March 2025 Minutes
MARCH 2025 MINUTES
The Parish Council meeting was held on Thursday, 6th March at 7.28 p.m. in Hough on the Hill Church community area.
Present: Councillors S Sharman (Chair), R Harris (Vice-Chair), A Seage, S Allen and V McLean, District Councillor P Milnes. There were 2 members of the public present.
Clerk/RFO - Donna Lang
Absent: Councillors L Rann, J Pope and County Councillor A Maughan
Public Participation:
A member of the public would like to see a litter pick organised for the villages. They asked District Councillor Penny Milnes why there was no longer a big clean up. District Councillor Penny Milnes responded that there were no longer funds available as they had been culled at the last election and suggested that all parishioners should report on Fix My Street as the more comments they receive the more likely it is that the works will be done. A member of the public mentioned that drainage works to Brandon had involved three new gullies being fitted to the kerbing along the COO1.
72/24 To receive apologies and valid reasons for absence, these having been submitted to the Clerk prior to the meeting. Apologies for absence had been received from Cllrs Pope and Rann and County Councillor Maughan.
73/24 To receive Declarations of Interest in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 and receive Requests for Dispensations. There were none.
74/24 To approve the draft notes as the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Thursday 7th November 2024 and for the Chairman to sign them as the agreed minutes. It was proposed by Cllr Seage, seconded by Cllr Harris and resolved to approve the Parish Council Minutes. The Minutes were duly signed.
75/24 To receive reports from County and District Councillors (for information only). These are attached to the Minutes.
76/24 To note the list of correspondence since the November council meeting. Noted.
77/24 Any other business. None.
Planning and Tree Matters:
78/24 To note tree works applications received from SKDC: S25/0236 – Section 211 notice to remove walnut tree – Priory Cottage, Gelston Road, Hough on the Hill. Noted.
To note planning applications received from SKDC:
79/24 S24/1956 – Conversion and rear single storey extension and proposed change of use to holiday let. No comments received. Noted.
80/24 S25/0097 – BT installation of fixed line broadband – Old School House, High Road, Hough on the Hill. No comments received. Noted.
81/24 S25/0128 – Side extension and alterations to attached rear store building to form annexe – Hough Grange, Grange Lane, Hough on the Hill. No comments received. Noted.
82/24 S25/0167 – Proposed partial change of use from restaurant into residential use – Brownlow Arms, Hough Road, Hough on the Hill. No comments received. Noted.
83/24 Play Area. To note play inspection reports received for November, December 2024 and January and February 2025. Cllr Harris recommends a park clean. Date to be determined and volunteers required. Cllrs Sharman, Harris and Seage would liaise and arrange a date between themselves to clean the play area.
84/24 Drainage issues: Cllr Sharman update. Please refer to Cllr Sharman’s APM report attached to the APM Minutes.
85/24 Church Parking: Cllr Sharman update. Please refer to Cllr Sharman’s APM report attached to the APM Minutes.
86/24 Neighbourhood Plan/Design Code: Cllr Sharman update. Please refer to Cllr Sharman’s APM report attached to the APM Minutes.
87/24 SID/Community Speed Watch: Cllr McLean update. Cllr McLean suggested that a sub-committee to raise funds for a SID could be a way forward to involve the community. The clerk would put a post on Noticeboards and Next Door inviting parishioners to put themselves forward.
88/24 To note a recent Freedom of Information request in respect of the Neighbourhood Plan (received 2nd December 2024) and confirm that a response was provided (13th December 2024) within the required timescale. Noted.
Financial Matters:
89/24 To approve bank reconciliations for 30.11.24, 31.12.24, 31.01.25 and 28.02.25. The bank reconciliations had been checked by Cllr Sharman prior to the meeting. It was proposed by Cllr Seage, seconded by Cllr Harris and resolved to approve the bank reconciliations. They were duly signed.
90/24 To note Currys’ invoice for £60.00 in respect of i-cloud back up. Noted.
