HOAR CROSS PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 2^nd December 2024

at The Deer Park, Maker Lane, Hoar Cross

Present: Cllrs Mrs Smith, Mrs Baxter, Mrs Prince, Mrs Patterson, Cllr Marsden

               Borough Cllrs George and Gould, Miss E Goodwin (Parish Clerk)

Cllr Mrs Smith welcomed everyone to the Meeting.

• Public Participation

Nothing to report.

• Apologies

Apologies were received from Cllr Jones.

      3  Declarations of Interest

          There were no Declarations of Interest.

     4   Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Monday 23^rd September 2024

          The Minutes were agreed as a true representation of the Meeting, and were signed by

          Cllr Mrs Smith.

    5   Matters arising not covered on the Agenda

        Cllr Baxter is now administrator of the website; she would like to make it more friendly and

        manageable in the future.

    6  Planning – Cllr Mrs Baxter

There was a discussion regarding an annexe in the garden at Blacksmiths Cottage; Cllr Mrs Baxter will contact ESBC re planning/retrospective planning.  Cllr Gould asked to be copied in on any planning issues.

  7   Parish Councillors Reports

• Highways – Cllr Mrs Patterson reported that a number of potholes have been filled in, but

that they soon reappear.  Maker Lane was closed for five days as the potholes were filled

and the water drained away, but the drains are still blocked; the splashed water from the

potholes outside the Church is washing the mortar in the wall away.  A builder has met

Phil Murphy (manager of Hoar Cross Hall) and he has emailed County Cllr Jessell.  The blocked drain on School Hill has been reported, and the dangerous tree has been removed.

Cllr Mrs Smith will contact Cllr Jessell regarding a new ‘Maker Lane’ sign outside the Hall.

• Environment – Cllr Mrs Prince had nothing to report.
• Footpaths – Cllr Mrs Smith asked everyone to look out for any problems.

   8   County Councillor Jessel’s Report

        No report received.

    9  Borough Councillors Report

        Cllr George had attended the Business Network Meeting, and she has arranged to meet Canon

        Paul.

  10  PCSO Edwards/PCSO Siwek’s Report

         Auto reply from PCSO Edwards that he was on a rest day or annual leave on receipt of the email

         with the Agenda.

         With regard to the County Proactive and Rural Team, Cllr Gould suggested contacting Cllr Jessell

         for the contact information; the Clerk will follow this up.

  11  Parish Clerk’s Report

        The dates of the Meetings for 2025 have been confirmed with The Deer Park.

         Cllr Mrs Baxter and the Clerk had met Kim Squires: Kim was happy with the website; the working

         from home allowance is £6.00 a week; Kim felt that notices about the Annual Parish Meeting on

         the website, Facebook and the notice board should be enough to let people know about the

         Meeting; she suggested the Chairman be given a copy of the Clerk’s contract, and this was done;

         It is being recommended that Cllrs have ‘.gov.uk’ email addresses, and Cllr Mrs Baxter is

         attending a Zoom meeting on 3^rd December; Kim is working on a template to replace the cash book.

         The Clerk and Cllr Mrs Baxter are meeting Kim in April 2025.

  12  Finances

          It was resolved to make the following payments:

       Cllr Smith is waiting for the card reader.

       The Clerk was asked to ask Lynne Bott for a breakdown of her recent invoices.

13  Precept 2025-2026

     Cllr Mrs Smith and the Clerk had met to discuss the Budget; the amounts were further discussed,

     and it was agreed to increase the Precept to £6850.

14  Ratification of Policies

     It was agreed to ratify the Standing Orders, Publication Scheme, Media Policy, Risk Assessment

     and Data Protection Policy.  Cllr Marsden agreed to look at the New Financial Regulations, and these

     will be further discussed at the Meeting in March 2025.

15  Best Kept Village update – Cllr Mrs Smith

      Cllr Mrs Smith had attended the Presentation Evening where Hoar Cross had received a

      ‘Commended’ award.  Hoar Cross is now included in a group with a number of larger villages; after

       a discussion, it was decided not the enter the Competition in 2025, but to continue to have a

       working party to keep the village tidy and to have a ‘thank you supper’ afterwards.

       The Clerk was asked to contact Phil Murphy at the Hall to ask if he would like the opportunity

       to put a planter on the triangle opposite the Hall, and to maintain it.

16   Defibrillator

       Cllr Mrs Prince pointed out that there is not a defibrillator in Hoar Cross; Lesley is happy to have a

       defibrillator at The Deer Park and the Princes are happy to put money towards the cost.  Cllr Gould

       suggested contacting the British Heart Foundation.  Cllr Marsden pointed out that we would need to

       know what the cost of the electricity would be to run the defibrillator.  The Clerk will make some enquiries

       regarding a defibrillator.

17  VE Day Celebrations – Thursday 8^th May 2025

       It was decided that the Parish Council would not organise an event; Cllr Mrs Prince reported that there

       will not be an event at The Deer Park.

18  Land opposite The Meynell 

       Cllr Mrs Smith commented that the land is looking good, and not many people are parking there; it was

       agreed to place a tree trunk bench across the opening.

 19  HS2 Update

       The Clerk forwards any updates she receives.

 20  Correspondence

       NatWest bank are reducing the interest rate; the Clerk will contact the SPCA to reserve a cherry tree for

       planting in the Autumn of 2026.

 21  Members Points of Information

       Cllr Mrs Smith asked the County Cllrs about road signs regarding speeding traffic, and was advised there

       would need to be a traffic survey, knowledge of black spots and multiple casualties.  Newborough PC

       have recently raised funds for a Speed Indicator Device (SID), which was done through Highways.  Cllr

       Mrs Smith thanked the Cllrs for the information and for attending the Meeting.

 22  Dates of the next Meetings

       Monday 17^th March 2025, Annual Parish Council Meeting and Annual Parish Meeting Monday 19^th May,

       Monday 16^th June, Monday 15^th September and Monday 8^th December at The Deer Park, Maker Lane.

Signed by Chairperson

Name:   Cllr Mrs Smith

Signature:

Date: