June 2025

Minutes of Bracebridge Heath Parish Council held at The Heath: Village Hall and Library on 3rd June 2025 at 7pm  

Present: Councillors P Adey, C Barr, C Callan, B Emes , S Manders, V Marden and K Trought

In attendance: Clerk to Council, Mrs S Knowles, Deputy Clerk to Council, Mrs R Fraser

District and County Councillor Cawrey was in attendance.

No members of the public were present

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

REPORT FROM NORTH KESTEVEN DISTRICT COUNCILLOR CAWREY – Cllr Cawrey reported on the election of a new chairman and vice chairman for NKDC – Chris Goldson and Christine Collard respectively. Cllr Cawrey had been appointed to the role of climate champion.

REPORT FROM LINCOLNSHIRE COUNTY COUNCILLOR - Cllr Cawrey reported that the new Reform administration was in place and committee places had been allocated; disestablishment of the flood management committee and a scheduled visit from a ‘doge’ audit.

Cllr Callan noted that permission for a judicial review had been granted at the High Court enabling a charity to challenge a housing development which had not evidenced capacity for the treatment of sewage. It was noted that this may be of interest in the planning application for Phase 1A of the SUE SEQ. Cllr Cawrey noted this information.

Q: Via Cllr Callan, a resident requested information about a grit bin that had been sited on Vauxhall Road which had been removed.

A: Cllr Cawrey would support any application for additional grit bins.

Q: Via Cllr Callan, a resident had asked about why there was no road crossing across Grantham Road near Jensen Road?

A: Cllr Cawrey was happy to support any requests and asked the council to get in touch formally.

Q: What opportunities are there for parish councils to work together and alongside other tiers of local government on climate change matters?

A: Cllr Cawrey had not yet attended her first meeting in the capacity of Climate Change Champion but would look into this further.

QUESTIONS OR POINTS RAISED BY RESIDENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC - Nil

COUNCIL SESSION  

Code of conduct reminders

Nolan Principles

Members were reminded of the Nolan Principles which underpin the Council’s Code of Conduct - Selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty & leadership.

Register of interests

The Chairman reminded members that they should submit to the Monitoring Officer at North Kesteven District Council any changes to the content of their Register of Member Interest forms. Interests should be declared in accordance with the Code of Conduct.

25080.    TO RECEIVE APOLOGIES AND ACCEPT VALID REASONS FOR ABSENCE  - It was RESOLVED: That apologies for absence be accepted from Cllr Broad.

It was RESOLVED: That apologies for absence be accepted from Cllr Carr.

It was RESOLVED: That apologies for absence be accepted from Cllr Neilson.

25081.         DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

a. TO RECEIVE MEMBERS’ DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ADOPTED CODE OF CONDUCT – Cllr Manders declared a non -pecuniary interest in matters relating to planning application 125 Grantham Road 25/0577/HOUS and opted to neither speak nor vote on the matter.

Cllr Manders declared an ‘other registerable’ interest in matters relating to St John’s church.

b. TO RECEIVE AND CONSIDER MEMBERS’ REQUESTS FOR DISPENSATIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ADOPTED CODE OF CONDUCT AND STANDING ORDERS – Nil

25082.         TO CONFIRM THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING 6TH MAY 2025 - It was RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 6th May 2025 be approved and signed as a true record by the chairman.

25083.         FINANCE AND GOVERNANCE

a. TO RECEIVE THE CLERK’S REPORT ON PAYMENTS BETWEEN MEETINGS - Direct debit payments for May 2025, payments made using delegated authority including the return of deposits to facility hirers.

All reports can be downloaded  https://bracebridge-heath.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/downloads/download/67/meeting-reports---june-2025.

b. TO REVIEW AND CONSIDER PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTS - It was RESOLVED: That payment of accounts as presented at report 25083b. All reports can be downloadedhttps://bracebridge-heath.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/downloads/download/67/meeting-reports---june-2025.

c. TO REVIEW AND CONSIDER APPROVAL OF BANK RECONCILIATIONS – It was RESOLVED: That bank reconciliations 435 -438 and savings account to 31st March 2025 be accepted and signed by Cllr Adey.

It was RESOLVED: That bank reconciliations 439 – 441 and savings account to 30th April 2025 be accepted and signed by Cllr Barr. Current account bank balances noted as £254,311.55; savings account balance noted as £147,402.99

d. TO REVIEW BUDGET, INCOME AND EXPENDITURE – A written report was given. No concerns raised.

25084.         TO RECEIVE THE CLERK’S REPORT ON CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED AND CONSIDER ANY RECOMMENDATIONS

                        Correspondence regarding an increase to the cost of storage hire at the Recreation Ground was noted.

a. TO CONSIDER A PROPOSAL FOR A MONTHLY STREET FOOD MARKET AT THE RECREATION GROUND – It was RESOLVED: That

• the principle of holding street food markets on the Recreation Ground is accepted
• a time limited trial of up to 3 months is put in place
• the Council has the ability to cancel further events during the trial at no cost to the council should officers determine that the events are unsuitable
• that individual vendors must have generators and cannot rely on power from the pavilion
• events are limited to food only with no entertainment
• officers are authorised to approve the event to go ahead subject to documentation being acceptable and officers determining an appropriate hire price of the recreation ground.

