2026 Minutes

Denton Parish Council

Minutes

All Parish Councillors were summoned to attend a Parish Council Meeting

Monday Monday March 9, 2026 at

Knipton Village Hall at 7:30 pm

This Meeting was recorded

PCM 2026

Item for Discussion/Resolution

1 Welcome Address from the Chair, Councillor Andrea Leadenham who thanked everyone for attending and reminded all that the meeting is recorded.

2 Attendees:

a.To receive an application for one of the vacancies for the office of Parish Councillor and to co-opt a candidate to fill the seat. Abbie Tame had put forward an application & had been nominated by the Chair, Andrea Leadenham & seconded by Sue Bellamy. Applicant to complete the forms namely: Declaration of Acceptance of Office & Declaration of Pecuniary Interest.  There are still two vacancies.

Those in attendance were: Councillors: Andrea Leadenham, Chair, Amy Leadenham, Robert Leadenham and Sue Bellamy (also as Acting Clerk) and several members of the public.

3 Councillor Apologies:

Apology received & noted from District County Councillor Charlotte Vernon.

4 Parish Council Declarations of Pecuniary Interest. None recorded.

5 Items from District & County Councillors,

County Councillor Charlotte Vernon had sent her apologies. District Councillor Robert Leadenham discussed the following:

Street Lights: request for better lighting on the Service Road on Hungate Road. Currently, the request is being assessed by Property Services at SKDC.

Play area: Grass Cutting - request to SKDC to continue grass cutting at the play area & waiting to hear back on whether this is acceptable.

Speed Indicator Device (SID): Information has been distributed to the Councillors regarding the prices of new SID’s for Belvoir, Harston & Casthorpe Roads. Councillors to jointly decide on which SID is the must suitable and cost effective, they are currently priced at £3,000 each & are required for three locations. Road Safety Partnership are happy to offer any assistance with this.

30MPH signs, Dog Fouling signs & 30MPH Bin Stickers. Councillor Leadenham informed the meeting that he currently has a number of signs if anyone requires them.

SKDC Update: The 2026/27 Budget has been passed. 86% of SKDC Council Tax collected is sent to LCC. The consultation period for Greater Lincolnshire Councils to merge is still ongoing - the general public are still advised to comment on this via the website. This will also be posted on the village WhatsApp group as this is the biggest change to the council in 50 years.

Food Caddies: Food Caddies have been delivered & the rollout starts on April 13, 2026. Weekly collections will take place.

6 Minutes of previous Meeting - Resolution to approve the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Monday, February 9, 2026 This was agreed by all and duly signed by the Chair.

7 Public Forum: Two members of the public offered their services to deliver flyers, etc if required. They were thanked by the Chair. A question was raised regarding the new SID’s (Speed Indicator Devices) & in particular the messages & colour of the information. It was felt the brighter & the option of changing the message would have a positive effect. Councillor R. Leadenham has asked the Road Safety Partnership to check on the new SID’s locations, which will help & also extend the Community Speed Watch (CSW) area. A member of the public asked if the SKDC “no ball games” signs were being removed from around the play area on Hungate. Councillor R. Leadenham said the signs carry no legal weight. A question was also raised on the new village speed limits, particularly on Casthorpe Road. All information concerning this matter has been discussed at previous Parish Council meetings & minuted in 2025 & the information shared on the WhatsApp group. The new signs indicating the new extended zones were installed last year. The extent of the area on Casthorpe was again queried. The Parish Council had previously requested that the new speed limit started at the first property on Casthorpe Road but this request was turned down by LCC Highways as it did not meet the current criteria. The Parish Council then requested if not 30mph then 40mph but this was also turned down. The Acting Clerk was advised at the time by LCC Highways to keep trying as the regulations & criteria may change. District Councillor R. Leadenham & County Councillor C. Vernon are currently investigating whether the A607 speed limit could be changed from 50mph to 40mph in line with the changes recently made at Harlaxton. The status of the Village Hall was raised again & the Parish Council stressed that taking on the Village Hall both running & maintenance was not viable due to the structural survey and all the implications & improvements required. There seemed to be some confusion as to whether the Parish Council had requested the land from the Estate, the Acting Clerk stressed the package offered i.e. the 99 year lease pertained to the building & the land as one entity, not separate. To remove the Village Hall in its current condition, would be very costly, mainly due to the asbestos within the building. Even if the Village Hall in its current condition, under went a programme of repairs, the findings of the structural survey deemed the project would not be cost effective.

