Meeting Minutes 2025 to 2026

Minutes of a Meeting of Thrybergh Parish Council, Thursday 2 October 2025.

Held At the Parish Hall, Park Lane, Thrybergh.

Present

Councillors G Trickett (Chair), A Martin, J Parsons, M Reeves (part-time), B Shaw, M Senior & Nicola Jackson.

Also present, Ward Councillor Bennett-Sylvester.

There were two members of the public in attendance.

107/25.  Apologies For Absence.

Apologies received from Councillors J Chambers & R Thomas.

108/25. Approval of Reason Given for Absence.

Mover: Councillor A Martin

Seconder: Councillor N Jackson

Resolved: That the apologies be accepted by the Parish Council.

109/25. Declaration Of Interest

No interests were raised.

110/25. Questions From The Public.

There were no questions from members of the public.

Councillor Reeves joined the meeting.

111/25. Minutes of the Previous Parish Council Meeting held on Thursday 4th September 2025.

Mover: Councillor A Martin

Seconder: Councillor J Parsons

Resolved: That the minutes of the previous meeting of Thrybergh Parish Council held on Thursday 4th September be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

112/25. Matters Arising from Previous Meetings of the Parish Council.

094/25 - Remembrance Sunday – To discuss the detail of the event to be held Sunday 9th November. Revd John Hibberd has agreed to take the service for us. The clerk is in the process of sorting a keyboard player and the bugler will again be local resident Jenny Ogden. It may be that we have to rely on taped music for the hymns if a keyboard player cannot be found. We will start the service at 10:20am with a view to finish around 10:55am to allow us to conclude at the Cenotaph at 11am. Refreshments will be served in the hall afterwards. The streetlamp poppies will be put up approx. 1 week before Remembrance Day.

Whitestone Solar Farm Development – the clerk circulated recent documentation about the project as well as the upcoming consultations being held across Rotherham during the next 2 weeks. The development remains very unpopular and it is expected that these meetings will be rather vociferous.

113/25 - Police Report

The latest local crime statistics are for July and Rotherham North at 750 and Thrybergh at 46 incidents which are very similar to those reported last month for June and were discussed by the council.

114/25. Christmas 2025 Pantomime, Dick Wittington Saturday 13th December.

The posters and tickets have not arrived yet and the clerk will advise residents when they do by Facebook, website, notice board and the Rotherham Advertiser. The format will be the same as previous years ie free refreshments and adult tickets at £2 and all children free.

Mover: Councillor N Jackson

Seconder: Councillor M Senior

Resolved: That the Parish Council maintain tickets prices at £2 for adults and children free.

115/25. Parish Hall Window Cleaner.

To formally agree to adding the cleaning of the outside facades to the cleaning schedule which will be done every other month at an additional cost of £10.

Mover: Councillor A Martin

Seconder: Councillor J Parsons

Resolved: That the Parish Council accepts the additional cost of cleaning the outside facades at an extra £10 every other month.

116/25. Rubbish on Fullerton Field, Vale Road.

This item was briefly discussed at the September meeting as we had received several complaints about rubbish which is now visible given that we have removed some trees and bushes, this consists of fencing, concrete posts, general litter and garden waste. The rubbish is far too heavy and bulky for our litter pickers to sort so a quote was requested from RMBC to remove it. There is approx. 6 tonnes of rubble plus approx. 1 tonne brambles/dumped grass clippings so will need a flat bed with grabber and the cost is £1734.98 plus VAT.

Mover: Councillor M Senior

Seconder: Councillor A Martin

Resolved: That the Parish Council accepts the quote from RMBC at £1734.98 plus VAT to remove accumulated general rubbish from Fullerton field.

117/25. Trust Fire & Safety.

The recent Fire Safety Report recommended the installation of 2 new fire/smoke detectors on the hall with one in the bin room and the other in the cleaning room. The units were installed 3rd September at a cost of £621.50, VAT £124.30 for total £745.80.

Mover: Councillor N Jackson

Seconder: Councillor A Martin

Resolved: That the council approve and accept the invoice from Trust Fire & Safety for the installation of the 2 smoke detectors at a cost of £621.50, VAT £124.30 for total £745.80.

118/25. CJB Building.

The recent Fire Safety Report recommended adjustments to the hanging of doors in the hall lobby. This work was done by CJB Building at a cost of £80 (no VAT) on Monday 6th October.

Mover: Councillor M Senior

Seconder: Councillor N Jackson

Resolved: That the council approve and accept the invoice from CJB Building at £80.

119/25. Initial Washroom Hygiene.

A review meeting was held with Initial Washroom and it was agreed to put a nappy bin in the baby change area and replace the toilet roll holders and soap dispensers in the toilets.

Mover: Councillor N Jackson

Seconder: Councillor B Shaw

Resolved: That the council approve a new nappy bin and installation of new toilet toll holders and soap dispensers.

120/25. Ryan Askew Electrical, 5-Year Fixed Wiring Test.

A meeting was recently held with Ryan Askew Electrical to discuss the requirements of the 5-yearly fixed wire testing and an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report which is necessary to finalise the recent Fire Inspection audit. The cost of the work will be brought to the parish council at the November meeting along with any action items found during the inspection.

121/25. Correspondence.

