10th January 2026 minutes
Minutes are in DRAFT FORM until approved at the following meeting.
SCOTHERN PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the January Meeting of Scothern Parish Council
Held in the Methodist Church, Wednesday 7th January 2026 at 7.30pm
Present: Cllrs Jane Johnson (Chair), Robert Creaser, Barnaby Patchett, Mark Unwin, Sian Watt Jones
In attendance: Lisa Brooks-Sleight (clerk), LCC Cllr Jane Smith (up to 9/2026) and a resident (up to 4/2026)
1/2026 Apologies for Absence To receive apologies with any reasons given.
Received from Cllr Canton and Atkins with reasons accepted. Resolved
2/2026 Representatives Report To receive reports from the District & County Councillors.
LCC Cllr J Smith reported that LCC Highways have declined to conduct a speed assessment on Sudbrooke Rd between the villages due to the developments in the area.
3/2026 Public Participation - To resolve, if necessary, to temporarily suspend the meeting for a period of no more than 15 minutes to allow for a period of public participation. Members of the public may raise subjects, which they wish to bring to the attention of the Parish Council. Items relating to matters on the agenda will be taken first, and any decisions will be made when the meeting is declared opened.
The Chair suspended the meeting.
A resident spoke regarding the flooding on Craypool Lane for the last 9 years with internal damage of the property by sewage. And both Highways and AW denying responsibility. A meeting was requested by the previous LCC Councillor, to LCC Highways and Anglian Water with the Parish Council and the local residents that this has impacted, to resolve the issue, could this be followed up again? LCC Cllr Jane Smith responded and will make contact with the authorities to request a meeting.
The Chair reopened the meeting
4/2026 Declarations of Interest To record declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011 and consider any requests for dispensation for any listed agenda items. - None received
5/2026 Minutes of last Meeting The minutes of the Council Meeting held on 10th December 2025 were approved as a true & correct record. Proposed & seconded. Resolved
6/2026 Clerks Report – The clerks report was received:
• The Precept request for £30,000 was submitted and has been acknowledged by WLDC
• The footpath between Sudbrooke Rd and Orchard Close PF 156 – LCC Countryside returned before Christmas and with a whacker plate and more finings to smooth out the footpath
• An invoice for the 50% of grass cutting of the verges between Sudbrooke and Scothern has been sent to Sudbrooke PC
• A complaint on LCC Fix my street was received from a resident for not obtaining a permit to close the PROW from Church St to Grange Park while the repairs were taking place. I’ve spoken to LCC highways and explained that it was only closed overnight for the safety to residents due to a very uneven surface. LCC have inspected the footpath and are happy with the work, but could we contact them for any future closures. The PC have received very positive responses from residents who are very pleased with the new footpath.
7/2026 St Germains Church Clock To receive & consider the grant funding request from St Germains PCC for £700+vat to repair the Church Clock. – the grant request was discussed and proposed & seconded to approve the £840inc vat grant to repair the clock, all agreed. Resolved
8/2026 Proposed one-way on Church St To receive all comments/views from residents and discuss the suggested one-way system on Church St. Only 19 residents responded to the public request for comments with 12 - for the proposal and 7 - against. Cllr Patchett volunteered to speak to the resident that made the original suggestion and show them the results & comments. To be reviewed at a future meeting.
9/2026 Play Area
a. To receive the monthly inspection report and decide any future actions. – report dated 7/1/2026 at 10.30am by Cllr Jackie Atkins. The surface under the net swing needs urgent repair/replacement. Quotes to be obtained for the next meeting – Outdoor Play
b. To receive an update on Stage 2 & 3 of the play area improvements. – the initial deposit of £6518.88 has been paid and the new play equipment has been ordered, a site meeting with Outdoor Play Uk to be arranged to discuss finer details and date.
10/2026 PC Meetings To consider & approve the dates of meetings in 2026 – after a discussion it was approved to hold meetings on the 1st Wednesday of each month except in February & August. Proposed & seconded. Resolved
11/2026 Earmarked Reserves – To review & update – the updated earmarked reserves were proposed & seconded. Resolved
12/2026 Highways - To discuss and receive any issues/updates and decide future actions. Notification of road closure on Heath Rd from LCC.
13/2026 Finance - To approve & sign the monthly accounts for January payments: the Budget v Expenditure and the corresponding bank statements up to 31/12/25 with the bank balance of £73,733.35, and to nominate 2 councillors to authorise the online bank payments. Proposed & seconded to approve and Cllr Patchett & Creaser were nominated to authorise the bank payments. Resolved
Outdoor Play UK Play equipment deposit mins228/2025 £6518.88
Scothern Nurseries Christmas lights prize mins267/2025 £25.00
Tesco Monthly DD mobile £7.50
Lloyds Banks Monthly account fee £4.25
HMRC PAYE £472.76
Rudies Roots Winter planters mins285/2024 £576.40
HMT Landscaping Play area turf mins243/2025 £700.00
Tree pruning mins269/2025 £275.00
LALC Audit fee mins219/2025 £270.00
Springbok Monthly IT invoice £54.92
Multidata VH Broadband January invoice £50.34
Employee Salary/expenses £890.94
Pelican Trust SN printing January £253.50
Ian Moore Contractors Car park weeding mins195/2025d £284.04
2x tree removal mins294/2025 £270.00
St Germains PCC Grant funding mins7/2026 £840.00
Amazon 8x litter pickers mins15/2026 £19.80
14/2026 To receive reports/updates
a. Community Speed Watch – data report received from Cllr Creaser
b. Police – NC07 report sent prior 22/12/25
c. Village flooding – discussed above in public participation
d. Lindum Homes – West Thorne Grange – updated circulated prior from Lindum Homes
e. War Memorial – Draper Memorials awaiting a date from the sub-contractor
f. SRC – no meeting in January
g. Emergency plan – no updates to report
15/2026 Communication Strategy To discuss and approve the 2026 Events programme – events programme for the next 6 months approved to be advertised in the Scothern News. Clerk to purchase 8x litter pickers for approx. £20 from Amazon. Resolved
16/2026 Planning - To receive any decisions and discuss any applications received from WLDC
Ref: WL/2025/01096, Planning application for the siting of 2no. shipping container to be used for storage at the village hall. WLDC – granted with conditions 31/12/25
17/2026 LALC Training Scheme To approve any training requests by members – the clerk requested approval to attend a LALC core training, End of Year accounts, approved Resolved
18/2026 Correspondence for information (sent prior)
• LCC Town & Parish Newsletter 17/12/25
• Avian Influenca information 17/12/25
• LALC – E-news 21/12/25
• NALC Bulletin 17/11/25
• LALC Training bulletin 19/12/25
19/2026 Agenda items for next meeting and any updates/points from members by 25th February
- Street signs broken/missing on The Alders; Main St, Elmdene
- Road sweeper to be requested again
- Litter pick 7th or 8th February at 10am
- Barbers Farm/Grange Park Fence
No public present
20/2026 To consider the exclusion of the public and press in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to
meetings) Act 1960 s1 (2) due to the confidential nature of the items to be Discussed Staffing to discuss the clerk’s appraisal & hours and approve any future actions – the clerk’s appraisal was approved and hours increased to 14 per week.
The date & time of the next Meeting of the Council – 4th March 2026 at 7.30pm
The Chair closed the meeting at 8.55pm