September 2025 Minutes
Minutes of the Annual Keelby Parish Council Meeting
Held in the Village Hall on Tuesday 2nd September 2025 commencing 7:00pm.
Those Present: Councillors T Wright (Chair), T Bentham, E Darwood, M Soar, R Bedwell
In Attendance: Cllr, Bierley, Cllr A Lawrence. No members of the public were present.
1. To receive apologies and reasons for absence – Ref 25/129 – Cllrs M Turner, K Beedham, R Dannatt, and Cllr J Bean
Cllr Wright advised that a resignation letter has been received from Cllr Knight who has served on the council for many years. A letter to thanks is to be sent to her.
2. To receive dispensations and declarations of interest under the Localism Act 2011 – being any pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest in agenda items not previously recorded on Members’ Register of interest - Ref 25/130
Cllr T Wright declared an interest in item 10.5 - tree on village green
3. Public Question Time – Ref 25/131
There were no members of the council present. Cllr Bierley advised that if anyone wants an article in the next issue of the village newsletter to let him have this before the end of the month.
4. County Councillor’s Report - Ref 25/132
Cllr Bean was not in attendance but had sent an update regarding the trees on Riby Road. LCC have approached WLDC for permission to carry out maintenance work and top these trees. Cllr Bierley was asked to follow this up with WLDC.
5. District Councillor’s Report - Ref 25/133
The report from Cllr Bierley had previously been circulated.
6. Councillor vacancies/ Co-option of councillor – Ref 25/134
We now have 3 vacancies so Cllr Wright asked if councillors could try to think of anyone who may be interested in joining us.
7. To approve the minutes of the Parish Council Meetings held on 29th July 2025 - Ref 25/135
It was proposed, seconded and resolved that these minutes are a true record of the meeting and were signed by the Chairman.
8. Clerk’s Report – Ref 25/136
Clerk confirmed that the library yard would be weeded on the 20th October by the volunteer group. The blocked gullies on Manor Street and Victoria Road have been reported, and Cllr Bean is following these up. The testing of the memorial stones will take place on 15th September, and a follow up Facebook post will be done. The cleaning of the cenotaph will commence on 23rd September. Cllr Bentham will remove the old wreaths from the cenotaph prior to this. The new noticeboard will be fitted w/c 28th September. Clerk advised that the handyman had been paid at the incorrect rate from May but this has been corrected this month and his arrears paid. Council approved this. Clerk to get some prices from other payroll suppliers to review.
9. Financial Matters – Ref 25/137
The payment schedule was checked by Cllr T Bentham. It was resolved to approve the payments. Cllr T Wright signed as Chair
Date Supplier Description Cost
01/08/25 Fuel Genie Fuel for July £85.32
04/08/25 E-on Next Energy Kiosk electricity July £9.90
04/08/25 PKF Littlejohn External Audit 24-25 £378.00
05/08/25 Autela Payroll Services Payroll Apr-Jun £105.60
10/08/25 Wave Water alloments £49.71
15/08/25 Immingham Hardware Watering cans for cemetery £11.98
16/08/25 Wave Water charges cemetery £32.05
21/08/25 Ledbury Fabrication Repairs to play & skate park £1100.00
30/08/25 Staff costs August £1647.61
28/08/25 A&L Machinery Hire of chipper £30.00
31/08/25 Total Tree & Landscape Removal of tree branch £150.00
01/09/25 Fuel Genie Fuel for August £51.53
Clerk had also shared the current position on the budget.
The external audit has been concluded and there were no comments.
Clerk to complete the work on the asset register
10. Parish Matters - Ref 25/138
• Public Seating area on village green – Cllr Turner has only received one quote back for the concrete. This looks like it is a bigger project than first thought so this will be picked up again at the next meeting when Cllr Turner is present. The options we have is to either revise the plan or to apply for grants to cover it. Part of this project is to have a new planted Christmas tree. As it would be good to have this planted so we can use it this year it was resolved that we go ahead and purchase this at a cost of £180 + £45 delivery.
• Approve contractor for painting cenotaph railings – 3 quotes have been previously circulated by the clerk. It was resolved to go with supplier 2 who is local and the cheapest.
• Alice South Charity – S Knight has not provided the documents requested so this will be followed up. Clerk to ask P Briggs if he will let us have sight of them. There is no longer a parish council trustee for this charity and without the documents it cannot be established who is accountable so the trustees that have been appointed may need to be reviewed.
• Police meeting – Cllr Soar had taken the issues we are having of parking on footpaths in the village to our local PCSO. The police said that there is very little that they can do if there is any access at all. If the footpath is totally blocked incidents need to be reported on 101 and they could come and ticket.
Cllr Soar will attend the meeting on the 25th September.
• Tree on village green – there has been a branch fall from the cherry tree which backs onto the houses. The clerk obtained some prices, and this has now been removed. This tree had a survey done on it in 2023 after a resident raised concerns, so the clerk contacted the company who did the survey and they advised that as there had now been another couple of years growth and the ivy had grown significantly, they advised to pollard or fell it. The clerk had then obtained 3 quotes to carry out both options for council to consider. It was felt that pollarding would be the best option, so it was resolved to go with the cheapest quote of £600. A vote was taken 4 votes for and 1 abstained. The ivy will need to be removed to enable healthy growth in the future.