91/24 To note Belvoir Sawmill invoice for £148.80 in respect of repair to Gelston jubilee bench. Noted.
92/24 To note V Clark invoice for £70 in respect of audit fee. Noted.
93/24 To note The Community Heartbeat Trust invoice for £270.00 in respect of three village defibrillators maintenance. Noted.
94/24 To note LALC electorate invoice for £170.72. Noted.
95/24 To note receipt of Groundwork monies in the sum of £2,850.00 received by Open Plan Consultants Limited. Noted.
96/24 To note return of Locality Grant monies in the sum of £2,590.00 to complete End of Grant. Noted.
97/24 To note LALC webmaster invoice for £108.00 in respect of website maintenance. Noted.
98/24 Resolution to approve the payment of Clerks expenses November 2024 to February 2025 for £119.49. This has been forwarded to all councillors prior to the meeting. It was proposed by Cllr Seage, seconded by Cllr Harris and resolved to approve the clerk’s expenses. Cllr Sharman duly signed the list of expenses.
99/24 To note receipt of NP Groundwork monies in the sum of £2,375 for update of NP. Noted.
100/24 To note date of next meeting – Thursday, 8th May 2025. Noted.
The meeting closed at 8.16p.m.
Please be advised that these are notes of the meeting taken by the clerk and cannot in any way be regarded as the official Minutes of Council proceedings until they are approved and signed at the next meeting.
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Attachments:
Councillor Alexander Maughan Spring Report and District Councillor P Milnes’ report
Correspondence
Report received from Councillor A Maughan (absent from meeting)
Below is my Spring LCC newsletter for your meeting next week.
Please let me know if there are any queries.
A1 Road Safety event announced - YOUR views wanted!
Lincolnshire County Council are putting on the event which will see travel and safety bosses in attendance for an open discussion about the A1 and road safety.
Representatives from LCC, Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership and National Highways will be present to discuss the A1’s future in Lincolnshire.
The event is entirely free to take part in for any member of the public who wants to attend.
Anyone wishing to give their own point of view about the A1, and how the road affects them, in person will be able to do just that on Wednesday, March 12th from 7pm to 9pm at The Olde Barn Hotel, Toll Bar Rd, Marston, Grantham, NG32 2HT.
Anyone unable to attend, but who would still like to share their thoughts, can do that easily by using our Q&A page at: Road Safety on the A1 Workshop | Let's Talk Lincolnshire.
Lincolnshire starts new partnership with Ukrainian region
Cllr Colin Davie and Oleksandr Prokudin
Representatives from the Kherson region in Ukraine have visited Lincolnshire and signed an agreement with councillors to work together to benefit both areas.
The UK and Ukraine have developed a positive relationship through the Homes For Ukraine programme and Lincolnshire is very proud that we have more than 1,000 people here in Lincolnshire under this scheme.
This agreement marks the start of a journey to develop a strong partnership with the Kherson region that will see us learn from each other, build networks over time between businesses, connect research organisations, and support growth in both areas.
As well as the signing of the memorandum of understanding, the visit also included a tour of the of LIAT Campus at Riseholme and the Siemens facility in Lincoln.
Grantham Southern Relief Road update
The project is now expected to be complete in 2026 following a design error related to the rollout of the bridge over the River Witham and the East Coast Main Line.
Upon learning about the issue, Lincolnshire Country Council demanded a solution and is seeking to recoup the additional costs.
The relief road is now expected to open in 2026, a year later than expected. Rectifying this issue is expected to cost between £10-20 million, bringing the project’s expected total to £158-168 million.
The Council are pursuing contractual and legal processes as a result of this error so are unable to comment any further on this at this stage for legal reasons.
For now, our priority now is getting this massive project back on track as soon as possible – and that means continuing to work closely with our appointed contractor and designers.
