Minutes 2025

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Minutes of the Sutton Bridge Parish Council Meeting held 19:00hrs Tuesday, 25 November 2025, in the Curlew Centre Bridge Room, Sutton Bridge.

Present: Cllr T Baldry, Cllr C Brewis, Cllr D Cook Cllr T Judd, Cllr M Middleton, Cllr M Pitt, Mrs. C Smith, (Clerk), Mrs K Croxford (Admin Assistant), County Cllr R Woods

Absent: Cllr M Booth, Cllr J Kirby-Fox & Cllr S McLaughlin. Members of the Public: One 

Unless otherwise stated, actions are to be undertaken by the clerk. 

25.252. Apologies were received from Cllr M Booth, Cllr J Kirby-Fox & Cllr S McLaughlin.

25.253. There were no declarations 

25.254. There were no public representations.

25.255. It was resolved to approve the minutes of meeting held Tuesday 28 October 2025 they were signed by the chair.

25.256. There were no Police matters.

25.257. Chairs report

i. Cllr Middleton expressed her thanks to everyone who assisted with digging the trench and heeling in the new hedge and tree plants before their final planting.

ii. Mr D Earth (SBUFC) had advised that the storage container would now be relocated to the corner of the Memorial Park, adjacent to the Churchyard boundary.

iii. The location of the new Playzone would now be rotated to align with the pitches, it was felt that this position would take up less pitch space and Sport England would be less likely to object to the planning application.

25.258. Clerk’s Report

i. Play Area – The new swing had been installed; work should be completed by the end of the week.

ii. Christmas Lights - These were scheduled to be switched on for the 1 December; the Christmas tree would be delivered this week.

iii. Garden of Rest – Items from the graves had been removed, we were working with families over the remaining items.

iv. Hedge plants – The hedge plants had now been heeled in at the Garden of Rest, thanks to all those involved.

v. Lime Street – Following a visit to the area, it was anticipated that some maintenance work would be required to deal with the overgrown vegetation. A report had been made to the District Council concerning an empty property next door. No details had been received from the solicitors over the transfer of the area; this would be chased up.

25.259. District and County Councillors Reports

01. County Cllr R Wood reported on the following LCC (Lincolnshire County Council) matters.

i. Thanks were expressed to Cllr Brewis for taking the time to take him to look around the village.

ii. He had received emails regarding the flooding at Churchgate and had reported the matter to Highways. He had also been made aware of vehicles parking along Bridge Road near The Anchor Inn. However, as this issue related to local businesses, he felt that a report on the matter should be set aside at this time. 

iii. A tour of Long Sutton had taken place with the Highways Officer; however, there was insufficient time to include Sutton Bridge in this visit. A further visit was scheduled for December. Members were asked to contact him with any items they wished to be reported. 

iv. A temporary patch repair had been undertaken on London Road near Long Sutton Parish Council office

v. Due to the lack of a household waste facility in this area, he was working with farmers and officers gathering evidence to present his proposal of a facility in this area to the County Council.

vi. The clerk reported that an email response had been sent to request help with maintenance in the Memorial Park and the Arnie Broughton Walk from the Councillor Volunteer Scheme. 

02. Cllr C Brewis reported on the following SHDC (South Holland District Council) matters

i. He enjoyed his tour of the village with County Cllr Woods and expressed his gratitude for all that he does on behalf of Sutton Bridge.

ii. After all this rain, the soil moisture had risen by 65mm, this was now a good time to plant trees and hedges.

iii. At the District Council meeting tomorrow evening, a new campaign would be discussed regarding deposits on takeaway packaging, aimed at reducing the disposal of these items and addressing the increase in fly-tipping

iv. He expressed his thanks to Sir John Hayes and to everyone who wrote to the Planning Inspectorate regarding the asphalt plant. It was welcome news for the Parish that the planning application appeal had been refused. 

25.260. Financial Matters

i. It was resolved to approve the October cash book and bank reconciliation.

ii. It was resolved to approve payments to 26 November 2025 as circulated at Appendix A. Cllr Middleton and Cllr Scarlett would authorise bank payments. 

iii. Receipts: Firework Event £ 570.00 Burial Ground £ 495.00, Farm Business Rent £ 4408.80, Garden Allotment Rent £115.31, Christmas Tree donation £300.00. Bank transfer £20,000 from the deposit to the current account to cover payments was noted

iv. It was noted that the employer’s contribution rate for staff pensions was scheduled to reduce from 26.6% to 19.2% for the period 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029. The Clerk as Responsible Financial Officer (RFO), would sign the required declaration on behalf of the Parish Council to confirm that these contributions would be paid for the next three years.

v. The Pension Funding Strategy Statement had been circulated and was noted.

25.261. The refusal from the Planning Inspectorate regarding the appeal for the proposed asphalt plant had been received, Cllrs were happy with the outcome. 

