2026 Minutes

2026

TORKSEY PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES

AN ORDINARY MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL

held on Monday 16th February 2026, beginning at 7.00 pm.

At the White Swan Torksey Lock

Members of the public and press were cordially invited to attend

1. Those Present

Cllr Connelley. Chairman.

Cllr Pearson.

Cllr Burke.

Cllr Large,

Cllr Scawthon.

Cllr Ford.

Mr R. Pilgrim. Parish Clerk. District Councillor.

Members of the public. 2.

2. Apologies for Absence

Cllr Levitt. Having been informed of the reason for her absence, Council approved her apologies for absence.

3. The Chairman will now suspend the meeting for 15 minutes to allow for a public forum.

Two members of the Ermine Street Classic Car Club attended to discuss a show planned for 2026. Please see item 10.b.

4. Declarations of Interest.

Cllr Burke Personal Interest. A member of the Harley Davidson Club. (10.c.)

Cllr Pearson personal interest. A member of the Classic Car Club. (10.b.)

5. Approval of the Minutes of the last meeting held on Monday 15th December 2026.

Resolved. That the Minutes of the last meeting be approved as a true record.

Proposed Cllr Scawthon    Seconded Cllr Ford.    Carried unanimously.

6. Matters arising from the Minutes of the last meeting. (Not included in this Agenda).

None received.

7. Amendments to the Agenda by Resolution.

After some discussion it was decided that the Speed Gun, together with all associated equipment should be disposed of.

8. Change of Email addresses.

Parish Online has been contacted and an initial application for Gov.UK email addresses has been made. Once the application has been registered, new email addresses and details of how to sign on and use the new system will be received from Parish Online and forwarded to Councillors. The new system should be in place before the next Parish Council meeting. Monday 16th March 2026.

9. Hume Arms – Future of for discussion.

The Parish Council has tried to resolve the situation through West Lindsey DC Enforcement, but the only way forward has been to try and prove that the situation can be described as anti- social and to date nothing has happened which falls into that category. It has been agreed by the Parish Council that residents should be encouraged to complain to the Chief Executive of West Lindsey DC and seek his help in trying resolve the situation. To this end an article will be posted on the two local Facebook pages in an attempt to spread the word.

10. Future Projects. Progress reports.

a. Christmas Tree December 2026. This is the first year that the Parish Council has supplied a tree and lights for the Christmas period. However, it was not as successful as was originally hoped. The tree, whilst looking large enough in its natural surroundings, was not considered large enough when placed in the Paddock next to L’cole. The solar lights did not perform as expected and will need to be replaced. However, the Parochial Church Council has agreed to allow a larger display in December 2026, using one of the existing trees and lights which are mains powered from the Church. The Parish Council will make a donation to Church funds to cover the cost of electricity used. Many thanks must also go to Marion Kinch for allowing the Parish Council to use the Paddock for this years effort.

b. Classic Car Rally. Sat 25th July 2026.

Members of the Ermine Street Classic Car Club attended the meeting. They will make an application for funding to cover the cost of two Portaloo’s costing approximately £250.00.

The Parish Council will support this suggestion. The Parish Council has also been asked to suggest a charities or Charities which may benefit from any profits made at the event.

Proposed Cllr |Large.    Seconded Cllr Scawthon.    Carried unanimously.

c. Harley Davidson Charitable Event.

Cllr Burke gave a short presentation of the events which will be included in this year’s fund-raising ride. A short copy of the presentation is attached to these Minutes.

A maximum of £500.00 can be applied for under Parish Council’s grant scheme.

The Parish Council will support this application.

Proposed Cllr Pearson    Seconded Cllr Ford.    Carried unanimously.

11. Information Kiosk. Future of for discussion. (SS)

A member of the public has offered to help with the restoration. 

Council intends to ask him to attend the March meeting.

12. Village Green.

a. Monthly inspection.

Notice Board. The new notice board is letting water in through the top of the frame. Pelican Trust has been informed and will come to inspect the damage and work out a solution.

b. Pond water level and third-party management.

After looking at the situation in some depth Council decided to gather more information before making a final decision.

c. Installation of the new bench in the play area.

The bench will be installed when conditions are more favourable.

d. Container.  A Parish Council generator and the recently purchased silhouette statues have been added to the contents of the container. 

Cllr Connelley will complete a list of the contents of the container.

13. Highways Issues.

a. Road repair outside St Peter’s Church. Anglian Water.

Traffic management is to be installed on Thursday 19th February and Friday 20th whilst the repair is being done.

b. Flooding along the A156.

The only course of action seems to be constant reporting on FixMyStreet.

Th Clerk will write to Highways to see if there are any works which can be done to improve the situation.

c. Data from the Speed Indicating Devices. 

The cameras are having an effect on traffic speeds. The speeds will continue to be monitored with quarterly reports using downloaded data.

A report is attached to these minutes.

14. Health and Safety.

a. Village Green. No new issues reported.

A pest management contractor will be contacted for management of the rabbit and mole population.

b. Play Park. No issues reported,

c. Cemetery. No new issues reported.

See 14.a. for action to be taken.

15. Facebook.

Suggestions for content.

Anglian Water Works as above – Road Closure.

Classic Cars/Harley Davidson show and event.

Remind residents that they should refer damage caused to cars by potholes to Highways.

16. Finance.

a. Financial Statement for January 2025.

It was proposed, seconded and Resolved unanimously that the Financial Statement above be approved as a true record.

b. Clerk’s Salary and Expenses January 2026. £148.76

It was proposed, Seconded and Resolved unanimously that the Clerk’s salary and expenses be approved for payment.

c. Invoices for payment February 2026.

HMRC PAYE £70.00

Parish Online £45.00

Cllr Connelley. Light Cables £10.38.

Reedman Services. £30.00

LALC Subscription, £189.48.

LALC Training Scheme. £174.00

WAVE Cemetery Water. £16.92.

Cllr Large. Solar powered lights. £44.18.

Parish Online: Gov.UK addresses. £192.00

It was Proposed Seconded and Resolved unanimously that the Invoices at 16.c. be approved for payment.

d. Disposal of Speed Indicating Camera.

Council will need to value the CSW equipment ready for sale.

17. Correspondence.

Information sent out during the last month.

Councillors to read the update “Resilience Communities Programme” before the next meeting, as it will be on the Agenda.

18. Future Agenda Items.

Dog waste bin near the BT exchange.

19. Dates of Future Meetings.

Monday 16th March 2026.

Monday 20th April 2026

Monday 18th May 2026.

20. Closure of the Meeting,

There being no further business the meeting was closed at 2120 hrs. (9.20 pm).

R. Pilgrim.  Parish Clerk.