The following items of correspondence were made available to the parish councillors:-

YLCA White Rose Bulletin including Training.

YLCA Law & Governance Briefing.

NALC Chief Executive’s Bulletin.

122/25. Items of Report.

Ward Councillor Bennett-Sylvesters Report.

Oldgate Lane CCTV - A neighbourhood safety CCTV camera has been installed on Oldgate Lane in response to fly tipping and anti-social behaviour near to the old legion club but it is important that all incidents are officially reported.  We remain limited in where we can deploy CCTV in Thrybergh due to the prevalence of old-style concrete lampposts but RMBC are initiating a replacement that should see considerable numbers replaced.

 Winter Works Programme - By Monday I need to submit nominations for winter works to remove excess weed growth, vegetation creep and overhanging vegetation on public land.  In Thrybergh I'm looking at examples such as the path from the junction of Arran Hill and Park Lane to the junction of School Lane and Doncaster Road where there's a lot of weed growth to the front of Deer Park Farm and a reduction in the footpath width, also from the school drive on Hollings Lane to Townend Avenue along Oldgate Lane where there's a lot of weed growth.  This list isn't exhaustive and if anybody has any other areas for consideration please let me know by Monday ideally with photos.

Brockhurst Way to East Vale Drive - The footpath here had to have action to clear as it had become impassable due to vegetation growth for residents on mobility scooters. I've had a reassurance that this won't be missed on the spray cycle next year.

Snow wardens - There's currently a push to get more volunteer snow wardens in time for the winter weather.  Grit bins are regularly vandalised and often at the first site of snow emptied often by motorists. If people are physically fit and have room to store the equipment the council will in return for a promise to look after a small area provide rock salt, a snow shovel and thermal gloves.  I've signed up to cover the bungalows on Pingles Crescent and the path through to Park Lane.  If any residents are interested if they let me know and I'll provide the details to sign up.

The hall secretary reported that booking for the bar were increasing which was encouraging and that general bookings remain high.

Clerk’s meeting – 17th October. Items discussed included Christmas lights, the Practitioners Guide 2025 and Standards. It was advised that a local parish council has their lights in the asset register at £40k and the cost of putting up, taking down, any repairs and storage of lights is approx. £2500pa. Lights can only go on metal lampposts and columns need to be tested each year which is done by RMBC but, of course, the Parish Council has to pay for the tests. Another PC advised that they have had lampposts tested and 40% have failed and they are awaiting RMBC on what happens next. They have runs of 10 lights and such a high failure rate means that they may have to have disjointed lights! Average cost of a 30-foot tree is approx. £900 and needs a dedicated power point for lights. Discussions arising for 2025 Practitioners Guide is that we need to publish amounts paid in the minutes, staff salaries, Tax and pension payments to be reported as one figure (not names of staff). Requirement for gov.uk email addresses and adoption of IT Policy mandatory (we recently adopted an IT policy).

No CAP meeting this month, the next one will be in our hall on Wednesday Wed 29th October.

123/25. Matters Requested by Councillors and/or AOB

The caretaker informed on a small amount of damage to the sprung floor, it’s 5 years since the floor was last sanded and restored. The clerk is speaking to Williams Floor Restoration to look at repairing/replacing several sections of the floor. It may be that we need to do a re-sanding and this will be discussed with them but it would be best if we could do this next financial year. I’m seeing them next week with a view to patching up the areas of concern.

Letter from RMBC with new Code of Conduct which is basically the same as the LGA code we adopted 05/06/2025, they are asking that we adopt the RMBC one so that all parish councils in Rotherham have the same document. However, they are using the LGA framework so it is the same document therefore we do not need to adopt it as it is already done. They have also raised signing up to the Civility & Respect Pledge, again, this is designed for larger councils with more ’problems and issues’ than we have in Thrybergh. We do not believe we have a need to sign up to it as we have adopted the LGA Code of Conduct but will leave it to the new clerk on whether so wants to proceed with it.

The external auditors will be raising concerns re 2026/27 accounts onwards about security of email etc and it is a requirement that parish councils move onto gov.uk email addresses. This means the clerk, councillors and parish council staff. Accordingly, the new clerk to sort this when she starts in November as she already has experience on this matter.

The clerk has been advised by RMBC that the gate onto Hollings Lane has dropped slightly on its hinges making it difficult to open & close, this is now being investigated by Kingsforth Security Fencing and the clerk will report on actions at the November meeting.

There then followed a discussion on a Christmas tree and lights for Thrybergh but the decision was that the parish council did not have the funds for streetlights. The clerk is investigating costs power a power point outside the hall to possible light up a tree and will revert in November with anticipated cost but the timeframe on this is far too short to do anything before Christmas 2026.

THE PRESS AND PUBLIC WERE THEN INVITED TO LEAVE THE MEETING.

124/25. Accounts For Payment.

The Council considered the schedule of accounts for payment for September.

Mover: Councillor N Jackson

Seconder: Councillor B Shaw.

Resolved: That the schedule of accounts for payment be approved and signed by the Chair.

125/25. To notify the Clerk of matters for inclusion on the agenda of the next meeting.

No items raised.

Date Of Next Meeting

The date of the next parish council meeting will be Thursday 6th November 2025 at 6:30pm.

Closure of Meeting at 8:03pm.

Councillor G Trickett

Chairman