Louth Town Council
The Sessions House, Eastgate,
Louth, Lincolnshire, LN11 9AJ
01507 355895
clerk@louthtowncouncil.gov.uk

To the Members of the Town Council of Louth:

You are hereby summoned to attend a meeting of Louth Town Council and its Planning Committee which will be held on Tuesday 3^rd June 2025 in The Old Court Room, The Sessions House, Eastgate, Louth at 7pm.  The business to be dealt with at the meeting is listed in the agenda below.

There will be a 15 minute public forum between 6.45pm and 7.00pm when members of the public may ask questions or make short statements to the Council, and your attendance is requested during this period. 

Please note, any public, wishing to speak in the public forum may do so on items which appear on the agenda or may ‘sit in’ on the meeting(s).  It would be much appreciated if any member of the public wishing to speak would please contact the Town Clerk, by emailing clerk@louthtowncouncil.gov.uk in advance of the meeting to discuss attendance arrangements.  If possible, please provide written representation rather than attending in person.

Members of the public should note that they will not be allowed to speak during the formal meeting.

Mrs. L.M. Phillips

Town Clerk

Dated this 29^th Day of May 2025

AGENDA

TOWN COUNCIL

(Chairman: Cllr. D. Hobson, Membership: All Cllrs.)

17. Apologies for Absence
    To receive and note apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Town Clerk at least one hour prior to the meeting.
18. Declarations of Interest / Dispensations
    To receive declarations of interest in accordance with 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 received by the Proper Officer under section 22 of the Localism Act.
19. Minutes
    To approve as a correct record the notes of the Annual Town Council Meeting held on 20^th May 2025.
20. H.A.S.E
    To receive a presentation, details of the above project and consider a request for funding. Please note, in addition to the documents included as part of the agenda a small business plan, 3 year strategic plan and 5-10 year strategic expansion plan are also available to view in the office.  Copies will be available on the evening of 3^rd June.

21. Personnel Committee
    Council to receive nominations for and resolve to fill the two vacant seats on its Personnel Committee.

22. Annual Town Meeting Minutes 2024/25
    To receive the notes of the Annual Town Meeting held on 22^nd April 2025, consider if further action should be taken on any proposals raised by members of the public and agree that, unless there is a contentious subject that requires discussion in 2026, the Annual Town Meeting should be held at The Sessions House. (Minutes Attached).

23. Working Groups
    Council to re-establish working groups which report to the Council and approve remit and membership.
24. Standing Orders
    Council to approve changes to standing orders at section 3. t. ii. following resolution at the GF Committee meeting on 13^th May and amendment to Appendix 1, Committee Terms of Reference, page 21.

25. Domestic Abuse
    Council to receive a draft Policy Statement and discuss/resolve upon:
    1. Adoption of the draft Domestic Abuse policy statement
    2. Identification of a Lead officer
    3. To individually undertake induction training
    4. To inform ourselves of the information to make referral

26. Hubbard’s Hills
    To receive an update and approve draft tender document for use. (To be tabled).
27. Town Map Dispensers
    To consider correspondence from Cityscape Maps.
28. Kenwick Road Bus Shelter
    To note that following damage to the above by a third party the Council’s insurer has agreed a settlement figure and a new bus shelter is in the process of being ordered and installed.
29. Julian Bower Resurfacing
    Following previous discussion Council to receive a proposal on the above from residents and resolve upon the way forward. (To be tabled).

30. LCC
    Currently, in many instances, LCC require a request for work in Louth to come from the Town Clerk through the County Councillor. This involves the Town Council making background checks and gathering evidence.  Until relatively recently this was not the normal protocol, notwithstanding the fact that this does alert interested parties. However, it means that this in effect results in serious costs being passed down and incurred disproportionately by the Town Council, when County Councillors who are paid should be doing the leg work.  Councillor Watson proposes that where possible Councillors on LCC and ELDC should undertake all necessary investigation to support requests for their respective Councils.  In addition, townsfolk who request actions, which can only be dealt with by the District or County Council, should initially be directed by the Town Councillor to the relevant District or County Councillor without discussion or submission to the Town Clerk; otherwise we are at risk of overloading our Town Clerk and allowing Officers and Councillors of ELDC and LCC an easy ride and free use of our limited resources.
31. James’ Church Clock
    Council to note that due to synchronicity issues with the above, Smith of Derby the Clockmakers, have undertaken a site visit to determine what repairs are needed (cost £450 + VAT) and propose that the following work is required: attending, cleaning the going train, installing a PAR battery, correcting the PAR sensor, installing accurate discharge and installing additional weight will cost £2,279 plus VAT. Council to approve the expenditure on the clock and that it be taken from the EMR Capital Expenditure.
32. Review of Notices, Policies and Procedures
    Committee to note that the following have been reviewed. Council to approve continued use of:
    1. Members Allowance Policy
    2. LTC Co-option Policy
    3. LTC Vehicle Usage and Driving at Work Policy
33. Closed Session
    Council to resolve to move into closed session in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 due to the business to be discussed in the following items, information being of a third party, commercial, confidential and or legal nature with regard to:
    1. Old Mill House – to receive an update following legal correspondence and resolve upon the way forward.

34. Next Meeting
    To note that the next scheduled meeting of the Town Council will take place on 24^th June 2025.

PLANNING COMMITTEE

(Membership: All Cllrs.)

1. Election of Planning Committee Chairman
   The Mayor will initially take the chair for this item.
   Committee to receive nominations and to elect the Chairman of the Planning Committee to hold office until the Annual Meeting of Louth Town Council in 2026.
2. Election of Planning Committee Vice Chairman
   Committee to receive nominations and to elect the Vice Chairman of the Planning Committee to hold office until the Annual Meeting of Louth Town Council in 2026.
3. Apologies for Absence
   To receive and note apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Town Clerk at least one hour prior to the meeting.
4. Declarations of Interest / Dispensations
   To receive declarations of interest in accordance with 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 received by the Proper Officer under section 22 of the Localism Act.
5. Minutes
   To approve as a correct record the notes of the Planning Committee Meeting held on 6^th May 2025. (Attached).
6. Applications received by the Local Planning Authority
   To consider and make observations/ratify comments already submitted by the Planning Working Group to meet deadlines, on all planning applications received including those listed in the schedule (PA/Schedule 06-03-25). (Attached).
7. Planning Correspondence
   Committee to receive planning decisions, enforcement complaints, appeal decisions, temporary road closures etc., as advised by the District and County Council. (Attached).
8. Planning Working Group
   Committee to re-establish the Planning Working Groups which reports to it or the Council and approve remit and membership.
9. Next Meeting
   To note that the next scheduled meeting of the Planning Committee will take place on 24^th June 2025.