12th May 2026 Annual Parish Meeting
Aubourn and Haddington Annual Parish Meeting. 12 May 2026 at 18:00 at the Estate Office at Aubourn Hall.
Present. Councillors Mosedale, Plackett-Smith, Rocks and Quince. The parish clerk. District Councillor Overton, County Councillor Overton and several members of the public.
Min.no. 01.05.26. Welcome. Councillor Mosedale welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Min.no. 02.05.2026. Minutes of the previous Annual Parish Meeting. It was unanimously agreed to accept the minutes from the previous annual parish meeting of 15th May 2025 as a true reflection of events and the minutes were signed by the Councillor Mosedale.
Min.no. 03.05.2026. Chairman’s Report for the year.
Clock Tower
In 1974 a 100-year lease was signed for the Clock Tower for use by the Parish Council for various activities to benefit the community for the princely sum of £1.00 per year. On closer inspection of the lease agreement, it became apparent that the lease is a full repairing lease and that the Parish Council is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the building. Hence the amount of activity being applied to the building as described below.
Clock Tower floor
As a consequence of replacing the kitchen floor in 2024 due to it rotting out, quotes for sanding all of the Clock Tower floor and varnish were issued and one bid was accepted. The Clock Tower floor has now been varnished.
Structural repairs
Following the full structural report being received, in late 2024, a tender was issued out to 5 suppliers with one quote winning the bid. That was the local company in Aubourn of Booths Masonry.
Work started in late April on the North buttress and is now complete. Further to awarding the contract, Booths have used the building for a training course on pointing the stonework and the result is very impressive. Further work will take place over the coming year when we hope to have all the remedial repairs completed. Booths have accepted the role of conservator for the Clock Tower for all future work required to the fabric of the building and to use the building as a live training environment for new Stone Masons.
Maintenance Budget
A maintenance budget is to be put in place for Clock Tower for all future repairs where Grants cannot be secured.
Parish Council meetings
Temporary use of Estates Office for Parish Council Meetings continues until such time as we have a replacement heating method in place. We are currently looking into suitable systems for this and hopefully should be resolved by the end of the year.
New lighting
The lighting system within the Clock Tower is being replaced with new LED lighting and will utilise existing wiring and fittings where possible. This will make the main hall and kitchen brighter along with the electricity savings that will accrue from this investment.
New heating
The heating previously used in the Clock Tower was provided by Calor gas heaters and due to their age were scrapped. A new heating system is being procured, which will be electrically powered, and will be wall mounted. We are still waiting for confirmation of what will be delivered along with price. The results will be placed before the Parish Council for scrutiny and agreement to commence work.
Building Grants
Grants for building repairs are still being sought by our Parish Clerk so as to reduce the amount we must pay out of our limited budget. This is an ongoing issue and due to the current economic climate is proving difficult.
Kitchen
A replacement kitchen has been procured for the Clock Tower as the old one rotted out with the floor. This is due to be installed in the next few weeks.
Clock Tower Graveyard
Members of the Parish Council spent a couple of weeks tidying up the perimeter of the Clock Tower cutting back overgrown bushes and trimming of various trees. We are not responsible for the upkeep of the grounds of the Clock Tower but as it is still a functioning graveyard, we deemed it necessary to cut the grass and maintain it as best we can on limited funds.
Tidying up and painting.
Members of the Parish Council undertook a clear out of unused items from the Clock Tower that were no longer required. This included Clearing out of old files and broken furniture etc. Painting of the foyer and internal parts of plastered surfaces were completed to enhance the appearance of the internal accommodation.
Whilst a lot of effort and money has been spent on the Clock Tower it will keep the building in good order for the foreseeable future and extend the use of the building to the benefit of parishioners.
Parish Council Councillors
Hugh Nevile was co-opted to be a Parish Councillor earlier in the year and gives a full complement of councillors. Hugh brings a wealth of experience and is part of the Aubourn Estates team. The parish councillors have also adopted Gov.uk email addresses which can be found on the Parish website.
Precept
Precept this year was set at an increase of 2.9% at £19,972.00. Last year’s was 0.6% at £19,400.00.
Speed watch and Traffic results
A speed watch group has been set up and during April 15 sessions of up to 1hour were recorded. The group would like to encourage more people to join the team and take part in this activity.
