2026 Minutes

ALLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting held at Allington Village Hall
Wednesday 09th September 2026

Present: Councillor Carlyle (AC)
Councillor Baron (CB)
Councillor Scott (RS)
Councillor Storer (CS)
Kate Griffin (KG) (Clerk/RFO)
        
District Councillor Robert Leadenham (RL)

Residents. No Residents    

91/26 TO RECEIVE NOMINATIONS AND ELECT NEW CHAIR
Cllr Plummer previously self nominated for the role of Chair by email. This email was circulated to all members of the Parish Council. There were no further nominees. All voted in favour and it was resolved to accept Cllr Plummer for the role of Chair of the Parish Council. Due to his absence the Clerk will ask Cllr Plummer to sign his declaration of office as soon as possible. A sealed envelope containing the passwords and user names for 2026/27 would be passed to Cllr Plummer. In Cllr Plummer and Cllr Marvins absence, it was agreed at the last meeting that Cllr Carlyle would Chair this meeting.

92/26 TO RECEIVE NOMINATIONS AND ELECT NEW VICE CHAIR IF THE VACANCY ARISES
As Cllr Plummer was accepted for the role of Chair this created a vacancy for the role of Vice Chair.
Cllr Plummer had nominated Cllr Carlyle by email, circulated to all, for the role should this event arise. There were no further nominees. Cllr Scott asked for the remaining Councillors present to vote. All voted in favour for Cllr Carlyle. Cllr Carlyle accepted the role and signed a Declaration of acceptance of Office. 

It was resolved to suspend the meeting for 15 minutes for the Public Forum.    

PUBLIC FORUM: The Public Forum does not form part of the meeting of the Parish Council
As no residents were present and no other items were raised for discussion Cllr Carlyle announced the Parish Council meeting could start at 7.18pm.

93/26 WELCOME BY THE CHAIR
In the absence of the Chairperson, it was agreed at the last meeting on July 9th that Cllr Carlyle would Chair this meeting. AC thanked everyone for attending.

94/26 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received by Cllr Plummer, Cllr Marvin and Cllr Reynolds and accepted for reasons previously explained. County Cllr Litchfield had emailed to advise he was also committed to another Parish Council Meeting and would call in if he possibly could, however Cllr Litchfield did not attend.

95/26 DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LOCALISM ACT 2011
No declarations of Members interest in relation to agenda items

96/26 APPROVAL OF MINUTES
It was resolved to approve the notes of the previous meeting held on July 8th 2026, signed as minutes by the Chair (AC) as a true record of the meeting. Previously circulated to all members of the council. It was resolved to accept the notes as minutes.

97/26 CLERKS CORRESPONDENCE REPORT SINCE THE LAST MEETING
The clerk distributed a list of emails which had previously been circulated the to all Councillors:
Email from Allington Primary School requesting use of the playing field for Year 6 leavers picnic.
Email from resident forwarded by Cllr Litchfield regarding the Viking Way being overgrown.
Email from Cllr Leadenham containing the Barrowby Action Group housing delivery plan.
Email from resident reporting a dead tree and fallen branch on the playing field.
Email complaint regarding overgrown hedges and discarded cuttings around St James Churchyard.
Email from P Hempsteads containing an update correction regarding the state of the Community Wood.
Email from Cllr Leadenham advising error by SKD collecting early payments for August Council Tax.
Email from resident offering help with Village planters.
Email from WI requesting permission to use banners on the village cross to promote Village Show.
Email from Allington Manor requesting further dates for use of car park at playing field for wedding parking.
Email regarding unauthorised use of the MUGA by local football team.
Email from Matt Goodall reminding the Parish Council there is a Community Wood Management plan in place.
Email from Great Gonerby councillor sharing a copy of their Emergency Plan.
Email complaint from resident to National Highways regarding the recent traffic diversions through village – copied in to the Parish Council.
Email from Kinetica Consult acting on behalf of the liquidators requesting further information regarding Commercial Play.
Email from Cllr Leadenham containing a letter from the Secretary of State regarding the use of BBQ’s & fires.
Email from Cllr Marvin resigning as Chair of the Parish Council.
Email from Dave Nettleton at Vale Protective Coatings advising touch up paintwork to the Flyer can be carried out in September.
Email from Anglian Water explaining extensive work taking place on Cowlady Lane and introducing a point of contact should we have any problems or enquiries whilst the project is being carried out.
Email from Cllr Plummer advising there is a dead cherry tree for removal by Lodge Cottage.
Email from Cllr Litchfield regarding Viking Way repair concerns from local resident – to be added as future agenda item for discussion.
Email from Newark Advertiser requesting further information regarding bus survey.
Email from LALC containing new councillor recruitment survey
Email from Cllr Cleaver, Stamford County Council, containing petition regarding Local Government reorganisation.
Email from Cllr Plummer self nominating for the role of Chair.
Email from Cllr Plummer nominating Cllr Carlyle as Vice Chair.
Email from Cllr Marvin confirming 2 offers of help with the planters.

