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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 D. Keating
- Councillor Mrs S. Keating
- Councillor Mrs M. Byrne
- Councillor Mrs L. Ball (Broxtowe Borough Council)
- John Wheatley – Member of the Public
Clerk
Mrs S.M. Bircumshaw
40/26 Apologies for absence
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor J. Keirnan and Councillor D. Pringle (Broxtowe Borough Council).
41/26 Declaration of Interest
There were no declarations of interest made.
42/26 Minutes of the last meeting
The following addition was made to the Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 17 March 2026 –
34/26 Items for Discussion a) Church Matters – “Councillor Mrs Gibert proposed that a small Working Party to look at the refurbishment of the war memorials, be set up to get things moving”. Following this addition, the Minutes were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
43/26 Public participation
John Wheatley attended the meeting to speak regarding the recent re-surfacing of the church hall car park. He raised the issue of vehicles being parked randomly in the car park and asked if the Parish Council would be willing to donate £200 towards having white lines painted and also to replace the signs on the gates.
Also mentioned was signage for a Disabled parking spot. His request was duly noted and will be discussed at the next meeting.
Put on next agenda
44/26 Police report
No report.
45/26 County Councillor’s report
No report.
46/26 Borough Councillor’s report
Councillor Mrs Ball reported that there was a planning meeting last week and that a site visit had been made to the Almshouses regarding the recent application to install car ports and supply charging points for electric vehicles. Although the application was initially rejected, following the site visit everyone at the planning meeting agreed that the application should be approved.
Councillor Mrs Gilbert asked if there was any further information regarding the frequency of litter picking in the parish, it was confirmed that this is ongoing.
The question was raised as to if there have been any further developments regarding the ski slope site. Councillor Mrs Ball reported that she has heard nothing further but will look into this.
Standing Orders commenced at 7.42pm
47/26 Items for discussion
a) Church matters
Councillor Mrs Gilbert reported that the Working Party has had a meeting regarding filling in a pre-application form online for funding for the cleaning of the war memorials, to see how an application would go. This was done and sent in to Sarah Brown at the Lottery Heritage Fund. The response was favourable saying that they would welcome an application for cleaning and preserving the monuments. An email has been sent to Will Young, the Diocese Conservation Officer, asking for guidance on testing for the best way to clean and preserve the monuments.
Mark Stafford, the specialist stonemason, would need to carry out the testing. An email has been sent to Mark Stafford regarding the testing – awaiting his reply.
The Working Party will look at filling out the grant application forms sooner rather than later. Councillor Mrs Gilbert will circulate some dates for a further meeting.
Cllr Mrs Gilbert to circulate dates
Jason Mordan has also suggested that an information board about the monuments be erected. Councillor Mrs Gilbert is getting costs for an information board.
As next summer (2027) is 150 years since the erection of the Waterloo Memorial we need to have a Plan B in place should the application for funding from the Lottery Heritage Fund be unsuccessful.
Plan B – we have had a donation from the County Councillors of 50% towards the cost of Mark Stafford’s quote so could go ahead and get the memorials cleaned as originally planned. It was proposed and seconded and all were in favour that we apply to the Lottery Heritage Fund and go from there.
Application to be made to Lottery Herritage Fund
b) Footpaths and pavements
The barrier on Mill Lane has been repaired.
Following an email to Chris Riley, regarding the area where the trees have been taken down, due to disease, saying that we would prefer new trees to be planted, Chris has confirmed that the Borough Council will plant some native oak trees in that area.
It was reported that going down Mill Lane and turning left along the canal there were some large tree trunks – these have been set on fire. There is not really anything we can do about unless this act was witnessed.
c) Roads/Traffic/Bikers
It was reported that the barrier gate on Robinettes Lane has been damaged with a steel saw and opened and an expensive caravan has been stolen from Matthew Blant’s storage area.
d) RCAN
Councillor Harrison reported that there had been an online workshop for the Nottinghamshire Energy Project. Funding information – Caremark and Asda.
The Open Door – Welcome Spaces is a new pilot project to create community spaces in village halls, with various clubs to aim to bring people together, reduce isolation and strengthen community connections. Volunteers are needed to run this type of thing.
Also information has been made available about LemonBooking, a system for managing village hall bookings.
e) CPRE
Councillor Ms Hopkin reported that Councillor Mrs Wheatley and herself had attended the Anniversary at Attenborough Nature Reserve. It was a good event and potentially useful contacts were made.
f) Floral planters
These have been a fabulous display over the winter months. It is a little early for summer planting. Councillor Mrs Harrison will organise plants when the time is right.
