Parish Council Meeting
Hixon Parish Council
To: All Councillors
Notice, Summons and Agenda for a Meeting of the Full Council on
17th March 2026 at 7:30pm in Hixon Memorial Hall
Agenda
AGENDA
| Item Ref | Agenda Item | Report By |
| Open Meeting | Chair | |
| 005/25 | To receive apologies. | Chair |
| 006/25 | To receive declaration of interest in any matter on the Agenda. | Chair |
| 007/25 | To receive written applications for dispensations under the Localism Act 2011 | Chair |
| 008/25 | Consider minutes of meeting 20th January 2026. | Chair |
| 009/25 | To determine any items on the agenda considered to be of a private nature that should be discussed at the exclusion of the Public and Press, under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 1 (2). | Chair |
| 083/22 | Consider agreement to continue with the scheme of delegation as agreed at meeting in January 2023. | Chair |
| 010/25 | To receive Borough Councillors’ reports. Written or verbal | Chair |
| 011/25 | To receive County Councillor’s report. Written or verbal | Chair |
| 012/25 | Close meeting for Public Participation. | Chair |
| 014/25 | Reopen meeting & agree date of next meeting (May 19th 2026). | Chair |
| 015/25 | Chair’s announcements | Chair |
| 045/25 | Councillor Questions (preferably provided in advance) | Chair |
| 016/25 | Planning Applications | None |
| Agenda Items | ||
| 082/25 | Outline of Team Building Course/Training – introductory talk by preferred trainer. Report provided. | Cllr Raby |
| 083/25 | Public Transport Services | Chair |
| 084/25 | Resolution Tracker – updated | Chair |
| 074/25 | Allotments: Shed layout – discussion on alternative layout, to lead to addendum to agreement with the Allotment Committee if agreed.Consider replacing the perimeter fence, quotes, payments etc. |
Cllr Hopcroft |
| 045/22 | Cricket Practice Facility at Church Lane Playing Fields: Update | Chair |
| 111/23 | Installation of Electric vehicle charging equipment-car park: Update | Chair |
| 063/25 | Consider adoption of IT Policy as recommended by Admin group. | Clerk |
| 075/25 | Highway Safety Issues and traffic in Hixon Parish area, including Lea Heath and the A51: To receive and consider report. | Chair |
| 085/25 | Incinerator Appeal Hearing – 30th April 2026 | Chair |
| 096/24 | Consider response to the consultation on Local Government Reorganisation in Staffordshire | Chair |
| 086/25 | Consider quotes from TGM for asset works. | Chair |
| 080/24 | Quality Council: Update council regarding free information sessions. | Clerk |
| 087/25 | Confirm circulation of/acceptance of councillors of the Q3 Receipts and Expenditure vs Budget 2025-2026 spreadsheet | Clerk |
| 088/25 | Consider topic for St Peter’s School children’s poster competition. | Clerk |
| Finance / Administration / Legal | ||
| 032/25 | Bank Reconciliation | Cllr Raby |
| 033/25 | Schedule of Prospective Agreed Payments (Amounts to be confirmed/amended if necessary) when known. Late invoices not included on the agenda may be paid, subject to resolution by majority of Councillors present). | Cllr Raby/ Chair |
| Employment costs – March | £681.00 | |
| Reimburse C Gill March-April – monthly purchase of Microsoft 365 Business | £12.10 | |
| Reimburse C Gill mileage (8 miles @ £0.45 per mile) | £3.60 | |
| Reimburse C Gill for stamps – 16x2nd class | £13.92 | |
| WaterPlus car park drainage March-April | £38.72 | |
| Exclusive Leisure for cricket net facility (if invoice received) | £21,825.00 | |
| TGM hedge cutting | £270.00 | |
| Rob Keyzor for tree work | £2040.00 | |
| Transfer of gratuity fund money to Ringfenced account | £348.24 | |
| Transfer of Allotment funds to Ringfenced account. | £761.19 | |
