January 2026 Minutes
Present:
Parish Councillors: D Semley, S Blades, J Tipping, M Parr, M Johnson, R Craven, K Bacon, S Bibb
Clerk: D Groves
7.15pm – Public Forum: No members of the public present.
Due to no members of the public being present, Parish Councillors undertook a tour of the redecoration work currently ongoing in the village hall. They all agreed the work had improved the aesthetics of the building and looked forward to viewing it again once fully completed.
Item:
103. CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME - Cllr Semley welcomed all to the first meeting of the year and wished everyone a Happy New Year.
104. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE – Cllr Reeve.
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND DISPENSATION REQUESTS – None in relation to agenda items
105. MINUTES & MATTERS ARISING -
i. It was RESOLVED to accept the minutes from the Ordinary Meeting held on December 2nd 2025 as a true and accurate record.
ii. It was RESOLVED the Clerk would send a letter to the school to thank them for hosting the December meeting.
106. BUSINESS MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION – To consider and review:
i. Village Hall Update
A member of the Village Hall committee attended and updated the meeting on the running of the facility.
The Seniors Lunch was well attended by 65 people with feedback received being very positive. The Hall was also used for a private function.
Decoration work was ongoing in the main hall and entrance area. Work is also planned for the smaller function room.
A music event is being held in April as a test event. Should the event be successful future events will be planned and advertised.
Cllr Bacon asked if contact details for hall bookings could be placed on the external noticeboard for any passer by who may be interested.
ii. Clerk Updates
a. December Salary – No additional hours
b. Precept – Has been submitted and receipt acknowledged.
c. Internal Audit Service – Application has been sent, awaiting notification of date.
d. Risk Assessment and Policy Documents – These will be sent out over the next few weeks for councillors to review.
e. Notification of Highways Work – Advance notification had been received regarding remedial carriageway resurfacing work. It is scheduled to take place from 4th-20th February 2026 on A631 between Springthorpe Road and a point 4000m East. Accurate dates and times will be displayed on site in advance.
iii. Chairman Updates
a. Contact Details – Contact details for insurance policy and ICO have been updated to the Clerk. AGAR has been updated to new Chairman’s email and on completion will be updated to the Clerk.
b. Bank Access Ashwin Charity – Cllrs Semley is continuing to have difficulties accessing the bank account due to Nat West still not accepting documentation that has been submitted. After contacting Charities Commission, the best course of action is to do a new Deed of Trust. Once completed, Cllr Semley will call a meeting of Trustees to ratify the new Deed and submit to the Charities Commission and Nat West bank.
c. Website – A lot of work has taken place on the website, including adding new contact details for all. There is still more work to be done which might require additional Webmaster hours being purchased, this has already been budgeted for.
d. Newsletter – Cllr Semley suggested producing another newsletter which was agreed by all. Cllr. Semley to action.
e. Grass Cutting Contract – Price for 1 year is £6080, which is within the amount budgeted. There has been a minimal increase which reflects the increase in costs to the business. A copy of their public liability insurance has been received. It was RESOLVED to renew the grass cutting contract with Heather Property Services at the agreed rate.
f. Aisby Defibrillator – Still not been received, however the delay may be due to Christmas break. Cllr Craven will advise once received.
iv. Village Memorial – It was agreed that this would be a nice addition to the village. However, as the council does not have General Power of Competence they do not have the power to erect a memorial only maintain one. There would be insufficient funds under section s.137 allowance to be able to pay for a memorial. After discussion around possible locations it was agreed that a memorial garden within the cemetery may be a way forward. Cllr Semley would look into this further and report her findings at the next meeting.
v. Review of Clerks Employment and Salary - The Chairman asked the Clark to leave the room while they discussed her appointment. Discussion was had as to what Councillors felt about the work and attitude of the Clerk. All were in agreement that Diane (Groves) had been excellent to date and would be an asset to the Council.
Having established that Diane was interested in continuing as Clerk, after her probationary period, it was RESOLVED to appoint her as Clerk to Corringham Parish Council. Diane duly accepted the post.
It was further RESOLVED to increase her hourly rate to £17.23/hr as per her contract of employment. This to be reviewed annually.
It was RESOLVED to give the Clerk access to the Bank account. Cllr. Semley to set up.
It was RESOLVED to hand management of Payroll over to the Clerk. Cllr. Semley and Clerk to action.
