July 2026 Minutes
Digby Parish Council
Notes of the PARISH COUNCIL MEETING held on Wednesday 8th July 2026 at 7pm, in Digby War Memorial Hall
Present – Cllr H Snowden, Chairman (HS); Cllr G Garton (GG); Cllr D Green (DG); Cllr K Groves (KG); Cllr M Lewington (ML) and Cllr L Miller (ML)
In Attendance – Mrs A McDonald, Clerk and Proper Officer.
Public Forum
There were no members of the public present
District & County Councillors' Matters
County Councillor Kendrick (RK) reported a consultation is taking place to maintain two council run respite homes, currently under the threat of closure.
Another serious accident has taken place at the junction of the B1189 and the Woodhall Spa Road, this junction is being looked at for improvements by LCC Highways.
The Clerk requested further information on progress of repairing street light No.1 on Beck Street and GG asked for The Smoot path to be cut. Also, GG asked why the replacement telemetry device has not yet been fitted on North Dreain and when is the Flood Relief channel going to be maintained.
RK agreed to look into all these items and report back.
The Chairman declared the meeting in session
1.Chairman’s Opening Remarks. (26/102)
a) Welcome.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
2. Apologies for Absence (26/103)
a) Apologies.
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr Bourne (JB) due to work commitments.
3. Declarations of Pecuniary Interest & Applications of Dispensation (26/104)
a) Declarations of Interest.
HS declared an interest in a correspondence item 13k.
4. Signing of the Minutes (26/105)
a) It was proposed by GG, seconded by KG and RESOLVED to accept the notes of the Parish
Council Meeting held on Wednesday 10th June 2026 as a true and accurate record.
5. Planning Matters (26/106)
a) Planning Applications Received.
Nil to date
b) Decision Notices Received.
Nil to date.
6. General Parish Matters (26/107)
a) Installation of the New Defibrillator
The new defib was installed on 16th June. At an agreed cost of £38.00 + VAT. It has been registered with ‘The Circuit’, and the old defib has been removed from the system. The Clerk is still chasing the refund from the British Heart Foundation.
b) Repairs to the Village Hall Footway Lighting.
The electrician has looked at the lighting issue. Twenty new lights and connections are needed due to rusting plus the cost to fit them. The repair cost will be in the region of £460.00 to get the lights working.
ML proposed the work be carried out and seconded by DG a vote was taken there was 3 for 3 against the proposal. The Chairmans vote was cast - against. So, no work will be carried out for now. It was discussed that the lights maintenance will need to be added to the budget in the future. In the meantime, it will be investigated to see if an alternative lighting system could be more cost effective to run.
Action: The Clerk and JB to contact the electrician.
c) Cyber Security Information.
The Clerk had taken part in an online training session on Cyber Security and provided print outs for the council to look through and action, if required. A question of whether the Gov.UK address should be opened via Google was asked and the Clerk will try to find out the answer.
Action: The Clerk to contact LALC for advice.
d) New Mileage Rate.
It was proposed by LM seconded by DG to accept the new mileage rate for Clerks and councillors of .55p per mile as recommended by the Government Rates and Allowances Panel as from 1st April 2026.
7. Highways (26/108)
a) Highways issues.
Several potholes have been repaired on Fen Road. LM to report the road edge breaking up on North Street.
Action: LM to contact FixMyStreet.
8. The Village Hall (26/109)
a) Minutes from the latest Village Hall Committee Meeting.
The minutes were distributed to the councillors prior to the meeting. There were no comments to report
9. Drainage (26/110)
a) Greendykes Maintenance Quote.
A quote of £250.00 + VAT has been received from Layman Contractors. GG proposed to accept the quote it was seconded by HS and the majority agreed. It will be cut as soon as possible.
Action: The Clerk to notify the contractor.
b) Response from the Environment Agency (EA).
The EA have agreed to a site meeting at the Beck and a date and time needs to be set by the council. It was agreed to meet on site on Thursday 30th July at 14.00. All interested persons will be informed.
Action: The Clerk to confirm the date with EA and notify all interested persons.
