May 2025 DRAFT Minutes
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MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL FALDINGWORTH PARISH MEETING
Memorial Hall Faldingworth
Wednesday 21 May 2025
PRESENT D.Waine (Chair), D Whelan (Clerk)
Cllrs. D.Dickinson, W.Green, J. Land, A. Bradbury
APOLOGIES: Cllr. P Sandford
One member of the public was present
APM25/26 - 0501 Minutes of Previous meeting
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 15 May 2024 were approved and signed.
APM25/26 - 0502 Matters arising
There were no matters arising that were reported.
APM25/26 - 0503 Chairperson’s Report
The Faldingworth Parish Council has been joined by a new Councillor, Philip Sandford. During the year Pamela Gregson resigned as she was moving out of the village. Cllr. Gregson will be greatly missed. There currently exists a vacancy on the Faldingworth Parish Council and it is hoped this vacancy will quickly be filled.
The courses provided by LALC to enable Councillor to receive the appropriate training in their council roles and other activities has been updated. It is requested that all Councillors who have not attended The Good Councillor’s Guide do so.
The Faldingworth Parish Council has adopted a number of policies including
• Corporate Procedure Policy.
• Data Protection Policy
• Internal Controls
• Scheme of Delegation Policy
• Scheme of Publication Policy
• Standing Orders
• Staffing Committee.
Cllr Green has addressed the issue of the Clerk’s pay salary based on LALC’s previous years’ pay data. This has involved considerable time and effort in ensuring the Parish Clerk receives the correct wage and we wish to thank her for her efforts.
A contract was placed for the cleaning of the Play Area equipment and bases, and this was achieved without incident. It has considerably improved the appearance of the Play Area.
A planning objection was raised by Faldingworth Parish Council, regarding a proposed fishing ponds with cabins off Lincoln Road. So far this planning application is still ongoing.
The Parish Council again received complaints about the bushes infringing on the pavement by the main estate. These bushes are neither on Parish Council land or the Highways Authorities land. The issue was brought to the attention of the householders on whose land the bushes grow. This was resolved.
A resident complained to the Highways Authority, regarding a tree on the Highways Authorities land, and they failed to respond. A second tree, which had been reported to Faldingworth Parish Council and again passed on to the Highways Authority as unsafe, fell over in high winds and landed on a parked cars roof.
A Remembrance Day Wreath and a number of small poppies were purchased by Faldingworth Village Council. The smaller poppies were displayed by being fitted to a number of lampposts across the village. After the Remembrance Service at Faldingworth Church, the Remembrance Wreath was laid by the Parish Chairman at the Soldier Silhouette, located by the gate to Kisimul School.
One of the main activities of the year has been addressing the concerns of the parishioners, regarding the speed of traffic through the village. The Parish Clerk has continued to attempt to arrange a meeting with West Lindsey District Councillors but without success.
Cllr Land has taken over the main role in fitting and maintaining the speed cameras and the Parish Council thanks him for his efforts.
Thanks to the Council’s careful management of the budget the newly purchased Solar Panel Powered speed indicator, was fitted by Cllr Land to the lamppost on the village green triangle. This speed indicator does not display the actual speed of the vehicles, but flashes when they exceed 30mph. It was unfortunately brought to the Parish Council’s attention that the solar panel’s area exceeds the wind load, permitted on a lamppost. A meeting was held with a Highways Authority Representative, regarding the best location in the village for the solar panel powered speed indicator. It was agreed the best location was indeed the village green triangle and the Parish Council has purchased a new post onto which the speed camera will be fitted. A further issue has been discovered with this speed camera in regards to downloading its data. Cllr. Sandford has kindly taken over this issue and it is hoped it will be resolved shortly.
The old battery-operated speed camera was fitted on the High Street at the Buslingthorpe end of the village. This work was kindly undertaken by Cllr Land. Following the meeting with the Highways Authority Representative, two better positions for the battery-operated speed camera were located, one in the middle of the High Street and the other in the middle of Spridlington Road. The positions have now been approved, and it is hoped as soon as a new charger for the speed camera has been sourced, this speed camera will be fitted alternatively between these locations. A number of new plastic signs have been purchased to highlight the correct speed limit in both the 30mph and 40mph stretches of road in the village.
A village speed watch is in the process of been organized by Cllr. Land. He has gathered the required number of parishioners to undergo Speed Awareness Training and organize traffic speed monitoring. Faldingworth Parish Council have agreed to purchase the speed indictor camera and equipment required to undertake this work, as soon as the Speed Watch is established.
APM25/26 - 0504 Clerk's Report
This year’s activities have been characterised by acting on a very comprehensive audit by Carl Thomas in May 2024. This involved updating a number of policies and procedures, including adopting new Standing Orders. There are a couple of items outstanding which are included in planning for 20252026. This includes Financial Regulations which will be addressed in the July meeting. The filing system is now very systematic and clear and up to date.
Alignment with requirements has also entailed registering GOV.UK email addresses through Cloudnext, although some operational glitches have been experienced and we continue to use both the Hotmail.com address and GOV.UK.
Finances:
The financial duties for the end of year audit were carried out by the Clerk and the final internal audit completed by Carl Thomas.
This financial year we spent £12979.51 from our current account and we earned £458.57 interest on our Section 106 investment. We closed the financial year on £13 028.06 in our current account and £31 731.80 in our Section 106 account (Investment). We have claimed an amount of £1579.00 from VAT for 2023/2024 and 2024/2025. The amount is large given the VAT rebate on the Solar Powered Speeding Device.
On 17th January 2025 a precept of £9,562.00 was RESOLVED which resulted in NO INCREASE for the residents of the Parish in the budget for the new financial year.
We are in the process of moving our bank accounts to Unity and Hampshire banks, in order that we have a more seamless experience of banking, are able to carry out much more practicable internet banking and also be able to earn more interest on our savings.
APM25/26 - 0505 Public Comment
There was no public comment raised.
Next Meeting 20th May 2026