May 2025 Minutes
Minutes of the Annual Keelby Parish Council Meeting
Held in the Village Hall on Tuesday 6th May 2025 commencing 7:00pm.
Those Present: Councillors T Wright (Chair), M Turner, R Bedwell, K Beedham, T Bentham, R Dannatt, E Darwood (arrived at 19:04), S Knight, M Soar, and C Tym
In Attendance: Cllr O Bierley, Cllr A Lawrence and 2 members of the public
The chair welcomed everyone to the annual parish council meeting.
1. Nominations for Chair and Vice-Chair - Ref 25/61– Cllr M Turner nominated Cllr T Wright for chair. This was seconded by Cllr R Bedwell. There were no further nominations - resolved Cllr T Wright Chair. Cllr T Bentham nominated Cllr M Turner for vice chair. This was seconded by Cllr C Tym. There were no further nominations – resolved Cllr M Turner vice chair.
2. To receive apologies and reasons for absence – Ref 25/62 – none
3. 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 25/63 – Cllr S Knight declared an interest in planning application WL/2024/00050
4. Public Question Time Ref - 25/64
A member of the public advised that a letter had been sent to the Roxton Practice requesting more doctor appointments at the Keelby surgery. She had been advised to liaise with the Patient Participation Group representative. Cllr T Wright is a member of this group so will liaise with the resident regarding this. Cllr T Wright advised that Dr Guest is leading on a service provision review for Keelby but the outcome of this is not yet known. The findings of this report will be reported back to the council. A resident wished to thank Cllr K Beedham for the work that she has put in to get the youth club open and running again and Cllr T Smith for the work he has done. They expressed concerns that the painting of the fencing at the cenotaph, the welding at the sports field and other jobs were not getting done. Cllr T Wright explained that the cenotaph is on the project list for this year. The work in the play area has been approved we are waiting for the contractor who has said they should be able to commence this in the middle of May. Cllr T Wright said he would ask if the lid on the bin could be welded at the same time.
5. County Councillor’s Report - Ref 25/65
In light of last weeks changes Cllr T Smith is not with us. Cllr T Wright formally thanked Cllr T Smith for everything he has done for us over the years. He has been a great asset to the council. The clerk has been in touch with Cllr J Bean, unfortunately he was unable to attend this meeting due to other commitments but has advised that he will attend a future meeting. Clerk to draw up a list of jobs that Cllr T Smith was working on for us that we can pass onto Cllr Bean. It was stressed that all requests to Cllr Bean should come through the clerk so that she is aware of what is being asked.
6. District Councillor’s Report - Ref 25/66
The report from Cllr Owen Bierley had previously been circulated and there were no comments. Cllr O Bierley highlighted that it would be helpful if everyone could complete the Cultural Activity Survey. Cllr O Bierley congratulated Cllr T Wright and Cllr M Turner for their elections this evening and thanked the members of the council for all that they do which is making a huge difference to the village. Cllr Lawrence left the meeting at this point.
7. Councillor vacancies/ Co-option of councillor – Ref 25/67
There has been no interest in the councillor vacancy.
8. To approve the minutes of the Parish Council Meetings held on 1st April 2025 - Ref 25/68 - It was proposed, seconded and resolved that these minutes are a true record of the meeting and were signed by the Chairman.
9. Clerk’s Report – Ref 25/69
Clerk reported that the bin at the cemetery was not getting emptied by West Lindsey as it is our bin and not one of theirs. Cllr Wright and Cllr Turner have now emptied it, but the problem is going to return. It was resolved that this would be removed so that only the black wheelie bins are used. The Councillor volunteer scheme have agreed to tidy the grass verge between the Coop and KSA. They will put the Barton Street paths on the list to be cleared between November and March.
Clerk reported that the CIL return had been completed and returned.
The handyman – any work suggestions for the handyman need to come though the clerk so that she can work with him to co-ordinate his work. He has agreed that he will weed the gravel at the cenotaph, but he doesn’t have time to weed the planters at the cycle track. Cllr R Dannatt thanked Mr Wilks as he has weeded the planters inside the cycle track. Clerk agreed to speak to the handyman and make a list of his responsibilities. It was agreed that this could be passed to HR committee to come back to council with a proposal.
10. Financial Matters – Ref 25/70
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
01/04/25 Fuel Genie Fuel for March £47.93
02/04/25 E-On Next Energy Limited Kisok Electricity charges for March £9.76
09/04/25 West Lindsey District Council Defibrillator Maintenance Village Hall £110.00
09/04/25 West Lindsey District Council Defibrillator Maintenance KSA £110.00
10/04/25 S Davis Internal Audit of Accounts £60.00
30/04/25 Staff Costs April £1222.61
30/04/25 Groundboss Grass cutting 1 x March 2 x April £216.00
01/05/25 Guel Genie Fuel for April £74.58
02/05/25 E-On Next Energy Limited Kiosk Electricity charges for April £10.63
20/03/25 Sainsbury's Stamps £6.80
26/03/25 Amazon Trolley Jack £27.54
27/03/25 North Lincs Tyres Puncture Repair £30.00
31/03/25 Immingham Hardware Spare key for electricity kiosk £6.00
09/04/25 S H Somerscales Ltd Wood for notice board £224.40
11/04/25 Caistor Farm & Machinery Strimmer line £50.00
• Schedule of regular payments had been previously circulated. It was resolved to authorise these in advance for the year.
