Council Meeting – 24th September 2025
LITTLE EATON PARISH COUNCIL
clerk@littleeatonparishcouncil.org.uk
Minutes of the Monthly Council Meeting held on
Wednesday 24th September 2025 at Little Eaton Village Hall.
PRESENT: Parish Councillors D Howard (Chair), R Brown, J Bush, S Caines, A Done-Johnson, E Jennison-Boyle, J Reid, P Rowlinson & K Shankland
IN ATTENDANCE: Parish Clerk
25/089 To receive apologies for absence.- None.
25/090 To receive declaration of Members Interests – None.
25/091 To consider any applications for dispensations – None.
25/092 Public Speaking – (15 Minutes)
- A period of not more than fifteen minutes will be made available for members of the public and Members of the Council to comment on any matter.
- If the Police Liaison Officer, a County Council or Borough Council Member is in attendance they will be given the opportunity to raise any relevant matter.
Borough Councillor Eddy was unable to attend the meeting due to the Borough’s Scrutiny Committee meeting being on the same night. Not much has happened over the summer to update the Council on, however there is an extraordinary full council meeting on the 6th October regarding hotels in Long Eaton.
County Councillor Hart and Jonathan Davies MP were present at the meeting.
County Councillor Hart stated that extra funding had been received for Highways and with the good weather over the summer they had managed to reduce the backlog of road repairs and markings.
The warm and welcoming spaces grants has re-opened and more information can be found of DCC’s website.
The shop fronts grants has now been extended to include Little Eaton.
County Councillor Hart agreed to chase DCC for an update on the object licence and cycle rack for Croft Corner.
DCC have not engaged with the request for signage about cars blocking Windy Lane and therefore County Councillor Hart considers that residents can proceed with getting a sign themselves.
Jonathan Davies MP thanked the Parish Council for what it does and also expressed his gratitude to the retiring MP Pauline Latham for her support.
It currently looks like, following the local government re-organisation, there will be 2 authorities in Derbyshire. It is expected that this will create a great opportunity for cost savings and collaboration.
Parish Councils will continue to have an important role as the voice of the community.
Money has been allocated to Mid-Derbyshire to improve transport links. Ideas from the community are welcome.
Timeframe and detail such as diversions and managing biodiversity of the planned upgrade of the A38 still hasn’t been fully worked out. Councillor Reid asked how destructive the access to the site is likely to be, as since the plans were first formed biodiversity in the area has been significantly increased. As an example the Parish Council has a created a biodiversity corridor along Millenium Way and has concerns that the land used for access to the A38 upgrade will not be returned to its current state following completion of the works.
Jonathan Davies MP stated that if they were to disrupt the area during the project there may be an opportunity for some kind of community payback.
25/093 Variation of Order of Business – None.
25/094 To consider a resolution to close the meeting for public participation under the Public Bodies (admission to meetings) Act 1960 – Not applicable.
25/095 To confirm the minutes of the annual meeting held on 30th July 2025 – All agreed that the Chair be authorised to sign the minutes of the monthly council meeting held on 30th July 2025 as being a true and correct record.
25/096 Chair’s Report
The Chair stated that he has met with A B Camp regarding the uneven paving at Croft Corner and is awaiting a quote. It is likely that the whole area will need repaving in the future.
A meeting with the Church has been arranged for Thursday 25th September to look at areas that can be improved.
The Chair thanked the Book Exchange volunteers for their continued support of a much-cherished facility in the village.
Actions from the Minutes
24/179 cycle parking at Croft Corner/Greenway and ways to discourage pavement parking – an object licence for the planters has been submitted to DCC and County Councillor Hart will chase this and the installation of the cycle rack.
25/079 the request from Derby Daybreak Rotary Club for a bench/object in the churchyard – meeting arranged with the Churchwarden and Vicar for 25th September 2025.
25/081 repairs to the pedestrian slope into the park from the park gate – awaiting a quote from A B Camp.
