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- Councillor Mrs M. Gilbert (Chair)
- Councillor Ms L. Hopkin
- Councillor Mrs S. Wheatley
- Councillor J. Wilton
- Councillor K. Harrison
- Councillor Mrs E. Harrison
- Councillor D. Keating
- Councillor Mrs M. Byrne
- Councillor Mrs L. Ball (Broxtowe Borough Council)
- Councillor D. Pringle (Broxtowe Borough Council)
- Mr J. Keirnan
Clerk
Mrs S.M. Bircumshaw
Election of Officers and Representatives
Chair – It was proposed that Councillor Mrs Gilbert be elected Chair, all were in favour. Councillor Mrs Gilbert accepted the position of Chair.
Vice-Chair – It was proposed that Councillor Ms Hopkin be elected Vice-Chair, all were in favour. Councillor Ms Hopkin accepted the position of Vice-Chair.
Responsible Financial Officer – The Clerk will carry on as RFO.
Finance and General Purposes Committee/Standing Orders Committee – The representatives elected to Finance and General Purposes Committee/Standing Orders Committee are:-
Councillor Rigby, Councillor Harrison, Councillor Mrs Harrison, Councillor Keating, Councillor Ms Hopkin and Councillor Mrs Gilbert (ex-officio).
Planning Committee – All councillors will be members of this committee with Chair and Vice-Chair as ex-officio members.
53/26 Apologies for absence
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mrs S. Keating and Councillor K. Rigby.
54/26 Declaration of Interest
There were no declarations of interest made.
55/26 Minutes of the last meeting
The Minutes of the meeting held on 21st April 2026 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
56/26 Public participation
James Keirnan attended the meeting to tender his resignation as a councillor.
He told the meeting that it has been a pleasure to serve on the council and thanked everyone for the support he has received over the last couple of years.
Councillor Mrs Gilbert thanked him for everything he has done for the Parish Council, which has been much appreciated. He has been a very valuable member and it is hoped that he will return as a councillor in the future.
57/26 Police report
No report.
58/26 County Councillor’s report
No report.
59/26 Borough Councillor’s report
It was reported that there has been recent vandalism of the dog bins, with them being thrown into the canal in 2 places – the small car park and Mill Lane. This has been reported. There has also been a sign damaged at the car park. It seems that the bins are not being properly locked down when emptied. Councillor Pringle will speak with the officers at Borough Council about the bins.
Councillor Pringle reported that, at the full Council meeting at Broxtowe last week, a motion was raised regarding the state of motorbikes and e-bikes. Milan Radulovic (Leader of Broxtowe Borough Council) will be sending letters to the Chief Constable and the Police Commissioner as nothing seems to be being done about the problems these are causing throughout the borough.
Councillor Mrs Gilbert asked Councillor Pringle if he had been able to find out if there is a plan/rota for litter picking by the council on Dead Lane and Cossall Road. At this point no information is available. The problem is that in this area traffic management needs to be in place to ensure the safety of workers on the road/verges and apparently the costs of this are too high for regularly scheduled litter picking.
The duck house that has appear in the canal at the back of Foundry Houses was mentioned.
Standing Orders commenced at 8.00pm
60/26 Items for discussion
a) Church matters
Councillor Mrs Gilbert reported that the Working Party had had a three and a half hour meeting yesterday to start to fill in the grant application for the war memorials. There are still questions to be answered and a further meeting will be arranged to finish this.
Thanks were given to Councillors Harrison, Mrs Harrison, Ms Hopkin and Mrs Wheatley for their help with the grant application so far.
Councillor Mrs Gilbert reported that she has been looking at prices for an information board for the Waterloo memorial, we believe that this is the only free-standing Waterloo monument outside London. This is a work in progress.
b) Church Hall car park
John Wheatley had attended last month’s meeting to ask if the Parish Council would be willing to fund £200 for white lines to be painted in the car park and for new signs. This request was proposed and seconded and all were in favour.
c) Footpaths and pavements
It was reported that the trees are still blocking the pavement on Awsworth Lane just down from Trinity Farm. This has been reported but will be reported again, Councillor Ms Hopkin will take photos.
Cllr Ms Hopkin to take photos to send with report
It was reported that the graffiti has not been cleaned off the seat on Coronation Road yet, Councillor Wilton will sort this.
Cllr Wilton to sort this
Councillor Mrs Wheatley reported that someone has asked if a litter bin could be sited at the back of Richfords on the industrial estate. The Parish Council have been informed that they would have to fund any additional bins.
Councillor Mrs Wheatley reported that she has been approached by Kath Gill, the wife of the late Jim Gill, who was a Parish Councillor and main instigator of the creation of Millennium Park. Mrs Gill has asked if the Parish Council would consider having a plaque in remembrance of Jim on one of the seats on Millennium Park. Mrs Gill will need to be contacted regarding the wording for the plaque. Councillor Keating will obtain her contact details and a letter will be sent to her.
Cllr Keating will obtain contact details for Mrs Gill
d) Roads/Traffic/Bikers
It was reported that the drain on Dead Lane is blocked again. This needs to be properly maintained. Councillor Ms Hopkin has taken photos and the Highways department will be contacted.
Blocked drain to be reported.