| Annual payment to Millennium Green Trust for strip of land-car park | £1.00 | |
| HMRC – March | £423.73 | |
| EE direct debit for mobile phone | £11.50 | |
| 034/25 | Receipts February 2026 | |
| 035/25 | Consider significant correspondence received from residents: | None |
| From February 2026 | ||
| 032/25 | Bank Reconciliation | Cllr Hopcroft |
| 033/25 | Schedule of Prospective Agreed Payments | Cllr Hopcroft
/Chair |
| Employment payments | £680.80 | |
| Reimburse C Gill Feb/March – purchase of Microsoft 365 Business | £12.10 | |
| Reimburse C Gill mileage (8 miles @ £0.45 per mile) | £3.60 | |
| Reimburse C Gill for stamps – 16x2nd class | £13.92 | |
| Reimburse C Gill for envelopes | £7.99 | |
| TGM maintenance of 8 planters | £752.02 | |
| TGM Maintenance of Church Lane planter | £126.00 | |
| TGM Flower bed and shrub maintenance | £912.00 | |
| TGM Weed spraying | £240.00 | |
| TGM Gateway strimming | £588.00 | |
| TGM Minor Highways and street nameplate cleaning | £550.80 | |
| TGM Allotments: concrete godfather for tap post | £102.00 | |
| SBC for amenity skip visits x4 (2026 visits) | £488.00 | |
| International Components replacement cheque for cheque 3485 | £22.80 | |
| HMRC – February 2026 PAYE | £423.93 | |
| WaterPlus 8th Jan to 8th Feb 2026 car park drainage | £42.86 | |
| EE for PC mobile phone – Direct Debit | £11.50 | |
| From Ring-fenced account | ||
| Transfer to Main Account, TGM allotment work ex VAT | £85.00 | |
| 034/25 | Receipts January 2026 | |
| VAT refund for Q3 | £552.41 | |
| Bank interest | £45.16 |
| 10th March 2026 Catherine Gill, Clerk to Hixon Parish Council |
Minutes
Hixon Parish Council
DRAFT Minutes of the Meeting of the Full Council held on Tuesday
17 March 2026 starting at 7:30 pm in Hixon Memorial Hall
In attendance for all of the meeting:
Cllr B McKeown (Chair), Cllr A Garner, Cllr D Hever-Smith, Cllr C Hilton, Cllr P Hopcroft, Cllr J Hughes, Cllr S McKeown, Cllr J Raby
Minutes taken by: C Gill, Clerk and RFO
Members of the public: 5
| Item Ref | Item | Action By |
| 005/25 | To receive apologies. | None |
| 006/25 | Declaration of interest in any matter on the Agenda. | None |
| 007/25 | Written applications for dispensations under the Localism Act 2011 | None |
| 008/25 | It was resolved to accept the minutes of 20th January 2026 as a correct record, with the addition of ‘not’ prior to attending on Cllr Mynor’s report. | Clerk |
| 009/25 | To determine any items on the agenda considered to be of a private nature that should be discussed at the exclusion of the Public and Press, under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 1 (2). | None |
| 083/22 | It was agreed to continue with the scheme of delegation as agreed at meeting in January 2023. | – |
| 010/25 | To receive Stafford Borough Councillor’s report: Cllr B McKeown advised that he would provide updates as appropriate during the agenda items. | – |
| 011/25 | County Councillor report | None |
| 012/25 | Close meeting for Public Participation | |
| Two members of the Gospel Hall Trust were present to show their support. | – | |
| A resident raised concern regarding the inclusion of part of Hixon Airfield Estate for housing development: There has not been a planning application put in for any housing on the Airfield Estate, all land put forward by landowners can be viewed on the Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) on the Stafford Borough Council website. The Chair will show details of land put forward for development at the May Parish meeting.The Drointon solar farm application was also mentioned. |
Chair |
|
| 014/25 | Reopen meeting & agree date of next meeting (19th May 2026). | – |
