BRIZLINCOTE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
Minutes of Brizlincote Parish Council Meeting held at Violet Way Academy and Nursery on Thursday 21st February 2019
Present
Chairman, Councillor Colin Wileman, Vice Chairman, Councillor Robin Ludford-Brooks, Councillors Brian Judd, Bob Bidgood, Adrian Cowan, Sarah Moss, Barry Marsden, Peter Marston and Rita Page
Public
WPCSO Ingrid Smith (part), Borough Councillor Bernard Peters, County Councillor Conor Wileman and Clerk Barbara Roe
Public Session
WPCSO Ingrid Smith was shown two of the fingers from a post that had recently been vandalised again. She suggested that a special paint was used on the posts which the vandals would be unable to remove from their clothing. She also said they would start patrolling the area more
frequently.
Councillor Cowan asked if there had been any reports of drugs usage from Paulet? He reported finding foil and tablet foil in the area of the footpath near Leander Rise where school children congregated between 13.15 and 13.45. The WPCSO said nothing had been reported but she
would keep an eye open.
The WPCSO then reported on the latest crime figures for Brizlincote which were very low compared to Winshill. She had emailed this report to the Clerk who said she would circulate it to all the Councillors. Action: Clerk
Councillor Peters passed her an information sheet which was a ‘Guide to Lost Property – Where to report them’. He then passed this to the Clerk who said she would circulate a copy to everyone.
Action: Clerk
156/19 Apologies
Apologies had been received from Councillor Hyde and Councillor Campion.
157/19 Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
158/19 Minutes of previous Council Meeting (17th January 2019)
Approval of the Minutes (17th January 2019) was proposed by Councillor Judd, seconded by Councillor Marston and approved by all excepting Councillors Bidgood and Cowan who were absent from the last meeting.
159/19 Chairman’s Address
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and welcomed Councillor Rita Page, our new Councillor.
He said that, as Chairman, he had been proud to host the East Side Art Competition at the Brewhouse along with Councillor Rebecca Brady, the Chair of Stapenhill Parish Council.
He said a thank you to everyone who had helped and a special thank you to Councillor Campion for all her hard work.
He reported that more attacks of vandalism had been carried out on the finger posts along the Nature Walk but we should not be stopped by a few mindless individuals in our endeavour to create something that clearly everyone wants and is being well used.
160/19 Report by the County Councillor
County Councillor Conor Wileman said that he had attended a meeting with the County Council, which Councillor Peters had also attended, concerning a pedestrian crossing on Stapenhill Road.
He was pleased to report that agreement in principle had been given for a crossing between Spring Terrace Road and the Hollows. This would either be a Toucan Crossing or a Zebra crossing (which was far cheaper). A Zebra Crossing being installed was dependent on the traffic
speed and a survey was to be carried out on visibility and traffic speed. It was hoped that funds from the 106 on the Drakelow development could be used for this. He hoped to see plans in place by the end of the year and the crossing installed by the summer of 2020.
Councillor Marston asked what the costings were and Councillor Wileman said £65k-£70k for the lights and approximately £30k for the Zebra.
Councillor Wileman then said that the County Council had decided not to progress on the savings on school crossing wardens and the warden at Violet Way would remain.
He also reported that the drains on Stapenhill Road and the A444 were going to be cleaned, the work was scheduled for March.
161/19 Pedestrian Crossing
As reported by the County Councillor above.
162/19 Report by the Borough Councillors
Councillor Peters reported that vehicles were speeding coming up to the lights at the Grafton Road development.
Councillor Cowan asked Councillor Peters what had been done about the mud on Grafton Road from the development traffic which he had previously reported to him? Councillor Peters said he had asked the Planning Department and they needed to speak to the developers, but nothing had been done. Councillor Cowan asked if he could follow this up. Action: Councillor Peters
Councillor Peters reported that a trench had been dug out on Grafton Road and up Violet Way.
He had asked that this would be patched up in a decent way.
Councillor Colin Wileman said he had received an email from Councillor Cowan regarding a professional lettings sign which should not have been put up. Councillor Wileman said he had been assured this would be removed.
Councillor Cowan said there had been some black bags near Greenvale, he said he thought these had either been thrown over a hedge or dumped and he had reported this to the Environmental Department. The Chairman reported there were also some containers of cooking oil near Trevallyan. He believed Councillor Peters had reported these to the Environmental
Department and they were removed within a couple of hours.
163/19 Finance
Councillor Ludford-Brooks proposed all finance was paid, this was seconded by Councillor Marston and approved by all.
