2025 Rauceby PC Minutes of Meetings

DRAFT Minutes
Rauceby Parish Council
Minutes from the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday, 21 May 2025 at 7.30 pm at The Village Hall, South Rauceby. 

Present:      Cllrs M Ireland (in the Chair), J Malloch, G Enstone, B Balderston, P Ireland, G Hall, and J Hoare; Cllr J Clarke of NKDC and the Clerk, Mr I Grady. 

Public speaking time:  No members of the public were present. 
1. Election of Chairman: Nominations for the position were invited from the councillors. In his absence (see item 3 below), Cllr S. Enstone was nominated and seconded by members of the council and was duly elected unopposed by unanimous vote. Cllr S. Enstone had previously indicated that he wished to be considered for the post and he was therefore deemed to have accepted the position. He will sign the Chairman’s Declaration of Acceptance of Office before the commencement of the next meeting.

2. Election of Vice-Chairman: Nominations for the position were invited from the councillors. Cllr M. Ireland was nominated and seconded and was elected unopposed by unanimous vote. He accepted the position and signed the Vice-Chairman’s Declaration of Acceptance of Office. 

3. Apologies for absence: Apologies were received from Cllrs. M Froggatt and S Enstone, Cllrs R Wright of LCC and A Hagues of NKDC.

4. To Appoint the Responsible Finance Officer: Mr I Grady was appointed to this position.

5. To Appoint a Planning Sub-Committee: Cllrs M. Ireland, J. Malloch, M. Froggatt and S. Enstone were nominated and duly appointed to this sub-committee.

6. To receive any Declarations of Interest: Cllr M Ireland declined to be involved in the discussion of one planning matter (item 18(ii) below). No other declarations were received. 

7. To decide on any items to be carried out in Closed Session: None required. 

8. To Review the Insurance Policy and quotation: The Insurance policy renewal quote has been received and circulated. It was agreed that the policy from Zurich Insurance, will continue to meet the needs of the Parish. The premium was unchanged at £327.00.

9. To Review and Adopt the Standing Orders. A revised model template had been received from the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) some weeks ago and the incorporation of the changes into our Standing Orders were circulated earlier to the parish councillors for consideration. The changes concerned financial matters beyond the scope of Rauceby Parish Council’s ambitions. The councillors decided unanimously to adopt the newly modified Standing Orders.

10. To Review and Adopt the Financial Regulations. A revised model set of regulations had been received from NALC some weeks ago and the incorporation of the changes into our Financial Regulations were circulated earlier to the parish councillors for consideration. The changes concerned financial matters (the same matters as described above for the modified Standing Orders) which were beyond the scope of Rauceby Parish Council’s ambitions. The councillors decided unanimously to adopt the newly modified Financial Regulations.

11. To Review the Contents and Safety Condition of the Asset Register (revision circulated). This was reviewed and adopted. There is inevitable wear and tear on some of these assets but nothing that is considered a safety hazard. Any routine maintenance can be carried out as and when necessary. New items have been added since last year: 
* New items to improve safety during the village litter-picking events were purchased: 24 Hi-Viz vests and 2 traffic warning signs.
A request was made to purchase more litter-picking equipment as the twice-yearly events have attracted a lot of volunteers and they all need the appropriate kit. The councillors agreed to go ahead with the purchases.
Action May (1): Clerk
Safety check of PC Assets. A safety audit of Parish assets was carried out in May and a report of the results have been filed in the Council archives. There is minor maintenance to be carried out but nothing serious to report. (Bracketed numbers refer to the report, which is available on request from the Clerk): 
* {4} C&M Bee bench, Burroughs Hill NR; vegetation around the bench needs to be cut back.
* {5} Sheep sign, NR (from Cranwell); growth to be cut back, plinth needs some re-pointing.
* {9} Bench at the Lodge, NR; would benefit from cleaning and refinishing.
* {11} KCIII Bench, Main St, NR; grain has opened up and would benefit from rubbing down and refinishing.
* {15} Bus shelter, Main St, NR; some damage to shingles at the rear of the roof. Investigate potential to repair or re-roof.
* {17} Bench, Thorpe Drove, SR; one arm is missing and needs welding (cast-iron), which is difficult to do in situ. Removal not straightforward. Bench is safe to use despite arm.
* {23} Bench, Main St/Cliffe View, SR; Disfigured with small graffiti, investigate needed for cleaning options.
* {24} Sheep Sign, Rauceby Drove SR; Plinth requires repointing.

