Rolleston-on-Dove Parish Council
News 2008

Consultation on Proposed Adventure Area, Craythorne Woods (December 2008)

Rolleston on Dove Parish Council currently have the opportunity to apply for around £40,000 for a new play area within Rolleston through the SCC, Playbuilder project. To qualify for a playbuilder grant we have to show that we are a strong vibrant community which offers a variety of places for children to play. We also have to show that our proposal includes:-

• Innovative play spaces for 8 to 13 year olds
• Elements of risk and challenge
• Natural materials and landscaping
• It must not be on a school site
• It is inclusive
• The proposal must have open space with no charge for using it
• We must show evidence of consultation with children and young people
• We must show partnership working

During recent meetings of the Parish Council it has been agreed that there is an area within Craythorne Woods that has very few trees making it an ideal site for the play area. In order to qualify for the grant we need to be able to show consultation with children and young people and would like to ask for your help on the matter. A copy of the proposed plan is available from here, or the Parish Clerk.

Comments on the proposals - a short questionnaire is included here - should be returned to the Parish Clerk (8, Beacon Drive, Rolleston-on-Dove), or by placing it in the box in Starbucks News, by Thursday 1st January 2009.

NEWSLETTER - WINTER 2008

CHAIRMANS CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
2008 has really rushed by but it’s been a very positive year for your Parish Council. Along with our excellent clerk we have worked on many interesting projects and some still to be completed. You can be sure that we will work hard to see them through so that Rolleston can go on being such a wonderful village.

As chairman of Rolleston Parish Council I have enjoyed working with so many people who love their village and give freely their time and effort in helping all the different organisations function.

Rolleston has an excellent community spirit and long may it continue, so it just leaves me on behalf of all the Parish Council to wish you a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Beryl Toon
Chairman of Rolleston on Dove Parish Council

ROLLESTONIAN OF THE YEAR
The Parish Council will make an award “Rollestonian of the year” each year to a villager who in their opinion has served the community above and beyond that which could be considered normal or to a villager who has achieved exceptional heights in their particular field. (Sport, arts etc.)

The award will be presented at the Annual Parish Meeting by the Chairman of the Parish Council. Nominations for the award are to be sent to the Clerk of the Parish Council. All nominations along with a brief note supporting the nomination must be received by Monday 6th April 2009. A nomination box will also be placed in Starbucks news for one month prior to the nomination deadline.

For the purpose of this award any person living in Rolleston on Dove is considered to be a “Rollestonian”

CRAYTHORNE WOODS PICNIC AREA
A small picnic area has now been created in Craythorne Woods located just a short walk away from the entrance to Craythorne Car Park. The area currently consists of two picnic tables and benches, which are made out of recycled plastic. The work was undertaken by a small group of volunteers known as the Friends of Rolleston Open Spaces Group. Thanks must be conveyed to the group, with a particular mention to Mr. Barry Edwards who was the project manager for the construction of the area, Mr. Bryan Chinn and Mr. Dave Jennings for his generous use of plant hire equipment and for which he made no charge. As a considerable amount of money has been saved due to the voluntary work undertaken by the group, the Parish Council are now looking at a small piece of play equipment to compliment the area. The cost of the area was funded by Rolleston on Dove Parish Council and a further £600.00 was obtained via Mr. John Morris, Borough Councillor through the ESBC, WASP fund.

If you are interested in the “Friends of Rolleston Open Spaces” group and becoming a member please contact Heidi Light, Clerk of the Council.

TREE WORKS
It has been necessary for the Parish Council to have tree works carried out this year on The Croft. The tree works have been carried out following the advice of tree surgeons, and decisions with regards to the removal of trees has been made on the basis of safety and structural issues. Planning Applications have been submitted for the works and approved by the Local Authority prior to any works taking place. The Parish Council are concerned by the recent loss of trees and replacement planting will be carried out in the near future.

STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL PLAYBUILDER PROJECT
Staffordshire County Council has successfully secured £1,129.552 from the government Playbuilder project for the development of 25 play areas for 8-13 year olds across the county over three years. The Parish Council has agreed to submit an application for funding of around £40,000 for a new play area to be constructed within Craythorne Woods. Full consultation will take place over the coming months via the Schools, local community groups, public meetings and through a questionnaire being delivered to all households. It is essential that we received feedback to the consultations as without this we cannot support the application. Please have your say!

