Fosdyke Parish Council Meeting Minutes

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

Extraordinary and Monthly Meeting

Meeting Details

• Date: July 7th, 2026
• Time: 7.15PM
• 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 Support

Also Present

• 12 Members of the Public                                          

The meeting began with introductions. An explanation of where all fire and emergency exits are given. It was also noted that the meeting was being recorded.

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

All members were present

2. HONORARY FREEDOM OF THE PARISH

A nomination had been received to award Denis Glenn the Honorary Freedom of the Parish. Mr Glenn has been involved with the Parish since the late 1970s and served on the parish council for 40 years. He was Chairman of the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils in 1994 and became President in 2003, serving until 2018. In addition, he has been involved with local parochial charities since the 1980s and continues to serve as a trustee.

EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC To resolve, in accordance with Section 1(2) of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 that the public be excluded from the meeting during the following item of business, as it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during this item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information within Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, and further that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons set out in the report.

3. AWARD OF THE FREEDOM OF THE PARISH

Members unanimously agreed to award the Honorary Freedom of the Parish to Denis Glenn.  Presentation of a scroll and plaque will be made in late September.

The public were invited back to the meeting

4. RESOLVED: that Denis Glenn is awarded the Honorary Freedom of the Parish

MONTHLY MEETING

PUBLIC FORUM

A question was asked about Speedwatch and this was discussed later in the meeting. It was also noted that one of the items listed on the News Information sheet was incorrect. The words ‘Chiropodist’ and ‘Podiatrist’ needed to be removed, and a retraction printed as these are protected titles and should not be used.

A question was asked about who had cut the hedge in the cemetery as it was not done in a tidy manner. There was also concern raised over the dead trees.

A reminder was raised that the electrical box for the Christmas tree needed to be replaced.

79/26   APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from BBCllr Cantwell.

80/26   DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

No declarations of interest were made relating to any of the agenda items.

81/26   MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on June 2nd were presented – Cllr M Kilburn proposed, Cllr Houssain seconded and it was resolved by the Council that the Chairman sign them.

Matters arising – all matters on the agenda

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

82/26   GENERAL POWER OF COMPETENCE

The criteria for the General Power of Competence was discussed and it was agreed that 4 out of the 5 councillors had been elected and the Clerk was fully qualified, therefore the Council was eligible to adopt the GPC.

RESOLVED: that, Fosdyke Parish Council adopt the General Power of Competence.

83/26   PLANNING

The following approved plans were noted:

B/26/0213 55 Main Road, Demolition of conservatory and erection of single storey rear extension

B/26/0155 Mill House, Mill Lane, Demolition of conservatory and erection of single storey rear extension

It was also noted that a letter of objection to the Order granting Development Consent for the Meridian Solar application had been lodged.

The consultation for the Minerals and Waste Local Plan was noted. This is open for comments until 31st July.

84/26   POLICE REPORT

To note there was nothing listed for our area on the crime map for April.

85/26   CLERK and ADMIN SUPPORT REPORTS

The Clerk had circulated a report which included the following:

Bus Shelter – awaiting info to complete the grant application.

Speedwatch –the sign and hi vis jackets have been received and we are awaiting the go ahead from the Road Safety Partnership. Unfortunately, the reactor sign chosen last month is not approved by the lighting team. Only options from Westcote can be used. Therefore, the version with the smiley/angry face was agreed at £3289.00 plus VAT.

RESOLVED: that resolution 72/26 is rescinded and the portable solar indicator sign with the smiley/angry face from Westcote will be purchased at a cost of £3289.00 plus vat.

Donation – a letter of thanks has been received from the Butterfly Trust.

New legislation – on 29 June new legislation came in regarding publishing councillor’s addresses. To ensure compliance all the addresses on the register of interests have been redacted.

HMRC – A letter was received from HMRC detailing outstanding charges from 2024/25 in relation to the Employment Allowance scheme. This scheme is not applicable to parish councils and a ‘no’ box must be ticked at the beginning of each financial year on the real time information PAYE app. Unfortunately, the ‘yes’ box was ticked for two consecutive years. This has resulted in charges and interest costs. In total, £346.02 has been paid to clear the account.

Highways – Several updates were reported including:

Several streetlights are still not working but Cllr Cantwell is pursuing this.

A caravan has been abandoned in the A17 layby. This has been reported.

Fly tipping has been reported in Bus Green Lane. A number of Fix My Street reports are still outstanding.

It was noted that there is a stretch of road with no streetlights and the speed signage is not in the correct place. Cllr Lock agreed to assist.

