Minutes Annual Meeting of Parish Council 11 May 2026
FOTHERBY PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF FOTHERBY PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY 11 MAY 2026 AT 7.16 PM IN ST. MARY’S CHURCH
Present: Cllr Steve Mansfield (Chair), Cllr Tim Hunter, Cllr Kevin Ensell, Cllr Lee Sutton
In attendance: Mrs. Viv Davies (Clerk), Cllr N Hastings, ELDC Cllr E Mossop (from 7.30pm)
2 residents were present.
51/2026 ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN
Proposed Cllr Hunter seconded Cllr Sutton that Cllr Mansfield be re-elected as Chairman. Agreed and resolved by all Cllrs. Cllr Mansfield signed his acceptance of Office.
OPEN FORUM:
No items were raised.
52/2026 ELECTION OF VICE CHAIRMAN
Proposed Cllr Mansfield seconded Cllr Ensell that Cllr Hunter be re-elected as Vice Chairman. Agreed and resolved by all Cllrs.
53/2026 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr Christina Chen.
54/2026 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – TO BE STATED IN ANY PROPOSITION
There were no declarations of interest.
55/2026 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF 13.4.26
Proposed Cllr Ensell, seconded Cllr Hunter to approve the minutes of 13.4.26.
56/2026 CLERKS UPDATE
All items were included in the minutes.
57/2026 MATTERS ARISING FROM ACTION PLAN/MINUTES
Cllr Ensell had updated the action plan.
58/2026 FINANCE
Cllr Mansfield had verified the bank reconciliation. Cllrs noted the financial reports.
Proposed Cllr Ensell, seconded Cllr Mansfield approval of the cheques below.
Chq No
1500 J Cooper Internal Audit £49.25
1504 PMP Printing Keyhole £126.90
1505 V Davies Clerk Salary £301.32
1506 V Davies Clerk Expenses £25.41
1507 Bush Landscaping Mowing £600.00
1509 Zurich Insurance Insurance £300.00
Bank Charges
10.3.26 £5.75
Community Account (Formerly Treasurers Account) £10,343.72 of which £209.78 relates to ring fenced account for Fotherby Common (17.4.26)
COMM INST ACCESS (Formerly Business Bank) £2,578.31 (31.3.26)
TO APPROVE FURTHER ITEMS OF EXPENDITURE
There were no further items of expenditure.
Income.
17.4.26 ELDC Precept £5266.
14.4.26 Allotment £80.
59/2026 ANNUAL GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN 2025-2026
a)To note the Annual Financial Report. 2025 – 2026
Cllrs noted the Annual Financial Report. Proposed Cllr Mansfield, Seconded Cllr Ensell and unanimously agreed by all Cllrs to approve the Annual Financial Report.
b) To note the annual Bank Reconciliation 2025 – 2026
Proposed Cllr Mansfield, seconded Cllr Hunter and unanimously agreed by all Cllrs to approve the Annual Bank Reconciliation.
c) To Execute Certificate of Exemption 2025 – 2026
The Parish Council declared itself as exempt from exempt from a limited assurance review under Section 9 of the Local Audit (Smaller Authorities) Regulations 2015. Proposed Cllr Mansfield Seconded Cllr Ensell and unanimously resolved by all Cllrs to declare the Parish Council as exempt from a limited assurance review. The Certificate of Exemption was signed by the Chairman and the Clerk.
d) To Execute review of effectiveness of internal audit 2025 – 2026
Cllrs considered the internal audit and took action to address items raised. Proposed Cllr Ensell seconded Cllr Hunter and unanimously approved by all Cllrs to approve the Internal Audit Report.
e) To Execute Annual Governance Statement 2025 – 2026
The Council as a whole reviewed the effectiveness of the system of internal control and considered the findings. The Council prepared the Annual Governance Statement (Section 1 of the Annual Return). Proposed Cllr Ensell seconded Cllr Sutton and approved by all Cllrs to approve the Annual Governance Statement.
Resolution
The council approved the annual Governance Statement which was signed and dated by the chairman and the clerk on behalf of the Council.
The council approved the annual Governance Statement which was signed and dated by the chairman and the clerk on behalf of the Council.
f) To approve the Accounting Statements 2025-2026
The Parish Council considered the Accounting Statements. Proposed Cllr Mansfield seconded Cllr Sutton and agreed by resolution by all councillors to approve the Accounting Statements.
The Accounting Statements were signed and dated by the Chairman. The clerk had signed and dated the Accounting Statements prior to the meeting.
g) To Execute the Notice of Public Rights 2025 – 2026
Cllrs resolved that the dates that the public could exercise their rights to view the accounts would be Wednesday 3 June 2026 to Tuesday 14 July 2026
h) To note the Variances 2025-26
Cllrs noted the variances and the explanations for the variances between the income and expenditure for 2025-2026 compared to 2024-2025. Proposed Cllr Mansfield seconded Cllr Hunter and approved by all councillors to approve the variances.
i) Summary of Income 2025-2026
Cllrs noted the summary of income.
j) To note the payments over £100.
Cllrs noted the payments over £100.
60/2026 FLOOD RISK ITEMS
There were no further incidents of flooding to be reported and recorded on the flood log. Residents had volunteered to make a donation towards the cost of obtaining drainage plans for Fotherby. However, the Parish Council had obtained a copy of a drainage plan for the village which would be available at each parish council meeting.
Cllr Mansfield and Cllr Ensell would meet with a parishioner to discuss the annual update of the flood record and related reporting documents.
61/2026 PLANNING APPLICATION
00033/26/FUL - Erection of 2 dwellings and construction of a vehicular access. Demolition of existing dwelling. Fieldview 2 Short Lane Fotherby Lincolnshire LN11 0TE. Drainage plans had been received and were considered.
The Parish Council had previously objected to the proposal. The planning department advised that the comments previously submitted by the Parish Council would stand and there was no requirement to submit further comments.
62/2026 LITTER STRATEGY & FLY TIPPING UPDATE
Litter picking continues. Thanks were given to Cllr Ensell and the litter picking volunteers across the village and beyond.
63/2026 VILLAGE ASSETS
ALLOTMENTS
A letter, which was read out by the Chairman, had been sent to allotment holders advising that the use of a hose pipe during the 2026 tenancy was only permitted if handheld by the allotment holder. Furthermore, hose pipe use would not be permitted in subsequent tenancy agreements to align with national guidance. Information providing the water usage and costs for the past 3 years had been distributed to the parishioner who had requested the information under a Freedom of Information request.
64/2026 ANY OTHER BUSINESS
A villager had approached Cllr Hunter about the future of the village defibrillators sited in St. Mary’s Church and at Fotherby House. Discussion took place regarding the availability of replacement parts for these and the Chair explained that the co-ordinator had been I touch with LIVES who had offered a possible answer and this would be discussed at the next meeting.
Members were informed of break ins at other Lincolnshire villages but they were awaiting confirmation of this.
65/2026 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Monday 1 June 2026 at 7.30 pm
The meeting finished at 7.37 pm.