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Draft Minutes of East and West Beckham Parish Council
Meeting Held on Thursday 13th November 2025
Present. Cllrs. R. McNeil Wilson, (chairman),D. Barrass R. Batt, J. Dovey. G. Place, T. Toyn,
Dist. Cllr. Callum Ringer. J. Stibbons (clerk)
The chairman opened the meeting at 7.00pm.
1. Apologies for absence. County Cllr. E. Vardy
2. There were no declarations of interest
3. The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 18th September 2025. having been previously circulated, it was noted that Cllr. Batt had agreed to deliver Daffodil bulbs to the new residents of the affordable housing complex. This was not recorded in the draft minutes. After this amendment was agreed it was proposed by Cllr. Toyn that they be approved as correct. This was seconded by Cllr. Dovey and carried.
4. Matters arising from the Minutes.
No applications have been made to fill the vacancy for a Parish Councillor.
Two possible names were suggested, and further enquiries will be made.
5. There were no comment or questions on the agenda from members of the pubic.
6. Reports from Councillors
Cllr. Ringer. There is to be a new allocations policy for affordable homes, but this does not involve many changes.
Bodham parish council have been briefly running the village hall due to the resignation of the former committee. A new committee has now been appointed and includes two members from Beckham.
A partnership between adjoining parishes to purchase a SAM3 was being discussed. An initial contribution of £500 per parish was being considered to start. Awaiting comments from other likely councils before this can be taken further.
7. Horsey 3 Community Fund. Cllr. Barriss (chairman of the grants committee) The completed draft application had been sent to members.
It was suggested that bird, bat, and owl boxes should be included on the allotment.
A static B.B.Q. could be installed and access improved for wheel chairs. It could also be useful if Felbeck Trust were involved.
The village survey conducted before the first grant from Hall Farm Solar was still relevant and could be used if necessary.
A minimum contribution of 20% from the Parish Council was necessary.
The draft application suggested that a contribution from the Parish Council of 30% was more likely to receive a positive reception. After further discussion it was proposed by Cllr. Toyn that the contribution should be 30%. This was seconded by Cllr. Wilson and unanimously approved.
Cllr. Barrass will submit the completed application before the deadline.
8. Planning. There were no Planning applications to be considered at this meeting.
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9. Bulletin.
The Bulletin is almost ready for publication.
Some new volunteers for distribution would be appreciated
10. Playing Field. Discussed in item 7.
11. Notice Boards Cllr Barrass had details of a double-door notice board in composite material for £1000. It was agreed that two notice boards were needed.
It was proposed by Cllr. Place that the two boards should be purchased. This was seconded by Cllr Wilson and unanimously agreed by the members present.
12. Clerks’ salary review A copy of the Local Government Services Pay Agreement 2025/26 was presented to the meeting. This shows that the LC1substansive benchmark from the annual pay agreement for employees on SCP12 has risen to £14.82 per hour.
It was proposed by Cllr. Dovey that this rate should be approved. This was seconded by Cllr. Toyn and agreed by the councillors. It was noted that this was the clerks first salary increase since 2022.
13. Financial matters.
Bank Balances at 13/11/25: –
Current a/c £4204.17 Savings a/c £1805.20 Investment a/c £47607.89 + interest £773.27
The following invoices due for approval and payment.
West Beckham Church Grant (3rd of 3) £1000
Bodham & Beckham village hall Rent £54
J. Stibbons Salary and expenses £803.83
HMRC PAYE £166.14
14. Budgets for 2026/27 The proposed budget for 2026/27 was presented to the meeting.
After discussing the budget forecasts, it was proposed by Cllr. Toyn that the precept for 2026/27should be £5750. This was seconded by Cllr. Batt and approved.
This was an increase of £750, but it was noted that, due to the ten new houses being built in the parish the actual amount per household would not greatly increase.
15. Correspondence The following correspondence was received:
The County Councillors report was circulated to members.
A Police request for support with Operation Radium. This is a plan to try and combat Courier Fraud. The object is to respond quickly when there is a spike in Courier Fraud within a specific area over a short period. The Parish Council agreed to participate. The clerk will be the point of contact to receive trigger alerts from the police and share these promptly with the list of contacts.
There being no further business the chairman closed the meeting at 9.24 pm.
The next meeting of Beckham Parish Council will be held on Thursday 8th January 2026