Council Meeting – 11th March 2026

Thursday 5th March 2026

To All Members of the Parish Council

You are hereby summoned to attend the Meeting of Great Longstone Parish Council which will be held on Wednesday 11^th March 2026 in the Village Hall, Church Lane, Great Longstone DE45 1TB, commencing at 7.00pm, for the purpose of transacting the following business.

Members of the public are welcome to attend.

Yours faithfully

Simon Headington

Simon Headington
Clerk, Great Longstone Parish Council
clerk@greatlongstone-pc.gov.uk
www.greatlongstone-pc.gov.uk

Agenda

1. Apologies for absence from members.
2. Declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest relating to items on the agenda.
3. To Approve Minutes of the meeting of 14^th January 2026
   • Corrections to references to other parts of the minutes in item 5/26
   • Change the words “application forms” to “survey forms” in Item 7.2/26
   • Corrections to incorrect spelling of Cllr Barrett’s name in Item 18/26
   • Correct a typing error in 21.5.4/26 where “£” signs appeared as the number “3” 

4. Public Participation Session: In accordance with Standing Order 3(e), the Council will allow a period of up to 15 minutes for members of the public to make representations, answer questions, and give evidence in respect of any item of business included on the agenda or other parish matters.
5. Discussion of Confidential Matters: (Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 S1(2)) – To determine which items, if any, from the agenda should be taken with the public excluded. If the Parish Council decides to exclude the public, it will be necessary to pass a resolution in the following terms: “to consider a resolution under the above act to exclude members of the press and public in order to discuss item number …” This item will then be discussed with press and public excluded.
6. Report from Proper Officer to the Council
   • Submitted precept demand for 2026/27 (£23,835)
   • Replaced battery on Tea Hut Defibrillator
   • Reported various potholes
   • Sorting out HMRC Registration
   • Obtained 2^nd quote for cherry tree and arranged for the work to be done
   • Continuing work related to the Neighbourhood Plan
7. Report from Staffing Committee Meeting on 29^th January
   • Cllr Hornsey was elected Chair of the Staffing Committee.
   • The following policies & procedures were approved:
     • Dignity at Work Policy – https://greatlongstone-pc.gov.uk/dignity-at-work-policy/
     • Employee Privacy Notice – https://greatlongstone-pc.gov.uk/employee-privacy-notice/
     • Grievances and Disciplinary Procedures – https://greatlongstone-pc.gov.uk/grievances-and-disciplinary-procedures/
     • Health and Safety Policy – https://greatlongstone-pc.gov.uk/health-and-safety-policy/
     • Sickness Absence Policy – https://greatlongstone-pc.gov.uk/sickness-absence-policy/
     • Training and Development Policy – https://greatlongstone-pc.gov.uk/training-and-development-policy/
   • The committee confirmed the appointment of Simon Headington as salaried Clerk & Responsible Finance Officer (RFO), on Local Government Scale LC1 Points 7-12, commencing on Point 7, with effect from 1^st February 2026.
8. Allotments: – it was previously agreed to switch from a fixed price “per plot” to charges based on the actual plot sizes. Council to discuss and agree the price per square metre for 2026/27 and whether the “Year” runs from April or October.
9. Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee Report – Report from Cllr Douglass
10. Housing Needs Survey – Report from Cllr Douglass
11. Recreation Ground – Noticeboard on Tennis Court – Update from Cllr Barrett

12. Village Green –Cherry Tree – Update from the Clerk

13. Closed Churchyard – Proposal to accept a grant of £590 from Peak District National Park Foundation for tools and seeds for the Churchyard Volunteer Group – Proposal from Cllr Barrett.
14. Old Infant School Building: – Update from the Clerk
15. Camper Vans on Moor Road: – Update from the Clerk
16. Highways:
    • Glorious Gravel Cycling Event – Sat 14^th March – Various parts of the Parish (and Rowland).
    • Longstone Edge Cycling Hill Climb – Wed 17^th June (Moor Road will be closed for the event).
    • Severn Trent – looking at combined drains
    • Highways/DCC – not responding to issues related to blocked gulleys
17. Village Hall: Report from Cllrs Barrett and Hornsey on the Village Hall Charity Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 10^th March 2026
18. Village Week 2026 – Sat 11^th to Sun 19^th July 2026 – Update from the Clerk
19. Annual Parish Meeting (29^th April 2026) – To finalise the planning for the event
20. Land Registrations – Report from the Clerk: Confirmation has been received that the Land Registry records for the Village Greens (DY482175) and West Green/Allotments (DY318854) now both show the Village Hall as the postal address for the Parish Council. This update has taken over10 months since the application was lodged by the Council’s Solicitor. The Recreation Ground (DY461279) was updated to the same address last year.Work on registering the Council’s Moor Road properties still needs to be completed.
21. Planning Applications
    • Recent – Decided/Withdrawn:
      • – NP/DDD/1225/1251 – 11 Edge View Drive – Permission for proposed rear ground floor extension and first floor side extension (over existing garage and porch) to dwelling – Granted Conditionally 
    • Recent – No decision made yet by PDNP:
      • None
    • Submitted dealt with between meetings
      • NP/DDD/0126/0096 – 26 The Meadows, Grisedale Road West, Great Longstone
    • New, for consideration in meeting:
      • NP/DDD/0725/0657 & NP/DDD/0725/0658 at Longstone Hall (multiple changes). This has now come back with multiple additional plans and reports. Deadline for additional responses is Thursday 12th March.
      • NP/DDD/0326/0237 – 22 The Meadows, Grisedale Road West – Alterations and rear extension

