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www.yarnfield.org.uk		Yarnfield Forum Agenda Meeting to be Held On: 17/01/12 At: 7.30pm, Yarnfield Village Hall

Attached:	N/A

Welcome and Apologies 1. Approval of Minutes of last meeting. 2. Fete Report – Pete Cresswell 3. Matters Arising from the Minutes i) BKV ii) Benches iii) Defibrillator iv) Play Area v) Road to BT vi) Village Green vii Customer Initiative Bid viii) Dance Mats ix) Open Forum x) Youth Forum xi) Golf on Green xii) Proposed changes to the Constitution 4. Executive Summaries i ) Chairperson's Report a) Child protection and vulnerable adults policy b) Summary of committee meeting c) New SRH customer initiative scheme bid ii) Correspondence Secretary's Report iii) Treasurer's Report iv) Other Committee Members' report 5. Parish Council Business 6. Projects for 2012 7. Any Other Business 8. Proposed Date of Next Meeting 28^th February 2012 9. Diary Dates

www.yarnfield.org.uk		Yarnfield Forum Minutes Meeting Held On: 29/11/11 At: 7.30pm, Yarnfield Village Hall Chair: Stella Hughes Minutes Secretary: Damon L. Hoppe

Attendees:	Stella Hughes, Damon Hoppe, Margaret Boarder , Richard Charlwood, John Thirlwall, Lesley Thirlwall, Frank Cromey , Jack Womersley, K. Reynolds
Apologies:	Karen Chapman, Hilary Pemberton, Lesley Miller, John Smee, D. Harmer, Shirley Shackleton
Attached:	N/A

