Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Boles, as outgoing Chairman, formally opened the meeting and welcomed members to the start of the 2026 - 2027 civic year and the Council’s 52^nd Annual General Meeting (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, Councillor Boles,  advised Council that as it was anticipated , he would again be nominated, he would be withdrawing from the Chamber for the item of business.

 

Councillor Boles removed the Chain of Office, left the Chamber and the outgoing Vice-Chairman, Councillor Barrett assumed the Chair and 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 2026/27. 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 2026/2027 civic year.

 

Councillor Boles retuned to the Chamber and the outgoing Vice-Chairman re-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 resumed the Chair for the remainder of the meeting.

 

In his acceptance speech Councillor Boles advised that it was an honour to be re-elected as Chairman and that he was looking forward to the forthcoming year in office and to meeting many more people from across 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.

 

 

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 John Barrett being proposed and seconded.

 

There being no further nominations, on being put to the vote, it was:

 

RESOLVED - that Councillor John Barrett be re-appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Council for the 2026/27 civic year.

 

The Chairman of the Council congratulated Councillor Barrett on his re-appointment.

 

Councillor Barrett 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 re-appointed 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. He also took opportunity to speak of the honour of having held the role for the previous 7 months and outlined some of highlights from that time and spoke of his positivity for the coming year.

 

 

(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 moved a vote of thanks to his Chaplain, The Reverend Cotton, for his previous years’ service, paying tribute to him for his pastoral support.

 

Having being re-elected Chairman of Council, Councillor Boles advised that he would again be appointing The Reverend Cotton as his Chaplain, and invited him to again receive the Chaplain’s stole, which was followed by a round of applause, and words of appreciation from The Reverend Cotton, who spoke of the honour and privilege to serve.

 

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 Jackie Brockway

Proposer:                Councillor Trevor Bridgwood

Seconder:               Councillor Jeanette McGhee

 

 

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

 

Councillor Jackie Brockway had been proposed and seconded.

 

RESOLVED - that Councillor Jackie Brockway be elected Leader of the Council for the 2026/27 civic year.

 

Councillor Brockway addressed Council and expressed her thanks at having been elected and made a short address of acceptance and thanks.

 

 

 

The Leader having been elected to position, nominated her Deputy Leader as Councillor Moira Westley.

 

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

 

RESOLVED - that Councillor Moira Westley be appointed Deputy Leader of the Council for the 2026/27 civic year.

 

Councillor Westley expressed her thanks and made a short acceptance address, speaking of the honour to serve and her positivity for the coming year.  

 

 

To confirm and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of Full Council held on 13 April 2026.

 

 

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 13 April 2026 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

 

 

The then Chairman of the Governance and Audit Committee presented the report to Members which provided a position statement in respect of the work undertaken on the Constitution during 2025/26 and also detailed further ongoing work required to the Constitution in coming months.

 

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

 

RESOLVED that: -

 

(a)       the work and updates which had been made to the Constitution throughout 2025/2026, including the Revised Financial Procedure Rules and Revised Contract and Procurement Rules, as set out Appendix 1 and 2 of the report, be noted;  and

 

(b)       the further revisions required to the Constitution in forthcoming months (as set out in section 3 of the report) which would be the subject of further reports, be noted.

 

 

To note the Group Leaders of each Group and agree the number of Members to be appointed to serve on each Committee in accordance with the provisions of Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

 

 

 

 

Members considered a  report which set out the details of the political groups on the Council, the number of Members to be appointed to serve on each Committee; the allocation to different political groups of seats on the Committees; and the terms of reference for the newly established Thriving Council Committee, Thriving Places Committee, and Thriving People Committee as agreed by Council at its meeting on 13 April.

 

Whilst acknowledging that it was in the Administration Group’s gift to reduce the size of the Policy Committees, the Leader of Opposition sought to understand from the Leader her rationale for the proposed reduction, questioning how it supported democratic representation and supported effective scrutiny. 

 

The Leader responded accordingly offering her reasoning, and in response to concerns that the Opposition would not be able to propose amendments due to their single seat representation on Policy Committees, the Leader offered a commitment that Chairmen of Policy Committees, would as standard, second an amendment made by an Opposition Member, to enable legitimate debate, but that they would reserve that right to vote against any amendment they seconded.

 

This commitment was welcomed by the Opposition Group.

