2025 July Minutes - DRAFT
BICKER PARISH COUNCIL
DRAFT Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Thursday, 10th July 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, Boston Rural
County Councillor Daish, Boston South
PUBLIC FORUM:
A resident representative from Bicker Fen Action Group (“BFAG”) attended the public forum.
The representative notified the meeting that the BFAG had made a significant objection to planning application 0224 but that BCC had not published it on their website yet. The resident thanked the PC for putting in their objection. BFAG have requested a judicial review as they do not consider that BCC has the necessary expertise when it comes to making decisions about renewable energy projects. They also want a regulatory body in the UK for the renewable energy industry. They are trying to stop any and all connections to the Bicker Fen sub-station. The resident thanked Cllrs Lock and Cantwell as well as Richard Tice MP for their support.
The resident stated that it was not always obvious when hard copies of planning application notices were posted and where. Cllr Cantwell has agreed a suitable place for those now. The first the BFAG knew about the latest application was when it was on the BCC planning portal.
The resident reported that something has hit the bridge over the dyke at Back Lane/Cemetery Road and damaged the railings. Councillors said they were aware of this, and the Clerk had reported it on FixMyStreet as we believed it was the responsibility of Highways to fix it. The resident was reminded that they could report issue on FixMyStreet, it did not have to wait until a Parish Council meeting.
The resident reported that the grass verge at the entrance to Marsh House, North Drove had been repaired but no work had been done on the drain that was damaged. ACTION: Clerk to request an update on the drain work on FixMyStreet. Clerk to let Cllr Lock know the FixMyStreet reference of that issue and the bridges, so he can see if he can assist to get them sorted.
The resident who had attended the public forum left the meeting at 7.15pm.
43/25 Chair’s Welcome and Remarks:
The Chair welcomed Cllr Lock and Cllr Daish and thanked everyone for attending.
44/25 To receive apologies for absence and acceptance of any reasons given:
APOLOGIES - were received from Cllr Brown who was unwell and Cllr Mountain who was on holiday. The meeting resolved to accept the reasons for absence.
45/25 To receive declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011:
Councillor Carrott – Bicker United Charity and Bicker Windfarm Trust
Councillor Kelly – Parish Council representative on Village Hall Committee and Member of Bicker United Charity.
46/25 To receive updates from Borough and County Councillors
Borough Councillor Cantwell reported the following:
The Borough Council have agreed to purchase 14 pod waste collection vehicles for weekly refuse collections from April/May 2026.
Cllr Cantwell said that he and Cllr Brown would receive £1k each under the Councillors Grant Scheme to be spent by 28th February 2026. ACTION: Cllr Cantwell will email the criteria to the Clerk to distribute to Councillors.
The Emergency Resilience Group are carrying out risk walks in the five villages. They will need to know the names of vulnerable people in Bicker.
Cllr Cantwell was working with Inspector Ian Cotton from the Neighbourhood Policing Team to set up a joint partnership for the parishes.
In relation to the Lancaster Bomber Memorial project. Cllr Cantwell has met with the landowner who has agreed to cut down certain areas and improve signposting for parking near to the Memorial. Cllr Cantwell would also like to instal information boards near the memorial and would work with the Lincs Aircraft Recovery Group to put that together, on a QR Code link on a sign. Councillors commented that Donington PC would need to be on board with that, as the Memorial is on land in their parish.
County Councillor Lock said he was new to the post and was working his way around all the Parish Council meetings. He asked Councillors to email him if they needed any help with anything. He had brought Cllr Daish along with him, as they both work in this area.
County Councillor Lock said he had added an objection to Planning Application 0224.
47/25 To receive reports from representatives on outside bodies:
The Village Hall Committee had not met since the last meeting.
The Bicker United Charity has not met since the last meeting.
48/25 Notes of the last meeting held on 12th June 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.
49/25 Clerk’s report on matters outstanding:
FixMyStreet report – Graffiti 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 yet.
FixMyStreet reports – white railings broken at 3 locations (Morley Lane, Donington Road and Fore Lane). Updated 27.04.25 – SCHEDULED. 19.06.25 – status changed to FIXED for Donington Road. 07.07.25 Clerk has requested updates on the other two locations.
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.
FixMyStreet report - Vine House, Red Lion Street – report from residents that they have built a new wall and damaged the pavement as well as an overgrown hedge blocking the footpath. Clerk has reported to the LCC Streetworks Team for advice on next steps. 17.06.25 – confirmed they were taking enforcement action. Councillors noted at the meeting that the resident had filled the pavement gap with gravel.
Cemetery grass cutting – Pridelands attended on 6th, 12th and 23rd June. Councillors to meet contractor at 9am on Friday, 11th July to discuss an improvement in the standard of work. Councillors commented that the standard of work had improved in the last month since the Clerk had spoken to them.
Malc Firth: Carried out grass cutting of verges and the playing field on 2nd June 16th June and 1st July
Cemetery: Clerk has purchased two galvanised watering cans and has put them in the cemetery this week.
Cemetery tap: Tap quote approved at previous meeting. Waiting for a date for the work to begin.
War Memorial quotation: Chair and Vice Chair met with contractor to discuss the works further to theit first quotation. A revised quotation was received for £992. Councillors discussed this at the meeting and the revised quotation was approved. ACTION: Clerk to notify the contractor that the revised quotation had been approved and obtain a date for the start of the works.
