2026 Minutes

 

Present Cllrs Stuart. Harris, David. Hawkins, Jane. King, Gill. Lunn, Jane. Stanley, Chris. Wray, Kevin Geaney, Mark Rollinson and 5 members of the public.  Clerk Clare Proudfoot 

 

PUBLIC FORUM

 

Concern raised over the inability to read the speed sign on Church Street due to its condition. Cllr Jane King will take the matter up with the County Council because it is a highways matter. Joe Buckingham introduced himself as one of the candidates for the Councillor vacancy. Cllr Mark Rollinson thanked Joe and the other two candidates for putting themselves forward for the vacancy. Concern was raised that land belonging to the Cowley Academy was going to be converted into a swimming pool and other leisure facilities. Cllr Mark Rollinson advised that this was not a matter for the Parish Council and gave contact information to the resident so they could contact the Cowley Trust. 

 

TO RECEIVE UPDATES FROM DISTRICT COUNCILLORS – None

 

TO RECEIVE UPDATES FROM COUNTY COUNCILLOR –Cllr Jane King has a meeting arranged on 14 January 2026 on site to discuss the markings in the marketplace car park. Cllr Mark Rollinson asked for a moment of silence to mark the sad news that former District Councillor and Chairman of the Finance Committee, Colin Harrison had passed away. 

 

1/26 TO RECEIVE APOLOGIES were received and accepted from Cllr Phil Lovell, Cllr Simon Walsh, Cllr Nicki Campbell and District Cllr Margaret Geaney.

 

2/26 TO RECEIVE DECLARATION OF INTEREST IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LOCALISM ACT 2011 

None

 

3/26 TO RECEIVE DRAFT NOTES OF MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY  4 DECEMBER 2025– Were signed as a true copy, to become minutes.  Proposed Cllr Jane King seconded Cllr David Hawkins.

 

4/26 TO RECEIVE CLERK’S REPORT ON MATTERS ARISING AND UPDATES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS –   

Bowls club gate to be repaired free of charge by Simon Cartright - confirmed by Cllr Phil Lovell. Cllr Phil Lovell and District Cllr Henry Bingham have carried out a temporary fix as a result of the damage due to a break in.

Third party insurance company has accepted liability for the damage to the marketplace wall – it is an on-going claim.

Clerk is working with the Parish Council Insurers for the Firework incident.

Ballard Caps are on order to replace the damaged cap in the marketplace and to also have a spare.

At a future meeting the Council will need to agree a final start date to use .gov emails

Clerk has compiled a contractors list but still requires electricians.

Results of the social media survey for the speed awareness signs - 43 people responded to the survey. 39 - responded yes, it would be a good idea for the Parish Council to install the signs. 4 - commented on other items (location, pedestrian crossing, where the survey was posted etc.) 0 – respond no to the signs.

Clerk circulated a response from Cllr Mark Rollinson to the MP regarding the Hawthorns.

5/26 TO RECEIVE CHAIR’S UPDATES

Cllr Mark Rollinson requested that the discussion in relation to the response to the MP Sir John Hayes in relation to the Hawthorns is taken in committee. Cllr Mark Rollinson requested that questions and discussion in relation to the firework incident are taken in committee. Confirmed that the Parish Council had been fined for a breach of Copy Right in relation to the use of a copyright picture on the Parish Facebook page. This was an image of Matther Flinders, used at the time of the “Bring Him Home” process. The fine was £400 with a 10% discount for early payment, the Chair exercised delegated powers to pay the fine to ensure the 10% discount was applied. All remaining images of Matthew Flinders were immediately removed. 

 

6/26 TO ELECT A VICE CHAIR TO FILL THE VACANCY 

Cllr Mark Rollinson thanked the outgoing Vice Chair, Cllr Nicky Campbell for all her work during her time on the Council and asked the Clerk to write a letter of thanks on behalf of the Parish Council. Cllr Jane King put forward a proposal for Cllr Stuart Harris for the role of Vice Chair, seconded by Cllr Jane Stanley. No other proposals were received. RESOLVED: Cllr Stuart Harris was unanimously elected to the position of Vice Chair.

 

7/26 TO RECEIVE AND CONSIDER APPLICATIONS FOR CO-OPTION TO THE PARISH COUNCIL AND TO VOTE TO FILL THE CURRENT VACANCY

The Clerk reported that a casual vacancy had arisen following the resignation of Cllr Nicki Campbell. The vacancy had been duly advertised and no request for an election had been received within the statutory period. The Council was authorised to fill the vacancy by co-option. Applications had been received from Joe Buckingham, Iain MacDonald and Eleanor Stevenson. A vote was taken by show of hands. Joe received zero votes, Iain received zero votes and Eleanor received seven votes. The Chair abstained. RESOLVED: That Eleanor Stevenson be co-opted to the Council. 

 

 

8/26 TO DISCUSS THE INSURANCE RENEWAL FOR IDEA

Clerk confirmed a meeting with the Parish Council’s insurance company will take place in January to go through the renewal process for IDEA and for the Parish Council. Clerk to inform the Cllrs when the date has been confirmed. Confirmed that the Parish Council currently insure the Skatepark. Cllr Stuart Harris has provided a hard copy of the asset register to assist during the visit.  

