2025 Parish Council Minutes

25.12.01 Councillor (Cllr) Lyons welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked County Councillor Woodruff for attending the recent open evening.

25.12.02 Public Time

6 members of the public in attendance.      

Thanks were extended to the Parish Council for holding the recent open evening and suggestions for traffic calming measures passed onto Cllr Woodruff.

25.12.03 District/County Council Updates

Lincolnshire County Council

Cllr Woodruff and Councillor Koenen gave an update on the topics discussed in the open evening which included street lighting; school drop off issues; extension of double yellow lines on Little Thorpe Lane; school traffic patrol; speed limits; weight restrictions and pavements.   Cllr Woodruff is looking into the issues and will provide feedback. 

Traffic calming measures during the construction of the new bypass are under discussion with the project team with an update due in the New Year when there will be a public consultation.  Should the temporary measure prove successful, a permanent solution will be considered.

North Kesteven District Council

District Councillor Elliott advised that there has been an increase in the number of thefts form vans and warned residents to be vigilant.

The district council has now submitted its proposal for the regeneration project.

District Councillor Overton advised that the district council had failed to meet the Regulator of Social Housing consumer standards and were working hard to put this right.

25.12.04 Formal Session Commenced at 19:35

25.12.05 Parish Council – Members, present, apologies for absence, declarations of interest, declarations of gifts/hospitality, training.

1. Membership: Councillors (Cllrs) Jason Bramford (Vice Chair), Zoe Ives, Carl Koenen, Nick Lyons (Chair), Charlotte Owen, Bob Sheldon MBE, Neville Williams.

2. Present:  (Cllrs) Jason Bramford (Vice Chair), Zoe Ives, Carl Koenen, Nick Lyons (Chair), Charlotte Owen, Bob Sheldon MBE, Neville Williams.

3. Apologies: Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr’s Owen, Sheldon and Williams.

4. Declaration of interest: None

5. Declaration of gifts and hospitality over £25: None

25.12.06 - The minutes of the Parish Council meeting held 22nd October 2025 were unanimously agreed as a true record by the members by a show of hands and signed by the Chair.

25.12.07- To consider whether the Council will move any items on the agenda to the closed session in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 as per Standing Order 7h. No items proposed.

25.12.08 Financial matters

i. The list of payments and income were authorised and noted.  Appendix A

ii. The financial report for the financial year to date was noted with no queries.  Appendix B

25.12.09.  Discuss and review the Parish Clerk report on ongoing/outstanding actions.   Appendix C                           

25.10.10 Planning Applications. None

25.10.11. Grants.  Cllr Lyons reminded the Parish Council that as per the councils Grant Policy, a grant application should show a proven need and not merely a request for funds and the Parish Council had to be fair and reasonable with the residents’ funds.

a. Grant applications

i. View from the Hill.  For the production costs of the View from the Hill magazine.  Amount of grant awarded £860.  Power to Spend - Local Government Act 1972 Section 142.

ii. St Michael’s and All Angels Church application 1 for Church yard maintenance.  Amount of grant awarded £800.  Power to Spend - Local Government Act 1972 Section 214

iii. St Michael’s and All Angels Church application 2 for a contribution towards the restoration of the Church clock.  As the application is for a donation towards work that has already been completed, the application does not meet the grant policy criteria, and the application was refused.

iv. Thorpe on the Hill Playgroup for the renovation of an outdoor play area.  Amount of grant awarded for the replacement of a damaged sandpit and play sand £710.76.   Power to Spend – Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976 Section 19.  The request for the raised flower bed was refused.

v. St Michael’s Church of England Primary School for development of a new garden area.  Amount of grant awarded £500 for interpretation boards.  Power to Spend - Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976 Section 19.  The request for the one-day willow workshop was refused.

vi. 27th Lincoln Scout Group for the removal of two containers from Eric East Memorial Lake.  Amount of grant awarded, up to £800.  Power to Spend - Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976 Section 19. 

b. The request from the bowls club to submit a late grant application to be discussed in the January 2026 meeting was refused, however, it was agreed that an alternative source of grant funding for the irrigation project would be discussed at the January 2026 meeting.

25.10.12. Table trolley for hall.  It was agreed to purchase a single trolley.  Action Parish Clerk

25.10.13 Employer Pension Contribution.  The reduction in the employer contribution for the financial years 2026, 2027 and 2028 was noted.  Reduced from 20.6% to 19.2%

25.10.14 Playground repairs.  It was unanimously agreed that the recommended repairs to the playground should be done.  Action Parish Clerk.

25.10.15 Correspondence received that has not been circulated to the wider Parish or is not on the agenda.

25.10.16 Verbal updates from portfolio holders .

• Allotments – Cllr Lyons
• Finance – Cllr Bramford
• Lake Management Committee – Cllr’s Bramford, Lyons, Sheldon MBE
• Oliver Roper playpark & tennis courts– Cllr Owen
• Planning – Cllrs Koenen, Lyons and Williams
• Staffing Committee – Cllr’s Ives, Lyons and Sheldon MBE
• Whisby Quarry Liaison meeting – Cllrs Lyons
• Whisby Nature Park Steering Board – Cllr Sheldon MBE
• Wildlife – Cllr Lyons
• Village Hall – Cllrs Lyons, Ives and Owen

Whisby Quarry. Cllr Lyons advised that he had recently been on a tour of the extended site and there were no traffic implications for Thorpe.

Village Hall.  The Parish Clerk advised that there was an increased occurrence of issues with a user group and the décor in the hall was deteriorating at an alarming rate.  It was agreed that this would be discussed.

25.10.17 Future meeting dates

Parish Council Meetings                                                                                              

14 January 2026, 25 February 2026, 8 April 2026, 20 May 2026, 1 July 2026, 2 September 2026, 14 October 2026,  25 November 2026.

Lake Committee Meeting

1 April 2026

25.10.18 The meeting concluded at 9pm.

Appendix A, B and C can be viewed on the PDF version or in an alternate format by contacting the clerk at clerk@thorpeonthehillparishcouncil.gov.uk

Please be advised that these are notes of the meeting taken by the Parish Clerk and cannot in any way be regarded as official minutes of Council proceedings until approved and signed at the next meeting.