Minutes

 

There were no members of the public present at the meeting.

 

a) ELDC Ward Member Cllr Edward Mossop reported the following

    i. Increased number of planning applications in ‘windfall sites’ which are areas that have not been allocated in the Local Plan and often located on the edge of built-up areas.  The national government has increased the number of housing targets which the District Council will not be able to meet and there will be increased pressure towards approval that are not in allocated sites in medium sized villages.  Cllr Mossop requests that parish councils be vigilant on planning applications in their areas, provide feedback to ELDC and make him aware if there is any significant objection.  He may be able to call-in applications to be resolved at a Planning Committee where he is able to speak as the Ward Councillor instead of being decided by Officers who have delegated authority.

 

This led to discussion on the criteria used to determine what size villages fall into.  A review of amenities in all villages was done a few years ago but has not been approved by ELDC.  Hence, Covenham is still classed as a medium sized village in the current Local Plan even though the amenities/businesses are no longer trading.  The Clerk will circulate to all councillors the adopted Local Plan.

 

    ii. Lindsey Marsh Drainage Board (LMDB) has kept its precept at the same amount as last year.  But he can’t rule out if the District Council will increase its own precept requirement which will impact on the overall precept paid by residents.

 

    iii. An annual inspection of the pumping station shows that there are no planned works at Covenham.  If there are any issues with the state of the drains, this should be reported to Environment Agency who are able to take action.

 

b) LCC Division Member. Cllr Nick Hastings reported the following:

    i. Bullbank closure.  The unintended extension of the closure has been disappointing and negatively impacted traffic of large vehicles in and around small country lanes.  LCC Highways will investigate to get an early resolution.

 

    ii. The state of the lanes especially potholes on footpaths were discussed.  He went for a walk in the village to see for himself.  However, he reported that there are many significant main roads that need more urgent attention by Highways.  He may not be successful in actions being taken.

 

Present: Cllr Gillian German (GG) (Chair), Cllr Anne McCready (AM), Cllr Nicky Gulley Brown (NGB), Cllr T Coultas (TC), Cllr Terry Aldridge (TA) and Cllr Ian Appleby (IA)

 

Also present: Cllr Nick Hastings (LCC), Cllr Edward Mossop (ELDC) and Mrs Nadine Must (Parish Clerk/RFO)

 

Apologies accepted: Cllr Lesley Jackson (LJ)

 

Absent: Cllr Mervyn Counter (MC) (Vice-Chair)

 

01/26-2 Declarations of Interest on any item on the agenda. Cllrs NGB and IA declared their interests on agenda items 01/26-5 relating to the Parish Rooms and Cllr NGB for agenda item 01/26-7b)ii. relating to St Barts being a Trustee.

 

01/26-3 Minutes from 27 November 2025. It was resolved that the draft minutes from the meeting were accurate and was duly signed by the Chair.

P: AM; S: NGB, Passed

 

a) Chair’s Remarks.  

    i. She thanked everyone for their good wishes on her husband’s surgery and reported that it went well and is on the mend.

    ii. She thanked the LCC Division Member for taking time to walk through the village to see for himself the state of the lanes and footpaths.

    iii. The tree in Birkett’s Lane has been taken down and large bits of the trunk have been removed but the works caused another pothole.

    iv. Haith’s Farm resident contacted her with concern that there may be more trees that may fall in property again. She re-assured the resident that tree inspections were for discussion at the meeting.

   v. Dog mess is again a concern as reported on the Covenham Facebook page.  Bags of dog waste have been left on Grange Lane despite a dog bin installed in the vicinity.  There were also dog mess issues in St. Mary’s churchyard.  The Clerk requested and received quite a number of posters from the ELDC Dog Warden which were circulated at the meeting.  Councillors were encouraged to take some posters to replace old ones and put in areas where dog mess occurs.

    vi. She received a comment from a resident who thought that the village was no longer as tidy and to be proud of as before and wanted to know what other councillors thought.

    vii. The latest CVV newsletter included a few pages of parish council news and adverts which she considered to be more cost effective in keeping residents informed and a lot easier to get distributed.

