East Kirkby Parish Council Meeting
25th September 2025 19.00 start
East Kirkby Village Hall
Public meeting: Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting, opened the public meeting at 19.00.
Village hall car park: MoP (Member of the Public) mentioned a letter that had been left on his vehicle, complaining about the fact that a lorry had been parked in the village hall car park. The complaint had also been posted on the village Facebook page but subsequently removed quickly. The main complaint was regarding the weight of the vehicle as well as blocking access. Cllr Brandwood answered the query on behalf of the village hall committee. There are no signs anywhere saying that you are “Parking at your own risk” and that it is a “Private car park” so there was a discussion regarding who would be legally liable if anything happened. This is an easy issue to resolve with some signage. Chairman asked MoP to wait for Cllr Lingard to arrive and discuss with her.
Action: Village hall committee to arrange for signs in the car park.
Village noticeboard: Mr & Mrs May advised the council that the renovation works on the notice board have been completed. Mrs May presented the expenses for which Clerk will organise payment via bank transfer. Chairman asked the Councillors to approve the expenses, totaling £148.68. The Councillors unanimously approved paying Mr & Mrs May. Chairman and Councillors, all thanked Mr & Mrs May for their efforts on behalf of the village and the Parish Council.
Minute ref: 20250925-01
Chairman thanked the MoPs present for their time and contribution and closed the Public Meeting at 19.25.
Chairman advised all those present that Cllrs Lingard and James were attending the Gregory Croft Trust meeting and would join EKPC meeting as soon as possible.
Present & Apologies: Cllrs B Nowicki (Chairman), C Brandwood, V Lingard (Arr. 19.23), C Warman, Y James (Arr. 19.23), County Cllr P Roberts, District County Cllr T Taylor, Mrs JH Mussett (Clerk)
Apologies: None
Declarations of interest: There were no declarations of interest based on the published agenda.
Approval of minutes from the July 2025 meeting: Approval of minutes from the Parish Council meeting from July 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:
District Councillor Taylor:
Mentioned the grants available for organisations with projects of over £25K, projects to be carried out next year. There are also grants for community groups (Upto £5K). This money comes from business revenue to LCC from underground cabling and being fed back into the community.
County Councillor Roberts:
Footpath between East Kirkby and Revesby: Cllr Roberts has been researching the promises about the footpath that were made. Cllr Roberts has asked Highways to resubmit the bid, however Ms Hardy of Highways is not hopeful. The new budget is due for discussion in the new year and we should hear back then.
The new proposal costs has gone up from £750K to £850K. Chairman stated that if the works had been carried out when promised by LCC, the costs would not have escalated. Chairman stated that the costs/works HAD BEEN APPROVED. Cllr Taylor confirmed that he had been present at East Kirkby Parish Council meeting when Cllr Grey informed us that the costs had been agreed and green light given for the works to be carried out.
Discussion ensued regarding the lack of “Duty of Care” shown by Highways in terms of lack of maintaining the footpaths etc.
Action: Chairman and Clerk to look for any emails from Cllr Grey or Ms Hardy confirming that works were agreed. Chairman will dig out his notes on the works following the village walk done by LCC Chairman, Highways and EKPC in 2019.
King Charles III English Coastal Path has been completed, allowing people to walk the coast line around Great Britain.
Local government reorganisation and boundary changes: This is still up in the air and being discussed. There are still discussions going on. All suggestions must be made by 27th November 2025. The final decision will be announced this calendar year.
Cllr Roberts mentioned that Parish councils could have more control over planning, perhaps joining up to form a board who would then discuss and decide on planning issues. This could also mean that more work will be pushed down onto parish councils, which is madness given that Parish Councillors are unpaid volunteers.
Salt bin replenishment: Chairman asked if the bins would be automatically refilled.
Action: Cllr Roberts to confirm.
Cllr Brandwood mentioned an article where a council will be removing pylons and burying the cables, which is madness given that we are building pylons here! Another article stated that Lincolnshire would need more electricity than currently being produced in 10 years time. Cllr Roberts mentioned that there are plans for several data centres to be built in Lincolnshire hence we will need more electricity. The currently proposed pylons and subsequent electricity generation will not benefit Lincolnshire as the power will be going down south and not benefiting Lincolnshire or its population. First spade in the ground is expected in 2029.
Cllr Warman mentioned that he had been approached by several parishioners who complained about the very poor state of the resurfacing job carried out on Fen Road recently, the lack of cleaning up, stones being left everywhere, etc. There are so many stones on the pavements that you cannot walk the dog anywhere. People would like to know why the road was resurfaced as it wasn’t needed and how much did it cost to resurface?
Action: Chairman asked Cllr Roberts to ask Ms Hardy of Highways to come and do a village walk.
Drones flying over properties:
Chairman mentioned that there have been complaints about a drone overflying the village. It was hovering over gardens. It is legal for the drones to fly over people’s gardens. Cllr James mentioned that this is restricted air space and therefore no drone flying is allowed. However, East Kirkby is just outside the “No Fly Zone”. There was also concern that drones are being used to stake out places in the village for potential thefts. Cllr Roberts mentioned that there have been many thefts recently. All to take note of date and times.
Police Parish Council briefing session:
Chairman advised that he and Clerk had attended the virtual Police meeting on 23rd September 2025. The main points were showing the stats between the 2 areas: “The Wolds” and “The Coast”. As soon as Clerk receives the slides, they will be distributed to the Councillors.
Planning applications: None received.
Matters of interest from LALC newsletter and from Rural Services Newsletter: None
Procedural and Financial Matters:
Exemption status update: Clerk advised this has been lodged and accepted by PFK Littlejohn.
Invoices received/paid:
Clerk’s wages invoice: Invoice spanning July 2025 to September 2025 was presented and signed off. It was agreed that Clerk should transfer the monies.
Minute ref: 20250925-02
Internet banking: Accessed and working.
Chairman thanked all those present for their attention and contribution to the meeting and closed the meeting at 20.40.
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 2025:
16th October; 4th December
Dates are subject to change.
All meetings start at 19.00 and take place in East Kirkby Village Hall.