UPTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Parish Council
Held on Wednesday 3rd December 2025 at 8:00pm
In the Small Meeting Room, Upton Village Hall
- Present
Cllr Francoise Yates
Cllr Peter Head
Cllr Chris Seelig
Cllr David Beckles
Cllr Matthew Talbot
Clerk/RFO: Benjamin Shaw
- Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from:
Cllr Emma Watts-Lay
The apologies were noted and accepted.
- Declarations of Interest
The Chair invited all members to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests
relating to items on the agenda.
No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests were made.
RESOLVED: No declarations recorded.
- Open Forum (Public Participation)
The Chair invited representations from members of the public, in accordance with
the 15-minute maximum time allowance (maximum 3 minutes per person).
No members of the public were present.
NOTED.
- Approval of Minutes – Parish Council Meeting of 19 November 2025
The minutes of the meeting held on 19th November 2025 were reviewed.
It was RESOLVED that the minutes be deferred until amendments can be made at the next scheduled meeting.
- Resolution Proposed by Cllr Peter Head – DLUHC Borrowing Application: Chapel Furlong Land Acquisition
RESOLUTION: DLUHC Borrowing Application – Chapel Furlong Land Acquisition
Upton Parish Council RESOLVED to seek the approval of the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to apply for borrowing of up to £103,202 for the Chapel Furlong land acquisition, comprising:
An interest-free private loan of up to £90,000 over a borrowing term of 10 years (approved by Council resolution October 2025, subject to RFO due diligence); and
Commercial borrowing from PWLB or alternative sources of up to £13,202 over a borrowing term of 15 years (only to be drawn if necessary).
The annual loan repayments will come to around £10,324 (comprising £9,000 per annum for the interest-free loan, plus approximately £1,324 per annum for the commercial borrowing if fully drawn).
It is also intended to increase the council tax precept for the purpose of the loan repayments by £10,350, which is the equivalent of an additional £45 per annum for Band D properties (representing an increase of approximately 37.7% from the current Band D precept of £119.26 to £164.26). This was subject to a precept increase consultation.
The Council approves the Land Acquisition Business Case dated 05/11/2025 as the basis for this borrowing application, which includes comprehensive community consultation demonstrating 90.6% resident support for the land acquisition and associated precept increase.
The Clerk/RFO is authorised and instructed to:
Submit the completed DLUHC borrowing application within 5 working days of this resolution
Provide all supporting documentation required by DLUHC
Respond to any queries from DLUHC during the approval process
Report back to Full Council upon receipt of DLUHC decision
The RFO shall notify DLUHC of the actual loan amount drawn down following completion, in accordance with DLUHC guidance.
The Chair confirmed that, to the best of her knowledge and belief, no councillor
present is subject to Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992
(i.e., no councillor has council tax arrears of 2 or more months at the date
of this meeting) and therefore all councillors present are eligible to vote on
this matter.
Proposed by Cllr Peter Head
Seconded by Cllr Francoise Yates
Vote Unanimous
- Date and Venue of Next Meeting
The next full Council meeting will be held on:
Wednesday 28th January 2026 at 19:00
Meeting Room, Upton Village Hall