September 2025 Minutes
Digby Parish Council
Notes of the PARISH COUNCIL MEETING held on Wednesday 10th September 2025 at 7pm, in Digby War Memorial Hall
PRESENT – Cllrs K Groves, Chairman (KG); A Barnham (AB); J Bourne (JB); G Garton (GG); D Green (DG) and H Snowden (HS)
In attendance – Mrs A McDonald, Clerk and Proper Officer.
Public Forum
A resident spoke in favour of the result of the dismissed appeal notice for the dwellings off North Street and felt it was a good result for the village.
Notification was given about a further meeting about the Solar Fam applications on 25th Sept at Welbourn Village Hall.
District & County Councillors' Matters
Cllr Kendrick was pleased to see LCC volunteer working at the village hall garden.
He also notified the meeting of Highways decision that traffic lights will be installed on the A15/B1202 junction, but no time frame for this to happen has been given.
The Chairman declared the meeting in session.
1.Chairman’s Opening Remarks. (25/139)
a) Welcome.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting
2. Apologies for Absence (25/140)
a) Apologies.
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr Lewington due to family commitments.
3. Declarations of Pecuniary Interest & Applications of Dispensation (25/141)
a) Declarations of Interest.
There were no declarations of interest given.
4. Signing of the Minutes (25/142)
a) It was proposed by HS, seconded by GG and resolved to accept the notes of the Parish
Council Meeting held on Wednesday 13th August 2025 as a true and accurate record. The notes were signed by the Chairman.
5. Planning Matters (25/143)
a) Planning Applications Received.
Nil to date
b) Decision Notice Received.
25/0942/PNAGR Erection of 6 silos at Bloxholm Farm Rearing Units.
NKDC Confirmed prior approval is not required. Full details of the decision notice can be found on NKDC Planning online.
c) Appeal Notice.
24/1480/Ful – Proposed site of North Street – The Planning Inspectorate’s decision was to Dismiss the Appeal. Full details of the decision can be found on NKDC Planning online.
6. General Parish Matters (25/144)
a) Replacing the Defibrillator.
Information on the options available are still waiting to be confirmed. The Community Heartbeat will be contacting the Clerk on the 15th September to discuss the options and costs. The Chairman asked if the cost of a second defibrillator could be looked into, so it could be sighted on the playing field. This information will be presented the next meeting.
Action: Clerk to add to next agenda.
b) Apply for the NKDC Litter Picking Grant.
NKDC have announced the litter picking grant for 2025/26 is now available and needs to be applied for by 24th Oct. All agreed the council should apply.
Action: The Clerk will apply for the grant on behalf of the council.
c) Purchase of Poppy Wreath for the Remembrance Service.
It was proposed by GG, seconded by JB that a poppy wreath, up to £25.00 be purchased in preparation for Remembrance Sunday.
Action: The Clerk to arrange the purchase.
d) Grant request from Digby Parochial Church Council
A request for a grant to help with the maintenance of the Garden of Remembrance has been received. The Clerk explained it has been 2 years since a grant has been given to help with the maintenance of the Church grounds. It proposed by KG, seconded by JB and all agreed a grant of £300 be awarded.
Action: The Clerk to notify the PCC of the decision and arrange payment.
7. Highways (25/145)
a) Highways Issues.
JB stated the road is beginning to subside again on the Digby Fen Road. He will report it on FixmyStreet.
8. The Village Hall (25/146)
a) Minutes from the latest meeting of the Committee,
Copies of the latest minutes have been distributed to the councillors prior to this meeting. There were no comments.
b) Update on the Volunteers Work.
KG reported the LCC Volunteers provided 30hrs of work and completed the new planned grass areas.
The Chairman of the Village Hall Committee has confirmed there will also be volunteers from Equan construction company providing further help with the garden. They will arrive on 23rd September from mid-day
KG requested a spray head be purchased for the hose pipe to enable the grass seed to be watered without it being washed away by a direct force. All agreed a spray head be purchased.
9. Drainage (25/147)
a) To review the current information from from LCC Flood and Water Manager
i) Installation of monitoring gauges.
Three telemetry gauges have been installed around the village, The council were disappointed that the Environment Agency (EA) could not give permission for one to be installed in the Beck.
ii) Results of the Drone Mapping .
The drone footage will soon be available to the parish council. It was agreed once this has been received we continue to ask LCC to progress plans to help reduce the flooding from the east and south east of the village.
b) EAs response to not cutting the Beck.
EA have finally stated they will no longer be cutting the Beck due to lack of funds. Permission has been given for the parish council to be able to take over this task. It was proposed by JB, seconded by DG to find out if our groundsman could carry out this work, if not quotations for the work will be sought. The quotation will be for 3 cuts a year of the sides of the banks and the bottom.