25085.         TO RECEIVE AND ACCEPT A REPORT ON DECISIONS MADE USING DELEGATED AUTHORITY –

• Payments made as reported at minute 25083
• Credit card statements
• Carried out repair of glass above the parish office door. Glass had shattered due to stone chipping from grass cutting. The cost of the repair was £538. The cost was agreed and passed on to Glendale for reimbursement.

25086.        PLANNING

a. TO CONSIDER PLANNING APPLICATIONS RECEIVED SINCE THE LAST MEETING OF THE COUNCIL

25/0538/FUL – 4 The Close

It was RESOLVED: That Bracebridge Heath Parish Council has a neutral response to the application. Council wishes to note the recent refusal at land to the rear of 6, 8 and 10 Main Avenue (opposite the subject site) for a 1.5 or 2 storey property. However, the council does not envisage the proposals for 25/0538/FUL causing any privacy issues due to the use of velux windows. The window on the gable end of the property could be frosted to maximise privacy for neighbours.

25/0577/HOUS - 125 Grantham Road

It was RESOLVED: That Bracebridge Heath Parish Council submits a neutral response to the application. Council notes that the use of render and black PVC cladding for the external materials is not in keeping with neighbouring properties and perhaps the visual effect of this could be softened by retaining some of the red brick detailing.

b. TO CONSIDER PLANNING APPLICATION 24/0841/RESM – PHASE 1A SUE SEQ – CANWICK AVENUE

Bracebridge Heath Parish Council strongly objects to the proposals on the following grounds:

Maintaining separation and boundary treatments

The revised proposals confirm that the landscape buffer area to the west and south of the site (adjacent to London Road and Canwick Avenue) will be contained within the gardens of new properties. As the onus will be on new residents to maintain the boundary treatments how will this be enforced? It is noted that post and rail fencing is proposed between the buffer and the new gardens which discourages inhabitants to actively manage the landscape buffer - it won’t feel like part of the garden or property.

Highways

Adoption of highways

Some areas of the site remain unadopted and this will be particularly problematic for affordable homes. The maintenance costs for private roads will be on top of site management fees as well as council tax. This is not really within the spirt of an affordable home.

Parking

Parking provision for visitors is still inadequate. In particular, there is no visitor parking provision near the NEAP which arguably will have a number of people driving to it. 

Parking on the affordable housing to the north-east and south-east is of such a density that it is courtyard parking (some houses do not have parking outside their houses). There is no evidence or explanation provided as to why un-adopted courtyard parking has been used as per CLLP policy S49.

Buses

There doesn’t appear to be any alterations to the plans to allow space for bus laybys as suggested previously. It would be beneficial to provide bus shelters and other infrastructure within the site too as per CLLP Policy S69 (NK/CAN/003 – clause g). If this is not provided for now at the application stage, it is unlikely that the footways will be large enough to retrospectively introduce bus shelters. Use of public transport is a key part of the travel plan, and this type of infrastructure encourages residents to use sustainable forms of transport.

Lighting and safety

PIR lighting is proposed to be installed on properties to provide safety lighting for highways. However, this lighting is unlikely to be adequate enough to project into the green spaces and the LEAPS. No further information has been provided for specific lighting in the LEAPS, NEAP or public open space. The Secured by Design Residential Guide notes the following in relation to PIR lighting:

Secured by Design has not specified PIR activated security lighting for a number of years following advice from the ILP and police concern regarding the increase in the fear of crime (particularly amongst the elderly) due to repeated PIR lamp activations. Research has proven that a constant level of illumination is more effective at controlling the night environment.

The applicant has not clarified who will be responsible for the maintenance of the PIR lighting. If householders will be responsible, how will the maintenance be enforced? It should be noted that a significant number of the PIR’s are on the affordable housing. This will increase costs if residents are to be responsible for maintaining them. There is no mention of maintenance of the PIR lighting in the Management plan.

Street furniture

The revised plans do not give any further details about the provision of street furniture, namely benches and litter bins. It is essential that the site has a full provision of litter and dog waste bins to support the maintenance of the public open space areas.  This would also be the perfect opportunity to install high-quality themed benches celebrating locally relevant things like Bomber Command (particularly pertinent give proximity to International Bomber Command Centre) & RAF Red Arrows.    

Public open space and play area

As per previous comments made, there is no proposed lighting in either the LEAPs or the NEAP. The NEAP would benefit from overhead lighting to enable play in the winter months and into the evenings.

The proposed play equipment and areas are uninspiring and basic.  Apart from the sports pitch itself, there is no equipment designed for older children in any of the play areas. In addition, the play areas are still all combined with SUDs which as pointed out previously, is contrary to the RoSPA guidance which strongly encourages developers and designers to separate children’s play equipment from water features including SUDS. It is disappointing that the play areas will not be provided until later in the development (Phase 6 onwards). This will be after many family houses have been built and occupied.

The council is also disappointed that the SUDS are included in the overall calculation of public open space. The expectation is that the edge of the SUDS will be marshy which makes this largely unusable space.