| 015/25 | Chair’s Announcements: See 010/25 above. It was agreed that residents should be consulted regarding paying for pickle-ball markings on the MUGA. Planning appeal hearing for Travellers site in Pasturefields is 28th April. The Mount, Stowe Lane houses planning application has a written appeal ongoing. |
Chair |
| 045/25 | Parish Councillor questions/comments | |
| Cllr Hopcroft: The hedge at the top of Featherbed Lane has been partly cut – would be much better if fully cut. Clerk will ask the owner to cut the remainder of the hedge. |
Clerk |
|
| Cllr S McKeown: Surveyors for a private person/developer were on Back Lane/High Street today. | – | |
| 016/25 | Planning Applications | None |
| Agenda Items | ||
| 082/25 | Outline of Team Building Course/Training – introductory talk by preferred trainer. Deferred to May meeting due to trainer being unwell | Cllr Raby |
| 083/25 | Public Transport Services: The Chair has made a proposal for the bus service review currently being undertaken by Staffordshire County Council. The proposal is for a bus service from Stone to Rugeley stopping in Weston, Amerton, Stowe by Chartley, Hixon, Great Haywood, Colwich, Wolseley Garden Centre, Rugeley Health and Welfare Centre, Rugeley Bus Station. And vice-versa. The proposal has been supported by Andy Mynors (County Cllr.), Hazeldene House Surgery, Weston with Gayton PC and Stowe by Chartley PC.
Decision should be made by the summer and if it goes ahead, it is likely to be on a trial basis to start with. |
Chair |
| 084/25 | Resolution Tracker – updated version displayed. | Chair |
| 074/25 | Allotments: Shed layout – the alternative layout proposed by Cllr Hopcroft was agreed with the addition of the shed being ½ metre from the shared footpaths. Addendum to agreement with the Allotment Committee to be drawn up by the Clerk and signatures obtained.Replacing the perimeter fence, quotes, who pays? etc.: Provisional prices had been circulated and were considered. Discussions were held on whether to get firm quotes on a like-for-like basis straight away or whether to delay and budget for the next financial year. The landowner was present and said he would put in props for the time being and when asked, he said he would do this free of charge. It was decided to go with this option and reconsider in the Autumn at budgeting time. Reconsider sooner if fencing becomes a H&S issue. Cllr Hopcroft was thanked for all his hard work. Cllr Hopcroft to feedback to Allotments Committee. |
Clerk
Cllrs.
Cllr Hopcroft |
| 045/22 | Cricket Practice Facility at Church Lane Playing Fields: Facility now in place. It was agreed to purchase spring-loaded stumps and balls for £70. It was also agreed to purchase some second-hand bats. |
Chair |
| 111/23 | Work to install electric vehicle charging equipment in the car park should be complete by the end of April. | – |
| 063/25 | It was agreed to adopt the IT Policy as recommended by Admin group, with the inclusion of a line on restricting access to councillor emails to the Data Controller only and only if essential e.g. FOI requests, in line with GDPR. |
Cllr S McKeown/ Clerk |
| 075/25 | Highway Safety Issues and traffic in Hixon Parish area, including Lea Heath and the A51: The proposal discussed on Jan 20th was discussed/agreed again. Pasturefields could also be monitored. It was noted that the road closures of New Road and Church Lane in May would interfere with getting students to school for GCSEs. May also impact St Peter’s School. Cllr Hilton will raise with St Peter’s. |
Councillors
Cllr Hilton |
| 085/25 | Incinerator Appeal Hearing – is on 30th April 2026 at 10am in the County Buildings (Oak Room) on Martin Street.