• Asset Register – it was resolved to approve this for the year ending 31.03.25 but clerk to work with Cllr S Knight to update this for 25-26 financial year.
• The income & expenditure statements 24-25, bank reconciliation at 31.03.25 were approved
• The internal audit report was received and noted
• The Annual Governance statement was approved and signed by the chair
• The Annual Accounting Statement was approved and signed by the chair
• The dates for the exercise of public rights 3rd June to 14th July were approved
Cllr T Wright thanked the clerk for her work on getting these documents completed. He is delighted that Mr Davis, as our internal auditor, is happy with the processes that we now have in place which should give the Council great confidence in the work that the Clerk is doing as the Responsible Financial Officer for the Parish Council.
11. To approve the new Standing Orders and Financial Regulations – Ref 25/71
There have been new templates have been released by LALC to incorporate new regulations. The differences between the old and new regulations were discussed in detail. Cllr Knight questioned if the following 2 regulations were being followed. In section 2.6 it states that quarterly bank reconciliations should be signed by a non-bank signatory. Clerk advised that this was being done in line with the regulations. The second query was if back-ups were being made of the records on the council laptop. The clerk advised that the laptop was backed up to Dropbox.
Section 5.6 the amount that the clerk shall seek formal tenders has increased from £30k to £60k. Cllr Knight proposed that this should remain at £30k. There was no seconder to this proposal. Cllr Turner thought that it should remain at £60k as per guidelines as all costs have increased. Cllr Bentham proposed that it should remain at £60k. This was seconded by Cllr Darwood. A vote was taken. 8 in favour, 1 against, 1 abstained. Resolved to remain at £60k. Section 5.8 for contracts greater than £1000 clerk shall seek 3 fixed price quotes. In the new template this has been increased to £3000. Cllr Knight proposed that this should remain at £1000. There was no seconded for this proposal. Cllr Darwood proposed that we follow the guidance and leave it at £3000. This was seconded by Cllr Soar. A vote was taken 8 in favour, 1 against and 1 abstained. Resolved to remain at £3000. It was resolved that 5.9 where the value is between £500 and £3000 the clerk will try to obtain 3 estimates.
Cllr Dannatt noted that all these regulations state that the clerk/RFO should obtain all quotes which doesn’t cover councillors going out for quotes. Cllr Wright stated that all quotes need to go through the clerk/RFO but councillors with relevant knowledge can ask for the quotes but all replies need to go directly to the clerk. Cllr Dannatt proposed that the regulations should read Council shall seek the quotes which should be sent directly to the Clerk/RFO. The clerk expressed concerns about the changes that were being considered and requested time to check. Cllr Tym proposed that it was deferred to the next meeting to give the clerk a chance to check. Cllr Dannatt seconded this. A vote was taken 2 for, 5 against and 3 abstained. Cllr Knight proposed that the review of the regulations continues so that if there are any further issues they can be checked. Cllr Dannatt proposed an amendment to this proposal to say that the review of the regulations continues to the point of sign off. Cllr Knight agreed with this amendment. A vote was taken. 7 in favour, 1 against and 2 Abstained. It was therefore carried that the review of the document will continue to point of sign off.
In section 5.15 Cllr Wright proposed that the figure should remain as £2000. This was seconded by Cllr Beedham. Cllr Knight proposed that it should be reduced to £1000 as per the previous regulations. This was seconded by Cllr Dannatt. A vote was taken on the first proposal. 8 for and 2 against. Votes for the second proposal 2 for and 8 against. Resolved that the amount should be £2000.
5.16 Cllr Turner proposed that the RFO should be put back in. This was seconded by Cllr Bentham. Cllr Knight proposed that we stick with the new version which has the RFO’s authority removed. There was no seconder so it was resolved that 5.16 should have instruction of RFO inserted.
Section 6.9 Cllr Wright proposed that we go back to the statement on the regulations approved last year to allow up to continue with the process we have now. Cllr Knight proposed that we contact the Nat West to ask them to modify their systems to enable us to have a second person approve payments. It was resolved that we check with the bank and if it cannot be done the wording from last year is used.
7.1 should say 2 councillors. Cllr Wright asked for confirmation who the bank signatories were. The clerk confirmed they were Cllrs Knight, Turner, Dannatt, Bentham and Wright.
Cllr Knight expressed concerns again about the dual authorisation of payments. Clerk said that she was under the impression that Cllr Knight did log on and check the payments. Cllr Knight said she was not authorised to do this. Cllr Wright confirmed that as Cllr Knight and Cllr Bentham both had online access they were authorised to do this.
7.6 change to one councillor as per previous regulations
These changes will be made to the regulations and brought back to the next meeting for approval along with confirmation on obtaining quotes.
Cllr Wrigt proposed that Standing Order 3.w (length of meeting) was suspended at 9pm to allow the extension of the meeting so remaining business could be completed.
