May 2026 DRAFT Minutes
HECKINGTON
ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
28 May 2026
The Chair of the Parish Council, Councillor Wright acting as Chair for the Annual Parish meeting welcomed ten members of the public to the meeting and delivered the usual health and safety announcements. She reminded the meeting that this is a meeting for the parish, not a Parish Council meeting. She welcomed those present to help themselves to tea, coffee and cake. The Clerk of the Parish Council will take the notes of the meeting.
With the agreement of those present, the Chair signed and dated the minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting dated 12 May 2025 as true and accurate record of that meeting.
Chair’s Opening Remarks, Parish Council
The Chair reminded those present that this is not a Parish Council meeting. It is an annual meeting for the community to come together to discuss matters of local interest.
The Chair said that if there are no objections she would suggest that the Clerk’s notes of the 2025 Annual Parish Meeting are accepted as a true and accurate record of that meeting.
Chair’s Report (recorded verbatim)
I want to reflect on the last 2-years since the Parish Council brought about an enormous amount of change. The Parish Council now has sound financial governance and there are strict audits in place to ensure the Parish Council continues to operate in this manner.
There have been improvements in terms of health and safety, of our assets and for our employees, across the board and this has been recognized by our Health and Safety Consultants.
The Parish Council is currently working closely with Mark Whitton to bring about the creation of a CIO that will take over the running of our pavilion for the next 30-years where there will no doubt be a huge amount of investment leading to development of the facility.
The Parish Council have been working closely with the Allotment Association to facilitate their becoming independent of the Parish Council and we envisage this will take place from 1 April 2027.
The Cemetery Committee are striving to make improvements in the cemetery and while we already see many improvements, this is a long-term project and we ask you for your patience.
The Parish Council continues to work closely with the local authorities; District and County and we would like to thank County Councillor East, District Councillor Collard and Tarry for their assistance.
The decisions that the Parish Council make, will not please everybody, but this is the nature of the democracy.
The Parish Council will continue to work for the betterment of our community and it is my personal goal as Chair to strive for better engagement with our community.
It would be remiss of me not to thank Colin Spencer for his service as Chair over the last 2-years. He picked up the helm in turbulent times but he weathered that storm and proudly served as Chair to this Council.
I would now like to hand over to any community groups that would like to speak or anyone wanting to make personal representation or any questions to feed back to the Parish Council.
Presentation
A member of the public said that he was saddened to see that the pavements on Sleaford Road have been disturbed by utility works following their recent resurfacing. He also expressed his thanks to County Councillor East for implementing a request made at the last meeting of the
Parish Council. Councillor East duly responded. He stated that one of his aims in his new role at Lincolnshire County Council as Executive for Highways and Transport is to increase transparency with parishes.
A member of the public said that there had been a number of complaints on the local social media page about the three week closure of Station Road due to works being performed by Cadent.
A member of the public said that she was unimpressed with the surface dressing on the pavements; there is dicolouration and weeds are starting to emerge between the cracks. The Chair said that she had reported on this in North Kyme ahead of the surface dressing being carried out.
Councillor East suggested raising these issues via Fix My Street and directly to Rowan Smith, Head of Highways West at the Village Walkabout in September. There was general discussion about highways matters. Councillor East said that there are 5500 miles of roads in Lincolnshire and they are currently some of the best in the country. Members of the public present, visiting other counties agreed.
A member of the public asked if there were any updates from the Charity Commission regarding the set up of the CIO. The Chair confirmed that there were currently no updates.
There was general discussion about the Repair Café in Sleaford, an in organised by Mr Grigg, a member of the Heckington community. This led to a discussion about the emergence of shops at the recycling centres; in Sleaford paint and wood are available. There was further general discussion about recycling and repurposing.
The conversation moved to East Heckington including administration of the Churchyard, general grass cutting and road sweeping. The Caretaker had suggested a planter for the entrance which could be provided by Heckington in Bloom.
A member of the public said he has lived in the village for 22 years and misses the sound of the church bells.
The Chair closed the meeting at 8.10pm.