Parish Council Minutes of Meetings 2024-25

Minutes of meeting of Huttoft Parish Council held on Monday 13th January 2025 at Huttoft Village Hall commencing at 7:00pm

PRESENT:                    Cllrs. P Lapczuk (Chair), R Walker, R Ganney, C Meaker, R Ward & N Sylvester

IN ATTENDANCE:        M Rudd (Clerk), Cllr G Marsh (ELDC), Cllr C Matthews (LCC) & 10 members of the public

4797.   WELCOME:

The Chair welcomed Councillors and members of the public to the meeting.

4798.   APOLOGIES:

Apologies were received from Cllr S Devereux (ELDC).

4799.   PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:

A resident thanked the Council for the letter in response to previous concerns regarding vehicles parking adjacent her property. The resident stated that the fence that separated her property from Huttoft Playing Field had been removed and not replaced. Cllr Lapczuk reminded the resident that the Parish Council hadn’t yet taken over responsibility for the Playing Field and there was little they could do at the present time. After a brief discussion, the Clerk agreed to review the original planning documentation to ascertain ownership of the fence.

A resident noted that the drains outside the flats on Mumby Road were blocked and caused significant flooding along the road.  The issue has been logged on FixMyStreet.

A resident stated that a request for the trees covered by a Tree Protection Order on Mumby Road to be trimmed back had now been forwarded to ELDC for approval.

4800.   DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND REQUESTS FOR DISPENSATIONS:

None.

4801.   MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 11th NOVEMBER 2024 TO BE APPROVED:

Proposed, Seconded & RESOLVED that the minutes, having been circulated and read, were approved and signed by the Chair.

4802.   CLERKS REPORT ON OUTSTANDING MATTERS:

The Clerk reported that Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership has delivered 6 new ’30 MPH’ safety signs that will be erected in the village.

4803.   FINANCIAL MATTERS:

(a) Payments for Approval:     

Clerks Printing Costs - £5.49

SCIS Ltd Gov.uk email subscription - £11.88 (3 months)

CR Home & Garden Services (Grass cutting Contract - December) - £88.99

ELDC – Green Bin Subscription - £52.50

Proposed, Seconded and RESOLVED to approve payment.

4804.   TO APPROVE THE PARISH COUNCIL INCOME & EXPENDITURE BUDGET, RESERVES ALLOCATION AND SET THE PARISH PRECEPT FOR 2025/26

Cllr Lapczuk informed the meeting that Councillors had discussed various options to finance the Council’s activities and support local community facilities in the longer term. Councillors proposed to increase the overall budget by £1500.00 per annum; a 17.7% increase, which would increase a Band ‘D’ precept by approximately £6.00 per annum. Cllr Meaker supported the increase, stating that costs of maintaining community facilities is becoming more expensive and unless funds are available to support them, they will close.

Band D Precept (estimate):

Proposed, Seconded and RESOLVED to approve the budget increase, reserves to remain unchanged and increase the precept 2025/26.

4805.   PLANNING MATTERS:

(a) N/110/0144/23 NATIONAL TRUST NATURE RESERVE, ROMAN BANK, SANDILANDS  – vary conditions imposed by a previous planning application – supported with no additional comments

4806.   TO RECEIVE REPORTS FROM REPRESENATIVE BODIES:

(a) East Lindsey District Council – Cllr Marsh noted that the main focus of ELDC was on the proposed local government reorganisation. 

 A resident asked Cllr Marsh whether ELDC are proposing to increase Council Tax on ”holiday / second homes”, Cllr Marsh was unsure but said he would check and get back to the resident.

(b) Lincolnshire County Council – Cllr Matthews confirmed that a response had been       received from LCC Highways regarding the additional traffic / road safety concerns raised by Councillors and would forward to the Clerk. Cllr Matthews was still awaiting a response from Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership.

Cllr Matthews stated that LCC had made a request to postpone this years local government elections due to the proposed local government reorganisation but the request was unlikely to be approved. Cllr Matthews noted that the changes being proposed will impact the role and responsibility of Parish Councils.

4807.   TO REVIEW AND AGREE THE PARISH COUNCIL EMERGENCY PLAN:

Councillors had reviewed and updated the existing plans over the last few weeks.

Proposed, Seconded and RESOLVED to agree the revised Council Emergency Plans.

4808.   TO AGREE DATES FOR PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS IN 2025/26:

Councillors reviewed and agreed the dates. The Clerk will book the Village Hall.

4809.   HUTTOFT PLAYING FIELD:

Cllr Ganney confirmed that the Playing Field Association had written to the Charity Commission to confirm the Association will close and transfer all remaining assets to Huttoft Parish Council. No response as yet been received.

4810.   HUTTOFT CAR TERRACE:

Cllr Walker took Councillors through his report. Cllr Walker had discussed the sand build up on the terrace with LCC. The National Trust Wetlands are taking shape and the LCC roadworks are progressing well. Cllr Walker is maintaining regular contact with LCC Liaison Officer and Highways Site Manager, and dealing with local issues resident concerns as required.  Cllr Matthews (LCC) stated that any damage to Sea Lane should be logged on an on-going basis via FixMyStreet.

4811.   HUTTOFT VILLAGE HALL:

Cllr Meaker stated that concerns of the cost of electricity usage were being addressed. A meeting is being held on Friday 17 January to discuss village hall activities for the next 12 months. All residents are welcome to attend.

4812.   FRIENDS OF ST MARGARETS CHURCH:

Cllr Ganney advised that the works on the church roof are now complete and on budget. The Christmas Concert was attended by 96 people and was a great success. 

4813.   ANY OTHER MATTERS:

Cllrs Meaker and Lapczuk urged residents to support local community facilities e.g. Village Hall and Playing Field. More volunteer residents are required to help run the facilities and without additional support and funding, they facilities could close.

4814.   DATE OF NEXT MEETING:

Monday 10 March 2025 at 7pm in the Village Hall.

4815.   THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, THE MEETING CLOSED AT 8:06pm