HGV’S IN THE VILLAGE
The Parish Council continue to take the matter of HGV’s in the village that are breaking the weight limit very seriously and registration numbers of vehicles seen to be breaking the law are being forwarded to our local neighbourhood policing unit for investigation. Staffordshire County Council has a radar device which can be fitted in areas to collect data on the speed and volume of vehicles in an area and can also differentiate from light vehicles and heavy vehicles. The Parish Council has requested that the device is installed in the village so that the extent of the problem of HGV’s passing through the village can be identified.

CONSERVATION AREA – PROPOSED BOUNDARY CHANGES
Unfortunately the role of Conservation Officer for East Staffordshire Borough Council still remains vacant, and the Parish Council continue to request that professional specialist advice is sought by ESBC when considering sensitive planning applications such as those concerning listed buildings and planning applications submitted within the Conservation Area. The Conservation Area document for Rolleston was adopted by ESBC on 11th June 2007 and it is anticipated that the formal adoption of the revised Conservation Area boundary is likely to take place later this year. Two significant areas are now proposed to be included within the Conservation area:-

• The line of historically important terraced housing in Station Road, immediately east of the existing boundary, dating from the mid nineteenth century.
• Fiddlers Lane and Reservoir plantations, together with land containing the water tower, swimming pool, allotments and estate brick wall on the western edge of the village, which are important as the foreground to the conservation area when viewed from the west and require protection through inclusion in the conservation area.

A copy of both the Appraisal and Character statements are available to download from the East Staffordshire Borough Council website. www.eaststaffsbc.gov.uk

STAFFORDSHIRE POLICE NON-EMERGENCY NUMBER 0300 1234455
The new number costs 6p a minute from a BT landline. Call charges for other landline and mobile networks may vary. Remember in an EMERGENCY ALWAYS DIAL 999.

DOG BAG DISPENSERS
Unfortunately we have received several complaints with regards to the amount of dog faeces on the footways and Jitty by Meadow View. Despite numerous appeals for dog owners to clear up their mess, it seems that a small minority of dog owners still fail to do so. In an attempt to help deal with the problem, the Parish Council has recently purchased a “dog bag dispenser” which has been placed on the post at the Station Road end of the Meadow View Jitty. The dispenser will be stocked with bags by the Parish Council and it is hoped that this may help the problem.

MEETING ROOM VENUE CHANGE
With effect from January 2009 the Parish Council’s meetings will take place in the Old Grammar School Rooms, St Marys Church. All meetings are publicised at least three clear days prior to taking place in form of an agenda in both of the village noticeboards. Parish Council meetings take place on the second Monday of every month, commencing at 7.30pm Copies of minutes and the Clerks Reports can be downloaded from the village website. www.rolleston.org.uk.

PARISH COUNCIL CLERK REPORTS & MINUTES
Copies of the Clerks Reports, Agendas and Minutes can be downloaded from the village website: www.rolleston.org.uk

YOUTH REPRESENTATIVE
The Parish Council are delighted to welcome Miss. Anabelle Parslow to the Parish Council as Youth Representative. Anabelle was co-opted onto the Parish Council at it’s meeting held on Monday 13th October, and will stand for a term of 12 months.

NEWSLETTER - AUTUMN 2008

CRAYTHORNE WOODS PICNIC AREA
Work is currently underway for a small picnic area to be created within Craythorne Woods. The area will be located close to the entrance to Craythorne Car Park and it is hoped that it will be an area that will be used and enjoyed by many. The work is being undertaken by “Friends of Rolleston Open Spaces”, a small group of volunteers who have been formed to look after our “Open Spaces” and to take on projects such as the construction of the picnic area. Details of work days will be posted in the village noticeboards. For further information, or if you would like to join the group, please contact Heidi Light, Clerk of the Council.

VILLAGE CLEAN UP DAY
Village Clean up Day was once again a huge success and a good turn out ensured that a great deal of work was carried out on the Brook by the Spread Eagle Public House and also within Brook Hollows. Many Thanks to everyone who participated on the day and to East Staffordshire Borough Council for providing the skip free of charge!

ANNUAL FOOTPATH WALKS
The footpath walks were carried out on 3rd and 10th June, with a record number of people turning out to take part in the early evening walks. Both were enjoyable evenings with only a few issues being identified.

MULTI-USE GAMES AREA
The Parish Council are currently investigating the feasibility along with funding opportunities of installing a Multi-Use Games Area within Elizabeth Avenue Playing Field. In order to satisfy that this is something that is “needed” within the village we need to ascertain that it would be used. If you would be willing to complete a questionnaire on what facilities you would like to see made available, please contact the Clerk.

