2025 Minutes

BISHOP NORTON & ATTERBY PARISH COUNCIL

Record of the Parish Council meeting held in the village hall on Monday 1st September 2025 at 7.30pm. 

PRESENT: Councillors: Cllr Townsend (Chair,) Cllr Freeman, Cllr Dean, Cllr Guy, Cllr Thody (arrived at 8.04pm) and Jayne Moore (Clerk.)

Public Question Time: There were 12 members of the public in attendance. 

1. Apologies for absence: Cllr Suggit.

2. Minutes of the last meeting: Minutes of the July meeting accepted as a true record. All agreed. 

3. Matters arising: None that won’t be covered in the agenda.

4. County & District Councillor Reports: 

Cllr Bunney reported that WL have a new leadership team taking place from September. 

Main thing that will be coming through will be police funding, which isn’t very good. Sent out the Local Government reform agenda, forming ‘neighbourhood groups,’ looking at how parishes/ town councils will be represented. 

1st October - meeting called in Market Rasen. Will involve local parishes working together. 

Cllr Bunney was thanked for his attendance. 

Anglian water has completed a dye assessment and is waiting for environmental to action it. Somebody’s cesspit is not working correctly. This is ongoing. 

5.Declarations of interest; to receive any declarations of interest in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011: None declared.

6.  Planning Applications: 

- WL/2025/00788 (The Grange, Grange Lane): No objections received. 

- WL/2025/00853 (Land off and adjacent to Well Street): No objections received. 

7. Playing Field Project: 

Cllr Townsend handed out the playing equipment revised plan. Cllr Freeman raised concern on the equipment encroaching past the goal post. 

The playing field equipment. The adult gym equipment could be lost as the legislation dictates it must be a certain distance away from the children’s equipment. 

As a village we need to discuss what our priorities are, we had strict instruction on the safety of the equipment, the likelihood being in the football traffic versus the potential of the field needing to be used as a football field. 

The field used to be much bigger, John Dickinson when the football and cricket teams collapsed took back the land for farming. 

Cllr Freeman didn’t support the football field being taken away from. 

Could the slope be removed? This would be too costly. 

The legislation between the adults and children was questioned, 25 metres from adult to children’s equipment. 

Should we just look at the children’s equipment again, more older children to be aimed at. 

A parishioner raised a question, he said he hates to see football pitches to be removed. He felt the adult equipment was a waste of money. 

A parishioner raised that the village struggles to get engagement as is for adult classes in the hall. 

The sub-committee would go back to the design to find a suitable solution.

8. Biotech4 Visit:  

Cllr Townsend welcomed the respresentatives.

Lee Dobinson, Chief commercial officer, Hemswell Biogas, 

Sam Everatt, Plant Manager at Hemswell site. 

Who we are and what we do – Biotech 4 group is a group of business that run 5 and facilities. 

We run AD faciolities, a number of different types, some run on agrcuultrual, maize or rye, cattle slurry and others that we run, food waste, exclusively, out of food production, local authorities, rather than it go to landfill, we take food waste ad put it rough. When food waste breaks down, we add bacteria to it, to break it down, then the ystsem is similar to a human digestate, through a tank, 18,000 cubic metres stored at any one time. We feed that as food waste comes in, put that through, remove oxygen and pastorise it, imagine the scraping in the bin off tour plate. 

Sense of scale, 600,000 food waste tons, 140,000 tons a year at Hemswell, generates enough energy, 9000 houses. A group we power 40-50,000 houses. 

From the facilities we create Biogas, essentially finds it way to a number of routes, surplus goes to he grid, other 50% of gas, goes to a gas upgrading unit, upgraded to bio-methane and directly to gas grid, the molecule in gas homes will be no doubt from the molecule made at Hemswell. 

Digestate is a fertiliser we use to spread around the land, essecntially emoves the need for artificial fertiliser. Why do we do that? The reason is the most environmentally friendly is to remove food waste. 

Unaviodable - banana skin

Avoidable – chicken weve left to go off. 

Always going to have unavoidable food waste as a minimum. The natural gas we use at home is methane, the stuff we are dragging from the North Sea is the same thing. 

Operating at Hemswell since 2015. We find a location that has good transport links, god links to food stock and where we don’t need to put as much digestate on the road. 

Waste into product should be the best plant. 

Put a facility on site, put power outlet locally and the network of agricultural facilities around us. 

Our contract is with the land owner, a long term lease, we are going to be here for ateast 25-30 years. An arrangement that is mutually beneficial. We have that sent into large lagoons which is spread in the local area. 

Allows you to invest in the infrastructure. When the digestate leaves us, it goes to the contractor and they manage the spreading of it. 

Ben – When talking about lagoons, Ryan Holland, the product once it leaves you is theirs. Who owns the lagoon, as a operator maintainer. The planning I read and there will be fairly strict rules on keeping gas. With the lagoon there can be a fairly pungent. 

David Lee – The lagoon didn’t initially have a cover. 

Ben – If we have to get rid of excess gas. We do what we can not to flare it, we put as much gas as possible. If it is flared

We agitate the lagoons, to keep the solid in suspension to also keep the ammonia contained in the liquid. 

The smell can be at strange times, we don’t have odour issues from our lagoons. 