Councillor Wilton reported that the potholes on the bends on Dead Lane have been marked up for repair but none of the ones on Church Lane have been marked up.
The finger notice board on Robinettes Lane is covered by trees. Councillor Wilton will sort this out.
Cllr Wilton to sort out
e) RCAN
Councillor Harrison reported that there had been a webinar yesterday regarding a Dementia information session for Community and Village Hall representatives.
There has been an ACRE update on Martyn’s Law (Terrorism Act 2025 –
Protection of premises). The dates for the next round of Community/Village Hall cluster meetings, has been passed on to Marilyn Reed.
f) CPRE
Councillor Ms Hopkin reported that Councillor Mrs Wheatley and herself will be attending the next event.
g) Floral planters
Councillor Mrs Harrison has purchased 2 new planters for outside the Church hall at a total cost of £25.00 (£12.50/planter). Something different to be organised for the new planters, but the plants for the main roadside planters will be kindly donated by Trowell Garden Centre again.
The plants for the new planters will be purchased with the excess left from the £60 budgeted for the planters. Need to get long lasting plants and everyone was asked if they had a preference for colour – red and yellow was suggested.
h) Village signs
Councillor Mrs Gilbert reported that the new gateway signs are being installed tomorrow, so we need to request the payment details so we can pay our share with Awsworth Parish Council.
Once installed this will give us an idea what to do for the other end of the village. Match funding will be looked into and Councillor Jan Goold, one of our County Councillors, is happy to support us with this.
i) Defibrillators
The checks on both defibrillators need doing before the next meeting. As James Keirnan has resigned, Councillor Wilton confirmed that he is happy to do the checks on both of the defibrillators.
Cllr Wilton will check the defibrillators
j) One-sided newsletter for Village Fete and Open Gardens
At the last meeting is was suggested that we produce a one-sided Newsletter to advertise the Village Fete and Open Gardens, which will be held on Sunday 5th July 12-4pm.
Sophie has designed some flyers – 2 sided A5 size, which were shown at the meeting, and is happy to change wording etc if required.
Need to add a “shout out” for cakes and it was noted that the BBQ and Afternoon Tea are not in the same place, so a clearer message regarding food should probably be included.
Approval of year end accounts
1) Annual Governance Statement 2025/26
The Annual Governance Statement 2025/26 was presented to the Council.
It was proposed and seconded, there was a show of hands and all were in favour.
The Annual Governance Statement was duly signed by the Chair and the Responsible Finance officer (Clerk).
2) Accounting Statements 2025/26
The Accounting Statements 2025/26 were presented to the Council.
It was proposed and seconded, there was a show of hands and all were in favour.
The Accounting Statements were duly signed by the Chair – the Responsible Finance Officer (Clerk) had signed these (as required) upon completion on 15th May 2026.
61/26 Correspondence
Councillor Ms Hopkin reported that she had attended the Climate Forum, which was not very inspirational and attendees were not able to ask questions.
An email has been received from the BBC – Ayrton McGurgan is looking to connect with local councils for the On the Road series – The Repair Shop. Following discussions, it was suggested that it could be worth mentioning the the church organ (this will cost thousands to repair) and maybe their attendance at the Village Fete/Open Gardens for people to bring things along. There are quite a few note-worthy things to mention.
Cllr Mrs Gilbert will make contact and mention the Church organ
62/26 Planning applications
It was reported that the property next door to The Hollies on Church Lane is having some work done at the rear of the property – cannot recall seeing a planning application for this. It was thought that as it is only a small extension planning application was not needed.
63/26 Finance
Councillor Wilton will submit an invoice for the bench and plaque cleaning.
64/26 Accounts for payment
| The following accounts were approved for payment | ||
| Mrs S. Bircumshaw – Clerk’s Salary/Printer Paper | £531.21 | (£522.72/£8.49) |
| Cossall PCC – Room Hire – 19/5/26 | £35.00 | |
| Mr R Heard – Website Administration | £80.00 | |
| Mrs T. Wilson – Hall Cleaning | £25.00 | |
| Mr J Wilton – Notice Board Repairs | £350.00 | |
| Mrs E. Harrison – Flower Tubs/Drinking Fountain Sign | £55.95 | (£25.00/£30.95) |
| Clear Councils Insurance – Annual Insurance | £573.24 | |
| TOTAL | £1,650.40 | |
| Income since 21/04/26 | ||
| Bank Interest | £15.36 | |
| TOTAL | £15.36 | |
| Deposit Account | ||
| Reserve | £9,206.79 | |
| MTFS | £2,500.00 | |
| NCC Grant | £825.00 | |
| TOTAL | £12,531.79 | |
| Balances @ Bank – 30 April 2026 | ||
| Deposit A/C | £14,065.36 | |
| Current A/C | £327.59 | |
| TOTAL | £14,392.95 | |
| Balances @ Bank – 19 May 2026 | ||
| Deposit A/C | £12,565.36 | (Precept Balance) |
| Current A/C | £177.19 | |
| TOTAL | £12,742.55 | (Available to spend) |
65/26 Date and time of next meeting
The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Tuesday 16th June 2026, commencing at 7.30pm in the Church Hall.
The meeting closed at 9.10pm.