12. Review of the Council’s other Policies, Procedures and Practices:  
All of the following policies, procedures and practices have been reviewed since the last meeting by the councillors who confirmed that they continued to be fit for purpose.
* Councillors Code of Conduct
* Records Retention Policy
* Communications/Press/Media and Social Media Policies
* Publication scheme
* GDPR: Data Protection Policies 
* GDPR: Data breach policy and procedure for handling a breach 
* GDPR: Subject access request (SAR) procedure 
* Freedom of Information Requests
* Equal Opportunities Policy
* Complaints Procedure
* Whistleblowing Policy 
* Other website sections: “About”, “Contact”, “Accessibility” and “Privacy”
* Risk Management and Assessment 

It should be noted that there has been no challenge during the year on the Parish Council that would invoke the exercising of any of these policies/procedures.

13. Adoption of New Procedures:  No new procedures have been introduced.

14. Review of the Council’s Expenditure incurred under Section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972 or the General Power of Competence. One expense was incurred in the year that was considered to be allowable under S.137 provisions: the purchase of the Remembrance Wreath at a cost of £20.00. This is substantially below the maximum allowable of £4864.

15. Financial Matters:
i. To approve the internal auditor for 2025-26 and approve the Statement of Assurance: It was unanimously agreed to reappoint Mrs D Gascoyne as internal auditor for the coming year. The Statement of Assurance was duly approved.
ii. To formally adopt the Annual Governance Statement 2024-25 and to set the 
dates for public inspection (Section 1 of AGAR): The Annual Governance Statement 2024-25 was adopted in the meeting and signed by the Chairman and Clerk (RFO). The dates for public inspection of the AGAR documents will be specified shortly.
iii. To formally adopt the Accounting Statement 2024-25 (Section 2 of AGAR): The Accounting Statement 2024-25 was adopted and signed by the Chairman having already been signed by the Clerk (RFO).
iv. To agree and sign the AGAR 2 Exemption Certificate (Page 3 of AGAR): the AGAR 2 Exemption Certificate was agreed and signed by the Chairman having already been signed by the Clerk (RFO).
Action May (2): Clerk to finalise AGAR process

16. To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2025: Unanimously approved; the Chairman signed the minutes.

17. Reports from Visiting Representatives and Police Matters if any: A report by Cllr R Wright is attached to the minutes of the Open meeting held immediately prior to the Parish meeting. A report by Cllrs A Hagues and J Clarke is attached to the minutes of the Open meeting held immediately prior to the Parish meeting.

18. Planning Applications Received from NKDC (This may include plans received since the agenda was circulated):
i. 25/0549/TCA| T1 & T2 - Yew trees - reduce both trees to about 1 metre high so they can grow into bushes. |The Old Vicarage, Main Street, North Rauceby, Sleaford, Lincolnshire NG34 8QP. No Objections were raised at the regular meeting of Rauceby Parish Council. (Submission to NKDC completed on 22/05/25.) 
ii. 25/0417/HOUS| Demolition of outbuilding and erection of single storey side extension| House, Ermine Street Farm, High Dike, Byard's Leap, Cranwell, Lincolnshire NG32 3RN. No Objections were raised at the regular meeting of Rauceby Parish Council. (Submission to NKDC completed on 22/05/25.) 
iii. 25/0452/VARCON| Application to vary conditions 8 (landscaping) and 10 (approved plans) attached to planning permission 23/1533/FUL - Erection of 2 no. broiler poultry units (meat production) with feed silos, roof mounted Solar PV panels and hardstanding - amendments to landscaping and red line site area to amend BNG obligations| Boiling Wells Farm, Grantham Road, Greylees, Sleaford, Lincolnshire NG34 8QX. No Objections were raised at the regular meeting of Rauceby Parish Council. (Submission to NKDC completed on 22/05/25.) 

