2026 Minutes

MINUTES OF SILK WILLOUGHBY PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 30 JULY 2026 IN THE VILLAGE HALL AT 7.00PM.

Present. Cllr Roberts (Chair)

Cllrs J Wright, H Bell, and A Cooney

In Attendance. County Cllr Whitaker, District Cllr Jackson, two member of the public and Denise Gascoyne Parish Clerk

Public Forum. No members of the public wished to speak.

The meeting began at 7.00pm

1.Chair’s Welcome the Chair Cllr Roberts welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2.Apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence with valid reasons was received from Cllr K Wright. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved to accept apologies for absence with valid reasons from Cllr K Wright.

3.Declarations of Interest. Cllr Roberts Items 8e and 19.

4.Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

As Cllr Bell had sent his apologies for the May meeting. He signed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office at this meeting. This was countersigned by the Clerk.

5.To approve and accept as a true record the notes of the Annual Meeting and Parish Council meeting held on 21 May 2026. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved that the notes of the Annual Meeting and Parish Council Meeting be accepted as a true record and these were signed by the Chair.

6.Report from County Cllr Whitaker/District Cllr Jackson.

a. Cllr Whitaker reported that Church Lane was being dealt with by Highways.

b. No further information on hedge cutting near Pennels. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved to add this to the September agenda.

c. Cllr Jackson had sent his report, and this had been circulated to all Cllrs. He did comment on a couple of items. NKDC offer an assisted bin collection whereby residents can request the council to collect, empty, and return their bins. Once a request is received, a visit is made to the customer to agree the collection point and details of the service required.

He also reported that a planning application had been submitted for Sleaford’s four-screen cinema which will be in Money’s Yard.

7.Chair Update.

a. Age-Friendly Town and Parish Councils would be discussed until Item 17 Closed Session.

b. The Chair said that the contact sheet on the notice board was well out of date. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved that the Chair and Clerk produce a document to be approved at the next meeting.

8.Parish Clerk Update.

a. There had been no further update on the post office. An email had been sent on 28 May, and no reply had been received. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved to write again asking them to treat this as a matter of urgency.

The Clerk was asked to write to the village hall to confirm the Post Office was still insured as there is equipment in the building.

b. District Cllr Jackson said nothing further had been heard regarding a joint Emergency Plan with Osbournby.

c. The Clerk confirmed that ICO (Data Protection) had been renewed, the expiry date is 12 June 2027. FOR INFORMATION ONLY.

d. The Clerk reported that personal issues had prevented Cllrs Roberts and Conney having their new email addresses being set up. It was hoped this would be resolved before the next meeting.

e. Cllr Bell had agreed to investigate a memorial bench for Cllr Thackray. He would report back and one would be purchased as soon as possible.

f. There was extensive rubbish and dog litter on Gorse Lane. After a brief discussion it was proposed, seconded and

Resolved to purchase Qty.2 Glasdon Jubilee 110 Litter Bins.

9.Finance

a. The Bank Statements and Cashbooks to 27 May and 27 June 2026 had been circulated to all Cllrs. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved: to accept the Bank Statements and Cashbooks to 27 May and 27 June. These were signed by the Chair.

b. A Retrospective Approval List and Payment had been circulated to all Cllrs. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved to accept the following Approval List and Payments

c. The Approval List for BACS Payments had been circulated to all Cllrs. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved to accept the Approval List and authorise the Clerk to make the following payments.

d. Savings accounts. Account one was due to mature on 10 August 2026. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved to reinvest for a further two months.

Account two was not due to mature until December 2026. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved to add this to the Agenda for September and decide then.

10.Correspondence

a. The Clerk – passed to Cllr Cooney

b. NBB Recycled Furniture – passed to Cllr Bell

c. LALC e-news

d. NKDC Parish and Town Council Forum 30.06.26.

f. LALC Annual Report.

g. Lincolnshire Mineral and Waste Local Plan Consultation 15.06.26-31.07.26.

h. Clerks and Councils Direct.

i. Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire Environment Agency Monthly Update.

j. Glasdon

Cllr Roberts suggested that Item 14 be bought forward and discussed before Item 11. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved to discuss Item 14 Village Hall before Item 11 Grant Applications.

14. Village Hall

a. The village hall committee had forwarded minutes and spreadsheets for accounts for the parish council to consider. They stated without help the village hall could close early in 2027. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved to discuss this in the Closed Session at the end of this meeting.

b. The missing bell had now been cleaned and was back in the village hall.

11.Grant Applications.

A funding request form had been submitted by the village hall for £5500 for the upkeep of the village hall. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved to discuss this in the Closed Session at the end of the meeting.

12.Conservative/Heritage.

a. Cllrs agreed that the potential refurbishment of the Monument and Pump House would be a project that could be conducted using Solar monies. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved that Cllr Cooney would investigate this project and report back.

13.Solar Monies

a. New Pads had been purchased for the defibrillator. Therefore, it was proposed, seconded and

Resolved as we can still get the spares for the current defibrillator not to purchase a replacement.

b. It was confirmed that the following projects had been supported from monies from the Solar Fund.

• The Village Clock
• Qty.6 White Gates
• Pond Tidying Up
• Pond Life Buoy
• Pond Signs
• Pond Bench
• Hedge Cutting

15.Planning

a. 26/0487 Notification of withdrawal of application for erection of single storey dwelling and detached garage land r/o 1 London Road. FOR INFORMATION ONLY.

16.Reports from Cllrs.

a. Cllr Cooney said he had put three requests of Fix-My Street recently. All had been acknowledged and would be actioned.

• Request to have School Lane swept after the recent chipping – Status: LCC investigating.
• Request for new 30mph/village sign on southern entry from A15 by-pass. Status: LCC investigating.
• Non authorised development signing. Status: LCC Enforcement Action being taken.

Cllr Cooney was thanked for his initiative.

17.Policies

a. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved to accept the following Policy. A copy would be placed on the website.

• Data Protection Policy

18.Date of Next Meeting.

a. The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 24 September at 7.00pm in the village hall.

17.To resolve to exclude the media, press and members of the public from the meeting in accordance with S.1(2) Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 due to the confidential nature of the business to be transacted.

• The Chair confirmed the village graveyard is now full for cremation plots. Cllrs were informed that progress was being made to purchase private land.

• Cllr Roberts suggested a new group in the village. Part of the Age-Friendly Town and Parish Councils initiative. This would be discussed in full at the next meeting.

• Cllrs Roberts and Cooney had completed the Clerks Appraisal. A copy had been circulated to all Cllrs. The Clerk and Council were happy with the Appraisal. It was proposed, seconded and

Resolved to accept the Appraisal and this was signed by The Clerk, Cllr Roberts, and Cllr Cooney.

• It had been resolved that Item 11 Grant Applications and Item 14 Village Hall would be discussed in the Closed Sessions. Several documents had been submitted to the Parish Council including a Grant Application. After a brief discussion, it was proposed, seconded and

Resolved to not support the grant application as this was not allowed under the Solar agreement, and to arrange a meeting with the Village Hall to discuss match funding and documents submitted.                                                          

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.25pm

Signed…………………………….

Chair Silk Willoughby Parish Council

24 September 2026