Minutes

Langworth Group Parish Council  

Serving the grouped parishes of Barlings, Newball, Stainton by Langworth and Reasby

E:mail: langworthgroupparishcouncil@gmail.com

Draft Minutes of the Langworth Group Annual Parish Meeting held at 7.00pm on Tuesday 6th May 2025 in Langworth Memorial Hall

Present: Cllr M Herbert (Chairman); Mr A. Everard (Locum Clerk) and 8 members of the public.

Meeting started at 7.00pm.

1. Notes from the Annual Parish Meeting held on 6th May 2024:
137996906168. to sign these as a correct record.        

2. Chairman’s Report: Cllr Mike Herbert

A report was given by the Chairman (Appendix A)

3. Clerk/RFO’s report: Mrs Michelle Vail

A report was given by the Clerk (Appendix B)

4. Reports by local County and District Councillors:

D/Cllr M Palmer advised of the proposals for local government re-organisation put forward to Government for consideration. 

5. Local Organisations reports:

There were no local reports.

6. Parishioners Items:

No matters were raised.

  Meeting ended at 7.30pm.

11th May 2025

Mr Andrew Everard

Locum Parish Clerk

Langworth Group Parish Council

APPENDIX A

Chairman’s Report for term 2024/2025

Over the last 12 months we have maintained a full complement of Parish Councillors. Unfortunately, Councillor Jack Machin has reluctantly resigned for personal reasons. Councillor John Jarvis has now joined us and was appointed in July of last year.  It is worthy to note that we don’t have a lot of turnover with Councillors, people join us and stay until personal circumstances dictate otherwise.  We have some Councillors that have been with us for over 10 years and more.  As Councils go, we are a stable, consolidated and a friendly group of individuals who are encouraged and able to express our opinions whilst also willing to listen and consider the opinions of other people.  As you would expect, we have not always agreed on matters, but we have always come to a consensus of opinion and have accepted the democratic outcome.  Councillor’s contributions are invaluable and I would like to express my gratitude to each and everyone.  Councillors give up their personal time to come together each month to discuss issues affecting us.  We try to resolve problems and generally help the community as much as we are able to do.  Councillors are rarely thanked or appreciated for what they do but yet they continue in a public service for which they receive little recognition. 

I would also like to express my thanks to our outgoing Councillor Ian Fleetwood. We appreciate that he has frequently attended our meetings and often provides us with valuable insights and information from County and District Authorities. I am unsure how the recent electoral changes last week will affect us moving forward, but Ian Fleetwood has supported this Parish as our County Councillor for many years.  He has done a great deal for us and has always been supportive, informative and helpful to this Parish. I don’t think that many people are aware of how much he has done for us over the years, much of it happens behind the scenes.  We wish him all the best with his future endeavours. Trevor Bridgwood has now been voted in as our new County Councillor and we hope that he has a smooth transition into this new role and that all goes well for him.  We look forward to his continued support. I would like to express our thanks and gratitude to our other District Councillors Maureen Palmer and Chris Darcel.  Their experience, dedication to their role and invaluable insights are enormously appreciated Details about how the new Unitary Council will be organised and function is not yet known.

I also would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to our Parish Clerks Michelle and to Andrew.  Andrew and LALC have been able to provide additional support whilst Michelle is recovering from serious illness. Clerks are essentially the “engine” of the Council, ensuring its lawful operation, managing its finances, preparing meeting agendas, and implementing decisions. Without their hard work this Parish Council would not be able to function. We are blessed indeed to have such excellent people working with us.

Council Tax - Post Covid, post austerity, post cost of living crisis I think that many people in our community have been hoping for some long-awaited signs of improvements.  However, locally it doesn’t feel like much is happening and many in our community are still struggling more than they rightly deserve.  It results in complaints and a general feeling of dissatisfaction. For example, the potential flooding issues have not been resolved and the footpaths and roads continue to deteriorate. Costs are rising and incomes are struggling to keep up with the demands of the cost of living.  The annual Council Tax bill is an example of this. I recognise that this is a national issue, but it seems that even in Lincolnshire we cannot even maintain the infrastructure and services that we once had.  We see precious little of it being used to maintain or improve things locally.   One smaller element of the Council Tax is the Parish Council contribution.  That contribution has increased slightly but is significantly less than inflation. The Parish Council were, once again, very reserved in their budget this year and any increases in tax only really reflect the increase in the Parish Councils running costs i.e. grass cutting, playground maintenance etc.  I ask residents to keep in mind that all of the money that the Parish Council receives is all spent in Langworth and nearby villages.  Parish Councillors do not get paid and their work is voluntary

