MINUTES – JULY 2025

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

Present: Cllr McCarthy, (Vice); Cllr Carr; Cllr Goldstraw; Cllr Harvey; Cllr Turner; Cllr Wain;

Also present: Mr C Hinton, (Clerk); two parishioners; our new County Councillor; and a representative of Connect Fibre Ltd.

Apologies: Cllr Simpson; Cllr Stone;

Minutes of the last meeting:
• The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, June 12th 2025 were confirmed as being a true and accurate record and were duly endorsed by the Chairman.
Proposed: Cllr Goldstraw; Seconded: Cllr Turner

• Cllr McCarthy, acting as Chairman, postponed the meeting in order to welcome Mr Greg Powley as a new councillor. Having been interviewed by Cllrs Goldstraw & Stone on July 3rd, Mr Powley said that he was looking forward to contributing to the council and to the parish.
• The chairman then invited the representative from Connect Fibre to make a short presentation about the work being carried out in the parish to provide improved connectivity in our area.
• The chairman next invited the attendant parishioner to address the council. The reason for her visit was to voice concerns over the parking of vehicles on Waterfall Lane, near to the entrance of Manifold Close. This was cited as the cause of potential danger for drivers trying to exit the Close, along with damage to the verges. The problem results primarily due to visitors to the adjacent medical centre. The council advised that it had recently offered free parking for the staff of the medical centre, to free up more parking bays for visitors. This had not been taken up, but the council agreed to write to the medical centre to repeat the offer.
• The new County Councillor for our parish, Charlotte Kelly, was then welcomed by the council.
She was advised that it was hoped that she and the council would be able to establish a good working relationship in the future. The council suggested that the biggest barrier to the efficient use of her time was the inefficiency of the Highways Dept. The council explained to her its ongoing frustration with the system that is in place. This allows zero communication and hence total frustration in getting issues resolved in a moderate time period. If this situation was to be resolved, it was felt that her service to parish councils could be much more effective. Cllr Turner, criticised the lack of communications and the dysfunctional culture of the Highways Deptartment and asked the County Councillor to look into the contract that Amey have with the Highways Dept. He asked if this could be accessed through the Freedom of information Act. The council advised her that it had also invited the incoming cabinet member for highways to meet the parish council to discuss the aforesaid concerns.
• Cllr Turner went on to advise her about the concerns that the council has in relation to the management of issues between the Staffs County Council Planning Department and the Environment Agency, in relation to the local cement works. The council’s view is that local issues, raised by the council, seem to receive little effective response and are not appropriately considered by the authorities.
• The County Councillor listened to the comments and agreed to support the parish council in an effort to resolve its issues. The council thanked her for her attendance and offer of help.

Matters arising:

Clerk’s report:
• The clerk reported on the opening of the new play area on July 12th. This had been a pleasant event where Cllr Stone had thanked all of those who had supported the project.
The parish notice boards now contain notices advising of the opening of the facility and listing all those who had contributed. Details had also been sent to the Post & Times and the SMDC in the hope that they will report the event. Mrs Stone had kindly provided refreshments.
• The clerk reported that the insurance cover recently renewed did not adequately cover the value of the mowing equipment and a quote would be obtained to cover the gap in this cover.
Holcim Update:
• Cllr Goldstraw reported that he hopes to attend the next Liaison Meeting at the plant and that the Carbon Capture program was still being planned, as recently stated by HM Goverment.
• A parishioner had raised a complaint about lorries being parked on Earlsway, awaiting access to the cement works. These were causing a hazardous obstruction. The clerk had called the works and could not get through. A subsequent email had also not received a response.

Pavilion:
• The new waste skip provided by SMDC seems to be adequate at this point in time.

Sports Fields:
• The cost of a set of moveable goal posts, for use by local children, was around £2,000. Part funding for these may be available from the Football Foundation. However, it was felt that for now, the use of the existing sets, belonging to Waterhouses Juniors, was fulfilling the need.

Playing Fields:
• Prior to the opening of the new play area, Cllr Goldstraw had moved the excess turf and hard core to the entrance of the allotments.
• He now proposed that further safety matting be considered. The council agreed with this in principle and also to install a picnic bench & waste bins.
• Safety checks would commence in the near future and the council agreed to arrange the annual inspection of the original play area.

Grazing fields:
• It was agreed that a letter be sent by the council’s land agent, in relation to a garden gate which has been added to property which would allow access to the adjacent North Field. Such access is not authorised as it will allow incursion into a field used for grazing.

Allotments;
• The mid-year inspection of the plots had recently been carried out and tenants of those plots deemed to be in a state of neglect will be advised that they may not be invited to renew their agreements for 2026, unless significant improvement is seen by the end of October.
• A tree in the allotments field is reported to be leaning heavily. The Allotments Association had obtained a quote of £120 to have this cut down. Councillors will inspect the tree in the near future and report back on the matter.
• A small grant may be available to the Allotment Association. The association and the clerk will attempt to submit an application before the deadline which is July 18th.

Lengthsman;
• Various areas within the parish required strimming and the lengthsman would be advised which were to be done.

Correspondence Received;
• Letters relating to Local Government Reorganisation had been shared and in particular, details of the upcoming SMDC Cluster Meetings.
• Also, details about on-line sessions relating to The Transfer of Assets; Section 106 Funding; and various NALC courses were shared.
• A resident had contacted the clerk raising concerns over the large tree, in the embankment by Post Office Bridge. The clerk was asked to write to the land owner to seek rectification.

Planning Matters;
The council received a status report of decisions recently made by the planning authorities.
It then went on to discuss the following, recently notified application:
• SMD/2025/0331 – National Grid Electricity Distribution – Cauldon Cement Works –Construction of a new 33kV control and switchroom container, concrete access road and fencing located within the existing Cauldon Cement Works. No Objections were recorded.
Financial Matters:
• The latest bank balance and cash-flow forecast were shared, along with a summary of the results for the first quarter of the year.
• The following cheques were then requested:
• Clerk; for his work & expenses in June; £834.67
(this includes £90.00 for a new sign for the play area and the final payment to B&M Waste).
• Caretaker; for his work & expenses in June; £83.14
• Lengthsman; for his work and expenses in June & July; £772.00
• Broxap; for the balance of cost of installation of play equipment; £2,120.00
• Dave Rhodes for pitch treatment; 2,664.00
• Graham Watkins; for the valuation of Pavilion; £90.00
• DW Banks; for annual charges for website services and certificates etc; £475.00
• HMRC; for payment of PAYE for clerk’s salary; £154.80
Payment of the above was approved en bloc; Proposed by: Cllr Wain; Seconded: Cllr Turner

Highway Matters:
• The long-awaited work in Back Lane had recently been carried out. However, a section of approximately 2 metres had not been completed and would be reported.
• Bromley Edge Lane has road surface issues and an overhanging bush in a resident’s garden.
• The metal cover at the entrance to Broadhurst farm is getting worse.

Any other business:
• The council recorded its wish that Cllr Simpson will enjoy a speedy recovery following her recent road traffic accident.

Date of next meeting: Wednesday, August 13th 2025 at 7.30 pm