Comments – CB commented on the email from Cllr Leadenham regarding the early Council Tax payments taken by SKDC in August. He shared concerns that this issue would cause residents to have a shortfall in their personal accounts.. 
CB commented that he felt the football team using the MUGA were not doing any harm, it is what the MUGA is for.
CB wondered if the work by Anglian Water on Cowlady Lane was related to proposed Harworth’s development. AC said he thought it was more related to work to improve water pressure to the village.
CB also advised he had contacted the reporter at Newark Advertiser who had informed him that a similar story was run last week involving Cllr East who is Highways portfolio holder for LCC and the possibility of a new bus service doesn’t look favourable. CB feels there could be a better chance of getting a service if LCC subsidises the X93 to extend the current route through Sedgebrook to include Allington which might be quicker than waiting for them to approve funding, approve bus stops, plan and approve routes from the traffic commissioners. If it could get the X93 extended this must be used or it will be lost.

ACTIONS: CB to collate bus survey results to deliver to Cllr East at LCC and report back at next meeting with plan of action for next steps.
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98/26 DISTRICT AND COUNTY COUNCILLORS REPORT
County Councillor Litchfield did not attend the meeting.
District Councillor Leadenham:
Cllr Leadenham spoke about the early council tax collection error by SKDC. He reported that a report had been sent to the Governance and Audit team for a review of the situation. Cllr Leadenham explained how many cases there were and how many complaints/claims. Cllr Carlyle asked what levels of safeguarding were in place which should have prevented this happening. Cllr Leadenham advised this would be looked in to during the investigation and he would report back with the findings.
Cllr Leadenham commented that he had printed all the bus surveys on behalf of the Parish Council – CB would like to thank Cllr Leadenham for this.
Road sweepers have been requested for the village before the winter.
An announcement by the government that LGR was to be paused and a new consultation promised.
Cllr Leadenham asked whether there had been any reports of issues with bin collections as the service has been much earlier than normal over the last few months due to the hot weather. 
Cllr Leadenham also advised that it was time to think about requesting sand bags, especially for vulnerable properties, ahead of any bad weather over the coming winter which may cause flooding. A discussion was held regarding identifying vulnerable properties and the Peach Lane/culvert location. RS updated Cllr Leadenham about the dangers of flooding there and he asked for video and photo evidence to send to SKDC.
Cllr Leadenham asked if the bin was still being used on Marston Lane as this would be removed if not used. Cllrs confirmed it was used.
. 
ACTIONS: RS to forward photos and videos of flooding to Cllr Leadenham.

99/26 CLERKS FINANCE REPORT

(a)The accounts for payment were checked against the invoices and lists, and signed by AC and RS. It was resolved to approve the receipts and payments for September as per Financial Regulations 6.10 as follows:

