September 2026
Enfin, il pleût….
Unfortunately, too late for our lawn.
Once again, there’s lots of upcoming
events in the village to keep us interested,
entertained and connected. Read on through
the Newsletter for details…..
Hayley from the Willows Care Home wants to
let us know that the Community Coffee
Mornings are up and running again, from
September 16th, 1015 - 1145am, then the 3rd
Wednesday of each month thereafter.
The residents would like to welcome all for a
natter, cake and a cuppa. Any donations
gratefully received will be used towards the
residents activity fund. Car parking is available
at rear of the property. News and updates
available on Facebook and Instagram pages.
Chris Petz wants to remind us of the Elvis
“gig” at the Village Hall, Oct 3rd. All in support
of FORC. Tickets available from him on
07973711746.
There were crowds at the Grand Church Fete
which was another resounding success and
lots of fun. A shanty band and ukulele
orchestra provided music throughout the
afternoon. Chris tells us that Friends of
Rippingale Church raised another £570 for the
Church improvement fund.
Finally, I’ve been telling people about the
benefit of eating dried grapes; it’s all about
raisin awareness.
Submission date for October Newsletter is
Monday 21st September.
Editor
Parish Council Contact
Update
Please note that the email address for
the Parish Clerk (Laura Davies) has
changed to:
clerk@rippingaleparish.gov.uk
Use this to contact Parish Council regarding
Allotments and other matters
Rippingale.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk 2
Parish Council News and Updates….
• Changes to Parish Council
We are sad to say that Cllr Simmons has resigned from his
position. In the short time he was on the council he had
started to make a difference and had visited the Row
Garden Allotments and liaised with the RGAG on several
occasions. We are sorry that he has decided to leave the
council, as we think he would have continued to make a
difference for the community. We are however delighted to
announce that Mr Steve Davis has agreed to join the council
and was co-opted onto the council at August’s meeting.
Remaining Parish Council Meeting Dates for 2026 – held
in the Village Hall at 7:00 pm: 14th September - 12th
October - 9th November.
• Finance Report for 2025/26
The Parish Council reviewed the financial position for
2025/26. Income was slightly above budget at £27,516,
against a budget of £26,901, an increase of £615.
Expenditure was £25,522, against a budget of £41,974,
representing an underspend of £16,452. A significant
proportion of this variance relates to changes or delays to
the Allotment Water Project and Jubilee Playing Fields
Project, which were originally expected to be funded from
contingency. Savings were achieved across Grounds
Maintenance, Administration, Jubilee Playing Fields, Village
expenditure, the Newsletter and the Neighbourhood Plan.
Feast expenditure was higher than budgeted due to the
costs associated with establishing and running the event.
The Council continues to maintain sinking funds for future
expenditure, including the Neighbourhood Plan, war
memorial, equipment and IT replacement. The Council
noted the positive financial position and the continued
prudent approach to managing Parish Council funds. Full
report available on website or via the clerk.
Grounds Maintenance - this covers items such as grass
cutting, including the cemetery, hedge cutting and general
maintenance, including the Row Garden allotments. In real
terms, given the proposal that was accepted from the RGAG
for water harvesting, we have had a good result with this
element of expenditure. Taking into account the funding
paid by the Parish Council to enable the RGAG to carry out
phase 2 of the water harvesting, this saved £7K, we also had
to fund remedial to the culvert by the main entrance which
had collapsed. This again has been assisted by the RGAG
maintaining the allotment field. There were additional
hedge cuts in 2025, namely the Pinfold and the hedge from
the Playing fields bordering Pinfold Close. These have been
factored in to this years budget.
Administration - The main part of this element of
expenditure is the salary for the clerk, subscriptions and
memberships that we are required to have and meeting
costs for the village hall. Due to the limited amount of
councillors, training costs were lower than budgeted. We
were able to make savings in subscriptions and audit costs
too.
Jubilee Playing Fields - This covers general maintenance
of the playground, tennis courts and building, including
electricity and water standing charges. The main focus has
been the replacement of the existing structure with a more
robust and cost effective solution. We had allocated £4K to
replace the structure with a steel container. This would have
come out of the council’s contingency. We are still having
difficulty in releasing funds from the JPF bank account, and
now plan to use these for the improvements that we wish to
make. We made use of grants to repair the vandalised net
and posts in the tennis court, and to erect the goal posts
that had been procured several years ago. We know that the
tennis courts are popular to players of all ages, and that the
goal posts were a popular addition for children in the
village. There is an element of sinking funds for any repair or
replacement of equipment on the JPF. A significant saving
was made on the dog bin waste removal, due to a group of
volunteers, who perform this unenviable task on behalf of
the community and our thanks, as always go out to these
people.