COMPLETION OF THE ANNUAL AUDIT 2007/08
The External Auditor has now completed work on the 2007/08 Annual Return for the year ending on 31st March 2008. The External Auditor has confirmed that on the basis of their review the information contained in the annual return is in accordance with the Audit Commissions requirements and no matters have come to their attention giving cause for concern that relevant legislation and regulatory requirements have not been met.

Statement of Accounts

HGV’s – 7.5 TONNE WEIGHT LIMIT
Members of the Parish Council are increasingly concerned by HGV’s using the village, and are attempting to liaise with several different companies in an attempt to have the vehicles use alternative routes. A lot of the drivers are being guided by Satellite Navigation systems, and we are aware that some systems are only updated on an annual basis. Trading Standards are now the responsible party bringing prosecution against drivers breaching the limits and the Parish Council hope to be able to meet with them soon to discuss the problems the HGV’s are causing to the village infrastructure. In the interim, if you see a lorry breaking the weight limit, please take down its registration and pass the details to the Clerk of the Council.

DOG FOULING
Dog Fouling is a subject that disgusts most residents, dog owners and none dog owners alike. Unfortunately we have received several complaints with regards to the amount of dog faeces on the footways and Jitty’s within the Meadow View and Westbury Homes areas and these have been reported to East Staffordshire Borough Council Enforcements Department who have been asked to intervene.

HIGHWAYS ISSUES
The Parish Council has recently met with Staffordshire County Council with regards to improvements being made to both our roads and footways. The County Council have now agreed to resurface the footway from the Athlestan Way to the top of Knowles Hill during the 2008/09 financial year. In addition, they have agreed to install a bus shelter opposite the Hall Road junction and are investigating the possibility of repairing the broken fingerpost outside of the Spread Eagle Public House. The Parish Council also continue to liaise with the County Council on many other outstanding issues including Knowles Hill speeding concerns. Dovecliff road and the deplorable state of Church Road.

SPREAD EAGLE ISLAND BUS SHELTER
A rather “unique” set of seats have now been installed in the Spread Eagle bus shelter. They already appear to be a very welcome addition to the bus shelter and we hope are enjoyed by many people for years to come.

CLARENCE
CLARENCE is the Customer Lighting and Roads Enquiry Centre for Staffordshire County Council and takes reports for highways defects and street lighting faults throughout the County. Issues can be reported by telephone on 0800 232323 or via email Clarence@staffordshire.gov.uk

NEWSLETTER - SUMMER 2008

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
The Annual Parish meeting was held on Monday 21st April and an update on the previous year’s activities of the Parish Council was provided by the Chairman. The Chairman’s report covered the following topics:-

Parish Council; The Parish Council saw 5 members stand down last year, and has welcomed the following people to the Parish Council:- Mr. Andy Fitton, Mr. James. Toon, Mrs. Cathy Warren, Mr. Bryan Chinn. Mr. Jamie Winstone is vice-chairman to the Parish Council. The Chairman thanked the Clerk for her continued hard work, and both the Borough Councillor and County Councillor for their help and support over the last twelve months.

Liaison: The chairman reported that the Parish Council continued to liaise with a number of local organisations including: RODSEC, VDSG, Civic Trust, John of Rolleston and Rolleston United Foundation.

Flooding; The Parish Council has continued to work throughout the year to minimise the threat of floods in the village and we have been fortunate that despite heavy rain there have been no reports of flooding to property. The parish council continue to provide sand and sand bags to those properties vulnerable to flooding.

Highways; Road safety remains a major problem for the village, issues include: Traffic Calming, Knowles Hill, Road Surfaces, Yellow Lines, and Maintenance Agreements.

Planning; The Parish Council continues to consider all planning applications. Most applications concern individual households and their immediate neighbours only.

Youth facilities; A toddler and junior play area have now been installed on the Westbury Homes Site. The Parish Council continue to be responsible for both Meadow View and Elizabeth Avenue play areas, and are looking at improvements that can be made to the sites.

Craythorne Field; The Parish Council continues to support the use of Craythorne Field Football pitches by Rolleston Football Club, and have received reports to say that the drainage is much improved.

Jinny Nature Trail; The Parish Council were successful in its fight to prevent the Jinny Nature Trail from being opened up as a Bridleway. The Parish Council agreed in principle to allow cycles to use the trail, but this has been bitterly opposed by Stretton Parish Council. A joint meeting took place between the two Parish Councils to discuss the future of the trail, but Stretton have since decided to manage their end of the trail independently from Rolleston.

Bus Shelters; The Parish Council continues to maintain bus shelters in the village. The Parish Council will need to make provision over the next few years to replace some of the existing shelters which are reaching the end of their useful lifespan.

