LITTLE EATON PARISH COUNCIL
clerk@littleeatonparishcouncil.org.uk
Minutes of the Monthly Council Meeting held on
Wednesday 22nd April 2026 at Little Eaton Village Hall
PRESENT: Parish Councillors D Howard (Chair), R Brown, S Caines, A Done-Johnson, J Reid & K Shankland
IN ATTENDANCE: Parish Clerk
26/001 Apologies for absence were received from P Rowlinson and J Bush.
26/002 To receive declaration of Members Interests – None.
- To consider any applications for dispensations – None.
- Public Speaking – (15 Minutes)
A period of not more than fifteen minutes will be made available for members of the public and Members of the Council to comment on any matter.
If the Police Liaison Officer, a County Council or Borough Council Member is in attendance they will be given the opportunity to raise any relevant matter.
There were no members of the public in attendance at the meeting.
County Councillor Hart sent the following update as she was unable to attend the meeting.
Highways have spent around £60 million addressing highway issues, including potholes, over the past year. This work was supported by additional funding from both the UK Government and the East Midlands Combined County Authority.
Although the extra investment allowed the team to make significant progress over the summer, the winter weather has created a new wave of potholes and surface defects. As a result, Highways are currently struggling to keep pace with the volume of repairs required.
The Director of Place, which is mostly Highways, has now taken on the role of Director for Corporate Services and transformation together with Claire Brailsford, who was previously dealing with mostly environmental and climate change work.
Borough Councillor Eddy was also unable to attend the meeting but provided the following update.
She is still awaiting further information regarding the Parish Council grants recently announced by the Borough Council and will share details as soon as they are available.
Erewash’s Mayor has embarked on an ambitious 2,000‑mile tour of the Borough’s three twin towns in a Del Boy‑style Reliant Robin, raising funds along the way.
Food waste collections have now begun across the Borough. Councillor Eddy would welcome feedback on how the service is working locally and any concerns residents may have.
The Erewash Civic Voluntary Awards took place last month, and the results are available on the Borough Council’s website: Erewash Civic Voluntary Awards 2026 | Erewash Borough Council.
- Variation of Order of Business – None.
- To consider a resolution to close the meeting for public participation under the Public Bodies (admission to meetings) Act 1960 – Not applicable.
- To confirm the minutes of the monthly meeting held on 25th March 2026. All agreed that the Chair be authorised to sign the minutes of the monthly council meeting held on 25th March 2026 as being a true and correct record.
26/08 Chair’s Report
The Chair stated that he had not yet had a chance to submit the plan to the Vicar regarding the trees, water feature and bench, that are planned for the churchyard.
The Chair is continuing to chase for a quote for the alterations to the pavilion toilets.
It was noted that the Chair will endeavour to get the newsletter circulated to households in early May so that as many people as possible are aware of the Annual Parish Meeting date.
To receive updates on actions from the Minutes
25/157 the review of Little Eaton’s Neighbourhood Plan – The Chair and Councillor Brown will be attending a MS Teams meeting with Erewash Planning Policy Officers tomorrow to discuss the appropriate modification route and procedural requirements for updating the Plan.
25/159 To consider adoption of the draft IT Policy – The draft IT Policy was recirculated to members. All agreed to adopt the policy.
25/176 the refurbishment of the Sports Pavilion – Still waiting for the quotes, but once received the Park Group will engage with the Cricket Club and Football Clubs to make sure they are onboard with the proposals. It is then hoped that the Football Club will lead on the project so that funding from the FA can be sought. If this is not possible then the Parish Council will apply to EBC’s Derbyshire Fund.
25/191 Feedback on the format of the 2026 Annual Parish Meeting – following discussion on the feedback from previous years’ contributors, the Chair proposed a motion that the Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Wednesday 20th May between 7pm and 7.30pm and will not include the participation of local organisations. Councillor Caines seconded the motion and all agreed.
- Report of the Parish Clerk – All the documents for the year end Audit have now been sent to the internal auditor.
26/010 To receive Working Group Feedback (except if the issue is elsewhere on agenda):
• Village Hall
- A maintenance schedule for the next 3 years has been agreed.
- The committee is looking to replace the Thomas Bates Hall floor.
• Park Group
- The roundabout refurbishment is ongoing.
- The old playground entrance will be blocked off imminently.
- Still waiting to hear whether the Council has been successful in its applications for funding for the accessibility swing.
- The toilet repairs following the vandalism are ongoing.
-
Finance
- The next finance meeting will be at the end of June to discuss the first quarter’s actual income and expenditure against budget.
• Churchyard Sub-Group
- The Rotary Club have been working hard in the churchyard, predominantly on clearing the old compost bin, which they are hoping to turn into a flowerbed once approval is received from the Church.
• Environmental Action Group
- The last litter pick was quite poorly attended although there was a family of 5 who came along and bolstered numbers.
- The next litter pick will be 10am Sunday 10th May starting at the Windy Lane/Alfreton Lane junction.
- Footpaths
- Footpath 10 just off Vicarage Lane is still blocked by the fallen tree. The Clerk will ask County Councillor Hart to chase DCC to get it removed as the Parish Council will need to remove the safety fencing soon as it will be needed elsewhere.
26/011 Finance –
- Payments for April totalling £3,453.71 were circulated to members for approval. All agreed that the payments be approved and the accounts to which they relate paid.
It was noted that the precept of £45,690.16 had been received and also the VAT reclaimed on 2025/26 expenditure of £3,690.22.
- It was noted that there were no significant variances on the 2025/26 Full Year Actuals -v- Forecast.
26/012 To consider the proposal of Little Eaton Tennis Club – a proposal from Little Eaton Tennis Club to add £80 to their annual rental to cover electricity and water was circulated to members. This figure will be indexed in the same manner as the rental. All agreed to accept the Tennis Clubs proposal.
26/013 Planning Applications – none.
26/014 To consider the renewal of Park Bank and Croft Corner maintenance contracts for 2026/27.
Quotes from Mark Toms Ltd for the Park Bank (£720) and Croft Corner (£875) maintenance contracts for 2026/27 were circulated to members. Councillor Brown proposed and Councillor Howard seconded to award the contracts to Mark Toms Ltd until 31st March 2027. All
26/015 To consider the replacement of a memorial bench in St Peter’s Park – An email from a family wishing to renovate the bench in need of repair in St Peter’s park, in memory of their parents, was circulated to members. It was noted that there are already 4 families on a waiting list for memorial benches and it would need to be offered to those families first.
It was, however, noted that the Parish Council is currently in discussions with the Church about replacing overgrown non-native trees in the churchyard with smaller native ones. Once permission is secured, there may be an opportunity for the new trees to be offered as memorial trees.
26/016 Correspondence for Action – none.
26/017 Correspondence for Information
- Di Mulvey is continuing to check the status of the Parish defibrillator on the Council’s behalf.
- Confirmation received from National Grid that the Parish Council’s comments feedback has been registered as part of their stage 2 consultation on Chesterfield to Willington.
There being no further business the Chair declared the meeting closed at 8.40pm.
