May 2025 Minutes
Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on 21st May 2025
These minutes are in draft form and may be altered
Present; R.Gore (Chair), D. Strollo, C. Cuckson, J. Scott Clerk; G. Payne
Apologies; had been received from Cllr. E. Bailey, L. Hoggarth, D. Forrest
25/14 Election of officers – CC proposed that the Chair and Vice Chair remained in post, seconded by JS. RG was therefore confirmed as Chair and DS as Vice Chair for a further year.
25/15 Approval of the minutes from meeting on 19th March – these had been circulated and were accepted as a true record, proposed CC, seconded JS and agreed unanimously.
25/16 Matters arising
a) Email addresses – The external auditors required the Parish Council to be using .gov.uk email addresses by the time of the 25/26 audit. It was therefore agreed to cancel the current contract with Dalton and the Clerk was asked to research details of acquiring a .gov.uk system for the next meeting. Action DS/GP
b) Parish Cottage improvements – three estimates had been received, £7,700, £8,300, £8,371. + VAT in all cases. It was agreed to proceed with the estimate from L.R. Hutchinson. The Chairman would make arrangements for the tenant to vacate the property and for the builders to proceed. The Clerk would arrange a transfer of funds from the Liquidity Manager account to the Business Reserve account in time for the account to be settled. Action RG/GP
c) Vacancy on the Council – one of the parishioners who expressed an interest had withdrawn and the other had been invited to the meeting but did not attend so the vacancy remained unfilled.
d) Mission Statement – the Clerk had circulated a draft version which was agreed, proposed CC seconded JV and unanimously agreed. The Clerk would arrange for it to be added to the Parish Council website. Action GP
e) Jubilee Trees – it was agreed that these should be planted in front of the village hall. Action LH
25/17 Financial Report
a) Current position – the accounts for 2024/25 had been passed by the internal auditor and a copy of the balance sheet was discussed. There had been an excess of expenditure over income of £111.11 which, considering the laptop had been replaced, was very satisfactory. There was quite a high balance in the savings accounts but planned improvements to the parish cottage would require a significant investment in the new financial year. A copy of the balance sheet would be uploaded onto the Parish Council website. Action GP
b) Insurance renewal – a renewal notice for the Parish Council insurance had been received from Zurich, the premium was slightly less than the previous year so the clerk was authorised to go ahead with the renewal. Action GP
c) External Auditors – copies of the Annual Governance and Accountability Returns had been circulated, these were signed off and the clerk would ensure that the Certificate of Exemption was returned to meet the deadline. The clerk would also ensure that a copy of the returns was uploaded onto the Parish Council website. Action GP
25/18 Exercise of Public Rights – a period of 30 working days during which the public had a right to inspect the accounts. This was set for 2nd June to 11th July, CC agreed to hold the accounts for any time during this period in which the clerk was away.
25/19 Correspondence
a) Environmental smells – Cllr. Bailey had received numerous complaints from throughout her ward and had sought clarification on regulations regarding this from WLDC’s Environmental Health Practitioner. She had shared the response with Parish Councils and these had been circulated. It was agreed that, living in the countryside, residents were likely to experience this for brief periods occasionally. The issue appeared to relate to a farm at Willingham rather than anything directly affecting Kexby.
b) STEP community event - (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) an invitation had been received to an event explaining the work to develop fusion energy at the former coal fired power station at West Burton. It was agreed that this would be an interesting project and that it would be useful to monitor its progress.
25/20 Speed Indicator Device
a) Analysis tool – the clerk was having trouble getting the analysis tool to work, he had been in touch with the suppliers and would spend some time trying to get it to work when the device had been returned from Upton.
b) Action GP
c) Installation safety – the ground around the base of the pole to which the device was attached was quite uneven. The clerk had been in touch with the County Council some time ago to request a firm base but nothing had happened. It was agreed that the Parish Council would arrange for some slabs to be laid at the base, the clerk would liaise with LH to arrange this. Action GP/LH
d) Pole on Kexby Lane – a request had been received for the device to be used on Kexby Lane to reinforce the new 50mph limit. It was felt that some of the existing poles would be adequate and the clerk was authorised to order some new fixing brackets. Action GP
There being no other business the Chairman closed the meeting at 7:25
Next meeting Wednesday 15th July 6:30