2025 Minutes

BICKER PARISH COUNCIL

DRAFT Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Thursday, 9th October 2025 at 7pm

In the Gedney Room, Bicker Village Hall

Present: 

Cllr Bateson - Chair

Cllr Kelly

Cllr Pell – Vice Chair

Clerk – Alison Delaney

Borough Councillor Cantwell

County Councillor Lock

PUBLIC FORUM: 

The meeting began at 7pm. A representative from JDM attended the public forum. He asked if there were any issues with JDM from the residents? Councillors said they had not received any reports.

Councillors had noticed a garlic smell recently. The representative said they had a hole in a piece of their equipment that had been repaired and tested, so should not be noticed again. JDM inherited an old site and are investing £2million in air purification systems.

Councillors had noticed a sound like machinery being put under load pressure. This was late at night and intermittent. The representative said they would check. They had received a noise complaint a while ago and had put fencing around the equipment, the Environment Agency had been involved. They were doing their best to be good neighbours to the village. They recently paid a noise surveyor who found that the A52 contributed the most to the noise.

The representative repeated their offer of running CPR courses for residents in the village.  Councillors said the Five Villages emergency response group might be interested. ACTION: Cllr Cantwell to sort out a date for the training.

The representative left the meeting at 7.10pm

Councillors had been approached by a resident regarding the developments in Milkinghill Lane asking if the PC had information about when they would be finished. ACTION: Cllr Cantwell agreed to contact the site owners for an update.

Councillors had been approached by a resident in relation to planning reference B/25/0357 AGR Solar 2 Limited - where residents were being asked to police when vehicles were not using the correct routes. County Cllr Lock had taken the local Highways Area Manager down the routes the vehicles were using to show them how narrow they were and how much damage had been caused to the unofficial routes already. ACTION: It was agreed that the Parish Council would object in similar terms to the previous application to remove condition 7.

The Public Forum ended at 7.18pm

72/25 Chair’s Welcome and Remarks:

The Chair welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending.

73/25 Co-option to the Office of Councillor for Bicker Parish Council

It was noted by Councillors that Cllr Brown had resigned. BCC Election Office had advised the Clerk that this vacancy needed to be advertised. They had prepared the necessary notice, and the Clerk had put this on the Website and Parish Notice Boards today. If more than 10 residents requested it before 29th October 2025, BCC would need to hold an election. If not, the vacancy could be filled by co-option.

Councillors noted they had one other vacancy on the PC. Cllr Kelly proposed Borough Cllr Cantwell. Cllr Pell seconded Borough Cllr Cantwell.  Borough Cllr Cantwell said he was happy to be Co-opted into the Parish Council. Cllr Cantwell read the criteria, confirmed he was qualified and not disqualified from standing, so left the meeting. Councillors agreed unanimously to Co-opt Borough Councillor Cantwell to the Parish Council. Borough Cllr Cantwell returned to the meeting and the Chair welcomed him to the PC. Borough Cllr Cantwell and the Clerk signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office. ACTION: Clerk to set up a Bicker email account for Borough Cllr Cantwell.

74/25 To receive apologies for absence and acceptance of any reasons given: 

APOLOGIES - were received from Cllr Carrott who was on holiday and Cllr Mountain who was attending a family event. The meeting resolved to accept the reasons for absence. 

75/25 To receive declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011:

Councillor Kelly – Parish Council representative on Village Hall Committee and Member of Bicker United Charity.

76/25 To receive updates from Borough and County Councillors

Borough Councillor Cantwell reported the following:

He is eager to get involved with the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum

Calls for the Police Panel to re-engage with the community. Funding is an issue for them at the moment.

Improvements to the Lancaster Bomber memorial are ongoing.

£1,600 allocated from the Councillors Fund. Cllr Cantwell agreed to donate £200 towards the new village bench. ACTION: Clerk to complete the application.

Cllr Cantwell suggested the Church could apply to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for money for the updates to the clock.

Local government reorganisation continues to take place.

Boston now have a policy in relation to goldfish being sold at fairs

He will be holding a surgery in Wigtoft on Saturday, 18th October 12-1pm

County Councillor Lock reported as follows:

Local government reorganisation will be discussed at the next full council meeting on 21st November.

Councillors asked if, as volunteers, would they be asked to do more under the reorganisation? Clllr Lock said a lot of the responsibilities (e.g. planning) were very technical and most PC’s would not have that expertise. 

Cllr Lock said he was working with planning on some of the larger projects in relation to their impact on communities. There needed to be more incentives for farmers to farm their land, rather than sell it for projects. 

Cllr Lock had been on a tour, with the area Highways Manager, around the local roads, logging all the defects and will follow up with them about how those are going to be dealt with. The more evidence we have of the damage done by the project’s vehicles, the more likely we are to get them repaired.

