Minutes 2 March 2026
FOTHERBY PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF FOTHERBY PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY 2 MARCH 2026 AT 7.30 PM IN ST. MARY’S CHURCH
Present: Cllr Steve Mansfield (Chair), Cllr Tim Hunter, Cllr K Ensell, Cllr C Chen.
In attendance: Mrs. Viv Davies (Clerk), ELDC Cllr E Mossop,
3 residents were present.
OPEN FORUM:
Cllr Mansfield advised that Cllr Tomlin had resigned on health grounds as he is no longer able to attend meetings. Members asked that a letter be sent by the Chairman to thank Cllr Tomlin for his service to the Council.
A member of the public raised three issues.
The issue of the potholes on Peppin Lane were of concern to local drivers. Cllr Mansfield would raise the issue with LCC via Cllr N Hastings.
Whether the field gate in Peppin Lane which had recently appeared, had received the correct permission. The Chairman explained that he had raised this with the ELDC Enforcement Department who would investigate the matter and report back.
The sandstone rocks which had appeared on LCC land at the edge of the road in Peppin Lane. Again, the Chairman explained that this matter had been raised with Fix My Street and they would report back.
29/2026 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr Neil Tomlin, Cllr Lee Sutton, LCC Cllr N Hastings
30/2026 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – TO BE STATED IN ANY PROPOSITION
There were no declarations of interest.
31/2026 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF 2.2.26
Proposed Cllr Ensell, seconded Cllr Hunter to approve the minutes of 2.2.26.
32/2026 CLERKS UPDATE
All items were included in the agenda.
33/2026 MATTERS ARISING FROM ACTION PLAN/MINUTES
Cllr Ensell had updated the action plan.
34/2026 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
1492 V Davies Clerk Salary £301.32
1493 V Davies Clerk expenses £32.37
Bank Charges
6.1.26 £6.75
17.2.26 £5.75
Community Account (Formerly Treasurers Account) £4,802.96 of which £209.78 relates to ring fenced account for Fotherby Common (17.2.26)
COMM INST ACCESS (Formerly Business Bank) £2,573.62 (1.11.25)
TO APPROVE FURTHER ITEMS OF EXPENDITURE
There were no further items of expenditure.
35/2026 FLOOD RISK ITEMS
The flood log had been updated and circulated. Following recent rainfall, there have been 6 reports from residents of defective drainage issues across 4 rainfall events since the beginning of 2026.
Cllr Mansfield had written to Platform Housing regarding foul & surface water drainage issues affecting bungalows in Allenby Crescent. Platform Housing had responded positively and will be arranging survey works shortly.
Cllr Mansfield had also written to the Director of Water Recycling at Anglian Water to seek further support to resolve sewerage issues in Allenby Crescent and had received a positive reply. It was noted that, since writing, a resident reported that sewer monitors had been installed in the village to help understand the flow patterns within the village system during heavy rainfall.
Cllr Mansfield had also written to the Chief Planning Officer at ELDC regarding the flooding issues to ascertain if proposed planning applications for builds in Utterby & Ludborough were able to be sent to Fotherby so these could be considered in connection with our flooding issues within our village.
Following discussion, the Parish Council resolved that they would consistently flag potential flooding risk in planning applications for new properties across Fotherby, Utterby and Ludborough. The three villages are understood to have a linked sewerage system with Fotherby pumping station being the final recipient of sewage before pumping onto Louth Treatment Centre.
Cllr Mansfield had contacted Cllr Newton, Chair of Utterby Parish Council to request a closer connection to discuss issues relating to both councils. He would now contact Ludborough Parish Council to make a similar request. In addition, Cllr Mossop would request if the Planning Department could send planning applications for new builds in Ludborough and Utterby to the Fotherby Clerk in future.
Cllr Mansfield proposed that residents be made aware, via the Fotherby Community Facebook Page, when all new Fotherby planning applications are received to help widen community participation in the local planning processes. These posts would be for information only and that, should residents wish to comment on applications, they should make their individual representations to ELDC Planning Department via the planning portal.
The wording for this approach would be completed by Cllr Chen.
35/2026 TRAFFIC SPEEDING IN THE VILLAGE
Graham Butler from the Speed Partnership had contacted Cllr Mansfield. Cllr Mansfield would make further contact to discuss speeding. Cllr Mansfield will also ask about permission to place non-mandatory “20mph is plenty” signs in the centre of the village as a reminder for traffic to slow down.
36/2026 PARISH COUNCIL ASSETS
ALLOTMENTS
The Parish Council noted that allotment 1 had been let with effect from 1.4.26. The Clerk reported that the tenancy on allotment 4 would not be renewing.