 

b) Clerk’s Report.  The Clerk’s report was noted. Siting for a convex mirror, if necessary, has been deferred to the next meeting.

 

c) Communications Received.  This was noted.

 

d) Gardening Contract 2026 season.  The Council resolved to renew the grass cutting services of Building Internal Gardens for St Mary’s Churchyard including hedges

P: IA; S: TC, All in favour

 

e) IT Policy.  The Council approved and adopted the policy as drafted to comply with Assertion 10 for AGAR2025/26.

P: TC; S: NGB, All in favour

 

f) Tree inspections at St Mary’s Closed Churchyard and St Bartholomew’s Churchyard.  The Clerk contacted three firms but only one provided a quote which was considered.  The Council agreed to have the comprehensive inspection with written reports for both closed churchyards at £200 + VAT per site.  Cllr IA volunteered to be in attendance for the inspections.  The Clerk to confirm and get available dates for inspection.

P: NGB; S: IA, All in favour

 

g) Headstone topple test.  Three companies who provided memorial inspections were contacted.  One firm provided a pricing structure with admin fees and cost for each memorial inspection. A second firm called and deferred quoting for another occasion.  A representative from the third company came to inspect both closed churchyards with Cllr AM in attendance who reported that they did a thorough inspection and found a few that were unsafe or problematic.  They will come back to take photos and submit a detailed written report of all the memorials requiring attention for parish council decision at the next meeting.

 

a) ELIF Funding.  The Clerk reported that Lincolnshire Community Foundation has not received the funds from ELDC as yet to distribute to approved projects.  A Subsidy Control Form was submitted with details of all grants received by Covenham Parish Council in the last three years.

 

b) Accessible toilet. The two proposals from the preferred contractor were considered. Both quotes did not include electrics, decors or drainage/plumbing works and the more expensive cost included demolition of the current building.  Cllr NGB proposed that she will be able to get volunteers to knock down the structure to keep costs down.  The Council agreed to this proposal and Cllr NGB will coordinate when works will be carried out.  Cllr NGB will inform the preferred contractor of council agreement to the quote for £35,992.80 which includes VAT.

P: NGB; S: AM, All in favour

 

 

a) Payments.  The Council accepted payments for January 2026 detailed below.

P: TC; S: IA, All in favour

 

b) Latest Receipts and Payments Monitoring. These were noted including spend against budget.

 

c) Precept for FY2026/27.  Submission of Precept requirement to ELDC was noted.

 

a) Covenham Reservoir Steps DMMO application.   LCC required all evidence to be submitted using the official user evidence forms.  Cllr TC volunteered to meet with all the residents who have sent a letter or email and will write up their evidence in the required forms.  The Clerk will forward to Cllr TC all those received from the Chair.

P: AM; S: NGB, All in favour

 

b) St Bartholomew Church.

    i. The diseased tree had been felled but works on the lane created a pothole and was reported to LCC Highways. No further action expected.

    ii. The quote to repair the damage to the bench was considered and it was agreed to accept the quote to rejoin and stabilise the bench for £150.  Cllr NGB will liaise with the contractor.

P: NGB; S: IA, All in favour

 

a) Grange Lane drains. No further update.

 

b) Pear Tree Lane.  No further update.

 

c) Birkett’s Lane. The state of the lane had been reported to FixmyStreet but no action is expected as the road is not a priority for LCC Highways.

 

a) update on applications.  None.

 

b) Applications for consideration. None considered.

 

c)    None received between agenda close and meeting.

 

 

Agenda Items for consideration at the next meeting:

a) Set scheduled dates for Annual Parish Meeting and Parish Council meetings for FY2026/27

 

The meeting closed at 8:25pm.