Full Council Minutes

Minutes of the Meeting of Billinghay Parish Council held at Billinghay Methodist Church, Victoria Street on Monday 2 March 2026 at 7.00pm.

Present: Cllr Catlett – Chair, Liles (WL) Cottrell (SC) Miller (RM) Greetham (RG) Vipond (AV) Ledger (JL)

Parish Clerk Helen Key (HK)

County Councillor East (DE)

Public Session

1 member of the public present

The chairman of Billinghay and District Swimming Pool attended the meeting to answer any questions the council may have had regarding the grant application which is on the agenda for discussion.

Minutes of the Council Meeting

1.To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Clerk prior to the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillor Sharratt.

It was proposed by JL, seconded by AV, and agreed unanimously to accept these apologies.

Apologies were received from District Councillor Whittle.

Apologies were received from District Councillor Lawrence.

2.  To receive Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011 – being any pecuniary or other registerable interests in agenda items not previously recorded on members’ Disclosable Pecuniary and Other Registerable Interests' declaration.

None declared.

3. To receive reports from County and District Councillors.

County Councillor East attended the meeting and reported that he is involved in the transport portfolio. It is being proposed that an experimental bus route to connect Sleaford, Coningsby, Woodhall Spa and Horncastle may be implemented but no direct route from Billinghay to Lincoln yet. It is hoped changes to routes will make regular connections to other transport networks.

He reported the LCC Councillor Volunteer Scheme will be open again this year, 2026/2027. This is a service that councils can request help with, for projects within their parish. The county council will provide the skilled labour, but materials needed to be sourced from the project funds.

Councillor East shared that he had received a complaint regarding the state of the village hall car park and some of the play equipment. The chairman of the village hall committee reported that damage to some of the play equipment had been found and that this would be addressed asap. The car park will be looked at once the weather improves to allows for repairs.

Highways are looking at ways to fix the problems on the road between Mill Lane and The Causeway.

The matter of the zig zag “no parking” zones at the primary school was raised by the clerk on behalf of the absent councillor. Many parents are parking in the no park zone and near misses are already happening. Councillor East shared that unfortunately yellow zig zag is not law enforceable and suggested the possibility of cameras in that area. He has agreed to investigate the matter with highways to see if any suggestions can be made.

4. To accept the notes from the meeting of 2 February 2026 as minutes and a true record.

It was proposed by RM, seconded by RG, and agreed unanimously that they be accepted.

5. Clerk’s Report. (Details forwarded prior to the meeting).

No points arose.

6. Correspondence

Items forwarded: NALC bulletins, LALC bulletins, Community Cinema Information Live and Local, National Highways & Transport survey, Sensory Impairment survey LCC & NHS, 2026 Great British Spring Clean, Lincolnshire Resilience Newsletter, Alexander Hustwit Speeding email, North Kesteven Parish and Town Council Newsletter, Innovative Resilience flood alarm system, LCC Town and Parish Council update.

Points that arose:

The clerk was asked to request a start-up kit from the Great British Spring Clean. Two councillors offered to join the clean-up, and it was suggested that the enquiry from a resident regarding litter picking be contacted to see if they wished to join. This led to a discussion regarding an email received about the litter on Mill Lane. The clerk will liaise with the street cleaner to address the matter. He will be asked to go as far as the footpath ends but it was felt that it is too dangerous for him or volunteers to litter pick further down Mill Lane due to the volume and speed of the traffic. The clerk will place this area on Fix My Street. It was mentioned that a gentleman has previously litter picked and the clerk was asked to contact him to see if this continues. A further point was raised regarding the overflowing bins and rubbish in the Bramble Close area; the clerk will contact the district council to see if this can be improved.

The information shared from Innovative Resilience flood alarm project, was discussed. It was felt this should be investigated as could be a benefit to the village. The clerk was asked to look into this matter.

7. Finance

a. To approve the payments made during February 2026 (list circulated to councillors prior to the meeting). See Appendix A

It was proposed by SC, seconded by JL, and agreed unanimously to approve the payments.

b. To approve the 2026 grass cutting contract for the Village Hall playing fields (details forwarded prior to the meeting).

It was proposed by SC, seconded by JL, and agreed unanimously to approve Glendale Services to carry out this work at a cost of £62.83 + VAT per cut.

c. To approve the extra work required in the cemetery (details forwarded prior to the meeting).

