Full Council Minutes

Minutes of the Meeting of Billinghay Parish Council held at Billinghay Methodist Church, Victoria Street on Monday 6 July 2026 at 7.00pm.

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

Parish Clerk Helen Key (HK)

District Councillor Whittle (AW)

Public Session

0 members of the public present

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.

Councillor Cottrell sent his apologies.

It was proposed by JL, seconded by RM, and agreed unanimously to accept the apologies.

Councillor Sharratt sent his apologies.

It was proposed by JL, seconded by RM, and agreed by majority, with one objection to accept these apologies.

Apologies were received from County Councillor East

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.

Although not present County Councillor East had sent an email to the clerk which was read to council “Great do everyone today for the launch of the new bus service. A great big well done to Councillor Jane Ledger, the community and parish council, for all their work.

District Councillor Whittle reported that the Local Government Reorganisation decision will be announced on the 13, 14, or 15 July. This information will be distributed asap once staff etc have been informed. 5 options have been put forward but no early indications are available as to which option is favoured. It is anticipated that “shadow elections” will take place in May 2027.

4. To accept the notes from the meeting of the parish council on 1 June 2026 as minutes and a true record.

It was proposed by JL, 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, Royal British legion Poppy Volunteers, CCLA update, LALC Annual report, Woodland Trust Free trees for planting projects, NKDC Parish & Town Council Newsletter, Royal British Legion Fitness Challenge, British Heart Foundation “The Circuit” newsletter, SEND proposal consultation link shared by County Councillor East, NKDC Corporate & Civic change of legislation details for home addresses of councillors.

No points arose.

7. Finance

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

It was proposed by AV, seconded by RM, and agreed unanimously to approve the payments.

b. To approve the bank reconciliation for the period ending 30 June 2026 (details forwarded to councillors prior to the meeting).

It was proposed by AV, seconded by RG, and agreed unanimously to accept the reconciliation.

c. To approve the increase in travel expense allowance, to be in line with HMRC revised figures to 55p per mile and 60p per mile when carrying a business-related passenger.

It was proposed by AC, seconded by WL, and agreed unanimously to increase the travel expense allowance in line with HMRC, with any prior claims being back dated to 1 April 2026, when the new rates were implemented.

d. To approve the expenditure for a burial metal framework for use in the cemetery.

It was proposed by AC, seconded by AV, and agreed unanimously to approve the expenditure for a burial metal frame at a cost of £100 + VAT to be made by Billinghay Forge, 7ft x 4ft in size.  

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).

None Received

9. LCC Highways updates:

TTRO/TTR017070 Temporary Traffic restrictions Road Closure Church Street 10/08/2026 – 20/08/2026 19.30 to 6.00 hours.

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

WL reported she is unable to check the defibrillators this month. The Clerk will carry out the checks in July.

AC reported that the dog waste bin on Field Road is still operating okay at present but may need replacing soon.

11. To consider the information for joining the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum (neighbours work together in an emergency).  

This matter was discussed and will be taken forwarded to the next meeting, as it was felt more information was required before anyone could commit to being named as the contact person. The clerk will contact Lincolnshire Resilience to enquire as to what this role will entail before any forms are completed to enrol anyone for this scheme.

12. To approve the new Bereavement policy and amendments to the undernoted policies (policies forwarded prior to the meeting).

PCD 041 Bereavement

PCD 021 Sickness Absence

PCD 026 Maternity and Paternity

It was proposed by AC, seconded by RM, and agreed unanimously to approve the policies.

13. To discuss and consider the possibility of reviewing parent parking outside of the primary school.

AC reported that himself and the clerk had investigated the restrictions already imposed and found that there is an advisory speed limit of 20 MPH in place, along with 2 different restrictions for parking, Zig Zag lines which advise no stopping and double yellow lines for no parking at certain times of the day Monday – Friday. A Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) is a legal document which is required by a highways authority to enforce these parking restrictions. Evidence including numbers of incidents and time periods would be needed before this could be investigated.  A Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO)/ Traffic Warden could be employed by a local authority or private contractor to enforce these restrictions but due to costings this was not thought possible as the parish council have no funds available and it has already been said by our county councillor there are no funds. The rules for installing CCTV in this type of area are very complex especially as it would be minors that would be recorded and again the parish council have no funds available.

14. To discuss and consider the Proposed Submission Version of the Lincolnshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan consultation. (Details forwarded prior to the meeting).

This matter was discussed and it was felt no real changes had been made since the last version and 99.9% would not affect our community. The clerk was asked to send a “No Comments” reply to the consultation.

15. To discuss the withdrawal and resubmission of the Billinghay Village Hall and Playing Fields S106 planning application following the decision notice received (details forwarded prior to the meeting).

It was proposed by AC, and seconded by RM, and agreed unanimously that following discussions on this matter, it was the most cost effective to withdraw the planning application and resubmit again in August 2026 once government changes are implemented to the biodiversity net gain rules.

The clerk will contact NKDC planning to withdraw our application.

The clerk will contact the play equipment suppliers to update them on this matter.

16. To discuss a possible change to the grass cutting contract to cover the additional cutting areas in St Michael’s Churchyard the weeding of the ashes areas 3 and 4 (not yet in use) in the cemetery.

It was proposed by AC, seconded by, WL, and agreed unanimously to amend the grass cutting contract to include the extra cutting areas in St Michael’s churchyard with a £30.00 per month increase for this work. The contract will not be amended to include weeding of the ashes areas.

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

WL reported she will be unavailable for a while but has asked to be kept up to date with any developments regarding joining the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum.

JL reported she had been asked about the possibility of a defibrillator for The Whyche area. It was suggested to see if any funding is available for purchasing a defibrillator within the Whyche community or other funding sources. JL and HK will look into this.

JL thanked everyone for their support with the new bus service and in return JL was thanked for all her efforts in achieving this vital service for the village.

AC reported he had been asked about benches for the bus stops especially for the elderly residents waiting for a bus. This will be considered again once the service has had a period of operating and to see if this would be a worthwhile expenditure.

Meeting Closed 8.11pm

Signed

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