Village Police Service; The Parish Council has maintained a good relationship with our community policeman P.C. Lear who is responsible for Rolleston and a much wider area. The Parish Council continues to make representations to senior levels of the police service where structural problems lead to inadequacies in our local policing. Since the loss of PCSO Millington, the Parish Council have been unsuccessful in obtaining a new PCSO for the village. The Parish Council now pays for the room hire in order to NHW meetings to take place.

Footpaths; The Parish Council once again completed an annual walk of the public footpaths in Rolleston last summer and arranged for a programme of repairs to stiles and signposts to be implemented.

Village Clean Up day; is co-ordinated annually by the Parish Council and two took place in 2007.

Litter cleaner; The Parish Council lost the services of the litter cleaner in late 2007 and due to the overlapping of contracts, the glass collector’s employment has now been ceased. The litter and glass collection is now incorporated in the Environmental Officers contract.

Mowing: The Parish Council reviewed both the Mowing & Environmental officers’ contracts in late 2007/2008 and both contracts have been awarded once again to Mr. Phil Gould.

Conservation Area Appraisal; This document has now been passed by the full council at ESBC. The absence of a Borough Councils Conservation Officer since April 1st 2006 has detracted from the Parish Councils ability to deal with conservation issues in the village. The Parish council continue to pressure ESBC to make adequate provisions to deal with Conservation issues.

Brook Hollows; In previous years the Parish Council has supported a Borough Council proposal for a “Friends of Brook Hollows” organisation. Unfortunately the Borough Council have not been able to implement this at present due to staff shortages.

Precept; The activities of the Parish Council are made possible by the precept charged to Council tax payers. As always this remains a tiny part of the total council tax bill. This year’s precept has been set at £43,450.00 which is a 10% increase on the previous year.

Code of Conduct; As required by government legislation Rolleston on Dove Parish Council has adopted a code of conduct which has been signed by all members of the council. All parish councillors completed declarations of interests as required by law.

The Chairman concluded her report by advising the meeting that the Parish Council are dealing with many issues on behalf of the Parish and look forward to continued success with them over the coming year and thanked all Parish Councillors for their support over the year. Reports were also made by the following organisations:- Mr. John Morris, Borough Councillor, Mr. Tom Martin for RODSEC, Mr. John Underhill for Village Design Statement Group, Mr. Roger Gawthorpe for Rolleston Civic Trust and Rev. Ian Whitehead for St. Marys Church. A copy of any of these reports is available on request.

THE CROFT – VILLAGE GREEN
The application to register The Croft as a village green has now been completed and submitted to Staffordshire County Council (the registration authority). The Parish Council would like to convey it’s thanks to everyone who took the time to submit the evidence questionnaire.

ANNUAL AUDIT FOR YEAR ENDING 31ST MARCH 2008
An internal audit has now taken place for the Parish Councils accounts for the year ending 31st March 2008. The Annual return form has now been forwarded to the Audit Commission for the External Auditors completion.

PARISH COUNCIL CLERK REPORTS & MINUTES
Copies of the Clerks Reports, Agendas and Minutes can be downloaded from the village website: http://www.rolleston.org.uk/parish-council/docs/index.htm.

ANNUAL PARISH FOOTPATH WALKS
This year’s Annual Footpath Walks are to take place on Tuesday 3rd and Tuesday 10th June, departing from outside the Spread Eagle Public House at 7.00pm. A map of the various footpath walks is also available free of charge from Starbucks News.

CLARENCE
CLARENCE is the Customer Lighting and Roads Enquiry Centre for Staffordshire County Council and takes reports for highways defects and street lighting faults throughout the County. Issues can be reported by telephone on 0800 232323 or via email Clarence@staffordshire.gov.uk

NEWSLETTER - SPRING 2008

ANNUAL FOOTPATH WALKS
This year’s Annual Footpath Walks will take place on the evenings of Tuesday 3rd and Tuesday 10th June, commencing at 7pm, from outside the Spread Eagle. All of the public footpaths are walked over the two sessions and anyone is welcome to attend.

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
This year’s Annual Parish Meeting will take place on Monday 21st April, commencing at 7.30pm in the Methodist Chapel Schoolrooms. This meeting is an opportunity to hear of the achievements and progress made by the Parish Council in 2007, along with those of the other Village organisations, including, the Civic Trust, Village Design Statement Group (VDSG), RODSEC and St. Marys Church. Reports are also made by the Borough Councillor and County Councillor.