In relation to the A52 request by Donington to reduce the speed limit by Church Street, this had been approved to 40mph on appeal from 50mph. There was no live proposal to reduce the speed limit near Bicker as there had been no accidents or fatalities.

A Highways department parking assessment was due to start soon on School Lane.

Beacon Fen Energy Park – Cllr Lock had applied to be an “Interested Party”, he was told he was too late, so he will append his comments to the LCC submission. Another hearing is taking place next week.

Councillors said a small monitoring of residents were objecting, so we were doing what we could to object as well but the majority of residents did not seem to have an opinion or be willing to voice it formally.

PACE have still not submitted their plans. 

Hammond BESS might set a precedent for all the others, so encouraged the PC and residents to object if they could.

77/25 To receive reports from representatives on outside bodies:

Village Hall – Cllr Kelly reported that they had held a meeting but nothing of note to report to the Parish Council.

78/25 Notes of the last meeting held on 14th August 2025 were accepted and approved as the Minutes. Proposed by Cllr Pell, seconded by Cllr Kelly. The Minutes were signed as a true copy by the Chair. 

79/25 Clerk’s report on matters outstanding:

FixMyStreet reports – white railings broken at 3 locations (Morley Lane, Donington Road and Fore Lane). Updated 19.06.25 - Donington Road – FIXED. Updated 17.08.25 Fore Lane FIXED. 30.09.25 Morley Lane FIXED.

FixMyStreet – tree outside The Cottage, School Lane – 22.8.25 - FIXED

FixMyStreet report – Graffitti on Playground and School Signs in School Lane. Update received on 05.06.25 – COMPLETED. However, Clerk checked and nothing has changed, so has reported the issue again on 10.06.25. Update: Notified on 26.06.25 that the issue is not LCC but BCC, so Clerk reported the issue to BCC, no response as yet.

FixMyStreet report – broken drain on High Street that carries water into the dyke. First reported on 02.05.25. Update on 08.06.25 – work issued to one of their delivery gangs. Clerk requested a progress update on 06.07.25.

AGAR – Exercise of Public Rights – the period for inspection of the accounts ended on 25th July 2025. No requests from residents were received. The closure letter from the external auditor was received on 20th August 2025 and was put on the website. There were no issues arising from the external audit. The Notice of Conclusion of Audit, was put on the website and the Parish Notice Boards on 26th August 2025 (this had to be done before the end of September). There is no formal period that the Notice must remain there, it was previously two weeks. Clerk removed the Notice from the Notice Boards on Friday, 3rd October. It remains on the website.

School Lane parking situation – resident reported reduced visibility and a potential accident black spot on FixMyStreet, was told they needed to contact the PC about a Traffic Regulation Order to impose parking restrictions. Clerk forwarded the information to Cllr Lock who emailed Highways, they have agreed to check on the situation in September when the school starts up. Clerk has notified the resident. Awaiting update from Councillor Lock as to whether the Highways assessment has taken place, he has chased for a response.

Cemetery grass cutting – Contractor attended on 21st August, 4th and 18th September and 2nd October. Clerk has contacted them and asked whether there would be an additional cost for strimming around the headstones at every visit and a quotation for a separate visit to trim the hedges/trees along the pathway and the roadside railings as when she visited, these needed some attention. Cost for strimming every visit would be an additional £50 each visit, so £100 a month from March to October, taking total annual cost to £3,488. Cost for cutting back the shrubs along the pathway is £250, cost for pruning the trees and bushes along the front wall is £250. Councillors considered strimming needed to be done once a month and approved that, as well as the work on the trees and bushes for £500. ACTION Clerk to ask the contractor to carry out the work at his next visit.

Malc Firth: Since the last meeting, they have carried out grass cutting of verges and the playing field on 2nd and 16th September and 3rd October. September invoice received on 07.10.25.

Cemetery tap and paving around the war memorial – War memorial and tap will be completed on 14th October. ACTION: Clerk to check with the contractor that the work will be completed before the Remembrance Service on Sunday, 9th November. Clerk to purchase three poppy wreaths for the service.

Broken tree in park reported last meeting – Contractor confirmed there would be no charge for removing the branches.

EE Developer Contribution Fund – 06.10.25 – Email received from EE Project Lawyer with documentation. Forwarded to Councillors for discussion and consideration. Councillors were clear that any money received from any developer had to benefit the residents. Councillors were also not comfortable with having to hold such a large amount of money. ACTION: Clerk to pass the information to LALC for advice and depending on their view, we may need to seek advice from a solicitor. Clerk to let EE know we are taking advice.

Lancaster memorial bank account – Clerk now has access to the account. 

