Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Bunney, the outgoing Chairman, formally opened the meeting and welcomed members to the start of the 2025 - 2026 civic year and the Council’s 51^st AGM. Members of the public were also welcomed including those viewing from home.

 

 

 

 

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point and may also make them at any point during the meeting.

No declarations of interest  were made at this point in the meeting.

 

 

Following which, the Chairman elected will take the Chair and make the Declaration of Acceptance of Office

Before commencing the process of electing a new Chairman, the outgoing Chairman addressed Council for the final time and reflected on the past year in office and shared some of the highlights.

 

Whilst some may think the wearing of the Chain and the opportunity to visit Buckingham Palace may be up there, for the outgoing Chairman, the simple joy and opportunity to get into the communities and see the great work undertaken by local people simply wanting to improve their area.  Speaking with young people and explaining the role and see the sense of pride people held in their local communities.

 

The outgoing Chairman spoke of the very good District it had been a pleasure to serve, whilst it may not always be the easiest job, the efforts of all Councillors and volunteers at every level was acknowledged and something he took great pride in.

 

Being Chairman had allowed Councillor Bunney to experience wider parts of the District, other than the Ward he represented, greatly improving his wider understanding of the District as a whole, with business owners, tourist attractions and other such places taking the time to share with him more greatly than the average citizen, which had been a real pleasure, honour and true learning experience.

 

The 50th anniversary had been a very special occasion, sharing the experience with both current and previous Members had been memorable

 

The outgoing Chairman also spoke of the support he had received from Officers and fellow Members whilst in Office and paid tribute to them. Acknowledging the Council Teams that worked away from the main site; the Crematorium, the Trinity Arts Centre and the Depot.

 

In concluding the Chairman spoke of how lucky the District was to have such dedicated Officers and of the privilege and honour it had been to serve them, fellow Councillors and the community over the past 24 months.

 

Presiding over his final item, Councillor Bunney sought nominations for the position of Chairman of Council.

 

It was proposed and seconded that Councillor Matthew Boles be appointed the Chairman of Council for the civic year 2025/26. No further nominations were made and on being put to the vote the motion was carried and it was therefore: -

 

RESOLVED that Councillor Matthew Boles be elected Chairman of the Council for the 2025/2026 civic year.

 

The outgoing Chairman presented the Chain of Office to Councillor Boles and congratulated him on his appointment.

 

Councillor Boles made and signed the statutory declaration of acceptance of office, in the presence of the Head of Paid Service and took the Chair for the remainder of the meeting.

 

In his acceptance speech Councillor Boles advised that it was an honour to be elected as Chairman for the coming year and that he was looking forward to the forthcoming year in office and to meeting many people from the district, throughout Lincolnshire and beyond. Councillor Boles undertook to uphold the good name of West Lindsey in all the duties carried out as Chairman of the Council,

 

Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Following which, the Vice-Chairman appointed will make the Declaration of Acceptance of Office

 

Nominations were sought for the position of Vice-Chairman of Council, with Councillor Stephen Bunney being proposed and seconded.

 

There being no further nominations it was:

 

RESOLVED that Councillor Stephen Bunney be elected Vice-Chairman of the Council for the 2025/26 civic year.

 

The Chairman of the Council congratulated Councillor Bunney on his appointment. The Vice Chairman’s Chain and Badge of Office would be handed to Councillor Bunney in the coming days.

 

Councillor Bunney made and signed the statutory declaration of acceptance of office, in the presence of the Head of Paid Service, and indicated that it was an honour and a privilege to have been elected as Vice-Chairman for the coming year. He looked forward to supporting the Chairman in every way possible during the coming year and would strive at all times to promote and uphold the good name of West Lindsey.

 

 

 

(a)     to move a vote of thanks to those who presided over prayers, on behalf of the Chairman, at Council during the past year;

 

(b)     to receive the appointment of Chairman’s Chaplain for the ensuing year and investment of the Stole.

 

The Chairman introduced the item and invited Councillor Bunney as outgoing Chairman to make a vote of thanks to his Chaplain, The Reverend Cotton.

 

Councillor Bunney paid tribute to The Reverend Cotton and spoke of the memorable and historic speeches he had given at the 50^th Anniversary Celebrations and Remembrance Day.

 

The newly appointed Chairman advised that he too would be appointing The Reverend Cotton as his Chairman’s Chaplain, and invited him to again receive the Chaplain’s stole, which was followed by a round of applause.

