9 April 2025 Minutes
Present: Cllr Dr Byrd (Chairman) Cllr Mr Hanson
Cllr Mrs Steel Cllr Mr Guerge
Cllr Mr Piper Cllr Mr Neilson
Cllr Mr Hughes Cllr Mrs Jones
Cllr Mr Wey
The Clerk and Deputy Clerk were also in attendance.
The Chairman opened and welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Representatives from the Rotary Group were in attendance and invited to speak to Council about their request for grant aid of £500 to support the Rotary Fun run. The event has over a short period of time seen an increase in participants from 135 runners in 2022 to 346 runners in 2024. It is expected that this will increase again this year but will be kept just under 500. With the increase in participants there is also an increase in costs, ie more water tables for runners, more medals and more signage. An increase in volunteers to ensure safety on route, registration of runners and handing out of medals at the finish line. Entry fees will remain the same to keep in line with neighbouring towns. The date of the invite is on Sunday 18 May.
Cllr Wey arrived at 7.40pm.
Cllr Dr Byrd reported that Lincolnshire County Council are considering reorganising the county into 3 unitary authorities, SKDC preferred option is to have a unitary which includes South Kesteven District Council, North Kesteven District Council, South Holland District Council and Rutland County Council.
203. Chairman’s Welcome & Introductions
Cllr Bryd welcomed members to the meeting at 7.50 pm.
204. To note apologies and accept valid reasons for absence
There were apologies for absence from Cllr Miss Collins, Cllr Mrs Sked, Cllr Ms Reed and Cllr Broughton and these were accepted.
205. Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011
Cllr Hanson signed the declaration of interest due to agenda item 15 regarding the Rotary Grant Aid request.
206. Acceptance of the minutes of a meeting held on 12 March 2025
Cllr Bryd asked members if they were to accept the minutes of the meeting of 12 March 2025. It was RESOLVED unanimously to accept the notes of the meeting as a true and accurate record. The Chairman signed the minutes.
207. Reports: Including reports from Committees: Planning and Highways, Deeping Neighbourhood Plan (DNP), Amenities and Open Spaces, Finance and Personnel, Mayor’s report and the Clerk’s report
Planning and Highways
Cllr Byrd informed that the Planning and Highways Committee meeting did not take place on 2 April due to no urgent business.
DNP
A hard copy of the Sustrans report is completed, indications are that there are a number of suggestions to consider.
Wayfinding project has been delayed due to unforeseen circumstances with regards to LCC’s regulations on bench installation. Cllr Dr Byrd informed that she is liaising with the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to establish if a solution can be found.
Amenities and Open Spaces
Cllr Mrs Steel informed that a number of people had raised their concerns about an aggressive dog that had allegedly attacked other dogs. The police have advised that as it had not bitten other dogs, they are not able to take any action. It was agreed by Full Council that Cllr Mrs Steel would advise residents to continue to report any incidents to the police on 101.
Cllr Mrs Steel suggested that fees for the hire of John Eve should be reviewed. It was agreed to refer this to AOS for consideration.
Cllr Guerge left the meeting at 8.00pm.
Finance and Personnel
A separate account with the CCLA has been set up for the Persimmon Section 106 monies.
Mayoral Diary
Mayor
15.03.25 South Holland District Council – The Chairman’s Charity Ball
21.03.25 South Kesteven District Council – Chairman’s Civic Dinner
28.03.25 MDTC - Civic Dinner
31.03.25 Rotary – Judging art competition
31.03.25 The Deepings Library – library event
Deputy Mayor
The Deputy Mayor attended the following:
15.03.25 South Holland District Council – The Chairman’s Charity Ball
21.03.25 South Kesteven District Council – Chairman’s Civic Dinner Dance
28.03.25 MDTC – Civic Dinner
28.03.25 Beaufort Gardens – Sod cutting
Thanks to Cllr Mrs Jones and the Clerks for organising the Civic Dinner.
Clerk’s Report – 9th April 2025
The Precept request for 2025/26 has been submitted to SKDC there was no increase to residents for the provision of services in Market Deeping.
A very successful Mayor’s Civic dinner was held on Friday 28 March 2025.