22. Policies – https://greatlongstone-pc.gov.uk/page/governance/
    • Existing Policies for review and readoption
      • Publication Scheme (Required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
    • For Adoption
      • Information Technology and Social Media Policy: (Required by paragraph 1.54 of the Practitioners’ Guide 2025)
    • For discussion
      • Biodiversity Policy (Section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 as amended by Section 102 of the Environment Act 2021)
    • Reviewing Documents: Proposed that Standing Orders be updated to read that Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, Code of Conduct, Asset Register and Publication Scheme to be reviewed annually at the Annual Meeting of the Council (AMC), in May, and that all other policies be reviewed annually at the first full meeting of the Council after the AMC.
23. Scheme of Delegation: Proposed that the Scheme of Delegation (March 2026) be adopted with immediate effect, and that it be reviewed annually or upon changes to legislation, whichever is sooner.
24. Mid-Year Internal Audit – Jan 2026: To accept the midterm internal audit report.
25. Preparing for the Annual Governance and Audit Review (AGAR)

To receive a briefing note on the 2025-26 AGAR process and timetable.

26. Finance
    • Bank reconciliations – as at 28^th February 2026.

Total cash available £30,535.54. Balances to be checked by a councillor against bank statements. Note receipt of reimbursable expenditure from DDDC.

• VAT Refund: To report that claim submitted for £4,608.37 has been paid in full.
• Application submitted for a Unity Trust savings account
• To approve payments made since last meeting:

• To accept and approve new payments:

27. Items of Correspondence
    • 22 Jan – DDDC – Timetable for submitting revised Local Plan to Government
    • 22 Jan – Myhill Cycling – Longstone Edge Hill Climb 17^th June
    • 29 Jan – Notification of planning application NP/DDD/0126/0096
    • 30 Jan – Email from a resident about a pothole on Main Street
    • 30 Jan – PDNPA – 75^th anniversary of the National Park
    • 6 Feb – DDDC – Consultation on local government reorganisation
    • 6 Feb – DCC – Transfer of transport services to EMCCA
    • 9 Feb – PDNP – Response to question about Bleaklow Hollow Tailings Dam
    • 10 Feb – Ethos Universitas – invitation to join their partner community
    • 10 Feb – DCC – Public Rights of Way Minor maintenance claims
    • 10 Feb – DCC – response to a query about extent of the highway and parking areas along Moor Road
    • 26^th Feb – Gravel X – Cycling event that will pass through on Sat 14^th March
    • 2^nd Mar – Call from a resident about footballs coming into their garden from the Tennis Court.
    • 3^rd Mar – DDDC – Offer of training in the planning process (DDDC, not PDNP)
    • 4^th Mar – Sports England – Site Audit Due (for Recreation Ground)
    • 5^th Mar – Bakewell Safe Neighbourhood Team (Police) – March Newsletter
    • 5^th Mar – DDDC – 2026 Holiday Activities and Food Programme.
    • 5^th Mar – Correspondence about possibly opening a Nursery School in the village
28. Items of Late Correspondence
    None

29. Items from Councillors for information: (Note that anything that requires a decision to be made must go onto the agenda of a future meeting for discussion and agreement)
30. To note forthcoming meetings
31. Dates of future Parish Council meetings:

• Wed 13^th May 2026
• Wed 8^th July 2026
• Wed 9^th September 2026
• Wed 11^th November 2026

Date of 2026 Annual Parish Meeting– 29^th April 2026 @7pm