Agenda and draft minutes

Having just remembered former District Councillor Steve England in prayers prior to the meeting and it being the eve of Remembrance Day, in formally opening the meeting, the Chairman asked Members to remain standing for a minute’s silence in respect of their former colleague, and for those who gave their lives in the Great Wars and  those that followed.

On resuming seats, before moving to the agenda, the Chairman took a moment to reflect on his time serving alongside former Councillor England, who served as Chairman of the District Council for an unprecedented three consecutive terms of office.  Councillor England would be remembered for his work in Neighbourhood Planning, supporting many local communities to help realise their Plans.

Other Members paid moving tributes to their former colleague, speaking of his tree planting work, and his passion for Meals in Schools.  He had been a friend to many and would be sorely missed.

The Chamber offered their sincerest condolences to former Councillor England’s friends and family, for a man who would be fondly remembered.

Bringing tributes to an end the Chairman formally welcomed all those attending with a special welcome to Mr Paul Burkinshaw, the new Chief Executive of West Lindsey District Council to his first meeting of Full Council.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of Full Council held on 8 September 2025.

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 8 September 2025 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

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.

Setting out the current position of previously agreed actions as at 31 October for noting.

The Chairman introduced the report advising Members that it would be taken “as read” unless Members had any questions that they wished to raise.

In response to a Member query, it was confirmed that all committee appointments, outstanding from the last meeting, had now been appointed to.

With no further comments or questions and with no requirement to vote, the matters arising were DULY NOTED.

i)               Chairman of Council

ii)              Leader of the Council

iii)            Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service

Chairman

The Chairman addressed the meeting advising it had been quite a busy period since Council last met.  He offered thanks to his Vice-Chairman for assisting and helping at number of those events.

Particular highlights in the month were the new civic presentations being made to deserving citizen’s brought to the attention of the Chairman. Recipients in the month had been Reggie, a primary school aged young man, with a passion for litter-picking in his local community in his spare time; and the founders of the Marton Grub Club, which had been running for 15 years, feeding local pensioners.  Due to the retirement of the founders, the Club’s future was uncertain but local Members were working with volunteers in a bid to see the Group continue.  All recipients had been most deserving

The Remembrance Service, at the Parish Church in Gainsborough, the previous day, had been both a special and poignant occasion.  The service and attendees seemed to grow year on year, something the Chairman considered to be fantastic.

In concluding his announcements, the Chairman took the opportunity to both remind Members and promote some up and coming events.  The Gainsborough Christmas Light Switch on – Friday 14 November, a great event to bring families to, with something for everyone; and the Trinity Arts Annual Pantomime – a great show was anticipated, rehearsals and preparations were in full swing, all were encouraged to get their tickets, available now.

Leader of the Council

The Leader of the Council addressed Council and made the following announcements: -

“Pride of Place

At the end of September, we were delighted to receive the news that an allocation under the governments Pride in Place Programme has been made to a part of Gainsborough known as Gainsborough West. The allocation will see our place receive £2m a year over the next 10 years, meaning £20 million in total. Whilst we wait for the publication of the full guidance, we were pleased to hear from Officers at last week’s Prosperous Communities Committee where Members approved the initial communications plan. This will ensure that work starts right away whilst the details are finalised.

Scampton

Since the last Council I have visited the site with the Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, Scampton Holdings Limited and our Officers. I was pleased to hear first-hand from the Home Office that preparations are well underway for the marketing of the site. It was also very helpful to hear first-hand from Scampton Holdings about the recent Economic and Social Impact Analysis which I’m sure some of our Members saw published. Headlines figures included total benefit from the proposed regeneration of a staggering £2.1bn and I have recently written, alongside our partners at LCC and City of Lincoln to the Prime Minister to urge that the Government act at pace to realise these benefits for West Lindsey and beyond.

Visit to Riseholme

On 9 October I was pleased to join a visit with other Members of the Council to the University of Lincoln’s Riseholme  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

Questions, if received, under this Scheme will be published by way of supplement following closure of the deadline.

The Chairman advised the meeting that no public questions had been received.

Questions, if received, under this Scheme will be published by way of supplement following closure of the deadline.

The Chairman advised the meeting that no questions, pursuant to Council Procedure 9 had been received.

No motions have been submitted to this meeting for consideration.

The Chairman advised the meeting that no Motions, pursuant to Council Procedure 10 had been received.

Members considered a report which provided an update on the latest position regarding progress with plans for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), including details of the proposals for LGR that had been developed for Greater Lincolnshire, for submission to Government by the deadline of 28 November 2025, the options available to Members in response to the Minister’s statutory invitation of 5February 2025 to submit proposals for LGR, and the next steps and timeline in connection with LGR.

In presenting the report the Chief Executive highlighted the previous decisions taken by Council at its meetings in July and September 2025.  The options which had been available to the Council and the rationale for the recommended position was brought to Members’ attention.

Members were reminded that there would be opportunity to submit representations in response to any future statutory consultation which would be undertaken by the Government and the Council would be able to express its views then.  It was further recommended at this stage that the Council wrote to the Government advising why they had been unable to support proposals developed but of their commitment to work towards local reorganisation as necessary for the benefit of residents and businesses in the district.

