2025 Minutes

Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on 16th July 2025

 

Present; D. Strollo (Chair), C. Cuckson, J. Scott, L. Hoggarth, J. Gregory Clerk; G. Payne

Apologies; had been received from Cllr. E. Bailey, R. Gore, D. Forrest.

 

The meeting expressed concern that no apology had been received from the new Reform County Councillor following his failure to attend the previous meeting despite having agreed to do so and that no response had been forthcoming following his invitation to the present meeting. It was noted how helpful his predecessor’s attendances had been in supporting actions requested of the County Council. The Clerk was asked to contact Cllr. Wimhurst and express the desire of the Parish Council to work closely with him.   Action GP

 

25/21 Co-option of new member – Jon Gregory was proposed by CC, seconded by LH and unanimously agreed, he was therefore co-opted onto the Parish Council to serve until the next elections in May 2027.

25/22 Approval of the minutes from meeting on 21st May – these had been circulated and were accepted as a true record, proposed CC, seconded JS, agreed unanimously and signed off by the Chairman.

25/23 Matters arising

a) Email addresses – an invoice had been received from Daltons dated 30th June which should be their

b) final invoice, the Clerk was asked to pay it and DS would contact Daltons to confirm that it was their final invoice.          Action GP/DS

Upton Parish Council had arranged a .gov.uk email address which was free for the first year followed by an annual charge of £100. There was some discussion about the value of having names attached rather than just numbers, the Clerk was asked to investigate and report back to the next meeting. Action GP

c) Parish Cottage improvements – the bathroom refurbishment had been completed by L.R Hutchinsons. The Clerk had prepared a draft of the new tenancy agreement which was approved and the Chairman would be asked to meet with the tenant to inspect the work and get the new agreement signed as soon as convenient. There was some discussion about whether the tenant had been running a business from the address and, if so, whether that could invalidate the insurance. The Parish Council had no proof that this was the case but should make every effort to ensure that the tenancy agreement was being adhered to. The new agreement clearly stated that the property should not be used for business purposes and the Chairman would be asked to point this out when getting the contract signed.   Action RG

d) Jubilee trees – in addition to the tree donated by WLDC (which had been deemed too small to plant out so had been grown on in a pot) two further specimens had been donated by LH. Since the playing field committee had refused permission for them to be planted around the refurbished playpark alternative sites were required. CC agreed to take one as did DS, the original tree would be planted in front of the village hall.   Action CC/DS/LH

e) Speed Indicator Device – There was a problem downloading data to the Parish Council computer, JG agreed to meet with the Clerk to try and resolve this, the Clerk would contact him when the device had been taken down.         Action GP/JG

The grass verge around the pole on which the device was fixed had become very uneven creating a hazard when working off steps. LH had some slabs which she agreed to lay at the base of the pole to overcome this GP offered to help if required.   Action LH

A further fixing bracket was required so that the device could be used on Kexby Lane, the Clerk had agreed to order this but had not been available to receive it recently. However his availability in August would be better and he would now place the order.   Action GP

 

25/24 Financial Report

a) Current position – current account £2,372.81, Business Reserve £1,367.92, Liquidity Manager (35 day notice) £16,238.51. Notice had been given to the bank to transfer £7,000 from the Liquidity Manager account in order to pay the builders for the bathroom renovation.

 

25/25 Correspondence

a) Autism – Andi Kirkham had contacted the Parish Council to make members aware that he was able to offer Neurodivergent (Autism + similar conditions) support within West Lindsey. His services were duly noted and the Clerk was asked to retain his details on file should they be required.

 

b) Funding for Christmas party - Cllr. Bailey had informed the Parish Council that Willingham & District Relief Charity could provide a donation of around £400 per village to support a Christmas party for elderly residents. The Clerk had contacted Upton Parish Council to suggest that a joint approach may be worth considering, this had been received favourably by Upton PC. The meeting agreed that this should be pursued with each village applying for funding independently but co-operating on the delivery. DS said that his son-in-law was a professional chef and that he could get him to help out with the catering. JS said that she felt that the WI may be able to help with volunteers. The Clerk was asked to investigate the grant application process and continue to liaise with Upton PC and DS agreed to talk to his son-in-law regarding the proposed event.         Action GP/DS

 

c) Planning application – notice had been received from WLDC that, further to earlier planning having been approved, an application had been received to erect a single dwelling with a detached double garage on land to the south of Tennyson House. Observations were invited with a deadline of 11th August. The Clerk had been unable to locate the details on WLDC website but JG had been successful and informed the meeting that there were only two changes to the previous application. Planning had been approved for two dwellings but only one would be developed at this stage and the new proposal involved a 900 rotation to proposed property. DS once again expressed concern that an access road could, at a later stage, facilitate development on the field beyond the site. JG said that the current application had a driveway going specifically to the double garage. The Meeting did not feel the need to comment further on this proposal.

d) Steeple Renewables – notice had been received of a proposal to develop a solar and battery storage project at Sturton-le-Steeple. Comments to the planning inspectorate were invited by 28th August, details of the proposal available at https://steeplesolarfarm.consultationonline.co.uk/documents.

 

e) Local Government reorganisation – East Lindsey and South Holland District Councils were developing a proposal to put to the Government to create two unitary authorities to replace the existing ten Local Authorities. One would combine North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, West Lindsey and the City of Lincoln. The other would combine North Kesteven, South Kesteven, Boston, South Holland and East Lindsey.

25/26 Any Other Business

a) Planter by the bus shelter – The planter had rotted away and was in need of replacing, Pat Dooley had offered to continue to look after it if the Parish Council provided a replacement. DS said that he had some spare wood which would be ideal for the job and offered to make a replacement. LH pointed out that the two smaller planters by the telephone box could also do with replacing. DS was due to be away for two weeks but agreed to meet with the Clerk on his return to look at the planters and decide on replacements. The Clerk would be able to dispose of the existing planters. Action DS/GP   

b) Telephone box – this was in need of re-painting, Chris Petty still had some of the original paint but was unable to find time to do the painting, LH had recently washed the box so it was ready for painting. CC and LH agreed to remove the books for storage in CC’s garage whilst the work was carried out, they also agreed to help with the painting. The Clerk was asked to contact Chris Petty and get the paint from him so that the work could be completed whilst the weather was warm and dry.   Action CC/LH/GP

There being no other business the Chairman closed the meeting at 7:25

Next meeting Wednesday 19th September 6:30 – JG was unavailable on this date and several other members were unsure so the Clerk was asked to circulate members to agree a convenient date.   Action GP