2026 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

Item 8 Registers 
8.1 Risk Register – this was distributed previously.
It was Resolved to approve this document, 

8.2 Maintenance Register – this was distributed previously and reviewed.
It was Resolved to approve this document
Cllr Manderfield noted the village gates were dirty. The clerk said they were last cleaned in May. The sub-contractor will be contacted for cleaning.
Action: Clerk

Item 9 -  Project Register Update 
9.1 Emergency Plan 
Cllr Topley reported that the plan had been updated and submitted to the Clerk. However, there are a few points to clarify and it is not yet ready for distribution
Action: Cllr Topley

9.2 Burial Ground Plot Marking
There has been no change, the plots will be marked as soon as the weather allows

9.3 New Dog Bin/s
There has been no update on this project 
Action: Cllr Farr

9.4 Re-staining of Burial Ground gates and staining of new gate
It has been agreed with the subcontractors that this project will have been completed before 31.3.26

9.6 To Support speed reduction to 50 mph on A607 
As Cllr Bamford was absent from the meeting there is no update to report
Action: Cllr Bamford

Item 10 - New Proposals. 
10.1 Precept – Cllr Page
Cllr Page explained that he had investigated the impact of Government policy changes. For example the minimum wage increased by 6.7% after we set last years precept .
National Insurance contributions rose significantly but owing to bandings etc the overall impact of minimum wage plus NI employers contribution was somewhere around 8%.
Obviously these employment costs are but a small proportion of our expenditure but they do affect any costs we incur through contractors. 
The council was then asked to  consider 3 options:
1) No increase over last years precept
2)  A modest increase to match RPI - currently 3.8% which would cover the NI and NMW increase
3) An alternative, higher number  - not defensible ?  
After some discussion it was Resolved to increase the precept by 3.8% and set at £38398.68, which equates to a 2.7% increase on a Band D property. The Clerk will submit the necessary form to SKDC
Action:Clerk

10.2 To pay for repairs to a speaker which was borrowed for the fireworks, and also to buy a speaker system for the fireworks at a cost of £500 – Cllr Crawley
Cllr Crawley reported that a borrowed speaker was damaged during the fireworks event. It was agreed to await the repair invoice before making decisions, but CFPC acknowledged responsibility for payment.
Cllr Crawley went on to explain that a local resident was selling a speaker and the firework committee had been offered it for £500. It was Resolved to accept this offer and that the speaker could be loaned for other village events
Action: Cllr Crawley

Item 11 – The Parish Environment

11.1 Planning Issues
Cllr Crawley thanked Cllr Milne for expediting the enforcement of the removal of the fence that had replaced a hedge outside a listed building in the village. It was noted that a new hedge has now been planted

11.2 Report from Cllr Page – Planning Committee Chairman
There have been a couple of  applications submitted in the period 
S25/2068 – an application for change of use for the old chapel in Chapel Lane from a design studio to artists studio with accommodation for 1-2 persons. We had no objections

S25/1944 - Demolition of existing dwelling and erection of new. This is on a site where an application to extend the existing dwelling was made previously and was not passed due to skylights overlooking neighbouring properties. This is addressed in this new application -  we had no objections to the application

Item 12 – Community Activities by Portfolio Councillor – the following are reports written by the individual councillors. 

12.1  Report by Cllr Crawley
12.1.1 Litter Picking
I have been in contact with Mid UK about the amount of rubbish in Caythorpe Heath Lane between the crossroads (A607) and their entrance. I have had assurances from the site manager that this will be cleared,  and they will resume their normal litter patrols now the Christmas break is over.
12.1.2 Environmental Sustainability
Councillor Crawley reported that the local Scout Group was seeking an environmental or community project to participate in on 1st February. He proposed involving them in the planting of new hedgerows around the village. At this stage, it was resolved to allocate £200 in funding.
Cllr Page stated that the large cedar trees at the church had been removed and he was interested to know whether there was any intention to replace them. Councillor Crawley agreed to investigate.
Action: Cllr Crawley
12.1.3 Playing Fields
A couple of fund raising events have been held.
In relation to the renewable energy installation, The DNO (District Network Operator) have placed a restriction on the number of panels we can have on the pavilion roof, which has the effect of reducing the installation from 55 to 35 panels. Whilst this is disappointing, it will still generate significant savings in the energy bill for the playing field. Installation is scheduled for late January / early February. The grant from UKSPF will cover the entire cost.