Action: The Clerk to carry out this task.
c) Producing a Newsletter
It was agreed a newsletter be produced to be delivered door to door to keep the residents abreast of all the changes that have occurred over the 6 months. It will explain the current drainage issues.
It can also contain an item about the proposed new play equipment.
Action: The Clerk to produce the newsletter.
10. Playing Field, Play Areas and Village General (25/148)
a) Monthly & Annual Inspection of Play Equipment.
HS has completed the monthly check of the equipment.
A copy of the RoSPA Annual Inspection report has been forwarded to all the councillors prior to the meeting. There were no immediate repairs required as all equipment was rated at low to medium risk. GG proposed the bolt covers be purchased for the floor bolts on the exercise equipment, seconded by HS and all agreed.
Action: The Clerk to purchase bolt covers.
b) Report on the New Play Equipment Project.
KG confirmed the plans are coming together and they will soon be ready for the public consultation. Confirmation is being sought on the Third Party donation from the funders.
c) Football Team request to use the Football Pitch.
Glebe football team have requested to use the pitch for this seasons games. There were no objections and the field agreement and the invoice for the annual fee has been forwarded to the team captain.
The She Runs Lincolnshire running club will be holding an event the field on 13th September.
Also there has been a request to hold a Christmas Market + Dog Show on 6th December. This was agreed but if due to inclement weather and there is a threat of damage to the field, it may need to be cancelled at short notice.
Action: The Clerk to pass on this information to the event organiser.
c) Approving a Booking Form & Fee.
It was agreed for one-off use of the field a booking form will need to be filled. A draft copy of a form was produced by the Clerk and it was agreed it can be to used. This will enable a paper trail to be maintained and prevent double bookings. It was proposed by AB, seconded by DG a fee of £20.00 be set for the one-off use of the field. It was also agreed that for charitable events the council can waiver the fee if agreed at a meeting.
d) Work on trees at the rear of 23 North Street
It was proposed by GG, seconded by DG that work on these trees can be carried out, as soon as it can be arranged. This will include the removal of any dead trees and cutting back branches to the playing field boundary.
Action: The Clerk to book the tree surgeon.
11. Allotments (25/149)
a) Updates from the Allotment Committee.
JB announced the Lottery grant has been received and some of the money has been spent by the committee on a new generator.
12. Finance (25/150)
a) Bank Balances and Approval of Bank Reconciliation.
The bank balances were reported as:-
PC General Account 27,200.59
Allotment Account 7525.18
Mary Gresswell Trust 5.58
b) Income.
The following amount was received during the last month.
Use of Football pitch £15.00
c) Approval of Payments.
It was proposed by GG, seconded by AB and all agreed the following payments be paid.
Salaries/Expenses 1323.73
Lloyds bank charges 4.25
MalcFirth 615.60
PKF Littlejohn LLP – External Audit 252.00
Playsafety Ltd – Play equip annual inspection 249.60
d) The External Audit for 2024-25
The external audit has been completed by the PKF Littlejohn. The completion notice will be displayed in the noticeboard and on the website. It must be noted the external auditors notes refer to the decision about the Gov.uk domains, and that councils must act in line with new legislation.
Action: The Clerk will provide costings for moving to the Gove.UK domain for the next meeting.
e) Signatories of the Bank Account.
It was agreed to add HS to the list of signatories.
13. Correspondence (25/151)
a) LALC Newsletter - Distributed to all councillors.
b) NKDC Newsletter - Distributed to all councillors
c) New Community Resilience Newsletter has been produced. – Distributed to all councillors.
d) NKDC – Invitation to the Parish & Town Council Forum on 6th November – HS and the Clerk have agreed to attend
e) NDKC Art Competition- To produce a poster to promote saving the planet. Closing date 20th October. A notice has been displayed in the parish noticeboard.
f) Invitation to join the CPRE. It was proposed by DG and agrees to join for one year to see proposed £60.00 agreed to join
g) LCC information on Local Government reorganisation – Poster displayed in the noticeboard
h) Copy of Letter from Scopwick Action Group to Springwell Solar Farm project detailing compensation request for Scopwick and the surrounding villages.
14. Dates of Future Meetings (25/152)
Parish Council Meetings for 2025 – Second Wednesday of the month – 8th Oct, 12th Nov and 10th Dec
Parish Council Meetings for 2026 – Second Wednesday of the month – 14th Jan, 11th Feb, 11th Mar, 8th Apr, 13th May,10th Jun, 8th Jul, 12th Aug, 9th Sep, 7th Oct, 11th Nov, 9th Dec.
Annual Parish Meeting 22nd April 2026.
15. Any Business to Note for the Next Agenda (24/153)
16. Closed Session (25/154)
For confidential items in accordance with the Public Bodies Act 1960, if required.
21.00hrs - There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed.