July 2025 Minutes
Woolsthorpe-by-Belvoir
Parish Council
Minutes of a Parish Council Meeting held at Woolsthorpe Social Club
Monday 14th July 2025 at 19.00
Present Cllr. C. McCallion - Chair
Cllr. S. Hardcastle-Waugh – Vice Chair
Cllr. M. Bunn
Cllr. K. Price
Julie Gillies - Clerk
Guests DC Rob Leadenham
3 parishioners
101/25 Welcome from the Chair
Cllr. McCallion welcomed everyone to the meeting.
102/25 To receive apologies for absence
Apologies were received and were accepted from Cllr. A. Hill, Cllr. P. Hill and Cllr. Litchfield.
103/25 To ratify the resignation of Cllr. Packer.
Resignation received from Cllr. Packer was accepted.
The procedure to fill the vacancies was explained and as notification had been received from SKDC that an election had not been called, the Parish Council could co-opt to fill the vacancies.
An advertisement had been published and one applicant had applied.
104/25 To Receive Declarations Of Pecuniary Interest In Accordance With The Localism Act 2011
No declarations of Member interests in relation to agenda items were received.
No requests for dispensations from Members were received.
The meeting adjourned at 19.02 for the Public Forum.
Thanks were extended to Cllrs. Hill for their work in mending and painting the village seat, bus shelter, and noticeboard, as well as for cutting back the hedge.
Cllr. Leadenham reported that South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) was now maintaining the closed churchyard on Orston Road, following his email to them last year.
Planning permission for the proposed 200 houses at Harlaxton had been refused, following over 300 public comments. The campaign was reported to be well-organised by the village. However, new development sites were now being considered.
Construction of 200 houses in Barrowby was expected to begin at the end of the year.
Cllr. Leadenham circulated a newsletter, with copies to be distributed to parishioners.
VJ Day was discussed and the Parish Council were urged to mark the occasion by lighting the lantern and raising the flag.
A new monitoring officer has been appointed at SKDC, a shared role with Rutland County Council.
There has been some progress on the flooding issues, and a response from Anglian Water was pending. A full update was expected to be provided at the next meeting.
The meeting re-convened at 19.09
105/25 Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the annual Parish Council meeting held on 14th May 2025 and extraordinary meeting held on 11th June 2025 were agreed to be a true and accurate record and were signed by the Chair.
106/25 Parish Council Vacancy
One application had been received and the applicant was asked to introduce himself and questions were asked.
After a vote, it was agreed unanimously that Barratt Hardcastle-Waugh be co-opted to the Parish Council.
107/25 FINANCE
a) Resolved - To accept the bank reconciliation, payments and monies received (appendix i) and to approve invoices for payment:
Stacey Woodard – grounds maintenance £180.00
LALC - Internal Audit £198.00
RoSPA – Play Safety Annual Inspection £96.00
SLCC – Annual Membership £118.00
Community Heartbeat – Annual Subscription £162.00
Agreed to the above invoices being paid.
Approval was sought for payment of the monthly ink subscription of £6.39 per month, including payment for April and May – Agreed.
Query was made of two invoices from Belvoir Estates for £175.00 and £100.00. Cllr. McCallion to check with Belvoir Estates.
The meeting adjourned at 19.19
A parishioner requested clarification on what the Community Heartbeat subscription included and also asked whether the telephone kiosk would be repainted. An explanation was provided regarding the subscription, and Cllr. McCallion agreed to follow up with Mr. Duff about the painting of the kiosk.
The meeting re-convened at 19.20
b) Resolved – To accept 2025/26 budget to actuals (appendix i)
c) Asset register – Cllr. McCallion reported that an updated and more in-depth asset register had been produced and after some minor amendments, would be uploaded to Facebook and the website. The final version would be presented for approval at the next Parish Council meeting.
108/25 Planning Applications and Decisions
a) Planning Applications
There were no planning applications to review.
b) Planning Decisions
S25/1030 – The Chequers
Section 211 Notice to reduce T1 and T2 Leylandii Cypress Trees
Work allowed
109/25 Playground
a) Inspections by Parish Councillors
The playground was being inspected weekly by Cllr. P. Hill.
Details of the RoSPA inspection app were given and costs to be obtained to purchase the app.
b) Annual Inspection
Notification had been received that the inspection would take place during August.
c) Grant application
An expression of interest for a community grant had been submitted and had successfully progressed to the next stage. The full application must be submitted by 1st August, and Cllr. S. Hardcastle-Waugh agreed to be responsible for completing and submitting
A discussion took place on children’s homes within the parish and a suggestion was made to invite the owners to a Parish Council meeting.
ACTION: Cllr. S. Hardcastle-Waugh.
110/25 Village Maintenance
a) Overgrown hedge and village maintenance
Cllr. A. Hill had spoken with a resident regarding hedge maintenance and they have agreed to cut it back.
The hedges by the playground and the bus shelter have been trimmed.
The sign at the top of Cliff Road has been replaced and the manhole covers have been marked in preparation for repair.
The Community Cleaner reported several dirty road signs. Their locations to be identified and arrangements made for them to be cleaned.
