Annual Parish Meeting 2026

Agenda Annual Parish Meeting - May 2026
You are here: DRAFT Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Tuesday 26 May 2026

DRAFT Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Tuesday 26 May 2026

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on Tuesday 26 May 2026 at the Methodist Church, Chapel Street, Ruskington, NG34 9DX at 6.30pm.

Present:

Chairman: Cllr O Ditch

Councillors: C Bain, D Conway, P Cunningham, B Harrison, S Hislop, L Sheldon

Also, in attendance:

Kathryn Locke – Clerk to Council

Kirsty Sinclair - RFO

Cllr Richard Wright – District and County Councillor

Matthew Bentley & Laura Sutcliffe - NKDC Conservation Officers

Kimberley Pickett – Lincolnshire Resilience Forum

Dannie Adcock-Habib - National Flood Forum

District Councillor Matt Waldeck had sent apologies as he was unable to attend the meeting.

Members of the public were in attendance.

Representatives of the following agencies and groups had information stands in the community room: Ruskington WI, Ruskington Methodist Church, Ruskington Parish Council, Ruskington Community Church, Ruskington Community Library, Witham Archaeology, Ruskington Area Veterans’ Group, and the City of Lincoln Council Debt & Welfare Advice.

Before the meeting opened, attendees were encouraged to visit the information stands and talk to the representatives from the groups. Information on Ruskington Parish Council, its recent achievements, activities, and projects was available, and Councillors were present to answer questions on Council business, and to hear public comments, concerns, and ideas for the village. Council’s Annual Report for 2025-2026 was available.

Complimentary refreshments, donated by Ruskington Co-op, were served by Methodist Church volunteers.

The Chairman of Council opened the meeting at 6.40pm.

1. Welcome and opening address – Cllr O Ditch (Chairman of Council).

The Chairman offered a warm welcome, and thanked Becky Gulliatt and the Methodist Church for use of the venue and their help with the event and for serving the refreshments. Thanked the guest speakers Matthew Bentley (NKDC Conservation Officer), Kimberley Pickett (Lincolnshire Resilience Forum) and Dannie Adcock-Habib (National Flood Forum), the stall holders, attendees and thanked the Ruskington Parish Council team for their help organising the event.

The Chairman introduced Matthew Bentley as the first guest speaker.

2. Guest speaker, Matthew Bentley: Creating a Conservation Area in Ruskington.

Mr Bentley gave an overview of a conservation area, the eligibility criteria, and the process involved. Ruskington had potential for a conservation area as it contained a large number of high quality buildings of local historical interest. He also spoke of the NKDC Heritage Grant Funding to support the sympathetic repair of historic buildings in the district and answered questions on this and the conservation area. Please see the attached copy of Mr Bentley’s presentation (Appendix A).

The Chairman thanked Mr Bentley and, after mentioning the Flood Babet and Flood Henk events, introduced Dannie Adcock-Habib & Kimberley Picket.

3. Guest speakers - Dannie Adcock-Habib & Kimberley Pickett (National Flood Forum & Lincolnshire Resilience Team) - Community Emergency Planning.

Ms Pickett, after a giving a brief introduction, showed a video on the vital role volunteers played in being part of their community emergency response team (CERT), supporting the residents in their local community during the “golden hour” following adverse events such as flooding. The support included door knocking, opening up a safe venue, and serving refreshments. Ms Pickett spoke about the Ruskington community emergency plan and the hard work that had gone into creating this and advised of the role of the Lincolnshire Resilience Team in emergencies. Next, Ms Adcock-Habib explained the role of the National Flood Forum and the services and support the national charity offered such as emotional support, signposting to other agencies, and providing a helpline to deal with enquiries such as insurance claims. Ms Pickett gave a brief overview of the flood monitoring telemetry devices recently installed in Ruskington as part of the hydraulic modelling for the village. Please see the attached presentation (Appendix B).

The Chairman thanked Ms Pickett and Ms Adcock-Habib.

4. To receive/ approve the notes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 20 May 2026.

Action: The notes were approved as accurate Minutes. The Chairman signed the Minutes.

5. To receive the Annual Report for 2025-2026, Council’s achievements and plans for future project – Cllr Ditch.

Cllr Ditch gave a presentation with highlights from the annual report. He explained the roles of the county, district and parish councils, Council’s finances and committees, the funding awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to renovate the lychgate and mentioned the pavilion renovation and the top projects for the s106 claim for the Flaxwell Field development. Please see the attached presentation (Appendix C).

6. To receive questions from the public regarding Council business between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, and to receive ideas for future village projects.

Questions were raised regarding plans for car parking at Parkfield due to the nuisance parking. It was agreed that something must be done to improve the car parking.

7. To receive the Annual Report on behalf of North Kesteven District Council (NKDC) from D/Cllrs R Wright and M Waldeck, if available.

Cllr Wright presented the report from NKDC and answered questions. Please see Appendix D.

8. To receive the Annual Report on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council from Councillor Wright, and an update on changes to local government, if available.

Cllr Wright presented the annual report (please see Appendix E) and gave an update on the local government reorganisation and answered questions. A member of public thanked him for his hard work on behalf of Ruskington.

The Chairman thanked Cllr Wright.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and closed the meeting at 8.50pm.