Planning - Planning applications have been noticeably low this year.  The majority of applications have been about property extensions and rebuilds.  No new major housing development applications have been received and the 20 proposed and accepted dwellings on Barlings Lane have not yet started. Swallow Hill Homes are unable to give us a start date at this time. We still don’t have a Neighbourhood Plan and the Parish Council has struggled to get people to help in its development.  Its importance should not be undervalued especially in the light of the proposed changes in the Local Plan and pressure from Central Government to build more properties.  If we are not careful, we may end up with housing developments being proposed in our area, that are locally opposed but are being supported and pushed through by the planning authorities.  We have to do more than we are doing on the Neighbourhood Plan as it could be our only way to influence development in our area.

Flooding - As I commented on last year, despite the damage caused by local flooding and the potential for it to have been much worse if the River Eau had not broken its banks downstream, little has been done by the authorities to mitigate against future risks.  Weather patterns have changed, flooding has become frequent events and as it stands, future flooding events in our area seem inevitable. My opinion has not changed from last year in that it seems to me that the Environment Agency, Lincolnshire County Council and Witham 3rd Drainage have no local plan, they have no money and they have no intention of making local improvements to prevent flooding in our Parish.  The only thing that we can directly do as a Parish Council is to have an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) in place which is keyed into LCC’s Emergency Services.  It won’t stop the flooding but it will hopefully help those people who get caught up in these tragic events. The ERP has been completed and will be desk top tested soon.

Play Area – The play area outside of the Memorial Hall is inspected regularly and annually by ROSPA.  Although it does comply with safety standards, it is still in need of continuous maintenance and some equipment renewal.  Decades ago, this Parish Council agreed to develop this play area and that ongoing commitment to it remains.  With the help and advice of our new Play Area Parish Champion we have put to one side aside funding and have a plan to provide essential maintenance.  We are also looking into replacing some of the older and worn equipment. 

Langworth Local – The Parish Council has removed itself from direct involvement with the magazine as there is no requirement for a Parish Council to produce such a local news-booklet. It is now being produced independently and the Editor makes their own decisions about how it is operated and run.  The Parish Council recognises the importance of the magazine to the community. Consistent with how other nearby Parish Councils operate, we have agreed to provide financial support in the form of an annual grant.  The Editor continues to push towards financial independence through advertisements but the Parish Council recognises that this may not happen anytime soon.  Currently, revenue from advertisements subsidises its production.

The delivery of the magazine is carried out by a team a volunteers organised by Mr Clive Buttress.  Many thanks go out to him and his team.  Residents are also thanked for their support and ability to provide local information and articles to the Editor.

Langworth Memorial Hall - Changes at the Memorial Hall created a few difficulties in this last year because new policies and agreements were being introduced.  After some discussions there are no longer any outstanding issues and matters have been agreed.  We look forward to an improved relationship with the Committee and our support for this essential social hub is unwavering.

Other Items of Note –

• A new village noticeboard has been purchased and put into place on Barlings Lane.
• The Speed Indicator Sign has been moved to a new position from the Lay-By adjacent to woodyard towards Wragby. Hopefully this will have an effect of slowing traffic near the two difficult road junctions for Newball and Stainton. 
• The Council is supporting the repair of the Lychgate roof situated at the cemetery on Barlings Lane.  The Church are organising repairs to the woodwork.
• The Council has been petitioning the owners of the dilapidated New Station Restaurant and Bar which is near the railway crossing on the main road.  The owners did seem reluctant to do anything with the building but they have now eventually placed this commercial property for sale.  We hope something happens soon as it remains a blot on our landscape, one of the first things that you see when you come in Langworth from Lincoln and it is constant source of irritation for residents.
• Forestry England are to develop a new large woodland which will be situated adjacent to the lay-by on the A158 (around 1 mile NE of Langworth)
• Community Speed Watch has not operated this year and requires more volunteers who will then need some training.  Hopefully this initiative will happen in 2025/2026.

APPENDIX B