Draft Minutes - 27 March 2025
Minutes of the meeting held Thursday, 27 March 2025 at 7pm in the Parish Rooms
a) Public Forum
There were two members of the public present at the meeting both of whom were candidates for co-option. They did not have any comments.
Report from Outside Bodies.
b) LCC Ward Member. Cllr Alex Hall reported that there were no significant updates. This meeting might be his last depending on the results of the County Council elections in May. He thanked the Parish Council for their support.
c) ELDC Ward Member Cllr Edward Mossop was not in attendance.
03/25-1 Record of Members Present and Apologies
Present: Cllr Gillian Pollard (GP) (Chair), Cllr Ian Appleby (IA) (Vice-Chair), Cllr Lesley Jackson (LJ), Cllr Nicky Gulley Brown (NGB), Cllr Mervyn Counter (MC) and Cllr Tony Coultas (TC)
Also present: Cllr Alex Hall (LCC), and Mrs Nadine Must (Parish Clerk/RFO)
Apologies accepted: Cllr Anne McCready (AM) and Cllr Terry Aldridge (TA)
Absent: Cllr Mark Waller (MW)
03/25-2 To receive any Declarations of Interest on any item on the agenda. Cllrs IA and LJ and Cllr NGB declared their interests on matters relating to Covenham Village Volunteers (CVV).
03/25-3 Minutes from 23 January 2025. The Council sought advice from Lincolnshire Association of Local Council regarding naming a parish councillor in the minutes and although advised that the council does have some privilege in recording factual information that is raised at a meeting and the councillor can be named, the Chair thought it was prudent to revise the minutes and delete the councillor’s name. The changes were made and the amended draft minutes from the meeting was duly signed by the Chair.
P: LJ; S: IA, All in favour
03/25-4 Co-option. The application by Mervyn Counter was proposed by the Vice Chair and seconded by Cllr LJ. The application by Tony Coultas was proposed by Cllr NGB and seconded by the Vice Chair. Upon voting, they were unanimously approved to be co-opted to the parish council and both signed their Declaration of Acceptance of Office duly witnessed by the parish councillors. They participated in council proceedings thereafter.
03/25-5 Council Matters
a) Chair’s Remarks. The Chair reported that she was pleased with the good turnout of members of the public at the previous meeting and hoped that this will be repeated. She reported that there were many residents who spoke to her supporting the council and how it is run.
i. She was sorry to report receiving the resignation of Cllr Angela Quinton (AQ) and noted the parish council’s appreciation for all her work and efforts.
ii. The issues with big lorries driving through Cold Harbour Lane has now stopped.
iii. The gas gun noises still occur. Cllr NGB will find out which farm the noise is coming from near Birketts Lane and will let the Parish Clerk know who to contact.
b) Clerk’s Report. Noted. Cllr LJ has volunteered to check the defibrillator regularly. The Parish Clerk to send her a checklist. One storage box has been donated by Cllr AQ.
c) Communications Received – to note and for consideration below:
i. LCC Public Rights of Way Consultation. It was agreed that Councillors will respond individually to the consultation. Parish Clerk to re-send the documents.
ii. ELDC Fly tipping letter. This was noted.
d) Spring 2025 Newsletter. Cllr NGB volunteered to take charge of delivery to all properties by Tuesday, 1st April to coincide with a CVV leaflet for distribution. The two current advertisers agreed to have their adverts published as and when another newsletter is produced which is expected to be once a year.
e) ELIF Grant application for purchase of shed and the building of an accessible toilet. The application form was discussed and it was agreed to send an application for the June deadline. To save valuable time, Cllr NGB will share CVV’s responses to the questions relating to activities in the Parish Rooms. The application form was similar to that CVV had used previously to apply for funding and was successful. The completed application form will be shared at the next meeting in May.
