5th November 2025 DRAFT
MINUTES of A PARISH Council Meeting on 5th NOVEMBER 2025
at 7.00pM at thimbleby village hall.
Present
Councillors Cllr P.Buckingham (Chair), Cllrs C.Bachrati, A.Doody. Cllr S.Buckley and E.Buckley
Not Present: All Present
In attendance The Clerk, A. Everard.
Members of public present: Three
Public Participation: A resident raised concerns that certain addresses were being used for Air B&B purposes in the parish and this may be in breach of planning restrictions. The Chair requested ELDC Cllr F. Martin could look into the issues raised.
107/25. Welcome statement by the Chair of the Parish Council
Cllr Buckingham welcomed all to the meeting.
108/25. Apologies for absence to be approved if appropriate.
None.
109/25. Declarations of Interest and consideration of any requested dispensations.
Cllr Buckingham declared a potential pecuniary interest in planning application 03438/25/OUT Land Adjacent Hillside Lincoln Road Thimbleby and requested a dispensation. It was proposed, seconded and unanimously RESOLVED to grant Cllr Buckingham a dispensation to debate and vote on this planning application.
110/25. To adopt the draft minutes from the Parish Council meetings held on 3rd September 2025 and 29th September 2025.
Proposed, seconded and unanimously RESOLVED to adopt and the Chair signed them.
111/25. To consider any matters arising from the previous meeting 3rd September and 29th September 2025 not already on this agenda including Clerk’s Report and actions taken.
Minute 69/25 f) The Clerk reported that External Audit was completed 30th September 2025 and published. Minute 81/25 the contracted builders had been instructed to complete the work to the Village Pump Wall and they expected this to be early in 2026 (weather permitting). Minute 102/25 Clerk’s appraisal had been completed on 29th September 2025.
112/25. To receive any written or verbal reports from District or County Councillors.
LCC Cllr Oliver reported on the following issues
- LCC could provide a tonne of grit if parishes requested it. Thimbleby Parish Councillors recognised they did not have any grit bins but wondered if any could be located on Thimbleby Hill and at Harper Garth.
- Local Government Re-organisation public consultations completed. Proposals to be submitted by each District and the County Council by end of November.
- LCC Highways carry out verge-cutting three times a year. They did not allow a ‘garden’ area to be established because they prefer to leave the sidings to grow wild. The Clerk explained that in Thimbleby Parish Council’s case the Parish Council had paid the LCC Highways contractor to cut those areas. The Chair said that they would be considering the Parish Council continuing this when setting the budget 2025-26.
- Cyclic Team have been spraying sidings and the planned work to the sidings along the Church bend footpath is planned for December 2025 to March 2026 period.
- Flood Risk S.19 reports were being tackled slowly as resources permit. Cllr Oliver noted some outstanding issues and would follow up. LCC Officers did have regular meetings with Horncastle Town Council and perhaps a representative from Thimbleby PC could be invited. Also the Community Resilience Officer was available to visit the parish and give advice to householders to reduce risk of flooding. This could also be highlighted in the Parish Council’s newsletter.
- Wifi/ broadband – Cllr Oliver is seeking an update.
ELDC Cllr Martin reported on the following issues;
- ELDC had initiated a scrutiny review into car parking in the district. Comments welcome. Parish Council had debated the issue of parking on the Hallgarth Farm development last month and needing more parking spaces on the plans. Cllr Martin said she would take that back to the scrutiny process and had been very aware of the issues in Horncastle and would welcome further points being made.
- ELDC had agreed to spend £1.5million on refurbishing toilets throughout the district including Coningsby, Woodhall spa and Horncastle.
- A joint LCC and ELDC Business Park extension project had been launched in Horncastle which should bring more jobs to the area.
- ELDC has commissioned consultants to conduct a review of conservation area and Thimbleby will be part of the review so if Parish Council have any thoughts on this to think about it. The Chair asked for this to be added to the next agenda.
- Horncastle has also obtained a £100k UK Shared Prosperity Grant to improve the Town Centre with money for gutter cleaning, pigeon deterrence, painting, etc.
113/25. Correspondence Received
Parish Council noted receipt of the following; LALC E-News (two-weekly); LALC Training Bulletin (monthly); ELDC and LCC Town and Parish News; ELDC Social Media and Useful information emails; email from residents, minutes from 21/10/2025 Community Leaders meeting.
114/25. Planning
- Application reference S/181/01013/23 and S/181/01014/23 Planning Permission - Change of use, conversion of, extension and alterations of existing barn which is a listed building to form a dwelling - VILLAGE FARM, MAIN ROAD, THIMBLEBY, HORNCASTLE, LN9 5RE
No update this meeting. ELDC decision awaited.
- Application reference S/181/00034/24 | Planning Permission - Erection of 9 no. detached dwelling and a public community open space, existing buildings on site to be demolished. | HALLGARTH FARM, MAIN ROAD, THIMBLEBY, HORNCASTLE, LN9 5RE
No update this meeting. Consultation period extended until 5/11/2025. ELDC decision awaited.
- Application Reference 02917/25/FUL Planning Permission – Construction of a vehicular access - 2 HOME CLOSE MAIN ROAD THIMBLEBY LINCOLNSHIRE LN9 5RF - NEW
ELDC have approved this application.