 

The Chairman indicated that this concluded the civic part of the proceedings for this evening.

 

It was reported that official photographs and presentations would take place at the end of the meeting, and Members were also invited to join the Chairman for refreshments after the meeting.

 

 

The following nomination(s) have been received in accordance with Article 6 of the Constitution:

 

Nominee:                   Councillor Trevor Young

Proposer:                   Councillor Trevor Young

Seconder:                  Councillor Lesley Rollings

 

Nominations for the position of Leader had been sought in accordance with Article 6 of the Constitution, with only one nomination having been received.

 

Councillor Trevor Young had been proposed and seconded.

 

RESOLVED that Councillor Trevor Young be elected Leader of the Council for the 2025/26 civic year.

 

Councillor Young addressed Council and expressed his thanks at having been appointed and made the following short address : -

 

“Thank you, Chairman and firstly congratulations to you in terms of your new civic role. I think you'll do it very well and we look forward to it.

 

Council, thank you for your support this evening. It's an honour to be the Leader of this Council for another year. We've achieved numerous things in the past two years, and we've got lots of things to deliver before Local Government reorganisation.

 

I think it would be amiss of me if I didn't mention last week's County Council elections. As in all elections, there are winners and there are losers. And in West Lindsey, despite our political differences, we've been blessed in this district with hardworking, dedicated Councillors who have worked extremely hard for all their communities. And Chairman, as the Leader of the Council, on behalf of the Council, I'd like us to write a letter to all those County Councillors in this District who sadly did not retain their seats for the hard work they've done on behalf of this district. I'm sure everybody would be in support of that.

 

We've got excellent Councillors in West Lindsey. Despite, like I said, in terms of political differences, because they've worked tirelessly for years and years. And I think it would be wrong in terms of us to not acknowledge that. If we can do that, Chairman, I'd be greatly appreciative of that. Thank you, Chairman”.

 

Officers undertook to prepare the required letters with Council’s consent.

 

 

The Leader having been elected to position, nominated his Deputy Leader as Councillor Mrs Lesley Rollings. In doing so, he spoke of her dedication, tireless work and how she had ably covered duties for him at important meetings on important matters.

 

Having been seconded and with no further nominations, on being put to the vote, it was : -

 

RESOLVED that Councillor Mrs Lesley Rollings be appointed Deputy Leader of the Council for the 2025/26 civic year.

 

Councillor Mrs Rollings expressed her thanks and made a short acceptance address, speaking of the honour to serve.  She looked forward to working together over the year to continue to deliver key projects and move forward with priorities for the year.

 

 

The Chairman advised that there were two sets of minutes for Council approval, these being the minutes from the meeting on 3 March and the minutes arising from the Extra-ordinary meeting of Council on 18 March.  With Council’s consent the minutes were taken en-bloc.

 

With both sets of minutes having been proposed and seconded, on being put to the vote it was:-

 

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of Full Council held on 3 March 2025 and the Minutes of the Meeting of the Extraordinary Full Council held on 18 March 2025 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

 

 

Councillor Bunney, in his capacity as current Chairman of the Governance and Audit Committee presented the report to meeting. The report sought Constitutional amendments relating to articles and Committees, in accordance with legal advice received, and to ensure the Constitution was up to date with legislative requirements and remained fit for purpose.

 

The amendments required were summarised at Appendix 1, with the body of the report providing context and rationale. The Governance and Audit Committee had considered the report on 22 April 2025 and had recommended its content to Council for approval.

 

Having been proposed and seconded, with no questions posed, it was: -

 

RESOLVED that the RECOMMENDATION from the Governance and Audit Committee be accepted and

 

(a)    the position in relation to the Constitutional amendments relating to articles and Committees be received and noted; and

 

(b)    the Constitution amendments as outlined in Appendix 1 be accepted.

 

 

To note the Group Leaders of each Group and the number of Members to be appointed to serve on each Committee in accordance with the provisions of Section 15 of the Local Government Act.

 

The Chairman presented the report, which set out details of the political groups on the Council, the number of Members to be appointed to serve on each Committee, and the allocation of seats on each of the Committees based on political groupings, noting the review was borne out of the Council’s Constitutional commitment to review the allocations at least annually at the Annual General Meeting. There had been no changes to political Groups since the last review (January 2025).

 

This was a matter, which had been determined by the Head of Paid Service under his delegated authority, in Consultation with the Group Leaders, with the majority having indicated their agreement, as such, there was no requirement for a vote.

