Agenda 9th December

Parish meeting

9 December 2025

Present

Sallie Hollingsworth (chair), Wayne Hollingsworth, Peter Buckeridge(PBu), Valerie Buckeridge, Denise Fearnley, John Wallace, Jane Wallace, Rick Crust, Katie Crust, Peter Brown(PB), Fiona Everingham, Jill Chambers, Joan Mitchell, Mark Henry.

Apologies

Andrew Chambers, Hans Mitchell, Alf Podlaszewski, Karen Podlaszewski, Keith Robinson and Janet Robinson.

The meeting commenced at 7 PM. The chair noted that as there were only 14 villagers present, the meeting was not quorate, 15 being required.  She indicated however that she would allow the meeting to continue as the original intention had been for the meeting to be an open forum to discuss the possible purchase of land for the benefit of the parish.

The chair indicated that all present will probably be aware of the proposal at the last parish meeting to buy 8 acres of land which may come up for sale in the village. It was confirmed that this is not for sale at the moment as it is presently being marketed with the sale of the attached farm. However, with the possible purchase of the land in mind, the chair has made a number of enquiries and the main issue appears to be that the parish meeting is not in itself a legal entity. She outlined the advice that had been given and of the possible alternatives, purchasing the land as a company limited by guarantee was preferable. Setting up a charity with which to buy the land would be expensive and this would require a change of trustee every time someone wished to resign. The guarantee can be limited to £1, but there will need to be directors appointed and some accounting procedures required.

PB asked about profits and KC asked how any income would be offset. The chair said that further advice would be needed depending on what the parish decided regarding moving forward. PB asked for further clarification regarding the options and FE noted that we are only a parish meeting, rather than a parish council and this led to a short discussion over how we might become a parish council, although this was not being suggested.

The chair suggested that we need to agree how to proceed or whether we should proceed at all. PB suggested that an offer could be made in any event to ascertain if the present owners might split the property to enable the purchase to take place and if they were to indicate they were willing to do this, then sort out the issue of the legal entity at that point.

KC again asked about the income from the land and the chair confirmed that nothing had been discussed about this at the parish meeting, just that all present agreed that the proposal was a good idea, but the parish meeting could not agree on a price that could be offered. It had been suggested that a maximum amount could be set allowing the chair maximum discretion in negotiations, but the meeting was going round in circles and it was agreed therefore to hold this meeting.

The chair then indicated that an application has been made to East Lindsey District Council for a £50,000 grant to to assist with the purchase of the land.

MH raised the issue of the costs, but these were impossible to identify until a decision is taken as to which option to go for. At this point, the chair suggested that we needed to decide whether to buy the land, and if so, on what basis.

JM indicated her support for a limited company as being the best route and PB suggested that this is the option we should look at so that we can make some progress.

RC said that the purchase of the land would be good for the village, but the land would have to be looked after. He was worried that the work would have to be done by volunteers. VB asked where the money would be coming from for the purchase of the land and it was confirmed that in addition to the application for a grant from the district council, an application would also need to be made to the windfarm. The chair confirmed that it was our district councillor who had mentioned that grants were available at the last meeting. RC felt that if we go ahead, there will be a lot of work for whoever deals with this proposal. Having given thought to the proposal, he felt that perhaps the time is not right for this purchase. VB asked if we needed to buy the whole lot. The chair said that everything was subject to negotiation. Another concern was with regard to the recent changes in planning structures and housing applications which had previously been refused and which were now being granted after initial refusal. Purchase of the land now by a developer, might lead to housing been placed on the land at some point in the future.

RC said that he was not sure how the sale of the farm was going, although he noted that it had been reduced in price. He felt that waiting was the best way forward. It was agreed that a subcommittee was needed to deal with the way forward rather than have to call a parish meeting on each occasion and that this subcommittee could then set the terms of reference and how much should and could be offered for the purchase of the land.

It was confirmed that the farmhouse has been reduced in price by £50,000 and that the separate land was seen as a “sweetener” for anybody buying the farmhouse. KC asked if we should be asking the other people living in the village and the chair pointed out that there were other people at the first meeting who had not attended this evening and would have known that the meeting was taking place tonight. KC maintained that she felt there was a lot to do with only 15 people living in the village hereand whether there would be issues if there are no grants available and we need income for the future RC suggested that if nothing was done with the land and it was left for grazing, it would only make £30 to £100 per acre.

JW returned to the options available and suggested that to set up the charity the fees are going to be in the thousands and we might still not get the land. He agreed that the limited company by way of guarantee was the best of the options available but he would want to know more about the accounting system needed before offering to volunteer. It is clear that detailed records will need to be kept and if we carry on with the process, future costs should also be included in any proposals.

At this point, the meeting seemed to be going around in circles, but PB felt that we should not simply park things. JM again indicated that a charity was inappropriate.

The chair confirmed that the project application had been made for the purchase to the windfarm. RC outlined the things that would have to be done if the village bought the land. VB suggested that a questionnaire be sent out to the whole of the village to try and obtain more views. WH again suggested that all of these issues can be dealt with by a subcommittee who could then present a way forward to the parish meeting.

RC said that the possibility of this land being bulldozed he felt had already gone, so if it does not sell with the farmhouse, is only likely to be sold as grazing land. He also felt that as a parish, if a proposal was made to build housing on the land, we would be able to block such plans, but the chair indicated that in her view in light of the recent planning changes, she did not agree that that was necessarily the case.

The meeting agreed to move forward with a subcommittee and those volunteering were WH, PB, FD and MH. It was agreed to hold the first meeting on 15 January 2026

There was no further business and the meeting closed at 7:40 PM