86/26   FINANCE

• The financial statements and bank reconciliation for June were received and noted.

It was noted that the VAT reclaim for 2025/26 had been received - £1,428.53.

The balance on 30 June 2026, for cash in hand, stands at £15,767.17.

• RESOLVED: that, the following invoices are approved:

Clerk salary for June - £421.00

Staff salary for June – £91.80

M Warr – Expenses £41.49 (3 month mobile £15, Clicker £6.49, APM refreshments £20)

HMRC – Charges relating to Employment Allowance from 2024/25/26 - £346.02

Malc Firth – grass cutting April - £121.11 (£20.18 VAT)

Malc Firth – grass cutting May - £97.98 (£16.33 VAT)

Protect Signs – Speedwatch signage - £136.54 (£22.75 VAT)

Howsafe – Speedwatch Hi Vis jackets - £61.45 (£10.24 VAT)

LALC – Cemetery training - £96.00 (£16.00 VAT)

Response to the Internal Audit Report – the Clerk had circulated a detailed report and this was read through for the benefit of the public. Majority of the items had been addressed and these included:

• Uploading of all finance items relating to the Audit for 2024/2025 (the current year has been uploaded as well)
• No bank reconciliations for the first half of the 2025/2026 financial year – bank reconciliations are now presented each month along with a quarterly budget update.
• No budget setting procedure for 2025/2026, but it was acknowledged that the budget procedure had been followed for 2026/2027
• Payments not signed off by two councillors – now authorised by two councillors through a stamp on the invoice
• No training policy or budget – this will be addressed at the next meeting.
• The NALC version of Standing Orders and Financial Regs only adopted part way through the year and not followed at the Annual Meeting – the clerk will review the SOs and Financial Regs to ensure they are tailored to the Council and bring suggested amendments to the next meeting.
• Council email address not .gov, or .org. This was not a failure, but more information will be obtained regarding amendment and brought to the next meeting

The report was accepted and it was acknowledged that the outstanding items will be addressed by the end of the year.

87/26   CEMETERY

It was noted that a favourable delegated decision had been made regarding the transfer of the cemetery to the Parish Council. The legal process will now take place. There was still no progress on the transfer of the closed churchyard, but it was acknowledged that this was more complex. A discussion took place regarding the poor state of some of the trees and Members were keen to obtain a tree report. However, this would need the permission of BBC.

Ms Glenn had attended two more cemetery training sessions, which she said were very useful.

The benefits of joining the ICCM were discussed and it was agreed that the subscription would be very worthwhile, especially in the early days.

RESOLVED: that Fosdyke PC would join the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) at an annual cost of £110.00

That, BBC would be approached for permission to carry out a tree survey in the closed churchyard

88/26   NEWS INFORMATION SHEET

Mrs Saward said there had only been one comment and this was the request for change noted at the start of the meeting. Most of the village had been covered with the initial distribution and 250 copies would be required for the next edition. In future the sheet would be on coloured paper to identify each edition.

89/26   LITTER AND GRASS CUTTING

A lengthy discussion took place on options for reducing litter in the village. After consideration it was agreed to ask for volunteers in the next information sheet. All materials for litter collection would be provided.

Members were supportive of joining the BBC skip provision scheme and the playing field will be put forward as a site for the skip.

A discussion took place regarding increasing the grass cuts for the layby on the A17. Members felt once a month would be enough at present as the dry weather had curbed the growth.

90/26   LINCOLNSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL AND BOSTON BOROUGH COUNCIL MATTERS   

            BBCllr Cantwell could not attend but sent a message that the streetlight across from the entrance to village near Cropleys Yard is waiting for a final repair date.

            LCCllr updated on number of matters including initial details of a Councillor grant scheme, where up to £300 will be available for community schemes.

There were no further details on the local government reorganisation.

Cllr Lock was helping develop an app for Fix My Street details.

He asked for a copy of the comments regarding the solar development as he was keen to be supportive and offered to help with securing free wifi for the Village Hall from Quickline.

91/26   FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

            Standing Orders review, Training policy, free wifi for Village Hall from Quickline

92/27   NEXT MEETING

The date of the next monthly meeting was confirmed as Tuesday 1st September 2026, 7.30pm at the Village Hall.  Meeting closed at 9.15pm

EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC To resolve, in accordance with Section 1(2) of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 that the public be excluded from the meeting during the following item of business, as it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during this item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information within Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, and further that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons set out in the report.

Confidential item. C/2

It was agreed to increase the hours for the admin support officer, by 6 hours per month, when the PC takes over the administration of the cemetery. A job description will be produced and the contract amended.

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