2025 Parish Council Meeting Minutes

THESE ARE DRAFT NOTES OF THE MEETING AND WILL BE RATIFIED AT THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING

DRAFT Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 3 November 2025 at 7.00pm

at Saltfleet Methodist Church, Main Road, Louth Lincolnshire LN11 9HF

Present:                              Chair                                Cllr Guy Williams

                                                                                      Cllr Sheila Warsap

                                                                                      Cllr Graham Barker

                                                                                      Cllr John Campion

                                                                                      Cllr Ian Dickinson

Also Present:                    Clerk                                Ms Binal Sawjani

                                             Members of Public      9

                                             District/County             Cllr Paul Rickett

                                                                                      Cllr Bayleigh Robinson

                                             Apologises:                    Cllr Peter Mace (Accepted)

                                                                                      Cllr Matthew Benton (Accepted)

Item 0525/40 Welcome to the meeting: Chair opened meeting at 18.59 and welcomed the councillors, public and district councillors.

Comments from Public Session

• Thank you for the new signs opposite the garage
• Gate at Haven gate is hard to open – chair to speak to LCC and ask if it is a public footpath
• Cemetery gate to be opened Christmas eve and day

Chair invited Cllr Robinson to speak:

• Highways checks continues and cleaning of the signs and reporting of potholes around his ward.
• Involved with meetings with police and crime prevention and advise to parishioners is to consider RING doorbells and gravel driveway as it is a good deterrent

Chair invited Cllr Ricketts to speak:

• The Home Energy Advice and Retrofit Team will be offering in-person energy advice and support.

Thursday 6 November, 12pm-4pm – Partnership Collective Networking - Coningsby community afternoon, Coningsby Community Hall, Silver Street, Coningsby.

Monday 24 November, 9.30-12.30pm – Campus for Future Living, Stanley Avenue, Mablethorpe.

Moved agenda items to accommodate Cllr report – Speed Camera and St Botolph’s Church

• Speed Camera – Five parishes have been targeted with batteries stolen form the speed camera units. One parish has had whole unit taken and another one the solar panels. Much discussion about the what the resolution for this proposed that Cllr Rickett would coordinate with the parishes in his ward and liaise with clerk. Clerk shared the quote for replacement batteries for one unit which would be £191.90. Proposed, seconded and RESOLVED that decision would be made by Cllr Rickett and Clerk if we could coordinate a multi purchase or single purchase for the parish.
• St Botolph's - Part of the chancel gable has collapsed. The Churches Conservation Trust have sent contractors to surround the building with a temporary fence no more secure than the Heras fencing that is already there. To erect this they are using an auger to put fence pole holes through the ancient burial ground directly through our antecedents skeletons. The spoil contains bones and teeth and then are backfilling the holes with concrete. There is no planning permission for this or Listed Building Consent or any regard for the local villagers, many of whom have more than ten generations of relatives buried there. This is particularly obscene given the completely worthless but very expensive archaeological dig and other hoops that we have jumped through to use an agricultural field for future burials. The chair has been contacted by several people over the weekend and about 75 people have responded to Facebook. Conservation  trust has been contacted  and they would like to give reassurance that the works currently being undertaken are temporary emergency measures deemed necessary to ensure public safety. The conservation architect has been in contact with the conservation officer and Historic England, who are both aware of the recent collapse and about the condition of the remaining structure. The urgency to make the site safe cannot wait for permissions to be awarded in the usual way, however we will retrospectively seek any consent deemed to be necessary. Look North and radio interviews were taken to promote public awareness of situation. As the filming was taking place the all the external fixings where removed in 42 seconds by your contractors which could not be done with Heras fencing. On review of the current risks the structural engineer has recommended that we extend the new fence also to the south side of the building as soon as possible. The architect is currently liaising with the Conservation Officer on the matter. While the additional fence is considered, in the short term we have been recommended that we restrict access through the Lychgate. Of course those determined would still be able to gain access via the ditch. The chair has asked for the Lynchgate to be opened for Remembrance Sunday. After lengthy discussion it was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED that a stop order is pursued via Cllr Leyland or enforcement notice by the police.

Item 0525/41  To receive declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011 and to consider any requests for dispensations: None

Item 0525/42 Apologies for absence: Cllr Mace and Cllr Benton  – accepted

Item 0525/43 To approve the draft notes as minutes of the last meeting held on the 1 September 2025: RESOLVED to adopt and sign the notes as accurate minutes, and they were dated and signed by the Chair.

Item 0525/44 Chair’s Report:

• Christmas tree to be purchased proposed, seconded and RESOVLVED Cllr Williams would source and deliver Christmas tree at on more that £280. Cllr Williams abstained from the vote.

Item 0525/45 Training:  Training available to all Staff and elected Members and clerk recommends councillors to view training schedule. Cllr has requested training for Annual inspections of play equipment defer to next meeting.