Debate ensued and the opening speaker was of the personal view that there was a risk in not supporting any proposal and would have preferred that the Council moved a motion to formally support one of the proposals, suggesting this increased the likelihood of the Government imposing something on the District that would not benefit its residents, supporting a single proposal was a more pre-emptive approach in his view.

In responding to opening comments, the Leader of the Council outlined why she disagreed and why the recommended stance was the most sensible in her view.  In doing so she referenced the letter from Government Minister Jim McMahon, 5 February 2025. It had been made clear all proposals must have regard to the entire area, as such she considered West Lindsey’s stance more pragmatic.

The Leader of the Opposition was supportive of the Leader’s stance.  Members were being asked to make a decision on behalf of the residents without knowing any detail, making it both impossible, and risky.  It was important to understand the financial standing of the other authorities, as such he was fully supportive of not formally supporting any proposal.

Many speakers shared the same view, questioning the rationale for LGR, the costs incurred, and the benefit to the community.  Many had concerns around the entire process, particularly given that West Lindsey had a proven track record, and a balanced budget.  The recent Surrey merger had required a £500m public bailout, there had been no evidence of savings so far in the Chamber’s view. District Council’s delivered for communities and their loss would be to the detriment of local communities.

There were also concerns raised about how mergers would affect Town and Parish Councils. The very grass roots of community representation, seemed to be overlooked, again this was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

Members considered a report which set out in full the Council’s response to the recommendations made by the LGA Corporate Peer Challenge, which had taken place in January 2025.  The Action Plan would form the basis of a Peer Challenge Progress Review, which was expected to take place in the Spring of 2026. Members had received the Peer Challenge report at their meeting on 8 September.

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

RESOLVED that: -

(a)    the Action Plan in response to the recent Peer Challenge be received and the progress made against each action to-date be noted; and

(b)    delegated authority be granted to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to make any necessary amendments to the Action Plan.

Members considered a  report  which set out work undertaken in reviewing the Working Groups, Boards and Panels currently in existence across the Council   and the arising recommendations.  The work had been undertaken in response to a recommendation arising from the Peer Review in January 2025.

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

RESOLVED that:-

(a)       the Groups/ Boards/ Panels shown in Grey on Appendix 1 of the report, namely: -

·         Markets Working Group

·         Cross Party Flooding Group

·         Scampton Local Plan Group

·         Transport Working Group

·         Sports and Physical Activity Task and Finish Group

·         Community Awards Panel

cease with immediate effect;

(b)       the Groups/ Boards/ Panels shown in Peach on Appendix 1 in the report, namely: -

·        LCET (Leisure Culture Events and Tourism Working   Group)

·        Environment and Sustainability Working Group

·        Savings Board

be reworked and refocussed, and this work be undertaken and reported through the relevant parent Committee in due course; and

(c)        the Groups/ Boards/ Panels shown in White on Appendix 1 of the report, namely: -

·         Lincolnshire Show Group  Task and Finish Group

·         Funding Consultative Panel

·         Community Rights Panel

·         Editorial Advisory Board

·         Appeals Board

·         Community Grants Panel

·         Member Development Group

·         Honours Panel (inc Freeman/Freedom of District)

continue to meet and the Members, as set out in the table at Appendix 2 of the report, (and appended to these minutes) be appointed thereto,  until the Annual General Meeting in May 2027.

The Chairman of the Governance and Audit Committee presented the report which sought Council approval to appoint two Independent Members to that Committee.  In presenting the report the skills and experience the candidates would bring to the Committee were outlined, and it was highlighted that if Council accepted the appointments, it would see the Committee’s independent lay representation, return to its previous level of three in total.

A Member who served on the Governance and Audit Committee welcomed and fully supported the intention to increase the Committee’s lay member representation.

Having been proposed and seconded, on being put to the vote, it was:-

RESOLVED - that  Mrs Alison Adams and Mr Alexio Chandiwana be appointed to serve as Independent Members on the Governance and Audit Committee for a term of office expiring at the Annual Council Meeting in May 2029.

Members considered a report which  sought Council approval of the appointment of two Parish Councillor Representatives to the Standards Committee until May 2027.

The Chairman of the Standards Committee was thanked in his absence for the work undertaken.  The Chairman advised however, having discussed the proposals with the wider Administration, it had been questioned as to whether two volunteers were required, given the Committee had operated effectively with one volunteer. 

In light of this, a counter proposal was moved by the Chairman, that the report be referred back to the Monitoring Officer for further consideration, on the basis that Council consider only one volunteer is needed to fulfil the role on the Standards Committee.

The proposal was duly seconded and at the request of the Chairman the Monitoring Officer confirmed that the proposed action was within the gift of Council, should that be the wish of the majority of Members.

On being put to the vote it was: -

RESOLVED - that the report be referred back to the Monitoring Officer for further consideration, on the basis that Council consider only one volunteer is needed to fulfil the role on the Standards Committee.