FOTHERBY PARISH COUNCIL.
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF FOTHERBY PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY 1 DECEMBER 2025 AT 7.30 PM IN ST. MARY’S CHURCH
Present: Cllr Steve Mansfield (Chair), Cllr Tim Hunter, Cllr K Ensell, Cllr Lee Sutton.
In attendance: Mrs. Viv Davies (Clerk), Cllr N Hastings, ELDC Cllr E Mossop
1 resident was present.
OPEN FORUM:
There were no items raised.
Cllr Mansfield reported that the flower box which had been replaced at the southern end of the village needed attention as it has tipped slightly forward due to suspected badger habitation. He would speak with the lady who tends to the box to consider what attention is required.
The parish council noted that it had been reported that vehicles were parked overnight at the common from time to time. The council decided on no action.
138/20205 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr Neil Tomlin and Cllr Christina Chen
139/2025 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – TO BE STATED IN ANY PROPOSITION
There were no declarations of interest.
140/2025 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF 3.11.25
Cllr Sutton proposed, seconded Cllr Ensell approval of the minutes of 3 November 2025. Cllr Mansfield signed the minutes
141/2025 CLERKS UPDATE
An invoice had been sent to St Mary’s Church requesting the annual contribution towards the grass cutting at the church yard.
142/2025 MATTERS ARISING FROM ACTION PLAN/MINUTES
Cllr Ensell has updated the Action Plan. Cllr Sutton had collected the sign for Fotherby Top road and would erect shortly.
143/2025 PLANNING APPLICATIONS.
There were no current applications.
Cllr Chen had attempted to progress a neighbourhood plan, but found that MHCLG (Ministry for Housing, Communities & Local Government were no longer providing support for development of neighbourhood plans owing to funding restrictions. Any Council could proceed at their own expense. We will await the thoughts of Coun. Chen at the next meeting.
144/2025 FINANCE
Cllr Mansfield had verified the bank reconciliation. Cllrs noted the financial reports. Proposed Cllr Sutton, seconded Cllr Mansfield approval of the cheques below.
Chq No
1481 V Davies Clerk Salary £301.32
1482 V Davies Clerk Expenses + reimburse £157.23
1483 N Short Tree Felling, Fotherby Common £300.00
8.9.25 Bank charges £8.25
Community Account (Formerly Treasurers Account) £6,935.18 of which £209.78 relates to ring fenced account for Fotherby Common (20.10.25)
COMM INST ACCESS (Formerly Business Bank) £2,572.27 (9.10.25)
Income
9.9.25 Lloyds Bank Interest £1.27
Consideration for Budget 2026-27
Discussion took place regarding the budget for 2026-2027. Councillors considered a budget option with an increase of 7.6% with a precept of £10,783.
The costs for felling trees at the Common had reduced. Stage 2 completed this month had reduced from £500 to £300. Stage 3 of the works would take place in Autumn 2026. £200 would be ringfenced from current budget 2025-26 for this purpose. There would be no additional allowances made for maintenance of this woodland in the forthcoming 26-27 budget. It was agreed that following the final works in autumn 2026, the area would be subject to the annual inspection of village assets plus a 5 yearly checked of tree condition by a qualified arborist to maintain safety and condition of the site.
Cllr Mansfield had obtained a quotation for the bus shelter repairs of £2,400. This was not within our budget. Two other options were discussed which would manage costs within budget. The budget allocation for bus shelter maintenance in 26-27 would be reduced accordingly. A resident has offered to repair the woodwork on bus shelter 2 after Christmas. Members accepted this kind offer.
Cllr Ensell agreed to make adjustments to the budget proposals following discussion and resubmit to Councillors ready for final discussion and agreement at the January meeting.
145/2025 FLOOD RISK ITEMS
During 2 episodes of heavy rain during November, road drains on Main Rd north of Manna Farm were not functional bar one with surface water running past each drain. The final drain outside Manna Farm was seen to take the surface water away lessening water running into the centre of the village. These were reported on LCC Highways FixMyStreet. LCC Highways had responded with a standard holding response that no action would be taken. Excessive rainfall has been experienced across the county.
It was noted that whilst there was some sewer surcharge seen in Allenby Crescent arising from the likely elevated pumping from Utterby during the heavy and sustained rainfall, sewers in Peppin Lane and Church Lane did not surcharge as seen previously. This suggests that the sewage pump upgrade carried out by AW in 2024 in Fotherby has been successful in emptying the Fotherby system faster than before helping reduce the risk of sewer flooding from manholes. There was no pooled water at the bottom of Peppin Lane from surcharging sewers and it was noted that the road drain was also working satisfactorily following works to clear this.
There had also been another incident of a burst sewer rising main on a parishioner’s property in Peppin Lane. Anglian Water had repaired this pumping main using tankers to carry sewage away during the repairs.
The promise made during the joint meeting with ELDC Officers and AW in early 2025 to clear the ditch in Allenby Crescent to improve road drainage was discussed. The Chair would send a reminder to Steve Ross at ELDC to ask him to coordinate these works and remind the farmer of his offer to sort this out after the harvest 2025.
146/2025 PARISH COUNCIL ASSETS
FOTHERBY COMMON:
Stage 2 of the Felling had taken place at Fotherby Common. The contractor had reduced the payment for 2 days work from £500 to £300. Stage 3 of the felling would take place in the Autumn of 2026 at a cost of £200 plus VAT.
A parishioner had raised concern regarding asbestos which may have been historically tipped at the Common when it had been used as a council tip in the 1950’s and 1960’s. This had been investigated and written answer provided to the parishioner. The risk if such waste had been tipped was considered to be negligible based on the advice received.
BULL RUSHES AT THE DOCK
Several options were being discussed regarding removing the bull rushes at the dock. A small lump sum had been provided in the draft 26-27 budget for any works needed.
147/2025 LITTER STRATEGY & FLY TIPPING UPDATE
Litter picking continues. Thanks were given to Cllr Ensell and the litter picking team. There had been several incidents of fly tipping including the dumping of asbestos roofing waste on the road to the Common. ELDC FlyTipping and Cleansing Teams were thanked for their quick response to removing all fly tipping and especially the prompt removal of the controlled asbestos waste.
148/2025 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Monday 5 January 2026 at 7.30pm