Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held at Stowe Village Hall on Wednesday 11 March 2026 at Stowe by Chartley Village Hall
Present: Cllrs Coote (Chair), Alder, Byrne, Harnett, Rayson, Tilston
In attendance: Mrs S Buxton (Clerk) – part; Cllr Finney by audio; one member of the public
The clerk had been unavoidably delayed so the agenda was conducted in a different order as felt appropriate on the evening, but the minutes have been recorded as per the agenda.
26/033 Apologies
Cllr Finney – will join via WhatsApp.
The clerk advised the council that numbering on the agenda was incorrect and the first item should be 26/033 nor 26/023
26/034 Declaration of personal and prejudicial interest on any item on the agenda
None
26/035 To receive applications for Dispensation under the Localism Act 2011
None
26/036 Chair to close the meeting for public session
No issues were raised
26/037 Chair to reopen the meeting
The chair re-opened the meeting
26/038 Minutes of the Previous Meeting to be approved and signed
The chair advised the meeting that she had amended the number of the last minute of the meeting held on 11 February 2026 to 26/032 from 26/022 on the copy to be signed to maintain the correct sequencing of numbers.
Proposed: Cllr Rayson; Seconded: Cllr Alder
Agreed that the Minutes of the parish council meeting held on 11 February 2026 be signed as a true and correct record
26/039 Matters arising from the minutes not on the agenda – App B
- Backup of Council records – the clerk reported on feed back from both Cloudy IT and the SPCA.
Agreed that the council would take no further action on back up of council records
- Application for Bank card for the clerk – this is still work in progress and hopefully almost completed as the clerk had received another email in the last week regarding this
- Signing of document relating to Lower Farm and monies available to the parish– the clerk reported on a response from the SPCA, advising that if it is to benefit the community the council should go ahead and sign it
Proposed: Cllr Alder; Seconded: Cllr Coote
Agreed that the clerk should arrange for the document to now be signed by two councillors
- Website – the clerk queried the report from a councillor at the last meeting that the links weren’t working, but it transpires the reference was to the documents attached to emails from the clerk. The website is almost completely up to date
- Elections 2027 – the clerk reported that the May elections in 2027 will be both parish council and the shadow elections for the new unitary authority to come into force in April 2028. SBC has advised that if there is a shared election May 2027, the expected cost to the parish council will be £2,610
26/040 Finance
- Budget Monitoring Report to 28.2.26 and Bank Reconciliation – the statement shows the current position of the council – an overspend of £516 on this year’s budget, but this is reduced to a surplus of £1,041 when previously agreed amounts are taken from reserves. After expected payments in March, the overspend is predicted to be £859.
- Statement of Planned Reserves at 31.3.2-6 – councillors were in receipt of a statement of reserves as of 28.2.26 and estimated reserves at 31.3.26
Proposed: Cllr Coote; Seconded: Cllr Alder
Agreed that the council earmark the following reserves at end of March 2026 to be carried forward into the new year:-
| Heading | Current Reserve | Adj y/e Mar 26 | Proposed Reserve at 31.3.26 |
| Election | £1,356 | +£2,559 | £3,915 |
| Community Eng | £87 | +£500 | £500 |
| SIDS | £4,050 | 0 | £4,050 |
| Tree cutting | £400 | +£600 | £1,000 |
| Business Continuity | £0 | £6,000 | £4,000 |
| General Reserve | £0 | £3,090 | |
| £16,555 |
- Authorisation of payments
The clerk reported that the cost of employees this month was particularly high due to a back payment of PAYE. She is currently trying to obtain access to the HMRC account for the council.
Proposed: Cllr Coote; Seconded: Cllr Alder
Agreed that the following payments be made:-
| 11/3/26 | S Buxton | Travel expenses | £22.05 |
| 11/3/26 | S Buxton | Postage and parking | £70.80 |
| 30/3/26 | S Buxton/ Pension/HMRC | Salary/Pension/ HMRC | £2,614.71 |
Cllr Rayson was not present for minute 26/041
26/041 Council Administration
- Clerk’s Laptop – the council discussed the clerk’s laptop in detail. A quote had been received from Cloudy IT but there was concern at the cost. The laptop is not adequate for the clerk and needs to be replaced.
Agreed that quotes would be considered at the next meeting when a decision would be made, and anyone who had a preferred supplier needed to have the details for that meeting
- Parish Council IT Support/Website/Email hosting from Sep/Oct 26 – the council is reconsidering it’s contracts for the autumn and councillors were in receipt of information on current provision and costs.
Agreed to ask Cllr Harnett’s husband if he would be willing to have an informal meeting with councillors before a future parish council meeting, when he could assist the council with identifying the exact provision they require going forward
- IT Support going forward from October – this has been covered with the previous item
- Dispensation Procedure Guide –
Agreed to carry this item forward to the next meeting
- Review of Council Policies – councillors were in receipt of the full list of council policies presently along with policies required and the renewal dates, where they are recorded
Agreed that the council would start to review these one or two at a time and the clerk would start with the most urgent ones first
- Newsletter – the newsletter is now ready for printing and three quotes had been received
Proposed: Cllr Coote; Seconded: Cllr Tilston
Agreed that the printing would be done by Colwich Parish Council
- Distribution of leaflets by councillors review – councillors were in receipt of an updated distribution list compiled by the clerk and Cllrs Alder and Harnett and this would be used for the newsletter, with feedback on any amendments required to the April meeting
Cllr Rayson was not present for minute 26/042
26/042 Annual Parish Assembly
The council discussed arrangements for the Annual Parish Assembly. It was agreed inviting a representative from all village organisations was a good idea and Cllr Harnett agreed to forward the contact details to the clerk. The council discussed other people to invite. The arrangements will be finalised at the next meeting
26/043 Solar Farm
- Notes of the Working party meeting held on 4 March 2026 – these were noted.
- Membership of the Working Party was discussed in the light of interest from another resident who wished to join
26/044 Village Amenities, Highways and Oth0.er parish issues
- State of the roads, speed, weight issues – Cllr Alder has spoken to SCC re: roadworks in the village, the problem is with the culvert. The HGVs are still travelling through the village and finding it difficult and it is quite dangerous. There is also a pothole that is the responsibility of the utilities. Gulley can’t be completed until BT have done the repair, but they won’t accept responsibility. Cllr Alder will chase
- SIDS – still waiting for a quote
- Pavements – School House, garden has fallen onto the pavement, which makes the pavement slippy and difficult to transverse
Cllr Rayson will speak to the SCC at Lichfield office, about all of the above this week.
- Play equipment inspection – do we have to get it checked?
Agreed the clerk will check the requirements
Agreed to send out the rotas again
26/045 BKV Competition
The group need to meet to discuss the application
26/046 Planning
A question was asked about a mobile home and whether it needed planning permission for long term domestic use? There is a caravan at Grindley that is currently up for let
Cllr Rayson left the meeting
26/047 Clerk’s report – App B
- Clerk’s training and meetings – the clerk provided details of the training she had undertaken since the last meeting
- Correspondence – the following items were highlighted:-
- SBC – details of small grant scheme now open
- SPCA – training opportunities
- Invitation to National Grid Electricity Distributions Stakeholder Workshops
- TGM had asked if the council wanted any work doing this year
Agreed the clerk will investigate this maintenance work and report to the next meeting
- SPCA – Health and Wellbeing Course – Cllr Harnett would like to attend on 26 March 2026
- NALC Local Council Awards – the Clerk of the Year was from Staffordshire – Biddulph Town Council
- SPCA members survey
Agreed to forward this to Cllr Coote to complete
- Local Government Reorganisation – deadline for response is end of March
Agreed that Stowe by Chartley Parish Council would not submit a response
- Doctors Surgery – Cllr Alder will ask the Surgery for some information leaflets for the Annual Parish Assembly
26/048 Items for Future Meetings
- Risk Assessment
- Local Council Awards
- Policies
- Assertion 10
26/049 Date of Next Meeting
To agree that the next meeting will be held on Wednesday 8 April 2026 at 7.00pm at Stowe by Chartley Village Hall
There being no other business the chair declared the meeting closed at 9.10 pm