An overview of progress on the Grantham Southern Relief Road project:-
What we achieved in February
East side of site – completed temporary works to the platforms to Pier 4 / continued formwork, reinforcement and concrete works to the eastern abutment, including falsework and shuttering to the ballast wall.
What's happening in March
East side of site – continue formwork, reinforcement and concrete works to the eastern abutment / concrete the ballast wall nib / steel-fixing to the wingwalls / shuttering and concreting to first wingwall for pour two
Current/ongoing traffic restrictions and closures
Lane restrictions around the B1174 Roundabout to facilitate the construction of the haul route and access into site
Lincolnshire councils’ commitment to working together on local government reorganisation
The leaders of all ten greater Lincolnshire councils agreed to work together on proposals for what local government reorganisation could look like for our county.
The Government has made clear its intention to change all remaining two-tier local authority areas in England and replace county and district councils with new unitary authorities.
On 5 February 2025, the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon, wrote to all council leaders in two-tier areas and small neighbouring unitary authorities to invite them to develop these unitary proposals.
The invitation gave guidance for developing these proposals, including the expected population of each new authority area and that consideration should be given to existing district boundaries and reducing disruption to vital care services. It also set out the timeline; interim plans should be submitted by 21 March, and more detailed proposals are expected by 28 November.
Greater Lincolnshire’s ten council leaders have committed to work together to explore all options, and form plans that are in the best interest of the people of Lincolnshire.
We will soon be electing our next representative to Lincolnshire County Council. So, what does Lincolnshire County Council do?
Lincolnshire is the fourth largest county in England, covering more than 3,600 square miles. Lincolnshire County Council supports a population of over 768,000 people.
The county council invests more than £650m a year in its vital services, including £206m in supporting adult care and community wellbeing, and £114m for children’s services, to support people to live life to the full.
We pay for around 8,000 beds in long-term and short-term care settings, and in excess of four million hours of commissioned community-based support. In the coming year, we will provide support for more than 4,500 carers across Lincolnshire.
We are currently managing over 3,440 open children's social care cases, this includes 408 on a Child Protection Plan and 791 children in care. We support over 107,000 school-aged chidlren and young people in Lincolnshire, and around 400 primary and secondary schools and academies. We help around 20,000 pupils get to and from school or college each day.
We manage over 5,500 miles of road to keep Lincolnshire moving, repairing in excess of 100,000 potholes each year. We help over 1,700 of the county's businesses to access the support they need to thrive.
The county council disposes of over 350,000 tonnes of waste and recycling each year, and operates 11 household waste recycling centres across the county.
We run 15 core libraries and 34 community hub libraries, and support more than 1,500 adults to get a new qualification through our adult learning courses each year.
As the fire authority, we operate 38 fire stations, ready to respond to emergencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Alexander Maughan
Lincolnshire County Councillor for Hough Division
Hough on the Hill Parish Council 6 March 2025
Report from Ward District Councillor Penny Milnes
This year has been one of change and confusion with changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation.
NPPF.
The major change requiring Councils to uplift the amount of land for housing is being addressed through the ongoing Local Plan Review which should be ‘made’ by November 2026. Extra land for housing will need to be allocated in the plan and include urban extensions around the 4 towns and increases in the larger villages. Hough is a smaller village which could support some development, and the policies appertaining will not change significantly, if at all, and retain the caveat ‘where development will not compromise the village’s nature and character’.
District wide and for the allocations, the Government target to build 1.5m homes to build nationally equals a higher housing target locally from 895 with the addition of 208 per annum. Affordability indicators mean that if it is a problem then more housing is needed. SK will use local needs evidence to determine proportions for housing in, for example, affordable/market housing/ age groups.
The Council have to ensure a 5-year land supply. Effectively, it means that additional land has to be found for a further 2,800 homes across plan period plus a buffer of 20%. However, 5-8% may be more realistic increasing the pressure.
Looking forward 15 years until 2043 even more houses will be needed. There will be questions on deliverability and how land is used within the allocations for example, densities/heights/types
Good design is imperative with open spaces and walks around. This will be on a site-by-site basis.