It was proposed by RM, seconded by RG, and agreed unanimously to approve MR Garden Services to weed the ashes area and tidy the entrance at a cost of £75.00. Further work required will be looked at again following the end of bird nesting season.

d. To approve the expenditure for the repairs to the War Memorial. AC explained that he had obtained 3 quotes for the repairs required to the war memorial, these differed greatly in cost and work recommended. During discussions Councillor East shared he has a budget that he can use and offered £250.00 towards the repairs.

It was therefore proposed by SC, and seconded by JL, and agreed unanimously that the broken memorial stone be replaced which was the quote from ABC Stonemasonry at a cost of £398.04 + VAT.

e. To approve the expenditure to purchase grass seed for the cemetery and churchyard at a cost of £68.00.

It was proposed by AC, seconded by SC, and agreed unanimously to approve the purchase of the seed from B&Q at a cost of £68.00.

f. To approve the continuation of the LCC Parish Verge Agreement Scheme. (Details forwarded prior to the meeting).

It was proposed by AC, seconded by JL, and agreed unanimously to continue to participate in the scheme.

8. Planning Applications to consider as a Statutory Consultee (as detailed below, may include those received which required a decision before this meeting or arrived after the close of the agenda).

26/0109/OUT Erection of a pair of semi-detached dwellings 21 Park Lane (response date 27 February 2026 No comment reply forwarded to NKDC as per councillors replies received).

22/0629/FUL Change of use of land and the siting of 24 Residential park homes Former Lafford High School Fen Road Billinghay.

Following discussions it was proposed by AC, seconded by AV, agreed unanimously to forward the following comments regarding this application:

The council has no objections to the ecology reports submitted. However, the reduction in the number of units does not significantly address the increased vehicular movement in the area of the school access. Further, none of the new documentation addresses previous concerns raised by the Parish Council and parishioners in August 2022 relating to such issues as school bus turning areas, site access, house waste disposal, renewable energy for housing and other concerns, especially the suitability of the parked homes themselves, both not being in keeping with the village and not the type of accommodation the village requires. 

It is also of concern that the new plan appears to show future planning for the road to extend into the area behind the proposed development. The Parish council remain strongly opposed to this development. 

25/0945/OUT 2no. semi-detached dwellings (access to be considered) 24 Park Avenue

A no comment reply was asked to be forwarded for this application.

Planning other:

26/0124/PNND change of use from agricultural barn to dwelling Old Agricultural Building at First Hurn Drove.

9. LCC Highways updates

TTRO/TTR015097 Road closure order Church Street 23/03/2026 – 28/03/2026

10. To report on risk assessments/safety checks. Report from councillors where applicable.

Nothing to report.

11. To receive updates on the arrangements for the Annual Parish meeting.

The swimming pool have agreed to attend this meeting.

Councillor East will look at the possibility of the transport committee attending to gain feedback from residents.

12. To discuss the proposed speed limit on the A153 North Kyme to Billinghay details received from LCC. (Details forwarded prior to the meeting).

Following discussions no objections were raised regarding lowering the speed limit on the A153, the clerk was asked to forward a comment that the council have no objections.

13. To review and approve the undernoted policies (AC forwarded prior to the meeting).

• PCD002 Standing Orders
• PCD007 Community Grant Policy
• PCD035 Publication Scheme

It was proposed by AC, seconded by AV, and agreed unanimously to approve the amendments to the above policies.

14. To reconsider the grant application submitted by Billinghay and District Swimming Pool.

This matter was discussed and it was agreed that the previous comments on this application made in January should still stand and that until the work has commenced no further funding should be given. This will give the opportunity to see if the pool is able to open as planned or to see if further work will be required.

15. Reports from Councillors and any agenda items for the next meeting.

AV Reported that she has looked at the 30MPH signs placed within the village and found many are broken or faded. The matter of purchasing new ones was discussed and felt that these are not having the required effect for their cost. The existing signs can be removed if councillors see fit. A suggestion of 30MPH signs for dustbins was mentioned, the clerk will investigate this option. The volumes of traffic, the speed and the lack of consideration from drivers all seem to be a constant issue for the village.

WL Reported that Rev Helen Eke will be leaving the village and thinking ahead for our Christmas event this will be something to consider as she will be a great loss.

JL Reported that she continues to fight for a direct bus route to and from the village and mentioned that a meeting with residents and the transport committee had been suggested. To hold this at the Annual Parish Meeting would provide this opportunity.

AC Asked if anyone was available to help plant trees in the playing field on Thursday morning at 10am. The trees have been provided free of charge by the Giant Tree Circle project.