Draft Minutes - Annual Meeting of the Council 6 May 2025
25/05-1 Election of Chair. Cllr Mr Lou Fear was re-elected Chair and duly signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
P: JWi; S: JS, All in Favour
25/05-2 Election of Vice-Chair. Cllr Mrs Rowena Larkin was re-elected Vice- Chair and duly signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
P: LF; S: JWa, All in Favour
Public Session
a) ELDC War Member. Cllr A Grist did not attend and no report submitted
b) LCC Ward Member. No email contact details yet for the newly elected Ward Member.
c) There were two members of the public present but did not have any issues to raise.
25/05-3 Record of Members Present and Apologies.
Present: Cllr Mr Lou Fear (Chair) (LF), Cllr Rowena Larkin (Vice-Chair) (RL), Cllr Steve Samuel (SS), Cllr John Williams (JWi), Cllr Jo Walsh (JWa), Cllr Kim Larkin (KL) and Cllr John Stainton (JS)
Also present: Mrs Nadine Must (Parish Clerk).
Apologies accepted: Cllr Jerome Higgins-Commowick, Mr Russell Howard (Churchwarden)
25/05-4 Chairman’s Welcome and Remarks. The Chair had no further update than those reported at the annual parish meeting.
25/05-5 To receive any Declarations of Interest on any item on the agenda. None
25/05-6 Minutes from 3 February 2025. It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting were an accurate record. The Chair signed the minutes.
P: JWi; S: RL, All in Favour
25/05-7 Council Matters
a) Annual Review of Policies. The Council reviewed all its current policies and agreed that the documents were still relevant. The 2025 amendments to the Standing Orders recommended by NALC were not adopted as they were not deemed especially relevant to the Council. The newly amended Safeguarding Policy was adopted and it was agreed that there was no need to have a dedicated Safeguarding Officer. All Councillors should be mindful of safeguarding needs. Clerk to renew all other policies on the council website.
i. Financial Regulations
ii. Code of Conduct
iii. Civility and Respect Pledge
iv. Data Protection Policy
v. Privacy Notice
vi. Complaints Procedure
vii. Environmental Policy
viii. Health and Safety Policy
ix. Equal Opportunities Policy
P: RL; S: LF, All in Favour
b) Actions from Previous Meeting. Noted.
c) Communications Received. Noted. The volume of communications sent by the Clerk was discussed and there was a motion to reduce emails sent which are relevant to the parish. The motion was not carried. Councillors to decide themselves which ones to read or delete.
d) Insurance Quotes. It was resolved to accept the renewal quote from Zurich Insurance at a cost of £277. Annual Insurance period starts on the 17 June 2025.
P: RL; S: SS, All in Favour
e) Community Speed Watch Campaign. It was agreed to register with the Lincolnshire Road Safety Campaign and avail of the six x 30mph passive notices which costs £50.
P: LF; S: SS, All in Favour
25/05-8 Finance and Budgets
a) Payments. The Council resolved to accept the following payments for May 2025. It was also resolved not to register with the LALC Annual Training Scheme. Councillors and Parish Clerk to attend as required and Council to pay as non-members.
To Amount (£)
1 Parish Clerk Salary and expenses - April and May 2025 £502.37
2 HMRC PAYE Income Tax £54.20
3 LALC - Annual Subscription FY 2025/26 £86.18
4 Parish Council Insurance - Zurich £277.00
5 SLCC Membership £45.60
6 Community Speed Watch Campaign Registration £50.00
Total £1,015.35
P: JWi; S: RL, All in Favour
b) Receipts. It was noted that the ELDC grant of £250 was received in March and the Parish Precept for FY2025-26 of £4,831 was banked in April.
c) Review of End of year Receipts and Payments 2024-2025. Noted and approved.
d) 2024-2025 AGAR. The Council noted the Internal Auditor’s report. It was agreed that the Parish Council will send a thank you card and a bouquet of flowers in gratitude for her continued support.
e) 2024-2025 AGAR. The Council reviewed and approved the Annual Governance Statement.
f) 2024-2025 AGAR. The Council reviewed and approved the Accounting Statements and all other supporting financial records.
g) 2024-2025 AGAR. The Council approved the Certificate of Exemption. The Chair and Clerk both signed the relevant forms for submission to the external auditor and for publication on website.
P: JWi; S: RL, All in Favour
The Clerk gave Cllr JWa and JWi each the notice for the exercise of public rights to be posted on the notice boards.
25/05-9 Planning Matters.
a) There were no applications to consider.
25/05-10 Date of Next Meeting. Monday, 4th August 2025 at 7:30pm.
Agenda items for next meeting: Wightman Corner maintenance plan
The meeting closed at 8:55pm.