2025 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

NOTES OF THE MEETING OF

LEADENHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Held on Tuesday 14 January 2025, 7.15 pm at Leadenham Village Hall.

 

PRESENT: Cllr M Nelstrop (Chair), Cllr M Everett, Cllr S Hall, Cllr K Willgoose.

Ruth Keillar (Clerk/RFO).

Also present DCllr Lucille Hagues (part meeting)  

6 member(s) of the public present.

 

Chair’s Opening Remarks.

Cllr M Nelstrop opened the meeting welcomed everyone.

 

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. 

None.

       

2. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

Members of the Parish Council are required to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in any matter which is to be considered at this meeting. 

None.

 

3. PUBLIC FORUM. 

6 members of the public were present. It was noted that the main reason for attendance was concerns regarding the proposed Solar Farm in Leadenham and Welbourn. No questions were raised by members of the public at this point.

 

4. MINUTES

a) t was proposed by Cllr S Hall, seconded by Cllr K Willgoose  and it was RESOLVED that Notes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on 10 December 2024 be approved as a true record and signed as Minutes.

b) Minutes from 12 November were amended and initialled by the Clerk and Chair to include the resolution to approve the bank reconciliation and statement of accounts at Minute 11.

 

5. VILLAGE HALL. 

a) Storage space designated for the PC. It was agreed to defer this item to a future meeting as the Cllr overseeing this had stepped down since the previous meeting.

b) Lease/Operational arrangements. 

i. Email correspondence had been received from the chair of the LVH2000 committee, which contained updates to the research into the background of the current CIO and operational arrangements. It was agreed that the issue needs to be looked at in detail with the help of informed legal advice as it is becoming increasingly complicated.

ii. Contact had been made to Wellers Law Group, as agreed at the last meeting and the updated information from the LVH2000 now needs to be factored into any discussions.

iii. The establishment of a Working Group, which was deferred at the last meeting, could be considered at a future date.

 

6. PLANNING APPLICATIONS AND ISSUES

a) Applications received: 

i. 24/1336/HOUS Proposal: Replace 10 X windows at the property Location: Woodford House 5 High Street Leadenham. (WHITE UPVC FRAMES WITH DOUBLE GLAZING)

Comments by 16/01/25.

It was agreed to submit a comment to object to the proposed installation of White uPVC windows as this would not be in keeping with the adjacent listed buildings and will have a detrimental impact on both the character of the host building and therefore the wider conservation area.

 

b) Decisions received: 

None

 

7. SOLAR FARMS.

a) Leoda solar Farm: To consider the information received dated 7 January 2025 ad consider any action required.

At the Chair’s discretion this item was opened up for the Public Forum, with an extended period to allow for discussion and input from the members of public present.

It was noted that the PC is not an official consultee however that the PC supports the community and acknowledges the concerns.

It was agreed that joining with other areas and parishes affected by other Solar Farms within Lincolnshire is important and it was recommended that those interested attend the meeting planned for Thursday 16 January at the Venue, Navenby, which has been arranged by Cliffe Villages Action Group and C/DCllr Marianne Overton.

It was noted that Cllr M Everett had been attending Action Group meetings as agreed at the meeting of 14/05/24, minute 9b, as the representative of the PC, and any feedback received would be reported.

 

b) Springwell Solar Farm: it was agreed that this and the other Solar Farm sites are part of the bigger call for action.

 

8. REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES

To receive reports from the following:

a) District Councillor (DCllr Lucille Hagues, Cllr M Overton). District news – click here. 

DCllr Lucille Hagues added that she had circulated an initiative regarding a mental health survey, which had been circulated to all and posted onto the PC website.

b) County Councillor (Cllr M Overton). Newsletters can be found here. 

 

9. PARISH CLERK

To consider the Parish Clerk’s Report.

a) Vacancy notice for P Dowen received from NKDC on 18 December, deadline for call to election 13 January 2025.

b) NKDC Heritage Strategy event information received 13/01/25: 

29 January, 6pm-8pm at International Bomber Command Centre and 1st February, 10.30am-2.30pm at the Hub in Sleaford. Circulated to all with direct booking.

 

10. CORRESPONDENCE

a) FOI request received 23/12/2024 regarding Stream Bioenergy. Response sent 05/01/2025.

b) Email from Cllr M Everett 16/12/24, circulating his correspondence with LCC Highways and a complaint he has raised as a private individual and his rejection of the LCC Customer Relations Advisor’s response. 

