Council Meeting – 25th March 2026

25/179 Apologies for absence were received from A Done-Johnson, J Reid and K Shankland
25/180 To receive declaration of Members Interests – Councillor Brown declared an interest in the finance item
on the agenda as he has an expense claim.
25/181 To consider any applications for dispensations – None.
25/182 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.
PCSO Helen Brown attended the meeting with a recent recruit, Florrie.
It was confirmed that the Derbyshire Constabulary’ Capture facility will currently only accept moving images and not still photographs. A new system is being looked into so hopefully this will change in the future.
National Grid recently discovered a cannabis grow on the Little Eaton side of Ford Lane, when they went to investigate a fault. This has now been cleared, but these incidents are becoming more commons and residents
should be vigilant.
County Councillor Hart was unable to attend due to having to attend a full Council meeting in Matlock. However, she sent the following update.
The Director for Corporate and Transformation has resigned with immediate effect, the Director for Place, which is mostly Highways, has been moved in to this position. A new Director of Place will need to be appointed.
Potholes remain the main problem, after a good summer last year much of the back log caused by the two very nasty winters had been sorted, but I am afraid with the rain and ice etc., many have re-appeared.
Highways were asked for confirmation that the signage that had been left after the roadworks had been removed but no response had yet been received.
At a recently attended exhibition on the Greenway progress very positive feedback was received. The only concerns raised were in connection with parking but as there will be several access points along the route hopefully this will be
okay.
On EBC matters, a report has been prepared on the funding for parish councils. Councillors Eddy and Hart have been lobbying for a return of the concurrent function but this was refused, but with around £8m in reserves, they
have offered two grant pots for parishes. At a recent meeting several funding options were agreed, which were then sent out to clerks. The decision is to go with option 3 which means that Little Eaton Parish Council will have £15,000
ring fenced for them to bid into.
There is also another £185K that has been set aside for parishes and there will be no limit on a bid from any parish council, again there will be criteria but this has not been explained yet.
The Chair expanded that there are 2 lots of £185k set aside that the Parish Council can bid for, (1) Village Investment, intended specifically at Parish Council projects, and as mentioned above up to £15,000 has been
ringfenced for Little Eaton; and (2) Special Projects, which is aimed at heritage projects and any organisation can bid for money from this pot.
Councillors floated some projects ideas the Parish Council could bid for which included the repair of dry stone walls at the churchyard, conversion of part of the Pavilion into a community café space which could be hired out, Pavilion
toilet refurbishments and a MUGA.
Councillor Rowlinson stated that the Youth Café have allocated £4,000 of its funds towards playground improvements and Little Eaton Diamonds are also willing to contribute towards a MUGA or similar teenage provision.
Borough Councillor Bethany Eddy was also unable to attend the meeting and sent the following report.
Food waste collections start on 31st March food waste collections start, bins are being delivered with the instructions on how they need to be used but if there are any concerns or questions please let me know.
Garden waste subscriptions are now open and if you sign up before March 31st it is £25 or £37 if done after. More information is here Grab our £25 garden waste deal.
At the full Council meeting this month, it was decided that Council Tax in Erewash will be frozen. Free parking on a Saturday was also agreed in the budget. A proposal for free parking all the time was suggested as there is so much
money in reserves, but this was voted against by the administration. Erewash Investment fund has a further £4.5million towards improving the borough, £6.5million in total. More money for parks and open spaces. There will
be new grants for parish areas and the voluntary sector.
EBC are looking at a Village Investment Fund, see following link Agenda for Council Executive on Tuesday, 24th March, 2026, 4.00 pm and Information sharing agreement template.
25/183 Variation of Order of Business – None.
25/184 To consider a resolution to close the meeting for public participation under the Public Bodies
(admission to meetings) Act 1960 – Not applicable.
25/185 To confirm the minutes of the monthly meeting held on 25th February 2026. All agreed that the Chair be authorised to sign the minutes of the monthly council meeting held on 25th February 2026 as being a true and
correct record.
