29th October 2025 Minutes
Present: Councillors: N Bradley, R Bill, S Broadbent, H Daines, (Presiding), P Haley, M Keene, and
I Pace
Residents: S Holland
Others: Bernard Champness – Clerk
Open Forum
S Holland wanted to know what the council were going to do about Item 114. The Clerk explained what is set out in Item 114 about this matter. There then followed a discussion when it was agreed that it was likely that we would not agree to a private discussion but to invite them to attend a council meeting to discuss the matter in the Open Forum. The Clerk explained that he did not know who owned the land in question or where the land was situated in the village.
The meeting was formally opened at 19.37
102. Apologies for absence, acceptance of Apologies & noting of resignations received
102.1 Apologies were received from B Gunner (personal) A Thomas (personal) L Day (personal) and L Lowe (work) Resolved that the apologies be accepted. Apologies had also been received from County Cllr Redfern and District Cllr Dobson
103. Declaration of Interest – To receive Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary and Other Interests, as set out in Chapter 7 of the Localism Act 2011 and the nature of those interests relating to any Agenda item
103.1 No one declared any Disclosable Pecuniary and Other Interests on any matter on the agenda.
104. Minutes of the Meeting of the Parish Council held on the 1 October 2025 (Min25-05)
1047.1 Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on the 1 October 2025 be signed by the Chair as a correct record.
105. To receive a report from the County and District Councillors on matters relating to Thurlby
105.1 County Cllr K Redfern was not present and had not sent a report, but the Clerk explained that he and Cllr Bradley had met with him and a resident who was having difficulty getting passed the barriers at the Beck Way end of the footpath from Northorpe. Cllr Redfern had taken photographs of the resident trying to get by the barriers in his wheelchair and that these would be shown to Highways.
105.2 District Cllr Dobson had sent a report as follows:
1. At the meeting we had with Allison Homes which I reported on at the last meeting I did not include anything about the sewage. To correct this earlier report, I would add the following. We spoke about the sewage issue in some depth, explaining to them that the pumping station was already over capacity frequently causing raw sewage to seep onto the road along High Street. The one-way valve that the Parish Council had put in place at the village end of Obthorpe Lane will probably exacerbate the passage of sewage by causing flow-back into the lane with the existing houses on the lane for which the valve was installed.
2. Devolution is still being discussed but the final is still being discussed. At SKDC we are continuing to go with our neighbours: North Kesteven, South Holland and West Lindsey. However, Rutland has still not made up its mind – I believe there are three options on the table.
3. No indication of the new food waste bins, but I am told they will be distributed soon. I’ll keep you informed.
4. I mentioned the bench offer last week but didn’t send this out, so I’ve added it to this meeting report. Legend-on-the-bench.co.uk is an organisation that will come and install a high-quality special awareness bench at their expense. If the PC would like to apply for this, I think this would be a feature or maybe two somewhere in the village.
106. Clerk’s Report and correspondence received
106.1 The Clerks Report had been circulated and explained that he had received various emails from NALC, ICCM and various playground equipment providers but if anyone wished to see copies, they can be forwarded on.
107. Planning applications:
107.1 To consider any Planning Applications received – After the agenda was posted another planning Application was received. S25/1939 section 73 application to vary Condition 13 (operating times) of S23/0168 which granted planning permission for use of land for dog exercising/training/activities and associated parking areas and fencing/landscaping at Park Wood Road, Thurlby. Resolved: no objections
107.2 To note Planning Applications approved: following the agenda being posted the following planning application had been approved
S25/1661 - Replace existing driveway with block paving at 29 Swallow Hill Thurlby
107.3 To note any Planning Applications refused or withdrawn: none to note
107.4 To note any Application appealed or any decision made regarding an appeal: none to note
108. To confirm Expenditure
£40.00 – B M Champness (use of home as Office)
£574.26 – B M Champness (Salary)
£51.20 – Elaine Reynolds (salary)
£244.80 – Bourne Skip Hire (waste collection charges x 4)
£50.00 - B M Champness (10 large poppies for lampposts)
£85.00 – D Thornburn (dealing with questions raised by external auditor)
£180.00 – D Thornburn (half year payroll services)
£2000.00 – Lawrance Park (balance of grant)
£60.00 – CPRE (Annual membership fee)
[] denotes those payments paid between meetings, which have been approved by the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Parish Council or at a previous meeting but not listed
108.1 Resolved: that the payments be approved.
108.2 Since the agenda was posted two more invoices had been received which were
£114.50 – Thurlby PCC (insert in Village Link)
£65.00 – C S Harris (cemetery maintenance)
Resolved: that these invoices be paid as well
109. To discuss the bank accounts for September and for the bank reconciliation to be signed as a correct record
109.1 The Clerk has prepared a bank reconciliation for September 2025 which had been circulated in advance. He also sent reports from Scribe showing what money had been spent or received as well as a budget report. Resolved: that the bank reconciliation be signed by the Chair as a correct record.
110. To consider the request for the Precept for 2026-27 and to consider any plans that we might wish to include.
110.1 The Clerk explained that he had placed this on the agenda as we would be agreeing a budget and the amount of the Precept next month and wanted to know if any matters could be added to his draft budget or deleted. He also explained that within the payment under subscriptions he had included the monthly payment we made to Bluecom Services for the email support. Hea wanted to know if the council were comfortable with this payment being included under subscriptions or if it should be included under website expenses. It was agreed they should be included under the website expenses. The Clerk was able to explain some on the items included in the budget but asl Councillors if they wanted to consider a project which involved a cost, they should let the Clerk know so they can be included in the budget.