164/19 Election
Information had been received by the Clerk and circulated to all the Councillors, this was discussed in the meeting. It was agreed that the papers would be signed in the next meeting and taken to the Town Hall by the Clerk.
165/19 Nature Walk
Councillor Wileman said he had now received three quotations for a suggested Boardwalk. He was hoping we could apply to ESBC for half of the costs from Neighbourhood Funding. A further £1k each would be received from Councillor Peters, County Councillor Wileman and himself from their Councillor funds. Councillor Wileman suggested we ring fence £10k Parish funds towards the cost. Councillor Ludford-Brooks agreed he would like to get the funding to finish off the walk.
Councillor Cowan said he could understand where they were coming from but felt it was a lot of money and that the parishioners would like to see more speed control and temporary illuminated speed signs – he felt it would be appreciated. He suggested that the spending needed for the
boardwalk idea should be a formal motion quoting an amount on a future agenda.
County Councillor Wileman said he would like the Chairman to speak to the Grafton Road developers saying there should be some contribution.
166/19 Brizlincote Newsletter
The Councillors were asked to put forward ideas for the Newsletter. Suggestions so far are –
Introduction the new Councillors, Nature Trail, Pedestrian Crossing, Police notice, Winners and photos of the art competition along with a thank you to Councillor Campion, Brizlincote in Bloom.
Councillor Moss suggested we might like to mention she is a fully trained and registered case worker for SAFFA.
Councillor Cowan reminded the Clerk that she should be looking for quotes for printing the Newsletter. Action: Clerk.
167/19 Vouchers for the volunteers
The Clerk suggested that, as the volunteers had more to deliver last time, their ‘thank you’ vouchers should be increased to £30. This was proposed by Councillor Cowan, seconded by Councillor Judd and agreed by all. Action: Clerk
168/19 Art Competition
The Chairman reported that the day had gone very well, and the winners were all happy with their certificates and vouchers presented by the Mayor.
It was agreed that an article and pictures would appear in the Newsletter and this information would be sent to the Burton Mail but, as only three parents had signed their consent forms, we would have to wait until we had received the other three.
The Clerk reported that we had received 330 entries compared to 245 last year.
It was agreed that the rules would be changed next year allowing only one entry per child.
169/19 Neighbourhood Plan
Councillor Ludford-Brooks said they needed a further meeting to look at Development Orders as opposed to a Neighbourhood Plan. Four areas had been identified.
He reported that they had put their questions to Naomi Perry, Principal Planning Policy Officer at ESBC, but her response was vague and therefore unhelpful. She had given no clear answer to specific questions. He said they were a still a long way off from putting forward their plan.
170/19 Planning
The Clerk had received the following application:
P/2018/01612 – Erection of single storey side and rear extension – 27 Sefton Close, DE15 9BU
And Order Confirmed TPO 357 – 31 Stapenhill Road, DE15 9AE
Councillor Page agreed to take over Planning and the Clerk was asked to investigate training for her. Action: Clerk
171/19 Correspondence
The Clerk had received the following:
• An email from a resident in Marlborough Crescent expressing their concerns about the position of the grit bin recently placed there. The Clerk said she had replied to the resident stating the position of the grit bin was not important as the volunteers would disperse the
grit over all of the road and pavements in the Crescent, not just the vicinity of the bin.
Councillor Ludford-Brooks said that the tenants of the Grove were possibly leaving and suggested that, if the pub became empty, perhaps it could be considered for a community centre. Councillor Cowan suggested this should be a future agenda item for proper discussion.
• An email had been received from a resident thanking the Council for developing the Nature Walk.
• An email asking for sponsors for a charity golf day by Me & Dee, this would be circulated to all Councillors. Action: Clerk
• Councillor Judd had received a telephone call from a resident expressing their concerns about a license application to sell alcohol from the garage on Ashby Road. After extensive discussions amongst the Councillors, it was agreed that the Clerk would write to the
Licensing Committee expressing our concerns. Action: Clerk
172/19 Clerk and Members Report
Councillor Marsden said the grass verge on Spring Farm Road/Clay Street East is a mess and needs attention. The Chairman said he would check when it was due to be mown. Action: Chairman
Councillor Page asked if something could be done about the grass verge by the post office as she felt it looked ‘ugly’.
The meeting was closed at 21.07.
Distribution
All members of Brizlincote Parish Council, Borough and County Councillors as appropriate and the Burton Mail.