208. Correspondence to be noted and resolved upon
Correspondence to be Noted – Received up to 9 April 2025
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Correspondence to be Noted – Received up to 9 April 2025 |
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No. |
Received from |
Date Received |
Subject |
Committee Response |
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1 |
Rotary |
13.3.25 |
Grant Aid application |
This was discussed at Agenda item 15 later in the meeting. |
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2. |
River Action Group |
1.4.25 |
Arrangements for litter picking 5th and 6th April ‘25 |
Noted. |
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3. |
Community Policing panel |
09.4.25 |
Deeping Community Policing Panel 24.4.25 at 7pm |
Noted. |
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Correspondence to be Acted Upon – Received up to 9 April 2025 |
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No. |
Received from |
Date Received |
Subject |
Committee Response |
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1. |
Deeping School – Anthem trust |
27.3.25 |
Request for committee chair volunteers |
There were no volunteers. |
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2. |
Phillip Neville – DSJ Councillor |
08.4.25 |
Litter – reported back following the recent litter pick, the banks of the river was particularly strewn with litter. Requesting to set up a working group between MDTC, DSJ and Deeping Gate to see how this could be tackled. |
Cllr Mrs Steel and Cllr Mrs Jones volunteered to be part of the working group on behalf of MDTC. |
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3. |
Deeping Raft Race |
08.04.25 |
Request for £400 grant aid |
It was RESOLVED unanimously to provide a grant of £400. |
209. Council Finances
a) Income and expenditure by cost centre
Members had received a copy of the Council Finances and Omega report prior to the meeting. Cllr Dr Pam Byrd asked if there were any questions. There were none.
b) Accounts to be paid April 2025
It was RESOLVED that the council pay its’ bills for April 2025. See appendix A.
c) For members to review Council Finances to 31.03.25
Members had no comments and accepted the report.
d) For members to receive and accept the internal auditor’s report for February 2025
Members had no comments and accepted the report.
e) For members to review detailed income and expenditure to 31.3.25
Members had no comments and accepted the report.
f) For members to review Ear Marked Reserves
Members had no comments and accepted the report.
g) For members to review the asset register
Members requested that the legend on the bench located in the Paddock should be increased to £1500.
There were also increases for Defibrillators, a cabinet and bleed kits which had not been previously included.
It was RESOLVED unanimously to agree the value of the asset register as £372,958.
h) For members to review Section 137 payments for 2024/25
Members had no comments and accepted the report.
Cllr Dr Byrd proposed that reports 7a to h is resolved collectively. It was RESOLVED unanimously to accept this proposal.
It was RESOLVED unanimously to accept reports 7a to h.
210. For members to consider year end closedown and projected underspend for 2024/25
A discussion took place regarding the underspend for 2024/25. This has largely arisen with consideration for the need to fund future play equipment and repairs on soon to be acquired Cherry Tree Park (from SKDC). Part of this is £30,000 UKSPF funding which was given for the Wayfinding project which may need to be returned because it has not been possible to obtain the necessary NRSWA permissions from LCC in order to legally install the benches. Cllr Dr Byrd will pursue this with Lincs County Council.
The Finance and Personnel Committee discussed the underspend for 2024/25 and proposed the following:
£50,000 to EMR 338 for Play equipment – new total £54,705
£10,00 to EMR 332 FOR Community assets (this is possibly to replace the Town Centre clock) – new total £23,000.
The £30,000 from UKSPF for the Wayfinding project will either be spent or returned to SKDC UKSPF.
It was RESOLVED unanimously to accept the proposals above.
211. For members to consider a contribution of £500 towards the Funday Sunday event
It was RESOLVED with one abstention to approved the grant of £500 towards the Funday Sunday event.
212. For members to consider dog fouling in the Market Place - FG
This item was deferred to the next meeting.
213. For members to consider an updated logo with Market Deeping Town Council – FG
It was RESOLVED to form a working group to consider an updated logo. Councillor Guerge, Jones, Hughes and Byrd agreed to take this forward and review the logo.
214. For members to consider the signing of the agreement regarding the old Police Station, to store flood and emergency equipment - DJ
Cllr Mrs Jones informed that a central and easy access location is required to store the flood and emergency equipment. The Old Police Station is available and in a central position to access the equipment quickly. It was RESOLVED unanimously for the license to occupy on short term basis is signed by the Clerk.