Plans decided by NKDC since the last meeting
iv. 25/0232/TCA| G1 - Comprising 9 cypress, various shrubs and a yew hedge. Fell to ground level and chip out stumps. This group of trees has been planted on LCC verge without consent by a past local resident, it is alleged that the trees have caused damage to the adjacent boundary wall to manor farm and we are proposing removal of these trees to prevent further damage/allow access to repair the wall. Replacement planting will be carried out locally to compensate for the loss of trees. | Main Street, North Rauceby, Sleaford, Lincolnshire. No Objections were raised at the regular meeting of Rauceby Parish Council. (Submission to NKDC completed on 27/03/25.) NKDC decided: TPO not served.

19. Matters Arising and New Business: Notified to Clerk prior to meeting
i. Speed Monitoring and Traffic Safety:
Speeding in the village is a long-standing issue which has already been subject to several initiatives in previous years including road marking improvements, improved signage and the installation of white gates on Rauceby Drove which have already made a significant improvement. We have been working with the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership to organise a traffic survey across the village to understand to what degree we still have a problem, and if so, where. This process has taken some time and is now scheduled to be completed by the end of May. The Parish Council has now approved in principle the purchase of a single speed monitoring device from our own funds. 
In the meantime, we shall continue using the shared portable SID.
ii. Additional dog waste bin. 
A request by a parishioner to install an additional dog waste bin in North Rauceby, opposite the school on the farm fence boundary was considered and agreed (subject to the appropriate permissions being obtained from NKDC). 
Action May (3): Clerk
iii. Community Infrastructure Levy: 
An amount of £2,262.21 has been awarded to Rauceby Parish Council as the levy resulting from a housing development in North Rauceby. There are restrictions on how the council may spend this money and it was agreed to hold the subject over until the next meeting.

20. Update on Outstanding Matters
i. Actions from the last meeting: 

ii. Emergency Planning Team: 
Councillor G Hall has volunteered to chair the Emergency Planning Team when it commences functioning.

21. Financial Matters: 
i. The financial report was approved and signed off by the Chairman.
ii. This month’s payments were approved:
Zurich (Insurance): £327.00
Lloyds Bank fees: £4.75 and £4.25
S Clegg (payroll services): £25.20
Rauceby Village Hall (Hire for meetings): £38.00
I Grady (fees): GDPR
HMRC (PAYE): GDPR
D Gascoyne (internal audit): £180.00
iii. The Accumulated Parish Council Fund (comprising Current and Savings accounts) stands at £25,538.57 at 30 April 2025.
iv. The Savings Account stands at £10,000 at 16 May 2025 which was invested with Lloyds Bank for a year at a rate of 2.34%.
v. A VAT claim for £76.09 will be made with HMRC for relevant parish council expenditure over the last year.
Action May (4): Clerk
vi. The Financial Regulations allow for the agreement by the Council to enable the Clerk to send payment to some suppliers without having to wait for a formal council meeting to agree such payment. This will avoid the situation where some suppliers have had to wait up to two months before they could receive payment. Only those operations that have an established payment scheme will be pre-agreed and three signatures will still be required for each payment so there is no compromise in security.
It was agreed that the following accounts can be pre-agreed for payment on invoice:
Village Hall rental costs
Payroll management costs
Grass-cutting and leaf clearing costs
Internal audit fees
HMRC PAYE costs
Bank fees are automatically deducted from the bank account.

22. Any other business: Any matters which have arisen after the agenda was published.
i. Purchase of Carre Alms Hotel by NKDC and the implications to local business. To be discussed at the next meeting.
ii. Cllr G Hall suggested there were merits in a new initiative regarding Green Plaques. To be discussed at the next meeting.
iii. The War Memorial has deteriorated to a condition where the inscriptions need attention. To be discussed at the next meeting.

23. Date of Next Meeting: The next regular meeting will be on Wednesday, 16 July 2025 at the Rauceby Village Hall starting at 19h30.

24. The meeting closed at 21h00

Matters which have been raised in previous meetings and which may be considered further at a future date:
* S Rauceby Well refurbishment: deferred until more appropriate.
* Watching brief on requirement for EV charging points for the public and for residents who do not have off-road parking facilities (from March 2024).
* Council’s new duty to prevent sexual harassment: when more information becomes available about how compliance is to be managed the Clerk will prepare a policy document for adoption by the PC (from March 2024). 
* The Council shall keep a watching brief on the progress of the Rauceby Foundation re-wilding project at the plot of land on Main Street ear-marked for a public leisure area (from May 2024).