1. Minutes of last meeting. Accepted. 2. Representatives from Dominoes Football Club. Stella sent letter to Dominoes website informing them of the meeting and opportunities to work together, no response to date. Stella to write to chair and wait their response regarding a future meeting. 3. Matters Arising i) Best Kept Village Competition 3^rd place – well done everyone. Preparing the map is a major task which could be started now. Will definitely need to be altered due to the change of status of the chapel (now a hair dressers).There are things we can’t score on because they are not applicable i.e. war memorial, etc. ii) Drainage of the green Richard to do some work on this and report back to next meeting. iii) Benches for the village green Currently stored in Brian’s garden awaiting official approval in order to be installed. This bench has been paid for 50% from Parish Council and 50% from County Council via H. Butler. Plus 2 concrete bins to be located next to the benches. iv) Defibrillator a) We have acquired the Zoll defibrillator is now active. b) Defib Training this Thursday 1st December. Stone First Responders at the Mill c) Cabinet fitting arranged by Richard whom we thank for doing this. d) CHT have offered a loan of its recommended defib until we can afford it. There are issues around the battery life and running costs of the Zoll. Also it has been noted that it is not as user friendly. Voice guidance is less helpful to guide you through the stages. The meeting felt it was an excellent offer and worthwhile as the model recommend by the CHT is superior to the Zoll. e) Neither defib is currently insured. Insurance has been quoted at £60pa. There is £30 in the defib fund. Possibility of paying in instalments. f) Application for funding from Staffs Charitable Fund. Awaiting the outcome. g) Have requested details from CHT regarding organisation of the group h) Letter to the Yarnfield gym regarding possible contribution. We had raised £250 of the costs of theirs. v) Play Area /Section 106 Agreement money a) £16K available. Applying for extra grant from landfill site, to top up the monies. Could be as much as £30K of additional monies which is successful would be expected in March. Dave Tucker applying to Environmental Fund for further funding. b) Ward Parish Councillors given details of survey we had conducted also sent to Head of SPC and Adam Hill. BC have indicated that they have no problems with our spending plans. c) Looking at catalogues and will be in discussion with Adam Hill. d) Question of fencing was raised. Extra cost? Would have to apply for funding from other sources. Adam Hill is not currently in favour of fenced in play areas and has the power of veto over fencing. Could cost an additional £10K. However could reduce dog fouling and prevent children wandering off. A matter requiring further debate. Meeting agreed play equipment was the priority. vi) Road to BT No progress. Again written freedom of info request to Mr Gammon and his superiors and still no reply. So we will now go through the MP Bill Cash. vii) Other matters concerning the village green. a) Poles fiasco. Adam Hill’s response to Bill Cash’s letter was not satisfactory. b) Parking Only 2 vehicles have been on green i.e. works and a carer. Frank Cromey had asked BC to check for violations. There should be room for works vehicles.. Yellow lines are now enforceable according to the council. Still this leaves problem of people legally parked in the main road posing a danger. viii) SaRH Customer Initiative Bid Customer Initiative Bid – work on windows in flats should begin next week. ix) Holiday Activities Dance mats sessions arranged for February half term with free use of school. Originally going to charge £1 but now got it free. More effective promotion required to schools, parents and pupils. Encourage the schools to help promote it to the pupils. Try to get info to other nearby villages too. x) Open Forum There is now a comment spot on the website but we have not yet had an opportunity to develop ideas further than this. xi) Youth Forum No progress on this but have identified the need for a of a ‘bouncy castle’ and are awaiting details. xii) Golf on the green The problem unfortunately persists. 4. Executive Summaries i) Chairperson’s Report Child knocked over by car. A concerned Father has been to see me about traffic calming measures after child knocked down. Child had both head and leg injuries. This accident was not speed related. A number of dogs have been tragically killed on the road in the past. Have passed on request and info to Parish Councillors. Have also been in touch with Community Speedwatch. Speed watch requires volunteers. Major repairs to SaRH homes etc should be carried out 12-23rd December There have been arrests about fake vodka production. Treasurer and Chair have checked through the accounts together. Have contacted govt re litter projects and have sent for more info Enquired /diamond jubilee tree schemes ii) Correspondence Secretary’s Report Verbal Report given by Stella Correspondence has been received regarding: Defib Training Burglary in Whitehall lane New casual number for the police Information from link. Information on the local Church ( Cof E) finances. iii) Treasurer’s Report Full written report available £2696 in forum account. Small amount of monies left in mini-bus fund. Proposed this is added to the fete or defib account. Plantings account is now closed. iv) Other Committee Members. None. 5. Parish Council i) Business and issues. Repairs to bus shelter. Materials are now available for repair of bus shelter and thus it will be repaired at the same time as the bench installation. Fly tipping problem on road out of village. Carpet and cardboard has been left in field. Public footpath finger post on same road has been lifted out of ground and lying on road side. Litter collection road outside village. Frank C to ask ‘Street Scene’ to litter pick road around Red Hill and Yarnfield again. Stella has done litter collection. Disruption to elec+phone on Greenside related to installation of new street lighting. These issues have now been resolved. Problem with pavements near Brian’s dipping but council have said its fine. letter to school re litter picking 6. Any Other Business i) Konnektiv Drama. They have just completed a successful performance of the ‘Badger Kettle’ and will be in touch regarding possible dates. ii) Footpath problems through the village. Cracks and potholes. iii) Select Grass cutting makes a tremendous difference. Very good performance. Money well spent. Could ask for a quote for the whole green? What savings has the council actually made? There are nettles which need cutting. iv) “A History of Yarnfield” is now available. A recommended read. v) Constitutional amendments. Committee meeting Tuesday 10th Jan to discuss potential changes and make recommendations to the next forum meeting. Constitution should be available on website. vi) Co-Option? Invite Peter Creswell, the chair of the fete committee, to attend forum committee meetings. vii) Parish Council has new website. www.swynnertonparishcouncil.org.uk. One should ignore the old website (over a decade out of date). Still under construction and some members have trouble accessing some parts. Contact Roy James. viii) Projects for 2012. This should be an item on the next agenda. ix) Promotion of the forum to wider membership?. Success of infostone website as a good example of a local information website. However this would be time consuming to maintain that level of information. A Blog might be better as it self generates information. 13. Date and Time of Next Meeting Proposed Next Meeting:. Tuesday 17th January. Same Time & Location. 14. Diary Dates 17th January. 28th February. 10th April. 22nd May. AGM. 3rd July. AGM: 22^nd May 2012.

