SHENSTONE PARISH COUNCIL
Serving Little Aston, Shenstone, Stonnall, Shenstone Wood End, Lynn, Parish Council Office 25C Main Street Shenstone WS14 OLZ
Tel: 01543 481 947
e-mail: <admin@shenstonepc.pcwpreview.co.uk >
web: www.shenstone-staffs.gov.uk
Meeting held in the Richard Cooper Rooms at 6.00pm.
1 Register of members in attendance & apologies for absence.
Attendees: Cllr David Salter, Cllr Simon Fisher, Cllr Phil Whitehouse, Cllr David Thompson. Shirley O’Mara (Clerk). Diya Panesar, Pam Salter,
Members of community groups:
Sheila Beilby, Malcolm Bielby, Keith Goldsworthy, Richard Paxton, Peter Sutton, Mary Jones, Val Rowe, Brenda Grey, Adrian Floyd
Acceptance of apologies.
Rev Jonathan Iddon. Cllr Louise Hawes. Cllr Alan Pugh.
2 Welcome and introduction by Cllr David Salter
Cllr Salter welcomed everyone to the 2025 Annual Parish Meeting.
3 To approve & adopt the minutes of the 2024/25 Annual Parish Meeting.
Approved & adopted.
4 Cllr Salter read the Chairmans Report
Reviews of the Neighbourhood Plans for Shenstone, Little Aston and Stonnall:
The plans for Shenstone and Little Aston are at the Regulation 16 stage which means they are with the independent inspectors who have been appointed to scrutinise responses to the proposals.
There is no need for a public enquiry or referendum and residents will be invited at the end of the Summer to identify which of the proposals in the plans matter most to them.
Stonnall Neighbourhood Plan is progressing very well, and our planning consultants are in the middle of writing consultation, basic conditions and modification statements. They are just a few weeks away from presenting to Lichfield District Council.
A lot of hard work has gone into both plans and the Councils thanks are extended particularly to Cllrs Thompson & Whitehouse for leading.
Planning
Yet again our existing Neighbourhood Plan has proved invaluable where planning applications, which are in breach of it, have been refused by District Council. Often these are on issues of cramming or proposals which are in the Conservation area.
Renewable Heating Project
Lichfield District Council and Shenstone Parish Council have commissioned decarbonisation experts HI Group to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study into the viability of a heat network for Shenstone. The study will assess the potential for an ambient loop network that would tap into the aquifer beneath Shenstone to harness natural ambient heat.
The Shenstone Heat Network outline business case is now nearing completion, and all Shenstone residents are invited to have the conclusions explained during the afternoon and evening of Wednesday 16th July here in the Richard Cooper Room.
Do come along if you are interested.
Traffic and speeding
This remains possibly the main area of concern for residents across all Wards and efforts continue to address some of these issues. The Neighbourhood Plan refreshes include proposals which Council are hopeful will come to fruition.
SCAR in Stonnall have had significant success with their campaign particularly focused on the Birch Lane/Chester Rd/Lazy Hill Rd junction with improved signage and a reduction in speed limit from 50 to 45mph in one of the most dangerous sections of the road.
“Shenstone against Speeding” is a newly established speed watch group in Shenstone who are working closely with our MP Sarah Edwards . They have made recommendations including making the village 20mph, including visibility and signage and focusing on safety, particularly around schools and busy junctions. Sarah is looking at some quick fix solutions as well as longer term strategies.
Community Grants
This year has seen one of the largest ever grants given to a community facility which is £20,000 to Little Aston Village Hall to complete its extensive extension & refurbishment project. This is a very well used facility that is essential for the residents of Little Aston who will all benefit hugely from the new space. The plans are here on display if you would like to take a look.
Other grants given this year include Friends of Shenstone Tower, Little Aston Tennis Club, Stonnall Brownies, Shenstone Brunch Club and Shenstone Village Hall amongst others.
Lengthsmen
By far our most popular initiative, our Lengthsman scheme goes from strength to strength with Nigel & Gerry adding all the time to their long list of duties with extra jobs coming in thick and fast. We could certainly use them every day of the week if we could afford to! Feedback from residents is always positive and they deserve the praise, working very hard in all weathers to help keep our villages neat and tidy.
