May 2025 Minutes
MORTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the 131st Annual Assembly of the Parish Meeting Held on Monday 12th May 2025 at 6.30 pm, Community Room, Morton Trentside School
Present:
Cllr B Allison (Chair), Cllr J Butroid (Vice-Chair), Cllr C Allison, Cllr Field, Cllr Tompkins, C. Graves (Clerk), M. Todd (member of public).
1. Apologies – Cllr King, Cllr Tinker , noted and accepted.
2. Minutes of the Meeting held on 13th May 2024 - Proposed as a true and accurate record at the meeting held on 10th June 2024.
3. Current Chairman Cllr B Allison welcomed all to the Annual Assembly of the Parish Council including Michael Todd, a resident of Morton Close. He proceeded to read the Chairman’s annual report for 2024/25, and informed the Council that the clerk had received the resignation of Cllr Parry with immediate effect. A full copy of the report was circulated to all in attendance and Cllr B Allison would arrange for this to be published on our Facebook page. In summary it has been another busy year which included negotiations with LCC regarding the Shared Agreement. Policies and procedures continue to be strengthened and a storage facility for archiving has been secured. We continue to monitor our budget and spending habits quarterly and both internal and external audit did not highlight anything of concern. The council continue to engage with residents and recent litter picks well attended and our Facebook page growing. There is still much work to do, without greater access to field availability outside funding proves difficult and the council will seek ways to increase revenue for the field so we are able to develop projects that make the field a better recreational facility. The first Morton Feastival took place and was a great success and we look forward to this years event. Morton now have their own football club and a charity event is planned for the summer. Data extracted from both speed indicator devices is shared with Lincolnshire Police on a regular basis and residents are encouraged to report any suspicious incidents to the police through the appropriate channels. Looking ahead it is hoped that work on the carriageway in Morton Cemetery can be completed and the hard court area on the playing field be revitalised and the broken fencing secured. The council continue to uphold the values of the Neighbourhood Plan by ensuring the planning applications adhere to the policies contained within. Cllr B Allison thanked councillors for their support and looks forward to working to make Morton an even better place to live.
4. Clerk's Summary – Summary circulated prior to meeting, which included an insight into the varied and often challenging role of clerk and responsible financial officer. Cllr Tompkins suggested that the council consider increasing the clerks hours of 25 hours/month in due course and Cllr B Allison explained that one of the the clerk’s personal objectives was to review her job description. The clerk is reassured that as we enter the next financial year our accounts reflect the hard work that goes into making sure we get value for money for our parishioners and we can look ahead to improvements as detailed in the Chairman’s report. The accounts are currently with the internal auditor Shucksmith Accountants prior to submission to the external auditor PKF Littlejohn.
5. Any Other Business including reports from partners and village organisations.
a) Joshua Tyler Trust - Cllr Butroid provided a report from Maria Bradley, Clerk to Trustees which was read out to the council by the clerk. The council will continue to promote the charity and how it can provide financial help to scholars.
b) Village Hall – Cllr C Allison gave a verbal report. She had attended the majority of village hall committee meetings as the Parish Council representative. Group bookings were on the increase and the fire doors replaced. The concrete fence at the front of the hall was damaged and the committee were currently exploring options for replacement.
c) Community Assets - In Cllr King’s absence the clerk provided a brief summary provided by Cllr King. The asset register was now up to date. Prior to considering expenditure on picnic tables and a bench for the bus stop the priority should be the hard court games area. Cllr King was happy to continue as Community Assets representative should he be nominated.
Cllr B Allison thanked all concerned for their reports. No other reports received and the meeting closed at 6.50 pm.