Minutes, 2026

 MEETING OF MARSTON PARISH COUNCIL

Thursday 3rd September 2026 at 7:30 pm.

DRAFT MINUTES

1.    WELCOME by the Acting Chair. Chris Stephens
  
2.    APOLOGIES – Declared by 12 noon before the meeting. 

Cllr Brown, Cllr Watson – Accepted by Council

PRESENT – Cllrs Rob Duckett, Sarah Pearson, Janice Whelan, Chris Lyons, Chris Stephens, District Cllr Paul Wood, County Cllr Ken Bamford

3.    RESOLUTIONS FROM LAST MEETING

a)    Letter sent re: Dilapidated Grade II listed wall – 
Cllr S. Pearson and Cllr J. Whelan met with owners and had a very positive meeting with them. Overall, the residents have trimmed the hedges along Barkston Road and School Lane as requested; they have also removed a number of diseased and dangerous trees on their land recently and repairs to the School Lane wall are underway, other repairs will take place over time. They have kindly given permission for resurfacing of the Church Walk area which can be slippery for the benefit of the village. Historically some of the Church Walk wall was removed prior to their ownership which has left them with a dilemma given the wall is grade II listed. All parties have agreed that we should work positively and welcomed face to face conversations with some Councillors.

b)    Email sent to resident re: Parking – 
Cllr Duckett to liaise further with School in new term time and then with the Thorold to alleviate evening parking issues

c)    Email / Letter to resident re: verge cutting – 
No further response from resident. Matter resolved

d)    Research complete on Solar Farm funding rules – see Proposal 14

e)    Quotes for contractor work on Riverside Walk – deferred

f)    Quotes for commercial mower - deferred

4.    DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTERESTS

Declared: None declared

5.    PUBLIC QUESTION TIME 

2 residents were welcomed to the Parish Council meeting 
Email received from resident – circulated to Councillors on 18th August
Letter from resident – circulated to Councillors on 17th August 
6.    PROPOSAL ON 7.5 WEIGHT RESTRICTION THROUGH MARSTON
6.1 – See letter already sent from a resident for debate and next steps
It was agreed that over the last two decades traffic through the village has substantially increased but in the last year it seems to have got much worse with HGV’s coming through earlier. It was commented that some could potentially be overweight. A concerned resident has written to the Council asking to see if we could build a case for a Traffic Regulation Order and consultation with Lincolnshire County Council. Ken Bamford (Hough Division County Councillor) commented that we should attempt to build a case with petitions and surveys, evidence and monitoring and then approach him with our findings. We have agreed in general that is the way forward and will launch the first survey via HAMES, Facebook and the Community Shop asap.
*Clerk / Proper Officer to administer and build first survey for circulation asap.
7.    NOMINATION OF CHAIR & VICE CHAIR
7.1 – Now MPC has a full complement of Councillors we should nominate a permanent Chair and Vice Chair. Minimum until April 2027
    Nominated for Chair:    Christopher Stephens (Chris Stephens)    
    Nominated for Vice Chair: Robert Duckett (Rob Duckett)
Proposed by:    Cllr J. Whelan    Seconded by: Cllr C. Lyons

8.    MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING: 2nd July 2026

8.1 - Approved

Proposed by:     Cllr S. Pearson     Seconded by: Cllr C. Stephens

9.    AGAR 

9.1 – Signing off AGAR for Auditor only. 
No further comment and corrects previously submitted form

Proposed by:    Cllr C. Stephens    Seconded by: Cllr J. Whelan

10.    PLANNING MATTERS:

10.1 – S26/1225 – 6 Bridge Street – No objections – SKDC informed
10.2 - S26/1283 - Field West of Marston & Toll Bar Road, Adjacent to Foston Beck on the East. 
10.3 - S26/1284 - Field South of Marston, adjacent to Green Lane

Council asked Farm Manager to implement a sign for emergencies – No objections otherwise.

Proposed by:    Cllr C. Stephens    Seconded by: Cllr C. Lyons

11.    DISTRICT & COUNTY COUNCILLORS REPORTS

11.1 – District Cllr – Paul Wood – Report

Councillor Paul Wood updated the Council on Local Government Reorganisation and what it currently continues to look like. Plus points include that a large number of CEO’s and Deputy’s / Senior Managers will leave Councils in April 2028. This would be expected to be a huge saving to the public purse but at what initial cost? No one really knows what this looks like currently. Minus points include losing local representation as the number of Councillors is diminished. Cllr Wood pointed to his interjection on Kerrs Crescent and although the Council or residents weren’t consulted by SKDC as intimated by them and the overall look is pretty awful and likely problematic regarding the Equality Act, he was at least able to influence for a site visit. The Council will continue to follow up with the Sheltered Housing Director to see if we can further influence the design. Conclusion, communication is paramount if SKDC had asked and consulted a lot of public money could have been saved overall. 

11.2 - County Councillor – Ken Bamford – Report

Overall agreement with Cllr Bamford that the right way to report faults etc is through the process known as ‘Fix My Street’ He reiterated that he would seek to guide the Council once we had evidence of a traffic survey and any other useful information like historical accidents etc. The report is available in its entirety from the Clerk of the Council if any resident would like a copy  of it 

12.    FINANCIAL MATTERS: 

12.1- Signing of monthly reconciliations for July & August  
12.2- Verification of cash book by Cllr Whelan & Pearson for July & August 

        Approved

    Proposed by:     Cllr S. Pearson    Seconded by: Cllr J. Whelan

13.    RESERVES UPDATE 

13.1 – Update from the Clerk regarding further investigation into Unity Trust         Bank. See attached document available on request to the Clerk

Councillors were forwarded a report in August outlining what could be achieved by swapping banks to get a better rate on the reserves and overall better service. Nat West, Unity Trust, Barclays & Cooperative Bank were all considered. Some banks charged a monthly fee, and the interest rate wasn’t that much better if at all. It was proposed by the Clerk that Councillors remain with Nationwide / Virgin for the foreseeable future as the app is easy to use but slight drawback with downloading statements.

Proposed by:     Cllr S. Pearson    Seconded by: Cllr R. Duckett

14.    TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR SOLAR GRANT FUNDING INITIATIVE

    14.1 – Terms of reference circulated for discussion in August. See attached         Terms of Reference document available on request to the Clerk

        Approved

    Proposed by:     Cllr C. Stephens     Seconded by: Cllr C. Lyons

15.    FACEBOOK & SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

15.1 – Marston Parish Council FB is live. This was proposed in 2025 to try to         capture a younger audience who have a significant online presence.         See attached document and new policy. Available on request to the         Clerk    
        
        Approved to continue building following and posting information

Proposed by: Cllr C. Lyons         Seconded by: Cllr S. Pearson     

16.    PROPOSAL FOR GRANT FROM THE THOROLD

16.1 – Previously approved at the January 2026 meeting that on production of         the quotes and application form a grant of up to £2,500 would be             released. Grant applied for, as circulated is £1285. A minuted item             only. Update on other grants applied for by Clerk

We have today, been awarded a grant for the Thorold of £9774 and also an LCC grant of £4,500 for internal refurbishment and a new external rear door The Parish Council have also allocated £2,500 of resident monies as above 

We have now achieved grants this year for the Thorold of £16,774

Meeting closed at 20:58

DATE OF NEXT MEETING –

Thursday 1st October 2026 at 7:30pm