Letters had been sent to all allotment holders with new contracts advising them of a modest rise in the Allotment rents by £10 to £40 each year. Increased water costs from the retailer for servicing the allotments had prompted us to do this. It was noted that when considering the annual fees charged, the average allotment rent across the UK varies considerably.
Several allotment holders had questioned the rise in the allotment fees and questioned if this was due to the use of the hose pipe. Cllrs agreed that the use of hose pipes should be prohibited and this would be incorporated into the tenancy agreement next year. The clerk would send a letter to allotment holders advising of the change in the terms and conditions prohibiting the use of a hose pipe. By continuing with their tenancy, allotment holders will be agreeing to the amended terms and conditions for the rest of the remainder of the year.
PLANTER BOX
Cllr Mansfield advised that Louth Men’s Shed had produced a new wooden plant box for the southern end of the village. If the Parish council were happy to have this erected, this would be at no charge. Costs would be funded by alternative sources/sponsorship. The Parish Council were happy for this to be installed. The existing galvanised flower box would be removed and resited elsewhere to make use of this asset as a planter.
37/2026 PLANNING APPLICATION
The Parish Council had submitted objections to the following 2 applications:
00033/26/FUL. Erection of 2no. dwellings and construction of a vehicular access. Demolition of existing dwelling. Field view, 2 Short Lane Fotherby. Lincolnshire LN11 0TE
03892/25/FUL. Erection of 1no. dwelling and demolition of 2no. existing garages.
Eastfield, Allenby Crescent Fotherby Lincolnshire LN11 0UJ.
The main reasons featured the flooding issues as detailed below:
For many years Fotherby has been blighted with drainage issues especially during periods of medium to heavy rainfall which are becoming more frequent due to changing weather patterns. The Parish Council has been working collaboratively with various agencies to help resolve this important issue for residents. During medium to heavy rainfall, the combined sewer system can become hydraulically overloaded, leading to loss of toilet facilities for some residents of Allenby Close/Crescent and sewage escaping from manholes in the street, causing polluted water to stand in the road which villagers then have to walk, cycle or drive through. This can then be unknowingly trodden into people’s homes. The drainage/flooding issues are not just confined to Allenby Close/Crescent but also other areas in the village such as Peppin Lane.
It happens because the Fotherby pumping station, which sends the sewage on to Keddington Treatment Plant, is not always able to cope with the large amounts it receives. In 2024, new higher capacity pumps were installed at Fotherby by Anglian Water which led to some improvements and fewer incidents of sewer overloading. However, the problem is not resolved and with the recent rainfall in early 2026, loss of sewerage services has returned for some residents. This problem is compounded by the fact that sewage from Utterby village is pumped into Fotherby before onward pumping to Keddington. We understand that our two villages are hydraulically linked. The Parish Council is very concerned that any increase in sewage loading from any additional properties adds incrementally to the problems the village has faced with the sewerage system for decades. To draw the attention of all agencies to our sewerage capacity problems, the Parish Council developed their own Flood Plan and Flooding Record including photographic evidence and a regularly updated log listing all recent emissions. (Copy previously sent to ELDC Planning Department.)
However, we believe the problems Fotherby has experienced with hydraulic over capacity in the combined sewerage system outweigh all other planning considerations. Given the current sewerage loadings within the village and the history of sewer flooding, adding further properties would add incrementally to this loading. Therefore, the planning authority and Anglian Water must be fully satisfied that the sewerage services to ALL residents are not degraded further should they pass any additional planning proposals for this area. We therefore object to this proposed development.
Planning Application 03887/25/FUL. Extension and alterations to existing dwelling to provide additional living accommodation. The Woodlands, Main Road, Fotherby, Lincolnshire LN11 0TD
The Parish Council have no objections to this plan as the development has no impact on the current sewerage system being an extension to an existing dwelling.
38/2026 LITTER STRATEGY & FLY TIPPING UPDATE
Litter picking continues. Thanks were given to Cllr Ensell and the litter picking volunteers across the village and beyond. There had been several incidents of fly tipping reported both in the village and across lanes nearby. Waste has been removed promptly by the ELDC Cleansing Team and thanks were again noted for their timely service to help prevent more waste being tipped.
The Chair explained that the young man who had volunteered to litter pick, as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award, had completed his duties. Cllr. Mansfield would complete a letter of thanks to be attached to his award scheme documents.
Discussion took place regarding the request for the gating up of Short Lane West. Cllr Ensell would provide a statement of support including photographic evidence of litter at Short Lane. Cllr Ensell would seek support from Cllr N Hastings in the process of contacting LCC Highways.
39/2026 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Monday 13 April 2026 at 7.30pm.
Monday 11 May 2026 at 7pm meeting with Parishioners followed by Annual Meeting of Parish Council.
The meeting finished at 8.25pm.