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
Approved minutes of the Finance, Legal Health & Safety Committee meeting held on Tuesday 25th March 5.30 pm at Shenstone Community library.
Note: This meeting was audio recorded for accuracy when compiling the minutes
1. Register of members in attendance
Cllrs Gail Nicholls (Chair) David Salter, Lesley Edgley, David Thompson, Simon Fisher, Phil Whitehouse, Allan Pugh, Shirley O’Mara (Clerk) Pam Salter (Minutes secretary) Chairman of Little Aston Village Hall
2. Acceptance of apologies.
None
3. Public participation:
The Chairman of Little Aston Village Hall (LAVH) attended the
meeting to provide further information on their Community Grant Fund application. The Chairman referred Councillors to the summary notes that had been sent out prior to the meeting.
He outlined the project including costings, funds already secured and progress to date. Cllr Thompson thanked him for his commendable and succinct explanation. Members then raised questions on several points. Clear statement of total gap-funding to finish the job? £20,000K Provider: PC Project management: The Chairman is project manager at no cost. It is his profession, and he has been responsible for many large-scale projects.
Risk factors from grant funders:
One at risk max £10,000 claw back.
The ‘bottom line’ figure requested from the Parish Council: £20,000. Previous PC funding was awarded to the project: there have been two previous grants of £5,000 & £10,000, respectively.
Request: to provide a single sheet of A4 summary
The Chairman of LAVH then left the meeting and Councillors considered the request at item 7
4. Declarations of interest.
None
5. To approve the Minutes of the last Finance, Legal Health & Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday Jan 28th, 2025.
Minutes were duly approved and signed.
6. Finance
The Clerk presented the Current financial position and transactions for approval as of Tues March 25th, 2025.
Nat West Current £904.30.
Unity bank £4,405.99.
Nat West reserve £8,679.56
Liquidity manager £113, 825.61
Two invoices from Tonks are to be paid as one was a late submission.
Funds for two honorariums. 26th March 2025
Funds moved from Nat West business reserve to Unity account to tide over until the Precept is paid.
Nearly all community grants are paid.
The legal expenses for SPFMC do not have to be reimbursed. The balance remaining will be paid by Friday.
7. Consideration and recommendation of any outstanding Community Grant applications:
–Little Aston Village Hall – Recommendation: following a lengthy discussion Members were minded (five approved with two abstentions) to award the 20K requested provided that a full breakdown spreadsheet is provided prior to the April Full Council meeting and with answers given to details on specific aspects.
Members are to email their questions to the Clerk no later than Friday at 5pm.
-Stonnall Scouts camp fees 2025: Cllr Edgely has been in touch to offer advice. There has been some indication of a breakdown in costs, but details and documentary evidence are still lacking. Resolution: carry forward to Full Council.
-Richard Cooper Room roof: There has been no progress made to resolve the issue of receiving quotes.
8. Little Aston Recreation Ground request an additional £ 15.00 per week for bin emptying.
Cllr Salter explained that the LDC collection vehicle was being driven round to collect from the bins and was causing damage to the grounds. Gary Brownridge had quoted an additional £630 pa for operators to walk round to empty the bins rather than driving.
Cllr Thompson proposed that the current amount of £1,500 paid to all three playing fields was no longer sufficient and should be increased.
Recommendation: the PC looks at increasing the grant for each playing field to £2,500 pa.
Vote: approved unanimously. The Clerk advised that a £15 per week payment would need to be billed directly to LARGA.
9. Shenstone Village Hall Defibrillator. To consider financial support for a replacement.
There are two opportunities for Grant funding for £750 each. The
Village Hall is dealing with this. Recommendation: The Committee are minded to support part funding
10 Bleed kits: To consider purchasing bleed kits for all villages for approx. £50.
Cllr Nicholls confirmed that there were already two bleed kits in Stonnall. Three free ones have been set aside for Shenstone PC. Discussion identified that, unlike defibrillators, there appeared to be no way for the public to locate them in an emergency, or the process of securing and accessing them.
Recommendation: further investigation on communication was needed
Vote: agreed unanimously
11 Commemorative benches:
to consider the purchase of 3 commemorative benches to mark the VE Day80 anniversary at a cost of £1,695 +VAT & delivery. Points raised in the discussion included whether there was the need for additional benches. If so the high cost of these particular benches would cover a greater quantity of lower priced benches. Also, if there was a positive vote, the choice of location should be offered to the public.
Recommendation: Not to purchase commemorative benches. Vote: approved unanimously.
12. Bins for Stonnall: purchase of 3 bins was considered, two at cost of £400+VAT and one at £700+VAT.
Cllr Whitehouse explained that there was an obvious need for
these bins as there had been multiple requests from residents during his Clinics for bins at that end of Stonnall. Of the three sites identified, two were vital and the third would be a useful asset to have.
Recommendations: to be reconsidered after clarification of the difference in costs, and photographs provided for Councillors of the proposed design. Cllr Whitehouse also suggested a site visit by LDC for their advice.
13 Earmarked funds: Cllr Thompson wished to clarify the process and procedures for the use of Earmarked Funds as approved at the March Full Council meeting.
He referred to the meeting’s previous discussions about LA Village Hall as an example to emphasise the requirement for very clear justification and reasoning of need for the use of CIL and Earmarked Funds for Neighbourhood Plan Projects, all of which should be accompanied by detailed and fully costed applications.
14 Streetlights funding: No progress has yet been made.
Recommendations: Research SCC Archives into dates and the criteria used for the original installation.
• A professional electrical engineer be contracted to complete an integrity test to ensure the lights are fit for purpose.
• A statement be provided of the annual costs for each light.
• A plan created for moving on.
Cllr Whitehouse recommended that residents should be engaged in discussions at an early stage
15 Shenstone Playing Fields-future management
The meeting considered the arguments for and against re-engaging a Trust versus taking back control by the Council.
Cllr Pugh asked if a committee was viable as he felt this would be preferable. Cllr Whitehouse felt that the concept did not fit with management by the PC and local democracy would suggest that a management committee was preferable. Cllr Salter felt that the complexities of the site would still require a management
committee within the PC.
It was pointed out that Shenstone PC currently has problems with playing fields in all three Wards. Should they all return to PC control, the PC could not function.
Cllr Thompson suggested two steps. Firstly the 1988 cohort needs to endorse the direction of travel. There has been zero response so far from existing bodies. Secondly, proceed to the AGM. The ability of the community to manage the playing fields must be tested. A newsletter bringing the community assets to the attention
of residents could be considered, hopefully, neutralising the effects from the emphasis on two main issues that were causing dissention.
There was no recommendation put forward.
15 Date of next meeting of the Finance, Legal, Health & Safety committee: Tues May 27th, 2025, at 5.30pm Shenstone Parish Office. The Chair closed the meeting at 7.58pm
