Notes of meeting 1.5.25
NOTES of the Hougham Parish Council meeting held on Thursday 1st May at 7.10 pm in Hougham and Marston Village Hall.
Present: Cllr John Wright (in the Chair), Cllrs P Baker, Jo Wright, Pam McAllister and J Forbes. There were no members of the public present.
1/25. Apologies had been received from Dist Cllr P Wood.
2/25. There were no declarations of interest.
3/25. The Minutes of the meeting held on 5th February 2025 had been read and approved and it
was unanimously agreed that the Chair should sign them.
4/25.. Planning matters: S24/1707 – Change of use of The Lodge to childrens’ home – approved. S24/1978 – retrospective approval re positioning of LPG tank at The Lodge – approved. S24/2190 – new agricultural workers building at land within Grange Farm – pending consideration. S25/0365 – Restrospective application for demolition of two garages at The Lodge – pending consideration. S25/0702 – Site Management Plan for the Lodge – no objections.
5/25. C001 speed reduction -Contractors have been instructed but there is no timescale.
6/25 – Tree works at The Green - Not viable to only do some of the works but Cllr John Wright had trimmed and cut back many of the trees since the last meeting – thanks to him for the work he has done. No further action.
7/25 – Litter pick – there had been a good turnout for the recent litter pick. Cllr Forbes had scrubbed and painted the bench on the green but said that the other bench needed cleaning with a sander or pressure washer. Cllr Baker will pressure wash it and if that is satisfactory Cllr Forbes will then paint it. Thanks were given to Mr Bonshor for cleaning the outside of the phone box.
8/25 – Village Hall Car Park – awaiting an invoice from Marston PC. Delay has been due to VAT issues at the Parish Council.
9/25 Financial matters –
[a] Resolved to sign bank reconciliations at 28.2.25 and 31.3.25. The balance at 31.3.25 was £5,937.88.
[b] It was resolved to pay £53.50 to the internal auditor and £80 to the Clerk (1/3 share of SLCC subscription). The internal audit report was fine.
[c] Resolved to sign AGAR Certificate of Exemption.
[d] Annual Governance Statement of AGAR was agreed and then it was resolved to sign it.
[d] Resolved to sign AGAR Accounting Statement.
10/25 – Cllr Forbes advised that the Emergency Plan has been reviewed and updated.
11/25. Next meeting – 9th July 2025.
Meeting closed at 7.30 pm