2025 Minutes

BICKER PARISH COUNCIL

DRAFT Minutes of the Parish Council meeting
held on Thursday, 13th March at 7pm
In the Gedney Room, Bicker Village Hall

Present: 
Cllr Bateson - Chair
Cllr Kelly – Vice Chair
Cllr Carrott
Cllr Pell
Cllr Mountain

County Councillor Brookes
Clerk – Alison Delaney

PUBLIC FORUM: 

A resident attended the public forum. They reported that on 21st February 2025, a truck going to the Bicker Fen site came up North Drove, realised they had gone the wrong way and tried to reverse into the driveway of Marsh House. The truck got stuck and a tractor had to be called to pull the truck out of the dyke. Extensive damage caused to drain, field edge and grass island plus some damage to the roadway surface. The resident had the details of the haulier and had spoken to them. They had agreed to get the damage fixed. Cllr Brookes said it needed to be reported to Highways if the drain was damaged. ACTION: Resident will email details and photographs to the Clerk so she can report on FixMyStreet.

In relation to the PACE planning application. Longhedge and North Drove are very affected. The resident reported that the neighbours had formed a group who would oppose the application. Some of the group went to the Swineshead consultation event held by PACE on 11th March 2025. The group requested a meeting in Bicker, which PACE agreed to. The resident felt that the PACE representatives were badly prepared and could not answer some of the questions posed by the group. The resident said that the group will challenge that application and will try and share the information they have with other residents. The group plans to put a petition in Bicker, Donington and Swineshead in opposition to the development. The resident asked if the group could put meeting notices on the Parish Notice Boards. The Council agreed to this and asked the resident to give the notices to Cllr Pell. The resident showed the Council an example of an opposition sign they intended to put up in the village. Councillors noted the sign could only be put with permission on private land, of which the resident was aware.

A representative from European Energy attended the meeting to discuss the Vicarage Drove Developer Contribution Fund. She handed out paper copies of two documents about the Fund which had also been emailed to the Clerk and Councillors. The representative explained that European Energy had committed to putting £2,000 per kilowatt of energy produced into the Fund. They were expecting 40-50 megawatts of energy production, so the fund would hold about £80,000-£100,000. This money would be held by European Energy and ringfenced for the fund. The fund would be for the benefit of Bicker and the surrounding areas, and the Parish Council would be responsible for setting the criteria and approving the applications. Cllr Bateson enquired whether the Parish Council would be able to apply for some of the fund. He was thinking about the cost of converting the streetlights to LED’s. The representative said that the Parish Council would be able to apply for a grant from the fund. 

Cllr Bateson enquired if European Energy were working with any of the other developers as the construction traffic had damaged the roads already. The representative said they had an agreement with AGR to ensure that the roads were put back to the same state as when they arrived. Cllr Brookes said that the roads had been surveyed and filmed prior to the construction starting and would be surveyed again once the work had been completed. Cllr Bateson suggested the roads needed to be better than when the work first started, as many of the roads were not suitable for two-way traffic. Cllr Brookes said BBC were trying to implement a common traffic management contact with one number for reporting issues. The European Energy representative said they would be happy to work with BBC on that. When they first came on site, they set up a joint traffic management plan with AGR with one number for reporting. The representative suggested that BBC could set up an officer to manage the traffic. Cllr Brooks thought that might be where we ended up but that would need funding. 

The resident commented that the European Energy representatives had always been extremely helpful whenever he had needed to contact them.

The public forum ended at 7.29pm and those members of the public who had attended left the meeting room.

137/25 Chair’s remarks:

The Chair thanked everyone for coming to the meeting.

138/25 To receive updates from Borough and County Councillors:

County Councillor Brookes reported the following:

In relation to a drainage channel installed across the footpath, which had been discussed at a previous meeting, he had received confirmation that no enforcement action would be taken. The view of the Highways Manager was that the water would be contained in the channel and would enter the highway.

In relation to the 30mph speed limit extension at the junction of St Swithin’s Close and Ing Drove which had been discussed at the last meeting, this had gone forward for assessment. It had been raised as a forward planning brief to the TRO team at LCC highways. The response from them was that a decision and action could take some time. Possibly a couple of years. Cllr Brookes suggested that the pedestrian access that goes straight out from Bishop Way onto Ing Drove is not needed, as another one leads you safely out onto the pavement and St Swithin’s Close. The land is privately owned by a Housing Associate. Cllr Brooks suggested we contacted them and asked them to either remove the straight pedestrian access from Bishop Way or put a metal barrier across it, so children are slowed down if they run out of it. The Highways Manager agreed with Cllr Brookes that would be the best solution. ACTION: Clerk to contact the Housing Association.

