January 2026 DRAFT Minutes
OSBOURNBY PARISH COUNCIL
Notes of meeting held on Wednesday 21st January 2026 in the Village Hall
Public forum: 4 members of the public were present. Mr Lamb advised that the sign coming south into the village was falling over. This will be reported on Fix My Street.
Mr Lamb also asked if there was any update regarding land available for allotments. He was advised that unfortunately all spare land in Osbournby was owned by the Aswarby Estate and there is no land available for allotments.
Mr Wright said that there was an item on the agenda regarding the Archer Report, he thought that this was regarding the Archery field, when in fact was a report regarding speeding on The Drove.
The play area was also mentioned and Cllr Jackson advised that this would be covered under agenda items.
There being no further questions from the Public forum the Parish Council meeting started.
76. Apologies received from Cllrs Baldwin and Bide.
Earlier in the day Cllr Jackson had heard that Cllr Baker would be resigning from the Parish Council due to ongoing health issues.
77. In attendance: Cllrs Jackson (Chair) North, Wright and Dixon. Mrs King (Clerk)
78. Notes of the last meeting held on 5th November, already circulated, were agreed. Proposed Cllr Dixon and seconded Cllrs North and Wright.
79. Chairman’s/District Council Report: Cllr Jackson reported that the new bins for food waste will be distributed shortly, ready for collection in March. They will be collected weekly. He also reported that the digital hubs are not being used as much as hoped.
Cllr Jackson’s chairman’s report is attached to these notes.
80. County Council Report: No report available.
81. Clerk’s Report: Mrs King advised that the bank balances are Parish Council Account: £3,659.05 and Cemetery Account: £33,270.32. Mrs King had already circulated the “budget against spend” which was all on target. Mrs King asked if she had permission to transfer into savings £25,000 from the Cemetery Account. This was unanimously agreed.
Mrs King also advised that during “National Village Hall Week” the village hall will be holding an Open Evening on Monday 16th March to showcase what events are held regularly in the village hall, e.g. pilates, and to invite residents to meet members of the Village Hall Committee and Parish Council.
82. Precept and Budget Setting: Mrs King had already circulated the proposed budget for 2026/27. Only changes that were made were £75 for Community Speed Watch as new bag required. No expense for Digital Hub. It was unanamously agreed that the Precept would increase from £6,000 to £6,200 this year. For many years the precept was not increased, however with rising costs councillors felt that we needed to build up a reserve for the future. Mrs King to forward Precept form to NKDC.
83. Update from Skip and village tidy day: The weather on the day of the skip was very wet and cold and at collection the skip was only ¾ full. However those who did use it were very appreciative. The meeting thanked Mr Paul Cartwright of A&P Travel for his sponsorship of the skip and a letter will be sent thanking him. The village tidy day was well attended and approximately 40+ bags of leaves, weeds etc were collected. Many thanks to all who attended and helped. Refreshments for volunteers were served in the village hall following the tidy up.
84. Defibrillator: Mrs King advised that the defib batteries need replacing. However they are proving very hard to purchase as they are being discontinued in February and none are available at the moment. The batteries need replacing every 2 years and the defibrillator is now 10 years old, the average lifespan. If new batteries cannot be sourced then a new defib will need to be purchased. If this is the case Mrs King will look into grants available.
85. Grass Cutting: Tidy Gardens and Grounds have advised that there will be a £20 increase across the cemetery, church yard and verges cuts. All councillors agreed that the current contractors do a very good job and we will continue to use them. We will also continue with the current start of season tidy up in the church yard and cemetery. Mrs King to advise the contractors that they are successful going forward. Cllr North advised that there is a very invasive bramble/bush in the north/west corner of the cemetery. This needs to be removed and although it was hoped to do so at the village tidy day there was not enough time. Decision needs to be made whether a village group could do the work or if there is a need for a contractor to remove it.
86. Register of Electors: Cllrs Dixon, North and Wright had not been able to complete their forms online. They completed the forms tonight and Mrs King will forward them to Electoral Services at NKDC.
87. The Hub: As Mr Bob Lamb who is a volunteer at the Hub was at the meeting he gave an update. He advised that some weeks there are only a couple of people attending, other weeks there are 6 to 8. It was felt more advertising was required, however the cost to the Parish Council is nil as the village hall is free or charge and NKDC provide one person to run the Hub.
88. Community Speed Watch: Following the purchase of the new speed signs Cllr Wright and Mrs King removed the old signs and installed the new ones up last year. There had also been an Archer survey taking place on the Drove. The survey was carried out for one week and the information collated. The results of the survey showed that the criteria required for either fixed or mobile speed camera enforcement is not met. It was agreed that the Community Speed Watch will undertake some watches during the lighter warmer months. Mrs King to also advise the resident on The Drove who requested the information of the results.
89. Proposed New Bus stop: Cllr Jackson is setting up a meeting to discuss the change of position of the bus stop to the area by the phone box. It had not been possible to use the exisiting bus stop as the roof is made of asbestos and digging out a layby on the A15 would be too costly. Cllr Jackson to keep councillors informed.
90. Community Resilience & Emergency Plan: Nothing to report. Mrs King has received email from LCC to ensure that the information in the plan was up to date. Mrs King to respond to email.
91. Update from Aswarby Estate: Cllr Jackson had had a conversation with Mark Jones from the Estate today. The Whichcote Arms Pub is now on the market for rental and it is hoped to rent the coffee shop and pub together. It is in the hands of specialist agencies. Regarding a play area Property 7 on the new development on The Drove will soon be sold and the money for a play area under Section 106 will become available. However no play area has yet been identified and once the money has been made available there is only 5 years in which to install the play area. Mr Jones had advised that the Estate are looking into developing the field behind the school and a play area could be incorporated into that. However this would not meet the timescales of the Section 106 from the Drove development. Continued efforts will be made to locate an area which is suitable.
92. Payments since last meeting:
3 x Bank charges at £4.25 : £12.75
10.11.25: CAB donation: £100.00
2.12.25: Tidy Gardens & Grounds £275.00
11.12.25: Osbournby Village hall £18.00
12.25: Mrs King
(Salary, tax & expenses) £644.59
5.1.26: Defib Warehouse £174.00
13.1.26: Church lighting £12.80
13.1.26: LALC Subs £178.30
93. Planning Matters: Conversion of barn in Swarby – no objections.
Alterations to The Cottage, 39 London Road which had been placed on hold. New planning application received while the meeting was taking place and have been sent to councillors today (22.1.26).
94. Donations: No request for donations had been received.
95. Correspondence: No correspondence had been received which has not been discussed.
96. Dates of next meetings for 2026:
4th March
6th May (this is also the annual parish meeting)
1st July
2nd September
4th November
There being no further business the meeting closed at 7.55 p.m.