 

9/26 TO RECEIVE UPDATES OF COMMITTEES

a) Cemetery – Cllr Phil Lovell confirmed to the Clerk prior to the meeting that a visit was made to the cemeteries and all are in good order.

b) Finance – during a recent meeting of the Finance Committee, the Committee unanimously voted on two matters – firstly, to change the bank mandate so that the Clerk can raise payments online and a Cllr can authorise the payment. A number of Cllrs to be added to the mandate so there is cover for holidays etc. Secondly, it had become apparent during the handover process that the number of hours for Clerk resources of 12 hours per week is insufficient. The Clerk has not undertaken Financial Training; this is scheduled at the end of January. The Finance Committee agreed that a temporary resource to help with the Responsible Financial Officer (RFO) duties is required. The Finance Committee also requested changes to format of the accounts to make them easier to read and transparent. The RFO would make the changes once appointed. The RFO role would be 2-3 hours per week. An RFO at another Parish Council has been approached for this temporary role and they have agreed to provide the service at the same hourly rate as the previous Clerk. Cllr Mark Rollison asked for the Finance Committee recommendations to be ratified at the Parish Meeting. RESOLVED: to change the bank mandate so Cllrs can authorise payments online and that a temporary RFO is appointed for 2-3 hrs a week. Proposed Cllr Mark Rollison, seconded Cllr Jane King. The Finance Committee also had discussed and proposed a budget which included the precept. Cllr Simon Walsh asked for the allotment rent income and Red Cow Paddock rent income to be separated out in the budget. This was updated in the papers circulated for the meeting. Recommendation for Parish Councils is to increase the budget by 5% to take into account inflation when setting the budget. It was confirmed that whilst working through the budget, although the current maintenance of the cemeteries is lower than the previously budgeted figure a contingency needs building in, in case the contractor changes in the future. It was also confirmed that the Clerks salary budget has been increased to include 5% for inflation and for the temporary RFO resource. Budget has been provided for redecoration and maintenance to the Toilets. Insurance renewal quote is likely to increase as there are additional items to insure so the budget has been increased to take account of this. IDEA has been budgeted for a long time but last year the budget was used on the magazine, it is proposed with the budget to include a figure of £2,500 going forward. Speed awareness signs have been included in the budget with an estimate of £4,000. An increase in the budget has been added for the subscription and training for Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils (LALC) this will include support with improving the Council’s website. Cllr Mark Rollinson requested that an item on the budget was taken in Committee.  

Cllr Mark Rollinson concluded that the budget equated to a spend of £85,000 and income of £74,000, if the precept was set at £65,000. It is predicted that the carry forward amount at the end of the year will be £54,000, this does not include the Red Cow Paddock or the Library fund.  RESOLVED: That the precept be set at £65,000. Proposed Cllr Kevin Geaney, seconded Cllr Stuart Harris. To approve payments, proposed Cllr Jane King seconded Cllr Chris Wray.

c) Human Resources – this item was taken in committee.

d) IDEA – Cllr Gill Lunn confirmed that IDEA had been successful with an awards for all grant to provide a container to put all the equipment in at the park and to cover repairs to equipment. The safety surface in the play area needs a repair, may consider claiming via the insurance when a quote is received. 

e) Library – item taken in Committee.

f) Planning – nothing to report.

g) Red Cow Paddock – nothing to report.

 

10/26 TO RECEIVE MEMBERS REPORTS  

CW – Recommended that in the future a different design was looked into for the wall in the marketplace due to the repeated times the wall has been hit, consideration of a steel barrier. 

 

11/26 TO RECEIVE CORRESPONDENCE

Lincolnshire County Council - Warm Homes Grant – for residents

Email from a resident making a formal complaint regarding the Firework damage

Thank you letter received from LIVES for the Parish Council’s donation

Bridge on footpath 13 from Donington Cemetery to Northorpe Road – now fixed

Lincolnshire County Council - Public Notice 40mph speed restriction

Letter from the MP Ref Hawthorns Sir John Hayes

Thank you from British Legion for the Parish Council’s donation

Quote received for wall repairs in the marketplace car park which is being dealt with by the third-party insurance company

Confirmation from Third Party insurers accepting liability for wall in marketplace

FOI inquiry response received regarding Sec 106 Money

 

12/26 Cllr Mark Rollinson advised that the meeting would go into a closed committee session. RESOLVED: That the Clerk would write to the MP Sir John Hayes and confirm that the Firework incident claim is in the hands of the Council’s insurance company. Cllrs voted unanimously not to give access to their land. RESOLVED: That the Clerk would write a letter to the MP in relation to the Hawthorns, confirming that access would not be granted by the Parish Council. RESOLVED: to source an auditor to undertake a Governance Audit for the Council, proposed Cllr Chris Wray, seconded Cllr David Hawkins.

 

DATE OF NEXT MEETING – Thursday 5 February 2026