746 ADOPTED at Full Council On 21 January 2021 MINUTES OF THE WYTHALL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2020, 19:30 HRS VIA ZOOM CONFERENCING PRESENT: Cllr. Dianne Taylor Council Chairperson. Cllr. Helen Cleaver Cllr. Kathryn Kingston Cllr. Linda Wright Cllr. John Blewitt Cllr. Ken Footman Cllr. Keith Yates Cllr. Sarah Hession Cllr. Omar Ahmed Cllr. Sue Baxter Cllr. Kathryn Powell Cllr. Les Turner Cllr. Margaret Dempsey Cllr. Charles Hotham ALSO, PRESENT: Ms. Naazlin Somani Parish Clerk PUBLIC OPEN FORUM: Prior to the commencement of the meeting there was opportunity for a fifteen-minute period for public question time. This period was not part of the formal meeting and does not form part of the minutes themselves. There were no members of the public present at the meeting and no items raised during the public open forum. 1. APOLOGIES Apologies were received from Councillors Philip Rattigan, Stephen Peters and Geoff Denaro, these were accepted by all Councillors present. 2. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS 2.1. Noted, Councillors were reminded of the need to update their Register of Interests, if required. 2.2. There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests. 2.3. There were no declarations of other interests. 2.4. No written requests for dispensation were presented for consideration. 747 ADOPTED at Full Council On 21 January 2021 3. COUNTY COUNCILLOR REPORTS Received a verbal report from Councillors Charlie Hotham and Adam Kent. 4. DISTRICT COUNCILLOR REPORTS District Councillors Sue Baxter and Sarah Hession provided updates on local activity. 5. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING RESOLVED, minutes of the meeting held on 15 October 2020 were received and approved as a correct and accurate record subject to the amendment confirming Councillor Les Turners attendance. 6. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES Received a report detailing an update on actions arising from the previous meeting. The update included: 2021-22 Budget Setting The 2021-22 budget setting was underway. At the last meeting Councillors were asked to forward suggestions for projects for the next financial year. No suggestions had been received. Suggestions should be forwarded to the Clerk. Chairman's Award Letters and Certificate of Recognition Letters and a certificate of appreciation were sent to all the businesses nominated. These included, Select and Save, Ambleside, Honours Butchers, Wythall Pharmacy, Hollywood Pharmacy, Hollywood Newsagents and Jet petrol station. Cleaning of Allotment Toilet The quote for cleaning the allotment toilet was £350.00 plus VAT additional quotes were being obtained. Catshill and North Marlbrook Neighbourhood Plan A response had been sent advising that the Parish Council supported the plan. Truemans Heath 40mph Speed Limit A response had been sent advising that the Parish Council supported the introduction of a 40mph speed limit on Truemans Heath Lane. Trading Application at Drakes Cross A response had been sent advising that the Parish Council supported the street trading application. Citizens Advice Bureau Grant The Citizens Advice Bureau had been informed that they were being awarded a grant of £500.00. The award had been added to the November payment schedule. Meadow Green School - Governor Vacancy Meadow Green School had been informed that Councillor Blewitt would join the schools board of Governors. Councillors Chairmanship Training Councillors had been sent an email regarding the completion of the Chairmanship training, if Councillors required any support, they were advised to contact the office. 748 ADOPTED at Full Council On 21 January 2021 Adoption of Phoenix Island The Council had been advised, if they wished to adopt Phoenix Island, a letter should be sent making the request to Councillor Kent copied to Highways. 7. COUNCIL PROJECTS Received a report providing an update on ongoing Council projects. The updated included: Covid-19 & Support in the Community The office was currently closed to comply with the current lockdown in place and staff were working from home. Notices had been placed in the office windows to let people know of the closure and with details on how they could contact staff. A message was also posted on the Councils social media page. The phone for COVID support continued to be monitored by staff. There was a reduced number of calls. Parish Council Website A lot of work had been done on the site since the demo given to Councillors. The launch date for the site was Monday 23 November 2020. The old site would be removed and the current domain (www.wythall-parish-council.org.uk) would redirect to the new site/domain. The new site had a Councillor blog post page - Councillors who undertook activities in the parish, in their role as Councillor, could forward short articles to the office and these would be uploaded on to the website. Christmas Lights @ Gorsey Lotts