Parish Council Draft Minutes

January

Fosdyke Parish Council Meeting Minutes

https://fosdyke.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk

 

Minutes of the Meeting of Fosdyke Parish Council

Meeting Details

  • Date: January 6th, 2026
  • Time: 7.30 PM
  • Location: Fosdyke Village Hall

Attendees

  • Councillor A Mowton (Chairman)
  • Councillor M Houssain
  • Councillor M Kilburn
  • Councillor K Overell
  • Councillor J Rushworth (Vice-Chairman)
  • Maxine Warr – Clerk, Courtney Glenn – Admin

Also Present

  • 8 Members of the Public including Cllr J Cantwell

 

The meeting began with introductions and the Chair wished everyone a Happy New Year. He also thanked the public for attending in the inclement weather. An explanation of where all fire and emergency exits are given. It was also noted that the meeting was being recorded.

 

PUBLIC FORUM

No items to discuss

 

1/26     APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

All councillors were present.

 

2/26     DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

Cllr Mowton declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 4/26, as he lives opposite the entrance to the proposed planning application.

 

3/26     MINUTES

The minutes of the December 2nd were presented – Cllr M Houssain proposed, Cllr K Overell seconded and it was resolved by the Council that the Chairman sign them.

RESOLVED: that, the minutes of the meeting held on 2nd December are approved as a true record.

 

 

4/26     PLANNING

 NEW PLANS – B/25/0505 Land North of Old Main Road - Outline planning application with all matters reserved (Access, Appearance, Landscaping, Layout & Scale) for proposed residential development of up to 5no. dwellings including garaging.

RESOLVED: that, Fosdyke Parish Council would object to the application on the following grounds:

  • Overdevelopment of the site, with an additional risk of flooding for the properties in front of the proposed development.
  • Safety concerns at the entrance to the development. Members feel that the entrance is close to the bend of the road coming off the A17 and the tendency is for traffic to gather speed at that point which will be hazardous to drivers entering and leaving the site. In addition, the increase of traffic in the village from the OuterDowsing proposals will be compounded by this additional development.
  • This application is outside the development envelope and Fosdyke already has had a high number of developments for a small village with a lack of infrastructure.

 

5/26     POLICE REPORT

It was noted that 7 crimes of anti-social behaviour were reported in October.

3, Violence and sexual offences in Mill Lane, 1, anti-social behaviour in Randolph Lane and 3 offences - anti-social behaviour, burglary and ‘other’ in Wash Road.

 

6/26     CLERK and ADMIN SUPPORT REPORT

The Clerk mentioned the current subscription to Microsoft 365 was due and had increased to £104.99. However, there was an offer to upgrade to the premium subscription for one year at a half price cost of £89.99. It was unanimously agreed to take up this offer.

 

Ms Glenn updated the meeting on Highways matters. A log had been created and updates from Fix My Street were being monitored and chased if there was no evidence of progress. This included the double yellow lines on the Fosdyke bridge layby, moss growing in Old Main Road and the problems in Mill Lane. However, Cllr Cantwell confirmed that the current ‘patch repair’ in Mill Lane was the only repair that would be made. It was noted that there was still no update on Green Lane.

Contact with Quickline was proving difficult but Cllr Lock had sent an update saying that work would be completed by Jan 2027. It was agreed to contact Cllr Lock to ask if there was a direct email or phone number so progress could be made with the ‘wrapping’ of the box.

An email had been sent to all the local farmers regarding the speed of tractors going through the village. A positive reply had been received from Musson Agri. The situation would continue to be monitored.

 

7/26     FINANCE

  • The financial statements and bank reconciliation were received and accepted.

RESOLVED that, the following invoices are approved:

M Warr – salary for December - £362.40

C Glenn – salary for November - £68.90

C Glenn – printing costs for 2025 - £17.96

M Warr – renew subscription to Microsoft 365 - £89.99 (£15.00) VAT

British Legion - donation in lieu of poppy wreath - £50.00

Tesco Mobile – contract for November - £12.57 (DD)

 

  • Mobile – the Clerk reported that there had been no usage on the mobile since she started in post. It was noted that the reason for having a parish mobile was to comply with GDPR.  Therefore, it was agreed to look for a cheaper contract that would allow the same number to be kept and monitor the usage over the next 6 months.
  • 2026/27 Budget and Precept – a draft budget had been circulated, and this was discussed. Members were keen to keep a healthy reserve, and it was noted that it was considered good governance to increase the precept between 3 and 5% each year. A lengthy discussion took place on the amount of increase as Members were mindful that the cost of taking on the cemetery may be quite high. Proposals were made for a 3% and 5% rise and after further discussion it was agreed that a 4% rise would not be prohibitive to residents but would allow for room in the budget if the cemetery costs were higher than initially estimated. Therefore, the budget was agreed and the precept set at £15,632.

RESOLVED: that, the budget for 2026/2027 is set with a precept of £15,632.

  • AGAR – following correspondence with the external auditor over discrepancies with the AGAR, the Clerk had revisited the accounts of 2023/24 and 2024/25. It was noted that the accounts were all in order, including the end of year bank reconciliations. The discrepancies were purely administrative errors, with incorrect numbers in the boxes on the AGAR. It was unanimously agreed to amend the AGAR and resend to the external auditor. The amended version will be uploaded to the website.

RESOLVED: that, the AGAR for 2024/25 is amended and resent to the external auditor.

  • Internal Audit - RESOLVED: that LALC would be approached to carry out the internal audit for 2025/26.

 

8/26     POLICIES 2026

RESOLVED:

That, the following policies are adopted for 2026:

  • Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, Risk Assessment, Complaints and Vexatious Complaints
  • GDPR (Email, Document Retention, Removable Media, Privacy Notice, Information Data Protection, IT)

 

9/26     COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE REVIEW

Following the decision last month to request an increase in councillors from 5 to 8, BBC had advised that the guidance suggested the maximum should be 7 councillors for the size of the electorate. Therefore, it was agreed to rescind the original decision (minute 25/86) and request an increase of 2 councillors, making 7 in total.

RESOLVED: to rescind minute 25/86 and request an increase of two councillors, making 7 in total.

 

10/26   LINCOLNSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL AND BOSTON BOROUGH COUNCIL MATTERS 

LCC Cllr Lock was not in attendance.

BBCllr Cantwell gave a verbal report updating matters from last month. The Joint Village Emergency Group had progressed the plan and it is hoped to bring it to the councils in March for adoption. Fosdyke has three fully equipped emergency bags and the number of volunteers has increased.

The Borough Councillors calendar of surgery meetings is now available and will be on the notice board and website.

The winter hub scheme is underway. Cllr Cantwell has partnered with Fozzy’s and AgeUK, Lincs Digital and the Warm Homes scheme will all be attending.

 

11/27   NEXT MEETING

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as Tuesday 3rd February 2026, 7.30pm at the Village Hall

 

Meeting closed at 20.45

 

 

 

 

Signed………………………………………………..Date……………………………….