12.2 Report from Cllr Manderfield

12.2.1 Highways

I have continued to report potholes via Fix My Street including Frieston Heath Lane, the A607, Waterloo Road and Gorse Hill Lane.
I have reported a faulty streetlight on Frieston Road at the junction with Frieston Path, this has now been repaired.
I have reported a faded no cycling sign for Frieston Path at the junction with South Parade.
I have also reported blocked drains on Gorse Hill Road outside No 19 (Council Ref 2863409) the council responded by saying that they would not be taking action as the drains were cleared in the last year and their last inspection showed that they were working well. 
The drains are clearly blocked with leaves, and I have requested that they are cleared see picture. If no action is taken, I will follow up with Cllr Bamford.

The replacement 30mph reminder signs have been ordered, once they arrive, I will install them.

12.2.2 Village Hall

I attended the Village Hall meeting on Tuesday 11th of November.

The Village Hall Committee are continuing their hard work to improve the hall. 
A contractor has been instructed to carry out the repainting of the main hall.
The committee are seeking quotes to improve access the to the hall and are hoping that this can be grant funded. 
Quotes are also being sought for replacement of some of interior lighting in the main hall.
A replacement sign for the exterior of the hall is also required, and prices have been requested.
The committee have carried out a couple of tidying sessions including the shed in the garden and the upstairs storage room. 
The next film night is to be held on the 16th of January, with others on the 20th of February and March.  
The first village breakfast was held on 4th of January.  
The VH are funds are as follows. Savings - £24,096.75 Current - £3,379.98

12.3 Report from Cllr Macpherson

Nothing to report

12.4 Report by Cllr Stevenson
Nothing to report
Councillor Stevenson noted that the Gala Committee would appreciate a detailed breakdown of the accounts for the gala from the Playing Field Committee. Councillor Crawley agreed to request this information.
Action: Cllr Crawley

12.5 Report by Cllr Topley
12.5.1 Grit Bins and salt
All OK, the one on Arnhem drive has had extensive use over the cold snap. I will replenish this over the next few days
12.5.2 Emergency Plan
Please see 9.1

12.5.3 – Christmas Celebrations
Andy Crawley and I collected, delivered and erected the 2 Christmas trees. One for outside the church  and 1 on Frieston Green which Darren Lee decorated.
We took these down and had them collected by the “Goat man” of Fulbeck Lowfield’s on 3rd Jan.

12.6 Report by Cllr Sandy
Nothing to report

12.7 Report from Cllr Farr
Nothing to report

12.8 Report from Cllr Macer
Cllr Macer had forwarded an updated quote for defibrillators that will be discussed at the next meeting

12.9 Report from Cllr Clayton
Nothing to repot

Item 13 -  Items of Urgent Business

There were no matters of urgent business

Item 14 - Arrangements for Next Meeting 
The next Parish Council Meeting Number 6 of 2025 will be held on Wednesday 11th March 2026 commencing at 7.30 p.m. in the village hall.  (7.15 for open forum)

Cllr Crawley thanked everyone for coming, and closed the meeting

Open Forum

Report from Panny Milnes – SKDC Councillor

SKDC Budget
 The SKDC element of the budget may rise by 2.99% the maximum and will be decided at a Full Council meeting. 
The Green Bin charges may also rise and collections may be reduced.
The Brandon Wood Clay Shoot    S25/1468
The application for 106 days shooting will not be heard by the planning committee this month but potentially in February.
SKDC Local Plan
The Local Plan continues to progress and is still on track for the end of the year. Caythorpe is the larger village in Loveden Heath Ward, however, there are no housing allocations being presented and as a rule no allocations are made in the smaller villages. SKDC is in the ‘tilted’ balance situation since the new government housing targets were announced and will be until the revised Local Plan is in place. This means that housing should be approved unless there are very strong reasons against.
NPPF
A revised version of the NPPF was published just before Christmas and will be analyses before it comes into force in March.
Local Government Reorganisation
We are awaiting  the Government response as to which of the 6 options put forward will be chosen – probably by March.

Cllr Page pointed out that it was almost impossible to understand the bin schedule posted to the SKDC website 
Cllr Clayton asked after the asylum seeker who required support and who had been discussed at the last meeting. Cllr Milne reported that she had investigated this and had been informed that the gentleman in question had not been housed by SKDC, that it was more possibly SERCO through private landlords

{Electronically signed}
D Manderfield 
Parish Clerk

Appendix A

Appendix B