East Kirkby Parish Council Meeting
4th December 2025 19.00 start
East Kirkby Village Hall
Public meeting (incl. Remembrance service): Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting, opened the public meeting at 19.05. Chairman asked those Members of the Public (MoP) if they had any items for discussion.
MoP asked if it would be possible to have a sign erected in the village, directing people to the village hall.
Action: Cllr Taylor will ask at Lincolnshire County Council offices.
MoP asked about the state of the footpath between that last bungalow on the North side of the A155 , heading East, and Cobblers Corner. Chairman asked MoP to add to FixMyStreet and Chairman will chase it up too. Councillors mentioned the overall bad state of the footpaths throughout the village, especially at the corner of the A155 Main Road and Fen Road. Chairman mentioned that the planings that have been laid on the footpath to Revesby are disappearing under weeds and the footpath is again unpassable.
Remembrance service/War Memorial: Cllr Brandwood mentioned that he had been given several photographs relating to the names on the War Memorial. Cllr Brandwood asked if the Parish Council would support if something was published on both the parish council website and the village Facebook page, asking for further information and photographs of the villagers who gave their lives in the wars. This information will then be shared with all parishioners at a later date.
The suggestion was fully supported by all present. Cllr Brandwood will spearhead the efforts. Cllr James mentioned that the Bomber Command archives are managed by Lincoln University and will query if there is any information available.
Action: Cllr James
Chairman mentioned his old neighbour, Ms Elsie Blackbourn – was a correspondent for a local newspaper and there may well be some records held at the newspaper offices that can be used.
There has been a request for white poppies to be added to the “Net of Poppies”. It was discussed and will be brought up again at a later date – prior to the next Remembrance Service. It was also suggested that perhaps a single large white poppy could be added.
Cllr Brandwood and the rest of the council would like to extend a very large Thank You to Mr Paddy Donnelly for his help and all assistance at the Remembrance Service.
Chairman thanked the MoPs present for their time and contribution and closed the Public Meeting at 19.25.
Present & Apologies: Cllrs B Nowicki (Chairman), C Brandwood, C Warman, Y James, District County Cllr T Taylor, Mrs JH Mussett (Clerk)
Apologies: County Cllr P Roberts and Cllr V Lingard
Declarations of interest: There were no declarations of interest based on the published agenda.
Approval of minutes from the October 2025 meeting: Approval of minutes from the Parish Council meeting from October 2025: Chairman ascertained that the Councillors had read the minutes and that they were an accurate representation of that meeting. Acceptance of the minutes was proposed by Cllr Brandwood and seconded by Cllr Warman. Unanimously agreed at the subsequent vote. Chairman signed a copy of the minutes and will post a copy on the notice board. Minutes are also available on the website.
Update from District and County Councillors:
GRASSroot grants: Cllr Taylor mentioned that another £280K has been made available via the GRASSroots scheme to village halls and parish councils.
Police governance reform: The proposed changes will be implemented from 2028 which will allow the impending local reorganisation a chance to get bedded in. It will eventually come under the local mayor.
Local reorganisation: 6 proposals have been submitted to the government and are being considered during the next few months. Announcement will be due at around the time of the summer parliament recess.
Chairman thanked Cllr Taylor for his attendance and Cllr Taylor left the meeting at 19.37.
Updates from last month – covered in Public Meeting.
Planning Applications/Consultations
Chairman asked if there were any comment regarding the S/3622/25/FUL application for The Willows. The Parish Council unanimously agreed to SUPPORT the application.
Action: Clerk to update planning site.
Matters of interest from LALC and Rural Services Network newsletters
SLCC: National Heritage Memorial Fund for War Memorials: Chairman mentioned that he had read an article stating that monies were available to help with maintenance of war memorials. These funds are available for memorials in a poor state of repair. However, the latest reviews of the East Kirkby War Memorial state that our War Memorial is in a “Good” state. Discussion ensued regarding the state of the War Memorial and whether we should maintain it to the current state or let it weather a little. Discussions to be taken up in the New Year.
LALC article on remote and hybrid meetings: Discussion ensued as to the practice of web-based meetings and it was unanimously agreed that East Kirkby Parish Council would not adopt remote meetings.
Procedural and Financial matters
Move to .gov.uk: Chairman advised that in order for us to comply with revised audit requirements we MUST have a .gov.uk email domain name. Chairman advised that the Parish Council has to agree to A) carry on as a parish council and B) wish to move forward with the .gov.uk. Charman asked the councillors if they wished to carry on as a council and have a single email address (for the Clerk) only, which was unanimously agreed to.
Minute ref: 20251204- 01
Increased fee from DM Payroll Services: Clerk advised that the charge from DM Payroll has increased to £144.00 per annum incl. VAT.
Minimum wage increase/impact on precept: The minimum wage will be raised 1st April 2026 and it was unanimously agreed to raise Clerk’s hourly rate to £13.00 from January 2026. The impact on the precept is small and will be revisited in the New Year.
Minute ref: 20251204-02
Set the precept for 2026/2027: It was agreed to set the precept at £3750 as per the Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP).
Minute ref: 20251204-03
Civility and Respect Pledge: Chairman asked all the Parish Councillors and Clerk to sign the Civility and Respect Pledge declarations, which all did. Clerk has all the signed copies.
Martyn’s Law/Terrorism bill: This does not apply to East Kirkby Village Hall as the maximum capacity is 120.
Invoices received:
DM Payroll: Invoice for £72.00 was received.
Minute ref: 20251204-04
RBL: Invoice for £30.00 was received.
Minute ref: 20251204-05
Clerk’s wages: Clerk’s wages spanning September to December 2025 was received.
Minute ref: 20251204-06
All invoices were unanimously agreed by the Parish Councillors and logged in the pro-forma log.
Invoices paid: none
Chairman thanked all those present for their attention and contribution to the meeting and wished everyone a Merry Christmas and closed the meeting at 21.05.
Any items to be brought before the Council can be submitted to the Clerk via eastkirkbypc@gmail.com
by the Thursday (1 week) before the meeting.
Findings will be recorded in the minutes and uploaded to the website.
Please visit our web-site via:
https://east-kirkby.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/
Meeting dates for 2026:
15th January
19th February
19th March
Dates are subject to change.
All meetings start at 19.00 and take place in East Kirkby Village Hall.