 

The Group Leader of the Lincolnshire Independents addressed the Chamber and indicated his discontent at allocations due to the committee sizes having been reduced resulting in the smaller groups having less representation on some committees.

 

In responding the Head of Paid Service confirmed that he had consulted all Group Leaders and the majority of those were in favour of a reduction in committee size, hence the majority view expressed had been acted upon.

 

 

With no further questions or comments posed, the following was DULY NOTED: -

 

(a)      the details of the political groups, as set out in Appendix A of the report,

 

(b)      the number of Members to be appointed to serve on each committee and sub-committee; and

 

(c)      the allocation to different political groups of seats on committees/sub-committees, as set out in Appendix B of the report.

 

 

In accordance with the provisions of Section 16 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, to appoint Members to Committees for the Civic Year, in accordance with the wishes expressed by the Political Groups.

 

The Chairman of the Council presented the report which set out the wishes expressed by the political groups in respect of the appointment of Members to serve on each of the Council’s formal Committees for the 2024/26 Civic Year.

 

Members were advised that the published report had contained some gaps where nominations had still been awaited namely: -

 

·       nominations from the Lincolnshire Independent Group, for seats on the Chief Officer Employment Committee, the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee;

·       an additional nomination from the Liberal Democrat Administration Group for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (later determined not required);

·       a reduction by one name from the Liberal Democrat Administration Group for the Licensing and Regulatory Committees.

 

The awaited nominations were provided verbally to the meeting, as follows: -

 

Councillor Paul Key (Lincolnshire Independent) to join the Chief Officer Committee and Corporate Policy and Resources Committee.  The Group would not be taking their seat on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

 

The Liberal Democrat Administration Group Leader indicated he would provide the requested information outside of the meeting.

 

Finally, the Chairman advised the Chamber that the allocation process, had required the two larger Groups to sacrifice a seat each from the “ordinary Committees”.  A seat on the Planning and Chief Officer Employment Committees had been surrendered and each of the independent Groups needed to articulate which seat they would be assuming.

 

Cllr Bridgwood indicated his Group (Consensus Independents) would take the seat of the Chief Officer Committee, with Councillor McGhee to be appointed.

 

This left a seat on the Planning Committee for the Lincolnshire Independents, but their Group Leader indicated that they would not be taking the seat at the current time.  As such this would remain vacant at present.

 

On that basis it was

 

RESOLVED that in accordance with the provisions of section 16 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and the wishes expressed by political groups, and provided verbally at the meeting Members be appointed to serve to the Council’s Committees for the 2025/26 civic year as follows: -

 

 

Chief Officer Employment Committee (10 Members)

 

Councillor O Bierley

Councillor J Brockway

Councillor P Key

Councillor J McGhee

Councillor P Morris

Councillor M Palmer

Councillor L Rollings

Councillor M Snee

Councillor M Westley

Councillor T Young

 

 

Corporate Policy and Resources Committee (10 Members)

 

Councillor O Bierley

Councillor M Boles  

Councillor S Bunney  

Councillor I Fleetwood

Councillor Paul Key

Councillor R Patterson

Councillor T Smith  

Councillor P Swift 

Councillor M Westley  

Councillor T Young  

    

 

Governance and Audit Committee (5 Members)

              

Councillor J Brockway

Councillor S Bunney

Councillor D Dobbie

Councillor A Lawrence

Councillor B Velan

 

 

Licensing Committee (11 Members)

 

Councillor J Barrett

Councillor E Bailey

Councillor E Bennett  

Councillor L Clews  

Councillor D Dobbie   

Councillor P Lee

Councillor M Palmer

Councillor Mrs D Rodgers

Councillor T Smith

Councillor J Snee 

Councillor M Snee  

Councillor B Velan                

 

 

 

Regulatory Committee (11 Members)

 

Councillor J Barrett

Councillor E Bailey

Councillor E Bennett  

Councillor L Clews  

Councillor D Dobbie   

Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Having re-appointed the Committees, the report under consideration sought to appoint Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen to each of the Committees and for Council to agree the normal commencement time for each meeting.

 

In response to Members’ questions Officers confirmed that counter nominations were acceptable, and Members could nominate Members from outside of their own Groups.

 

Several counter nominations were made at that point, resulting in a political exchange ensuing, in relation to the nominees and the sharing of duties across Members and/or between Administration and Opposition Members.