Playing Fields
All three of our playing fields have recently benefited from an increased maintenance grant which is an annual award of now £2,500, an increase of £1,000 per annum. I will read a report on Little Aston Recreation Ground in my capacity as Chair of LARGA shortly & you will also hear from Cllr Phil Whitehouse representing Stonnall Playing Fields & Cllr David Thompson representing Shenstone.
Communication
Our 3 times yearly newsletters are now so large they barely fit through the post box. From one A4 sheet of paper when they started, they are now several pages of photos, Parish headlines, community news and events. A summer edition is currently being prepared to go out at the end of July.
Of course, our website is our other main form of sharing information, and it is here that you will find all the details about the Council, contact information, meeting dates and times and of course minutes of meetings. Such is the commitment to sharing information and transparency, the time and funds allocated to the website has doubled in recent years. Our thanks go to Keith Jones who is our Website Administrator, and I’m told responds as fast as Usain Bolt when the Clerk asks him to add something!
Changes to Council Members:
Unfortunately, like many Councils nationwide, the Parish Council has seen some members leave after only a short time with us and there is a problem with recruitment. We have been working hard, particularly in our recent recruitment drive, to highlight to interested individuals exactly what a Parish Councillor does and what commitment the role requires. Last year we were joined by Cllrs Alan Pugh and Louise Hawes with Cllr Chris Jones joining us earlier this year. Two new Councillors will be appointed hopefully following interviews next week.
At this point the Council would like to offer the warmest congratulations to our former colleague Val Neale who was a Councillor in Stonnall for over 30 years. She was last week awarded the British Empire Medal as part of His Majesty the Kings birthday honours. An award richly deserved.
Office hours: The Parish office has new opening hours with the Clerk working from home Mondays and the office open Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday mornings until lunch time but closed to the public in the afternoon. Of course, meetings outside these times can be arranged by appointment but the protected working time is required as the administration load is so high.
Events & volunteers: Shenstone Christmas Market ran again very successfully in 2024 but sadly will not run again this year unless volunteers come forward to run it. Previous organisers are standing down so looking for interest from anyone keen to take the baton.
Help is also required by the Parish with our important Remembrance Sunday event. The Parish Clerk has been leading for the last year or so & is happy to still do but could use some assistance if anyone is interested from extra traffic Marshalls to distributing orders of service. Please contact Shirley if you would like to help.
Stonnall Playing Fields Committee are also looking for new members to join them and help keep the important asset going forward. Please contact Cllr Phil Whitehouse if you interested.
5 Shenstone Parish Council Financial Report 2024/25
Current Financial Position: Nat west current account £904.30
Nat West Business Reserve £8,709.47. Nat West Liquidity Account ring fenced funds £114,571.05. Unity Bank £124,741.35
A transfer of £30,000 from the Nat West Liquidity fund to the Business Reserve account is pending.
Ring fenced funds are for ear marked projects which will come directly from the Neighbourhood Plan refreshes.
The Clerk reiterated that all finance details & minutes are published on the website.
6 District and County Council reports 2023/24
There were no reports from County.
Cllr Whitehouse for Lichfield District Council explained that whilst a lot of the work is very centric to Lichfield itself, he tries to share information relevant to the rural areas. He is currently spending a lot of time looking at the many planning applications which come in, particularly from Little Aston.
Cllr Salter for Lichfield District Council explained that the biggest topic is the local Government reorganisation which will see the County & District levels of government disappear to form a unitary authority. How it will all work is still being explored but there will inevitably be a significant impact on Parish Councils.
7 Matters raised by residents- Open Forum:
None
8 To receive reports from Community Organisations.
The following reports were read (attached)
Stonnall Conservation Society
Shenstone Playing Fields Management Committee
Shenstone Village Hall Management Committee
Little Aston Recreation Ground
Stonnall & Lynn Playing Fields Association
Trinity Methodist Church
Little Aston Village Hall
St.Peters Hub
Shenstone Community Library
Shenstone Tennis Club
Friends of Shenstone Station 1884
Diamond Jubilee Allotments
Friday Friends
9 Vote of thanks to all participants.
Cllr Salter thanked everyone for taking part and hoped they had found the evening informative & enjoyable. He invited everyone to enjoy the refreshments and view the information boards which had been produced by our work experience student, Diya Panesar.
10 Closure of meeting.
Meeting closed at 7.25pm.