Cllr Brookes confirmed this would be the last meeting he would be attending before his retirement. He said it had been great working with everyone over the past 16 years. Whoever takes over from him, he will make sure they are fully briefed on any outstanding matters. Cllr Bateson said that Cllr Brooks would be a massive loss to the PC. All present thanked Cllr Brookes for his service over the years.

Cllr Brookes left the meeting at 7.47pm.

Borough Councillor Cantwell was not able to attend the meeting but had provided a written report to the Clerk as follows:

- Local Government re organisation proposals are currently being drawn up with the 10 Lincolnshire Councils committing to work together, our submissions have to be in by November. 
- Applications continue to pour in from the fen and the work on traffic management and safety continues. I will support the Bicker Fen Action Group as much as possible and will continue to help with resident queries on the Fen, there have been quite a few. 
- 3 BESS sites where given planning permission last month, there were not enough planning grounds to stop these projects sadly. 
- Residents have raised issues with Drury Lane Parking, I spoke to Cllr Brookes and we both agreed that as it would be the residents themselves parking there would be little use in pushing the matter further. We did refer the residents to report any vehicles which block the highway as thus would be an offence.
- Boston Borough Council agreed its budget this month the key items are market rents will be brought down with the rest of Lincolnshire and each Cllr will get access to a £1000 fund to dish out in their ward. 
- East Lindsey and Boston Borough received £250 million in sports funding; I am unsure how this will be spent in the area however I will keep you updated. 

139/25 To receive apologies for absence and acceptance of any reasons given: 
APOLOGIES - were received from Cllr Brown who was unwell and Cllr Cantwell who had another meeting. The meeting resolved to accept the reasons for absence. 

140/25 To receive Declarations of Interest in accordance with The Localism Act 2011:
Cllr Kelly – Parish Council representative on The Village Hall Committee and Bicker United charity.
Cllr Mountain – Parish Council representative on Bicker United charity
Cllr Carrott - Bicker United charity and the Windfarm Trust.

141/25 Notes of the last meeting held on 13th February 2025 were accepted and approved as the Minutes. Proposed by Cllr Carrott, seconded by Cllr Pell. The Minutes were signed as a true copy by the Chair. It was agreed that the Clerk would not put the draft minutes on the website until all Councillors had read them and had a chance to comment on them. ACTION: Clerk to publish the agreed minutes on the PC website.

142/25 To receive reports from representatives on outside bodies:

Village Hall – Cllr Kelly reported that the Village Hall Committee meets next week. They had received a request from the resident’s group to put a banner up at the village hall, but they had declined, as they wanted to remain impartial but did agree to allow the group to hold a meeting there free of charge.

Bicker United Charity – Cllr Mountain reported that the charity had arrange for the drain to be cleared out on the right-hand side of the Swan Field allotments. Someone was growing trees on their allotment. ACTION: Cllr Carrott to provide information on the location to the Clerk so she can write to the tenant and ask them to remove them. Cllr Pell noted that some people had built shed like structures on their plots. ACTION: Cllr Carrott will have a look and decide if they are permanent structures (which are not permitted) or whether they may be to house water butts/collect water/compost heaps (which are permitted). The charity would like to run the one-week summer sports camp for children in the park during the summer holidays again. All present agreed with this request.

143/25 Clerk’s report on matters outstanding:

Dog waste bins and larger waste bin – these have now been installed by BBC. Clerk is awaiting their invoice.

Swan Field Allotments – Invoices for 2025/26 sent to allotment tenants.

FixMyStreet – High Street sign – update received by Clerk on 06.03.25 that the task had been assigned to the appropriate department. Lowgate Avenue road surface – response received by Clerk on 17.02.25 – does not require urgent repair. Will continue to monitor.

Electoral Roll – some Councillors had received the requested updates, but none had received the full register. Clerk had received the full register and updates electronically. ACTION: Clerk to chase BBC for the information.

