Meeting of Sutton Maddock Parish Council

SUTTON MADDOCK PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of a meeting of Sutton Maddock Parish Council held in Norton Village Hall on
Thursday 9th November 2023 at 7.30pm
In attendance: Cllrs Martin Humphries (Chairman), Max Speke, Tony Capewell, Adelle
Evason and Hattie Attwood, and the Parish Clerk (Vanessa Voysey)
2023.19 Welcome by the Chairman
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting
2023.20 Casual Vacancy and Co-Option
There were no nominations for Co-Option at this meeting. The Chairman noted that there
had been expressions of interested in the casual vacancy.
2023.21 Apologies for Absence
It was resolved to accept an apology from Lucy Moloney (family commitment)
2023.22 Declarations of Interest
There were none at this time
2023.23 Public Question Time and Participation
There were none at this time
2023.24 Planning
23/04321/FUL: Sutton Wharf Caravan Site, Sutton Wharf, Coalport. Change of use of land to
provide for the siting of an additional 13 no. static caravans to form extension to existing
static caravan/chalet site and to reconfigure existing caravan site with agreement to a
restriction in numbers of caravans to 47 no. overall, the provision of landscaping and
retrospective regarding of the site and formation of an access track.
It was noted that this is the third attempt make changes to this plan, and that the Parish
Council objected to it the last time. It was agreed that Cllr Attwood will look at any changes
and make a representation on behalf of the Parish Council.
2023.25 Minutes
It was proposed, seconded, and resolved to approve the minutes for the meeting of 7
th
September
2023.26 Report from Shropshire Councillor
Shropshire Councillor Andrew Sherrington was unable to attend the meeting due to a family
commitment. He had filed a written report in advance of the meeting. This noted that he is
now on two Task and Finish Groups on Council processes: Capital Strategy and Revenue
(Operating). He has questioned the controls and processes in Capital Strategy, noting that a
£95m increase for the North Western Relief Road was approved at the last Council meeting
before it was realised it was a typo. He has filed two questions with the Scrutiny Committees,
one is about the service standard to replying to questions from Parish Councils and the
public, the other is about the process for spending on road repair requests.
Cllr Sherrington asked for a list of issues from the Parish Council. It was agreed that the
Parish Clerk would send him the following:
 Road maintenance and poor quality repairs
 Speeding
 Litter-picking (there is a notable difference on A442 border with Telford & Wrekin)
 State of the verges, lack of cutting
 Unauthorised signage
2023.27 Report from Bridgnorth and Shifnal Area Committee (Cllr Tony
Capewell)
There was nothing to report at this time. Cllr Capewell noted that the next meeting will be on
the 4th December.
2023.28 Finances
Payments
It was proposed, seconded, and resolved to consider and approve the following payments:
Parish Clerk –salary for Quarter 3 – £320.27
HMRC – tax for Quarter 3 – £80.20
Parish Clerk – travel expenses for November – £11.70
GWE Cambrian Web – £480 – for web hosting
Banking updates – Cllr Max Speke has been into the Lloyds Bank branch in Bridgnorth to
try and get more information on the Banking Mandate and how it can be progressed, he
noted that he was a cheque signatory but did not have the authority to change the mandate
on the account. Cllr Martin Humphries said he had all the documentation to change the
account to Unity Bank and would be progressing this matter before the next meeting.
Bank Reconciliation it was proposed, seconded, and resolved to receive and approve the
bank reconciliation until the end of September 2023
Spend to Date it was proposed, seconded and resolved to receive and approve the spend
to date to the end of September 2023
It was noted that there were outstanding monies due to Norton Village Hall for room hire
from last year. An invoice would be required to settle this sum.
2023.29 Parish Matters
Parish Council Website: the new website is in development, and documents need to be sent
over. The Parish Clerk expressed some concerns that contents had not been sent from the
old website to the new, and said that she would compile what information was available.
Members present were pleased with the appearance of the website and considered that it
looked professional. Cllr Attwood said that she would pursue the change of domain as the it
had been taken out in her name.
Sutton Maddock Village Hall: there was some discussion about the current situation
regarding the proceeds of the sale of Sutton Maddock Village Hall, and that there had been
no meetings of the Sutton Maddock Village Hall Management Committee since 2020.
Concern was expressed at the lack of transparency, and that attempts to get information had
not been successful. It was agreed that a paper letter would be sent by the Parish Council
on behalf of concerned residents.
2023.30 Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Thursday 11th January at 7.30pm.
2023.31 Confidential: Planning
A planning matter sent by Shropshire Council and marked as confidential was noted