East Kirkby Parish Council Meeting
16th July 2026 19.00 start
East Kirkby Village Hall
Public meeting: Chairman opened the public meeting at 19.00 and welcomed everyone.
MoP mentioned the grass verge on the Manor Close/Fen Road which is massively overgrown and very tall. This was mentioned to Cllr Roberts.
MoP also mentioned the hedge at the Drain Bank which is hanging out onto the road, so if you have to swerve, you end up into the other side of the road. Chairman asked MoP to add to FixMyStreet. Chairman will also add to FixMyStreet.
MoP mentioned the letter from the Planning Office regarding the outline planning application for the proposed 8 dwellings on Chapel Lane – just past the village hall. Chairman ascertained that there were no objections to bringing forward this item and discussing the planning application during the public meeting. In principle the MoPs have no objections other than concerns over the increase in traffic, both during and after construction. There was some discussion regarding the size of the building area, possible archaeological impact,
There is no expectation of the works starting shortly as this application is for outline permission only.
Chairman closed the public meeting at 19.30. Chairman reiterated that MoPs were welcome to stay, but that they were no longer able to participate.
Present and apologies: Cllrs B Nowicki (Chairman), C Brandwood, V Lingard, L Stokes, Y James (Arr. 19.12), County Cllr P Roberts (Arr. 19.55), District Cllr T Taylor, 3 Members of the Public (MoP), Mrs JH Mussett (Clerk)
Apologies tended and accepted: Cllr C Warman
Declarations of interest: None – based on the published agenda.
Approval of minutes: Approval of minutes from the Parish Council meeting from June 2026: Chairman ascertained that the Councillors had read the minutes and that they were an accurate representation of the meeting. Acceptance of the minutes was proposed by Cllr Brandwood and seconded by Cllr Lingard. Chairman signed a copy of the minutes and will post a copy on the notice board. Minutes are available on the website.
Update from District Councillor and County Councillor:
District Cllr Taylor mentioned that the proposal accepted by the government is that Lincolnshire will be two unitary authority areas (UA):
UA1: will consist of City council, West Lindsey, some of North Kesteven.
UA2: The other four districts (Boston, South Holland, East Lindsey and South Kesteven) will join.
North & Northeast Lincolnshire will stay as they are, but they remain a part of Greater Lincolnshire.
There will be a district election in 2027 (Shadow election) and no changes will take place until 2028. Council services will remain as they are. There will be a “full election” five years later.
Cllr Brandwood mentioned the articles in LALC/NALC newsletters regarding the devolution of powers down to the Parish Council level, which all agreed is unclear. The level of work/responsibilities being pushed down is increasing, but there is no thought for passing any real “power” and ability to make an impact onto the Parish Councils, only the work.
Clerk asked Cllr Taylor if he would be able to re-issue the documents regarding the food waste bin service.
Action: Cllr Taylor will attempt to re-issue.
Cllr James asked about the marquee at the Bridge Farm. Cllr Lingard mentioned that there had been an event at the weekend. Cllr Brandwood mentioned that the planning portal has not been updated for a while. There have been a few amendments to some of the submitted drawings, but there is still no sound survey information or environment survey information.
Cllr Taylor left the meeting at 20.25.
County Cllr P Roberts: Returned to the Unitary Authority discussion. Cllr Roberts mentioned that he has heard that there may be a judicial review.
Footpath: Cllr Roberts and Ms Hardy from Highways met at very short notice to check out the footpath. Chairman voiced his displeasure as he very much wanted to be present at the village walk-about.
Ms Hardy agreed to send out the weed killer team. Ms Hardy claimed that there is no proper plan. Once the weeds are dead and removed, there will be a small programme of filling-in holes.
Out of the 4 issues listed in the June 2026 minutes, only 2 of them appear to be on the Highways radar. Only Issues 1 and 4 (weeds) are going to be addressed. Leaving issues 2 (gulleys have been back-filled) and 3 (existing footpath not cleared to its full width) to be completed.
Chairman reiterated his displeasure at not being present at the meeting. Not just to voice the dissatisfaction of the parishioners and Parish Council, but also to provide local information – which led to some issues not being picked up by Cllr Roberts and Ms Hardy.
Cllr Brandwood asked WHO actually signed the works done. Cllr Roberts to check.
Action: Chairman and Clerk to write to Highways and voice the displeasure of the Parish Council.
Action: Cllr Roberts to ascertain who signed off the footpaths works as being satisfactory.
Village hall sign: Cllr Roberts stated that EKPC could only have a village hall sign provided, and erected by LCC Highways, and that the funding available from him could go towards the cost.
Action: Cllr Roberts for the actual cost of providing the village hall sign.
Chairman thanked Cllr Roberts for his help and diligence. Cllr Roberts left the meeting at 20.50.
Updates from previous month: Footpath and village hall sign – already covered.
Planning applications: 01047/26/OUT: Discussed under the Public Meeting. Council has no objection nor need to support.
Matters of interest from LALC newsletter and the Rural Services Network newsletter
Chairman reiterated that the Councillors should all read the “21st century Councillor” article.
Village hall update
Cllr Stokes has not had a chance to track down any documentation. There is a possibility of Cllr Stokes being able to get into the archives.
Clerk has checked the minutes from 1997 and found a few references, however the level of detail is negligible. Chairman and Clerk will attempt to dig more information on the village hall.
Clerk has put in a call to Chatterton Solicitors who handled the lease back in 1998.
Update: Chatterton have replied and have been unable to find any information on the lease or hall.
Armed Forces Champion: Cllr Stokes suggested setting up a committee for events. This will enable us to access funding for events. There are Armed Forces Day events which will include all locals wishing to attend, not just the veterans. The recent event at Revesby was fairly well attended. Cllr Brandwood mentioned that there is an Armed Forces Hub in our local area.
Cllr Stokes mentioned that there is a new bus route (The 617 route is from Lincoln to Horncastle – 617 is the name of the ‘Dambusters’ Squadron of Bomber Command)) and there was some publicity despite the fact that no-one from the Parish Council was invited to the bus route announcement. Chairman thanked Cllr Stokes for the information and tasked Cllr Stokes to come back to the Parish Council with suggestions for an event within the Parish so that it can be discussed in detail to see how EKPC can support such events.
Action: Cllr Stokes to suggest possible event(s)
Procedural and Financial Matters:
Procedures: Statement of Internal Control document review. Councillors discussed and it was mentioned that there should be an update regarding internet banking, which will be done so that the new Statement of Internal Financial Control document can be signed off in September.
Action: Chairman and Clerk to action. Clerk will re-issue ahead of September meeting.
Invoices: Clerk advised that Diane Malley invoice for £79.20 was received.
Chairman asked for Councillors to approve the Diane Malley invoice, which was unanimously agreed.
Chairman thanked all those present for their attention and contribution, and the meeting was closed at 21.45.
Any items to be brought before the Council can be submitted to the Clerk via
by the Thursday (1 week) before the meeting.
Findings will be recorded in the minutes and uploaded to the website.
Please visit our website via:
https://east-kirkby.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/
Meeting dates for the 2026:
17th September; 15th October; 26th November
Dates are subject to change.
All meetings start at 19.00 and take place in East Kirkby Village Hall.