Draft Minutes Annual Parish Meeting 15th April 2026
DRAFT Minutes of Irnham Annual Parish Meeting
Held in St Andrew’s Church, Irnham, on Wednesday 15th April 2026 at 7pm
Present: Cllrs Amanda Ayre, Jenny Crow, Lynda Hall, Trevor Vanson.
Also in attendance: Cllr Martin Hill and 7 members of the parish.
Parish Council Clerk: Jenny Crow
1. Apologies for absence
1/1 Cllr Crook, Rob and Chris Bonney James
2. Approval of minutes for Annual Parish Meeting 9th April 2025
2/1 In previous years the Minutes of the APM had been approved at the next PC Meeting. The Minutes were agreed on 7 May 2025. The Minutes were accepted as a correct record.
3. Matters arising
3/1 From the Public Forum:
(a) (i) Culvert in Bulby being cleaned by residents
(ii) White marker wood in front of culvert replaced by LCC
(iii) Plans to remove the metal fence at the entrance to the footpath to Callan’s Lane wood are in hand
(iv) LCC have attempted to rod the pipe under field entrance next to Hall farm Bulby
(v) Areas in Bulby still need further work but damage by deer is extensive.
(vi) Anglian Water response to improving the pumping station area has been negative.
(b) Anglian Water have been contacted regarding the area around the sewage works in Irnham. The fencing is not their responsibility and Irnham Estate has agreed to attend to this.
4. Chairman’s report on the work of the Parish Council during the last year
4/1 The Chairman welcomed people to the meeting and expressed the view that we are very fortunate to live in such a pleasant community. He explained that the Parish Council consists of 5 elected volunteers. One of the main tasks is to review and comment on parish planning applications submitted to SKDC. Councillors also work with the County Councillor, Martin Hill, on matters relating to Highways.
The Chairman also reminded people that as a small parish the Precept, money collected via the Council Tax, is small and does not allow us to pay a Clerk. Councillor Crow was thanked for her work undertaking the role of Clerk as a volunteer.
Residents were thanked for their support and the help they give to keep the parish tidy. In particular Mr & Mrs Dawson were thanked for looking after the Book Swap in Irnham, Charlie Leggatt for the floral displays and Martin Fuggle for his auditing work.
Councillors will be due for election in 2027 and anyone interested in becoming a Councillor is asked to contact Councillor Jenny Crow.
A full copy of the Chairman’s Report is available on the Irnham Parish website.
At the conclusion of the Chairman’s remarks he reminded residents this was their meeting and they were welcome to raise any comments. Jamie Benton Jones offered his thanks to the PC as well as St Andrew’s PCC and to everyone who supports the Griffin Inn as a hub for the community. Everyone agreed all these organisations are so important in our community.
5. Finance report including the presentation of the accounts for 2025/26 and statement regarding the defibrillator account.
The Clerk/Responsible Finance officer explained the following points and shared the draft annual return.
The Parish Precept for 2025/2026 was £2140, an increase of £140 from 2024/2025. Other income: a grant from SKDC of £463 for maintenance work in the parish and a VAT refund of £411.
Expenditure in 2025/2026 can be summarised as:
2025/2026 (2024/2025)
Insurance £ 309 (£ 355)
LALC subscription including website support £ 86 (£ 148)
Irnham.org domain name £ 50 (£ 50)
Churchyard maintenance £ 300 (£ 300)
Heating costs for meetings £ 50 (£ 100)
Phone box repairs £ 417 (£ 112)
Aqua Sacs £ 228
Event Poppies £ 60
Plaques for flag pole and sign £ 160
D Day Lamp post sign and flag £ 39
VE Day flag and new Union Flag £ 145
Lamp post signs (Christmas and VE Day) £ 58
Defibrillator pads* £ 1010 (£ 443)
Bank Service charge £ 51 (£ 5)
Total £ 2561 (£1915)
*paid out of the Defibrillator fund.
The Balance in the Parish Council account is £6078, an increase of £1285 over 2024/2025.
The Balance in the Defibrillator fund is £3389 a decrease of £806 over 2024/2025 for the pads but including interest of £26.40 and VAT refund of £177.35.
For accounting purposes the accounts show a balance carried forward of £9466.
Parish Council Account
The Parish Council has no paid staff. Councillors are most grateful for all the voluntary work done; litter picking, grass mowing, planting and tending of floral displays, drain cleaning. This year the voluntary work also included replacing the door frame in the Irnham ‘phone box. Without all this support the Precept would have to rise considerably.
Local Government is undergoing reorganisation in Lincolnshire and the proposal is for the two tier system to be replaced with larger Unitary Authorities. There are 4 proposals for reorganisation under consideration by the Government and it is understood that the Government will make a decision in the summer of 2026 for implementation in May 2028 but with elections in May 2027 for the new shadow authorities. The position of Parish Councils is unclear but they will remain. Irnham Parish Councillors have reserved funds for election expenses which could be at least £2000. The Speed Indicator is unreliable and a new sign would be £1500. Further funds are reserved for maintenance work in the parish.
Defibrillator Account
In the next two years the parish Defibrillators become obsolete and the cabinets also need replacing.
Defibrillator technology has improved with pads now lasting 4/5 years, warranty up to 10 years and switchable from adult to child so only one set of pads.
Fully automatic defibrillators with an outdoor cabinet start at around £1350 ex VAT. To replace all three defibrillators and cabinets would be £4050. The fund is currently £3389.
The accounts have been prepared for internal audit.
6. Open Discussion regarding replacement of the three parish Defibrillators
6/1 In the next two years the parish Defibrillators will become obsolete. Options were discussed and are summarised as:
a. Don’t replace – in practice if there are only two people in a household and one has a cardiac arrest it is unlikely there will be time to fetch the defibrillator. Contacting 999 and administering CPR take priority. The need to bring a third person into the emergency was discussed and the possibility of a WhatsApp group to summon help was suggested.
b. Replace – technology has improved and pads are now suitable for both adults and children and need replacing less often. Hence ongoing costs are less.
Costs (Ex VAT) for fully automatic Defibrillator and outdoor cabinet £1350.
c. Replace some of the defibs. It was generally agreed that the Griffin is a suitable location for a defibrillator. Further thought and discussion with residents of Hawthorpe and Bulby is necessary to make progress on the issue of replacing defibrillators. Clerk to establish whether Bulby Stables have a defibrillator.
d. The option to rent defibrillators rather than buy outright was also mentioned.
7. Public forum on matters of local interest and suggestions for future priorities for the Parish Council
7/1 Cllr Vanson offered the residents present the opportunity to raise any issues with the PC, in particular the PC were interested to know if there are any suggestions as to further projects to enhance the community.
A summary of the issues raised:
(a)The drain outside Manor House, Irnham is blocked. The problem seemed to occur after work done in the road, possibly by BT. PC to follow up with LCC.
(b) The Speed Indicator is not working properly. The question was raised as to whether it has helped to reduce speed through the village. It was felt it is a useful reminder but the data needs more careful analysis.
(c) Further daffodil planting was discussed, particularly later flowering varieties.
(d) The Chairman announced that more flags had been purchased to mark other occasions.
(e) A BBQ in Irnham Park is being planned again by Irnham Park residents.
(f) Tom Bagge thanked Cllr Hill for the support he gives to the parish.
8. Date of next meeting: The Annual Parish Council Meeting is Wednesday 20th May 2026, 7pm in the Church. The Annual Parish Meeting in 2027 will be on Wednesday 14th April.
Meeting ended at 7.50pm.