Also, a suspected sewerage discharge into the Beck has been reported to EA during June. They have responded that Anglian Water have checked and it is not from the sewerage system. It is coming from a surface water drain and EA are continuing to investigate.
10. Playing Field, Play Areas and Village General (26/111)
a) Monthly inspection of Play Equipment & New Play Equipment Update.
HS is to complete the inspection this month. GG reported the caps purchase to cover the bolts are too small.
Action: The Clerk will contact Wicksteed Leisure for the correct caps.
KG confirmed Creative Play are carrying out a pre-planning inspection of the site on 27th Aug in preparation of the new equipment being installed. Discussions about the signage for the site to promote the funders etc. are taking place.
b) Village Asset Inspection.
The annual inspection was carried out on Fri 3 July by HS and GG. All the parish council assets, as per the list, were reported as serviceable and in good condition, apart from the village hall footpath lights, which has already been discussed. A few areas of overgrown footpaths were identified and letters will be sent to these properties asking for the growth to be cut back.
Action: The Clerk to send out the letters.
c) Update on the progress with the Bowls Club lease.
The Clerk and JB completed the amendments to the lease as requested by the Bowls Club. The council need to re- check the Lease and if there are no further amendments required within the next two weeks, it can be prepared for signatures
d) Confirmation of Booking of the Playing Field
On 13th Sept by She Runs Lincolnshire have confirmed and completed the booking form to use the field and have supplied copies of their insurance.
11. Allotments (26/112)
a) Updates from the Allotment Committee.
No one was available from the Allotment Committee to give a report at this time.
b) Allotment Field –
The Tenants have given notice that they are terminating their agreement.
12. Finance (26/113)
a) Bank Balances and Approval of Bank Reconciliation.
The bank balances were reported as:-
PC General Account 30,267.41
Allotment Account 6,567.76
Mary Gresswell Trust 5.58
The bank reconciliation was approved.
b) Income.
The following income was received during the last month. This is included in the reported allotment account bank balance.
Allotment Field Rent for 2025-26 655.20
c) Approval of Payments.
It was proposed by GG, seconded by KG and all agreed the following payments are made.
Salaries/Expenses 961.94
Lloyds bank charges 4.25
Malcfirth – Apr grass cutting 646.38
Malcfirth – May grass cutting 646.38
Select Electrical Services – Defib installation 45.60
Autela Payroll Services 76.80
13. Correspondence (26/114)
a) LALC Newsletter - Distributed to all councillors.
b) NKDC Newsletter - Distributed to all councillors
c) County Councillors monthly report – Distributed to all the councillors.
d) Correspondence asking about the cutting/removal of weeds/grass from footpath edges. The issues have been reported via FixMyStreet.
e) LALC Summer Conference – 14th July – bookings being taken
f) 2x requests to use the Digby football pitch. The Clerk confirmed the pitch is already booked for this year.
g) Environment Agency – Notification that monthly information will not be sent out by email, has been received. It will be now be available through the online engagement platform
h) Armed Forces Week - Introducing Squaddie Box – each pod provides practical support and a secure postal address for homeless ex-service people.
i) Lincolnshire Minerals & Waste Local Plan: Proposed submission of version regulation 19 consultation.
j) Info on Village Gateways – JACs (UK) Ltd. Distributed to all councillors for future consideration.
k) Public Footpath Digby 8/3 and Digby 6/3 reported as overgrown.
HS declared an interest in this item. It was agreed to report these footpaths to LCC Countryside Officer.
l) NKDC - confirmation councillors home addresses are now redacted from the Register of Interest Forms
14. Dates of Future Meetings (26/115)
Parish Council Meetings for 2026 – Second Wednesday of the month – 12th Aug, 9th Sep, 7th Oct, 11th Nov, 9th Dec.
15. Any Business to Note for the Next Agenda (26/116)
TBN to the Clerk
16. Closed Session (26/117)
For confidential items in accordance with the Public Bodies Act 1960.
This item was not required.
20.56hrs – There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed.