Parish Council Meeting 19th September 2001

The meeting opened at 7:30 with Cllr. Cox in the chair, apologies were received from DDDC Cllr. Mrs. Crowther, the previous minutes were approved with no matters arising.

There were no planning applications to consider but approvals were noted for the creation of vehicular access at Castcliffe Barn, Wardlow and for the erection of a garage at 27, The Meadows. The Council was also informed of tree work at The Vicarage and received a letter from a Longstone resident querying whether planning permission was required to install a new window; in this particular case, it wasn’t.

Under the topic of finance, several payments were approved and the balances noted as £1000 in the current account, £7949.10 in the deposit account.

There was no update on Backdale but the Council discussed the Longstone Edge proposals again. There are concerns that the new workings will be seen from the south if they broach the summit. It was alleged that the current working is already removing 1000s ton of limestone apparently exploiting the loophole that limestone could be regarded as a mineral. The site is seen as being a quarry already, whether it actually has permissions to extract stone or not. It was noted Ashford is already concerned about the increase in lorry traffic taking stone away and concerns were raised that traffic may start taking a short cut down Moor Road. The new planning application is to be considered by the PPPB on 28th September and they are having a site meeting on 27th; the PC resolved that some members should attend this as observers.

The possibility of grant aid for landscaping the land by the allotments seems to have receded into the far distance with all organisations approached responding “the money’s gone, try next year”. Thus it seems nothing will be done until next Spring.

Dog Fouling - the bags and bins were felt a success and the village a cleaner place. The signs for the recreation ground had been obtained and fitted but all 5 were removed within 12 hours of being erected. They are believed to have been taken between 10:30 and 11:50 that night. This will the Council cost a further £90 to have them replaced plus additional cost for re-erecting.

Longstone is a runner up in this year’s Derbyshire Village Of The Year competition and receives a prize of £50.

Maintenance - the quote for the fencing on the recreation ground has been accepted and the work will commence shortly. Some quotes have been obtained for repairing the football pitch and it was resolved to accept the lowest. It was further resolved to temporarily move the goalposts in order to give the repairs chance to settle down and the grass to recover. The bark in the play area has been replaced. It was resolved to go ahead with the provision of a basketball hoop but the location is yet to be decided. It was noted the climbing frame needs attention and it was decided to make repairs for now and to investigate a replacement or full refurbishment next year. A safety inspection has not yet been arranged, but queries will continue. All the work requested on roads and paths and the strimming work has been completed and the hedges on Station Road should be cut back shortly. The vacant allotment land had been weedkillered again.

Talks to arrange a Sports Day had failed to reach a conclusion so there would be no Sports Day this year. However it was agreed that the next Sports Day be combined with Jubilee celebrations next year and it was hoped there was sufficient time to organise this.

It was decided not to ask for more sewage tests on the stream in the Willows for now, but to have another look at the stream and review the issue next month.

The agreement between the Parish Council and the Village Hall Committee was felt in need of update and it was decided the Clerk would put forward proposals at the next meeting. There was some discussion on the sharing of rainwater drains with the barn next door to the Hall, as this is now being converted. The -amicable - outcome was that things would remain as they were.

Speeding - the moving of the 30mph signs on Beggarway Lane to include Barn Furlong was being held up by legal complications involving the diversion of the footpath before the houses were built. Several parties are involved in this and it was resolved to write to the land-owner to ask when an outcome could be expected.

Parents of children using the play area on the recreation ground have expressed a need for toilets for the children. This was discussed but it was felt there was no ready solution to the issue. Whenever a suitable site has become available for the erection of toilets in the past, there has been opposition to it and on top of that there would be the issue of the cost, both initial and on-going.

A questionnaire has been received from DDDC about empty homes in the village. The Council went through the list and of those they knew about, most the DDDC considered empty were in fact inhabited! The updated list will be returned to DDDC.

There were 42 items of correspondence to note, the only item of interest amongst these being a thank you note from Mr & Mrs Batty for the Council’s successful lobbying to get their daughter into Lady Manners School.

The next meeting will be on Wednesday 17th October at 7:30 in the Village Hall.