215. For members to review the Risk Management plan and carry out an Annual Review of Risk Management arrangements for 2024/25
A detailed review of the Risk Management arrangements took place.
The following items were discussed in detail:
Item 3 – page 4 of 13 item b. was amended to include the use of Facebook and the Town Council website as a further means of communicating with residents of the Town.
Item 4 – page 5 of 12 item b. was highlighted to Councillors as a medium risk as only new Councillors have undertaken any available training. The need for all Councillors to take advantage of available training from LALC was emphasised by the Clerk.
Item 5 – page 6 of 13 item c. was highlighted by the Clerk as any area for potential review. MDTC currently has monthly not 6 monthly internal audit reviews.
Item 6 – page 7 of 13 item a. was highlighted as an area for improvement. The Clerk advised that when potential projects are considered that there should be consultation with the Public. An example of the provision of new play equipment was given.
Item 8 – page 8 of 13 item b. was highlighted by the Clerk. It was considered that grants from the SKDC UKSP Funding had been well sourced during 2024-25. Grants had been obtained by Councillors for the Christmas market £700, Flooding barrier £2,400 and a Wayfinding project for the Deepings £30,000. As a result, the item was changed from medium risk to low risk.
Item 8 – page 8 of 13 item C. was highlighted as a potential area for review. The field rent prices were referred to the next AOS meeting and the status of the item was changed from low risk to medium risk.
Item 11 – page 10 of 13 item c. was highlighted, as valuations had been carried out during 2024/25
the status of the item was changed from medium risk to low risk.
Item 13 – page 12 of 13 item a. It was highlighted by the Clerk that tree inspection reports were being carried out on a 3 yearly programme. The 2025/26 report has already been carried out.
Item 16 – page 13 of 13 item a-c. this was a new item added to the risk register to cover the retention of staff.
A discussion took place and risks and mitigations considered and were added.
Item 17 – page 13 of 13 item a and b this was a new item added to the risk register to cover the retention of Councillors.
A discussion took place and risks and mitigations considered and were added.
216. For members to review the meeting schedule for 2025/26
It was RESOLVED to accept the meeting schedule for 2025/26.
217. For members to consider a Grant aid contribution to Rotary fun run
It was RESOLVED with one abstention to approve the grant of £500.
218. For members to consider arrangements for forthcoming events: Annual Town Meeting – 29th April 2025, VE Day 8TH May 2025, Defibrillator training 3rd June, Civic Sunday (date tbc), Funday Sunday 13th July 2025, Christmas Market 30th November and Air Ambulance Coffee morning
Annual Town Meeting – 29th April 2025 – arrangements are progressing.
VE Day – Thursday 8th May 2025 – arrangements are progressing.
Funday Sunday – 13th July – arrangements are progressing.
Air Ambulance coffee morning – Cllr Ms Reed will explore with Deeping St James Parish Council about holding the coffee morning at the Funday Sunday event on 13 July.
Walking the footpaths – 9th June 2025
Cllr Piper and Cllr Mrs Steel informed that they had walked a route which would take approximately 1½ hours there is a shorter route which is approximately 30 minutes. It was agreed to hold the longer walk on Monday 9 June at 6.00 pm followed by sandwiches at the Bull. The walk will be advertised at the Annual Town Meeting on 29 April.
It was agreed that the fees for the Christmas Market stallholders would remain the same as 2024.
219. For members to discuss and consider any points raised in the public session
This was discussed at agenda item 15.
220. Personnel Matters: Consideration to go into Closed Session to discuss:
There were no matters to discuss.
221. To consider items for inclusion on the agenda items for next meeting of the Town Council, to be held at The Town Hall, Market Deeping on Wednesday 14 May 2025.
• Soroptimist – May agenda (JR)
• Dog Fouling – (FG)
• Cemetery Signs (PS)
The Chairman thanked all members for attending and declared the meeting closed at 9.20 pm. The next scheduled meeting of the Full Council will be held on Wednesday 14 May 2025.
Chairman’s signature........................................
Date..................................................................
Attachments: Appendix A