April 2025 Minutes
Present:
Parish Councillors: D Semley (Chairman), J Tipping, M Parr, S Bibb, R Craven, MJOhnson, S Blades (Vice-Chairman)
7.15pm – Public Forum: No members of the public in attendance
Item:
11. CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME - Cllr. Semley welcomed all to the meeting, informed all that Standing Orders were in place, and told the Council that she now felt like things were beginning to move in terms of the works etc taking place in the Parish.
12. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE - None
13. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND DISPENSATION REQUESTS – None in relation to items on the agenda
14. MINUTES & MATTERS ARISING
It was RESOLVED to accept the minutes from the meeting on March 4th 2025 as a true and accurate record.
It was RESOLVED to advertise for a new Clerk and to post information regarding the post on the Parish Facebook page.
It was RESOLVED to put a poll on Facebook re the creation of Green Lanes around the Parish to gauge community interest. Results to be discussed at the next meeting.
15. BUSINESS MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION – To consider and review:
i. Clerk Updates
Cllr. Semley updated the council on the following:
Lincolnshire Wildlife Grant – A grant for £500 has been applied for through the Lincolnshire Wildlife Fund. This is to purchase hedging, pond plants and native bulbs for the pond area.
Ashwin Charity – We are awaiting correspondence from Nat West re the recent request to add signatories. Once this has been received Cllr. Semley should have a contact name and details in order to try ane get things sorted.
Tree works – These are now complete in the Pond and Recreation ground areas, and it looks more light and open. The invoice is slightly above what was quoted as there we more dead tress than first thought and an Ash with Ash Dieback that needed to be removed. The removal of this will also benefit one of the tree with a TPO on it.
Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) - The question of which trees have TPOs on them has now been resolved. There are three trees on Parish land with TPOs.: two walnut trees in the pond area and one Ash tree in the recreation field adjacent. Cllr Semley has taken photographs of the relevant trees and is preparing a may showing their location for future reference.
Training – Cllr Semley apologised for having omitted to book training session identified earlier. Councillors had received an updated list of training session and are to let Cllr Semley know of any they wish to attend.
Cllr. Semley to enquire as to any future Burial Authority Courses.
Asset Register – Cllr Blades has checked the Parish assets and will let Cllr Semley have her findings so the Asset Register can be updated.
Fly Tipping – As this is already in the newsletter it was felt that a nothing further could be done at present except to monitor the situation. The newsletter encourages people to report it to The Parish Council for monitoring as well as WLDC.
ii. Pond works – A decision was taken to pull the work forwards to over the Easter period and a meeting was held between the contractors and Parish Council representatives, where the scope of work was discussed and agreed.
The decision was taken to bring the work forward for the following considerations:
The school will be closed
No birds are yet nesting on the pond – consideration to be given to leaving an area of vegetation in which water fowl can nest.
The pond is at its lowest level in quite a long time allowing for better access.
The ground around the pond is reasonably dry so as not to get fouled with large machinery
It will give us time to work on the pond, with new planting around the banks and pond margins
iii. Fence works – The fence between the pond area and recreation area is in a state of total disrepair. Most of the previous hedge planting along this line had failed. It was noted that the fence line does become overgrown in the growing season and some degree of clearance does need to take place. It was RESOLVED that the fence be removed and the situation assessed with regard to the planting of new hedging plants.
The gates to the playing field need fixing. Concerns over unauthorised access to the playing field was raised. It was RESOLVED that the large gate should be locked/chained. Cllr. Semley to speak to the school re their access via this gateway.
iv. Dog mess – The Chairman commented that she was saddened to see this topic on the agenda again after a number of years. It appears that dog fouling is becoming an issue again around the Parish, particularly on the grass verges around Aisby and in the Cemetery. There is a request for people to pick up after their dogs in the newsletter. It was RESOLVED to source some signage for the verges asking people to pick up after their dog. It was also RESOLVED that a post would be put on Facebook re dog fouling.
v. Funding request from CACG – The Council has received a request for grant funding from CACG for a community. Questions about the funding and legal side of the event were raised by councillors. It was RESOLVED that a representative from CACG be asked to attend the next meeting to discuss further and address any concerns.
vi. Policy Review – The following policies were reviewed with no amendments required. Abusive, Persistent or Vexatious Complaints, Lost Child, Internal Controls, Privacy & Data Protection To be signed off at May AGM.
vii. Annual Parish Meeting – To be held on 20th May, starting at 7.30. Information is in newsletter. Further information to be posted on Facebook and on the Noticeboard. It was RESOLVED to offer cakes and a cuppa at the meeting. Cllr. Semley to source cakes as last year.
Representatives from the following Community groups will be invited to give a report on their past year’s activities – County Counsellor, District Councillor, School, Church, CACG, Police.
viii. Newsletter – Circulated prior to the meeting. Cllrs pointed out a few typos and omissions. Additional wording was added to dog mess and fly tipping. It was RESOLVED that once the outlined amendments have been made it would go for print.
It was also RESOLVED that information would be posted on the Parish Facebook page moving forward.
16. FINANCIAL REPORTS – To receive the financial report and approve payments.
i. RFO report for March 2025 & Year end 2024/2025 was presented. It was RESOLVED to approve as a true and accurate record.
RFO Report March 2025
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ITEM |
DESCRIPTION |
COMMENT |
ACTION |
|
1. |
Monies in bank as of 31st March 2025 |
Current Account = £1,972.42 BMM (Reserve) Account = £28,675.85 Total = £30,648.27 Bank reconciled to 31st March 2025 |
|
|
2. |
Bank activity |
Bank charges March 2025 = £8.00 Interest on reserve account March 2025 = £38.66 |
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|
3. |
Paid invoices & expenses |
Village Hall – Room hire (January) - £26 |
|
|
4. |
Income |
Allotment Rents - £840.00 Exclusive Rights of Burial Fee - £200.00 |
These to be paid from 2025-26 budget |
|
5. |
Total income to date |
£16,981.75 |
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|
6. |
Total outgoings to date |
£10,423.50 |
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|
7. |
Payments awaiting approval |
Legal Fees – Ashwin Statement of Truth - £210 Tree works – Hilltop tree services - £2,400 Awaiting Heathers property services – grass cutting Village Hall – Room hire Feb & March |
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|
8. |
VAT |
VAT claim for 2024-25 fiscal year is £266.37 |
Claim to be submitted |
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9. |
Budget review |
See separate sheet/file |
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|
10. |
Precept |
Precept received 01/04/205 - £17,500 |
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ii. An invoice from Village Hall for £26 was received at the meeting which was added to the payment sheet. It was RESOLVED to agree payment of the invoices as listed.
17. PLANNING MATTERS – Planning application for extension to property on Middle Street was circulated prior to meeting. No objections from Council.
18. CORRESPONDENCE – No significant or actionable correspondence received.
19. ONGOING MINOR ITEMS AND AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING
It was reported that some of the road signs around Aisby had been damaged, including the Aisby Name sign – yet again! It was RESOLVED to put a post on Facebook asking that in future those who were responsible contact us so we could inform the relevant authority. It was noted that it was a shame that Aisby seemed to be the target of either vandalism or bad driving!
20. DATE OF NEXT MEETING – It was RESOLVED that the date for the next meeting of the Parish Council, which will be the Annual General Meeting, to be on Tuesday 6th May 2025 at 7.00 pm.
Annual Parish Meeting to be held on Tuesday 20th May at 7.30 pm in Corringham Village Hall.
Meeting closed 21.03pm