2025 Parish Council Resolved Minutes

Minutes of Sibsey Parish Council Meeting held Tuesday 3rd June 2025 at Northlands Village Hall, Northlands, Sibsey commencing at 7.00pm

PRESENT:    Cllr I Watts presiding as Chairman 
Cllr G Limb        Cllr J Ladds        Cllr A Heath
Cllr S Barker        Cllr J Adiotomre     (arrived at 7.13pm)
                 
ELDC Cllr N Jones (left at 8.01pm)    
ELDC Cllr T Ashton (arrived at 7.39pm. Left at 8.01pm)
Clerk – S Knowles

PUBLIC FORUM
There was one member of the public present of which the following questions/short statements were made to the Parish Council during the time allocated.

•    The verges along Amos Way have not been cut since April although noted that the play area has.
Cllr Watts relayed that under contract this area should have been maintained every two weeks and will discuss this with the contractor and address other issues with him personally.

1.    APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND REASONS GIVEN
All councillors were in attendance therefore no reasons for absence to be given.

2.    TO RECEIVE ANY DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE LOCALISM ACT 2011, AND TO CONSIDER ANY APPLICATIONS FOR DISPENSATIONS IN RELATION TO DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTERESTS
Cllr Ladds declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 6b on the agenda.

3.    NOTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 6th MAY 2025 TO BE APPROVED AS THE MINUTES
It was proposed by Cllr Limb, seconded by Cllr Barker and resolved to accept these notes as a true and accurate record and thereby signed by the Chairman.

4.    OUTSIDE BODIES REPORT
ELDC Cllr Jones relayed the following:
•    The new Unitary is still unsure on how it is going to proceed following the election last month.
•    In relation to the Nuclear Waste proposal at Theddlethorpe and following the withdraw by ELDC from the Community Partnership and exit the process to site a GDF in East Lindse, it has been published that LCC are also withdrawing
•    The ban of dogs allowed on various beaches along the East Lindsey coast is now in place until Autumn.
•    Following directive from Central Government in relation to weekly Food Waste collections, £1.6m for specified vehicles will need to be spent.
•    Central Government have informed that East Lindsey have been informed that new mandatory targets housing development needs to be increased by 150%.
LCC Cllr Matthews sent his apologies due to a prior engagement in Lincoln with the Councils Chief Executive that he cannot get out of, but has sent the following report:

Good evening, everyone, I am so sorry I cannot be there but I have to attend an event in Lincoln with the Council Chief Executive. I will try and be there in the future. 

On the 1st of May the voters of Lincolnshire chose a new direction. And it is a huge honour to represent the Tattershall Castle division, which of course includes Sibsey. I have also been elected as the leader of Lincolnshire County Council which is an absolute privilege. 

I take both these roles very seriously and I want to be fully engaged with everyone in the division. Which is why it is frustrating I cannot be there. 

If there are any issues that need addressing, please feel free to email me at Cllrs.matthews@lincolnshire.gov.uk or message via your clerk, who can message me on your behalf. I will be arranging a drive around with my Highways Officer very soon, so if there is any road that needs looking at, please let me know. 

According to Police.UK website:
During March 2025 eight incidents were reported
•    Four incidents were reported on or near to Page Close
3 x Violence and sexual offences – Still under investigation
1 x Other Crime - Further investigation is not in the public interest
•    One incident of Violence and sexual offences in or near to Green Lane - Unable to prosecute suspect
•    One incident of Anti-social behaviour on or near to Station Road
•    One incident of Other theft on or near to B1184 Boston Road adjacent to High Ferry Lane – Investigation complete – unable to prosecute suspect
•    One incident of Shoplifting on or near to Petrol Station – Under investigation

5.    CLERK’S REPORT
Notifications have been received from LCC Highways in relation to the following road closures 
•    On 2nd July 2025 between 8am and 4pm there will be a road closure near to Willows Lane Level Crossing in relation to the Annual Level Crossing Test
•    Between 10pm on the 7th July 2025 and 6am on the 8th July 2025 near to High Ferry Lane Level Crossing in relation to the Annual Level Crossing Test

6.    FINANCIAL MATTERS
a.    Financial Report
Since the last meeting £1560.21 has been credited to the Community Account (£1520.00 associated with Burial Ground Fees, and £40.21 for reimbursement of Printer Ink).

b.    To approve payments

It was proposed by Cllr Limb, seconded by Cllr Heath and resolved that these payments should be made.
In addition, an invoice had also been received from Tony Skinner & Sons associated with works done at Pymoor Land for £8365.31. However, all the jobs as previously quoted for had not been completed and therefore it was proposed by Cllr Barker, seconded by Cllr Ladds and resolved that payment for this invoice will be made following completion of the works quoted for.

At 7.45pm it was agreed to go back to item 4 on the agenda 

Cllr Watts thanked Cllr Ashton for his service and the beneficial work he has helped with in improving the parish over the past few years as Lincolnshire County Councillor.