ACTION: Cllr. McCallion.
b) Speed Signage/Stop signs on Cliff Road
Cllr. Leadenham to follow up with Cllr. Litchfield regarding outstanding matters.
The Speed Indicator Device (SID) on the downhill approach from Belvoir Castle was currently not working. Cllr. Leadenham would submit a request for it to be repaired.
c) Speed limiting solutions
ACTION: Cllr. P. Hill to be asked to charge the sign outside the Old Hunt stables.
d) Dog waste bin
Three quotes had been obtained and would be circulated for approval.
Cllr. Leadenham would request more signage.
The meeting adjourned at 19.42
Cllr. Leadenham offered to design and print a village newsletter, provided that councillors contributed content and volunteers were available to deliver it. It was felt this would be a valuable way to help residents better understand the role of the Parish Council and to promote its ongoing work in the community
The meeting re-convened at 19.44
e) Flooding issues and gullies
Sarah Turtle was not present to give a full report.
A discussion took place regarding the last time the gullies were cleared and the possibility of replacing the temporary ice warning sign with a permanent one.
ACTION: Cllr. McCallion to contact Highways to request the installation of a permanent ice warning sign.
f) Defibrillator
A report from Malcolm Duff was read out, which confirmed that regular checks of the defibrillator have continued with no issues. It was also noted that the defibrillator has now been successfully registered with ‘The Circuit’, the new national administration system for Ambulance Services.
111/25 Community Speed Group
Cllr. S. Hardcastle-Waugh has taken over as the group co-ordinator and has set up a WhatsApp group for members. The Community Speedwatch group was now fully established, all members have completed their training and the required paperwork has been signed off and returned. A date for the first Speedwatch session still needed to be set.
It was reported there had not been enough trained volunteers available to take part in the planned Community Speedwatch day. Cllr. Leadenham offered support and encouraged the group to reach out to him if they were short of volunteers in the future, as he could source additional help from other villages.
Cllr. Leadenham reported that during the Community Speedwatch day, 18 speeding vehicles were recorded. It was hoped the next Community Speedwatch day could be scheduled to coincide with an event at the Estate.
Cllr. Leadenham also reported that the Forbidden Forest event had been relatively well managed this year, with the event quieter than usual. A total of 7,800 vehicles passed through the village of Denton, and 58 speeding vehicles were recorded.
The sat nav code provided for the Tough Mudder event had been incorrect, which had led to confusion among some attendees and due to this, a few residents had experienced verbal abuse from lost participants. This feedback to be passed on to the estate, with a request that they share it with the event organiser to help prevent similar issues in the future.
ACTION: Cllr. McCallion.
Cllr. Leadenham reported that he had written to Melton Borough Council, the licensing authority, to express concerns and to request that more be done regarding recent issues.
It was suggested that Community Speedwatch be carried out during times when events were known to be taking place on the estate.
112/25 Vale Parish Group (VPG)
Nothing to report.
113/25 Emergency Plan
Cllr. S. Hardcastle-Waugh reported that work on the Emergency Plan was in progress. The team at Lincolnshire County Council has scheduled meetings to explore the use of a dedicated app for emergency planning. Cllr. S. Hardcastle-Waugh would attend these meetings to learn more.
114/25 Village Survey Update
Nothing to report.
115/25 Correspondence
a) NSK Parish Council Briefing Session
Details were reported on the session which would take place on 16th September 2025.
b) Prolonged dry weather notice from Environment Agency
A notice had been circulated and was read out which stated that as from 1st July 2025, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire area had officially been declared in a state of ‘Prolonged Dry Weather’. The notice detailed the actions being taken by the Environment Agency to minimise the impact on people and the environment, as well as how they planned to support water supplies through the river transfer schemes.
c) Local Plan Consultation
Details had been circulated regarding the Regulation 18 Local Plan consultation, including information about upcoming public events and the website where residents could submit their comments on the consultation.
d) Fire Extinguishers
Details had been circulated and were read out regarding the updated regulations.
e) Responsible Dog Ownership Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) consultation
A notice had been circulated and read out regarding the expiry of the current PSPO and details of a public consultation.
f) Food waste collection Lincolnshire 2026
Details were shared about the new food waste collections launching across Lincolnshire in 2026, as part of a UK-wide roll out mandated by the Environment Act 2021.
g) SKDC Local Government Reorganisation Presentation Slides and further briefing
Presentation slides had been circulated from the Local Government Reorganisation Briefings and details were given of the next event taking place on 22nd July in Stamford.
h) SKDC Housing Strategy Consultation
Details had been circulated regarding the draft Housing Strategy 2025-2030 and a link to the document and accompanying survey was provided.
i) Greater Lincolnshire for All online events
Details of the events had been circulated and were read out.
j) Belvoir Ward Summer 2025 Newsletter
The newsletter had been circulated and it was requested that copies be put in the shop for residents to access.
116/25 Any other business
Nothing to report.
117/25 Dates of next meetings
15th September 2025
17th November 2025
19th January 2026
2nd March 2026
There being no further business the meeting closed at 20.06.