 

Taking his lead from the feeling within the Chamber, the Chairman indicated that he would take each position in turn and seek nominations and counter nominations for each position available:

 

Committee	Chairman Nominee	Vice Chairman/men Nominee	Counter nomination Chairman	Counter Nomination Vice-Chairman
Chief Officer Employment Committee	Cllr M Westley	Cllr M Snee	N/A	N/A
Corporate Policy & Resources Committee	Cllr T Young	Cllr P Swift Cllr M Westley	N/A	N/A
Planning Committee	Cllr M Boles	Cllr J Snee	N/A	Cllr I Fleetwood
Governance & Audit Committee	Cllr S Bunney	Cllr D Dobbie Cllr B Velan	N/A	N/A
Licensing Committee*	Cllr J Snee	Cllr M Snee	N/A	N/A
Overview & Scrutiny Committee	Cllr P Howitt-Cowan	Cllr J Flear Cllr M Westley	N/A	N/A
Regulatory Committee*	Cllr J Snee	Cllr M Snee	N/A	N/A
Prosperous Communities Committee	Cllr L Rollings	Cllr E Bailey Cllr T Young	N/A	Cllr O Bierley
Standards Committee	Cllr L Rollings	Cllr M Snee	Cllr J Brockway	N/A

 

 

With each nomination and counter nomination, being proposed and seconded, on being put to the vote individually it was

 

RESOLVED that:

 

(a)    the following persons be appointed as Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen, for the 2025/2026 Civic Year to the following Committees:

 

(b)    the normal commencement time for each of the Committees be as set out in the table at (a) above.

 

 

The Chairman introduced a report which sought to appoint to positions on Outside Bodies which had expired namely; the Trustees of Francis Barker Trust, the Trustees of Gainsborough Education Charity, and the Trustees of W G Rose Memorial.  The report also sought to appoint to two Member Champion positions, namely Champions in respect of Armed Forces and Risk.

 

Further nominations were sought in respect of all positions.  Only one counter nomination was made this being in respect of the Armed Forces Champion with Councillor Tom Smith also being nominated alongside Councillor Carless.

 

One being put the vote the counter nomination was not supported.

 

On that basis it was RESOLVED that: -

 

(a)    Councillor Matthew Boles be appointed to the Trustees of Francis Barker Trust, the Trustees of Gainsborough Education Charity, and the Trustees of W G Rose Memorial until the end of the civic year 2029/30;

 

(b)    Councillor Karen Carless be appointed as the Council’s Member Champion for Armed Forces the end of the civic year 2026/27;

 

(c)    Mrs Alison Adams, lay Independent Member on the Governance and Audit Committee, be appointed as the Council’s Member Champion for Risk until the end of the civic year 2026/27.

 

 

The Chairman of the Governance and Audit Committee presented the report which set out the Annual Report of the Monitoring Officer for 2024-2025, which aimed to provide an overview in respect of governance matters.

 

Section 1.2 summarised the work areas included for information purposes.

 

The report also requested that Council appoint Ms Fiona Souter and Ms Sarah Lawrie as members of the Independent Remuneration Panel until Annual Council May 2029 following a recruitment process, which was detailed within the report.

 

The Governance and Audit Committee had considered the report on 22 April 2025 and had recommended it to Council for approval.

 

With no questions posed and the report having been proposed and seconded, on being put to the vote it was:

 

RESOLVED that: -

 

(a)    the recommendation from the Governance and Audit Committee be accepted and the information contained with the Monitoring Officer’s Annual Report be received and endorsed.

 

(b)    the recommendation from the Governance and Audit Committee be accepted and in doing so Council agreed that the governance outlined in Section 2 of the report, in respect of managing Commercial and Economic Growth, provided assurance that the council was taking appropriate mitigating measures against the risks identified in its commercial approach

 

(c)    the recommendation from the Governance and Audit Committee be accepted and the appointment of Ms Fiona Souter as a Member of the Independent Remuneration Panel until Annual Council May 2029 (Section 7.1 of the report) be approved.

 

(d)    the recommendation from the Governance and Audit Committee be accepted and the appointment of Ms Sarah Lawrie as a Member of the Independent Remuneration Panel until Annual Council May 2029 (Section 7.1 of the report) be approved.

 

 

The Chairman of the Chief Officer Employment Committee presented the report which sought to appoint Mr Bill Cullen as the interim appointment for the Statutory role of Head of Paid Service, Returning Officer and Electoral Registration Officer on the retirement of the current Chief Executive. 