25/186 Chair’s Report
The Chair informed members that Esther Jenneson-Boyle had regrettably resigned as a Councillor of the Parish Council in order to concentrate on her new role as Chair of Little Eaton in Bloom. The Chair thanked Esther for her
contribution to the Parish Council over the last 5 years, in particular her sterling work on getting the Councillor Handbook up and running and updating numerous policies and procedures.
A quote from the contractors regarding the pavilion toilets has still not been received and this has been chased.
Actions from the Minutes
24/179 Cycle parking at Croft Corner/Greenway and ways to discourage pavement parking. The planters are now in situ and the Chair has met with the person at the school who will be responsible for the project, along with the
School Council.
25/187 Report of the Parish Clerk – The internal auditor has been in touch and the year end audit will commence imminently.
The Clerk confirmed that the Internal Control Review for 2025/26 had been sent to all Councillors with the necessary documents for the review to take place. It was agreed that although all Councillors should look at the documents
and verify the information in the Internal Control Review, Councillors Caines and Howard would take responsibility for checking and signing the Review.
25/188 To receive Working Group Feedback (except if the issue is elsewhere on agenda):
• Village Hall
− The Committee are currently in the process of rearranging the storage.
− An appeal was made for anyone who can act as relief caretaker for when the current relief caretakers are away.
• Park Group
− Duffield Cricket Club have asked whether, a key safe can be install on the pavilion for their set of keys, now that they have two teams playing regularly. All agreed, subject to the Clerk checking whether this would
affect the Parish Council’s insurance.
− Phase one of the playground refresh has been completed with the new path and roundabout surface laid shortly after the February meeting.
− Refurbishment of the roundabout has started. The metal work has been sanded back and a first coat of paint applied. New timber has been ordered. Weather is currently hampering efforts. A Facebook post to keep the
public updated has gone out this week.
− There will be lots of paint left so it will be feasible to give other playground items a refresh when weather and time allows.
− Councillor Reid will be blocking off the old playground entrance using a salvaged section of fence once a new galvanised post arrives. Material costs are expected to be less than £50. Until the post arrives a plastic
baton has been utilised to close off this entrance.
− It was noted that the Parish Council had applied for an Erewash Borough Council Members grant and also to the Bates Trust for funding towards an accessibility swing.
− The carnival gate entrance to the park has been resurfaced by AB Camps.
− Bottle Brook have undertaken their first cut of the park banks, playground, churchyard and Millenium Way for 2026.
− The first cut of the park by tractor will depend on the ground being firm enough, but is expected this will take place in early April.
− Duffield Cricket Club are applying for planning permission for an all weather wicket at their own expense.

− A new toilet has been purchased for the pavilion toilets following the vandalism and Councillors Brown and Reid will fit it when they get time.
• Finance
− Minutes of the last Finance Working Group meeting were circulated to members. It was noted that the predicted surplus for 2025/26 is c£12,000. The Finance Working Group therefore made the following recommendations to full council for the allocation of these funds during 2026/27:
£5,000 – Playground equipment – disability provision
£6,000 – St Peter’s Park upgrades
£1,000 – Boundary maintenance and to include this amount in the budget going forward
It was also proposed to increase income by £2,000 due to the increased VAT that will be reclaimable on the above expenditure.
All agreed to the proposals relating to the 2026/27 budget from the Finance Working Group. It was also recommended to full council that the 2027/28 Budget be based on the 2026/27 forecast costs
plus CPI at 3.5%.
It was also recommended to add the following costs to the 2027/28 draft Budget:
• £1,000 boundary maintenance (see above)
• £2,000 St Peter’s Park upgrades
All agreed to the proposals relating to the 2027/28 budget from the Finance Working Group.
For the 2028/29 Budget it was proposed that it be based on the draft 2027/28 budget plus CPI at 3.5%.
