Minutes

Donington-on-Bain Parish Council

The Donington on Bain Parish Council meeting took place on Tuesday 10th February, 2026 - Village Hall The meeting commenced at 7.30pm when members of the public could ask questions or make statements from this time with the full Council meeting commencing at 7.45pm.

MINUTES

o Introduction of new Clerk – Alan Vassar.

o Apologies for absence Cllr Beaney to attend at 8.00.

o Councillors absent from this meeting with no apologies sent

None

o To receive any declaration of interests under the localism act 2011 (being any pecuniary interest in agenda items not previously recorded on members’ register of interests and any written requests for dispensation.)

Cllr Bellamy – with regards to the pruning of the tree in the cemetery

o To co-opt any new bodies onto the Council It was unanimously agreed to co-opt Richard Wright onto the Parish Council. (This vacancy had been advertised as per the 2011 Localism Act)

o To receive reports from outside bodies None

o Approval of Minutes from the meeting held in November 2025

The Minutes had not been sent out to the Councillors in November and the Clerk to find and forward to all concerned. The approval of these Minutes and the ones from this meeting will be done on March 3rd.

o Review of - and update of - new play equipment on order

There has been some confusion as to what play equipment has actually being ordered, Cllr Taylor had met with EKM earlier in the day and produced a letter itemising the equipment and costs and a request for payment. A quick calculation showed a spend of £28000. Grants received so far to cover this amounted to circa £26000 with a second grant of £9900 payable on completion and of course the VAT element would be recovered but this can take a few weeks to obtain. A question was asked as to why this project had been authorised initially? The Chairman stated that it was prior to his engagement and he could not make any comment on this. The Clerk had done some research and suggested that, in his opinion, this was probably not the best project to have picked as it benefitted less than 8% of the total residents, but this was mitigated by the fact that it has been totally grant funded, and no precept had been used and it did enhance the village facilities. The installation had been delayed due to the very wet weather, and it was decided to pay a deposit rather than the whole amount, so a cheque was raised for £7000, and a request to be sent to the company asking for a firm date of completion.

o Reports from Councillors re: external meetings

▪ Ramblers Day 26th May – parking arrangements? This walk is for charity and they requested parking facilities for approx. 10 vehicles and this was approved. ▪ Litter Pick Sunday 29th March (10-2) at the MUGA – request to approve spend for litter picking tools and hi-vis vests Cllr Taylor offered to donate some brand new and sized hi vis vests, Cllr Wright added that he would provide bags, which only left the actual Pickers to purchase. A suggestion that the school may have some as they had done this sort of thing before, so this will be queried. If not, then the PC it was voted unanimously that it is authorised to spend up to £30 on these. A full Risk Assessment has already been done by the Clerk, and also an ‘on the day’ briefing note.

▪ Action required for pruning tree in cemetery Cllr Bellamy had inspected the tree in question earlier in the week and, in his opinion, it posed little risk. The nests mentioned are not of the heavy type, and if they fell, would probably fall onto the path and not the bench. It was agreed that the tree should be monitored regularly and this inspection to be recorded in the usual monthly H&S report. If this information proves incorrect/the tree shows further deterioration then action will be taken.

o Any Planning Applications recorded on the ELDC portal The application to build 5 homes in DoB has been approved, although no notice has been sent to the Clerk, nor has the ELDC Planning Portal been updated to show this. A letter from the PC was read out explaining that the PC was not able to officially discuss this application as they were not quorate – and as such, could not give the approval or not of this Council. However it was noted that the building of these houses in DoB went against the Local Plan as it states clearly that no development will be allowed in ‘open countryside’ – the status given to DoB in the aforesaid plan.

o To approve payments/issue any cheques required (TBD)

▪ LALC Subs £168.68 approved chq number 1343

▪ EKM – deposit for play equipment - £7000 approved chq number 1344

o Update on Cemetery/Allotment operation Cllr Beaney announced his intention to cease being the person in charge of the cemetery and a meeting to be held with the Clerk and Cllr Beaney to go over the details of its operation. A request was made about seeing the people who had paid for their allotments (normally due in November), and the Clerk said he’d look into it, and perhaps the previous Clerk would be able to point the PC in the right direction to secure these details.

o Update about the Council’s Standing Orders etc The Standing Orders for the PC need to be reviewed annually, and officially adopted by the Council. These were checked and found to be written a few years ago, so the Clerk has re-written these and they are now up to date with all current legislation. Also included in the packs given to each Councillor were:

• A H&S Policy

• A Safeguarding Policy

• A Data Protection Policy

The Standing Order package will be voted on at the March meeting.

o Date of next meeting March 3rd 2026

o AOB

The Pods placed in the pub grounds have been moved and this has interfered with the landscaping agreement in the original application. Some confusion reigned as to their whereabouts now – the Clerk to investigate and communicate any concerns with Planning Enforcement. The Clerk has written an Induction Pack for all new Councillors and one has been included in the new files each of the Councillors were given. This pack should be more than adequate to support any new Councillor. The Clerk needs access to the web site for DoB – the Chairman to sort out. The notice board keys – there is a second set meant for the Clerk but the whereabouts of these are not known. A search will be held to locate them. The Precept was not increased as per the meeting held in November. Form to change details of where statements need to be sent and adding a third signatory whilst removing any now no longer associated with the PC was given to the Chairman.