111. To further discuss future requirements of the Reactive Sign
111.1 At the last meeting it was agreed that Cllr Bill would check if he could place the sign in Chapel Lane and Crown Lane. This would require us to purchase some back plates. He had contacted Unipart who had supplied a quotation. Which amounted to £1289.84 for 5 back plates. Cllr Bill was able to comment as follows
The quote is considerably more than I envisaged so have re-evaluated the requirements that were discussed at the last meeting.
• Crown Lane for school drop offs - there are no suitable posts for installation i.e. streetlights are mounted on telephone poles, and the school sign would be too low and too close to the road. So, we can discount two backplates here.
• Chapel Lane - There are suitable lighting columns here i.e. circular and steel owned by SKDC/Highways so no problem. - With half term at the end of this month I propose to use the back plate from Northorpe Lane Southbound (not usually recorded until May) to record traffic northbound. The unit would be positioned just before the 'kissing gate' to Lawrence Park for approx. four weeks. Recordings at this time will enable me to compare data during half term against term time. Also, weekend football. A decision will need to be taken if we record traffic in a southbound direction for the next period as this will be all term time or delay to incorporate holiday and term time later. For a 'one off' I will re-use the backplate already on Chapel Lane. The question is - do we continue recording data on a long-term basis?
• Northorpe A15 Southbound - We have not recorded this data for several years - so is it necessary?
After discussing these points, it was agreed that a decision would be left to the December meeting when the data from Chapel Lane would be known
112. To consider the data received from the reactive sign
112.1 Cllr Bill had submitted before the meeting the data he had obtained from the Reactive Sign
During October the Radar unit was positioned on High Street recording traffic in an eastbound direction.
Compared to last year the results are very similar. The only exception is that the peak AM time has returned to its normal 08.00- 09.00 time. The average speed, % over and speeds above the limit have slightly increased and a maximum speed of 69mph was alarmingly recorded at 19.30mph however, we do not know if this was an emergency vehicle
Further details can be found on the Thurlby Parish website.
Thanks to be recorded to Cllr Bill for undertaking this task every month.
113. To approve the purchase of a Christmas Tree for £50.00 plus VAT
113.1 The Clerk was able to report that he had spoken to Cllr Thomas who said he could purchase a Christmas Tree for £50 plus VAT. Resolved: that the purchase be approved.
114. To discuss the request to meet with the Parish Council to talk about planning
114.1 The Clerk explained that he had received a telephone call from an agent who had been approached by a resident who had some land in the village and wanted advice as to what the land could be used for. He wanted a discussion with the Parish Council about their views on development within the village. He was invited to attend a meeting and to discuss these matters within the Open Form. He said that he would prefer a private meeting with the Clerk and Chair. The Clerk explained that he would bring this request to the attention of the council and would expect him to call back after the meeting to discuss this request. As this was discussed in the Open Forum it was agreed that we would not have an informal meeting about this matter but to invite them to a Council meeting to discuss in the Open Forum
115. To discuss final arrangements for the Save a Life session.
115.1 A date had now been agreed, and the session would take places on Tuesday 2 December 2025. Cllr Daines had organised to advertise the event on Facebook and so far, 14 people had booked a place. The person presenting the session wanted us to limit participants to 16. The hall wanted to be opened at 6 pm to allow them to set up. The meeting would start at 6.30 p.m. It was agreed we would advertise that all places had been filled. Cllr Thomas had informed the Clerk know that he would help on the evening by opening and closing the hall
116. To receive an update on the Cemetery to include grass cutting, maintenance and burial fees
116.1 Cllr Thomas was not present but had sent a report as follows:
I have this morning (25 October) been and removed all the dead flowers from the graves, the green bin is half full, so should be okay until the next collection, when I can put it out on the road for collection.
I have emptied the general waste bin as it was full, also still disappointed that someone must be walking their dog through the cemetery (not allowed maybe needs a notice) as I had to lift out at least half a dozen green dog poo bags! Not very pleasant, I wish they would stop.
I have not yet ordered the topsoil for delivery that was agreed at the last meeting.
The war memorial wooden cross needs a good clean ready for Remembrance Day; I will hopefully do that on my return. I think the cross is getting towards the end of its days.
Maybe we should consider a replacement, something for a future meeting.
(A stone cross or tablet that will not decay.)
117. For any Councillor to produce a written report of any meeting that he/she has attended as a representative of the Parish Council
117.1 Cllr Bill was able to report the following:
Cllr Bill (Cllr Broadbent sent his apologies) attended a meeting of the Anne Fisher Trust on 15 October. Items discussed included matters arising from the previous meeting, the finance position and future expenditure.
118. To consider what information should be placed in the Village Link
118.1 It was agreed that the Clerk would draft a report for the Village Link. This would be sent to all for approval before going to print.
119. Members Questions - reminder only questions given to the clerk a week in advance will be answered.
119.1 Cllr Daines asked if anyone had replied to the Clerk about Cold Calling. The Clerk explained that 4 people had and he was asked to forward the emails to her.
119.2 There being no other business the meeting was duly closed at 20.36
120. The date of the next meeting – to be held on Wednesday 3 December 2025 at 7.30 p.m. in the Lawrance Park Social Room, Thurlby