14th May 2026 Annual Parish Meeting
Thorpe on the Hill Parish Council Annual Parish Meeting Minutes 14th May 2026 at 18:30
Councillor Lyons chaired the meeting and welcomed everyone to the Annual Parish Meeting.
Present: Councillors (Cllrs) Bramford, Ives, Koenen, Lyons, Sheldon MBE, K Vickers (Parish Clerk). County Councillor Woodruff, District Councillor Overton,
Min26.01 Minutes of the previous meeting held 28th May 2025. Councillor Sheldon proposed the minutes should be agreed, seconded by Councillor Ives and agreed by all and signed as a true record of events.
Min26.02 Chairman’s Report. Appendix A
Min26.03 Open Forum
A member of the public asked if the Parish Council would consider having a village archive for photos and memorabilia of historic village events. This will be looked in to. Action Parish Clerk.
Concerns were raised about Clay Lane and the damage being done to the lane from farm vehicles with the vehicle tracks getting wider and churning up the vegetation along the sides. The Parish Clerk will contact the user and ask if it would be possible for them to stick to the track. Action Parish Clerk.
Thanks were given to the Parish Council for all the work that has been done and is continuing to be done in the fight against The Fosse Green Energy project.
Min26.04 Meeting concluded at 18:58
Cllr Lyons thanked everyone for attending and for their contributions to the meeting.
Appendix A
Fosse Green Energy Project. The Parish Council, along with support from residents has been committed to challenging the solar panel project including attending and speaking at the public hearings. This commitment will continue and updates given when available.
Whisby 25th Anniversary. Whisby Nature Reserve has recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary and Councillor’s Lyons and Sheldon were in attendance for their afternoon tea event. Throughout 2026, the site will be hosting a series of special events, exhibitions, and family-friendly activities that highlight their journey over the years. Plus, there will be opportunities to add your voice, your photographs and your artwork to the celebrations.
Whisby Tarmac quarry extension and consultation. The Parish Council was consulted and attended site visits regarding the planned extensions.
North Hykeham Relief Road. The Parish Council has held meetings with Highways and Balfour Beatty regarding the planned relief road and plans are being made for traffic calming measures for the village.
Lincoln & Witham Landscape Recovery project.
The Parish Council has entered into a collaboration with The Witham Food and Nature Network (WFNN), whose vision is to create connective and nature-rich landscape within the urban fringes of Lincoln and expanding through countryside to the South along the Upper Witham valley towards Newark, making the whole area a lovely place to live, work and visit. The Eric East Lake has been included in the application submitted by WFNN to DEFRA for funding with the potential benefits being;
Potential for support/information/ideas from the project to enhance Thorpe on the Hill’s nature-friendly ambitions.
Potential for support for Thorpe on the Hill to work with other local villages in the project are to help them to become more nature friendly
Increased profile for the village resulting in;
i. improved chances of funding for positive initiatives such as improvement to green spaces,
ii. better scrutiny of inappropriate developments
Village Hall.
The hall has been redecorated and a historical display added. The items displayed will be changed from time to time to enable visitors to see the village in days gone by.
The floor in the office has had to be replaced again by the contractor due to insufficient preparation.
Highways
The signage for the bus stop has been changed and a bus stop sign added which was a very positive step.
A resident’s only sign has been added on Blacksmith’s Lane. Whilst this is only advisable, it is hoped that it will deter some motorists using the lane as a cut through.
Lake Management Committee. All is quiet and there has been further good work from resident’s group with tree and wildflower planting taking place and the addition of a bug hotel.
Bowls club. The lock paving leading up to the bowls club area has been replaced and steps underway to replace water tank.
An evening Surgery session with residents was held in November and will be repeated.
I would also like to draw attention to a couple of people related issues John Burden retired and after what appeared to be a successful recruitment we are still without a suitable replacement. However, we were able to successfully replace the litter picker, and I would like to thank all the support staff for their flexibility and hard work – these people, although their work remains largely unseen, provide an invaluable service to the community.
I would also like, on behalf of the PC, to pay tribute to Ron Bradford who sadly passed away recently. Apart from his MBE and Freedom of the Village awards, Ron made a tremendous impact on the village over his long lifetime and exemplified the qualities of caring and support for others. He will be sorely missed for his tireless efforts and warm sense of humour.
I would like to also thank residents for their contributions and support.
Finally, thanks to rest of the Council for their support. We are very lucky that despite having different opinions and priorities people work well together and support one another. We are free from little cliques, in-fighting and local
politics so we are able to focus on what’s best for the residents as a whole and that’s not always an easy balance to reach.
Nick Lyons
14/05/26