Allotments: One resident is leaving Bicker but the new home owners want to take over the 1.5 plots. Clerk will arrange the transfer.  Another resident wants to take on an additional plot. Clerk has agreed with them that the fee would be £12.50 for the next 6 months. ACTION: Clerk to invoice them

Resignation: Clerk received a resignation email from Borough Councillor David Brown dated 2nd October. Chair has emailed back acknowledging the resignation. Clerk has spoken to Election Services at BBC and we need to advertise the vacancy. BBC will send us the necessary paperwork. Clerk has removed David’s details from the website.

Bicker Conservation Area – Clerk has emailed and left a voicemail for the Heritage Department at BCC planning to ask about the white posts. Clerk has not yet had any responses to request for quotations for their repair and repainting.

Annual Insurance Renewal – Following receipt of updated quote from new insurer and renewal quote from current insurer, Councillors considered the matter via email and agreed to proceed with the cheaper quote from the new insurer, Clear Council. Renewal date is 1st October 2026.

Ownership of the cemetery land and playing field: Clerk enquired with Maples solicitors in Spalding. They did a free preliminary search and confirmed the cemetery was not registered with the Land Registry, but the Playing Field was. Maples considered it would be very difficult to register the Cemetery land without any documentation showing the PC’s ownership. The previous Clerk confirmed to the Chair that the Parish Council did not own the Playing Field, that It was originally LCC when the ordinary school was there.  It then belonged to BCC, and the PC used to have it on a lease for a peppercorn rent. Apart from some correspondence in 1973, no documentation exists in the archive regarding the lease. Councillors agreed not to pursue the matter further.

Supreme Hotel: Clerk drove past recently, and the hotel sign was back up. Clerk will make a further inspection in the next couple of days. Chair confirmed that the sign on A17 was still down. ACTION: Clerk to write to the owners to ask them to remedy.

Replacement bench next to the pump: Clerk has asked a local contractor to let her have a quotation for removing the existing bench (it is chained into the concrete base), taking away and disposing of it, fitting a new bench and making good of the concrete around it.  This would be £110. The cost of a bench replacement varies considerably depending on the style and materials used. Clerk provided three options from Glasdon for Councillors to consider. They chose the Stanford Seat at £1,478.89 inc VAT. Borough Councillor Cantwell confirmed he would be willing to contribute £200 from the Councillors Fund towards the bench. ACTION: Clerk to complete an application to the Councillors Fund.

Standing Orders – LALC have issued an updated model Standing Orders, which was circulated to Councillors before the meeting. Councillors agreed that these would be reviewed at the next meeting. ACTION: Clerk to prepare the document for consideration and add it to the agenda.

80/25 To Receive Finance Report  

a) To approve September and October payments: The Schedule of payments for approval at the October meeting was approved. Proposed and signed by Cllr Kelly. Seconded and signed by Cllr Pell.

b) Lancaster Memorial Bank account. The statement of account had been circulated to Councillors prior to the meeting. They noted that Lloyds were charging a £4.50 fee each month as it was being operated as a current account. The current balance was £228.03. Councillors agreed that the Clerk should change the account to a savings account with Lloyds and request a refund of the service charges since they began in February 2025.

81/25 To Discuss Planning Applications Received Since Last Meeting: None received.

82/25 Annual Play Inspection Report – Councillors noted there were no high risk items that needed immediate attention in the report. Item was postponed for discussion at the next meeting.

83/25 Emergency Group: We know that one resident is willing to be a representative. Borough Councillor Cantwell said he would be the Parish Council’s representative on the Group if we joined. ACTION: As not all Councillors were present, it was agreed that the Clerk would email all Councillors for their views

84/25 Quotation for repairing/repainting the safety fences and pump in the village: Clerk had not received any responses to her requests for additional quotations. ACTION: Clerk to chase.

83/25 To Receive Correspondence:

a) salt bins. Clerk had checked and they were half full. ACTION: Clerk to request that LCC fills them all up.

b) Compass Community School regarding planting 5 trees in the park. Councillors agreed that they could not take on the responsibility for 5 more trees in the village, so would have to refuse the request. Councillors also agreed to refuse the offer of a donation from the school for the use of the playing field.

84/25 To Receive Members Reports:

A resident had requested that their and their wifes ashes be scattered on his grandparents grave in the cemetery at the Church. ACTION: Clerk to check the burial records to see if she could locate the grandparents’ graves but as the Church Cemetery was closed, no further ashes interments or burials could take place.

Councillors noted that there was water collecting on the bridge by the post office on the Right Hand side and the drain there needed to be cleared. ACTION: Clerk to report on FixMyStreet.

Councillors noted that the Elder bush at the junction of Morley and School Lane had become overgrown and was obstructing the view at the junction. ACTION: Clerk to report on FixMyStreet.

85/25 Date of next meeting – this was confirmed as Thursday, 13th November 2025. There will not be a meeting in December.

86/25 Any Other Business: 

There being no further business, the meeting ended at 9.04pm.

Signed:  …………………………………………………

Name: …………………………………………………

Date: …………………………………………………