Minutes of Meeting 2 March 2026
Present: Councillors: Valentino Calabrese, David Haydon, Charles Henriques, (presiding) and Paul Smith.
Residents: Frances Plummer
Others: Bernard Champness (Clerk) District Cllr Penny Robins
Open Forum
1. Frances Plummer was present and wanted to have an update on various matters she had
mentioned at a recent meeting which related to the picnic tables on the green, the broken
willow tree at the Bywells and progress with refurbishment of the Stocks. The willow tree has
collapsed further and is potentially in a dangerous condition. Children have been seen
playing around it, which is concerning. Cllr Robins said that she had reported this matter on
FixMyStreet, as had Frances Plummer. As for the Stocks Cllr Robins explained that there
was a problem in that it was a listed monument, but Cllr Henriques pointed out that Listed
Building Consent had been applied for and assumed this would be granted shortly. Cllr
Robins also said SKDC were currently looking for funding for the works. She has been
advised that this could take some time to obtain but she is receiving updates which she will
relay to the Clerk. Frances Plummer pointed out that the fixed picnic table which was
severely deteriorated had been removed and replaced with an old wooden one temporarily.
Cllr Robins said that again funding was an issue and the table would be replaced as and
when funds could be allocated, but she would try and get an update on progress.
The meeting was formally opened at 19.10
86.
Apologies for absence, acceptance of Apologies.
86.1
Apologies were received from Richard Burbidge (personal) Resolved that the apologies be
accepted
87.
Declaration of Interest – To receive Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary and Other Interests, as
set out in Chapter 7 of the Localism Act 2011 and the nature of those interests relating to any
Agenda item
87.1
No one declared an interest in any matter that was on the agenda.
88.
Minutes of the meeting held on the 12 January 2026 (25-05)
88.1
Resolved: That the minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held 12 January 2026 be
signed by the Chair as a correct record.
89.
Matters to Report
89.1
1. Cllr Calabrese said that he understood Frances Plummer with the help of the
Church had acquired the old telephone kiosk next to the stocks and assumed
the Church would now be responsible for its management and upkeep, which
he was prepared to do.
90.
To receive a report from the County and District Councillors.
90.1
County Cllr Charlotte Vernon had not sent apologies and had not submitted a report.
90.2
District Cllr Penny Robins gave a report as follows:
LGR proposals –( Local Government Reorganisation) Currently proposals for the following
combinations are on the table, but not confirmed:
New Unitary Kestevens and South Holland.
New Unitary Lindsey’s and Boston and Lincoln.
N & E Lincs to remain.
Consultation date is to close on the 26 March.
Government to assess feedback and decide which proposals will be implemented, in July.
Food waste bins are/have been delivered. The expected implementation date is 12th April
on the current collection day, for the village.
SK Community award nominations are now open until 31st March 2026. Award categories
are as follows:
Volunteer of the Year
Community group of the Year
Cadet forces adult volunteer award
Young persons contribution to community award
The Neil-Smith Community emergency response award
Pride In your Community space award
Judy Smith – Lifetime Community champion award
Nominate at SKDC Website/community awards 2026
Finally, Grantham is hosting an ancient medieval onion fair In the Autumn. It is an Historic
tradition and will be run alongside the regular markets.
91.
Clerks Report and Correspondence received.
91.1
The Clerk had circulated in advance notice of the various e-mails received since the last
meeting. If anyone wanted to see any e-mails, they should let him know and he would
send it on. Since the agenda was posted there were further email received as follows:
1. An email from Adrian Grant, who was interested in finding out more about the
history of the village. This had been circulated and Cllr Haydon was happy for the
Clerk to give him his details as he would help in any way that he could.
2. An email from Julian Withington about another Save a Life session to be held this
Spring. This had been circulated in advance. Cllr Haydon said that he was actively
seeing if there was enough interest in another session and he already had two
people who were interested. The Clerk asked if he could propose a practical time
for this as he needed to confirm one of the dates offered without delay. He said that
he would contact the Clerk shortly with a date.
3. Since the last meeting correspondence had been received volunteering services to
control the moles on the Green. Cllr Haydon said that he could also suggest
someone who was willing to do the work. Cllr Henriques said that as we had used
Mozzy Mak before he thought it would be unreasonable not to use them again as
they had done a very good job and one of their principal staff members regularly
drives through the village. However, although the Clerk had previously asked
SKDC to attend to this unsuccessfully Cllr Robins would be asked to see if she
could make better progress, given they are responsible for the Green and not the
PC. The matter to be on the Agenda for review at the next meeting in May.
92.
Planning applications:
92.1
Planning Applications to Approve: There were no planning applications to deal with
92.2
Planning Applications approved:
Notice of applications approved since the agenda was posted were received as follows:
S25/1996 - Proposal: Erection of new chalet bungalow and detached double garage
and canopy, following demolition of existing bungalow and attached garage, with boundary
alterations and change in sitelevels.at Corra Lynn, Main Street
S25/1960 - Proposal: Proposed construction of a chemical-free swimming pool. at Castle
Barn, Main Street.
