East Kirkby Parish Council (EKPC) Meeting
25th June 2026 19.00 start
East Kirkby Village Hall
Public meeting: Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting, opened the public meeting at 19.00. Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced Cllr Stokes to all those present. Chairman asked the Members of the Public (MoP) present if there were any issues they wanted to raise.
MoP had fallen over in the street in Spilsby and was helped by a passer-by, who mentioned that this has happened before in almost the same place. MoP mentioned that photographs had been taken and the incident has been uploaded to FixMyStreet. Highways have looked at this and claim that it has been fixed. In this case, “fixed” means 2 cones and a sandbag! MoP went back onto FixMyStreet and re-reported it and said that although something has changed, but still not good enough. MoP sent pictures of the bruising caused by the fall to the district council.
In the past EKPC has always stressed the need for people to report via FixMyStreet as this has – in the past – proved to be very effective. In the ensuing discussion all present felt that the usefulness of FixMyStreet has been eroded. Cllr Brandwood mentioned that since it has been reported more than once, the repercussions for the council are quite severe. Chairman mentioned that a claim for compensation should be put in. Cllr Roberts has picked this up and will enquire with the status.
Action: Cllr Roberts to chase.
Cllr Roberts mentioned that the County Councillors have asked for lists of issues raised on FixMyStreet and their status, which would make County Councillor lives a lot easier with having a list. Chairman advised Cllr Roberts that EKPC used to get this from Highways and would very much welcome this again. EKPC have requested this before and been rejected.
Chairman closed the public meeting at 19.15.
Present: Cllrs B Nowicki (Chairman), C Brandwood, V Lingard, C Warman, L Stokes, County Cllr P Roberts (left the meeting at 20.32), Mrs JH Mussett (Clerk)
Apologies presented/accepted: District County Cllr T Taylor
Apologies not presented: Cllr Y James
Declarations of interest: There were no declarations of interest based on the published agenda.
Approval of minutes from the May 2026 meeting: Approval of minutes from the Parish Council meeting from May 2026: 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:
Cllr Roberts: Advised that the footpath situation is still unresolved. Ms Hardy has come back to Cllr Roberts and will come to EK for a site visit. Cllr Roberts to liaise. The footpath closer to Revesby is in parts down to 6-8 inches width.
Ms Hardy has mentioned that there will be a “de-weeding” program carried out as Stage 1. The initial part of the path appears to have been ignored.
Chairman re-iterated that he would like to be present when Highways visit the site to address the ongoing issues some, not all, are:
Issue 1: First part of the path untouched, from the village to the 40mph sign, path is overgrown and of reduced width.
Issue 2: Gulley outlets have been back filled.
Issue 3: existing footpath, where it is viable, not cleared to its full width.
Issue 4: weeds are many and practically knee-high in the previously ‘improved’ section.
Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) is still undecided and up in the air, especially as no one knows what the impact of the recent changes within Westminster will have on LGR - changeover could be extended by a year. The IT department, within LCC, has raised the issue that the existing districts use different IT systems and the complexity of bringing all districts together and under the same IT umbrella.
East Kirkby Bike Night in early June was really well run although there were less people present than last year. There are other Bike Night events in Spilsby and Boston.
The village hall sign could be actioned through a TRO and Cllr Roberts will follow up.
Updates from last month: Footpath update: Covered under Cllr Roberts’ section.
Planning Applications/Consultations: None received
There have been no updates or further actions on the planning system relating to Bridge Farm.
Matters of interest from LALC and Rural Services Network newsletters
Lincolnshire Mineral and Oil/Gas Extraction review. Chairman has gone through the review and showed a map which clearly shows that East Kirkby is nowhere near these resources.
Similarly, a review of the existing mineral and waste sites in East Lindsey show that EK is not close to any of these, other than the biodigester in the village.
Neighbourhood governance: This topic keeps coming up in LALC. It would be useful if there were guidelines for people like the Councillors to be “more and better engaged in the local matters”. Cllr Roberts mentioned that his feeling is that parishes will remain although he reckons that additional work and decisions will be pushed onto the Parish Councils. There is some thought that additional people (Probably the Chairman and possibly Vice-Chairman) within the Parish Councils will get paid to do more of the work being passed down.
Councillors discussed what the impact of LGR will potentially be and how we (The Parish Council) will actually operate. Much talk was geared towards clustering with adjacent Parishes and the impact this will have. The transition will take years to implement and with current events in Westminster there are no guarantees that LGR will actually happen.
Village hall lease renewal: Chairman brought the Councill up to speed with his attempts at getting some agreement in place as the renewal is due to be renegotiated in about 2 years – Lease is due for renewal in October 2028, so the suggestion is that EKPC start proceedings in October 2027, which gives a bit of leeway. A suggestion from the previous Land Agents to the chairman is that we ought to employ a property solicitor to assist us. Cllr Brandwood asked if we could get advice from LALC.
Chairman mentioned that when the village hall was de-consecrated (Once the church refurbishments were completed and the church reopened) his understanding was that the village hall was given to the village for the sole use of the villagers.
Cllr Stokes, who is currently undertaking a project at the Revesby Estate offered to check their archives and will attempt to find out who owns the hall; is it a leasehold? What is the Church’s involvement (if any)?
Cllr Lingard mentioned that if the village hall should fall down the land will revert to Revesby Estate. Cllr Lingard will pass the information from the previous contact to Chairman.
Action: Clerk to check all the 2000 minutes for any reference to the village hall lease as this was when it was last renewed.
Action: Cllr Stokes to check archives.
Action: Clerk to contact LALC to ask advice.
Armed Forces Champion – AFC area representative for East Kirkby: Cllr Stokes mentioned that each district has a representative councillor to represent the area as an Armed Forces Champion. Initial question is do we have an AFC given the EK association with the airfield and history.
It’s a part of the Armed Forces Covenant. The remit of the AFC is getting to know the area, breakdown barriers, support people (Ex-armed forces or not) and being able to assist with information and assistance. This is to ensure that no one who moves to a new area is left unaided. There are at least 3 ex-armed forces residents (incl. Navy) in the village. It is also about ensuring that the ex-forces people are involved; create relationships with the community, other communities; contribute to the community and get involved in organising events, both locally and further afield. Part of AFC is also to help organise funds to ensure that events can be carried out (Ie. Paying for road closures etc.). There are grants available for big events. A question was raised as to whether the airfield was putting anything on the for the Armed Forces Day, which they are not. However, there is a local community event happening in Revesby shortly. Cllr Brandwood mentioned that he would be very interested in finding out who and how many people will actually attend. Cllr Stokes suggested that the Councillors have a think to about the impact and any ideas. Cllr Stokes also mentioned that there are funds available for Mental Health activities and well-being walks etc. The Feel Good Friday team have already organised village walks and there may be funding opportunities for that team via AFC. Chairman suggested that Cllr Stokes come to the next “Feel Good Friday” and meet the organisers and perhaps discuss funding opportunities.
Procedural and Financial matters
Invoices received and/or paid: Clerk’s wages
Minute ref: 20260625-01.
Clerk’s wages invoice was unanimously agreed at the subsequent vote.
Chairman thanked all those present for their attention and contribution to the meeting and closed the meeting at 21.25.
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 web-site via:
https://east-kirkby.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/
Meeting dates for 2026:
16th July; 17th September; 15th October; 26th November
Dates are subject to change.
All Parish Council meetings start at 19.00 and take place in East Kirkby Village Hall.