ELDC Cllr Ashton relayed the following:
•    Thanked Cllr Watts for his kind words and it has been a privilege working with the Parish Council.
•    The Highways Officer should be able to remain to work with the Parish Council as previously with the new County Councillor
•    Following the Unitary election the County Council administration will continue as a single council of Lincolnshire
•    In relation to the Unitary i believe that geographically it would make more sense that they do a North/South split though the finalisation will not be until 2028.
•    The Local Plan review has been paused as ELDC would not be able to effectively create this in time until when the reorganisation is fully in place.

At 8.02pm it was agreed to go back to agenda order

7.    PARISH MATTERS 
a.    Pymoor Lane
Following a request by The Bears to have motor homes on site in relation to a future event. It was agreed that this was all right and the toilets facilities can be used however, under no circumstances can anyone stay in the building overnight as this invalidates Fire Regulations.

It was noted that most requests from The Bears was being made via the Chairman and deemed this was inappropriate and that these should be made in writing to the clerk as any decisions etc need to be made as a collective as an individual decision is not appropriate as the Parish Council needs to show due diligence and by doing it this way all information and requests are actually clarified in full and neither party are misled.

Cllr Ladds asked is it the Parish Councils responsibility to provide disable access of which the response was yes as they are the landlords.

b.    Burial Ground
A query had been raised in relation to who is responsible for replacing the soil on plots when they have settled. The clerk said that she would find out full clarification of this but noted that one of the gravediggers often checks on plots when he does any work in the Burial Ground and has levelled those from time to time when they have needed extra soil.

c.    Village Maintenance
i)    Maintenance areas and ownership update for LCC assets
This agenda item was deferred until able to discuss this further with the new County Councillor.

ii)    Quotes for removing old noticeboards and installing with new ones.
This agenda item was deferred as prior to the meeting no quotes have been received.

It was reported that some of the litter bins either still not had locks replaced since previously broken or the issue has been repeated.

d.    Play Areas
To obtain a quote for play equipment in Community Park to be jet washed and request at the beginning of August that Amos Way be reassessed and if required to be redone

The work on mending the broken bench in Amos Way Play Area is in hand of being rectified.

e.    Adoption of land in Amos Way from ELDC to Parish Council
An email from Andrew Sweeney, ELDC Housing Development Manager stipulating that he had received notification yesterday of the expiry of the advertising period required under the Local Government Act associated with the adoption of land, of which there were no objections or comments received and therefore he will inform the Council’s solicitors of this so that they can continue with progressing the transfer.

f.    Land for Play Area at Northlands
The clerk relayed that after chasing the Parish Council’s solicitor and following his response saying that he has chased the Trust’s solicitor but is awaiting a reply on finalising the sale.

g.    Correspondence received
The following correspondence has been received:
•    LCC Highways May & June 2025 Newsletter 
•    LALC e-news 9th and  23rd May 2025 
•    ELDC Media Release - Weekly food waste collections approved for East Lindsey  residents 
•    ELDC Media Release - Adventure Awaits: Lincolnshire Wolds Outdoor Festival returns this Saturday with over 100 events 
•    Eastern Green Link (EGL) 3 and Eastern Green Link 4 (EGL 4) – Stage 2 Statutory Consultation under Section 42 of the Planning  Act 2008 and the Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedures) Regulations 2009 (the APFP Regulations) 
•    ELDC Media Release - 3 Beaches in East Lindsey to proudly fly Blue Flags again this summer 
•    ELDC Media Release - Two new and improved family favourites opening this weekend in Sutton on Sea 
•    ELDC Media Release - Unconventional celebration of arts and creativity coming to Sutton on Sea with new ‘Unschooled’ Festival 
•    LCC Town and parish council newsletter - May 2025 
•    ELDC Town and Parish news - Thursday, 29 May 2025 

8.    PLANNING
a.    Discuss all planning applications currently being reviewed for consultation
One planning application has been received which has been circulated to the Planning Forum for their perusal and observations:
02199/25/FUL = Extension to existing green keeper storage shed to provide welfare accommodation and further storage – Boston Golf Club, Cowbridge
There were no objections to this planning application.

b.    Discuss other planning matters
There were no further planning matters to be discussed.

c.    Report on any information received associated with Planning 
No further information associated with Planning has been received.

9.    HIGHWAYS 
a.    Village Gateways
This agenda item was deferred.

b)    Parking Bay outside School 
A request was made by the headmaster at the Annual Parish Meeting in regarding having a Parking Bay outside School. The Chairman relayed that the Parish Council have no objections to this however it was for the school to request this from the local authorities governing body.

10.    ANY OTHER MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION BY LEAVE OF CHAIRMAN
The following matters were discussed:
•    When will the repairs in the Church Clock tower be done
•    Volunteers required for Sibsey Primary School Summer Fete on 28th June 2025.

11.    DATE OF THE NEXT PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
The next scheduled Parish Council meeting will be on Tuesday 1st July 2025 at Northlands Village Hall, Northlands, Sibsey commencing at 7pm.

There being no further business the meeting finished at 9.28pm.