Village - This covers items such as the war memorial,
defibrillators, tree work and flooding. The main saving is not
really a saving as we allocate a £1K sinking fund to cover
any maintenance of the war memorial, which would be
costly. However due to the diligent monitoring and clearing
by the emergency group, we avoided flooding issues over
the winter months. In addition there were no major tree
works.
Newsletter - Costs were saved in the printing and
distribution of the newsletter, and huge thanks go out to the
editor and the group of volunteers, who make this possible.
I am sure that the whole village agrees that maintaining
communication is worth the relatively small expenditure that
this costs.
Neighbourhood Plan - We have had a lot of activity with
respect to planning applications; for some reason
Rippingale is seen as a good place for developers to
develop. This is despite the lack of public transport or
services in the village. Revisiting the Neighbourhood Plan is
a costly exercise, therefore we have built in a £1K per
annum sinking fund to fund this exercise when the time is
right.
Hospital Car Scheme - The savings here are due to the low
take up on this service despite several reminders that this
service exists. Our thanks go out to the drivers that still
make themselves available to assist members of the
community in getting to hospital appointments.
Rippingale.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk 3
Playing Field
After a slight delay accessing the Community Grant funds,
the project is now back on track and the container for
storing the marquees etc. has been ordered. Work on
disconnecting the electricity supply is progressing and
requests for quotes from companies to demolish and
remove the existing “portacabin” are underway.
• Planning
S25/2183 - Appeal Land off Brambling Walk - Erection of
10 Houses - The main issues raised were the lack of services
making it unsustainable for development of housing,
particularly public transport, access to essential services
such as GP and school, shop/post office and poor drainage
infrastructure leading to increasing flooding. It was noted
that despite our Neighbourhood plan which is limited to
support for only small infill development, up to 3 dwellings
and Rippingale being designated as a small unsustainable
village in the South Kesteven Plan, we have been inundated
in recent years with planning applications. Since 2021 there
has been applications for 53 new dwellings in Rippingale
compared with maximum of 6 in the surrounding small
unsustainable villages. It was also noted that we have a
housing stock heavily biased towards detached homes
(70%) and recent applications are proposing more. A
number of people also commented on inaccuracies in
developers statement of case to overturn the refusal. The
closing date to contribute comments to the appeal was
11th August, therefore a small subgroup agreed to meet to
write a case in rebuttal of the appeal and in support of
South Kesteven Planning Committee’s refusal.
H22046626 South Holland District Council -
Construction of Air Insulated Substation - 44kV Weston
Marsh Substation. This issue is that the national grid has
carved out a separate local planning application seeking
permission to build the substation at Western Marsh in
isolation from the over arching project. Cllr Hill explained
the development was premature and it was important that
the substation be considered for planning as part of the
whole Grimsby to Walpole pylon and associated
infrastructure development at a national level. Cllr Hill also
highlighted that Lincolnshire Against Needless Destruction
LAND https://www.lincsland.co.uk/ is a useful group
providing information and templates to help our
communities respond and get involved. Individuals and
groups can also register as interested parties on the
national planning portal https://national-infrastructureconsenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/. There was
unanimous agreement to write as an interested party to
South Holland Planning Department and CEO, our MP and
Mayor opposing the carve out of substation from the larger
national project planning application.
Rippingale Feast ….
Car Boot Sale - (see advert on front page)
Profits from pitches and refreshments will go towards the
next Rippingale Feast that will take place on Saturday
10th July 2027.
The Rippingale Feast Committee is a very dedicated and
enthusiastic group of villagers who stage this event and
organise fundraising events throughout the year. We are
looking for a Secretary to join our team. If you have word
processing skills and you would like to volunteer a few
hours of your time, we would be delighted to welcome you
to our committee. Our meetings are usually fun and
friendly, held in The Bull Inn, typically lasting approximately
an hour and a half. If you are interested or would like further
details, please contact: Louise Lambord Mb:07944 410731
or Email:jllambord@gmail.com
St Andrew’s Coffee Morning….
As I sit at my PC composing this report on one of the hottest
days of the year I am so looking forward to when it rains! I
will try to never moan about the rain again. I am sorry to
repeat myself but we are so VERY grateful for David in
supplying a varied selection of vegetables in these very
challenging times. Lets hope it has rained by the time we
have our next get together.
We had a lovely gathering and most of us sat in the Church
as it was the coolest place. There was of course a splendid
assortment of cakes etc. We appreciate such good cooks
who bake in this heat and yet maintain great quality. Very
many thanks to all. If you haven’t been before, please come
and join us - a warm welcome awaits.