SK will soon be completing a new Design Code which will be more prescriptive, please engage with the last consultations.
Basically, the Local Plan Review is back at draft stage now and therefore delayed.
Consultations with Parish Councils and the public will take place Summer 2025 for submission Dec 2025 to be made Nov 2026 – a short timescale.
Solar Farms
Applications are increasing and on a larger scale, utilising farmland and impacting on our countryside. Unfortunately, the push for net zero ties our hand at the planning stage with a presumption in favour. A recent Inspector’s report allowed solar on Garde 2 land on the basis that it is not lost and will be returned in 40 year’s time. Therefore, mitigation of the impacts is extremely important with a new landscape strategy and use of landscaping and habitat areas alongside the required biodiversity net gain.
Devolution
The new Mayoral Combined Counties Authority (MCCA) is being implemented as we speak. The elections for the new Mayor will be on 1 May. The MCCA encompasses Lincolnshire County Council, N Lincolnshire Unitary and NE Lincolnshire Unitary.
The contentious challenge currently is Local Government Reorganisation within the MCCA. The Government wants the area has to be divided into unitary councils of 500,00 population on a business case basis. This is being done to us. It means the dissolution of District Councils and possibly only 2 Unitary Councils. The Leaders are engaged in the difficult task of formulating some viable proposals to be submitted by the 21 March. The letter from Jim McMahon MP, Minister of State for Local Government and Devolution, arrived 6 February– an extremely tight timeline. The potential aim is for the shadow Unitary Councils to be in place in 2 years with elections to mandate in May 2027 for delivery by April 2028.
SK Budget
A 2.98% rise in Council Tax has been agreed bringin a Band D property to £189.37.
A balanced budget based on the Corporate Plan has been set. There are budget pressures over the next 2 years.
A1 Litter
Clearing litter on the A1 started on 3 March in collaboration with National Highways. This is a difficult and dangerous job which the street scene staff have risen to, been trained and properly equipped. It may seem odd but SK have a responsibility to do this task, and could be legally challenged for not doing so, and a fund of £60,000 was set up.
New Waste Depot
This is planned to open in November 2025.
Bin Collection Review
Please note that as a result days could change.
New Fix My Street App
To cover SK and LCC can be downloaded onto a phone- fly-tipping, dead animals, streetlights etc
Environmental Crime:
continues to be a challenging issue which costs the tax-payer and work is always underway to find the culprits and prosecute. Our Head of Environmental Protection set up and Chairs a District wide panel of agencies involved – Councils, Environment Agency, Defra etc
Car Parking, Hough Road, Brandon
Unfortunately, despite my best attempts, the Technical Services Improvements team have informed me that there are no current plans to fund any work on the parking area.
Arnhem Tulips
Please look for the tulips as they bloom in Fulbeck and Caythorpe. SK won funding to continue with developing a new trail called ‘Soldiers from the Sky’.
