Unapproved notes of the meeting held 20th May 2025
Unapproved notes of the Annual Meeting of Partney and Dalby Parish Council held 7pm 20th May 2025 in the Victory Hall, Partney
Present: Cllr Jacqueline Oliver (Chair) Cllr Mick Lovelock Cllr E Middleton Cllr Andy Ratcliffe Cllr Sue Sargeant Cllr Packa Risi
Cllr Valerie Risi
Also in attendance: Jane Slaymaker – Parish Clerk
1. It was resolved to elect Cllr Jacqueline Oliver as Chair and the Declaration of Acceptance of Office was signed.
2. It was resolved to elect Cllr Mick Lovelock as Vice-Chair.
3. There were no members of the public and present.
4. Apologies were received from Cllr Dawson and the reasons were accepted by Councillors.
5. No declarations of interest were declared.
6. It was resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 11th March 2025 and they were signed by the Chair as a true record of the meeting.
7. Councillors were disappointed that the County and District Councillors were unable to attend. It was suggested that the Clerk contact the Councillors to encourage participation.
8. Finance
a) The financial position was noted. Current account £6,101.19. Reserves account £7,545.73.
b) It was resolved to renew the insurance with Zurich for £261.51. The second quotation received was in the region of £400.
c) It was resolved that the Clerk transfer £3,000 from the current account to the reserves account.
d) It was resolved to approve payments to Wave and ICO by way of direct debit.
e) It was resolved to approve the following payments:
04.04.25 Karl Valentine cemetery grass cutting (Local Government Act 1972 s.214) £70.00
04.04.25 ICCM cemetery membership fee (Local Government Act 1972 s.214) £105.00
08.04.25 Lloyds bank fee £4.25
24.04.25 Wave Cemetery water rates (Open Spaces Act 1906 ss. 9-10) £20.23
28.04.25 Karl Valentine cemetery grass cutting (Local Government Act 1972 s.214) £70.00
28.04.25 Karl Valentine village grounds maintenance (Highways Act 1980 s.96) £75.00
01.05.25 Victoria Clark End of Year Internal Audit £43.50
05.05.25 Lloyds bank fee £4.25
20.05.25 CloudNext email hosting service (LGA 1972 s.111) £59.98
31.05.25 Salary £175.11 (LGA 1972 s.112)
30.06.25 Salary £175.11
f) To note any income received since the last meeting:
10.03.25 Interest £5.79
09.04.25 Interest £6.19
17.04.25 Cemetery plot reservation renewal D8 & D9 £200
28.04.25 ELDC Precept £6,253.50
9. AGAR Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2024/25
a) It was resolved to approve the cash book income and expenditure for 2024-25.
b) It was resolved to approve the asset register for publication.
c) The annual Internal Auditor report was received and approved for publication. There were no matters outstanding.
d) The Balance Sheet for the year end 31st March 2025, was received and signed by the Chair and the Responsible Finance Officer
e) The Annual Governance Statement (Section 1 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR)) for financial year 2024/25 was approved and the Chair and the Parish Clerk authorised to sign.
f) The bank reconciliation, variance analysis and the Annual Accounting Statement (Section 2) 2024-25 were approved and the Chair was authorised to sign.
g) The Certificate of Exemption was approved, and the Chair and Parish Clerk were authorised to sign.
h) It was resolved to accept the dates for the exercise of elector’s rights of inspection of the accounts of 3rd June – 14th July 2025.
10. Council Reserves
It was resolved to set the following Council Reserves:
Ring-fenced covid grant £2,686.77 (to be used for specific projects)
Defibrillator fund (for replacement pads following use or expiry and replacement machine) £250
Emergency planning fund £50
11. Planning Matters
a) No planning applications had been received since the last meeting.
b) No planning decisions and/or appeal notifications had been received since the last meeting.
12. Village Matters
a) Cllr Ratcliffe reported on highway matters. There has been some patching on Scremby road. The condition of the pavements and speeding through Dalby remain a concern. The new County Councillor will be updated, as will the new County Council Highways Executive when appointed.
b) Following feedback from the village questionnaire, it was resolved to investigate a location for the siting of a bus shelter in Partney village. Delegated authority was given to the Clerk to obtain necessary permissions and applying for grant funding.
c) Cllr Ratcliffe reported that the Emergency Village Action Plan was now ready to be sent to the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum.
d) District Cllr Grover was not at the meeting and there was no feedback available regarding the designation of Partney as a ‘large village’ in the 2018 Local Plan.
e) It was resolved to become a member of the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership. Cllr Sargeant offered to lead on next steps.
f) It was resolved to contribute towards the purchase of two new flags the sum of £44.10 being a third of the cost, to Partney Parochial Church Council. Cllr P Risi asked that it be recorded that the Parish Council should not be agreeing to funding unbudgeted items.
13. Internal Council Matters
a) Following the resignation of Cllr R Jones, ELDC confirmed that the Parish Council can now co-opt a new councillor. The Clerk to advertise the position and a decision will be made at the July meeting.
b) The Council’s Standing Orders were reviewed and approved.
c) The Financial Regulations were reviewed and approved.
d) The Debit Card policy was reviewed and approved.
e) The Council’s Code of Conduct was reviewed and approved.
f) It was resolved to adopt the IT policy.
g) The Terms of Reference for a Staffing Committee were reviewed and approved.
h) Councillor responsibilities were allocated: Cllr Oliver - Chair and Safeguarding Lead, Cllr Sargeant - Staffing Committee, acting Cemetery Lead, Cllr Lovelock - Vice Chair, Website Lead and Staffing Committee, Cllr Middleton - Finance Lead and Staffing Committee, Cllr Ratcliffe - Highways Lead, Cllr P Risi - Planning Lead
i) The dates of the meetings for 2025/26 were agreed: 8th July, 9th September, 11th November, 13th January, 10th March and12th May.
j) The rota of Councillors for the Friday Drop In Sessions was agreed: 4th July Cllr Ratcliffe, 5th September Cllr Sargeant, 7th November Cllr P Risi, 9th January Cllr V Risi, 6th March Cllr J Oliver, 8th May Cllr S Sargeant.
k) The Cemetery checklist was received. Cllr Sargeant agreed to take the Cemetery Lead in the interim.
14. Correspondence was received from a member of the public concerning speeding, street-lighting and street sign cleaning. The Parish Council has regularly contacted Highways concerning speeding and has pushed for changes to road speeds. At the recent village clean volunteers cleaned many of the street signs. It was noted that this is not a Parish Council responsibility. The streetlight in question has been reported to Lincolnshire County Council. All residents are encouraged to use FixMyStreet to report issues.
15. Clerk and Councillor Reports
Cllr Oliver reported that at the last Councillor Drop in Session concerns were: parking along the top of Dalby Road; Maddision Lane parking; inconsistent timings of the street lights. Cllr P Risi reported that the primary school will be turning their lights off at night. The Clerk reported that a resident found the street lighting columns on the way to the fuel station, that are not lit at the moment, to be a problem during the winter months. The latest National Grid Eastern Green consultation is now open.
16. It was resolved to exclude the press and public from the meeting. The Staffing Committee discussed the Clerk’s appraisal. There were no matters of concern. The Clerk was asked to keep a record of their time.
17. The date of the next meeting of the Parish Council will be 8th July at 7pm.
The meeting closed at 9.05pm