• Reservation of cremated remains plot – A enquiry has been received asking if they can reserve a plot for cremated remains. It was resolved to charge £200 to reserve a cremated remains plot renewable every 5 years as we do for reservation of full-size plots. Clerk to update Cemetery policy for approval at the next meeting.
• To consider donations for pensioner’s party – A letter has been received asking for a donation for the pensioner’s party. There is no amount requested but we know the event costs in the region of £1000 so it was resolved that a donation is given of £250
• Mirror on Cissplatt Lane – Cllr Dannatt had advised that he has the mirror and post so the work will be completed hopefully before the next meeting.
• Play area repairs – Cllr Wright reported that the work has been completed on last year’s RoSPA plan. A price has been received to lower the basketball net at the cycle track which was thought to be expensive but is because lifting equipment will need to be used. Cllr Wright to investigate buying an additional smaller one as a cheaper option.
11. To receive reports from external organisations - Ref 25/139
• Sports Association – The KSA representatives were not present, but Cllr M Turner had sent a report. The KSA is operating effectively with good cooperation between clubs. Despite the unhelpful weather, all pitches are being maintained in good order due to the hard work from volunteers at all clubs. Alongside the Health and safety work being carried out by the Parish Council, KSA volunteers have repainted much of the external paintwork on the building and spend approximately £300 on routine maintenance issues.
It is disappointing to report that there have been several issues with youths congregating at the site, and damage has been caused to the Bowling Green and some Cricket Equipment, with damage estimated at around £300. These matters have been reported to the police, and the situation is being monitored. Club updates are as follows:
• Bowls - The damaged caused by youth has led them to discuss the installation of further security measures at the ground. Whilst the water tank has had an interim repair, further work is needed to prevent it becoming unserviceable. The Bowls club have been told they need to empty the boiler room which they use as their store; alternative storage needs to be identified.
• Cricket - Other than the vandalism issues, the only other problem causing concern is the damage being caused by rabbits. Approval for vermin control has been granted but has yet to be enacted.
• Football - KUFC held very successful junior tournaments over 2 weekends in July, which saw more than 150 teams from as far away as Sheffield enjoy the events, which raised much needed funds for the club. Cooperation from other clubs was very much appreciated and made the events a great success. KUFC have featured in the Lincs FA awards this year, gaining several nominations for individual awards leading to Paul Kavanagh, U13 Girls Manager getting a ‘Highly Commended’ award in the ‘Positive Behaviour’ category and the Club’s Grounds & Maintenance Team winning the inaugural ‘Best in Grass’ award for best grass roots pitches in the County, which is a fabulous achievement. Many congratulations to Trevor Wright and George Lamberton for their efforts. The Club’s junior setup continues to grow and this season KUFC will comprise of 5 junior girls’ teams, 10 junior boys’ team and 2 adult teams (including a Veterans team). Along with the mini-kickers sessions, the club is now offering football for boys and girls between the age of 5 and 50 years of age.
Keelby Parish Council congratulated the football team on their achievements.
• Tennis - The club has done a lot of work to clean the courts of moss. Membership numbers are still low, so external support is being sought to help grow/sustain the club; help has been promised but has not yet materialised. Their efforts are ongoing.
The routine maintenance – The gas certificate will be completed w/c 15th September. The testing on the emergency lighting has been completed, and 3 lights failed the test which will be replaced. Prices are being obtained for the fire, intruder alarms and lights. A quote has been received for the fireproofing of the bin store. The price to carry out this work is £586. It was resolved to proceed with this work. Additional signage is also ongoing. A price of £930 has been received to carry out the repairs to the water tank. Cllrs Darwood and Bentham said that this should be done to prevent additional costs in the future, so it was resolved to go ahead with this. All in favour
Benches – an email has been received regarding the benches. Cllr Bedwell advised that they are intending to get them repaired and installed at the KSA. They will be moved into the gated compound. Cllr Bedwell said that he had met with Cllr Dannatt who is assisting with other issues like the boiler room.
• Village Hall – Cllr Bentham reported that the village hall is looking for a new secretary.
• Library & Youth Club – Cllr Bentham reported that they have had the fire inspection had been completed and an additional sign is required.
12. Correspondence - Ref 25/140
An email has been received regarding the benches at the KSA this has been covered so a reply can be sent advising.
An email has been received requesting solar lighting in the trees at the play park as other councils have done. Council felt that this should be considered so clerk to get some prices for the next meeting.
13. Planning applications and decisions received, update on ongoing applications – Ref 25/141
Notification has been received regarding the new parking restrictions. Our requests to have restrictions outside the church have not been included so there is little more that we can do. Facebook post to be done advising.
14. Items for consideration at the next meeting – Ref 25/142
Cllr Soar asked about the Keelby Gala 2026. Council confirmed that they were keen to contribute towards the organisation, and the profits will be split equally between the Health Tree foundation and a village organisation which is to be decided later. The re-allocation of Cllr Knight’s duties will need to be considered.
15. Date and time of next meeting - Ref 25/143
Tuesday 7th October at 19:00 in the Village Hall.
The meeting closed at 20:00