Correspondence received since the November 2024 council meeting to 28 Feb 2025
SKDC working together for the homeless newsletter
LCC Parish Town newsletter
SKDC car parking tariff proposed changes
SKDC design code workshop
Cllr A Maughan invitation to Christmas drinks
SKDC Anti social behaviour newsletter
LALC Newsletter
Parishioner email re: gelston bench repair
Psrishioner email re: Locality Grant funding
SKDC – Action to combat damp repair to council tenants
SKDC Section 211 Notice Tree Planning
SKDC Save the date for Xmas lights
Parishioner email re: repair to Gelston Jubilee bench
Cllr P Milnes Report
Cllr A Maughan Report
Parishioner email re: locality grant funding
Lincs Police Crime and Policing Survey
Locality Grant Funding
Parishioner email re: flooding Hall Road Brandon, Hough Relief in Need Charity, CSW, SID and litter pick
Hough Gardening estimate of gardening expenses 2025
Parishioner email re: grit bin location Brandon
Brendan Shaw LCC response to flooding issues along Hall Road Brandon
SKDC Design Code workshop reminder
Hough Gardening and Handyman Services October 2024 invoice
Belvoir Sawmill invoice for repair of Gelston bench
LALC newsletter
Parishioner email NP Locality Grant
Police and Crime Commissioner Survey
V Clark Internal Audit Report and invoice
Cty Cllr Maughan report on issues reported in November meeting
Locality Grant update on NP funding
Community Matters newsletter
SKDC Precept budget
Brendan Shaw LCC email re: flooding issues Hall Road Brandon
SKDC Design Code workshop slides presentation info
Parishioner email re: grit bin location in Brandon
SKDC free car parking in council operated car parks for December notice
LCC Town and Parish Newsletter
CSW newsletter
Cllr A Maughan – Response re: grit bin in Brandon
Cllr Maughan – Pre Christmas drinks reminder
LALC News
SKDC Design Code stall at markets notification
Parishioner email regarding Freedom of Information Request on all information regarding Neighbourhood Plan between the dates of 2nd May 2023 and 30th November 2024
TSG Christmas bus service information
SKDC Community Orchard Fund
LCC Highways Brendan Shaw – update on flooding issues along Hall Road Brandon
Cllr Maughan – update on reduction of speed limit along Stubton Road, Brandon
SKDC Decision Notice – S24/1884 Section 211 Notice to remove sycamore tree
SKDC Help to plant more trees volunteer request
Cllr Maughan – Request for highways meeting to discuss highways and signage
SKDC Notification of bin collections over Xmas
LALC News
Parishioner email regarding Freedom of Information Request on all information regarding Neighbourhood Plan between the dates of 2nd May 2023 and 30th November 2024
LALC annual subscription 2025
LALC training on NPPF
Parishioner email regarding flooding issues in and around Brandon
Parishioner email regarding flooding issues affecting their property and general flooding in Brandon
Parishioner email regarding parking outside green verge along entrance to Hough Road Brandon
LALC newsletter re: Veterans and Armed Forces coffee mornings
SK Community Workshop newsletter
LALC newsletter
SKDC Notification of planning S24/1956 – The Cottage 5 Village Streets Gelston
National Highways and Transport Survey
Parish Online Newsletter
Parishioner email re poor state of roads and verges in Brandon
Groundwork re; neighbourhood planning funding
Parishioner email re: flooding on Church Lane Brandon
Parishioner email re: Hough Road Brandon parking
SKDC Decision Notice – BT apparatus, Old School House, Hough on the Hill
Open Plan – Neighbourhood Plan breakdown of costs
Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance Walk with Crew
LCC Parish Newsletter
LCC Traffic Restriction – Brandon tree clearance
Locality – End of Grant Report request
SKDC Notice of planning application – S25/0128 Mr and Mrs Martin, Hough Grange, Hough on the Hill (side extension and alterations to rear store building)
LCC Highways notification of works in Hough on the Hill
LCC Highways notification of works in Brandon
Open Plan – Quotation for final works on NP
Webmaster invoice for Hough website
Keep Britain Tidy Campaign Newsletter
SKDC Planning S25/0167 – Works at the Brownlow Arms, Hough on the Hill
LALC News
Locality – NP Grant approval
District Cllr P Milnes – Update on parking along Hough Road Brandon
Neighbourhood Planning Team – Offer of Grant
Hough Relief in Need Charity Chairmans Report and Notice
SKDC – removal of debris due to car accident Hough Road Brandon
Parish Online Newsletter
Sara Davies – Faculty re: parking outside Brandon Church
SKDC planning S25/0236 Notice to fell and remove walnut tree
Parishioner email supporting Community Orchard
LALC News
Fix My Street – update on signage along Hough Road
Cllr Maughan – update on drainage works.
Lincolnshire Flood and Water Management Report
SKDC News – Interesting in becoming a Councillor
LCC Parish News update