreed that the need for adequate GP provision should be stressed at every opportunity. The Council was aware of the arguments about local practices being available outside the area, but strongly felt that there should be sufficient GP provision in Heath Hayes and Wimblebury to allow residents to visit a GP without leaving the area.
It was agreed to write to the PCT and to Dr Gupta (Heath Hayes Health Centre) to ask that additional GP provision should be considered.
Resolved:
· To write to the PCT and Dr Gupta.
9.2 The temporary closure of the Accident & Emergency Department of Stafford Hospital – Current position.
It was reported that the overnight opening of the Accident and Emergency Department would resume on 11th June. This was dependent upon the appointment and training of staff.
It was agreed to write to Mrs Lynn Hill-Tout from the Mid-Staffs NHS Foundation Trust to reiterate the support of the Council for the resumption of overnight provision and to hope that this would be on 11th June. It was also agreed to ask if she had any plans to attend any community meetings in the area.
Resolved:
· To write to Mrs Lynn Hill-Tout.
10. Consideration of nominations for awards of Certificates.
10.1 Citizen of the Year 2012.
Mr David Jillings had been the Chief Instructor for the Chase Wado Kai karate club, based at Five Ways School, Heath Hayes. For 16 years he had been training local youths and providing an interesting and rewarding activity. The club had been incredibly successful in competitions, at regional, national and international level and have consistently won medals.
The Council was very pleased and proud to have the club in the area and it was unanimously agreed he was the Citizen of the Year 2012.
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Resolved:
· To award the certificate to David Jillings.
10.2 Business of the Year 2012.
It was agreed to give the Business of the Year Award for 2012 to Newlife.
Based in the area since 1995, Newlife was a charity that raised money by recycling clothes and articles donated by companies. These articles were sold on to members of the public and the money generated were donated to the Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children to fund medical research, to purchase equipment and to make grants to families.
Resolved:
· Business of the Year 2012 – The Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children.
It was hoped to present the awards at the Annual Parish Meeting on 9th May.
11. Consideration of request from Burntwood Town Council for a grant towards the Jubilee Festival (formerly Burntwood Wakes).
The Council considered a request from Burntwood Town Council for financial assistance towards the costs of the Jubilee Festival. The matter was discussed at length and whilst accepting that the event was attended by residents from all around the area, as a matter of principle, it was felt that the invitation should not be accepted.
It was agreed that should a grant be made to one Council, then an unfortunate precedent would be set and would likely promote further requests from other Councils for their events. It was agreed to write to Burntwood Council and politely decline the invitation to make a donation.
Resolved:
· To write to Burntwood Council.
12. Audit of Accounts for 2011/12 Financial Year. To consider approval of;
12.1 Accounts for 2011/12.
12.2 Bank Reconciliation.
12.3 Statement of Variance.
12.4 Annual Return.
12.5 Annual Governance Statement.
12.6 Annual Internal Audit Report.
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The above documents had been circulated to all Councillors prior to the meeting. It was proposed, seconded to agree and approve the above. The Clerk was thanked for the preparation and presentation of the reports and accounts.
Resolved:
· To approve the accounts and reports as above.
13. Correspondence;
13.1 Incoming.
The list of incoming was noted.
13.2 Outgoing.
The list of outgoing post, numbered 64 to 85/12 was noted.
15. Accounts for Payment.
Authorisation of the payments listed in Appendix A, totalling £9,153.76, was proposed by Cllr B. Bottomer, seconded by Cllr R. Todd and agreed. Income of £34,475.18 (£34,475 Precept and £0.18p interest) was noted.
Resolved:
· To authorise the payments listed in Appendix A.
16. Items for Information and Future Agendas.
There were no matters raised.
17. Date of Next Meeting.
The date was agreed as Wednesday 9th May 2012 (Annual Parish Meeting and the Annual General Meeting). These meeting would be held at the Hayes Green Community Centre. Cllr J. Bernard declared the meeting closed at 8.10pm. He thanked those present for their attendance.
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