- Application Reference 02577/25/FUL Planning Permission - Planning Permission - Extension and alterations to existing dwelling to provide additional living accommodation, erection of perimeter fencing and the construction of access gates (works started) - Elmlea Farm, Elmhirst Road Thimbleby, LN9 5LX
ELDC have approved this application.
- Application reference 03239/25/OUT Planning Permission - Outline erection of 9no. dwellings. Proposed Farm Access Off Thimbleby Hill Main Road Thimbleby.
Thimbleby PC: Objection with comments
ELDC Decision: Decision Awaited.
- Application reference 03438/25/OUT Planning Permission - Outline erection of up to 200 dwellings, with demolition of existing farm buildings, associated access, play area, public open space, landscaping and biodiversity enhancement (with means of access to be considered).
It was proposed, seconded unanimously RESOLVED to object to this application with comments and delegated to the Clerk to prepare and submit them after further consultation with Parish Councillors and the Parish Council will seek S106 funds to support infrastructure in the new community.
- Application reference 03473/25/ESO Environmental Impact Assessment (E.E.C. Directive 85/337/E.E.C. as amended by Council Directive 97/11E.C.) for a scoping opinion with respect to the erection of 8no. poultry units and associated infrastructure. Land South Of Poolham Lane, Poolham
It was proposed, seconded unanimously RESOLVED to object to this application with comments and delegated to the Clerk to prepare and submit them after consultation with Parish Councilors.
115/25. To consider any highways, footpath and related issues and agree actions to be taken.
None raised as most issues had been dealt with elsewhere in the meeting.
116/25. To consider the Thimbleby Hill area and its street-name
The Chair advised that she had spoken to Horncastle Historical Society and they had received a letter from ELDC saying a ‘formerly Thimbleby Hill’ sign for £400 could be added to existing street signs if LCC Highways agreed. The Clerk had submitted a request to ELDC to consider allowing ‘Thimbleby Hill’ in Thimbleby parish where no addresses would be affected and precedent shows in other parts of the area roads change names along a stretch of road. The Clerk received a response from ELDC along similar lines to that sent to the Historical Society. The Clerk reported that after a brief discussion with the Horncastle Town Clerk they might be able to source signs at £200. LCC Cllr Oliver agreed to take on board the issue and liaise with LCC Highways Officers to identify what street signs are possible.
117/25. To consider suitable street names for future developments.
It was planned to ask for suggestions from the public via Facebook, Parish Council newsletter and residents for the Parish Council to consider. The Clerk to organise this.
118/25. To receive the Internal and External Audit Reports for 2024-25 financial year
Both audits completed in September 2025. There was no non-compliance issues identified in the AGAR Annual Internal Audit Report 2024-25 and it was published. There was no recommendations to consider from the External Auditor and the report had been published. Some administrative issues were identified in the internal auditor’s narrative report and these had been addressed as follows;
- Review of policies had been deferred from the May 2025 Annual Meeting and reviewed by Council at an extraordinary meeting on 30th June 2025 when time permitted. They were deliberately not published online until after the 2024/25 audits had been completed so the 2024/25 policies in force for that year were visible for auditors. Other administrative issues were being addressed when the website documents were updated.
- Online banking has been implemented so it should be easier to obtain bank statements and complete the AGAR and Internal Audit earlier next year.
- Policies are published online and other documents are being collated on the website.
119/25. Finance
a) To approve the payment of bills paid between meetings and bills to pay on the payment schedule.
It was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED to approve the payment of salaries for £255.17; PKF Littlejohn LLP for the external audit 2024-25 £252.00; LALC Summer Conference place £54.00 and LALC Internal Audit 2024-25 fee £165.00.
b) To note the bank reconciliation and account balance.
Current account balance was £10,304.63 as at October 12th. There were no uncashed payments. The Chair requested the Clerk to find a deposit account to earn interest on the balance.
c) To receive budget monitoring report.
Council noted that 78.78% of the budget had been spent. Increased spending had occurred to insure the Village Pump and Wall which had spent double the planned budget. As Parish Council decided on 30th June 2025 to undergo an external audit this had meant overspending that budget. The installation of the new noticeboard costing nearly £900 had been funded from Village Improvement Reserve.
d) To consider initial spending proposals for 2026-27 financial year draft budget.
The Clerk explained the initial draft budget calculations and Councillors considered the options. Further work will be undertaken ready for the budget and precept to be decided at the January meeting.
120/25. To consider the possibility of replacing the current practice of putting up poppies annually with a permanent reminder in the form of a commemorative bench.
After debate no further action was deemed necessary on this motion.
121/25. To approve any bookings for training.
None.
122/25. To consider draft parish council newsletter, publication and distribution.
The draft was considered. Publication due to be ready for mid-November.
123/25. To consider Harper Garth bus shelter area.
This item was considered during LCC Cllr Oliver’s earlier report. Cllr Oliver will check the likely boundary issues. The Clerk to send over details. ELDC Cllr Martin also reminded Councillors that there is a good liaison relationship with Platform Housing so it should be possible to get any issue sorted out amicably.
124/25. To receive a verbal report from the Clerk’s appraisal.
This item was deferred to the next meeting.
125/25. To consider any items to be proposed for the next meeting agenda on 7th January 2026.
Budget, Precept, Clerk’s appraisal, Conservation Area Review, Street-names.
Other items will be submitted to the Clerk prior to the production of the next agenda.
Meeting ended 9.53pm.