P: MC; S: IA, All in favour
03/25-6 Finance and Budgets
a) Payments. The Council accepted payments for March 2025 detailed below.
| To | Amount (£) | VAT Element | |
| Parish Clerk Salary and expenses - February/March 2025 | 991.23 | 0 | |
| HMRC Income Tax | 116.00 | 0 | |
| Ink Cartridges - reimbursement to Parish Clerk | 40.99 | 6.83 | |
| Ink Cartridges - reimbursement to Parish Clerk | 5.00 | 0.83 | |
| Firestop Services - Fire extinguishers annual service | 103.90 | 17.32 | |
| Newsletter printing cost - reimbursement to Parish Clerk | 104.20 | 0 | |
| Parish Clerk - Mileage costs to pick-up newsletters last 28 November 2024 and 26 March 2025 - 20 miles per return trip @0.45per mile x 2 trips | 18.00 | 0 | |
| Total | 1,379.32 | 24.99 |
P: LJ; S: NGB, All in Favour
i. Receipts detailed below were noted
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b) Latest Receipts and Payments Monitoring and bank statements. The Clerk reported that all receipts and payments had been reconciled with the bank statements. She will send all documents to the internal auditor for end of year accounts and reporting.
c) Barclays Bank offer of a business card. The Council agreed in principle to apply for a credit card from the bank to use for parish council expenses in line with Financial Regulations 9.3. This restricts the need to use personal payment cards by the parish clerk.
P: LJ; S: MC, All in favour
03/25-7 Parish Rooms
a) Restrictive Covenants. Cllr NGB had emailed the Methodist Trustees for an update but received no response.
b) CVV. Cllr NGB presented the architect’s plan for the Parish Rooms and explained the changes to be made on the doors and floor levels to accommodate accessibility needs. The Council agreed with the plans which will be submitted to ELDC Planning.
P: MC; S: GP, All in favour
03/25-8 Community Amenities and Groups
a) Mobile Speed Signs. Cllr IA volunteered to pick up the mobile speed sign from Alvingham. The Clerk to resend the rota for reference. The Council agreed to purchase four 30mph passive signs from Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership (LRSP) to place on lamp posts; two at Covenham St Mary and two for St Bartholomew. The Clerk to check with LRSP if the Council is already a member of the Community Speed Watch Campaign and will need to pay a membership fee to order the signs.
P: TC; S: NGB, All in favour
b) Covenham Reservoir Steps – DMMO application. No user evidence forms have been received. Cllr LJ will find a press article that featured the Steps years ago. It was agreed to write to Louth Navigation Trust to ask for support as the organisation used the reservoir steps in their circular walking route.
03/25-9 ELDC/LCC Services
a) Application for new bin collection at Grange Lane. The Parish Clerk will continue to chase ELDC.
b) Fixmystreet reports. The 22 potholes at Hurtons Lane continue to be unrepaired and Highways Department had told the LCC Ward Member that the road was not a priority as it was a no through road.
c) Highways Issue. The foul smell at Grange Lane should be reported to Anglian Water as it is a drainage problem. The parish Clerk to report and also chase ELDC Environment Officer for an update. The beware of horse riders.signage is still being progressed by the LCC Ward Member.
03/25-10 Planning Matters.
a) There were no outstanding applications being considered by ELDC.
b) New planning applications considered:
i. S/086/00283/25 Ossian Offshore Windfarm. Documents from LCC were not available and it was agreed that councillors will consider the consultation and respond individually.
c) No applications received between agenda close and meeting.
03/25-11 Date of Next Meetings
a) Annual Parish Meeting – Thursday, 3 April 2025 at 7pm, Parish Rooms
b) Annual Meeting of the Parish Council, Thursday, 29 May 2025, 7pm Parish Rooms
Closed session in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 due to the confidential nature of the business discussed.
03/25-12 Parish Clerk Performance Appraisal. The parish council members were pleased with the parish clerk’s performance and agreed that the comments for this year’s annual review mirror those from the last review. The Parish Clerk to populate the form and submit for signing at the next meeting. The employment contract and working hours were discussed and the Council resolved to keep the same terms at this time.
End of closed session.
The meeting closed at 9:13 pm.