Minutes of the meeting held 14th January 2025
Minutes of the Meeting of Partney and Dalby Parish Council held 7pm 14th January 2025 in the Victory Hall, Partney
Present: Cllr Jacqueline Oliver (Chair) Cllr Richard Jones
Cllr Mick Lovelock Cllr E Middleton Cllr Packa Risi Cllr Valerie Risi Cllr Sue Sargeant
Also in attendance: Jane Slaymaker – Parish Clerk
60. The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting that opened at 7pm
61. Apologies were received from Cllr Dawson and Ratcliffe. These were accepted.
62. No declarations of interest were made.
63. It was resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 12th November 2024 previously circulated to members and published in draft to the website as required under the Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities. The Chair signed the minutes as a true record.
64. County Councillor Davie reported that the Mayor election and County Council elections would take place in May. Government reforms will likely result in the removal of the County and District Council, with a shadow authority elected in 2026. It is likely area committees or parish clusters will be established with responsibility for local planning and highway issues. The recent flooding was discussed, and homeowners are encouraged to report ‘near misses’ with the County Council. The County Council does not accept the National Grid proposals for pylon routes. The County Council council tax proposition is a 3% increase. Reserves are low. The Council is £4million worse off than last year. Cllr Davie to chase Highways on the Council’s behalf.
District Councillor Grover is happy to approve an application for grant funding of £300 towards the newsletter costs. The green waste subscriptions are now open. £52.50/bin. There is a new food waste bin programme due to be rolled out in 2026. ELDC are now on WhatsApp. Cllr Grover is to attend a meeting to discuss the designation of Partney as a ‘large village’ and will report back to Cllr Lovelock.
Cllr Davie left the meeting at 7.39pm
65. Finance
a) It was noted that the current account balance is £285.32 and the reserves account £8,521.55.
b) The bank reconciliations for November and December were checked and signed by Cllr Middleton.
c) A bank transfer from the Reserves to the Current account of £500 on 28.11.24 was noted.
d) It was resolved to accept the following budget for 2025/26:
Salary £2,200
Office supplies £30
Bank account fee £51
Insurance £300
Subscriptions £391
Financial audits £120
Data protection ICO £40
Training £180
Asset maintenance £250
Village Grounds maintenance incl planters £900
Cemetery Grounds maintenance £1,400
Cemetery water rates £80
Newsletter £300
Defibrillator fund £200
Emergency planning fund £50
Victory Hall hire £200
Annual Parish Meeting refreshments £5
£6,697
e) It was resolved to increase the precept for 2025/26 to £6,253.50. Two councillors voted against the increase. It was noted that the precept was not increased last year.
f) It was resolved to approve the following payments:
24.11.24 British Garden Centres (cllr Sargeant) bulbs and bedding plants (Highways Act 1980 s.96) £62.79
24.11.24 Victoria Clark midyear internal audit £60.00
24.11.24 Partney Dalby and Dexthorpe Hall committee 50% of hall post box (LGA 1972 s.111) £23.00
25.11.24 DoxDirect newsletter printing (local Government Act 1972 s.142) £70.62
02.12.24 Zurich additional insurance premium £56.00
07.01.25 Tongs Christmas tree planter wood stain (LGA 1972 s.145) £8.99
14.01.25 LALC Annual Subscription £100.70
14.01.25 LALC Annual Training Scheme £132.00
14.01.24 K Valentine village grounds maintenance £85.00
14.01.24 Darren Sharpe installation of cemetery sign £195.00
22.01.25 ICO GDPR/Date Protection Act DD £40.00
24.01.25 Wave cemetery water DD £20.45
31.01.25 Salary £172.38 (LGA 1972 s.112)
28.02.25 Salary £172.38
g) Income received since the last meeting was noted:
11.11.24 Interest £8.52
09.12.24 Interest £6.75
66. Planning Matters
a) It was noted that no recent planning applications had been received.
b) It was noted that planning approval had been granted for Partney Hall ref N/136/00853/24 and N/136/00861/24.
67. Village Matters
a) Councillors voted 4 for, 2 against (1 abstained) in favour, in principal, to ask Lincolnshire County Council to turn off the streetlights in Partney village from midnight until 6am and also turn off the streetlights between the Partney fuel station and the start of housing on the Spilsby Road. It was noted that some residents had concerns about the proposals which were voiced by Cllr Lovelock. The Parish Council will ask that a trial period be undertaken.
b) The emergency village action plan was deferred to the next meeting.
Cllr Middleton and District Cllr Grover left the meeting at 8.45pm.
c) It was resolved to approve the Parish Action Plan. Responsibilities have been agreed and regular updates will take place at Parish Council meetings. Cllr P Risi was thanked for his hard work in developing the plan, which will be available on the Council’s website.
68. Internal Council Matters
a) It was resolved to re-adopt the following: Records Retention, Data Protection, Data Breach, Freedom of Information and the Privacy statement and Cemetery risk assessment.
b) It was resolved to adopt the Expenses policy, to be reviewed in 2027.
c) The Chairman’s Report from the Internal Auditor was noted. The minor items regarding the website have been addressed.
d) The monthly Cemetery checklist was noted. The Clerk to contact Caroline Hudson regarding the disconnection of the water supply to the trough when the cemetery tap was fitted.
e) It was decided not to take part in the Britain in Bloom competition due to finances.
f) It was agreed to update the 2025 Lincolnshire Wolds leaflet to include ‘walks’ and ‘heritage interpretation panel’.
g) It was agreed that Annual Parish Meeting take place on Tuesday 13th May at 6pm.
69. Clerk and Councillor Reports
The Planning framework training session is 24th February. Councillors to contact the Clerk is they wish to attend.
70. The date of the next meeting of the Parish Council is Tuesday 11th March at 7pm.