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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 K. Rigby
- Councillor J. Keirnan
- Councillor Mrs M. Byrne
- Councillor Mrs L. Ball (Broxtowe Borough Council)
- Councillor D. Pringle (Broxtowe Borough Council)
Clerk
Mrs S.M. Bircumshaw
27/26 Apologies for absence
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor D. Keating and Councillor Mrs S. Keating.
28/26 Declaration of Interest
There were no declarations of interest made.
29/26 Minutes of the last meeting
The Minutes of the two agenda item meeting held on 4 February 2026 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
The following alterations were made to the Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 17 February 2026 -Minute reference 20/26 Borough Councillor’s Report – the last sentence should read “The Gardeners is up for sale again for £500,000 ….”
Minute reference 21/26 d) Defibrillators – the last sentence should read “This will be fitted and the defibrillator at Trinity Farm ….”
Following these alterations the Minutes were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
30/26 Public participation
There were no members of the public present.
31/26 Police report
No report.
32/26 County Councillor’s report
No report.
33/26 Borough Councillor’s report
Councillor Mrs Ball reported that she had been to see the residents of Moss Cottage regarding their planning application.
Councillor Pringle reported that the canal paths have been sorted out but there is evidence that motorcycles are being driven along them. If anyone sees any motorcycles on the paths please ring 101 and report so that a history can be built up – it was suggested that a reminder of reporting things to the police via 101 be put in the next newsletter.
It was reported that there is a lot of rubbish along the road towards Trowell. Councillor Pringle told the meeting that, for safety reasons, litter picking along Cossall Road needs to have traffic control in place and this is very expensive. The last time it was carried out was about 18 months ago. Litter picking can be done in safer areas without traffic control and the Borough Council will supply the equipment to do this. Councillor Pringle will ask how often the Borough Council plan to clear the litter along Cossall Road.
Cllr Pringle will enquire how often the litter is cleared on Cossall Road
It was reported that there is a house on Awsworth Lane where the wall has been knocked down and trees and the hedge have been removed – does this require planning permission?
Cllr Pringle will ask the Enforcement Officer to to take a look
Standing Orders commenced at 7.42pm
34/26 Items for discussion
a) Church matters
Councillor Mrs Gilbert reported that the meeting with Jason Mordan (Conservation Officer for the County Council) and Will Young (Conservation officer for the Diocese), to discuss the cleaning of the Waterloo Memorial and War Memorial in the churchyard, went very well. We have had a quote of £1,650 from Mark Stafford to clean both of the memorials and have received a grant of £825 from the County Council to cover 50% of the costs. Jason Mordan thinks that this should be made a much larger project.
Jason suggested that we apply to the Lottery Heritage for a grant of £10,000 and also to the War Memorial Trust, to have the memorials professionally cleaned, preserved and some additional work carried out. He also said that the yew trees need to be substantially pruned. The officer at the Borough Council in charge of graveyards has been and had a look and agreed that the trees need pruning and this will be put on the list of work to be carried out. The church architect will have to be involved in the project.
Councillor Mrs Gilbert proposed that a small Working Party be set up regarding grant applications for the cleaning and refurbishment of the memorials, to get things moving. Councillors Harrison, Mrs Harrison, Mrs Wheatley and Ms Hopkin, along with Councillor Mrs Gilbert will be members. Councillor Mrs Gilbert confirmed that she has asked Marilyn Reed to be involved too.
Marilyn has found out the relevant paperwork, showing that the ownership of both memorials appears to have been handed over to the church. Councillor Mrs Gilbert will send out a list of dates to the Working Party Members so that a meeting can be arranged.
Payment for the floodlight electricity is due. Councillor Mrs Wheatley will ask John Wheatley if he can sort out what is owed up to the end of March. The last payment was made in November 2025.
b) Footpaths and pavements
It has been confirmed that the potholes we reported will not be filled in at this time.
The overhanging hedge on Robinettes Lane has been reported again with a photo included and this is going to be looked at.
The weeds on the footpath on Robinettes Lane are on the council’s list to be removed.
The footpaths on Church Lane have been cleaned.
Chris Riley has confirmed that the 7 ash trees which were cut down on the bend of Dead Lane had ash dieback, so had to be removed. They are either going to be replaced with a different species or the area be made into a grassy space. The bulk of the tree work is to clear the scrub on the embankments so as to not overshadow the food plants for the water voles. It was reported that wood shavings are just being dumped on the bank or over hedges.
It was felt that we should be consulted regarding the planting of new trees and that we should be made aware of any works to be carried out in the future before work starts, so that we can offer helpful local knowledge.
It was reported that there is still graffiti on the bench by the bus stop on Coronation Road. This will be reported again.
Report graffiti
It was reported that the benches on Millennium Park, Coronation Road and in the village are in need of a good clean. Councillor Wilton will have a look at them and put in a quote for the necessary work (5 benches and 1 Information Board).