92.3
To note any Planning Applications refused or withdrawn: none to note
92.4
To note any Application appealed or any decision made regarding an appeal: none
to note
93.
To receive any data from the reactive sign
93.1
Cllr Smith said that he was in the process of downloading data for the last 2 months and
would have a report very soon.
94.
To receive an update on The Stocks and picnic tables
94.1
There was nothing more to add and there was nothing further to report.
95.
To receive an update on the footpath from the village to the crossroads at the A6121
95.1
There was nothing to discuss as we are still waiting for SKDC to say they have a budget
allocated to do the necessary work.
96.
To agree a date for the Annual Parish Meeting and the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council.
96.1
We needed to agree a date for both meetings as they were a statutory requirement. As the
4 May is a bank holiday, it was agreed that subject to the village hall being free, we would
set the date of the meetings for Monday 11 May 2026. The Annual Parish Meeting to start
at 7.p.m and the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council will then follow starting at 7.30p.m.
97.
To consider another quotation for a new Noticeboard.
97.1
Cllr Henriques reported that he had asked Mr Allsop for a quote for a new board and would
revert to the Clerk when this was available.
98.
To agree the dates for the meetings for 2026-27
98.1
The Clerk had placed this on the agenda so we could book the hall, advertise the dates of
the meetings and all Councillors were aware of the meeting dates proposed. The following
dates were agreed:
11th May 2026
6th July 2026
7th September 2026
2nd November 2026
4th January 2027
1st March 2027
99.
To discuss the new requirement that Parish and Town councils are now advised to use
a.gov.uk domain name and dedicated council email addresses
99.1
The Clerk had hoped he was going to be able to attend a webinar arranged by Scribe
Accounts on this subject, but he could not as he had to take his wife to hospital on the day.
Scribe had sent a written report of the meeting which was shared with the Council in
advance of this meeting. What was quite clear was that the need for Councillors to have a
dedicated gov.uk email address was not mandatory. The Clerk had also contacted
Bluecom Services for a quote for their help and assistance. The fees involved the
purchase of Office 365 Pro Edition, a gov.uk domain name for the council email address
and help and support throughout the year. The cost was £36.58 + £7.32 VAT making a
total of £43.90 per month. The cost of the domain name would cost £15.60 per annum.
There was then a lengthy discussion on why we needed to do this and was it necessary.
The Clerk explained that he understood it was now necessary and we might become stuck
during the Audit if we could not show that we were Assertion 10 compliant. He was not
happy that we were so close to the end of the financial year and wanted a decision to be
made now. He explained that whilst it was expensive, we should have everything in place
before the audit. After considering the quote and the absence of clear statutory reasons for
compliance, it was agreed, notwithstanding the advice of the Clerk, that we would not
proceed any further at this stage. As a small village with a Parish Council annual precept
below £4,000, the cost of compliance of over £500 a year would be utterly
disproportionate. It was felt that it would be difficult to convince residents that this was a
justifiable expense unless there is a legal obligation on the PC to comply. The Clerk would
take advice from the SLCC and LALC if he could, but pointed out this would be informally
given as we are not members of either organisation.
100.
To discuss the concerns of a resident regarding the land by the Bywells and other matters
within the village. .
100.1
A resident had sent two emails regarding various issues in and around the village which
had been circulated in advance. The resident had also had a long telephone conversation
with the Clerk who advised him that his concerns were already being dealt with by the
Parish Council. It was agreed to forward him a copy of the minutes by way of an update.
101.
To confirm Expenditure
£100.00 – St Andrews Parish Hall Management Committee (fees for hire of the hall)
£180.00 – D Thornburn(payroll services for half year)
£96.80 – HMRC (PAYE)
£386.68 – B M Champness (salary Jan Feb & March)
£3.44 – B M Champness (postage)
£4.75 – Lloyds Bank (service charges for December (DD))
[ ] denotes those payments paid between meetings, which have been approved by the Chairperson
and Vice Chairperson of the Parish Council or at a previous meeting but not listed
Payments made by Direct Debit - £
101. 1
It was resolved that the payments be made as well as approving the Direct Debit payments
to Lloyds Bank for January February and March.
102.
Any other business – Reminder – by law no decision can be made under this item only information
exchanged.
102.1
Cllr Haydon asked the Clerk to send him the minutes and agenda for 2023-24 and he would
arrange for them to be placed on the website.
102.2
There being no other business the meeting was formally closed at 20.30
103.
The date of the next meeting – to be held on Monday 11 May 2026 at 7.30 p.m. at St Andrew’s
Parish Hall, Witham on the Hill which will be the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council, and which
would follow the Annual Parish Meeting which starts at 7 p.m.