May 2025 Minutes
Waddingham Parish Council
Minutes of the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 7th 2025, 7pm at Jubilee Hall
Present: Cllrs L Williams (Chair), P Williams, C Jones, E Law, A White, B Tiley, G Thacker & J Thacker
Cllr S Bunney
The Clerk
O members of the public
46/25 Election of Chair- Cllr A White proposed Cllr L Williams, seconded by Cllr J Thacker. Unanimously agreed that Cllr L Williams will be the Chair for the forthcoming year.
47/25 Election of Vice Chair- Cllr P Williams proposed Cllr A White, seconded by Cllr G Thacker. Unanimously agreed that Cllr A White will be the Vice- Chair for the forthcoming year.
48/25 Apologies for Absence - Cllr S Kirman
49/25 Declaration of Interest
To record declarations of interest by any member of the council in respect of the agenda items listed below. Members declaring interests should identify the agenda item and type of interest being declared. To note dispensations given to any member of the council in respect of the agenda items listed. – Cllrs Thacker declared an interest in item 18 on the agenda- Letting of roadside herbage.
50/25 Minutes of Previous Meeting to be approved and signed- The minutes from Wednesday 5th March 02025 were signed as a true and accurate record.
60/25 Matters arising - none
61/25 County and District Councillors report
County Councillor Bunney reported that following the recent council and Mayoral elections very little business has taken place. Reform have taken a number of Conservative seats. Debate is ongoing regarding how the counties will be divided when the new unitary authority is formed. Discussion are also being held about how money will be spent. There is approximately 2-3 years left of district councils.
Cllr Bunney reported that the Home Office and MOD want to get as much money as possible for RAF Scampton and it is currently on the market for housing.
Following on from the March Waddingham parish council meeting and Cllr Bunney’s intervention the road around the village green has been improved. Street lighting is an ongoing issue that Cllr Bunney is still following up.
District Councillor Duguid was not in attendance.
62/25 Police Report
No report available. Cllr White was due to attend a meeting which was cancelled. He will now attend the re-arranged meeting.0
63/25 Clerk’s report- All items covered on the agenda.
64/25 Finance
(a) Schedule of payments and receipts:
(i) C. Wright, salary February- £293
(ii) C. Wright, salary March- £293
(iii) C Wright, expenses February and March- £33.50
(iv) AJ Williams, grass cutting- £162
(v) AJ Williams, grass cutting, £324
(vi) Cassells Accountancy, audit fee- £120
(vii) Payment received- VAT reclaim, £3217.85
Current Account Balance- £11097
Reserve account balance- £5861
(b) To approve the Annual Return for the year ended 31st March 2025- following scrutiny of the accounts and internal audit it was resolved to approve the Annual Governance Statement and the Accounting Statement
65/25 To appoint a parish councillor trustee for the Jame Thompson Charitable Trust- Resolve to appoint Cllr C Jones as trustee.
66/25 Correspondence for discussion or information
(a) Discussion- Low Level Branches on the Village Green – Clerk to contact arboriculturists and as for tree survey to be undertake. Recommended work will be carried out following the report.
(b) Information-Local Government Reorganisation
(c) Discussion- Request to relocate dog waste bin- following discussions and a vote it was resolved to leave the bin where it is and revisit once the oak tree outgrows its current railings.
ACTION: Clerk
67/25 Emergency Plan Update- nothing to report at this meeting, Item to remain on the agenda.
ACTION: Cllr Tiley
68/25 Flood relief scheme and beck cleaning matters including concerns raised about erosion- Areas of the beck bank are eroding. Children have also been playing with the rocks which seems to have added to the erosion. Cllr White to meet with Ian Moore to discuss a plan of how the bank can be improved.
An area of the flood relief channel is overgrown. Cllr White to send the clerk a map of the area so she can contact the land owner and request that it is cleared as per their riparian rights.
ACTION: Cllr White & Clerk
69/25 Play Area-
Cllr P Willaims has continued to inspect the equipment regularly and confirmed it is all in good condition. The equipment is being used often especially by children after school.
70/25 Constable Ings Trust
The clerk is still trying to obtain a rent review valuation for the Constable Ings Land. LALC have advised that the current tenant does appear to be a protected tenant. Should the council wish to rent the land to another tenant they will need to take further advice from a solicitor. No tenancy agreement has been found as yet.
ACTION: Clerk
71/25 North Ramper update
No further update.
72/25 Letting of roadside herbage
Cllr G Thacker and J Thacker expressed a pecuniary interest in this item and left the room while discussions took place. The Clerk has sought advice from LALC and the council is able to rent out the roadside verge. LALC have provided a model agreement for the rental of the land. Concerns were raised about who would manage any trees planted on the verge in years to come however it was felt that planting trees would be good for the environment. It was resolved that the council agree to rent the land to Cllrs Thackers. Clerk to prepare agreement for the next meeting.
ACTION: Clerk
73/25 Highways Matters to include any issues that arise- none
74/25 Planning Matters to include any issues that arise after distribution of the agenda but before the meeting- WL/2025/00332, Land at Cliff Lane, Waddingham- erect 1 overhead line electricity pole.
75/25 EV Chargers- Clerk contacted LCC. Sites have not yet been decided for the chargers. Clerk was advised that it could be a long process.
76/25 Streetlighting update- Cllr Bunney is still investigating. Item to remain on the agenda.
77/25 Confirmation of date and time of next meeting 2025 2nd July- Jubilee Hall 7pm
78/25 Additional Items for the November agenda- none