2025 Minutes

BICKER PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting

held on Thursday, 10th April at 7pm

In the Gedney Room, Bicker Village Hall

Present: 

Cllr Bateson - Chair

Cllr Carrott

Cllr Pell

Cllr Mountain

Clerk – Alison Delaney

PUBLIC FORUM: 

A resident attended the public forum to enquire about the surface of the road in Lowgate Avenue, which he felt was appalling. Councillors were in agreement and informed the resident that we had reported it to LCC on Fix My Street. The answer that came back was that it had not deteriorated enough to have anything done to it. Councillors advised the resident to report it themselves as well and thanked them for taking the time to come to the meeting to bring the matter to their attention.

A representative from the Lincolnshire Resilience Emergency Group attended the meeting at the suggestion of Cllr Cantwell. She informed Councillors that all Parish Councils must set up their own group by 2026. Their aim was to ask the five villages (Bicker, Algakirk, Fosdyke, Wigtoft and Sutterton) to join the group already set up by Algakirk. Their village hall is registered as an emergency centre. We would need to decide where our emergency centre would be and have two people in the village who carry an emergency bag (containing first aid items and high vis jackets etc. one to be kept with the lead volunteer and one in the village hall). Algakirk can offer first aid training as well. The bags are £160 each. Councillors said they were aware of the group from Cllr Cantwell and had put his poster up in the village, but no one had come forward to volunteer. Councillors said they would obtain more information from Cllr Cantwell as they were not aware it was compulsory to set up a group.

The public forum ended at 7.20pm and those members of the public who had attended left the meeting room.

1/25 Chair’s remarks:

The Chair thanked everyone for coming to the meeting.

2/25 To receive updates from Borough and County Councillors:

Borough Councillor Cantwell had been held up with an emergency at work, so was unable to attend the meeting.

3/25 To receive apologies for absence and acceptance of any reasons given: 

APOLOGIES - were received from Cllr Brown who was unwell and Cllr Kelly who was on holiday. The meeting resolved to accept the reasons for absence. 

4/25 To receive Declarations of Interest in accordance with The Localism Act 2011:

Cllr Mountain – Parish Council representative on Bicker United charity

Cllr Carrott - Bicker United charity and the Windfarm Trust.

5/25 To receive reports from representatives on outside bodies:

Village Hall – Cllr Kelly was absent, so no report was available.

Bicker United Charity – No meeting had been held since the last Parish Council meeting. Cllr Carrott reported that the structures in the allotment were for storing tools, so could remain.

6/25 Notes of the last meeting held on 13th March 2025 were accepted and approved as the Minutes. Proposed by Cllr Mountain, seconded by Cllr Carrott. The Minutes were signed as a true copy by the Chair. 

7/25 Clerk’s report on matters outstanding:

Electoral Roll – Councillors confirmed they had now received the full register and updates.

Moles in the cemetery – Quotation received £150 initial clearance, which could start next week, then £500 for the year and each year after that. This was considerably lower than the previous quotation. Councillors agreed to proceed with this quotation. Proposed by Cllr Carrott and seconded by Cllr Mountain. Councillors noted there were mole hills in the playing field. However, Councillors agreed that because the mole traps were buried with flags identifying their location, it was not suitable for the playing field where there were children around.

Defibrillator poster – Councillors agreed the wording on the poster and that it should be put in the three village notice boards, the village hall and the post office.

Cemetery tap – Clerk is awaiting a quotation

Allotment rent – Clerk reported that 3 rents for 2025/26 were still outstanding. ACTION: Clerk to chase outstanding rents.

Lancaster Memorial Event 12.04.25 – update on arrangements: 

Posters are on the website, the Parish Council and Methodist Church notice boards

The Mayor and Mayoress of Boston, will be joining us at the event. The Mayor will lay a wreath and make a short speech at the event after.

Clerk emailed the Clerk to Donington PC invited the Clerk and Councillors to the event and asked the Clerk to put the poster up in Donington’s notice boards.

Eleven representatives from the Boston Branch of the RAFA will attend with their Standard (flag) and read the dedication.

Clerk has invited the Boston Branch of the Royal British Legion but has not had a response so far.

01.04.25 – Clerk spoke to our contact at Lincs Aircaraft Recovery Group and updated him on arrangements. He has let people know but has not had much response yet. He said that often people wait and see what the weather is like on the day.

8/25 To Receive Finance Report  

a) The Schedule of payments for approval at the April meeting was approved. Proposed and signed by Cllr Carrott. Seconded and signed by Cllr Pell.

b) The bank reconciliation for the year to 31st March was agreed. Proposed and signed by Cllr Mountain. Seconded and signed by Cllr Pell. 

c) Councillors reviewed and approved the updated Asset Register dated March 2025.

Councillors noted that no VAT had been reclaimed in the last financial year (possibly longer) because the incorrect VAT account being linked to the Bicker Government Gateway. Clerk considered this could take some time to resolve over and above her usual hours. Councillors agreed to pay the clerk for reasonable additional hours to rectify this matter. ACTION: Clerk to investigate further with HMRC to clarify the correct course of action and make the necessary claim(s). 

Councillors noted that Bicker had a Lancaster Memorial bank account with approximately £260 in it, which was in the process of being handed over by the previous Clerk. 

9/25 To Discuss Planning Applications Received Since Last Meeting:

There were no applications for consideration at this meeting.

10/25 To Receive Correspondence:

There was no correspondence for consideration at this meeting

11/25 To Receive Members Reports:

A request had been received for the Parish Council to contribute to the repair of the church clock. Councillors agreed to add this as an item for discussion at the next meeting.

Councillors had received a complaint from a resident about the grass cutting in the cemetery. The main areas had been cut but the areas around the gravestones had not been strimmed. ACTION: Clerk to investigate and, if necessary, speak to the contractor about it.

Councillors had noticed that the white railings around the village were looking in need of repainting/repair. ACTION: Clerk to obtain a quotation from the person who painted the playground equipment in the park last year.

12/25 Any Other Business: There being no further business, the meeting ended at 8.25pm

13/25 Date of Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Parish Council is on Thursday, 8th May 2025 at 7pm at the Gedney Room, Bicker Village Hall.

Signed:  …………………………………………………

Name: …………………………………………………

Date: …………………………………………………