Yarnfield Forum AGM Minutes

Meeting Held On: 06/09/11

At: 7.30pm, Yarnfield Village Hall

Chair: Stella Hughes

Minutes Secretary: Damon L. Hoppe

Attendees: Stella Hughes, Damon Hoppe, Karen Chapman, Richard Charlwood, John Thirlwall, Roy James, Brian

Eyre, Lesley Miller, Hilary Pemberton, Dorothy Harmer, Jack Womersley, Shirley Shackleton

Apologies: Margaret Boarder, Pam Williams, Glynn Williams, Frank Cromey

Attached: N/A

Meeting Closed 9:45pm

1. Minutes of last meeting.

Accepted.

2. Representatives from Dominoes Football Club. Postponed to next meeting.

Dominoes representatives were invited to the meeting which they planned to attend. However, phone call on Sunday to inform us that they now have a fixture on the day and so hope to attend our next meeting. They say they are keen to work with village. The Chair Mr Haynes has resigned. Thus a new chair and others representatives are expected to attend the next meeting.

Action: Gen. Sec. to send them minutes and agenda for next meeting.

2. Matters Arising

1. Best Kept Village Competition

a) 3rd place – well done everyone.

Judges from District and County level came to see village at different times. We therefore must have been in top ten of the County. Weather was a disadvantage with August being the driest and coldest since 1976. We Gained 3rd place in our group.

b) Grass cutting

Jim and Stella went to Presentation Evening. Raised matter of problem of cutting of green -apparently many Parish Councils take on this responsibility. All have seen a big improvement in village green since Parish Council has introduced intermediate cutting. To be reviewed next year. It was noted that the cuttings would not be suited for farms, etc due to potential contamination with dog faeces.

c) Children’s competition.

Karen and Stella visited school to present prizes for children's competition. Have put copies of certificate in pub shop and notice boards. Proposed that Letter be sent school and copy of certificate and certificate for the village hall. Passed on info to Karen and Margaret about children's poster competition.

2. Benches for the village green

Awaiting delivery of Parish Council funded oak bench. Although Mr Butter thought that he had arranged for the bench from County Council Fund. We ascertained that this has not been paid. Parish Council clerk says she will fill in appropriate form to apply for funding. This needs to be chased up.

Have searched on internet for alternative bench with arms but not had any luck (Mostly metal). Therefore it was agreed to acquire the same bench as purchased before.

3. Defibrillator

Still awaiting cheque from SPC. Received funding from Councillor Butter and registered our requirements with the Community Heartbeat Trust However problems have arisen. Apparently the type used by the 1st Responders (a Zoll) is not considered the optimal solution due to issues of battery life and running costs. Therefore CHT are unlikely to support this type of defib.

Conversation with Martin Sec. Recommends using Zol as a stopgap until funding for the preferred model is available (£1K approx.). This would be better than not having one. Will need to send a letter to Community Heartbeat acknowledging that they are not responsible for the machine. Only one ambulance service does not use their preferred model which they claim is cheap to run and battery lasts 5X as long. It is used by the majority of agencies. We will need to apply for funding for their recommended defib. Have made enquiries about funding from the Community Wellbeing fund. Person who deals with this not available until Wednesday. Two refusals for Defibs in last round. Can seek help with bid to tweak it.

Some concern to check if the dimensions are significantly different between the two types as this may adversely affect the ability of the Storage Cabinet to store both types.

Yarnfield Park have their own defib (as do most Gyms) In the past we had explored a sharing arrangement but this had fallen through with the changes at BT. They were unwilling to locate the defibrillator in an external storage box in the village.

4.St Barnabas' Church

Building is set to become a unisex hairdressers. A change of use application for this purpose is under consideration. Pub car park to be used by customers. Tried to contact planning for more details via website but was unsuccessful.

Margaret is in the process of getting the church onto the Historical Environment Record which will grant it a small degree of planning protection. Stafford History group are keeping an eye on developments an consulting widely. Margaret is also in contact with other conservation groups. Recommendations are that the pews should be kept and lettering restored.