A vote was taken. 5 in favour to extend. 5 abstained. Resolved to extend meeting.
Cllrs Tym, Soar, Darwood and Knight left the meeting.
Standing Orders – It was resolved to approve the new version of the Standing Orders with proposed changes. All in favour
12. Allocation of Councillor duties – Ref 25/72 – defer to next meeting
13. Parish Matters Ref 25/73
• Cemetery tap – this was first raised in January 2025. Cllr Dannatt to complete this but has time restraints at the present time. Cllr Wright suggested that we look at other options to get this and the bench opposite the cenotaph completed as the tape has now been removed from the area that has been dug out. Cllr Dannatt agreed to this as he is unable to complete the work at the present time.
• Installation of mirror opposite Cissplatt Lane – quotes to be obtained for a post and mirror
• A request has been received from Cyden Homes for street names the development behind the Co-op. Rue de Maisdon has already been provided to them. Various suggestions were considered. It was resolved to ask for Pasture Close/Lane, Orchard Close, Hollies Lane and Cherry Tree Lane as the other street names.
• Update on Alice South charity – defer to next meeting
• Litter picking – it was agreed to accept the scouts offer to help with this. Cllr E Darwood is happy to support with this
• Community Speed Watch – Cllr Wright reported that 17% of cars are speeding but the speeds are slower. These will be shared on social media.
• Public seating area – Cllr Turner is still working on quotes for this. He is suggesting putting the notice board where the telephone box used to be with a Christmas tree and more seating. He will bring a design back to the next meeting.
• Play area repairs – Cllr Wright reported that the outstanding welding work is waiting for the contractor. There are repairs needed on the climbing frame where the wood is rotting. Wicksteed have quoted £3219.11 for 7 components supply only. A further quote has been obtained from a company online who will cut the wood to size for £300.93. There is a local man in the village who will fit these for us free of charge. It was resolved to go ahead with this quote and fitting. There is also damage to the soft play matting in the small play area. Cllr Wright has got a quote from Wetpour for £440 and is waiting for a second quote. It was resolved to get these repairs done as soon as possible.
14. Reports from external organisations - Ref 25/74
Sports Association – The KSA AGM is 27th May so Cllr Wright proposed that the KSA bring a list of what needs to be done to the AGM which can be considered. Cllr Dannatt stressed that the building needed work to make it compliant. This non-compliance was raised in the November meeting and the H&S manual has been outstanding for 18 months. Cllr Wright proposed that to move this forward this work should be delegated to the KSA up to £1918 on the condition that the work is agreed by council and is in line with our regulations. Cllr Turner seconded this. A vote was taken. 4 for, 1 against and 1 abstained. Resolved to proceed with this proposal. Cllr Dannatt to pass all the documentation for the KSA to Cllr Turner for continued action.
Community Speed Watch – nothing to report.
Village Hall – There is a VE Day event on 10th May which has been well supported. There is to be a memorial bench sited in the yard.
Library & Youth Club – Cllr Beedham reported that the library is going well with new members increasing. The Youth club opened on Thursday with 42 children and has received positive feedback. There is a calligraphy class which is going well and have had a tabletop sale which attracted people into the building. Cllr T Smith was assisting in getting the toilets refurbished so this needs to be passed to Cllr Bean. Cllr Wright reported that we have received correspondence from the scouts concerned that the scouts and youth club run on the same night. Cllr Wright will reply to the scouts asking that the youth club and scouts work together to get this resolved.
15. Correspondence - Ref 25/75 – a letter has been received regarding inconsiderate parking around Manor Close. Unfortunately, there is little that we can do about this and is mainly around school drop off/pick up times. Lincolnshire Highways have recently reviewed areas in the village and some changes to restrictions have been made. An email has been received regarding the emptying of bins at the play park. The teddy bin is emptied by a volunteer and on bank holiday weekend it was used more. An email has been received regarding youths riding motorbikes in the village. Cllr Turner has spoken to the resident regarding this, and it was reiterated again that all incidents like this need to be reported to the police via 101. An email has been received chasing the mobility scooter issues round the village. Cllr Smith was dealing with this so this needs to be passed to Cllr Bean.
Cllr Wright reported that we had received an objectionable and libel post on Facebook which the clerk removed. The post stated that a councillor was responsible for getting a tree cut down on Yarborough Road. An ex-councillor had asked for this tree to be trimmed as it was causing a problem to farm machinery as it was overhanging the road. Lincolnshire County Council carried out an inspection of the tree and as a result of this report Lincolnshire County Council cut it down. The resident had responded saying that they would attend this meeting, but they haven’t done so.
16. Planning applications and decisions received, update on ongoing applications – Ref 25/76
The appeal for WL/2024/00050 has been reinstated. Cllr Wright asked if any councillors were available to attend the appeal hearing to speak on the council’s behalf. Clerk to email councillors to see if anyone is available to attend this meeting.
17. Items for consideration at the next meeting – Ref 25/77
None requested
18. Date and time of next meeting - Ref 25/78
Tuesday 3rd June 2025 at 19:00 in the Village Hall.
The meeting closed at 21:44