MINUTES – APRIL 2025

Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council of Waterhouses.
Meeting held on Thursday, April 17th 2025 at 7.30pm in the sports pavilion, Waterhouses.

Present: Cllr Turner, (Chair); Cllr Stone, (Vice); Cllr Goldstraw; Cllr Harvey; Cllr McCarthy;
Cllr Simpson; Cllr Wain;

Also present: Mr C Hinton, (Clerk);

1. Apologies: Cllr Carr;

2. Minutes of the last meeting:
The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, March 20th 2025 were confirmed as being a true and accurate record and were duly endorsed by the Chairman.
Proposed: Cllr McCarthy; Seconded: Cllr Simpson

3. Matters arising:

Clerk’s report:
The clerk confirmed that he now had the information needed to seek a councillor to replace Mr Stanmore, following his recent resignation, and will commence the process as soon as possible.

Holcim Update:
Cllr. Goldstraw advised that the plant had now reopened, following its recent shutdown.
Cllr. Simpson reported that the bulldozer was operating noisily again.
Two planning applications, relating to the works and the quarry, will considered in this meeting.

Pavilion:
The new gates have been installed at the entrance to the area, with a small amount of work still needing to be completed. These gates include an easily accessible pedestrian gate.
A small grant from Staffs County Council towards the cost of the gates will now be claimed.
The pavilion will be used as a polling station on May 1st.
A booking has also been received for an arts event to take place on April 26th.
The clerk was still gathering quotes for waste services.

Sports Fields:
The claim for the grant from the Football Foundation, for the ongoing financial support of the pitch improvement program is nearing completion.

Playing Fields:
The bow-top fencing around the new play area has been installed, along with an additional pedestrian gate. The work needed to relay the surface will be carried out as soon as possible. Once the surface has recovered, a date for the opening of the facility can be agreed and shared.
The original play area is still set to receive attention, once feedback has been received in relation to the flooding of the area.

Grazing Fields;
The fees for the licence for both fields have been forwarded by the land agent.

Allotments;
All fees have now been received. There are now three persons on the waiting list.
The Allotment Association have asked for guidance regarding insurance cover for its activities.
A tree which is leaning towards one of the plots requires attention. The grass cuttings from the bowling green need transporting to the allotments but the bags are too heavy to be easily moved.

Lengthsman; A schedule of tasks for the lengthsman was agreed for the coming months.

4. Correspondence Received;
• Staffs Moorlands District Council – Notice of Election of County Councillors.
• A request for a donation from the Waterhouses Garden Club was discussed.
The council agreed that a donation of £100 should be made to help fund plants.

5. Planning Matters;
The council received a report of decisions recently made by the planning authorities and went on to discuss the following, recently notified applications:
• SCC/25/0013/VOC-ES – Application to not comply with (to vary) conditions 1, 8, 9, 19, 22 of planning permission SM.19/10/111 MW to revise the feedstock mix from the permitted 68% solid and 32% liquid to 100% solid fuel; and, ancillary development to facilitate the importation and storage of wholly solid fuels at Cauldon Cement Plant, Earslway, Waterhouses, Staffordshire, ST10 3EQ.
Due to ongoing concerns regarding litter emanating from the conveyor carrying materials to the plant, the council agreed to object to this application, until such time as it can be assured that such pollution will cease, especially in view of the revised mix of products that would be transported, should this application be granted.
• SCC/25/0005/DA – Temporary relocation of clinker storage in accordance with condition 9 (b) of IDO/SM/6 at Cauldon Quarry, ST10 3EQ. The council had no objections to this.

6. Financial Matters:
The latest bank balance and a financial overview were discussed, including a cash-flow forecast showing the most significant movements expected over the coming months.
The draft accounts for the year just ended and the budget for the year ahead, show that the net effect of the investments recently made is that the cash held by the council, at the end of 2025/2026 is likely to be around £7,000 less than at the start of 2024/2025.
However, the parish’s assets will have increased by approx £70,000 during that same period.
This has largely been made possible due to the grant funding gained from Staffs Moorlands District Council and the Football Foundation.
The council will seek to replenish its reserves in the future but remains fully able to meet its commitments, whilst improving the amenities of the parish.
The following cheques were requested:
• Cheques were then requested for the following:
• Clerk; for his work & expenses in March; £565.69
• Caretaker; for his work & expenses in March; £84.00
• Lengthsman; for his work and expenses in March and April; £267.50
• Broxap; for the installation of the new play area equipment; £10,000.00
• HMRC; for payment of PAYE for clerk’s salary; £136.80
• SPCA; for our annual subscription; £318.73
Payment of the above en bloc proposed by: Cllr Goldstraw; Seconded: Cllr Wain

7. Highways:
• The clerk intends to share a new spreadsheet with the councillors to asses those items which have been reported but which remain unresolved. He will then revisit these, using the new portal, as instructed by the Highways Dept. He will then pursue the meeting requested with the Highways Inspector to discuss these.

8. Any other business:
• The Flood Risk Team is planning a Community Workshop in the near future, to share their plans to improve matters. The parish council will seek to involve all those affected.
• The council will write to retiring County Councillor Gill Heath to thank her for her support

9. Date of next meeting: Thursday, May 15th 2025 at 7.30 pm; to be preceded by the Annual Parish Meeting starting at 7.00pm.