5. Play Area Section 106 Agreement money

Letters have been written to Jim Arnold, Chief Executive SBC and Bill Cash about both 106 Agreement money and issue of parking on village green – inaccurate information and evasive/heavy handed responses. So far have received reply from chief exec saying matter being passed on to Adam Hill (Head of Leisure).

Informed by Suzie Empsall that the 106 Agreement is due to be signed in the next few weeks. No information regarding what this actually is since Jim Arnold's visit. Whose Responsibility is it to inform us. Leisure Dept.? Borough Councillor?

Parish Councillor Roy James is looking into it and requests that relevant correspondence is forward to him.

The forum is aware that developers have been trying to claw back any unspent 106 monies after only five years, (precedent has been established for this) so delay to attempt to build up a larger fund is not a good idea.

It is confirmed that the 106 monies has been ring fenced for the children’s play area.

6. Road to BT

Wrote to Mr Gammon on 16th August but have not yet receive a reply. An email was sent three weeks later.

Made a Freedom Of Information request which confirmed that the road is a common road. Borough Council is responsible for common land. Repairs have been requested.

Apparently a management scheme is proposed for the new housing estate in which a charge is made to households for road maintenance.

7.Other matters concerning the village green

a) Members of the community have spontaneously erected parking barriers using old

telegraph poles. This appears to have been effective in reducing the misuse of the green.

b) Repairs to Cricket pitch? Youngsters golfing on the green appears to have caused divots.

Plus possible danger to cars and pedestriations. PC Cllr Eyre to request ‘No Golfing Signs’. It is suggested that we put an article in Village Flyer, However, the problem may disappear as school starts and weather changes.

Repairs to cricket pitch including seeds and topsoil to be funded by the Forum.

c) Builders' waste on green. Contractor did not have permission to dump the soil on the green.R leverett contacted. He was in touch with the contractors and the spoil was removed. Hope grass will grow through.

d) Grass Cutting.

Reply from R Leverett. There will be two and a half to three and a half weeks between cuts but this will depend on each growing season. Maximum 14 times per year including cut for Fete.

Apparent lack of co-ordination between edging and cutting the centre portion. Some disparity in the cutting of other common plots but not ours.

c) Himalayan Balsam removed by BTCV. SBC has been informed. Cheque for £50 sent to BTCV with letter of thanks.

d) Proposals for tree planting

We have lost 12-14 trees over time.

Proposed to Plant 4 trees on the green. No decision on species but hoped that planting will be Dec to Feb. Have written with regard to placing trees along the access to the green .Await a reply to clarify his concerns. He has suggested the planting of some mixed native trees along the road creating an avenue of trees inc chestnut oak, lime, and possibly cherry. Remaining concerns for any trees planted where cars park. Any scheme would need Parish Council Approval and public consultation and invite comments on the proposals from other residents.

8. Village Fete feedback meeting and Presentation evening

Presentation evening was very successful. 4 charities attended and gave presentations.

Search and Rescue £500

Guide Dogs for the Blind £150

Stone and District 1st Responders £150

Multiple Sclerosis Society £150

The presentation from Guide Dogs for the blind was particularly well received.

The fete fund has also allocated

£200 for perennial plants

£350 youth contingency

£500 to finance next years fete.

Outstanding monies still owed to us of about £300

Richard stepped down and was thanked by all for his hard work in making the fetes a success.

Peter Creswell has agreed to take over, this role, for the next two years.

The Search and Rescue team are interested in giving a talk in the village about their work. The village hall was proposed as the best venue for this.

9. SaRH Customer Initiative Bid

Consultation form sent out to residents of Greenside/ Meece Road. A number of suggestions for the bid have been given. Residents in flats suggested alternative proposal of replacing the well weathered windows in the flats. This would involve the replacement of the windows and fascias on the first floor of the flats with new double glazed units with opening windows. A suggestion which received most votes from the customers. We have been given an informal indication that we will be pleased with the result of our bid for monies - we are awaiting written confirmation

10. Skate Park

This proved to very successful with some 40 children attending on each of the three days.

Have been informed that this service will no longer be offered in outdoor locations in October and Easter due to possible health and safety concerns on wet days. Therefore future events will be done indoors probably in Stone. We have requested details regarding this.