 

RESOLVED that

 

(a)       that the details of political groups, as set out in Appendix A to the report  be noted;

 

(b)    that the Terms of Reference for the Policy Committees as set out in Appendix B of the report be approved;

 

(c)    that the allocation to different political groups of seats on Committees, and the number of Members to be appointed to serve on each Committee as set out in Appendix C, be approved; 

 

(d)    the position to not politically balance the Regulatory Committee alongside the other “Ordinary Committees” detailed in Appendix C, be re-affirmed; and

 

(e)    Council notes the commitment made, relating to the seconding of Opposition Members’ amendments in Policy Committees, as detailed in the above minute.

 

 

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 2026/2027 Civic Year.

 

Members were advised that an updated report could be found within the supplement pack which include all nominations put forward by Group Leaders based on their allocations.

 

The Leader of the West Lindsey Administration Group advised Council, that in respect of the Thriving Council Committee, she wished to replace Councillor Bridgwood with Councillor Carless.

 

With no further adjustments made, having been proposed and seconded, including the revision above, 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, Members be appointed to serve to the Council’s Committees for the 2026/2027 civic year as follows: -

 

Chief Officer Employment Committee (9 Members)

 

Councillor John Barrett

Councillor Owen Bierley

Councillor Trevor Bridgwood

Councillor Jackie Brockway

Councillor Paul Howitt-Cowan

Councillor Paul Key

Councillor Maureen Palmer

Councillor Baptiste Velan

Councillor Moira Westley

 

 

Thriving Council Committee(7 Members)

 

Councillor Owen Bierley

Councillor Matthew Boles

Councillor Karen Carless

Councillor Ian Fleetwood

Councillor Paul Howitt-Cowan

Councillor Paul Key

Councillor Paul Swift

 

 

Thriving Places Committee(7 Members)

 

Councillor Trevor Bridgwood

Councillor Jacob Flear

Councillor Angela Lawrence

Councillor Peter Morris

Councillor Maureen Palmer

Councillor Lesley Rollings

Councillor Moira Westley

 

 

Thriving People Committee (7 Members)

 

Councillor Emma Bailey

Councillor Owen Bierley

Councillor Frazer Brown

Councillor Stephen Bunney

Councillor Jeanette McGhee

Councillor Tom Smith

Councillor Trevor Young

 

 

Governance and Audit Committee (7 Members)

                    

Councillor John Barrett

Councillor Stephen Bunney

Councillor Chris Darcel

Councillor David Dobbie

Councillor Angela Lawrence

Councillor Mandy Snee

Councillor Paul Swift

 

 

Licensing Committee (10 Members)

 

Councillor Eve Bennett

Councillor Stephen Bunney

Councillor Karen Carless

Councillor Angela Lawrence

Councillor Paul Lee

Councillor Maureen Palmer

Councillor Lesley Rollings

Councillor Jim Snee

Councillor Mandy Snee

Councillor Trevor Young

 

 

Regulatory Committee (10 Members)

 

Councillor Eve Bennett

Councillor Stephen Bunney

Councillor Karen Carless

Councillor Angela Lawrence

Councillor Paul Lee

Councillor Maureen Palmer

Councillor Lesley Rollings

Councillor Jim Snee

Councillor Mandy Snee

Councillor Trevor Young

 

 

Planning Committee (9 Members)

 

Councillor John Barrett

Councillor Matthew Boles

Councillor David Dobbie

Councillor Adam Duguid

Councillor Jacob Flear

Councillor Ian Fleetwood

Councillor Sebastian Hague

Councillor Tom Smith

Councillor Jim Snee

                    

 

Overview and Scrutiny Committee (9 members)

 

Councillor David Dobbie

Councillor Jacob Flear

Councillor Jeanette McGhee

Councillor Lynda Mullally

Councillor Maureen Palmer

Councillor Roger Patterson

Councillor Roger Pilgrim

Councillor Lesley Rollings

Councillor Mandy Snee

 

 

Standards Committee (6 Members)

 

Councillor Trevor Bridgwood

Councillor Karen Carless

Councillor Adam Duguid

Councillor Paul Howitt-Cowan

Councillor Paul Lee

Councillor Moira Westley.

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

 

Nominations had been printed in the published report contained within the supplement.

 

Having sought additional counter nominations, but with none being made, the Chairman indicated that if Members were content the recommendations would be taken en-bloc. 

