2025 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

NOTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL OF

LEADENHAM

Held on TUESDAY 14 October 2025 at 7.00pm at Leadenham Village Hall.

PRESENT: Chair: Cllr Melanie Nelstrop

Councillors: Cllr Martyn Everett, Cllr Karin Willgoose, Cllr David Nelstrop, Cllr Peter Linacre, Vice-Chair Cllr Spencer (Part meeting)

Sharon Johnson (Clerk/RFO).

Also present DCllr Lucille Hagues (part meeting)

1 Member of public

Cllr S. Hall resigned from his position as Councillor for personal reasons and departed from the meeting. Cllr Nelstrop expressed gratitude for Cllr Hall's contributions and extended best wishes for his future

1. Apologies for Absence – None

2. Declaration of Interests - none

3. PUBLIC FORUM – a member of public reported the road going out to Fulbeck A607 had overgrown hedges making the path narrow and unsafe. Advised to report issue on Fixmystreet. ACTION: Clerk to contact land agent regarding hedges

Cllr L Hagues left the meeting 7.10pm

4. Minutes - It was unanimously RESOLVED that Notes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on 9th September 2025 be approved as a true record and signed as Minutes.

5. VILLAGE HALL –

a) Lease/operational arrangements - No update

6. RENEWAL/EXTENSION OF LEASE

It was RESOLVED to approach agents regarding possible purchase of Sports Ground. ACTION: Clerk to contact land agents

7. Planning Applications and Issues

a) Applications received: None

b) Decisions received: None

8. Solar FarmS

a) Cllr Everett reported on distribution list to get the latest information. ACTION: Cllr Everett to circulate email

b) Communication ACTION: Cllr M Nelstrop to contact neighbourhood parish chair for information. ACTION: Cllr Linacre to research similar communications/publications

9. Reports of Representatives

To receive reports from the following:

a) District Councillor (DCllr Lucille Hagues). Reports can be found here

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

10. General Policies

It was RESOLVED to re-adopt the following policies:

1. Code of Conduct
2. Model Publication Scheme
3. Audio Recordings at Meetings
4. Co-option for vacancies

ACTION: All Cllrs to review the following policies to be prior to the next meeting

1. Standing Orders (Revised)
2. Financial Regulations (Revised)
3. Communications (Revised)
4. Social Media (Revised)

11. EMPLOYMENT MATTERS

Clerk contract amendment signed by Chair and Clerk

12. Clerk REPORT –

1. Clerk gave update on the sport facilities advising that a Paddleboard Court plan had been submitted at Fulbeck which will impact the proposal made at the last meeting.
2. Clerk advised that a new IT policy is being drafted which governs the way the Parish Council manages its digital systems, data, and information governance in line with Assertion 10 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) and the 2025 Practitioners’ Guide. This will enforce the use of gov.uk email accounts and advised Councillors who need assistant to get in touch with Clerk for IT support.
3. Clerk requested for Volunteers for a leaflet drop to inform residents of the food waste scheme coming into force March NKDC. ACTION Cllr Everett to distribute
4. Clerk updated council with upcoming annual leave dates
5. Clerk advised that ongoing research for Clerk Pension was underway and options will be submitted prior to the next meeting for council to consider in a closed session at the next meeting in absence of the clerk. ACTION: Clerk to circulate pension options

13. CORRESPONDENCE

a) It was RESOLVED to decline the Salt offer from LCC

14. LITTER

1. Noted that Litter picking grant 2025-26 has been approved for £112.22
2. It was RESOLVED to remove dog litter bin as there is another bin on the green and this can be used for both general and dog waste ACTION: Cllr M Nelstrop to remove and dispose of bin. ACTION: Clerk to include in next newsletter advice to residents about using general litter bins for dog waste.
3. It was resolved to order 2 bin linings for the bins current not in use and request NKDC install one at the school. ACTION: Cllr M Nelstrop to send Clerk bin details. ACTION: Clerk to order linings.

15. FINANCIAL MATTERS SEPTEMBER 2025

1. To approve the Statement of accounts and bank reconciliation at 30/09/2025.

Statement of Accounts at 31/08/2025:

Lloyds Community Account (****9760)                        £1563.44

Lloyds BB Inst (savings) Account (****7762)               £36,637.73

Equals Account (****9509)                                                       £30.36

Total                                                                                          £38,231.51

Royal Fund                                                                               £331.80

Incl Interest accrued: September                                             £21.37

Income included in balances: None

Transfers: £2,000 from Lloyds BB Inst (savings) Account to Lloyds Community Account on 23rd September 2025. £120 from Lloyds Community Account to Equals Account on 26th September 2025. £50 from Lloyds Community Account to Equals Account on 30th September 2025

Balance of accounts at 31/08/2025:

CIL

CIL Deadlines

Ringfenced for election costs £3,000

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

It was RESOLVED that the bank reconciliation, transfers and statement of accounts be approved

2. Payments made between 30/08/2025 – 01/10/2025 ratified:

3. Upcoming regular payments noted.

Clerk Salary £497.48

Clerk Expenses £41.67

Service Charge £4.25

Glendale £424.85

Hough Maintenance £280.00

4. Non-regular payments: £50.00 It was RESOLVED to approve: Bitdefender anti virus software for clerk pc. £12.50 (50%) LALC Clerk networking day. Insurance for VH renewal £2,278.24. ACTION: Cllr M Nelstrop to enquire on VH contributions to insurance. ACTION: Clerk to remove playground equipment from policy as insured with Zurich. ACTION: Clerk to send policy to LAW and Bowls club for review

5. It was RESOLVED to award CAB £50.00 and RBL £30.00 donations. ACTION: Cllr M Nelstrop to enquire Ms J Booth regarding Fountain Maintenance donation

6. It was RESOLVED to contribute £525 as planned in this year’s budget. ACTION: Clerk to arrange donation

7. To note that Cllr K Willgoose carried out a mid-year audit of the financial accounts during Sept – Oct 2025 and receive any comments - 1p underpayment in Salary in May 2025.

16. MEMORIAL

War Memorial – ACTION: Clerk to research companies that specialise in cleaning and restoration

17. PLAY AREA

a) Monthly inspection report noted. It was RESOLVED to purchase anti slip material identified by Cllr Everett. ACTION: Cllr Everett/Clerk to purchase and fit.

18. TREES

a) It was RESOLVED to grant permission for fruit trees on Parish Field.

b) Outstanding tree surveys. ACTION: Clerk to contact land agents to sport field enquiring if surveys have been carried out on land, ACTION: Cllr Willgoose to locate old village plan to determine Parish land/ trees

19. BUDGET

Clerk requested Cllr’s consider any future projects/expenditure. ACTION: Cllr’s to email ideas/suggestions prior to next meeting

20. AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING. None

21. Date of Next Meeting. The next meeting is Tuesday 11th November 2025.

There being no further business the Chair ended the meeting at 20:56

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.