October 2025 Minutes
TORKSEY PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES
AN ORDINARY MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL
held on Monday 20th October 2025,
beginning at 7.30 pm.
At the White Swan Torksey Lock
164. Those Present
Cllr Connelley. Chairman
Cllr Levitt.
Cllr Ford.
Cllr Pearson.
Cllr Large.
Cllr Scawthon.
Mr R. Pilgrim. Parish Clerk. District Councillor.
165. Apologies for Absence.
Cllr Burke. Having neem informed of the reason for his absence, Council approved his apologies for absence.
166. The Chairman will now suspend the meeting for a period of 15 Minutes to allow for a public forum.
A member of the public, living in Fenton, has suggested that for the payment of a small annual sum he would take responsibility for the management and maintenance of the pond on the village green. Council will discuss the suggestion at the November meeting.
167. Declarations of Interest.
None received.
168. Approval of the Minutes of the Last Meeting. Monday 15th September 2025
Resolved. That the Minutes of the last Ordinary Meeting be approved as a true record.
Proposed Cllr Ford Seconded Cllr Levitt. Carried unanimously.
169, Matters Arising from the Minutes of the Last Meeting.
(Not included in this Agenda)
None received.
170. Amendments to the Agenda by Resolution.
None received.
171. Assertion 10. Initial requirements.
Adoption of IT Policy.
Resolved. That the IT Policy recently sent to Councillors for scrutiny be approved and adopted for Council use.
Proposed Cllr Ford Seconded Cllr Pearson. Carried unanimously.
172. Hume Arms. Future of. For Discussion.
Tom Rawle (WLDC) to be contacted for possibility of applying for a Community Protection Notice.
173. Current Projects. Progress Reports.
Identify projects which could be completed during the next 12 months.
Seat in the Play Area. Arrange for delivery to Torksey Surgery. The seat will be stored at the surgery until it can be installed in the Play Area.
Information Board. The new board is in final stages of production. The Clerk will contact Elite Signs for a progress report,
Poppies for Lamp Posts.
Resolved. That Cllr Levitt should purchase the poppies. The invoice will be sent to the Clerk for payment.
Proposed Cllr Levitt Seconded Cllr Ford. Carried unanimously.
174. Information Kiosk. Future of. For Discussion. (LL)
Contact electors who have offered to look after the Kiosk and inform them of the next steps in the refurbishment.
Replace the Glass and Frames, Shot blast the main Kiosk. Prime and paint. The initial work will be carried out by the Blas Tec Group and X 2 Connect .com (Glazing).
175. Christmas Tree for the Parish. Purchase/Hire and Location. (MB).
M. Kinch happy to have the tree in the Paddock of L’Ecole.
Cllr Connelley will liaise with Cllr Burke for the delivery and installation of a Christman Tree, The tree is to be hired and returned to the supplier after Christmas. Delivery date is as yet unknown.
Cllr Large is to source LED lighting for the tree.
Invoices for the above to be sent to the Clerk for payment.
£120 hire fee for tree together with LED Lights.
Maximum expenditure agreed as £250.00.
Proposed Cllr Pearson Seconded Cllr Ford. Carried unanimously.
176. Torksey Viaduct Report.
A meeting between Railway Footpaths and Cllr Connelley and Mr A Green.
The representative from Railways Footpaths Ltd wanted the meeting so that they could familiarise themselves with the Viaduct and surrounding issues.
177. Village Green.
a. Monthly Inspection. Received and will be dealt with at a future meeting.
b. Repair to fencing on the eastern side of the play area.
The repair will be completed once the new bench has been installed.
c. New Information Board. Approve Quotation.
Resolved, That the quotation received from Elite Signs be approved.
Proposed Cllr Large. Seconded Cllr Pearson. Carried unanimously.
d. Pond Water Level. The water level is rather low. However, rain is expected in the coming days so a decision to pump water will be delayed until later in the month.
e. New bench for the play area.
The bench has been delivered and is presently stored at the Torksey Surgery.
f. Classic Car Rally 2026. Funding request.
Cllr Pearson will inform the committee of Councils thoughts on another funding request.
Essentially, in future, any monies paid to the club will have to be paid into a named Club/Society account. Additionally, future payments could be regarded as a start-up Loan to be repaid from the profits of the event.
178. Highways Issues.
The Clerk will contact Anglian Water for a Progress report concerning the now overdue road repair outside the Church.
Litter/Dog Bims contact Smoothy S WLDC.
179. Traffic Calming.
Data downloaded from SIDs.
Speeding through the Village. Resident’s complaint.
Data from the latest SID download will be posted on Facebook.
The complaint from an elector concerning the speed of vehicles moving through the village will be directed to the latest data available.
180. Health and Safety.
a. Village Green. Dangerous rabbit holes.
b. Play Area No issues reported.
c. Cemetery. Mole activity is now evident. The pest control contractor will be contacted.
181. Facebook.
Suggestion for content.
182. Finance.
a. Financial Statement for September 2025.
Resolved. That the Financial Statement for September be approved as a true record.
Proposed Cllr Ford. Seconded Cllr Levitt. Carried unanimously.
b. Clerk’s Salary and Expenses. £284.90
Resolved. That the Clerks Salary and Expenses be approved for payment.
Proposed Cllr Levitt Seconded Cllr Ford. Carried unanimously.
c. Invoices for Payment. (Schedule of Expenditure).
HMRC PAYE £70.00
Reedman Services. £30.00
Queen Bee Pest Management. £60.00
Krinkels £945.00
Pelican Trust. £110.00
Fenton Tree Surgery. £500.00
Lincolnshire Assoc of \Local Councils. £216.00
Marmax. £284.40
Resolved. That the above expenditure at 182.c. be approved for payment
Proposed Cllr Scawthon Seconded Cllr Ford. Carried unanimously.
d. Estimate for Precept 2026-2027
Resolved. That the Precept claim for 2026-2027 be approved at £17500.00.
Proposed Cllr Large. Seconded Cllr Pearson. Carried unanimously.
183. Correspondence.
No Comments.
184. Future Agenda Items.
For Discussion Emailed Surveys. Council Responses.
185. Dates of Future Meetings.
a. Monday 17th November 2025.
b. Monday 15th December 2025.
c. Monday 16th February 2025.
186. Closure of the Meeting.
R. Pilgrim. Parish Clerk.