Ben – Lagoon and gas monitoring. The odour monitoring plan, it bentioned H2S, which is a nasty gas, is it present? 

Lee – Yes, in the closed system there is HS2, 100 parts per million in the closed system. A number of ways to managae, a fenic chloride, as you are creating biogas it goes in that direction. No HS2 present in the pipes to the lagoons. The worst you could do is jump in it. 

Hydrogen sulfide is created by Sulphur, possibility a minute but our monitors wouldn’t not pick it up. Oxygen dissipates it immediately.  

Rules and regulations – we are regulated by EA (permit providers, interested in our environmental impact, what we are doing and not bleeding into environment,) 

Standard permit – given to agriculture facilities. 

Bespoke permit – is what we have, entirely written on the scope that you are trying to achieve.

Animal plant and (APHA,) they make sure we kill any pathogens. OF&G – ‘ The waste in, and product out,’ we have to be monitored on a monthly basis and send a sample off. If we ever miss one of those, then the loads are condemned. Always operated in those parameters (including ammonia levels.) 

Ben – operating 365 days a year, what happens when there is too much product for local fields. Lee – When you apply digestate, you take a soil sample of the field, look at what I am growing, look at nutrient value of fertiliser, gives me a recipe to replace the nutrient. Benefit, is it is organic, not adding chemicals. A complete spectrum of nutrient. Artificial fertiliser is basically nitrogen and it is an acid. 

Some days the smell is not noticeable but other days it is pungent. We had a ride up to the gas plant and the fumes were strong. 

A number of ways of application to land. You can splash plate it, dribble it, when you fire it the small is generally ammonia, but they wish to keep that. The good agricultural practises, a two field embargo, this was picked up on. 

We try to keep close to what the contractor is doing but ultimately 

We do have planning permission but haven’t decided to invest yet. Although we would have more product. 

A parishioner – I have COPD and it affects my chest. 

David Lee – They are spreading too close, should be in my opinion 250m. My health has deteriated. I am convinced that the spreading has made it worse. 

I wanted to clarify, if there is any animal waste in the process. Spinal cords, brains, gut traps, none of that is included. 

Category 1 & 2 – managed in a different way. 

Category 3 – Anything that was destined for human or pet consumed. 

Cllr Bunney – Have you only got one contractor?

Lee – Yes, chicken manure, cow slurry or pig slurry is likely going directly on the land. 

Ros – The contractor, is he selling it on? From our concern, there were 3 vehicles, and an accident is looming on such a busy road. 

We have 3 lagoons, facilities are all connected, reason we do that is we are producing every day but isn’t acceptable or doable to remove product every day. 

We want to make sure that that system is sustainable for long term. 

Issues include the distances they are being spread. 

Where does air quality come into that, the Environmental Agency regulate that. The frustrating. Sniff test smell test. 

Hemswell Cliff Parish Council – Site monitoring was taken last week and a slight odour occurred. A bad issue with flies, can’t hang washing out. 

Sam – the building has a biofilter and as best we can, keep that under negative pressure, when we are loading we have to keep the doors closed, do have fly traps, the building is kept under negative pressure. 

The doors aren’t always closed, so you need to monitor this. 

We generally do odour checks on site and we get audited. 

With the spreading, I would encourage you to send the information to The Contractor. 

If we kept a local log, and when odours are beyond normal levels and affecting our quality of life, how can we be sure that the information. 

What West Lindsey need is data and evidence, and it becomes difficult to deal with as there is not much trace. Cllr Bunney will provide the best channel/ process to be. Environment@westlindsey.gov.uk 

The contractor spreads it but ignores that no weekends, bank holidays etc. 

It was asked if the tankers could be identified. 

The net impact is lower due to us. We are cheaper and less haulage of artificial fertiliser. 

We have a pest control system at the facility, ran by a 3rd party, audited by the regulators. 

Fly issue was discussed, and they explained the pest control company are strict and regularly monitor but their results are low. 

Patience – How often does a field get digestate spread on it, maximum twice, generally once. 

Usually March/ April and October.

Cllr Bunney – reported to Edward Leigh that there was a limited consultation. 

Tina thanked for their attendance. Long term agreement in place, is it worth trying to talk to the contractor as it may impact on Biotech directly. 

The new food waste collection service, which will in the most part go to Hemswell.

We support the farmers and appreciate what they do for us, but we need to establish a working relationship and ask that the contractor have more consideration.  

Actions: To look at the venting process. 

- The contractor spreading when he shouldn’t. 

The meeting was ended here due to time restraints, the remainder would be carried onto November’s meeting.

A quick thank you was given to those parishioners who have planted and continue to look after the new village planters. 

18. Date of next Meeting: Monday 10th November 2025

Chairperson thanked all in attendance and meeting closed 9.15pm.

Chairperson signed……………………………………….    Date: ……………………….

9. Parish Councillor vacancy: 

10. Community resilience including flooding: 

11. Finance update (see RFO report):

12. Grass cutting including additional strimming around planters:

13. Ditch Clearance:

14. Flower boxes update:

15. Village Event:

16. Defibrillator training:

17. Correspondance:

17. Items for next Meeting: 

Chairperson thanked all in attendance and meeting closed at _____pm.

Chairperson signed……………………………………….    Date: ……………………….