Minutes 2025

Leasingham and Roxholm Parish Council

Minutes of an ordinary meeting of Leasingham and Roxholm Parish Council held at the Community Building, Spring Lane Playing Field on Monday 13 October 2025.

Present:  Chair:  Jenny Bailey

Councillors:  Graham Arnold and Steven Milligan

Also in attendance:  Cty Councillor Richard Wright, NK District Councillor Jim Clarke and NK District Councillor Andrew Hagues

In attendance:  Mr Eddie Findlay, Clerk to Leasingham and Roxholm Parish Council

4 members of the public were in attendance.

At 7:00 pm the Chair declared the meeting open.

107.  To receive apologies for absence and reasons given, i.a.w. Local Government Act 1972, Sch 12, para 40.
Cllr Adams, Cllr Chambers, Cllr Hibberd and Cllr Melloy were unable to attend and their reasons were made known to the Council.
Action:  Council RESOLVED to approve the reasons for absence from Cllr Adams, Cllr Chambers, Cllr Hibberd and Cllr Melloy.
Proposed by Cllr Milligan, seconded by Cllr Bailey and approved unanimously.

108.  To receive declarations of interest and to consider dispensation applications in relation to Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.
None were declared at this time.

109.  Public Forum and reports from District and County Councillors.
Cllr Hagues (NKDC) had sent through a written report which had been circulated, covering NKDC’s LGR engagement survey, which has a further week to run, and your support in sharing awareness locally is much appreciated.
SPOOKY SEASON IN NORTH KESTEVEN – with a frightfully fun October with Halloween events across North Kesteven!
HALLOWEEN FUN IN SLEAFORD: SATURDAY 25TH OCTOBER:  Get ready for a spooktacular day at SLEAFORD PUMPKIN FEST in Sleaford Market Place from 11.00am to 4.00pm!  NK’s family friendly Halloween celebrations promises:
A magical Punkin Patch
Walkabout entertainment and live performances
Free face painting and craft activities
Morris Dancing performances
A mesmerising live pumpkin-carving demonstration
Plus, enjoy a ghost walk on Friday 31-Oct, which is sure to be popular.
In recent weeks the On Freedom’s Wings memorial sculpture of a Lancaster Bomber has been in installed along the A46 at Norton Disney.  Having been one of it’s funders in the early stages, the Council is delighted to see the fulfilment of the Bomber Gateway Trusts aims, achieved through eight years of determination, passion and fund raising and voluntary endeavour.

A representative from the Junior Football Club commented that he had spent some considerable time filling in the dry cracks and animal scrapings on the main pitch and was starting on the second in the near future.  They were still using Heckington pitches and would continue to do so until the end of October.  With a rabbit cull not being considered at this time he asked if Council might consider a rabbit repellent.  Council would need to ensure it was pet and child friendly, but felt it was something that could be investigated.  They were also at the meeting with Lincolnshire FA when wild animal measures were discussed.
He asked whether anything had been done to fix the toilet door lock.  It was said by the Clerk and

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a number of Councillors that it was the use of the double locking mechanism which was the issue, as nobody else had reported any problems with the lock.  A sign was now placed on the door to advise to double unlock.
An outside tap was again mentioned and the Council re-iterated that this would be discussed at a later date.
He also requested a skip, to remove the grass clipping mound that the Junior Football Club had created by their grass cutting.  Cllr Bailey asked that they look at spreading the mound around the edges to allow it to degrade quicker as the removal cost would be quite expensive.

Cllr Wright (LCC) reported that a majority of work at present was centred around preparing for next years budget and despite promising savings etc. it was looking more likely at a raise in the County Council element of the Council Tax for FY2026-2027.
Engagement on Local Government Reorganization was ongoing, as was working on the relationship between the County Council and the Mayoral Combined Authority.

110.  Notes of the ordinary meeting of Leasingham and Roxholm Parish Council held at the Community Building at the Playing Field on Monday 08 September 20205 to be approved as Minutes.
Action:  Council RESOLVED that the notes of the ordinary meeting of Leasingham and Roxholm Parish Council held at the Community Building at the Playing Field on Monday 08 September 2025 be approved as Minutes.
Proposed by Cllr Milligan, seconded by Cllr Bailey and approved unanimously.

111.  Receive reports from the Councillors and the Clerk in relation to the minutes and other Council matters.
No resolutions may be passed under this item but requests for matters to be placed on the next agenda can be made.

Councillors.
i.  Cllr Milligan informed everybody that he had updated the Villager of the Year Honour Board at the Village Hall.  He would need some additional lettering going forward.
Sand was now stored with the Emergency Store.  The remaining items, such and sandbags etc. would be obtained and placed within.

Clerk.
i.  The Poppy Wreath, from the Royal British Legion had been received.~
ii.  The Clerk had submitted a Litter picking report to NKDC and had received a £464.69 grant which went towards keeping the village clean and tidy.
iii.  Received a query from a resident with regard to persistent and problematic parking on the grassed lane between Bishops Road and Roxholm Lane.
Although NKDC do not own the land, they have historically cut the area, apart form the first 1m, which is LCC.  The contact made at LCC is outside the specified area and has forwarded the matter to LCC Business Support for further investigation.  Issue ongoing.

112.  Financial Matters.
a.  Approve payments made since the last meeting.

Action:  Council RESOLVED to approve the payments made since the last meeting.
Proposed by Cllr Bailey, seconded by Cllr Milligan and approved unanimously.

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b.  Approve the payments of invoices etc. as listed on the Payments to be Authorised sheet.