Problems with the foundation, drainage, sewer, would be expensive to resolve. After further discussion, Councillor R. Leadenham suggested, that if there was enough support a local community group could be formed to approach the Estate to put forward a proposal. On another matter, the Acting Clerk was asked by a member of the public if the Parish Council/Councillors had a Code of Conduct. The Acting Clerk responded that a copy of the Code of Conduct is available on the Parish Council’s website. There were further questions that texts were being posted on WhatsApp & was there a conflict that some texts were being associated as sent on the Parish Council’s behalf. The only Parish Council items posted on the WhatsApp Denton Communications group are notices & information regarding the Parish Council Meetings or general information from SKDC. Previously the Parish Council notices etc., were only posted on the website & the notice board. It was requested by several residents if they could be posted on the WhatsApp group Denton Communications. Anything else posted as far as the Acting Clerk was concerned would be deemed of a personal nature. Councillor R. Leadenham suggested that maybe the Parish Council should look into having their own WhatsApp group. Another member of the public asked when the recording of the meeting was deleted. The Acting Clerk responded that the recording, which is purely for help with compiling the minutes, is kept until the minutes are approved at the following Parish Council Meeting & are kept for a month in case of any queries. After that they are deleted. The Welby Arms was also offered to the Parish Council to hold its meetings but this is not possible as meetings cannot be held in licensed premises. St. Andrew’s church is also unsuitable as it does not currently have toilet facilities.

8 Report from the Parish Clerk including:

a) update on the Parish Precept - The precepts have been approved & should be confirmed shortly - Councillor R Leadenham also confirmed this was the case.

b) Finances - including balance sheet, payments & available funds: The current balance stands at £11,224.64, the final payment of the grant for the play area for £6,000 has been received. The VAT return has been sent. Approval was requested & given from the Councillors re: the following payments:

Amy Leadenham - induction Course £42.00

LALC webpage maintenance - further 5 hours. £108.00

c) Community Cleaner Report: The Acting Clerk had spoken with the Community Cleaner & no PPE was required.

A resident had contacted the Acting Clerk to ask if it would be possible to move the notice board outside the Village Hall to the Welby Arms. It was decided that the notice board was in a poor condition & could not be re sited & Councillor Tame was unsure if an appropriate location could be found at the Welby Arms but would be more than happy to display any village notices in the Welby Arms.

9 Parish Council General (Update & Discussion)

a. Play Area - Any outstanding items: Councillor Andrea Leadenham (Chair) is currently checking on the status of the play area & equipment on a weekly basis.

The Acting Clerk again confirmed receipt of £6,000.00 final grant payment, and thanked Councillor R. Leadenham for his help with the submission of the final completion report to SKDC.

b. SID& Road Safety - already discussed.

c. CSW to commence again shortly. Training courses for new applicants are available but currently only in Spalding which was deemed to far to travel.

d. Parking Issues in Denton. No issues reported mainly due to the construction work on Main Street being completed.

e. Belvoir Castle Events - please see item f.

f. Vale Parish Group (VPG) at Belvoir Castle held on February 26, 2026. Very little to report on the meeting as it was held in confidence. Councillor R. Leadenham & the Acting Clerk attended. The meeting was stated as confidential. This raised concerns as a report is usually presented to the Parish Council. However; when the changes are announced & confirmed we will be able to discuss. Leicestershire Police attended and a representative from Belvoir Castle along with the traffic management company Tracis and other Vale Parish group members. Concern was raised at the meeting that Lincolnshire Police had not attended. A Teams meeting of the VPG was held on March 3 which Councillor R. Leadenham participated in. The main objective is to issue a joint response from all the members of the Vale Parish Group.

g. Dog Fouling - already discussed.

h. Update on request to SKDC for lighting the footpath between Park Lane & Hungate. Solar lights seemed the most likely solution & permission will need to be sought from SKDC regarding placement.

10 Planning Applications:

Ferneley, Church Street, Denton, Lincolnshire, NG32 1LG

Change of use and extension to existing out building to form single dwelling

Ref No: S25/3122 - Awaiting decision. Work has commenced, but permission has been granted for this work.

Outstanding decisions:

Keepers Lodge - Caravan & Camping Site at Denton Lane, Harston. Approval given by Melton Borough Council at Planning Committee Meeting on Thursday February 18, 2026 at Melton Borough Council offices.

27 conditions have been imposed.

12 Any other business - None given.

13 New business for the next meeting:

14 Meeting close at 20:39 hours. Date of next scheduled meeting is Monday March 30, 2026 at Knipton Village Hall.

15 Closed session if required.