and the light switch on The Parish Council Christmas Lights installation was due to commence on Friday 20 November 2020. It was expected that the lights would be switched on shortly after that date. Contact had been made with Bromsgrove District Council who were working on a project to make a video of all Christmas Lights in the District - Gorsey Lotts would appear in the video. Staff were also looking to do a short video for the for the website and social media. Parish Council Christmas Card The Parish Council Christmas card would go to print week commencing 23 November 2020 with the printed cards being delivered a few days later. Cards would be signed by the Chair. Councillors would then be asked to deliver the volunteer cards closest to them, as discussed at the previous Council meeting. Parish Council Christmas Light Competition 2020 The poster for the 2020 Christmas Light Competition had been produced and would be publicised following the launch of the Council website. A copy of the poster was circulated, for information. Copies had been prepared for the noticeboards and a message would be released on social media and an article published on the Council website. 749 ADOPTED at Full Council On 21 January 2021 Councillors who were responsible for noticeboards had been contacted and reminded to collect their poster. Memory Café and collaborative working with the Churches A meeting took place with the Churches on the 11 November 2020 to discuss how the Parish Council and Churches could work together, extending the bi-weekly packages provided to vulnerable residents who would usually attend the Memory Café and those supported by the Churches. At the meeting it was decided that a poster would be created to publicise how people who were in need of support could access help. A copy was circulated, for information. Wildlife Meadow Verges Meadow verges had been prepared and the seeds had been sown. There was a request on the agenda to purchase signs to ask people not to walk on verges and pick the flowers when they bloom. The seeded locations were: > Corner of Station Road and The Spinney Junction. > Corner of Station Road and Gorsey Lane Junction. > Corner of Hollywood Lane and Beech Road Junction. > Hollywood Lane along the fence opposite the Parish Council noticeboard, by the mini island. > Alcester Road, between Davis Timber and Brick Kiln Lane. > Corner of Gorsey Lane and Alcester Road Junction. > Corner of Houndsfield Lane and Simms Lane Junction. > Wythall Island, verge between Middle Lane and the A435 > Wythall Island, verge between Alcester Road and the A435 > Verge between the entrance of Wythall Cemetery and Middle Lane. > Corner of Peterbrook Road and Truemans Heath Road Junction. The meadow verges had been well received. Bee Posts Councillor Hotham had awarded the Parish Council a grant to purchase bee posts. The invoice was presented on the payment schedule. Five posts were being ordered - 2 for use by the Parish Council and 3 would be used by Councillor Hession for projects she was working on in the community. Street Lighting As per the last Council meeting, the consultation was being widened with additional posters and information being placed around the Parish. Quotes from other companies were also being obtained along with timescales of when they would be able to undertake the work. Measures to mitigate resident concerns were also being looked into for example, shields on the lamps to reduce the light impact on close properties and alternative timings for when the lights turn off. Grit Bins The grit bin consultation had ended and the grit bins had been purchased and were ready for installing. The Lengthsman would be collecting them on Monday 23 November 2020. 750 ADOPTED at Full Council On 21 January 2021 Replacement of 3x Noticeboards and works to Street Furniture Three replacement noticeboards had been ordered. A delivery date had not yet been confirmed. Swiftwell would be installing the three noticeboards and would also replace the pin board on the Drakes Cross board. Maintenance work on the street furniture was being scheduled in on the lengthsman work schedule. Cemetery Millennium West Foundations Work on the new foundations was expected to commence early in the new year when hopefully, the ground would be dryer. Cemetery Audit Project Due to the lockdown and the temporary closure of the office, the work on the Cemetery Audit and migration to Scribe had not yet commenced. This would begin in January with an expectation that it is completed before the end of the financial year. Community Garden The Community Garden plot at the allotment was being prepared ready for the next season. Projects using to the garden would begin to in spring. Youth Club Partnership Work was continuing with the youth club partnership. The following plan had been put in place to help meet the objective of engaging more youth from the local area who do not already access youth club services.