2026 Minutes

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 18th March 2026

These minutes are in draft form and may be altered

Present; D. Strollo (Vice Chair), J. Gregory, D. Forrest, L. Hoggarth, C. Cuckson, Cllr. E Bailey. In the absence of the Chairman DS took the chair.

Clerk; G. Payne Apologies; R. Gore

26/06 Recent death of Parish Councillor Jane Scott – the Parish Council paid tribute to the work of Jane Scott ,who had been an active and enthusiastic member of both the Parish Council and the village hall committee. She served the community well and had worked tirelessly to secure funding for improvements to the village hall kitchen and toilets despite her illness. It was noted that there would be a collection for Myeloma UK, from which Jane had suffered, at her funeral; DS proposed sending a donation of £100 in recognition of her contribution to the community. This was seconded by LH and agreed unanimously.   Action  GP

WLDC had been notified of Jane’s death, no action would be taken until after the funeral when a formal notice would be issued giving parishioners the opportunity to request an election should they wish to do so. If no such request was received within 14 days the Parish Council would be authorised to co-opt a member to fill the vacancy.

26/07 Approval of the minutes from meeting on 21st January 2026 – these had been circulated and were accepted as a true record, proposed LH, seconded CC, agreed unanimously and signed off by the Chairman.

26/08 Matters arising

a) Email addresses – there were now four people using their new email addresses

b) Parish Cottage  - the pollarding had been carried out but the work had turned out to be more difficult than anticipated as several of the larger branches had become intertwined. This increased the cost by £350, which had been approved by the Chairman. The final cost was £1,130 which had been paid. The contractor recommended that the work should be carried out every five years.

The tenant had reported a broken drain cover, the clerk was asked to get a price for a replacement for the next meeting.   Action GP

c) Speed Indicator Device – Cllr. Bailey felt that the LCC response to the Archer Survey had not made it clear what further action would be taken and suggested that the clerk follow up the offer of a permanent speed enforcement camera.   Action GP

d) Telephone Box – Cllr. Bailey had done some research into what would be required to provide low level heat and lighting from solar power for which the Parish Council was very grateful. The clerk was asked to develop this research and produce a costed proposal which could be used to apply for grant funding when it became available.   Action GP

e) Highways issues – LCC had confirmed that the work had been completed, budget constraints would not have provided sufficient money to provide a tarmac surface for such a large project. It was agreed that what had been provided was a great improvement given the very poor condition of the footpath.

f) Concrete apron outside village hall – the village hall committee was in the process of obtaining estimates for this work, their next meeting would be early May but no date had yet been fixed. DS asked the clerk to inform him of the date so that he could attend, he also asked to be informed of the date of the next meeting of the playing field committee.   Action GP

g) Facebook – despite notices having been posted around the village there were still not many followers. The clerk would advertise it in the next newsletter, existing content was in attractive format which should encourage its use. Several of the members had not visited the new site, JG agreed to circulate log-in details.          Action GP/JG

h) Telecon Mast – the telecommunications installation to the east of Willingham Road did not require formal approval from WLDC as the development fell under the parameters of outright permitted development.

i) Remembrance – the Tommy had been purchased LH and CC agreed to check on the number of poppies required and report back to a future meeting.          Action LH/CC

j) LALC Training Scheme – both JG and DS expressed an interest in undertaking some training, after some discussion it was agreed that Kexby would apply to join the training scheme from 1st April. Having paid an annual membership the core training schemes would be free. Members were encouraged to review the training programme which came with LALC E-news on a monthly basis. If members let the clerk know which courses they wished to attend he would completer their enrolment process.          Action all/GP

k) Newsletter  - the clerk had been struggling for content but would ensure that one went out in time to advertise the Annual Parish Meeting. DS offered to format and print this off if the clerk forwarded him the draft.         Action GP/DS

26/09 Financial Report – the finances were still in a strong position with sufficient in the savings account to            cover any unexpected expenses on the parish cottage. The clerk would complete the end of year accounts and take to the internal auditor in time for approval at the next meeting.   Action GP

26/10 Planning Application – an application had been received concerning 24 Glentworth Road. This was for a first floor roof extension over existing garage with balcony, conversion of garage to living space and rear extensions. There were no objections.

26/11 Correspondence

a) Gainsborough Half Marathon – it was noted that there had been several issues last year, there were new organisers involved this year and it was felt that lessons had been learned. It was generally thought that the move should be welcomed and that thought should be given to how local businesses could benefit.

b) H2 Consultations – the local consultation event was to be held in Willingham village hall between 2:00 and 6:00 pm on Monday 23rd March.

c) Elan City – advertising material for solar powered Speed Indicator Devices (starting from £4,500) not of interest at this time.

d) Reshape Landscaping – offered to provide topical gardening tips for parish magazine/newsletter (as a means of advertising). Not of interest at this time.

e) Pelican Trust – Special Needs centre in Lincoln that offers printing, and manufacture of wooden structures. CC was aware of them and said that they were a very good trust and worthy of support. Something to bear in mind but not required at present time.

26/12 Arrangements for Annual Parish Meeting – it had proved difficult to get parishioners to attend, in previous years all households had been leafleted to no avail. Some time ago visiting speakers had been used which did attract more people but it was felt that it would be embarrassing to invite a speaker and find that no-one attended. It was felt that some type of activity was needed to encourage attendance but that it was too late for this year so it needed to be considered earlier next year. The format would remain the same as last year with the Annual Parish Council meeting at 6:30 followed by the Annual Parish meeting at 7:30.

26/13 Clerk’s pay and expenses – deferred to next meeting

26/14 Any Other Business

a) Fence beside footpath linking High Street to playing field – this was becoming rotten and subject to vandalism causing an obstruction to the footpath. LCC had responsibility for footpaths and the clerk was asked to report it via “Fix My Street”   Action GP

b) Land Registry – JG had checked the Parish Council’s details on the Land Registry and discovered that their address was still that of the former clerk, the clerk was asked to update this.   Action GP

Next meetings – the meetings in May would be the Annual Parish Council Meeting which would include election of officers for the following year, at 6:30 followed by the Annual Parish Meeting at 7:30. Wednesday 20th May was the provisional date but the clerk was asked to confirm the Chairman’s availability before confirming the date.   Action GP