25/083 raising awareness to reduce dog fouling in the village – three signs have been put up between Windy Lane and Vicarage Lane to remind dog walkers to pick up after their dog. The issue has also been highlighted on Facebook and in the Newsletter.
25/084 dates for the publication of the newsletter – defer to October meeting.
25/085 the uneven paving at Croft Corner – awaiting a quote from A B Camp for the repairs.
25/097 Report of the Parish Clerk – The Clerk stated that the external audit for 2024/25 had now been completed and that all documents required to be published were on the website.
25/098 To receive Working Group Feedback (except if the issue is elsewhere on agenda):
- Village Hall –
- The electric for the Bowling and Tennis Clubs is averaging £40pm and it was agreed that this should be on-charged to the Clubs.
- Staff Contracts have now been drafted.
- Revenue over the summer increased.
- Park Group –
- The WI have asked that the edging strips on the steps at the Village Hall be repainted. Now that the nights are drawing in, the edge of the steps are difficult to see in the dark. It was agreed that Councillor Reid will repaint the steps.
- There have been reports of electric motor bikes being ridden across the Park. All instances should be reported to the Police so that resources can be allocated to it. The Chair will check the CCTV to see if anything to identify the culprits can be seen.
- Churchyard Sub Group
- Per above, a meeting with Church has been arranged regarding establishing a wildflower area and stone troughs for water, to encourage wildlife.
- The Clerk to look into who is responsible for topple testing the memorials in a closed churchyard.
- Updated quotes for Phase 3 of the recommended tree work in the tree survey are currently being sought.
- Finance Group – meeting arranged for Wednesday 1st October to discuss 2025/26 forecast and draft 2026/27 budget
- Environmental Action Group
- Next litter pick will be Sunday 19th October at 10am. Meeting at Windy Lane/Pinfold.
- The recycling hub in the phone box is about to go live.
- Footpaths
- Councillor Bush has cleared the overhanging trees on the cycle path along Millenium Way.
- Councillor Bush has also cleared about 150m of the brambles blocking footpath number 54 that runs across the field entered by Outrams Wharf and running south. The path is about a mile long though as so will take a while to clear. It was agreed that next time Councillor Bush goes to clear the footpath he should inform Councillors so that they can assist.
- It was noted that the way marker for footpath number 2 under the A38 bridge is missing. It was agreed that the Clerk will report the missing way marker to DCC.
- It was noted that the cycle path on the canal side of Alfreton Road between Outrams Wharf and Starbucks is overgrown. It was agreed that the Clerk will report the problem to DCC. County Councillor Hart stated that once reported she would follow up on the Parish Council’s behalf with DCC.
25/099 Finance – Payments for August and September totalling £5,961.34 were circulated to members for approval. All agreed that the payments be approved and the accounts to which they relate paid.
25/100 Planning Applications –
Application number: ERE/0925/003 Yassou Greek Kitchen, 162 Alfreton Road, Little Eaton, DE21 5AB
Proposed development: Demolition of existing out buildings and erection of new outbuilding – It was resolved that the Council has no objection to this application, although it is noted that the area is known to have experienced repeated and significant flood events and so a robust flood risk strategy is required.
Application number: ERE/0825/0050 1 Westley Crescent, Little Eaton Derbyshire DE21 5AL
Proposed development: Installation of conservatory at side of property – It was resolved that the Council has no objection to this application. It did however note that mitigation measures should be incorporated into the design to ensure that surface water run-off is no greater than that prior to the development.
Application number: ERE/0825/0039 7 Woodlands Close, Little Eaton, Derbyshire DE21 5DZ
Proposed development: Alterations to create new balcony to existing first floor rear dormer – It was resolved that the Council has no objection to this application, although it does ask the planning officers have consideration for the loss of privacy for the immediate neighbours and potential noise disturbance from outdoor use of the balcony.