It was further proposed that the following costs be added to the 2028/29 draft budget:
• £2,000 Pavilion upgrade
• £5,000 Planned tree work
• Churchyard Sub-Group
− The Chair stated that he is still working on the plan for the benches, troughs and compost heap, which needs to be submitted to the Church for approval.
− In the meantime the Rotary Club have started to clear the compost heap in readiness for turning it into a flowerbed once approval is received from the Church.
• Environmental Action Group
− New litter pickers and hoops have been purchased which have already been put to good use during the March litter pick. There was a good turn-out for the litter pick in March and the date for the next one is 19th
April starting at the Village Hall at 10am.
− Year 5 pupils from the school are undertaking a litter pick as part of their community/police activities this Friday. They have asked if they can borrow the Parish Council equipment. All agreed.
• Footpaths
− Councillor Bush stated that he had noticed a lot of litter and dog fouling on the Greenway and it was felt that signage and bins were needed. It was agreed that the Clerk will write to Anna Chapman and request that
she takes a look at this issue.
− Councillor Caines wondered whether it would be okay to undertake a litter pick on footpath 29 towards Breadsall, behind the Severn Trent waterworks. It was agreed that this would be okay as long as a risk
assessment was completed.
− It was also noted that a tree branch has fallen across the path on Alfreton Road near the junction with Morely Lane. It was agreed that the Clerk will report this to Derbyshire County Council.
25/189 Finance – Payments for February totalling £9,202.20 were circulated to members for approval. All agreed that the payments be approved and the accounts to which they relate paid.
25/190 Planning Applications
Application number: PA/2026/0027 – 1 New Inn Lane, Little Eaton DE21 5DQ
Two storey side and single storey rear extensions forming new Kitchen, Sitting Room and Integral Garage with Master Bedroom with En-Suite over. It was resolved that the Parish Council has no objection to this application as
the materials match the existing design, there is no change in access required and limited impact on biodiversity. It does however request that the Planning Officer ensures that, given the location is within Flood Zone 2, mitigating
measures are put in place to avoid any increase in surface water run-off.
25/191 To consider the format of the 2026 Annual Parish Meeting. The Chair stated that despite a change in format over the last few years, this event is still poorly attended and some contributors are becoming frustrated at the
lack of footfall. It was therefore agreed to contact the local organisations and see if they have any ideas of how to encourage attendance.
25/192 To consider replacing the park litter bins – a paper prepared by Councillor Reid detailing different litter bin options was circulated to members. The paper proposed to replace the 3 uncovered litter bins in the park owned
and emptied by Councillors on behalf of the Parish Council with covered bins to help prevent litter being blown out of the bins and rainwater gathering in the bottom of the bags. As the majority of the bins contain dog waste the
addition of rain makes them deeply unpleasant and a health and safety risk.  Councillor Reid proposed that the Parish Council purchases the following covered bins, from Kingfisher Direct, to
replace the uncovered bins and also provide an additional bin close to the Village Hall:
Playground bin x 1 (blue) £252.50
Park bins x 2 (Dark Green) £505.00
Village Hall additional bin £252.50
Total  £1,010.00 +VAT
All agreed that the bins should be replaced and an additional bin purchased for the total cost of £1,010. It was also agreed to move one of the bins currently in the park to the bottom of the car park as Councillor Bush has
noticed a lot of rubbish being left on the ground.
25/193 Correspondence for Action
• Chesterfield to Willington- Stage 2 consultation – National Grid’s proposals for Chesterfield to Willington, a new high-voltage electricity transmission line with associated works in Derbyshire. The consultation will run until
11.59pm on Tuesday 28 April 2026. It was agreed that the comments made by the Parish Council during stage 1 of the consultation remain valid and therefore the Clerk should resubmit its previous comments.
25/194 Correspondence for Information
• Following contact from a resident, Erewash Borough Council have confirmed that they will add a ‘no through
road’ sign to their next signage order for Crabtree Hill.
There being no further business the Chair declared the meeting closed at 8.55pm.