Annual Parish Meeting - 12th May 2025
Minutes of Annual Parish meeting of Huttoft Parish Council held on Monday 12th May 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 M Beecham (LCC) & 9 members of the public
4833. WELCOME:
The Chair welcomed Councillors and members of the public to the meeting.
4834. APOLOGIES:
Cllrs G Marsh & S Devereux (ELDC).
4835. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
A resident noted that the ‘dog walking box’ recently installed by a resident at the Car Terrace had been very popular and visitors had left £22.45 in donations which will go to local charities.
A resident thanked Huttoft Parish Council for supporting the campaign to install a footpath on the A52 between the school car park and garage. LCC had now completed the work. Cllr Lapczuk thanked the property owners who gave up land for free to enable the footpath to be built.
A resident raised concerns about poor parking by motorhomes at the Car Terrace and Moggs Eye Car Parks. Cllr Walker said the Parking Enforcement Team were aware and would be taking appropriate action. Action was also being considered by LCC to stop vehicles parking across yellow lines at the Car Terrace.
4836. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND REQUESTS FOR DISPENSATIONS:
None.
4837. MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON 13th MAY 2024 TO BE APPROVED AND SIGNED BY THE CHAIR:
Proposed, Seconded & RESOLVED that the minutes, having been circulated and read, were approved and signed by the Chair.
4838. CHAIR REPORT:
Cllr Lapczuk noted two key successes for the Parish Council in the last year: taking over ownership and management of Huttoft Playing Field and construction of the new footpath on the A52.
Cllr Lapczuk thanked Parish Councillors, ELDC & LCC Councillors, Parish Clerk, volunteers from Village Hall and members of the public for all their support throughout the last year. Cllr Lapczuk also welcomed the new County Councillor Mike Beecham and noted the thanks to the outgoing Councillor Colin Matthews.
The Parish Council has supported a number of community events throughout the year including VE Day celebrations and lighting of St Margarets Church. A number of community events, organised by the Axe & Cleaver, are planned for the Playing Field during the summer which the Parish Council will support.
Cllr Lapczuk noted the challenges ahead: proposed substation and pylons, and other wind farm projects and that the Parish Council will continue to challenge the projects as required in support of residents concerns.
4839. HUTTOFT CAR TERRACE:
Cllr Walker took Parish Councillors through his report. There have been two significant projects at the Car Terrace: redevelopment of Huttoft Bank / Roman Bank and the National Trust Wetlands development.
Cllr Walker continues to work with LCC in maintaining the Car Terrace, sand clearing, various contractors and parking enforcement.
Damage to Sea Lane as a result of the construction works has been identified in several areas of the lane. Discussions are on-going regarding repairs. LCC have confirmed signage works will take place on Sea Lane in May to address concerns previously raised by the Parish Council.
4840. HUTTOFT VILLAGE HALL:
Cllr Meaker welcomed our new County Councillor to the Village Hall and explained the ownership / management of the hall. Cllr Meaker stated that Cllr Beecham (LCC) was welcome to hold his proposed surgeries as part of the “Warm Space” events at the village hall.
4841. FRIENDS OF ST MARGARETS CHURCH:
Cllr Ganney noted that over £50,000 had been raised for church maintenance in the last two years with repairs to the church roof, walls, guttering and tower now completed. A formal inspection of the tower is being carried out to identify what works need to be undertaken to the tower, roof and bells. New bird boxes are being provided for the churchyard for the birds to relocate.
4842. HUTTOFT PLAYING FIELD REPORT INCLUDING RESIDENT CONSULTATION OUTCOME:
Cllr Lapczuk thanked members of the Huttoft Playing Field Association for the many years supporting the playing field. Following an increase in the precept this year to fund improvements, a different approach to how the playing field was funded and managed was needed.
Cllr Lapczuk outlined the proposed improvement plans and positive resident consultation feedback. Grass-cutting remained the single biggest expense and a much more efficient way to maintain the playing field and potentially other areas of the village was required. Cllr Lapczuk made it clear that there was no criticism of the current contractor who had done a really good job over a number of years.
Cllr Lapczuk outlined a proposal to purchase a new ride-on mower (Alko T18.103 HD-A) with a collector, deflector & mulch kit and a 5 year guarantee and a trailer (Ifor Williams P7e) comes with a spare wheel, jockey wheel and ramp. Although the Parish Council intended to include the equipment cost as part of the future funding bid, the Parish Council had sufficient funds to purchase the equipment now, including part-exchanging the current grass-cutting ‘topper’ machine. Therefore any financial risk to the Parish Council was minimal. The overall cost of the equipment was £3,700 plus VAT. The equipment is available for immediate collection.
During the summer, the equipment will be used on the playing field, churchyard and around the village to get an understanding of the time / cost of grass cutting required, thus enabling a more realistic budget being set in future years.
Secure storage will be required longer term such as a secure storage shed. Various options were discussed and the preferred option will form part of the future funding bid. In the short-term, a suitable site to store the equipment will be identified.
Following a discussion, Parish Councillors Proposed, Seconded and RESOLVED to purchase the equipment and part exchange the “topper”. Cllr Lapczuk would organise purchase, collection and initial storage of the equipment.
4843. ANY OTHER MATTERS
Cllr Meaker stated that the Primitive Church on Church Lane was becoming overgrown again and suggested that the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust may be interested in adopting the site as a wildlife / conservation area. The Clerk will contact the Trust.
Cllr Walker raised concerns that contractors were proposing to dig up the frontage of a number of properties on Sea Lane. There was some doubt over the actual boundaries of the properties. Cllr Beecham (LCC) asked Cllr Walker to send him the details so he could discuss with LCC Highways.
Cllr Sylvester thanked Cllr Meaker for repairing the Queen Elizabeth II Statue and also noted that a resident had donated £40 to the Parish Council for a new speed sign. The Clerk would write a letter of thank you.
4844. DATE OF NEXT MEETING:
Monday 19th May 2025 – Annual Statutory Meeting at 7pm in the Village Hall.
4845. THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, THE MEETING CLOSED AT 8.18pm