VILLAGE CLEAN UP DAY
This year’s Village Clean up Day will take place on Saturday 10th May, commencing at 9.30am. Two village clean up’s took place in 2007, both of which proved to be a great success. Any help is greatly appreciated. Remember your wellies! 

FRIENDS OF ROLLESTON OPEN SPACES
The Parish Council are currently looking at the feasibility of setting up a “Friends of Rolleston Open Spaces” group to look after the general maintenance of areas such as Craythorne Woods and the Jinny Nature Trail as well as heading up any future projects for these areas and applying for grants towards future works. In addition, Burton Conservation Volunteers carry out “work days” each year within the village and always welcome new volunteers. If you are interested in the “Friends of Rolleston Open Spaces” group or would like to join Burton Conservation Volunteers on any of their forthcoming work days, then please contact the Clerk. 

YOUTH REPRESENTATIVE
The Parish Council still has two vacancies for the role of Youth Representatives. If you are between 16-18 years of age, in full time education and a resident of Rolleston why not join us. The Youth Representative input is greatly valued. If you are interested and want more information then please contact the Parish Clerk on any of the contact details at the end of this newsletter.

CLARENCE
CLARENCE is the Customer Lighting and Roads Enquiry Centre for Staffordshire County Council and takes reports for highways defects and street lighting faults throughout the County. Issues can be reported by telephone on 0800 23 23 23 or via email Clarence@staffordshire.gov.uk

FLOODING
We have been fortunate that despite heavy rain at times during the past year there have been no reports to flooding of property. Sandbags continue to be provided by the Borough Council (although they are under no obligation to do so) and thanks are due to Mr. John Westwood for continuing to allow storage on his property. Once the threat of floods has subsided, please return your sandbags to the storage area for future use. The Sand needs to be emptied out of the bags, as they deteriorate very quickly. The bags are much more effective if they are filled on an “as required” basis. 

THE CROFT – VILLAGE GREEN
The Parish Council has decided to register The Croft as a Village Green to comply with the Commons Registration Act 2006. The Croft has been defined and used as a Public area for at least 30 years, and this registration will protect and maintain the area for public use.

The process involves registration with Staffordshire County Council, (The registration Authority), and whilst the Parish Council can provide evidence of use as an open space with public access, it would be appreciated if village organisations and individuals could help by completing a form stating their own knowledge of use, e.g. fetes etc., and even walking on the land, in order to assist the Parish Council’s application.

If you are willing to assist in the application by completing a short questionnaire on your knowledge of the use of “The Croft”, please contact the Clerk for a form. We hope that you will be willing to help – it is important that this land is protected from any future commercial interests.

KNOWLES HILL SPEEDING ISSUES
The Parish Council has continued to press the County Council with regards to several ongoing issues within the village, including the speeding concerns around Knowles Hill. The County Council have recently responded as follows:-

“The percentile speeds taken previously do not show a noticeable speed issue on this bend and it is believed that the safety measures previously undertaken improve the situation, by making the bends more visible. I intend to reapply the surfacing to the existing rumble strips in the spring (temperature and moisture prevent it being done now)”. In addition, they have agreed to place a Mobile SID Signs (Speed Indication Devices) at this location. The SID Signs will record speed and volume date over a period of 2-3 weeks and then the County Council will analyse the results.

DOG FOULING
Dog Fouling is a subject that disgusts most residents, dog owners and none dog owners alike. Yet unfortunately is an issue that needs to be raised once again, following a recent increase in the amount of faeces on the footway. The Parish council would like to urge the small minority of irresponsible dog owners to clear up after their dog. It is an offence not to clear up after your dog and the Parish Council have now asked East Staffordshire Borough Council Enforcements Department to intervene. 

COMMUNITY TRANSPORT INITIATIVE
The Parish Council is aware of the lack of an effective 'bus service to Queen's Hospital, and have unsuccessfully tried to persuade the 'bus companies to provide a service. We are exploring the possibility of a regular service to be provided as a Community Transport initiative, which could be "ad-hoc", or run on a timetable. Before we go any further, it is necessary to establish the likely demand, so we have asked Hatton, Tutbury and Anslow Parish Councils, (where there are similar difficulties) for their views on the possibility of a joint scheme to serve a wider area. Would anyone who is interested in the future use of this project, or could offer assistance, please contact Heidi Light, Clerk of the Council on any of the contact details listed.

PARISH COUNCIL CLERK REPORTS & MINUTES
Copies of the Clerks Reports, Agendas and Minutes can be downloaded from the village website: www.rolleston.org.uk. 

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