Invoices/expenses to approve for payment for 2 x signatures:
EDF ENERGY FOR AUGUST 2026 – £34.23
HEMPSTEADS 5 OF 8 DUE 28/9/26 - £471.74
INTERMEDICAL UK – DEFIB PADS AG - £107.99
1ST GALAXY FIREWORKS BALANCE (PFFR RINGFENCED FUNDS) - £2250.00
(b) Bank statement checking and balance check was undertaken and statements signed by Cllr Carlyle as per Financial Regulations 2.6
It was resolved to accept the bank balances to Sept 5th as follows:
HSBC PC Current account £1012.97
HSBC PC Savings account £39859.32
HSBC Fund Raised ringfenced current account £9418.43    
(c ) Invoices already paid due to time constraints requiring 2 x signatures:
Cllr Baron – reimbursed for hosepipe X 2 and connector purchase: £163.70
Kate Griffin (Clerk) – reimbursed for No fires/No BBQ signs – £62.98
Hempsteads 4 of 8  grass cutting August – £471.74
EDF energy – July usage – £96.14
HMRC NIC’s to July 26 - £188.51
1ST Galaxy fireworks ABF deposit ( B Norton reimbursed) - £750.00
(d) Payments received since the last meeting:
05/7/26 – Savings account bank interest - £38.80
13/7/26 – Deposit RCVD return of ABW float to PFFR ringfenced account - £600
15/7/26 – Allington Manor Car parking £30
23/7/26 – Deposit RCVD from ABW fund raisers to include repayment of invoices prepaid £8636.20
23/7/26 – deposit RCVD from ABW additional funds raised £899.10
24/7/26 – HMRC VAT reclaim for Q1 - £3175.73
25/7/26 – Allington Manor parking £30
02/8/26 – Allington Manor parking £30
03/8/26 – Moor Bio Energy playpark grant RCVD - £2500.00
05/8/26 – Savings account bank interest - £38.28
12/8/26 – Allington Manor parking £30
12/8/26 – Allington Manor parking £30
13/8/26 - Easy fundraising - £49.66
05/9/26 – Allington Manor parking £30
05/9/26 – Savings account bank interest - £39.63
Other banking transactions to report:
Transfer of funds from PC current account to FR ringfenced :
£9535.30 RCVD from PFFR, less deduction for beer chiller pump paid by PC funds , amount transferred to FR account £8475.50
Transfer of funds from PC current account to PC savings account - £2500.00 funding from Moor Bio Energy towards balance paid by PC to playground re-surfacing project.
COMMENTS: Cllr Carlyle reminded that under the new TOR for the events committee all funds raised will now be classed as Parish Council money. This will still be dedicated to the running of events but is important to note this is officially Parish Council money.
CLERK TO ACTION: Clerk to make relevant payments of outstanding invoices.

100/26    CLERKS CORRESPONDENCE SINCE THE LAST MEETING
It was noticed that this item was on the agenda twice, therefore it was resolved to ignore agenda item 10 as this was received at agenda item 7.

101/26 TO RECEIVE CLERKS REPORT

A hosepipe and reel were ordered and has been assembled by Cllr Baron, awaiting discussion regarding storage and usage.
The purchase of the beer chiller for ABW has been added to the insurance policy at no additional cost for the remainder of this year.
Claim form for playpark/bus shelter funding from Moor Bio Energy was submitted and the amount of £2500 has since been received.
Claim form for bus shelter funding from LCC was submitted and approved for payment once the work has been assigned to a contractor and invoices sent in for payment to the value of £2820.85
Replacement pads for the defibrillator at Allington Gardens were ordered and have been received.
All Councillors completed their new DPI forms for 2026 which have been submitted to SKDC.
Clerk contacted Simon Bingham regarding the small repairs advised in the ROSPA report. Simon will meet with Cllr Plummer on his return from holiday to inspect and advise.
The bus survey has been circulated with the Allington News and a Bus Survey email address was set up to accept responses. Several replies have been received by email already as well as surveys collected from the drop off points. To be reviewed at the next meeting. A statement has been made on social media and the Parish Council website urging residents to complete the survey.
Cllr Plummer has inspected the storage unit at the playing field which appeared to be in better condition than expected. A decision is required what to do with this.
Damaged /dead trees at the playing fields and by Lodge Cottage need to be dealt with. Quotes have now been received and a decision is required who to allocate this work to.  On suggestion of Cllr Plummer, I have asked advice from Cllr Litchfield regarding the ownership of the dead Cherry Tree by Lodge Cottage before agreeing to pay for this to be removed.
Following several complaints regarding the recent traffic congestion in the village due to the diversions from the A1, formal complaints were made to the Highways team/LCC/Cllr Litchfield. An email of apology was received from the Highways agency which was copied to the Parish Council website.
The new TORs for all of the committees have now been created for 2026 for approval. Unfortunately, the planning committee TOR was inadvertently not included on the agenda for tonight and therefore will be included for approval at the next meeting in November.
Following concerns raised by Cllr Marvin I have requested a site inspection from Abacus playgrounds to advise us on the condition of the new surface that appears to show signs of movement around the edges.
Further to a letter circulated to all Parish Councils by the Secretary of State advising that outdoor disposable BBQs are currently banned due to extreme dry and hot weather. Therefore, new signage was requested for the playing field which was delivered and has been erected by Cllr Plummer. This was also shared to the residents via social media and the Parish Council website.
ACTIONS: AC commented that the recent hot weather may have caused the playground surface shrinkage and to monitor further before we ask Abacus to inspect. Clerk to email Abacus.