Cllr Wilton to take a look and submit a quote
Councillor Wilton reported that he has repaired/painted 2 of the notice boards so far. The board at the top of Church Lane is in a bad state. There are a couple of boards which will need replacing in the next year/18 months. Councillor Wilton will try to patch them up for the time being.
c) Roads/Traffic/Bikers
It was reported that the additional signage and white lining work, to help to improve road safety, for Church Lane and Robinettes Lane, have been included in the list of work to be done. Paula Johnson is waiting on numerous schemes to be signed off and these works are expected to be included in the 26/27 works budget.
There will be no traffic calming measures on Newtons Lane. We had requested this due to the increased volume of traffic on this narrow lane.
Councillor Ms Hopkin reported that she has heard back regarding the verges on Church Lane that the maintenance team will undertake seeding if necessary. The verges need to be Cambridge rolled and they will look at that at an appropriate time, in order to sort out the deep ruts.
Councillor Mrs Wheatley reported that the trees nominated to the Woodland Trust are still pending.
d) RCAN
Councillor Harrison reported that he had received reminders about The Village Hall week – which is this week – and passed all relevant information together with information about networking events, on to Marilyn Reed.
e) CPRE
Councillor Ms Hopkin reported that CPRE are holding a Celebratory/Anniversary weekend at Attenborough Nature Reserve this coming weekend.
f) Floral planters
These are still looking very nice with the winter display. Need to start thinking about the summer planting in May.
g) Village signs
Awsworth are in the process of applying for the relevant licences with Viaem. We have sent them a copy of our Public Liability Insurance. Avant have agreed to contribute £1,500 towards costs but are unable to provide contractors to install the signs, so it should cost around £400 for this to be done.
Awsworth have applied for a grant, so if successful we should be able to work out how much each council will owe.
It was reported that Awsworth and Kimberley have got large picture signs with “Welcome to ……” written underneath. Councillor Keirnan will take photos and we will put in a request to see if they are planning any more and if so can we be considered.
Councillor Keirnan will take photos
h) Notice boards
Councillor Wilton is repairing/painting the notice boards. Councillor Mrs Harrison suggested that maybe a softer wood could be used as it is very difficult to attach notices without the use of staples because the wood is too hard. The problem with using a softer wood is that it will not last as long so would need replacing sooner.
Councillor Ms Hopkin reported that she has told the Scouts that they can put their posters/notices on the notice boards.
Councillor Mrs Byrne asked if notices about school events could be put on the notice boards. That is fine but would probably be advisable to laminate them.
f) Spring newsletter
Councillor Mrs Gilbert will liaise with Councillor Rigby.
Items to be considered are:- the church hall car park, Almshouses, phone 101 reminder for any illegal activities spotted, Scouts.
35/26 Correspondence
An email had been received from Stapleford Parish Council regarding their opposition to the Local Government Reorganisation.
36/26 Planning applications
There is a planning application for the Almshouses to use a different cladding from the original application, on the car ports. We have no concerns about this.
37/26 Finance
Councillor Rigby proposed that, for the time being, we transfer the underspend for this financial year into the Reserve pot thus starting the new financial year with the precept of £15,050. The proposal was seconded, there was a show of hands and all were in favour.
38/26 Accounts for payments for payment
| The following accounts were approved for payment | ||
| Mrs S. Bircumshaw – Clerk’s Salary/Print and Ink | £584.52 | (£503.58/£80.94) |
| Cossall PCC – Room Hire – 17/3/26 | £35.00 | |
| Mr R Heard – Website Administration | £70.00 | |
| Mrs T. Wilson – Hall Cleaning | £20.00 | |
| Seal Calibration – Defibrillator Fitting/Service/Pads | £409.80 | (£154.80/£166.80/£88.20) |
| TOTAL | £1,119.32 | |
| Income since 17/02/26 | ||
| Bank Interest | £15.94 | |
| NCC Grant (Cllr J. Doddy) | £825.00 | |
| TOTAL | £840.94 | |
| Deposit Account | ||
| Reserve | £7,000.00 | |
| MTFS | £1,750.00 | |
| NCC Grant | £825.00 | (From 17 March 2026) |
| TOTAL | £9,575.00 | |
| Balances @ Bank – 28 February 2026 | ||
| Deposit A/C | £4,768.80 | (-Res/MTFS) |
| Current A/C | £479.16 | |
| TOTAL | £5,247.96 | (Available) |
| Balances @ Bank – 17 March 2026 | ||
| Deposit A/C | £2,943.80 | (Reserve/MTFS/Grant deducted) |
| Current A/C | £359.84 | |
| TOTAL | £3,303.64 | (Available to spend) |
Following the payment of interest on 22nd March to close off the year end accounts, the underspend will be transferred to the Reserve total, thus starting the new financial year with the precept of £15,050.
39/26 Date and time of next meeting
The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Tuesday 21st April 2026, commencing at 7.30pm in the Church Hall.
The meeting closed at 8.55pm.