Cllr M Everett asked that this be added to the agenda to be re-discussed in full council as he is still not satisfied that farming traffic is using village roads. It was agreed by the majority that re-examining this topic would not serve any useful purpose as the topic had been discussed in great detail on previous occasions. The previously agreed corporate PC view, which took into account the pragmatic LCC Highways advice, is that farming traffic using village roads is a far safer option than forcing these vehicles to use the A17; the PC supports the farming community and this has been endorse by great majority of the local community.

 

11. FINANCIAL MATTERS.

a) To approve the Statement of accounts and bank reconciliation at 09/01/2025. 

 

i. Statement of Accounts at 09/01/2025:

Lloyds Treasurer’s Account (****9760) £3,115.30

Lloyds BB Inst (savings) Account (****7762) £35,392.30

Equals Account (****9509) £79.92

Total £38,587.52

 

Royal Fund £331.80

Incl Interest accrued: (December) £28.93

Income included in balances: 

19/12/24 LCC Grass-cutting Grant LPC-19112024 / 2000338917 £978.75

01/01/25 National Grid Wayleave LE5315 £42.61

09/01/25 LAW fee £331.47

 

Transfers:

13/12/24 Lloyds BB Inst (savings) Account (****7762)

To Lloyds Treasurer’s Account (****9760) £200.00

08/01/25 Lloyds BB Inst (savings) Account (****7762)

To Lloyds Treasurer’s Account (****9760) £2,000.00

 

ii. To ratify payments made between 11/12/2024 – 09/01/2025:

 

Balance of accounts at 09/01/2025:

 

TOTAL SPENT	BUDGET	BALANCE REMAINING AGAINST BUDGET
14,706.14	18,585.00	3,878.86

 

It was proposed by Cllr M Nelstrop seconded by Cllr S Hall and it was RESOLVED that the bank reconciliation and statement of accounts be accepted.

 

b) To consider the budget and precept request for submission by 24 January 2025.

It was agreed that the budget for 2025-26 be set as £15,494 and the Precept request be set as £17,500, representing a 1.5% / £1.61 increase on Band D properties. 

 

 

c) To consider adding an additional signatory with online access to replace P Dowen.

It was agreed that a link to apply for online banking access be sent to Cllr K Willgoose who is already a signatory on the bank mandate.

 

INCOME/GRANTS for note only:

 

CIL SUMMARY

CIL SUMMARY
RECEIVED	SPENT	BALANCE
15,536.68	2,554.30	12,982.38

 

 

Ringfenced for election costs £3,000

 

S137 £10.81 per elector. x310 = £3,351.10 

 

12. MEMORIALS

a) Old Memorials, Cllr S Hall reported that this was in progress and due for completion shortly.

b) War Memorial, Cllr S Hall reported that there were no updates at present and any updates would be reported in due course.

 

13. PLAY AREA - SEATING

It was noted that the contractor who had expressed an interest in this work had not submitted any quotes as yet, therefore no progress had been made.

 

14.  PLAY AREA REFURBISHMENT

a) It was noted that the current supplier’s poster had been circulated to all Cllrs.

b) A questionnaire was required

 

15. AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING. To consider any items for inclusion in the next agenda.

 

16. DATE OF NEXT MEETING. 

To note that the next meeting of the Parish Council was provisionally scheduled for Tuesday 11 February 2025 however this may be postponed pending the vacancy for a clerk.

 

17. TO RESOLVE WHETHER TO EXCLUDE THE PUBLIC AND PRESS FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE FOLLOWING CONFIDENTIAL MATTERS. 

Should this resolution be passed, members of the public and press will be required to leave the meeting at this stage.

It was proposed by Cllr M Nelstrop, seconded by Cllr S Hall and it was RESOLVED to exclude the public and press for consideration of the following confidential matters.

 

i. Staffing vacancy:

a. To receive any updates

3 Applications had been received, and it was noted that there may be further applications by the closing date of 28/02/25.

b. To consider arrangements for interview(s)

It was agreed that Cllr S Hall will be part of the interview panel.

It was agreed that initial interviews may take place prior to the closing date, with VH availability and candidate/Cllr availability to be checked.

c. To consider arrangements for any appointment.

This will be addressed following stage b.

 

There being no further business the Chair ended the meeting at 20:41

 

 

Please be advised that these are notes of the meeting taken by the Clerk and cannot in any way be regarded as the official minutes of council proceedings until they are approved and signed at the next Parish Council meeting.

 

 

 

2/14/01/2025