MINUTES – MARCH 2026

Minutes of the meeting of the Parish Council of Waterhouses.
Meeting held on Thursday, March 19th 2026 at 7.30pm in the sports pavilion, Waterhouses.

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

Also present: Mr C Hinton, (Clerk);

Apologies: Cllr Goldstraw; Cllr Powley; Cllr Turner; Cllr Wain;

Minutes of the last meeting:
The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, February 19th 2026 were confirmed as being a true and accurate record, and were duly endorsed by the Chairman.
Proposed: Cllr Harvey; Seconded: Cllr McCarthy

Matters arising:

Clerk’s report:
• The Flood Risk Team had submitted a request for information from the council. As this request had only been received this morning, the council had no time in which to consider its contents but will respond as soon as possible.
• The Local PCSO has advised that a mobile speed control unit will be deployed in the parish in the near future. She is holding drop-in surgeries on several Saturday mornings in the coming weeks. The dates have been added to the website and notice boards.
• The clerk has contacted the relevant authorities to ask about additional bus shelters within the parish. They said that they had no funding available at the moment but may have more in 2027. In the meantime, they will look into their data on the usage of the bus stops in the parish to assess their ranking within the county, should such funding become available. Once this information is available, the clerk will share it with the council and the parishioners.

Holcim Update:
• Cllr Harvey had been advised that plastic debris had been found in fields in the area of Heath Barn which, it is suspected, will have come from lorries travelling to and from the cement works.
This will be reported to the Environment and Community Manager, ahead of the Liaison Meeting that will be held on March 26th. Cllr Goldstraw has confirmed that he will attend this meeting.

Pavilion:
• Connect Fibre had approved a grant of £500 towards the cost of a new notice board at the entrance to the pavilion. The council will now seek the match funding needed to buy this.
• The acquisition of a new projector screen was agreed to facilitate the use of the projector for meetings. This will improve efficiency and reduce printing costs.
Sports Fields;
• Dog- fouling – an email from Waterhouses Junior Football Club had been received asking that this on-going issue be resolved. The council agreed that in future, dogs should only be allowed onto the Sports Fields if they are on a lead. Signs will be installed at all entrances advising of this change. It is hoped this will prevent a potential complete ban being placed on dogs.
• Signage will also be installed to advise the conditions for authorised parking on the car park.

Playing Fields:
• The picnic table and extra matting will be installed in the near future.

Grazing Fields;
• The person who submitted the successful tender for the hire of the two fields was agreed and will be notified accordingly. Our land agent will be asked to raise the relevant documentation.

Allotments;
• The new tenancy agreements for the plots had been issued. Four plots remain available.
• Cllr Stone will attend the meeting of the Allotments Association which will held on March 26th

Lengthsman:
• The lengthsman is carrying out weekly safety inspections of the equipment in both play areas.

Correspondence Recently Received;
• Several letters relating to Local Government Reorganisation had been shared.
The last day for submissions by anyone wishing to comment is March 26th.

Planning Matters;
• The council received a status report of decisions recently made by the planning authorities.

Financial Matters:
• The latest bank balance and cash-flow forecast were shared.
• The year-end accounts will be discussed at the meeting in April.
• The internal auditor will be invited to audit these ahead of the submission of the Annual Return.
• The budgets for 2026/2027 will also be discussed during the meeting in April.
• The following cheques were then requested:
• Clerk; for his work & expenses in February; £526.29
• Caretaker; for his work & expenses in February; £77.00
• Lengthsman; for his work and expenses in January/February; £403.00
• JW Howson; for materials supplied; £71.28
• HMRC; for payment of PAYE for clerk’s salary; £124.80
Payment of the above was approved en bloc; Proposed: Cllr Simpson; Seconded: Cllr McCarthy

Highway Matters:
• Notification of an upgrade of Public Footpath No8, in Wetton Parish, to a bridleway was discussed. The council had no comments to make regarding this matter.
• Notifications relating to Public Footpath 104 had been received too late for consideration at this meeting. These will appear on the agenda of the meeting in April.
• Cllr Harvey reported an issue relating to the pavement near to the bus stop opposite Parnhams.

Any other business:
• The clerk advised that the parish council had now established a new website which conforms to recently revised standards. The clerk also has a new email address which also complies.
• The council was made aware of potential funding being available from the Moorlands Partnership Board under their Heritage Grants program. Councillors were invited to offer any suggestions of areas that may benefit.

Date of next meeting: Thursday, April 16th 2026 at 7.30 pm