MINUTES – JULY 2026

Minutes of the Monthly Meeting of the Parish Council of Waterhouses.

Held on Thursday, July 16th 2026 at 7.30pm in the sports pavilion in Waterhouses.

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

Also present: Mr C Hinton, (Clerk);

Apologies: Cllr Carr; Cllr Powley; Cllr Turner; Cllr Wain

Minutes of the last meeting:
The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, June 18th 2026 were confirmed as being a true and accurate record and were duly endorsed by the Chairman. Proposed: Cllr Goldstraw; Seconded: Cllr Simpson

Matters arising:

Clerk’s report:
• The clerk shared information received that afternoon relating to the decision made by the Government as part of its Local Government Reorganisation program. This decision means that the Staffordshire Moorlands district will become a part of a new North Staffordshire unitary council, along with Newcastle-Under-Lyme and Stoke-On-Trent. The new council will be established by April 2028 and will have responsibility for delivering all council services including waste collections, children’s services, planning, adult social care and highways etc.
• The clerk had continued his pursuit of AEDdonate to arrange the inclusion of specified units under the SMDC scheme. The units at the Sports Pavilion and Waterfall Village Hall have been confirmed and the unit located at the Crown Inn is to be replaced with a new unit provided by Leek Building Society. The unit at Cauldon Church Hall remains unresolved and the clerk will continue to seek its inclusion and update.

Holcim Update:
• Cllr Simpson had reported recent issues regarding noise from the bulldozer on the site which had been dealt with by their Environment and Community Manager.

Pavilion:
• The signs for the control of parking will be installed on Saturday July 18th.

Sports Fields;
• The signs for the control of dogs, to prevent fouling, will also be installed on the same day.
• The ongoing heatwave has led to the cancellation of pre-season games until rainfall improves the surface.
• The meeting with Waterfall Football Club has yet to take place but will be arranged as soon as possible.
• An application to the Football Foundation, seek grant funding, will be made asap after that meeting.

Playing Fields:
• None

Grazing Fields;
• None

Allotments;
• All of the plots are now taken.

Flood Risk Team;
• Their plans are expected in the near future and will be shared with residents as soon as they are available.

Lengthsman:
• The work to be carried out by the lengthsman was discussed and will be reviewed further.

Correspondence Reviewed;
• Nothing significant over and above the LGR communications mentioned above.

Planning Matters;
• NP/SM/0626/0624 – Re: 40, Waterfall Lane, Waterhouses;
S73 Application for variation of condition 2 on NP/SM/0226/0138 – No objections were recorded

Financial Matters:
• The latest bank balance and a cash-flow forecast were shared.
• The Annual Return had been sent to the external auditor; the period of public inspection had commenced.
• The following cheques were then requested:
o Clerk; for his work & expenses in June; £691.09
o Caretaker; for his work & expenses in June; £72.00
o Lengthsman; for his work and expenses in June & July; £594.00
o Waterhouses Gardening Club; a donation; £100.00
o D Rhodes for work on the sports field; £2,856.00
o DW Banks for website fees and licences etc; £555.00
o HMRC; for payment of PAYE for clerk’s salary; £162.40
Payment of the above was approved en bloc; Proposed: Cllr Stone; Seconded: Cllr Goldstraw

Highway Matters:
• Recent work on Rocester Lane was noted. However, Green Lane, Pikelow Lane, Back Lane and Whitefields Lane remain in an unsatisfactory state. ‘Smaller’ issues, such as the pavement by the Crown Inn and the fallen wall by the cottage on the main road, near to Brown End Farm, still need to be resolved after years of inaction.
• The Cabinet Support Member for Highways is to be invited to revisit the parish again, at his earliest opportunity, to review all of the matters that were shared with him in February.
• New issues added: Cllr Goldsatraw reported a loose manhole cover near to the layby on the A523 on Crossland Moor.

Any other business:
• Assets within the parish need to be secured before the transition to the new unitary council is completed.
• Complaints have been received regarding unsociable levels of noise emanating from the gym located on the industrial area next to Parnhams. Cllr Harvey will make the owners aware of the concerns.

Date of the next meeting of the parish council: Thursday, August 20th at 7.30 pm in the pavilion.