Annual Statutory Meeting 8th May 2025
BILSBY & FARLESTHORPE PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL STATUTORY MEETING HELD
8 May 2025 at 7:15pm in Holy Trinity Church, Bilsby
Present: Cllrs A. Carolan (Chair), N. Gaston (Vice Chair), D Morley, E. Cooper and D Coppack
Also present: Mr M Rudd (Parish Clerk), Cllr M Beecham (LCC) and Cllrs G Marsh & S Devereux (ELDC)
PUBLIC IN ATTENDANCE: None
104. WELCOME
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting at 19.15 hours
105. ELECTION OF PARISH COUNCIL CHAIR
Proposed, Seconded and RESOLVED to elect Cllr Carolan to the office of Chair
106. ELECTION OF PARISH COUNCIL VICE-CHAIR
Proposed, Seconded and RESOLVED to elect Cllr Gaston to the office of Vice-Chair
107. REAPPOINT PARISH CLERK AS RESPONSIBLE FINANCIAL OFFICER
Proposed, Seconded and RESOLVED to reappoint Mr Mark Rudd to the role of Responsible Financial Officer
108. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND ACCEPTANCE OF REASONS GIVEN
Cllr J Hudson
109. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Cllr Morley raised the on-going issue of poor mobile phone coverage in the area. After a discussion, the Clerk was asked to write to our MP to raise the matter
Cllr Morley raised concerns over the state of the footpath between the bridge and the end of the village. The Clerk agreed to log the issue on FixMyStreet
110. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND ANY REQUESTS FOR DISPENSATIONS
None
111. TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL ANNUAL STATUTORY MEETING HELD ON 9 MAY 2024
Proposed, Seconded and RESOLVED to approve the minutes
112. TO APPROVE AND SIGN THE ANNUAL GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY RETURNS 2024/25
Certificate of Exception 2024/25: Proposed, Seconded & RESOLVED to approve the return and SIGNED by the Chair
Annual Internal Audit Report 2024/25: Proposed, Seconded & RESOLVED to approve the return
Annual Governance Statement 2024/25: Proposed, Seconded & RESOLVED to approve the return and SIGNED by the Chair
Accounting Statements 2024/25: Proposed, Seconded & RESOLVED to approve the return and SIGNED by the Chair
113. TO APPROVE THE PARISH COUNCIL STANDING ORDERS
Proposed, Seconded and RESOLVED to approve the Standing Orders
114. TO APPROVE THE PARISH COUNCIL FINANCIAL REGULATIONS
Proposed, Seconded and RESOLVED to approve the Financial Regulations
115. TO APPROVE THE APPOINTMENT OF THE PARISH CLERK ON A PERMANENT BASIS
Proposed, Seconded and RESOLVED to approve the appointment of Mr Mark Rudd as the permanent Parish Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer
116. CLERKS REPORT ON OUTSTANDING MATTERS (not covered on the agenda)
The Parish Council had received an email dated 30 March 2025 requesting the Parish Council support ‘designating chicken manure as waste’ from a resident in Mareham-on-the-Hill. Cllr Marsh (ELDC) suggested forwarding the email to ELDC to ask if they were aware of the request and what action they were taking in the matter (if any)
117. FINANCIAL MATTERS
Payments for Approval:
M Rudd – Clerks Salary £352.35
Proposed, Seconded and RESOLVED to approve payment
To confirm receipt of Precept 2025/26:
The Clerk confirmed receipt of £4,370 from ELDC
To Approve Renewal of Employer Liability Insurance:
Proposed, Seconded and RESOLVED to renew the insurance at a cost of £214.00
118. PLANNING MATTERS
N/050/01957/02 KINDSELLA HOUSE, ALFORD ROAD, FARLESTHORPE – Application Approved by ELDC
119. TO RECEIVE GENERAL UPDATES FROM REPRESENTATIVES:
LCC – Cllr Mike Beecham: new County Councillor introduced himself to the Parish Council and looked forward to working with Parish Councillors over the next few years
ELDC – Cllr Marsh confirmed that entry had been gained by the architect to Everleigh Cottage, Thurlby Road to enable an assessment to be made on the future of the building. The report isn’t expected for some months. Cllr Marsh stated that ELDC would be supportive of any future funding bids to repair the Windmill. Cllr Beecham (LCC) stated he would be happy to support any funding bids on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council. Cllr Carolan agreed to send Cllr Beecham (LCC) the current information on the Windmill Project.
120. TO DISCUSS AND AGREE THE TRANSITION PLAN TO MOVE PARISH COUNCIL EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS TO SECURE ‘GOV.UK’ EMAIL
The Clerk advised Parish Councillors that having a secure ‘gov.uk’ email account would be an audit requirement from April 2026. Following a discussion, Parish Councillors all agreed that the current email system is not working efficiently and asked the Clerk to look into alternative solutions.
121. ANY OTHER MATTERS FOR GENERAL DISCUSSION (NOT DECISION) OR ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING
Cllr Gaston gave an update on the changes to grass-cutting in the churchyard. To reduce costs, some areas will now be cut every four weeks instead of every two weeks. Cllr Gaston will gauge feedback over the next few weeks and report back to a future Parish Council meeting.
Cllr Gaston stated he would be absent from the July meeting.
122. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Thursday 3 July 2025 at 7pm at Bilsby Church
123. THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, THE MEETING CLOSED AT 7:50PM