Application number: ERE/0825/0020 Neslea Bermuda Avenue, Little Eaton, Derbyshire DE21 5DG
Proposed development: Demolition of existing bungalow and proposed new 3 bedroom house – It was resolved that the Council has no objection to this application. It did however, note that the parking may be inadequate for a modern three bed family home and that mitigation measures should be incorporated into the design to ensure that surface water run-off is no greater than that prior to the development. Planners should also ensure that the hedgerows are protected.
25/101 To consider adopting the draft Internal Control Review Process – It was agreed that Councillor Caines will look through the document and make any changes ready for approval at the February full Council meeting.
25/102 To consider proposed amendments to the terms of the Bowling Club contract – It was agreed to amend the contract per the requests by the Bowling Club.
25/103 To consider proposed amendments to the terms of the Tennis Club – It was agreed to amend the contract to be in line with the Bowling Club. It was also agreed that Councillors Howard and Reid will meet with the Tennis Club Chair to discuss the boundary wall.
It was also resolved that because the Bowling and Tennis Clubs are on the same electric meter the Village Hall will on-charge this amount based on how the clubs decide is fair.
25/104 To consider the clearance of the gullies around the Village Hall – Councillor Reid explained that there were a number of minor maintenance jobs required around the Village Hall, Car Park and Playground. It was agreed that a weekend working party be arranged, to clearing the gullies etc ready for winter.
25/105 To consider the quote for Phase 3 of the tree work at the churchyard – It was noted that the Parish Council is awaiting updated quotes for the tree work.
25/106 To consider the organisation of the Advent windows – Councillor Rowlinson stated that Councillor Shankland had agreed to help with co-ordinating the Advent windows this year, and that a Councillor also needed to attend each window reveal during December.
25/107 To consider the co-ordination of the Christmas light switch on and Christmas fair/market – The Christmas Light switch on at Croft Corner will be 7th December, but the lights will need looking at beforehand as some are not working. The Chair will oversee this.
Following the success of last year’s Christmas Fayre organised by the Queen’s Head a number of local organisation have expressed willingness to do another event this year. Councillor Rowlinson will not be responsible for organising the event, however, is willing to act as co-ordinator.
25108 Correspondence for Action
- Request from Little Eaton Carnival to place banners in 2 locations between 30th September and 26th October promoting a family fireworks display at Drum Hill scout camp. It was agreed that as the banners are not on Parish Council land they would be unable to comment.
- Email from resident requesting that the parish Council considers implementing a policy that dogs are kept on leads in public spaces and in particular St Peters Park. It was noted that the Byelaw states that dogs on the park should be under control. It was agreed that without a dog warden, it is a difficult to mange, however the Parish Council will put a post on Facebook reminding users of the park of their responsibility under the Byelaw.
- Report of Footpath 54 to the south of Little Eaton being almost impassable due to brambles and nettles. See minute 25/098 above.
25/109 Correspondence for Information
- Copy of the slides presented at the Parish & Town Council Liaison Forum giving an update on the Local Government Reorganisation.
- Link to Police and Crime Commissioner’s Presentation on Strategic priorities.
- Road Closure Duffield Bank, Duffield between its junction with Makeney Road and Red Lane on 5th November 2025 to facilitate repairs to telecommunications apparatus. See parish Council website for more information.
- Road Closure Alfreton Road, Alfreton and also Ford Lane Breadsall at the junction with the A38 from 8pm on 16th October and 6am on 17th October, to facilitate cyclical maintenance. See parish Council website for more information.
- The next Walk Leader training will be held on Saturday 25th October from 10 am until 3 pm at West Park Leisure Centre, Long Eaton. Please contact the scott@erewash.gov.uk for further information or to book a place.
- Thanks received from Carnival Committee to the Parish Council for its support in enabling Carnival to to host a special music night for over 70 of the more senior members of the village.
- The Parish Council Defibrillator has been successfully launched on the BHF – ‘The Circuit’. The WEBNOS updates will continue as previously.
There being no further business the Chair declared the meeting closed at 9pm.