25.262. It was resolved to approve a request for a trial period of three months for a Pizza van to trade from the Curlew Centre car park once a week on a Wednesday, this would be subject to a fee of £15.00 per week and receipt of all required health, food safety and insurance documentation being received.

25.263. Fireworks Event

i. The Clerk circulated a report on the recent fireworks event to all Councillors. The event had been a success and had been well received from the public. The overall figures had shown a deficit of £526.54, an improvement compared to £1,152.00 last year. The possibility of extra stalls for next year was also discussed

ii. Thanks were expressed to the Constitutional Club for allowing the Parish Council to use their car park for disabled parking

iii. It was resolved to hold a further event next year on Thursday 5 November 2026.

iv. It was noted that the 2027 event falls on a Friday, and that the Fair and Fireworks would be unable to attend due to this. It was resolved to contact them to determine which dates would be convenient for their participation in 2027.

25.264. It was resolved to approve the request to erect a fence at the allotments, subject to the condition that it must be removed at the end of the tenancy.

25.265. Councillors Surgery

i. The next surgery would be on the 13 December 2025 – Cllrs Brewis and Cook.

25.266. Correspondence

i. National Grid Grimsby to Walpole – Details of the stage 2 consultation on the Grimsby to Walpole project from 11 June to 6 August 2025 had been circulated to Cllrs

ii. Long Sutton Allens Charity – Applications were invited from students age 18 – 25 who were resident in the parishes of Long Sutton and Sutton Bridge who wished to be considered for University and Apprenticeship grants. Please email angelareeve10@gmail.com for further information, closing date 30 November 2025.

iii. Housing Related Support Service – The housing related support service consultation had now launched and was open for responses until 9 February 2026. To provide feedback please contact https://www.letstalk.lincolnshire.gov.uk/

iv. Spalding Christmas Celebration and Lights Switched On – Friday 28 November 2025 from 4pm till 8pm in Spalding Town Centre.

25.267. There were no planning applications

25.268. Planning Decisions – Councillors noted the planning decisions made by South Holland District Council as listed below:

i. H18-0971-25: Crosskeys Swing Bridge, Sutton Bridge: Carry out mechanical and electrical upgrade works: Approved

ii. H18-0974-25: Crosskeys Swing Bridge, Sutton Bridge: Proposed mechanical and electrical upgrade: Approved

25.269. Committee Reports 

01. New Pavilion Committee

i. Cllr Middleton reported that since the last Council meeting, she had attended a Teams meeting with some new members from the Football Foundation (FF), along with Cllr McLaughlin and the clerk. The meeting began positively, focusing on the new Playzone, which was expected to start construction in April 2026. The build was anticipated to take approximately 14 weeks, with an opening in August or September 2026. 

ii. The new Pavilion project was then discussed, including previous drawings and estimated costs. It was noted that initially £250,000 had been allocated by the FF which was later reduced to £150,000. At this meeting, the amount had further decreased to £25,000, with the possibility of increasing it to £50,000 if possible. This reduction was very disappointing, especially given all the work that had been conducted previously. 

iii. The FF then mentioned that a building suitable for our requirements could be acquired at a cost of around £150,000, as our original estimate had been considered too high. They emailed over five contact details. After contacting them, two quotes were received, ranging from £400,000 to £600,000, so it was unclear how the FF had arrived at the £150,000 figure. 

iv. After speaking with Sir John Hayes, who had been supportive throughout this process, Cllr Middleton was invited to Westminster on 16 December 2025 to discuss the matter further. It was resolved that Cllr Middleton, on behalf of the Parish Council, would continue discussions regarding the project costs and report back.

02 Finance 

i. Following the last committee meeting the committee had accepted the six-month budget report and was considering the budget for 2026-27.

03 Personnel  

i. The 2026-27 salary budget had been set; further staff recruitment details would be discussed in closed session.

25.270. Outside body representative reports

i. Youth Club - Cllr Brewis reported that a further meeting would be held shortly

ii. Allens Charity – Cllr Cook reported that details of the Benevolent Fund had been passed to Mr D Earth from Sutton Bridge United Football Club, it was hoped that St Matthews Church (Matt’s Mums & Dads) would apply next year as applications from Sutton Bridge had been limited.

25.271. Public participations

i. A member of the public expressed their support to Cllr Middleton regarding her forthcoming trip to Westminster.

25.272. Next date of Meeting – Tuesday 16 December 2025 at 19:00hrs

25.273. It was resolved to move into closed session in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 s.1(2).

20:38hrs One members of the public, County Cllr Woods and Cllr Pitt left the meeting.

25.274. It was resolved to accept the quote to cut the hedge at the Garden of Rest @ £120.00

25.275. Staffing Matters

i. It was reported that the outside operative had now left on Thursday 20 November 2025. 

ii. The clerk and Cllr Judd would undertake interviews on the 1 December 2025

iii.    Details of maintenance work by the National Grid near Council land at Speechleys was noted. 

20:46 hrs Cllr Pitt returned to the meeting.

The chair closed the meeting at 20:53hrs.

Appendix A