144/25 To Receive Finance Report  

a) The Schedule of payments for approval at March meeting was approved. Proposed and signed by Cllr Kelly. Seconded and signed by Cllr Mountain. Cllr Pell asked for a more detailed breakdown than just the payments each month.
b) End of year arrangements and AGAR. Clerk shared the timetable with Councillors, which they noted. Councillors approved the expenditure of £40 for the internal audit and £210 + VAT for the external audit.

145/25 To Discuss Planning Applications Received Since Last Meeting:

a) B/25/0070 – Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm
b) B/25/0087 – Ossian Offshore Wind Farm
c) TPO/25/008 – The Villa, Morley Lane
d) TPO/25/009 – The Haven School Lane

Councillors had no comments to make on the two planning applications or the two tree preservation orders.

146/25 Lancaster Memorial Event: 

Clerk had circulated the poster, Mayor’s invitation and Order of Service to Councillors prior to the meeting. All three documents were approved by Councillors.

Clerk went through the Checklist she had put together, giving updates on progress. 

Councillors agreed not to professional print the Order of Service this year to save on costs. Clerk would print 20 copies.

Councillors agreed to purchase Bicker PC’s wreath from the Royal British Legion for a cost of £19.99 plus £4.50 delivery.

ACTION: Clerk to write to the Clerk to Donington PC invited the Clerk and Councillors to the event and asking the Clerk to put the poster up in Donington’s notice boards.

147/25 To Receive Correspondence:

a) Email – in relation to Emergency and Resilience Group – Councillors agreed that the poster could be placed on the notice boards.
b) Email – Malc Firth Landscapes Limited re: 8% price increase from 1st April 2025 – noted.
c) Email – Field Energy re: BESS on land at Villa Farm, north of Bicker Drove - noted.
d) Email – Ossian offshore windfarm – project update - noted.
e) Email – Ossian offshore windfarm – environmental impact assessment - noted.
f) Email – Boston Borough Council re: streetlight replacement loan – noted but not required.
g) Email – Neighbourhood Policing Survey - noted.
h) Email – Pathfinder Clean Energy (PACE) re Gauntlet Solar Farm and BESS - noted.
i) Email – LALC re: Lincolnshire Flood and Water Management Scrutiny Committee Report - noted.

148/25 To Receive Members Reports:

Cllr Bateson reported that he and Cllr Pell had met with the Interim Executive Headteacher and Regional Director of Compass Fen Park School, Bicker on Thursday, 6th March. They admitted they were having issues with students getting out of the school and often took them to the park to “cool off”. The police had been called on several occasions. The are going to put a fence at the back of the school. They have excluded three students and are not taking any more students on until the issues have been rectified. Agreed that Cllr Batson would meet with them again in a month’s time. Cllr Pell had spoken to the Regional Director yesterday as there was a student on the pipe over the river. 

Cllr Pell requested more magnets for two of the Parish Council Notice Boards. ACTION: Clerk to purchase these.

Cllr Pell noted that the Playground and School signs in School Lane near the park still had graffiti. ACTION: Clerk to photograph and report on FixMyStreet.

Cllr Pell reported that the new cantilever swing in the park was making a clunking type of noise. ACTION: Clerk to check with the supplier what could be done about it. Clerk to arrange annual safety inspection for the playground equipment.

Cllr Carrott reported that he had a look at the cemetery tap which was dripping and the wooden box, which was rotten. He had spoken to a contact who did groundworks and he will provide us with a quote for an insulated percussion tap. ACTION: Clerk to follow up with the contact and also get a quotation from a local plumber.

It was noted that where Morley House had cut the trees back outside their property, there was a lot of damage to the verge. It was considered that the area needed levelling off and grass seeding. ACTION: Cllr Bateson will have a look and if necessary, speak to the owner of Morley House.

149/25 Any Other Business: 

Vicarage Drove Developer Contribution Fund: Councillors considered the information provided by European Energy in relation to the Fund. It was resolved that Cllrs Kelly and Carrott would comprise the sub-committee to consider the applications, along with Cllr Brookes (who had expressed an interest in being involved earlier in meeting). ACTION: Cllrs Kelly and Carrott to arrange another meeting with the representative from European Energy.

150/25 Date of Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Parish Council is on Thursday, 10th April 2025 at 7pm at the Gedney Room, Bicker Village Hall.

There being no further business the meeting ended at 9.08pm.

Signed:  …………………………………………………

Name: …………………………………………………

Date: …………………………………………………