May 2026 - Minutes
Minutes of the Full Council Meeting on Tuesday 5th May 2026 at 7.15pm
Attendees: Cllr Chris Sivill (Chair), Cllr Marc Deller-Smith, Cllr Serv Coulber, Cllr Caroline Dawson, Cllr Jaqueline Gravett, Cllr Neville Edwards, Cllr Nigel Langley, County Cllr Sean Matthews, District Cllr Martin Foster and Sarah- Louise Kulwicki (Clerk).
Absences: Cllr Nick Brown, Cllr Nic Ranshaw and Cllr Andrew Daykin
Pubic forum:
Cllr Dawson told the council she is very pleased with the puffin crossing which has been installed and there have been lots of positive comments locally about this. She has noticed an increase in comments have been made focusing around the conditions of footpaths locally and asked if Cllrs could walk the area and report anything via the clerk or FixMyStreet so it gets the attention needed.
County Cllr Sean Matthews told the council that some works will be taking place in the market place on the drains to help elevate the build-up of water when it rains here. The council asked if they can re-surface the market place once these works are done as it has been continuously patched and needs resurfacing.
Presentation of the manning trophy:
Manning Trophy presented this evening to Mr and Mrs Green by the chairman of the council Chris Sivill.
Speech made by the Chairman:
This award recognises dedication, community spirit of those who go above and beyond and this year s recipients truly embody all of that.
Peter and Val are a very deserving couple who have you given so much to our community over many years.
Their commitment, energy, and willingness to help have made a real difference to village life.
Peter of course is well known for being an absolutely, fantastic Santa bringing joy to so many, especially the younger members of our community and both Peter and Val have been incredibly active on the village hall committee. They are always ready to lend a hand and support when needed.
Val also does a wonderful job organising the monthly coffee mornings, which have been such an important part of the village life, bringing people together, creating friendships and strengthening our community spirit.
It's people like Peter and Val who make this village what it is.
AGENDA
013-26/27 Election of Chairman
Cllr C. Dawson Proposed Cllr C. Sivill, Seconded by Cllr J. Knowles and Resolved.
There were no other nominations.
014-26/27 Election of Vice-Chairman
Cllr J. Knowles Proposed Cllr M. Deller-Smith, Seconded by Cllr C. Dawson and Resolved.
There were no other nominations.
015-26/27 Apologies for Absence in accordance with Local Gov. Act 1972, Sch 12, para 40. To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Clerk prior to the meeting
Apologies received from Cllr N. Brown and Cllr A. Daykin.
Proposed, Seconded and Resolved to approve the apologies.
016-26/27 To receive any declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011 and to consider any requests for dispensations for items on the agenda not previously recorded on member s register of interests
None.
017-26/27 To approve as a correct record the notes of the meeting held on 07th April 2026 and to authorise the Chair to sign the official minutes.
Proposed, Seconded and Resolved to approve the notes as minutes and for the chairman to sign.
018-26/27 To receive reports from County and District Councillors
Cllr Martin Foster told the council that he has received several requests for Thorpe Road to be road swept so he has put in this request along with the Tattershall and the Market place. Cllr Edwards asked if he could put in a request for Lodge Road as well. Cllr Foster reported that he had received a complaint from a member of public in regards to bore holes being dug at the Old Fordge he had reported this to planning but has been to the site and cannot see any works that have taken place.
Cllr Knowles had nothing else to report.
019-26/27 The co-option of any potential candidates present
None.
020-26/27 Community resilience plan Feedback from meeting and next steps
The clerk attended the C.E.R.T event at the village hall along with Cllr Dawson and Sivill. They found it very informative and reported back some of the points discussed.
Proposed, Seconded and Resolved to establish a resilience plan for Tattershall and Tattershall Thorpe.
021-26/27 Planning matters
None.
022-26/27 Financial matters:
a) To ratify the payments for April 2026 (see schedule) with current bank balances
Proposed, Seconded and Resolved to approve the payments listed.
023-26/27 Annual Audit documentation
a) The annual internal audit is received and noted. The following point were raised on the auditors report:
1. The Practitioners Guide 2025 (Assertion 10) paragraph 1.54 states: All smaller authorities (excluding parish meetings) must also have an IT policy. This explains how everyone, clerks, members and other staff should conduct authority business in a secure and legal way when using IT equipment and software. This includes the use of both authority-owned and personal equipment. The Clerk has noted it will be added to the next meeting Agenda for approval and adoption. As the Council does not currently have this policy in place, I am unable to confirm compliance with Objective O on the AGAR Annual Internal Audit Report 2025/26. I can however confirm that the council and all Councillors have a generic email account hosted on an authority-owned domain. Rectified item 025-26/27.
2. A list of passwords, held in a sealed envelope, should be provided to the Chairman which should only be opened in the presence of another Councillor, if the Clerk is unavailable. This arrangement should be recorded in the minutes and reviewed annually or whenever a password is added or changed. This would be in line with assertion 5 of the Annual Governance Statement. The clerk handed over a list of password to the chairman in a sealed envelope.
3. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, it is a statutory requirement for a Council to have a publication scheme. The Clerk has confirmed this will be added to a forthcoming meeting agenda. Rectified item 026-26/27.
4. The Clerk has identified that the Complaints Procedure requires updating. Rectified item 024-26/27 - d.
5. I recommend that the Council consider implementing two internal audits per financial year. While one annual audit is mandatory, conducting both an interim and year-end audit is considered best practice. An interim audit can help distribute workload, reduce pressure on the Clerk/RFO at year-end, and identify potential issues early, allowing for correction within the same financial year. This approach also provides additional assurance to the public that the Council is operating effectively. The council does not feel this is necessary at this time but will continue to monitor.
b) To consider and approve the annual governance statement
Proposed, Seconded and Resolved to approve the annual governance statement.
c) To consider and approve the accounting statements
Proposed, Seconded and Resolved to approve the accounting statements.
d) The clerk/RFO sets the dates for the exercise of public rights
Proposed, Seconded and Resolved to set the dates from 3rd June to the 14th July 2026.
024-26/27 To review and approve
a) Standing orders No changes
b) Financial regulations - No changes
c) Code of conduct No changes
d) Complaints procedure no changes (updated email and chairman)
Proposed, Seconded and Resolved to approve all of the above policies.
025-26/27 To adopt the councils IT policy see attached
Proposed, Seconded and Resolved to adopt the council IT policy.
026-26/27 To adopt the council s publication scheme see attached
Proposed, Seconded and Resolved to adopt the council s publication scheme.
027-26/27 To adopt the councils Health and safety policy see attached
Proposed, Seconded and Resolved to adopt the council s health and safety policy.
028-26/27 Clerks report including correspondence and matters outstanding
a) Feedback from Thorpe APM The main points raised where replacing the bus stop, re-painting the lettering on the war memorial, having a bigger Christmas tree and replacing the gates on the war memorial.
b) Report from Blue Arb Tree services, once the invoice has been paid the report will be received. This can be discussed at the next council meeting.
c) Bollards update None.
029-26/27 The next meeting will be the 2nd June 2026 at 7:15pm in Tattershall village hall.
030-26/27 Any items for inclusion on the next agenda
a) Cllr Dawson asked if BT had been written to in regards to the phone box in the market place. The clerk confirmed she has done this.
The meeting closed at 8:10pm.
Signed by chairman:0002.06.2026