 

Members indicated their contentment to the process and on being to the vote it was: -

 

RESOLVED that:

 

(a)       the following persons be appointed as Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen, for the 2026/2027 Civic Year to the following Committees:

 

Committee	Chairman	Vice Chairman	Normal Start Time
Chief Officer Employment	(Leader or Leader’s Nominee) Councillor John Barrett	Councillor Trevor Bridgwood	Meetings convened as required
Thriving Council	(Leader or Leader’s Nominee) Councillor Owen Bierley	Councillor Paul Swift	6.30pm
Thriving Places	Councillor Peter Morris	Councillor Jacob Flear	6.30pm
Thriving People	Councillor Stephen Bunney	Councillor Tom Smith	6.30pm
Planning	Councillor Ian Fleetwood	Councillor Matthew Boles	6.30pm
Governance & Audit	Councillor Mandy Snee	Councillor Angela Lawrence	6.00pm
Licensing*	Councillor Jim Snee	Councillor Maureen Palmer	6.30pm
Overview & Scrutiny	Councillor Jeanette McGhee	Councillor Roger Patterson	6.30pm
Regulatory*	Councillor Jim Snee	Councillor Maureen Palmer	6.30pm
Standards	Councillor Adam Duguid	Councillor Karen Carless	6:00pm

 

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

 

 

Members considered a report which sought to appoint to positions on Outside Bodies which were due to expire by the Annual General Meeting in May 2026.

 

It was noted that the three available positions were to be held by the same person at the request of the Outside Bodies.

 

Councillor Jim Snee was proposed and seconded for the three positions.  With no counter nominations, on being put to the vote it was: -

 

RESOLVED - that Councillor Jim Snee be appointed as the Member to serve on 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 2030/31.

 

 

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee presented the Committee’s Annual Report to the Chamber, in doing so, she highlighted a number of key contributions the Committee had made, particularly its engagement with external partners.  The Committee had also contributed to the development of the refreshed Corporate Plan, and have given detailed consideration to matters such as Battery Energy Storage Systems, emergency planning, public health, leisure provision, and policing.

 

Councillor McGhee placed on record her thanks to Committee Members for their commitment and constructive approach throughout the year, and to Officers for their consistent support, clear reporting and engagement with the scrutiny process before moving the recommendation.

 

In seconding the recommendation, the Vice-Chairman of the Committee reiterated points made by the Chairman, thanked her for her collaborative approach and expressed special thanks to the Committee’s Democratic Officer, Molly Spencer, for her support throughout the year.

 

With no questions posed, on being put to the vote it was: -

 

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

 

 

RESOLVED that under Section 100 (A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as detailed in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

 

 

The meeting entered closed session at 19:47.

Members considered a report which set out next steps in the Council’s decision making regarding the acquisition and regeneration of the former RAF Scampton.

 

The report sought Council’s reconfirmation of their approval to enter into the Development Agreement (DA) with Scampton Holdings Limited (SHL) and sought approval for the submission of the final bid to the Home Office for the purchase of the site, providing an updated business case and masterplan.

 

Finally, the report sought approval to delegate authority to relevant Officers to negotiate the terms of the deal with the Home Office including the financial offer within the parameters set out in the report.

 

Members posed a number of questions to which Officers responded.  Members were resolute in their approach to the site acquisition,  thanking Officers for the continued work and speaking on the generational benefits the Council’s proposal for the site could deliver.

 

Having been proposed and seconded on being put to the vote it was unanimously

 

RESOLVED that: -

 

(a)    the commitment to entering into the Development Agreement with Scampton Holdings Limited, be reconfirmed, the contents and provisions of the Development Agreement, set out in summary at Appendix 1 be noted and authority be delegated to the Director of Planning, Regeneration and Communities, in consultation with the Monitoring Officer for the completion of the final agreement;

 

(b)    the draft bid documentation including the business case and refreshed masterplan be endorsed, and authority be delegated to the Director of Planning Regeneration and Communities in consultation with the Leader of the Council to finalise and submit the Council’s bid to the Home Office;

 

(c)    the funding provided within the Capital Programme and the outcome of the draft valuation report be noted  and authority be delegated to the Director of Planning Regeneration and Communities, in consultation with the Council’s S151 Officer, to negotiate the final financial offer and acquisition terms with the Home Office, with a report on the final outcome being presented to a future Full Council meeting for information;

 

(d)    in the event  Council / SHL are selected as preferred bidder and final terms are outside the parameters of the Capital Programme,  a further report be submitted to Full Council to seek approval for the final negotiated position of the financial offer, prior to finalisation; 

 

(e)    the accounting treatment to be formally approved by our external auditors (KPMG) as detailed in section 4.15 of the report be noted; 

 

(f)     the amendment to the Treasury Management Strategy, Capital Strategy and inclusion in the Accounting Policies for 2026/27, as detailed in section 4.18 of the report be approved; and

 

(g)    the VAT implications as detailed in 4.19 of the report be noted.