Item 0525/46 Parish Matters To receive updates from in respect of:

1. Grass cutting – Glendale contract to be renewed. Proposed, seconded and RESOLVED.
2. 20mph speed signs for Louth Road – three parishioners have reported speeding on this area after discussions it was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED that the parish ask if we can move 30mph sign to 20mph.
3. Update on burial ground and hedge – applications have been made. Approve to purchase hedging at £1.38 plus VAT per bear root yew from Crowthers. Explained that help would be needed to plant asked for volunteers.
4. Update on village field and Biodiversity Net Gain Agreement – awaiting invoice
5. St Botolph's Notes under the Cllr Ricketts comments
6. St Peter Church Saltfleet – parish has had correspondence to close the St Botolph’s Churchyard at Skidbrooke to future burials. Proposed, seconded and RESOLVED that we would refute this proposal with our current plans with St Botolph’s
7. Precept budget – explained that the current budget did not need to be increased significantly as there are some one off costs in last year’s budget and therefore precept of £8,000 unless council would like to consider reserves on behalf of the parish. Review in January for the final vote.
8. Village survey = Survey Sparrow is an online platform that would be able undertake an online survey on behalf of the parish. Discussion around the execution and that parishioners may not have access to internet or knowledge on how to access online survey. Solution of clinics for the community. Another solution was to have a dedicated website to collate the survey answers. Deferred to next meeting.  
9. Highways – nothing to report

Item 0525/47 Planning Applications:

03291/25/FUL Planning Permission - Change of use of existing annex to form a holiday cottage.

Ings Farmhouse Ings Lane Skidbrooke Lincolnshire LN11 7DH - support

03423/25/FUL Planning Permission - Extension to existing dwelling to provide additional living accommodation. Conifer Drive Main Road Saltfleet Lincolnshire LN11 7SB - support

Item 0525/48 Correspondence: To receive and dispose of correspondence received since the last meeting:

• Survey sparrow – meeting with the supplier and discussion in parish matters
• Coop bank needs to verify all ID od signatories – are cllr agreeing to give their phone numbers to the bank. Clerk to call all signatories.
• St Botolph’s correspondence with Head of Conservation Gabriella Misuriello. Discussion and decisions in parish matters
• Angus Energy – the environmental agency has not be invited to the next liaison meeting and chair has written stating that we have maintained very good communication with operators at the site with Roc Oil and later Wingas. However, Angus Energy have heralded a sea change in both their operations and their attitude. Under the exploration and production licences for the site flaring is only ever allowed as an emergency procedure to dispose of gas by burning into the atmosphere only to avoid an explosion or dangerous build-up of pressure. Angus have been using it to avoid the expense of safe tanker disposal of all unsalable gas. Consequently, they have been flaring 24 hours per day every day almost from their acquisition of the site. The huge plume of black smoke has been rising to be caught in the predominantly south westerly wind and drop onto the nearest neighbours in Skidbrooke continuously for over two years. This is an absolutely unacceptable way of working and shows contempt for our and our children's health and the environment. In September 2024 I reported the ongoing breaches of licence and unacceptable pollution to the EA hotline with my contact details and was assured that it would be investigated and that I would be given some feedback. I heard nothing back. After bringing the matter back to the Parish Council I called again in October 2024 on behalf of the Parish Council and was given a similar assurance that the concerns would be investigated and that a response would go back to the council. Nearly a year later we have not heard anything. In that time no attempt has been made to make Angus Energy comply with the law or even their own licence conditions. More recently, the CEO of Angus has stepped down and the company appears to have defaulted on the first instalment of their restructured consolidation of their debts. These developments are likely to push them to be more reckless rather than more compliant. If you are in a position to do anything to help the people living under these falling carbon particulates or to stop the continuing wider damage to the environment we would all be very grateful.
• National Grid - Grimsby to Walpole: Community Update - Stage 2 consultation has concluded
  • reviewing your feedback and continuing environmental, heritage and habitat surveys
  • working closely with local stakeholders, including people with a legal interest in the land and environmental organisations
  • preparing a targeted consultation for Weston Marsh, where we’ll share detailed proposals for that area
  • getting ready to submit our development consent order (DCO) application, which will include a Consultation Report showing how your feedback has shaped the design. We expect to submit this in summer 2027.
• Minutes of crime prevention meeting as reported by Cllr Robinson. Chris Philips form police is available to be emailed at christopher.philips@lincs.police.uk. Please share if you are approached by any concerned parishioner and he then can make an appointment. Report every crime, even if you are aware that the police will not be able to attend, the more we report, the better funding we can ask for.

Item 0525/49 Date of next meeting: To note the date of the next meeting: 12 January 2026

Item 0525/50 Financial matters:

1. To note bank balances on bank statements as on May 2025 £14,561.61
2. To note income: None
3. To authorise the signing of orders for payment for previous months

Meeting ended 20.40

Saltfleet Sports and social field committee

Report prepared by Mr Ian Dickinson - Treasurer

These amounts have all been paid in and out of the existing Saltfleet Sports and Social Field bank account with Lloyds bank.

2025 activities

Date                                                  Event                                                Income                                             Expenditure

26/3/25                                            Complete signs (2025 signs)                                                               £70

28/3/25                                            MHD (road plannings)                                                                           £384

20/4/25                                            Car boot                                          £894.41

                                                            M Chambers (Ice cream)          £50

                                                            Sue Warsap (Burgers)                £20

30/4/25                                            MKN (Lime)                                                                                                £42.84*

30/4/25                                            Blockfree (Toilets)                                                                                   £235.50

04/5/25                                            Car boot                                          £581.02

                                                            Sue Warsap (Burgers)                £15

*Payment due to Ben Warsap but accounted for.

An update of the finances of the Playing Field Committee -

Car boot sale, 22 June 2025 - £671.59

Car boot sale, 24 July 2025 - £949.77

Balance of the account once transactions in process are complete is £46,195.15.