11. Play proposal for October holiday

It has been proposed, as an alternative to the Skate Park, to have Dance Mats. An event which is likely to appeal to the girls. It has been discussed with Jules for the possibility of dance mats coming to school or village hall one day in October. We have requested more information regarding this possibility. Due to time constraints it maybe more likely to happen in the February half term.

Action: Karen to approach School about possibility of hosting the event.

12 Repairs to Meece Road and concern about bus route

a) Letter was sent to SCC regarding the inconvenience of the length of repairs and service provision during the work carried out to Cold Meece Road. Bland reply saying they have done their best.

b) Wardle (part of Arriva) has taken over D&G and thus the 490 bus service. There does not appear to be any changes to either timetables or price structures at present.

13. Open Forum

Possible creation of a comments area on the website where we could seek opinions about tree planting for example. Could inform via the Flyer and use web site for feedback. Would facilitate putting forward solid proposals for village to PC and BC on tree planting, etc.

14. Youth Forum

Contacted Tom Wardle. He wished to know what sort of assistance would be available. The idea is that the forum will find out what kids want e.g. new facilities or activities. Special meeting where parents would attend with their children.

Forum has already identified a need for something golf related e.g. golf coaching, a driving net or other facilities. British Golf association are looking for new members and are thus likely to be supportive. Need to contact other children's groups.

4. Executive Summaries

i) Chairperson’s Report

a) List of dates for meetings has now been confirmed including the AGM.

b) have requested copies of the Parish Council minutes to be sent to the chair– those on the notice board have not been replaced since April!

c) Requested that Margaret search for insurer who would cover us for our other activities

b) Lesley and Stella have visited flower beds and discussed planting of perennials using £200 from the fete and supplementing it with planting from our own gardens. Other planting for over the winter -suggested pots of winter pansies or daffodils. Help needed with this.

c) informal discussions with Brian regarding cleaning out of stream. Mr Hale has done this in the past. Some improvement to stream but not all debris removed. Responsibility of Environment Agency?

d) Concern about the green, trees and hedges affected by development work on Willows. Apparently the builder must replace/repair i.e. grass seeding, etc. It will take time to establish. Brian reports that the builder had behaved reasonably but permission had not been granted to put the spoil on the green.

ii) Correspondence Secretary’s Report

· Letter about transport issues and subsequent reply
· Information about planning meeting for SBC local development framework.
· Info on consumer issues and watchdog displayed in bus shelter.
· Notice of increase in village hall hiring charges
· SaRH queries about repairs on going
· Repairs to road in Greenside including pot holes, concrete posts, etc. Very little work appears to have been done. Written regarding this.

iii) Treasurer’s Report

· £3.1K in Bank account.
· £482 in Communication a/c
· £602 in fete a/c
· Grant of £150 from SaRH has been applied for.
· Two new accounts for planting and youth contingency to ring fence these funds.
· Accounts have now been signed off.
· Question of insurance as current Public Liability Insurance (£56) with Finance

ReDirect does not cover volunteers. Quote from Tennyson Insurance including the

extra cover of £102. Do we want this extras cover? Meeting decided to go ahead

with the extra cover for volunteer workers.

Full written report available.

iv) Other Committee Members.

Richard is organising a Ho! Down for Saturday 10th in aid of Donna Louise Trust

5. Parish Council

i) Reports from the Parish Councillors

There have been no meetings since the last forum and therefore nothing to report.

The notice board should be repaired soon.

Minutes should be posted within a week of a PC meeting by the clerk.

ii) Issues to be taken to PC

Planning permission for the stables has refused. What measures to restore the stable to its original state? Is Enforcement action to be taken?

6. Any Other Business

i) Flower Arranging Event in December.

ii) Our £150 contribution had saved the local branch of Multiple Sclerosis Society from closure. They have had difficulty raising funds.

13. Date and Time of Next Meeting

Proposed Next Meeting:. Tuesday 18th October. Same Time & Location.

14. Diary Dates

6th September

18th October

29th November

17th January.

28th February.

10th April.

22nd May. AGM.

3rd July.

AGM: 22nd May 2012.

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