White railings around the village: 24.04.25 - Clerk contacted the gentleman who had painted the play equipment in the park for us previously. He has carried out a survey and met with the Chair. Clerk awaiting quotation.
Allotments: A tenant has offered to keep the 3 ½ empty allotments clear of weeds by dragging them each month for a total of £20 per month. Councillors considered the information at the meeting. They thought this was a reasonable price and noted the information from the Clerk that the tenant had Public liability insurance. ACTION: Clerk to obtain a copy of the tenant’s PL Insurance and if sufficient, notify the tenant that we will pay them £20 a month for the next year or cease/adjust the payments if the vacant allotments are let during that time.
Water butts – An allotment tenant has asked if they can purchase the two large water butts which were previously used in the allotments, but which are not connected to anywhere now. He would pay £50 each for them. Cllr Carrott confirmed that the water butts were owned by Bicker United Charity, so would look into whether the Charity were able to sell them to the tenant.
Grass area outside 1-8 Donington Road: Clerk has identified that the verge is the responsibility of LCC and will next be cut by them in September/October. They cut verges 3 times a year. A request came from a resident in their email of 7th May - Can the strip of grass, which does not belong to the residents, outside numbers 1-8 Donington Rd be included in the regular grass cutting around the village please. Councillors considered the information at the meeting and decided that the area would not be included in the cutting of the other open, communal spaces around the village as it did not fit the criteria. There were many grass verges outside properties that belonged to LCC but that were cut by residents to keep them tidy, Councillors suggested that the residents took it in turns to cut the grass if they wanted it cut more than 3 times a year by LCC. ACTION: Clerk to notify the resident of the decision.
Fen Park School – Clerk emailed the interim headteacher, requesting payment of the £500 donation and whether the higher fence has been installed at the back of the school. Response received that a higher fence would be installed at the back of the school during the summer break and the schools finance team would sort out the donation.
Email from residents 05.07.25 requesting the PC’s help to write to planning case officer at Boston Borough Council to request them to take appropriate action to stop AGR2 Ltd ignoring Planning Condition 7 and sending fully loaded HGVs through the village and along Cowbridge Road. Councillors discussed the issue at the meeting and agreed that the planning condition was not being followed. Cllr Cantwell notified Councillors that he has already spoken to the BCC Enforcement Officer about the traffic management plan and they will be speaking to AGR. Cllr Lock said he was also speaking to other departments about residents’ concerns about the traffic management at the BESS. ACTION: Clerk to write to the Enforcement Officer on behalf of the PC, asking them what they are doing about enforcing Condition 7 and how they propose to continue to enforce it.
50/25 To Receive Finance Report
a) To approve June and July payments: The Schedule of payments for approval at the July meeting was approved. Proposed and signed by Cllr Pell. Seconded and signed by Cllr Carrott.
The Chair asked whether the Clerk had received control of the Lancaster Memorial bank account from the previous Clerk. The Clerk confirmed she had not received anything yet. ACTION: Clerk to chase the previous Clerk.
51/25 To Discuss Planning Applications Received Since Last Meeting: None received.
52/25 To Receive Correspondence: There was no correspondence to discuss at this meeting.
53/25 To Receive Members Reports:
Councillors reported that it was very difficult to see onto the A52 at the junction with Mill Lane because of the bushes there. ACTION: Councillors to send pictures to the Clerk so she could report on FixMyStreet
Councillors were aware that Donington were trying to get the speed limit on the A52 decreased at the entrance to their village. Councillors were concerned that the speed limit along the A52 by the three Bicker entrances and exits was 60mph and that for safety reasons it should be reduced to 40mph as it was particularly difficult to pull out onto the A52 when vehicles were going at that speed and when you slowed down to turn off at one of the exits, cars, vans and lorries were overtaking you as they were impatient to get past. ACTION: Cllr Lock asked the Clerk to send him the details so he could look into it.
Councillor said they had received an offer from a resident to look after the area around the Lancaster Memorial site. Councillors were aware that with the reduction in the number of members in Bicker Buds, they were no longer able to maintain the site. Councillors agreed to the offer. ACTION: Clerk to write to the resident to notify them of the decision and thank them.
Councillors said the weeping willow tree on land at High House, High Street was trailing over the public footpath. ACTION: Clerk to write to the owner asking them to prune the tree.
Councillors said there was a large tree on the pavement outside the school in School Lane that was hanging over the school and a neighbouring property. ACTION: Clerk to report on FixMyStreet.
Councillors enquired about the new grave in the cemetery. ACTION: Clerk to speak to the funeral directors to ask them to get their grave differ to level it off and replace the turf so the family could lay flowers.
The Chair reminded Councillors that we need a new Councillor. ACTION: Clerk to advertise on the website and on the Parish Notice Boards.
54/25 Date of Next Meeting: Because of the unavailability of Councillors in September, it was agreed that the next meeting of the Parish Council would be moved to Thursday, 14th August 2025 at 7pm at the Gedney Room, Bicker Village Hall. There will not be a meeting in September. This was proposed by Cllr Carrott and seconded by Cllr Kelly. ACTION: Clerk to put the amended dates on the website.
55/25 Any Other Business: There being no further business, the meeting ended at 8.05pm.
Signed: …………………………………………………
Name: …………………………………………………
Date: …………………………………………………