2026 Minutes

Great Hale Parish Council

Notes taken at the Annual Parish Council Meeting held on

Monday, 11h May 2026 at 7.30pm at Hale Magna Village Hall

Present:        Councillor N Turner    (Chairman)
            Councillor G Cooke MBE (Vice-Chairman)
            Councillor M Barnatt    
Councillor A Broom    
Councillor L Mountain
Councillor M Spittles

District Councillor S Tarry (North Kesteven District Council)
District Councillor C Collard (North Kesteven District Council)
                        
Apologies:        Councillor N Dady

County Councillor D East (Lincolnshire County Council)

In attendance:    Mrs Tracy Cooke – (Parish Clerk & RFO)
    
Public Forum

The Public Forum Opened at 7.00pm

There was 1 member of the public present.

The member of the public said that he had passed on an email from NKDC regarding refuse collections from The Gables.  It stated that refuse lorries are able to collect rubbish as there is a Section 38 on the road.  

He asked for any support for improvements on bus services in the area.  We currently have 1 bus a day to Sleaford and 1 bus a month to Boston and Lincoln.  He continued to say that Dial a Ride is inflexible.  He had contacted the Mayor but it wasn’t something that she could help with.  
    
Chairman closed the Public open forum at 7.20pm

Chairman opened the Parish Council meeting at 7.25pm

Official Business of the Council

1.    To elect Chair and Vice Chair and sign the declaration of acceptance of office (26/22)  

It was proposed, seconded and unanimously resolved for Cllr Nicholas Turner to remain as Chair and for Cllr Grahame Cooke to remain as Vice-Chair. Acceptance forms of office were signed.

Action:  Clerk to file acceptance forms.

2.    Apologies (26/23)

Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr N Dady
Absence was noted from CC East.

3    Previous meeting held on Monday 13th April 2026 (26/24)

It was unanimously agreed that the draft minutes from the meeting held on 13th April 2026 were a true record. The Chairman duly signed the minutes.

4    Clerk’s Report (26/25)

    Internal audit completed
    AGAR form completed
    Anti social behaviour letter sent to residents of Orchard Close
    Risk Management policy written
    New rubbish bins installed
    Answered a resident letter regarding land ownership and visited resident
Met with Debbie Scott re Burial Board 14.4.26
Completed Solicitors information for Burial Board
Park inspection form completed and submitted.
CiLCA assignments
Boards cleaned and refilled.  Park signs cleaned. 
    Highways village walk

5.    To receive declarations of interests under the localism act 2011 (26/26)
    
Cllr Cooke made a declaration of interests on Item 10

6.    To receive reports from County and District councillors (26/27)
    
Cllr Collard said that NKDC are organising a 16 day ‘Walking Festival’ to suit all ages and abilities between 6th and 21st June.  The walks are Country wide and spread across 60 walking routes.  Details with maps and levels of ability walks can be found on the ‘Heart of Lincs’ website with dates of events.  heartoflincs@n-kesteven.gov.uk

Cllr Tarry thanked residents for taking part in the food waste recycling.  Across 4 Councils 950 tonnes of food waste was collected in the first month.

7    Planning Applications (26/28)

(7.1)    Planning Application Reference: 
    Notification of Receipt of Amended Plans/ Additional Information
Application Reference: 25/1095/LBC
Proposal: Existing lead roof coverings to south aisle and south porch roof to be replaced with terne-coated stainless steel with photovoltaic panels.
Location: St John The Baptist's Church, Church Street, Great Hale

Councillor comments were all in support of this application.

8.    To review and amend where necessary the Councils’ Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and other policies. (26/29)

These had been sent out to Councillors to read prior to the meeting. Following a meeting between the Clerk and the Chair today, it was proposed that the policies should all be numbered and that the headings and font should be standardised.  

Cllr Cooke suggested having a sub-committee in charge of policies.  It was proposed that Cllr Spittles be the lead and that the policies should be shared amongst Councillor’s skill sets.

It was proposed and unanimously agreed to adopt the Councils’ Standing Orders, Financial regulations and the Risk Management policies this month.

Cllr Turner proposed that there should be a payroll provider for the Clerk’s pay and continued with proposing 2 factor authentication for payments from the bank.

Resolution: Council resolved to adopt 2nd person electronic payment authorisation, and obtain quotation from Pay Roll Provider.  

Action:  Clerk to number all policies, list and standardise font and headings.

9.    Joint Burial Committee update (26/30)

Cllr Broom said that the JBC Clerk has been in communication with the Solicitors regarding Land Registry and this was currently underway.
    
10    Finance matters 

(10.1)    To approve the April 2026 bank reconciliation and spend to date. (26/31)
    
Council approved the April 2026 bank reconciliation and acknowledged the spend to date.

(10.2)    To approve accounts for payment (26/32)
    
It was unanimously resolved to approve all accounts for payment.

(10.3)    To review the internal auditors’ comments (26/33)
Cllr Turner read these. The auditor said that ‘all balances were correct and the books were kept in good order’.

(10.4)    To complete via vote the Annual Governance Statement 2025/26 (Section 1) of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (26/34)

    The Annual Governance Statement 2025/26 (section 1) of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return were read out and signed where appropriate.

(10.5)    To approve the Accounting Statements 2025/26 (Section 2) of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return and the end of year bank reconciliation (26/35)

    The Accounting Statements 2025/26 (section 2) of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return and the end of year bank reconciliation were completed and were unanimously approved and agreed.
 
Action: Clerk to scan the AGAR forms, redact the signatures and submit to the external auditor.  Clerk to place forms on the website and boards.

11    Highway matters for discussion and resolution 

(11.1)    Village walk with Highways (26/36)

The Clerk, Cllr Spittles and Cllr Turner walked around the village with the Highways manager.  The Highways Manager agreed that the footpaths needed to be resurfaced, patched and reconstructed.
Potholes were identified. 
It was stated that the footpath on Leas Road is on the list for consideration.
The Clerk collated a list of faults and sent it to CC East and Highways.  Subsequently, the Clerk then submitted Fix my Streets for all of the issues.

(11.2)    Highways – any other issues (26/37)

    No further issues
    
12.    Orchard Green for discussion and resolution 
    
(12.1)    To receive update on Orchard Green inspections (26/38)

    Cllr Barnatt completed the inspections this month. He said that it had been clean and tidy.  A neighbour said that some older lads had been playing football late at night and then playing again at 3am.  He encouraged the residents to report this to the Police and / or the ASBO team.
Cllr Barnatt said that he had continued to mend the fence.
    
Action:  Cllr Turner / Cllr Broom to undertake park inspections 

(12.2)     Park Fence (26/39)

The Clerk has received 3 quotes to replace and improve the park back fence.  She applied for a Community Fund Grant this week but that will not be considered until September’s panel. Cllr Cooke proposed that we write to the Contractor and ask them to hold their price.

Resolution:  To defer awarding fencing contract until outcome of possible grant funding known.

Action:  Clerk to write to Contractor regarding their quote

13    Other matters for discussion and resolution (26/40)
 
(13.1)  Churchyard tidy up / Grass cutter (26/41)

The grass cutter cleared the ivy in the churchyard and has made an excellent job.  The Clerk asked the grass cutter how much he would charge to do a Churchyard tidy up.  He said that the best time for him to do this was in November and would cost £150. Cllr Cooke proposed that the contractor should do this work in November.

It was proposed, seconded and unanimously agreed for the contractor to do this work.

    Action: Clerk to contact the Grass cutting contractor to arrange.

(13.2)      Councillor Volunteer Scheme – Cemetery (26/42)

The Clerk applied for the Councillor Volunteer Scheme for work on the Cemetery gate and railings.  A member of Highways is meeting the clerk on Tuesday 12th May at 10am at the Cemetery.  Cllr Barnatt said he would also attend.

(13.3) Hedges (26/43)

Following the Chairman’s letter to the resident regarding his hedge line alongside the church, the resident replied on 29th April.  The resident has accepted that the hedge belongs to him.  It was agreed to place the letter on file.
    
(13.4) Zip wire / baby swings (26/44)

The Clerk contacted Kompan regarding servicing the Zip wire.  She also asked about replacing the baby swings.  Kompan have quoted £592 (with a 20% discount) for the 2 swings and will install at the same time as they service the zip wire, saving labour time as they will already be on site.

Resolution:  To accept quotation.

Action: Clerk to contact Kompan to proceed with the service and order.

    
(13.5) Insurance (26/45)

The Insurance renewal has been received.  There is a small increase (£29.65) on last year’s premium.  It was unanimously agreed to renew the policy.

14    Future Agenda Items (26/46)

(14.1)    Policies
(14.2)    Park fence 
     
15    Date and place of next meeting (26/47)

Monday 6th July 2026 @ 7pm in Hale Magna Village Hall.

The Chairman thanked all for attending and closed the Parish Council meeting at 8.55pm