ALVELEY AND ROMSLEY PARISH COUNCIL
COUNCIL MEETING 8th October 2024
MINUTES OF MEETING
Present: Councillor Isley Jakeman (Chair) and Councillors Christine Brown, Richard 	Narburgh, James Taylor, Russ Dowson, Colin Taylor and Kieran Chambers
Also attending:  Steve Kerry Parish Clerk and one member of the public.
2024/25.64	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
	Apologies were received and noted from Councillors Ian Braithwaite and Sam Potter
2024/24.65	DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
	None.
2024/25.66	OPEN FORUM
	The Clerk reported a request from a potential developer for Cleckers Field who 	wants a meeting to brief councillors on their proposals. After discussion it was 	decided to offer 30th October and a provisional booking was made on that date.
	Noting the previous consideration of litter and poop bins for the Chapel Road area, it 	was noted that Shropshire Council would charge £180-00 for adding new bins to 	their collection rounds. This was acceptable and the Clerk will proceed to get quotes 	for the installations. 
	Regarding the threat of legal action over the state of the roads, it was noted that 	Shropshire have now carried out what looks like a permanent repair to the sink 	holes on the A442. It was agreed to wait another 14 days to see if there were any 	developments on the Chapel Lane defects and/or Cooks Cross car parking area.
2024/25.67	MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
	It was proposed by Councillor Brown, seconded by Councillor Narburgh and 	unanimously
	RESOLVED That the minutes of the meeting of 3rd September 2024 be agreed as an 	accurate record and signed accordingly by the Chair.
2024/25.68	FINANCIAL MATTERS
a)	Spend Against Budget
	The Clerk introduced a report on spending against various budget headings at the 	half way point of the year. It was possible to infer from this that the Council was 	likely to spend within its council tax and interest income and would not be making 	any major calls on reserves. It was noted that the budget had been rolled over from 	the year before this one and the structure and assumptions about spending need to 	be reviewed. The Clerk was asked to address this as part of this year's budget setting 	process. 
	The report was accepted. 
b)	Items of Expenditure in September 
	The report was noted with a query as to the HMRC direct debit which had not been 	activated. There had been a large payment in August and the Clerk would check if 	there was an October item to be added.
c)	CCLA Deposit Account
	The Clerk responded to questions raised from the last meeting about the 	implications of switching money from the current account to CCLA. CCLA had 	advised that we already had an instant access account, but we had never in fact 	activated that arrangement. The mandate is very out of date and the process of 	setting up the instant access could be used to bring that up to date now. There 	should be a second signatory to enable money to drawn from CCLA into the current 	account. It was agreed without a vote that Richard Narburgh would be the second 	signatory. After further discussion, it was agreed that when the arrangement with 	CCLA is in place we would hold a minimum balance of £60,000 in the current account 	and place the rest in the CCLA deposit account.
2024/25.69	PLANNING MATTERS
	Application 24/03694/FUL for 15 Bridge Road was received. Council had no 	objections.
2024/25.70	EXTERNAL AUDIT
	The Clerk reported that he had been in many conversations with the external auditor 	who appeared to be a very junior member of staff, who had now left the	 firm.It 	appeared that, despite following the instructions given when we were given 	approval to submit the accounts late, we would have a qualification noted as to how 	we had represented this in the AGAR. This was disappointing as it appeared to 	reflect confusion at pfk Littlejohn rather than non-compliance by the Council.
	The second query had been as to how the payment of temporary and locum staff 	had been accounted for. Neither the accountant who closed for us, nor the internal 	auditor, had any problem with how this was shown as a staffing cost, but the 	external auditor appeared to think some elements should have been shown as 	contracted or bought in services. On checking with other clerk/RFO's, the rule of 	thumb appears to be that if you are paying tax and NI you should always treat this as 	a staffing cost, if you are buying in a self-employed consultant you treat it as a 	contracted service. There are no anomalies in our accounts on this point so it was 	hoped that a more senior member of staff would decide this was in order. 
	There was no final report from the external auditor to present and this would roll 	over to the November meeting. 
2024/25.71	SHROPSHIRE COUNCILLOR'S REPORT
	Stickers for green bins have been delivered to show who has pre-paid for the 	service, but they are defective and  do not stick to bins. A new set will be delivered 	at the suppliers's cost. 