It was RESOLVED to enrol the Clerk with SLCC membership. Joining fee £10, annual membership £116 for 2026.
It was RESOLVED to hand administration of Council emails to Clerk. Cllr. Johnson & Clerk to action once Direct Debit issues have been resolved.
It was RESOLVED to add Clerk to admin for Corringham Parish Council Facebook page. Cllr. Johnson to action.
It was RESOLVED that Cllr. Semley remain RFO until after AGAR, at which point the role will be passed to the Clerk. The Clerk and Cllr. Semley to work on this year’s AGAR & Audit together.
vi. Staffing Committee – Cllr Semley advised of the need to set up a Staffing Committee to manage all employment related matters for paid members of the council. A proposal had been drafted for consideration. After discussion in regards to the numbers required to form the committee, volunteers were then sought.
It was RESOLVED to have a committee of 3 members, with a quorum of 2.
It was RESOLVED to accept the Staffing Committee Terms of Reference as presented.
It was RESOLVED Cllrs Johnson, Bibb and Craven would be the members of the Staffing Committee, with the Chairman being ex-officio as required.
107. FINANCIAL REPORTS – To receive the financial report and approve payments.
RFO Report January 2026
|
ITEM |
DESCRIPTION |
COMMENT |
ACTION |
|
1. |
Monies in bank as of 31st December 2025 |
Current Account = £2,856.94 BMM (Reserve) Account = £30,402.53 Total = £33,259.47 Bank reconciled to 31st December 2025 |
|
|
2. |
Bank activity |
Interest on reserve account December 2025 = £33.31 |
|
|
3. |
Paid invoices & expenses |
Clerk Salary = £233.60 Clerk - October overtime - £36.50 Ionos – Domain and email registration - £14.40 Heather Property Services – Grass cutting Sept & Oct - £1,325.00 WLDC – Defibrillator Servicing - £110 |
|
|
4. |
Income |
None |
|
|
5. |
Income expected |
None |
|
|
6. |
Payments awaiting approval |
WLDC – Defibrillator Servicing - £110 Ionos – Domain and email registration (Dec 25) - £14.40 Ionos – Domain and email registration (Jan 26) - £14.40 Expenses Cllr Semley – Purchase of Wreath - £24.49
|
|
|
7. |
Payments expected |
None |
|
|
8. |
Precept |
Precept request for 2026/27 submitted - £18,000 |
|
|
9. |
VAT |
Vat to date for 2025/26- £1,089.33 |
|
Bank Reconciliation
Diane Semley 31/12/25
i. It was RESOLVED to accept the RFO report as presented.
ii. Payments were approved as follows:
WLDC – Defibrillator Servicing - £110
Ionos – Domain and email registration (Dec 25) - £14.40
Ionos – Domain and email registration (Jan 26) - £14.40
Expenses Cllr Semley – Purchase of Wreath - £24.49
108. PLANNING MATTERS – None of significance received.
109. CORRESPONDENCE – Circulated prior to meeting. None for discussion.
110. ONGOING MINOR ITEMS AND AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING –
Training – The Clerk would send an updated list of LALC training courses to all councillors.
Emergency Plan Meeting – Cllr Bibb advised there would be a meeting on 9 January 2026 to discuss Gainsborough emergency plan and a representative of Corringham Parish Council was invited to attend. Cllr Semley advised she would attend.
Salt Bins – Cllr Craven advised the salt bin, outside the Village Hall, required filling. The Clerk would investigate and arrange for the bin to be refilled.
Village Road Repairs/Maintenance – Cllr Parr advised of numerous pot holes on Millmere Road and street lights not working around the village. Cllr Bacon also advised of flooding on Poplar Lane. Cllr Semley advised she would investigate and submit the issues via FixMyStreet.
Dog Fouling – Cllr Bacon advised that there had been an increase in dog fouling around the village and reports of dogs running loose/out of control. It was advised any incidents should be reported to WLDC Community Safety Team, via the online form on their website.
Cllr Semley advised the dog bin near the pond had been damaged and will report this. She is also looking into getting another dog bin for the village at school corner.
111. DATE OF NEXT MEETING – It was RESOLVED that the date for the next meeting of the Parish Council, which will be Tuesday 3rd February 2026 at 7.15 pm.
Meeting closed 8.45pm