The two planters outside the church hall are not in very good condition and could do with replacing. It was proposed and seconded and all were in favour that Councillor Mrs Harrison can purchase two new planter with a budget of £60.
Cllr Mrs Harrison to organise plants
Cllr Mrs Harrison to purchase two new planters
g) Village signs
Councillor Mrs Gilbert circulated the costs to share with Awsworth and with all the funding received it looks like we will be paying just under £400. Now waiting for dates when the signs will be put in place.
We have money towards a new sign in the village and will be able to apply to the County Council for match funding. We already have the circular artwork for a sign.
Cllr Mrs Gilbert to look into appling to NCC for match funding
h) Notice boards
Thanks was given to Councillor Wilton for the refurbishment of the notice boards. Councillor Wilton reported that we may have to purchase a new one for outside The Hollies next year as it is not in very good condition and needs replacing. Quotes will be obtained next year.
The next project is cleaning the benches and re-staining the notice board outside the church hall.
It was reported that the Drinking Water sign, above the water fountain on the church wall, cannot be read clearly due to the tarnishing of the brass plaque. It was suggested that a new slate sign would be nice. Councillor Mrs Wheatley will get prices for an A5 size slate plaque.
Cllr Mrs Wheatley to obtain prices
f) Spring newsletter
The newsletter has been sorted.
It was suggested that a one page notice/newsletter be put out just before the Village Fete and Open Gardens Event, to inform everyone about this event.
It was mentioned that it is not very prominently advertised that it is the Parish Council who produce the newsletters, so we will add this information next time.
48/26 Correspondence
Notification has been received from Broxtowe Borough Council regarding a Climate Forum. Councillor Ms Hopkin is attending this and will report back.
49/26 Planning applications
Application for trees at the White House, Church Lane, to be trimmed/height reduced. No comment or objections mentioned.
50/26 Finance
Approval of the Certificate of Exemption for the Audit.
Exemption is permitted from full audit for smaller councils who have had less than £25,000 income and £25,000 expenditure in the financial year. In the financial year 2025/26 (April to March), Cossall Parish Council received income of £15,735.47 and had expenditure of £14,116.50. These figures are well under the limits.
The Certificate of Exemption was duly signed by the Clerk/RFO and the Chair.
51/26 Accounts for payments for payment
| The following accounts were approved for payment | ||
| Mrs S. Bircumshaw – Clerk’s Salary (Pay Rise) | £522.72 | |
| Cossall PCC – Room Hire – 21/4/26 | £35.00 | |
| Mr R Heard – Website Administration (Pay Rise) | £80.00 | |
| Mrs T. Wilson – Hall Cleaning (Pay Rise) | £25.00 | |
| RCAN – Annual Subs | £114.00 | |
| Mrs M. Gilbert – Printing of Newsletter | £92.40 | |
| Cossall PCC – Electricity for Floodlights (14/1/26-31/3/26) | £38.33 | |
| CPRE – Annual Subs (Direct Debit) | £60.00 | |
| TOTAL | £967.45 | |
| Income since 17/03/26 | ||
| Bank Interest | £12.99 | |
| NCC Grant (Cllr J. Doddy) | £15,050.00 | |
| TOTAL | £15,062.99 | |
| Deposit Account | ||
| Reserve | £9,206.79 | |
| MTFS | £2,500.00 | |
| NCC Grant | £825.00 | |
| TOTAL | £12,531.79 | |
| Balances @ Bank – 31 March 2026 | ||
| Deposit A/C | £2,206.79 | (added to reserve) |
| Current A/C | £295.04 | |
| TOTAL | £2,501.83 | |
| Balances @ Bank – 21 April 2026 | ||
| Deposit A/C | £14,050.00 | (Precept Balance) |
| Current A/C | £327.59 | |
| TOTAL | £14,377.59 | (Available to spend) |
The underspend in the Deposit Account of the last financial year is reflected in the Reserve and MTFS balances as shown above. The remaining balance in the Current Account has been added to the Precept for this financial year. Available to Spend balances will show the financial position using the Precept only.
52/26 Date and time of next meeting
The next meeting of the Parish Council will be the Annual General Meeting and will be held on Tuesday 19th May 2026, commencing at 7.30pm in the Church Hall.
The meeting closed at 8.40pm.