 

The appointment would be via a shared service arrangement through a Section 113 Agreement, which was a legal agreement and allowed either party to withdraw from the arrangement providing reasonable notice.  

 

The shared arrangement would be on a 2/3 days per week basis during which Mr Cullen would spend time each week in the Guildhall office building in addition to working on a virtual basis as required. 

 

Mr Cullen had met with the Chief Officer Employment Committee, which had included three of the Council’s Group Leaders and stood recommended for appointment on the basis set out in the report.

 

In response to a Member’s question around whether the appointment was based on a 2 or 3 day basis, Officers confirmed it would be a combination dependent on need.

 

With no further questions posed and with the recommendation having been proposed and seconded, on being put to the vote, it was: -

 

RESOLVED that the recommendation from the Chief Officer Employment Committee be accepted and Bill Cullen be formally appointed as Head of Paid Service, Returning Officer and Electoral Registration Officer from 1^st July 2025 on an interim basis.

 

 

Before moving to the next item of business, the Chairman, given this was the Head of Paid Service’s last Full Council meeting before retiring, provided opportunity for him to address all Members during which he paid tribute to Officers and Members alike.  He spoke of his pride at being the Chief Executive for the last five and half years, having started with the Authority in 2014.

 

He spoke of his commitment and dedication to West Lindsey and how it would be sometime before he broke the habit of waking and wondering how all the Council’s services and programmes are progressing.

 

Acknowledging success was a team effort he thanked all four Leaders under whom he had worked, learned something from each of them.

 

Members past and present were thanked for the support that had shown Mr Knowles over his tenure. As were Mr Knowle’s management Team Officers past and present, Alan Robinson, Tracy Bircumshaw and Ady Selby, Sally, Nova, Lisa and Peter, Rachael Hughes and Ellen King.

 

He spoke of the special nature of all the Team Managers at West Lindsey and the outstanding contribution they made to the organisation and the district.

 

Mr Knowles outlined a number of key achievements over the past 6 years, which would leave a lasting impact on the district including a new depot, a crematorium and a new leisure centre in Market Rasen. He spoke of particularly challenging times when the Council had performed well and continued to deliver providing a wide-ranging number of grants across the district all despite Covid 19 and a cost-of-living crisis and the work to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

The Chairman of the Chief Officer Employment Committee presented the report which sought to appoint Mr Peter Davy to the Council’s Statutory Role of the Section 151 Officer. 

 

Mr Davy has been the appointed acting Interim Section 151 Officer since 19 February, and the appointment process which had been undertaken was detailed in Section 3 of the report.

 

With the recommendation proposed and seconded on being put to the vote it was:

 

RESOLVED that the recommendation from the Chief Officer Employment Committee be accepted and Mr Peter Davy be formally appointed as S151 Officer from 13 May 2025.

 

 

Note:       the newly appointed S151 Officer returned to the meeting at the conclusion of this item of business.

 

 

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee presented his Committee’s Annual Report to the Chamber, in doing so he, spoke of how the Committee had worked well together over the past year, and how he looked forward to the continued success in the new Civic Year.

 

His Committee had received presentations from several outside agencies, including the return of Everyone Active, Inspector Head from Lincolnshire Police and a very informative session from Matthew Harrison of Lincolnshire County Council regarding their role as the Lead Local Flood Authority, the latter had coincided with an update from the Flood Risk Management Working Group, reassuring the Committee that there was significant work ongoing to help prevent flooding in the District, but also support for those who had sadly been impacted when it had happened.

 

The Committee had again been involved in the review of the Progress and Delivery measure set with a continuous commitment to scrutinise this area.

 

The Committee would be refreshing their skills, welcoming back Bethan Evans [Governance Training and Consultancy Ltd] for a repeat of the excellent scrutiny training session. This was planned for October 2025. An open invitation was extended to all Members to take part

 

Referring to the annual review of the Operating Methodology, the Chairman advised there had been no amendments made to it on this occasion and the document would be re-adopted at the Committee’s first meeting of the new Civic year.

 

Finally, the Chairman extended thanks to everyone involved in the Committee, both Members and Officers, but especially to those the Committee had welcomed to present from outside of the council.

 

With no question posed and with the recommendation proposed and seconded it was: -

 

RESOLVED that the Annual Report from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be received.