	In order to address their severe financial difficulties, Shropshire are going to sell and 	lease back their own car parks. This raises one off receipts but commits to ongoing 	expenditure for years to come and is not a very satisfactory solution, but it will stave 	off insolvency for a while. They have a major overspend this year and so far have not 	confirmed they can address it. There is a lot of blaming going on without much sign 	of a solution.
	There has been little progress on the highway issues we have raised, including those 	mentioned in our warning letter for possible legal action. In view of the extreme 	financial position it was likely there would not be much.
	We may get a request to help with the funding of the upkeep of National Cycling 	Route 45 along the Severn valley. SUSTRANS has confirmed it will not be able to 	fund this in future. Highley PC and others are working on a joint proposal to 	maintain the route. 
	The formal consultation on what parishes might take over has been withdrawn as it 	was proving too difficult. We are already doing our own verges and might consider 	in future years taking on gulley clearing. Some citizens already do areas near their 	own homes, we might take this on as a general parish duty. We can also look at 	cutting back the shruberry and hedges along footpaths to keep them clear and 	routine maintenance. 
	The bus shelter at Hampton Loade is just within the parish and needs a new coat of 	preservative. This won't get done by Shropshire and we have done it in the past. The 	Clerk will try and find someone to do it.
	We will need an update from NIck Potter on progress with the playground works as 	the annual report from Shropshire is due soon.
2024/25.72	ROMSLEY MATTERS
	It was noted that the road is breaking up from the Severn Trent works and this is 	causing localised flooding every time it rains. This is an ongoing issue.
2024/25.73	REMEMBRANCE AND ARMISTICE DAY OBSERVANCE
	Remembrance Day, Sunday 10th Novemebr, starts at the parish church at 10-30 am. 	It was confirmed that Councillor Colin Taylor is doing a reading and Councillors 	Jakeman, Brown and Chambers will be attending with the clerk.
	Armistice Day, the School have confimred they will send about 8-12 chlidren with 	staff and Councillor Colin Taylor will lay the wreath. The Rector will be 	presiding. 	Councillor Jakeman is securing the wreaths for both events. 
	Details will go into the parish magazine and on the noticeboard. The Cricket Club 	have been advised that 50 poppies have arrived, they have been asked to collect 	from the Clerk and put 	them up as per their offer, with some left over for Romsley. 	These should be up by 	1st November. 
2024/25.74	CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AND TREE
	The Clerk confirmed that LITE are happy to light a live tree and would be producing 	a revised quote as it is somewhat bigger than the trees we have bought. Ollie Lawley 	would be contacted about arranging power supply and a timer.
2024/25.75	CHRISTMAS TREE FESTIVAL
	Coucnillor Jakeman brought the invitation from St Mary's Church for the annual 	festival for themed trees around a favourite carol.  All lights must be battery 	powered, and either real or artificial trees can be used. Cllr Brown proposed, and it 	was agreed without a vote, we enter with the theme of the 12 Days of Christmas. 	The Clerk will lend his tree for the purpose and the display will be up from 28th 	November to 2nd December.
2024/25.76	SIX ASHES NOTICEBOARD
	The Clerk reported that this board has collapsed, its legs appeared to have rotted 	and broken off at ground level. It is poorly sited, in a  layby some distance from the 	pub with no bus stop so there is little likelihood that local people use it much. The 	spread of boards around the parish is more than sufficient, the board on the side of 	Tuck Hill village hall is less than a quarter of a mile away and is much better placed 	to serve that part of the parish. He therefore did not propose to replace the Six 	Ashes Board.
	This was agreed  and Councillor Dowson volunteered to pick up the board and 	dispose of it.
2024/25.77	COMMUNITY SAFETY ISSUES RAISED AT THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
	It was agreed to consider these at the January meeting. 
2024/25.78	DATES AND ITEMS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS
	30th October 2024 7.30 pm private meeting with Cleckers Field developers
	5th November Council
	26th November private meeting to discuss budget options
	3rd December Council
It was noted that the Play Area and Lighting Committees may need to meet shortly.
There being no further business the Chair declared the meeting closed.

Signed .........................................

Date ...................................