MINUTES – JUNE 2026

Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council of Waterhouses.

Held on Thursday, June 18th 2026 at 7.30pm in the sports pavilion in Waterhouses.

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

Also present: Mr C Hinton, (Clerk); one member of the public.

Apologies: None

The meeting was suspended to allow the member of the public to speak. The visitor advised the council of his proposal to apply for planning permission in relation to a section of land in Calton. The council advised that it could not consider this matter until a formal application had yet been made. Once the council receives the intended application, the matter can then be discussed at a later meeting, after being added to the agenda for that meeting, which will be shared with the public.

Minutes of the last meeting:
The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, May 21st 2026 were confirmed as being a true and accurate record of that meeting and were duly endorsed by the Chairman.
Proposed: Cllr Harvey; Seconded: Cllr Simpson

Matters arising:

Clerk’s report:
• Declarations of Acceptance of Office: The new Chairman and Vice Chairman completed their acceptances.
• Local Government Reorganisation: a Workshop for Local Engagement had been held online on June 11th by SMDC. This program is being rolled out across other similar clusters of councils. The feedback from these sessions should provide an image of what the collective moorlands councils would like to see, after the government completes its reorganisation. The chairman and clerk had participated in the meeting and a survey has since been made available for all councillors to submit their views regarding this matter.
The closing date for this survey is July 10th.
• Online banking: the clerk advised that the council had now gained access to online banking.
A structure for making payments digitally would need to be agreed in the near future so as to remove the need to issue cheques. The current list of authorised signatories needs to be reviewed and new signatories added.

Holcim Update:
• Cllr Goldstraw attended the meeting of the Liaison Committee, at the cement works, on June 4th
• The company had advised that redundancies, affecting around 10% of the workforce, were under review, due to the continued decline in sales. The site manager was no longer in his post.
• The works will shut down for one week, commencing July 7th to facilitate maintenance work.
• On-going concerns, relating to pollution were discussed including: dust; dirt; noise and plastic debris.
• The data relating to emissions from the stack was proving to be very difficult to interpret, by the local interest group and by the Environmental Authority.
• The noise monitoring system was costly and possibly not representing a cost-effective solution.
• The plans for the Peak Cluster Program and Solar Power were discussed. The possible siting of the plant needed for the former will delay decisions about the latter.
• The works may seek to extend the licence for the storage of clinker at Cauldon Quarry
• The roof of the building housing the electric substation is poor condition.

Pavilion:
• A new sign to control parking had been obtained and will be installed shortly.

Sports Fields;
• Signs to deter dog-fouling had also been obtained and will also be installed in the near future.
• The pitches had received vertidrain aeration treatment this week, plus the addition of new seeding.
• A meeting is to be arranged, with Waterfall Football Club, to agree their needs and the fees for the upcoming season. Cllr Carr will contact the club to arrange the meeting with WFC and councillors.
• An application to the Football Foundation will then be made, to seek grant funding for new goals; new line marking equipment; additional drainage; and a new storage shed, subject to the cost of the contribution needed from the council and the club, (for the goal posts), being agreed.

Playing Fields: None

Grazing Fields; None

Allotments;
• All of the plots are now taken. The council was reminded of the outstanding need to remove the leaning tree. More aggregate would be welcome for the track near to the entrance to the allotments.
Manure would also be useful for use on the plots.

Flood Risk Team:
• A meeting had been held with the team on June 15th at which their latest plans had been outlined to address the flooding of the area including the allotments, the play area and the track leading past the houses leading to Waterfall Lane. As soon as the Flood Team have received the sign-offs from the various parties involved, they will release the details to the council and share the information with the residents.
• The team also shared their plans to help to reduce the risk of flooding of properties near to the War Memorial. These will also be made available to the council and to the public in the near future.

Lengthsman: The work to be carried out by the lengthsman was discussed .

Correspondence Reviewed;
• SMDC – Call for sites in Staffordshire Moorlands – no sites were identified.
• Support Staffordshire – Use of pavilion for ‘Connect to Work’ meetings – pilot meetings were agreed.
• Letter from Waterhouses Garden Club – a grant for £100 was agreed.

Planning Matters;
• SMD/2026/0224; Elderberry Barn, Benty Grange Lane; Waterfall –
General Purpose Agricultural building to house livestock and implements.
• SMD/2025/0476; Bridge House, Ashbourne Road, Winkhill – Glamping Cabins
• No objections were recorded against either application

Financial Matters:
• The latest bank balance and a cash-flow forecast were shared.
• The year-end accounts had been received back from the auditor and the Annual Return was duly signed by the Chairman and the clerk, ahead of their submission to the external auditor and for public inspection.
• The following cheques were then requested:
• Clerk; for his work & expenses in May; £859.17 (includes the cost of new signage and a new printer).
• Caretaker; for his work & expenses in May; £114.00
• Lengthsman; for his work and expenses in May & June; £ 694.78
• JW Howson; for materials supplied £1.53
• Clear Insurance for annual premium – general; £1535.93
• Clear Insurance for annual premium – tractor; £309.52
• J.Buxton; for annual audit and PAYE admin; £401.40
• HMRC; for payment of PAYE for clerk’s salary; £148.40
Payment of the above was approved en bloc; Proposed: Cllr Goldstraw; Seconded: Cllr Simpson

Highway Matters:
• The clerk advised that he had recently spoken to the Cabinet Support Member for Highways to seek progress on all of the matters that were shared with him back February. An urgent review is being sought.
• Whilst there appeared to be quicker resolution of some smaller issues recently, the main issues such as Rocester Lane, Pikelow Lane, Green Lane; Back Lane and Whitefields Lane etc. still require urgent attention, as do some of the smaller issues such as the pavement by the Crown Inn and the fallen wall by the cottage by the main road near to Brown End Farm.
• New issues added was a loose manhole cover near to the chip shop and a partially unreadable sign at the entrance to the village.

Any other business:
• The clerk had spoken to the Staffs Moorlands Council Rural Regeneration Team, who had confirmed that a potential application from the council, for funding towards the cost of new notice boards for the parish would be appropriate for an application.
• The clerk will approach the Staffs Moorlands Council Partnership Board, to ask if funds might be available to protect the heritage-listed artefacts situated on the village green in Waterfall.
• The clerk is continuing to seek clarification from AEDdonate for their coverage of the nominated defibrillators in the parish.

Date of the next meeting of the parish council: Thursday, July 16th at 7.30 pm in the pavilion.