FOTHERBY PARISH COUNCIL.
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF FOTHERBY PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY 7 APRIL 2025 AT 7.30 IN ST. MARY’S CHURCH
Present: Cllr Steve Mansfield (Chair), Cllr Kevin Ensell, Cllr Tim Hunter, Cllr Lee Sutton.
In attendance: Mrs. Viv Davies (Clerk), ELDC Cllr E Mossop, LCC Cllr A Hall,
The meeting commenced with an open forum. 4 residents were present.
OPEN FORUM:
The excess bull rushes had been removed at the Dock. The flower box at the southern end of the village had been replaced.
A report was raised on LCC Fix My Street following a report from a concerned resident about a diseased cherry tree in Peppin Lane. The County tree specialist would review.
43/2025 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from Cllr Neil Tomlin and Cllr Christina Chen. The parish council accepted the apologies.
44/2025 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – TO BE STATED IN ANY PROPOSITION
There were no declarations of interest.
45/2025 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF 3.3.25
Cllr Ensell proposed, seconded Cllr Hunter approval of the minutes of 3 March 2025. Cllr Mansfield signed the minutes
46/2025 CLERKS UPDATE
The Parish Council noted that it was now recommended that the parish council adopt gov.uk email addresses for all e mail correspondence. This provides extra resilience and cyber protection and is of most benefit for enduring access to correspondence when postholders move on. The guidance states “Every authority must have a generic email account hosted on an authority owned domain, for example clerk@abcparishcouncil.gov.uk or clerk@abcparishcouncil.org.uk rather than abcparishclerk@gmail.com or abcparishclerk@outlook.com.
Following discussion, it was noted that the annual statement issued at year end 2024-25 will ask if this new process is in place. It was also noted that costs for this conversion and annual maintenance costs were unknown. It was also noted that this new requirement was not known at the time when the 25/26 budget was agreed and that there was no budget allowance for this new process. ACTION Clerk : to confirm one-off transition costs and annual maintenance fee for the new e mail service.
47/2025 MATTERS ARISING FROM ACTION PLAN/MINUTES
Cllr Ensell had updated the Action Plan. There were no other actions outstanding
48/2025 PLANNING APPLICATIONS.
There were no applications.
49/2025 FINANCE
Cllr Mansfield had verified the bank reconciliation. Cllrs noted the financial reports. Proposed Cllr Hunter, seconded Cllr Ensell approval of the cheques below.
Chq No
1445 LALC Membership £169.04
1447 WAVE Allotment Water £23.90
1448 V Davies Clerk Salary £291.96
1449 V Davies Clerk Expenses + £83.61
Reimburse
1450 Bush Landscaping Mowing £600.00
1451 S Mansfield Reimburse payment for Dock
Maintenance £40.00
Compost for flower bin £10.00
Balances
Treasurers Account £3,693.71 of which £209.78 relates to ring fenced account for
Fotherby Common ( 6.3.25)
Business Bank £2,560.80 (9.3.25)
Income
Lloyds Bank Interest £2.24 9.2.25
Lloyds Bank Interest £1.96 9.3.25
Allotment Income £30.00 31.3.25
The Parish council noted the carry forward 31.3.25 - £6223.14
GRANT APPLICATIONS.
The Parish Council resolved to review different options for repair of the Fotherby Top Road before any grant application is made. Options should be explored, involving self-help using local plant and equipment plus materials to improve the safety of the track. Any ambition to achieve a fully adopted, tarmacked road was discarded due to costs.
50/2025 FLOOD RISK ITEMS
A document entitled The Fotherby Flood Record had been developed documenting historic sewer and surface water flooding in the village following a suggestion from a parishioner. This factual document would be published on the Fotherby PC website and be used in future as evidence of the long-term flooding issues in Fotherby when dealing with flooding agencies including ELDC, Anglian Water and LCC. It would also be used to highlight potential infrastructure issues when commenting on future planning applications. It was noted that guidance also encourages communities to draft a simple Flood Plan outlining what measures and resources are in place to mitigate the effects of flooding to include key contact details of flood agencies.
The parish council discussed draft documents including:
M1. Draft Fotherby Flooding Plan
M2. Resident reporting guide.
M3. Parish Council reporting guide.
Following discussion, it was agreed that following any storm event causing flooding in the community from whatever cause:
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Residents can report directly to key flooding agencies copied to Fotherby PC using the residents reporting form which will be published on the Fotherby PC website
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Fotherby PC will review any report forms received from residents at the following month’s meeting to gain an understanding of impact and extent of the storm event on the community. A standing agenda item will be included for this discussion where relevant.
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Fotherby PC as a public body shall report to some or all of a wider range of agencies depending on the impact, cause and severity of the flood event. Guidance will be available to Councillors in the Parish Council Reporting Guide.
51/2025 FOTHERBY COMMON:
A volunteer working party had planted 60 donated shrubs in groups throughout the woodland. Thanks were given to the working party. The Parish Council noted that the hemlock needed spraying. Action: Clerk to request the mowing contractor to spray the nettles and the hemlock.
The tree felling work had been postponed until the Autumn.
52/2025 LITTER STRATEGY & FLY TIPPING UPDATE
The “Please do not drop Litter” sign at the Grimsby end of the village had been replaced.
The Parish Council noted around 40 lager cans (litter) had been collected at Short Lane West over the period of one week. Cllr Hall stated that LCC legal department had advised against the road being gated. A resident noted that precedence had been set by LCC in gating up the small, closed road just off A16 northbound into North Elkington Lane where fly tipping was profound after the bypass was constructed in the early 2000’s. The Parish Council resolved to write to LCC formally regarding the blight and fly tipping risks at this location seeking further review of the informal decision taken by LCC not to gate the road. Action Cllr Ensell
53/2025 VILLAGE ASSETS
PARKING AT THE BUS STOP
LCC had amended the proposed parking restrictions to reduce the extent of the yellow lines outside the old Post Office. The Parish Council supported the amendments.
PLANNING
It was noted that the Brackenborough Lawns planning appeal had been rejected. The authorised use would be for holiday lets only and not residential use.
ALLOTMENTS
The allotment contracts had been issued.
54/2025 ANY OTHER BUSINESS
The matter of safety for horse riders riding through the village was raised. Following a brief discussion, Cllr Hall agreed to forward the LCC application form for road signs to be installed to warn drivers of horses. It was noted that the British Horse Society offer signs for communities should the formal route be unsuitable and this should be checked. ACTION Cllr Mansfield
55/2025 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Wednesday 14 May 2025 at 7pm (Annual Meeting with Parishioners and Annual Meeting of Parish Council).