May 2026 Draft Minutes
Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on 20th May 2026
These minutes are in draft form and may be altered
Present; R. Gore (Chair), D. Strollo, J. Gregory, C. Cuckson, L. Hoggarth, D. Forrest, Cllr. E. Bailey (WLDC)
In attendance; G. Payne (Clerk), E. Lambert (prospective new member)
Apologies; none received.
26/15 Election of Officers – CC proposed that the Chairman and Vice Chair be re-elected for a further year, seconded by JG and agreed. R. Gore would continue as Chair and D. Strollo as Vice Chair.
26/16 Co-option of new member – a vacancy had arisen as a result of the death of the late Jane Scott, notices had been posted throughout the parish inviting parishioners to request an election should they so wish. WLDC had received no such request and had authorised the Parish Council to advertise the vacancy and co-opt to fill the vacancy. Emma Lambert had expressed an interest and had been invited along to the meeting. It was agreed that she would be a valuable addition to the council and her co-option was confirmed. She was asked to complete the necessary paperwork which the Clerk would pass on to WLDC. Action EL/GP
26/17 Approve minutes of meeting held on 18th March 2026 – these had been circulated and were accepted as a true record; proposed CC, seconded LH agreed and signed off by the Chairman
26/18 Matters arising
a) Telephone box – the Clerk had made little progress on the details for solar powered heating and light provided by Cllr. Bailey at the last meeting so it was still “work in progress”. Action GP
b) Concrete apron village hall – the village hall committee had obtained estimates for repairing the concrete apron and installing a handrail on the slope into the committee room. The estimated cost was £500 and they had approached both Kexby and Upton Parish Councils for financial support. It was agreed that Kexby PC would pay half. Action GP
c) Poppies for lampposts – CC agreed to check the number required and get them ordered in good time for remembrance Sunday. Action CC
d) Gainsborough Half Marathon – Cllr. Bailey continued to work to get assurances regarding the concerns which had been raised but there appeared to be no compulsion for the organisers to work with local communities or their representatives.
e) Fence by path to playing field – the Clerk had been unable to request action via “Fix My Street” as the footpath was not designated a public right of way. It had been created to provide access to the playing field and village hall when Orchard Close had been developed, having been used as a right of way for several years it was thought that it may be possible to get it registered as a public right of way, the Clerk would investigate. Action GP
26/19 Financial Report – the accounts for year ending 31st March 2025 had been audited by the internal auditor and found to be correct. The balance sheet had been circulated along with a summary of variances from the previous year. The accounts were accepted; proposed and the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) was signed off. The Clerk was asked to file a Certificate of Exemption from full audit form which was available to authorities with a turnover of less than £25,000. Action GP
The accounts had to be available for public inspection for 30 working days, this was known as the Exercise of Public Rights and would run from Wednesday 1st July until Tuesday 11th August. Access would be by prior arrangement with the Clerk.
26/20 Insurance renewal – the Clerk had investigated the option of a new on-line package for Parish Councils with a precept of less that £30,000 available with the current insurers. The fact that the Parish Council owned the parish cottage made them ineligible. It was agreed that the renewal should be paid and the Clerk was asked to investigate the cost (and potential benefit) of moving the insurance for the parish cottage to Zurich when it came up for renewal. Action GP
26/21 Correspondence
a) Street lighting – there had been a request from 12 High Street for the Parish Council to investigate the possibility of an additional light down the south end of the High Street. The Clerk had asked Cllr. Wimhurst to look into the process to be followed for this but had not had a response. There was a need to see what the effect of current lighting was so that the matter could be addressed more fully at the next meeting. Action all
b) High Street sign – the posts of one of the High Street signs had rotted off, a local resident had expressed concern that it may be replaced by a “modern” metal sign which would not be in keeping. Cllr. Bailey suggested that “Fix My Street” process could be used stressing the need for any replacement to be in keeping with its situation. Action GP
c) Dog fouling – a complaint had been received about dog fouling on Glentworth Road, the Clerk had passed this on to WLDC enforcement officers who were liaising with the complainant to resolve the matter.
d) Communities Facilities Grant – at a recent village hall committee meeting this had been discussed as a potential source of funding to replace the lights in the main hall with LED lighting which would be much cheaper to run and more environmentally friendly.
e) Post Office – a parishioner had contacted the Clerk with a screenshot indicating that postal services had been resumed in the village hall. JG had investigated this and discovered that it was a third party site which was out of date, the parishioner had been informed.
26/22 Cottage flooding – the tenant of the parish cottage had raised the issue of flooding in the garden on several occasions. Given the restricted time for the meeting it was agreed to discuss the garden more fully at the next meeting, the Clerk was asked to make it an agenda item. Action GP
26/23 Clerk’s pay and expenses – these had been circulated in advance, there were no queries and they were signed off for payment.
26/24 Any Other Business
a) Litter on playing field – EB reported that, whist litter picking with her children they had come across human faeces along with a considerable number of wine bottles and drink cans under the trees by the playpark. This was obviously a matter of considerable concern and would be raised with the representative of the playing field committee at the Annual Parish Meeting scheduled to take place immediately after the current meeting. Given the mix of offensive material it was felt likely that it was arising at times other than when the area was being used for legitimate purposes.
The next meeting was set for 6:30pm on Wednesday 15th July