The lack of high enclosure/structure around the ball court exacerbates the concerns around its proximity to the SUD Basin. The area is intended for ball games and yet there is no means of keeping the ball in the area. This will increase the likelihood of accidents and injuries and the overall risk to children and young people using this space. Children are very likely to need to access the SUD to retrieve a ball and this is an avoidable risk. 

The proposals indicate that post and rail fencing will be erected around the majority of the public open space which will make it more difficult to access from particular areas of the site. The maintenance of such an extensive amount of fencing will cause additional annual maintenance fees especially to the affordable housing. Will all the properties be charged the same fees?

Other matters

Site density and affordable housing

Site density plans have not been provided. The council still has concerns that the overall design of the site will feel tightly packed and highly dense in comparison with existing areas of Bracebridge Heath. The area to the east of the development contains most of the affordable homes with the remaining affordable homes being located in just two other distinct areas.  Bracebridge Heath Parish Council does not feel that this constitutes ‘integration’ of affordable housing. In particular, the affordable housing plots 31 to 38 are quarter houses with no private garden areas. Although they are located near public open space, the post and rail fencing surrounding them means that this will be more difficult for the inhabitants to access any of the green space. 

Capacity for foul water treatment and drainage

No further details have been provided to determine capacity for foul water treatment. Bracebridge Heath Parish Council reiterates its original concerns about this matter.

Housing types and materials near the Grade II listed farm

The density of housing to the east of the farm will impact on the farms setting. All the dwellings are red brick with a rustic tile roof. There needs to be a softening of the materials used to incorporate some limestone or limestone colour.

Bin storage at the end of the unadopted roads

Up to 10 bins will be on the slab spaces provided which will only just be large enough (10 600 x 600 slabs). There is no landscaping around to lessen the unsightly impact of so many bins. The distances involved with moving bins from homes to the weekly collection point is too great and will result in bins being left out routinely.

Bracebridge Heath Parish Council does not feel that its concerns raised in September 2024 have been addressed and that the application will lead to a less than satisfactory development. Bracebridge Heath Parish Council is very disappointed with the quality of this application. This is the first phase of the South-East Quadrant and as such should be ambitious, setting high standards for the future developments to come. The application falls short of this and is of detriment to the local area.

c. TO RECEIVE A REPORT ON PLANNING DECISIONS – A written report was received.

25087.     TO REVIEW POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

a. DATA PROTECTION POLICY – It was RESOLVED: That the Data Protection policy v2.3 be adopted.

b. PRIVACY NOTICES – It was RESOLVED: That the revised privacy notice be adopted. Notices would now be included as an appendix to the Data Protection policy and updated in line with the review arrangements for the policy.

c. DOCUMENT RETENTION POLICY – It was RESOLVED: That the Document Retention Policy v2.4 be adopted.

d. DATA MAP – It was RESOLVED: That the Data Map be adopted and reviewed annually.

e. SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST PROCEDURES – It was RESOLVED: That the Subject Access Request procedure v1.3 be adopted.

f. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION POLICY – It was RESOLVED: That the Freedom of Information policy v1.3 be adopted.

g. IT POLICY – It was RESOLVED: That the IT policy v1.0 be adopted.

h. EMAIL AND INTERNET USE POLICY (WITHDRAWAL RECOMMENDED) – It was RESOLVED: That the Email and Internet use policy be withdrawn. The content of the policy was now included in a full IT policy.

25088.         TO CONSIDER THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE NEW ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT ASSERTION 10 IN THE ANNUAL GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN – DIGITAL AND DATA COMPLIANCE - It was RESOLVED: That the report outlining the requirements is accepted noting that the council has two actions to be implemented to confirm its compliance – these are adoption of a training schedule for data protection training and to conduct a regular review of the website accessibility statement.

25089.         TO CONSIDER ARRANGEMENTS FOR REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY 2025 AND PURCHASE OF A POPPY WREATH UNDER S137, LGA 1972

It was RESOLVED: That under powers provided by s137 of The Local Government Act 1972, the council incurs expenditure on a poppy wreath donating a maximum of £30 to the Royal British Legion

It was RESOLVED: That the briefing documents and road closure information is accepted and officers are authorised to submit an application to Lincolnshire County Council to hold an event affecting the highway.

It was RESOLVED: That officers are authorised to hire a van to transport equipment for the event.

25090.         TO CONSIDER A REPORT FROM THE EVENTS WORKING GROUP – A written and verbal report was provided.

25091.         TO CONSIDER PURCHASE OF THE KINGS PORTRAIT FOR DISPLAY IN THE HEATH: VILLAGE HALL & LIBRARY – It was RESOLVED: That the Council purchases the Kings Portrait from the official provider at a cost of £181.20 and officers are authorised to purchase a suitable frame separately.

25092.         TO CONSIDER CO-OPTION TO COUNCIL VACANCIES – It was RESOLVED: That Natalie Watkinson be co-opted to Bracebridge Heath Parish Council

25093.         TO CONSIDER ITEMS FOR INCLUSION ON THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MEETING - Nil

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 20:58    

Signed___________________________Chairman                                                         01 July 2025