The traffic stats are available on the Parish website and indicate a slight rise in the number of vehicles traversing the villages over last year.
Flooding in Haddington
Flooding in Haddington has again caused concern, especially after all the repairs that took place in previous years. Clearing of ditches has taken place and should alleviate any further flooding. This will be monitored in the coming year to identify any remaining issues.
Streetlights
All 39 streetlights within the Parish are now LED which will reduce the amount of electricity used and are cheaper to maintain than the sodium lamps they have replaced.
Defibrillator
The Parish Council has taken over the monitoring and maintenance of the defibrillator located in the Telephone box on Royal Oak Lane in Aubourn. Councillor Mark Quince has kindly taken this on for the foreseeable future.
Meeting with highways
Members of the Parish Council met up with Highways management in February to look at issues within the Parish. This covered potholes, the one-way system in Aubourn and how this could be improved and reduce the incidence of speeding. Unfortunately, we have not had any response to the meeting to date. We will be following up on this.
Activity around Aubourn and Hadding villages.
Digestate plant
A planning application was issued for a digestate clamp close to Sky Barn Lane in March and subsequently an extraordinary council meeting was set up to discuss the issues. Members of the public had a session prior to the Parish Council meeting to put forward their views and objections to this application. Subsequently the Parish Council voted to officially object to this application on various safety, flooding, loss of quality land and the increase in traffic movements that would be associated with this application.
Fosse Green
The Fosse Green solar industrial application is still going through the examination process and whilst the Parish Council has objected to this is little else, we can do to prevent it happening. It is highly likely that it will get planning permission as nearly all the other applications have been approved by the secretary of state for energy, including Springwell. The only thing that can stop this is with the substation at Navenby being refused by NKDC. However, this could be overturned by the secretary of state for energy on appeal.
North Hykeham Relief Road (NHRR))
On a positive note, the North Hykeham Relief Road has been granted planning and work commenced in March with a completion date in 2029.
Thank You’s
Ms Kerrie Vickers
Our Parish Councillors
County Councillor Marianne Overton MBE
District Councillor Peter Overton
District Councillor Mitch Elliott
Aubourn Estates
The Community Speed Watch Group
Anyone else that has contributed to Aubourn with Haddington Parish Council.
Min.no.04.05.2026. Public Forum.
Traffic issues throughout the parish were discussed and the Parish Council asked what they were doing about the issues.
Councillor Mosedale advised that the Parish Council had met earlier in the year with the leader of County Council Sean Matthews and 2 senior highways officers.
The proposals taken away for consideration were;
1.To remove the route from Satnav for HGV vehicles.
2.To consider a with restriction.
3. Signage installed – Not Suitable for HGV’s
4. Street lighting or 30mph repeaters on Blackmoor Road to be installed.
5. Additional measures at Suttons Corner to alert drivers of the oncoming traffic.
6. Reduce speed limit on Bassingham Road.
7. Additional speed limit roundels.
8. Village gateways.
9. Horse warning signs.
10. Siding footways.
11. Drainage on Blackmoor Road.
12. Bend warning signs on Old Haddington Lane junction with Butts Lane.
No feedback has been received yet. The Parish Clerk will chase this up again and an update will be given at the next meeting. Action Parish Clerk.
A member of the Community Speed Watch Group was in attendance and advised that whilst the sessions are going well, the group are limited to the number of sessions they can hold and desperately need more volunteers to enable them to capture repeating offenders.
If anyone can offer the group support, please email the Parish Clerk at parishclerk@aubournwithhaddington-pc.gov.uk and she will pass your details on to the group administrator Bev Bevan who will advise you further. Training will be provided.
The flooding issues in Haddington were discussed. A lot of work has been done, and the issue has improved but there is still more work to be done. The Parish Council has contacted the landowners to appeal for more to be done. County Councillor Overton advised that she would like to arrange a site meeting to relook at the issue. Action.
The Parish Council were asked what steps they had taken against the Fosse Green Energy proposal. Councillor Mosedale advised he had been an active member of the Fosse Green Energy Action Group and the Parish Council were consulted about the application and submitted a letter of objection to the proposal, all of which has been documented in the minutes.
The Parish Council were challenged about their methods of communication with the suggestion of a leaflet drop offered. This will be looked into for the future.
Councillor Mosedale drew the meeting to a close and thanked everyone for their attendance.