Action:  Council RESOLVED to approve the payments listed.
Proposed by Cllr Milligan, seconded by Cllr Arnold and approved unanimously.

c.  Approve the bank reconciliation for September 2025.
At the end of September 2025, the bank accounts stood at £71,601.29 which included £24,675.35 on behalf of the Community Benefit Fund and £ 5,228.55 of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), leaving £41,697.39 as Council money.
Action:  Council RESOLVED to approve the bank reconciliation for September 2025.
Proposed by Cllr Arnold, seconded by Cllr Milligan and approved unanimously.

d.  Review the budget at the 6 month point of FY 2025/2026.
Other than the unexpected miscellaneous expenditure on gravel and soil for the field, all other budget lines were within acceptable limits.
Action:  Council RESOLVED to approve the 6 month budget review.
Proposed by Cllr Arnold, seconded by Cllr Milligan and approved unanimously.

e.  Receive the Conclusion of Annual Governance and Accountability Report.
The Conclusion of Audit was received since the last meeting.  The conclusion was circulated to all Councillors and the statutory notice was posted on the noticeboard and the website by 30-Sep-2025.  The comments on Section 3 contained the following.
The AGAR was not accurately completed before submission for review.  Please ensure that amendments are corrected in the prior year comparatives when completing next year’s AGAR:

Section 2, Box 9 for the prior year is incorrect due to a transposition error and should read £168,185.

Section 2, Box 10 for the prior year is incorrect due to a transposition error and should read £22,466.

Section 2, Box 9 for the current year is incorrect and should read £169,050.

Action:  Council RESOLVED to accept the Conclusion of Annual Governance and Accountability Report from PKF Littlejohn.
Proposed by Cllr Arnold, seconded by Cllr Milligan and approved unanimously.

113.  Planning Matters.
a.  25/0901/HOUS - Erection of summerhouse (retrospective).  Location:  9 The Square Leasingham Sleaford Lincolnshire NG34 8LA.  Approved by NKDC 24-Sep-2025.
b.  25/1136/VARCON - Application to vary Condition 5 (approved plans) to extend the garage from a double, to a triple re planning permission 24/0637/HOUS (Proposed 1.5 storey garage extension to replace existing garage and store, 2 storey side and rear extension, porch extension and rendered external skin) at 16 Rookery Lane, Leasingham.  Comments required by 18-Oct-2025.
c.  25/1234/PNH – Single storey rear extension 4.35m in total length from the original wall, eaves height of 2.4m and maximum height of 3.9m at 18 Roxholme Road Leasingham.  The purpose of the Prior Notification procedure is to determine whether or not any further prior approval is required, therefore, it is not subject to the usual consultation process as the Council is only provided with 42 days in which to make a decision.

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114.  Correspondence.
a.  Conclusion of Audit.  Circulated 12-Sep-2025.
b.  Planning Application 25/1136/VARCON.  Circulated 25-Sep-2025.
c.  Planning Application 25/0901/HOUS.  Approved by NKDC 24-Sep-2025.
d.  LALC Training Bulletin.  Circulated 07-Oct-2025.
e.  Planning Application 25/1234/PNH.  Circulated 09-Oct-2025.
f.  LALC enews 10/10/2025.  Circulated 13-Oct-2025.

115.  Receive a report from Cllr Milligan with regard to meeting with Lincolnshire FA and improving the pitches at Spring Lane and to consider any costs that might be required.
Along with representatives from the Junior Football Club, Cllr Milligan met with Luke Craggs from Lincolnshire FA to discuss grant funding available to improve the quality of the pitches at Spring Lane.  It was a very useful meeting and the way Luke spoke it should be a relatively straightforward process and there is funding available for a variety of needs including, ongoing maintenance, pitch improvements, drainage and wildlife (rabbit) fencing.
The first steps would be a pitch inspection which would cost in the region of £100.00.
Action:  Council RESOLVED to approve the expenditure for a pitch inspection.
Proposed by Cllr Arnold, seconded by Cllr Bailey and approved unanimously.

116.  Consider a course of action with regard to delivering the Emergency Leaflets.
Cllr Bailey produced a map of the village and between those present, allocated areas between the Councillors.
Cllr Bailey would advise everyone of their areas and distribute the leaflets accordingly.

117.  Receive an update from Cllr Bailey, with regard to NKDC Food Waste roll out.
Cllr Bailey distributed the latest leaflets and posters relating to the NKDC Food Waste caddy roll out.

118.  Confirm the date of the next meeting.
The next meeting is planned for Monday 10 November  2025.

119.  To resolve to go into closed session in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act  1960, as amended by Section 100 of the Local Government Act 1972 to discuss the following matters.
a.  Employment matters – Employee Contracts.
Action:  The Council RESOLVED to go into Closed Session to consider the items above.

Proposed by Cllr Milligan, seconded by Cllr Arnold and approved unanimously.

This part of the meeting closed 7:55 pm.

The meeting continued in the absence of press and public at 8:00 pm.

(Not for publication by virtue of section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the items being of a confidential nature.)

Confidential Minutes

a.  Employment matters – Employee Contracts.
Action:  Council RESOLVED approve the draft contracts as presented.  The Clerk would contact the other staff members to seek their approval.
Proposed by Cllr Bailey, seconded by Cllr Milligan and approved unanimously.

The meeting closed at 8:15 pm.

Signature: Original Signed

Printed Name:  Cllr Jenny Bailey

Date:  10 November 2025

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