Chair will try and find out information on why there is a hearing rather than a determination. |
Chair |
| 096/24 | Response to the consultation on Local Government Reorganisation in Staffordshire – no discussion held on responding to the consultation. Cllr Raby gave an update based on the recent SPCA briefing. | – |
| 086/25 | All the quotes from TGM for asset works were agreed. | Clerk |
| 080/24 | Quality Council: Free information sessions are being held on 16th April and 15th October, 12:30 to 1:45. Councillors to let Clerk know which session they would like to attend. | Councillors
/Clerk |
| 087/25 | The circulation of/acceptance of councillors of the Q3 Receipts and Expenditure vs Budget 2025-2026 spreadsheet was confirmed. Clerk will circulate it again. | Clerk |
| 088/25 | Topic for St Peter’s School children’s poster competition: It was decided to propose ‘If I was in charge of Hixon, what would I do?’ e.g. sport, environment. Draw what you would like to see/have in Hixon. | Clerk |
| Finance / Administration / Legal | ||
| 032/25 | Bank Reconciliation | Chair |
| 033/25 | Schedule of Prospective Agreed Payments: Invoice from Excusive Leisure was received on the day of the meeting, it was resolved to pay the amount on the invoice. |
Cllr Hughes/ Cllr Hopcroft/ Chair |
| Employment costs – March | £681.00 | |
| Reimburse C Gill March-April – monthly purchase of Microsoft 365 Business | £12.10 | |
| Reimburse C Gill mileage (8 miles @ £0.45 per mile) | £3.60 | |
| Reimburse C Gill for stamps – 16x2nd class | £13.92 | |
| WaterPlus car park drainage March-April | £38.72 | |
| Exclusive Leisure for cricket net facility | £26190.00 | |
| TGM hedge cutting | £270.00 | |
| Rob Keyzor for tree work | £2040.00 | |
| Transfer of gratuity fund money to Ringfenced account | £348.24 | |
| Transfer of Allotment funds to Ringfenced account. | £761.19 | |
| Annual payment to Millennium Green Trust for strip of land-car park | £1.00 | |
| HMRC – March | £423.73 | |
| EE direct debit for mobile phone | £11.50 | |
| 034/25 | Receipts February 2026 | |
| Section 106 money from SBC | £29815.00 | |
| Interest | £54.62 | |
| From Ring-fenced account | £85.00 | |
| 035/25 | Consider significant correspondence received from residents: | None |
| From February 2026 | ||
| 032/25 | Bank Reconciliation | Cllr Hopcroft |
| 033/25 | Schedule of Prospective Agreed Payments | Cllr Hopcroft
/Chair |
| Employment payments | £680.80 | |
| Reimburse C Gill Feb/March – purchase of Microsoft 365 Business | £12.10 | |
| Reimburse C Gill mileage (8 miles @ £0.45 per mile) | £3.60 | |
| Reimburse C Gill for stamps – 16x2nd class | £13.92 | |
| Reimburse C Gill for envelopes | £7.99 | |
| TGM maintenance of 8 planters | £752.02 | |
| TGM Maintenance of Church Lane planter | £126.00 | |
| TGM Flower bed and shrub maintenance | £912.00 | |
| TGM Weed spraying | £240.00 | |
| TGM Gateway strimming | £588.00 | |
| TGM Minor Highways and street nameplate cleaning | £550.80 | |
| TGM Allotments: concrete godfather for tap post | £102.00 | |
| SBC for amenity skip visits x4 (2026 visits) | £488.00 | |
| International Components replacement cheque for cheque 3485 | £22.80 | |
| HMRC – February 2026 PAYE | £423.93 | |
| WaterPlus 8th Jan to 8th Feb 2026 car park drainage | £42.86 | |
| EE for PC mobile phone – Direct Debit | £11.50 | |
| From Ring-fenced account | ||
| Transfer to Main Account, TGM allotment work ex VAT | £85.00 | |
| 034/25 | Receipts January 2026 | |
| VAT refund for Q3 | £552.41 | |
| Bank interest | £45.16 |
Meeting ended at 21:30