102/26    To Receive Planning Report
(previously circulated to councillors)
S26/1305 -  Proposed erection of pre-fabricated single garage – no objections received.
S26/1169 – Hedgerow removal notice, Sewstern Lane. Works may proceed as notified.
ACTIONS:  No comments received

103/26    TO RECEIVE UPDATES OF NEW JOINT EVENTS COMMITTEE
AC asked for other Council members to volunteer to join the events committee as 3 Councilors are required. CS offered to be a member, proposed by Cllr Carlyle unanimously agreed by all. It was resolved that CS would join the events committee. RS offered that in the event no one else should wish to join this committee following absences from this meeting then she would consider being the 3rd member. 
AC confirmed there would be a first meeting held soon with the fund raisers to talk through some procedural elements of the new TOR now this has been circulated with them and to talk through any concerns they may have and whether any adaptations are needed. To also discuss getting a budget up front for the next events for approval by the committee so that the clerk will be able to pay invoices up to those amounts with the committee supporting any authorisations as and when required. 
CB commented that the events committee should provide the PC with a list of key holders for insurance purposes as the Parish Council would be liable. It was commented that the Parish Council assets as listed on the asset register need to be secure. AC confirmed this was a reasonable request that would be discussed with the fund raisers.    

104/26 TO RESOLVE TO ACCEPT NEW PLAYING FIELD ADVISORY COMMITTEE TOR
CS proposed to accept the new TOR, voted in favour by all and it was resolved to accept the new TOR. A Chairperson is to be elected at the first meeting. 
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105/26 TO RESOLVE TO ACCEPT NEW STAFFING COMMITTEE TOR
The wording of the TOR was queried by AC and it was agreed the term “Advisory” was necessary in the title of the TOR and also to amend the word in section 3 (i) from “approve” to “recommend” job descriptions. It was resolved to accept the minor changes.
It was proposed to accept the new TOR by RS, voted in favour by all. It was resolved to accept the new TOR. A chair will need to be elected at the first meeting.

106/26    TO DISCUSS USE OF HOSEPIPES AND THE PLANTERS
CB confirmed the new hosepipe and reel had been purchased and set up ready to go although not tested yet due to the current hosepipe ban. A discussion took place where this could be stored. CB had approached various locations but unable to find suitable storage other than possibly the Village Hall car park inside an outdoor lockable storage box or the playing field shed. CB has emailed a local resident who is a plant specialist for advice regarding suitable planting for the planters but currently on holiday and so they will speak on her return. CB feels annual and bedding plants need constant replacement, so maybe small conifers and hardy plants will be easier to maintain. The condition of the compost may have deteriorated and also need replacing. CB also advised there are several people willing to help with watering on The Green. 
AC suggested that CB makes a full list of exactly how many planters and village signs require re-planting, discussing this with the local residents who have offered to help and come to the next meeting with an exact budget for these to be replanted.
ACTION: CB to contact resident plant specialists to discuss quotes and to report at the next meeting.

107/26 BUS SHELTER RENOVATIONS
Further to the successful funding application with LCC, a grant has been approved for the renovation of the community bus shelter. 3 like for like quotes were discussed and compared by the Parish Councillors.
It was decided to award the contract to the company who have offered a full 20 year manufacturing guarantee on the materials and 20 year guarantee on the work. Proposed by AC, seconded by CB and it was resolved to accept the quote from Lincs Property Maintenance.
ACTION: Clerk to approach the contractor to check the quote is still valid and advise we have received the funding for this to go ahead.

108/26 EMERGENCY PLAN UPDATE
CS advised that this was still not ready to present and needed more time. RS offered to help if needed. AC reminded that support is also available from SKDC if needed. CS to see how this goes and inform the clerk if it will be ready to present on the agenda at the next meeting. 
ACTION: CS to continue working on the plan and update the Clerk accordingly.

109/26 HARWORTHS UPDATE
CB confirmed he was now registered for weekly planning updates from SKDC and there were no further developments to report to date.

110/26 AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING 
Review budget to date of next meeting ½ yearly update.
Emergency Plan update – CS to inform Clerk if ready to present.
Provision of bench for A Black - JP
To approve budget for planters. CB
Bus Survey update - CB
MUGA update - JP
PF Storage unit update - JP
Peach Lane car parking – SM 
Traffic Speed cameras – SM
Approval of TOR for planning advisory committee.
Event committee update – AC 
Viking Way repairs and restoration - JP

111/26 DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING

11 November 2026

CLLR CARLYLE CLOSED THE MEETING AT 8:36PM