NEXT COMMUNITY COFFEE MORNING - TUESDAY
SEPTEMBER 1ST AT 10.15am
Jonathan
RADWI - Outings & Meetings….
At our monthly meeting on 6th August, we were thoroughly
entertained by our speaker, Darren Rawnsley, with his
performance entitled “Everyone Puts Their Trousers on One
Leg at a Time.” Darren captivated us for an unforgettable
hour with a delightful blend of poetry, music and
storytelling. His engaging performance was both thought provoking and highly entertaining.
On 4th August, Rippingale WI was invited to a joint meeting
with Ropsley WI at Ropsley Village Hall. The speaker was
Mike Ashton, a 'Pole Lathe Turner and Chairmaker'
extraordinaire. He began with a brief history of
woodturning on the pole lathe, a traditional craft that has
been practised for over 2,000 years. This was followed by a
fascinating demonstration, during which he transformed a
Rippingale.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk 4
simple log of wood into an elegant Windsor chair leg using
only the power of his foot to operate the pole lathe and a
selection of hand tools. His skill and craftsmanship were
truly impressive.
Back on 13th July, several of our members joined other
local WI groups for a visit to Elton Hall and Gardens in
Cambridgeshire. It was a glorious sunny day, which showed
the beautiful gardens at their very best. The tour of the
house was fascinating, showcasing 400 years of changes
made by successive generations of the Proby family, who
still reside in and carefully preserve the remarkable Hall.
Members also generously donated items to our monthly
collection for Bourne Food Bank, and their continued
support is greatly appreciated.
Our next meeting will be on the 3rd September at 2pm in
the Village Hall. If you would like more information about
Rippingale WI, please contact our Secretary, Christine, by
email at christinerice3@aol.com.
Rippingale Friendship Club….
At a recent extraordinary AGM a new committee was
formed. Our new chairperson Janet proved to be a
absolute star providing all our members with a beautiful “all
things chocolate” experience where we enjoyed a
chocolate themed quiz and word search followed by tea,
coffee and all things chocolate. We went on to play cash
bingo which is always a favourite.
Our final meeting in July was an afternoon of learning how
to fold napkins, thanks go to Audrey for all her explanations
and to Jill (1) for providing clear instructions which has to
be said baffled some of us.
We went on to enjoy home made scones with jam and
cream with our tea and coffee, thanks to Jill (2) who baked
them. Jill is obviously a skilled baker and the scones were
enjoyed by all.
Our first meeting in August was a games afternoon which
included Sticky 13 followed by refreshments and the cash
bingo,
I must add that during this hot weather the hall has been
comfortable and cool with a huge thank you to Wendy G
September Meetings in Village Hall, 1.30 - 3.30pm
2nd - “Do we know our left from right?”
16th - “Chocolate Bingo”
At both meetings there will be time for a chat, refreshments
and Cash bingo.
For further information please contact Wendy
01778 441312
Rippingale Gardening Club….
What a challenging few months! Climate change and the
consequences for our gardens is very much to the forefront
within the horticultural world with lots of discussions taking
place within social media.
Our last two garden visits were both very successful. First in
July, we visited Burghley House private gardens and Joe
Whitehead provided a very entertaining and informative tour.
The gardens are well worth visiting and we look forward to
returning to see the new planting for winter and early spring.
Our August visit took us to Bottesford to see ‘Honeytrees
Tropical Garden’. What an oasis in our desert of countryside!
It’s taken over 30 years of total obsession and sheer
dedication to create the garden. You felt you had entered
another world surrounded by tree ferns beautifully under
planted with hardy and tender plants. The whole garden was
a delight to wander around. The evening was made
memorable with the rare opportunity to witness an eclipse!
Our first indoor meeting is on Wednesday, 9th September at
7.30pm in Rippingale Village Hall when Fiona Cumberpatch
will give a talked entitled ’From concrete yard to flower
garden’. Fiona is a freelance journalist and editor, specialising
in gardens, gardening arts and heritage. She will be telling us
about her own garden in Stamford.
Visitors are always welcome to come along, but we do ask for
a visitor’s fee of £4. Annual membership is £20 per person to
include the indoor meetings September to December and
March to May. In June, July and August we visit local gardens.
F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n p l e a s e c o n t a c t
sharron21white@gmail.com
200 Club Subscription and Final Draw…
The August draw is the second "big draw" of the year and
the final one for 2025/6. Subscriptions for the 200 Club
2026/7 which starts 1st September, will have been collected,
being due before 31st August.
I would like to say a big “Thank You” to our team who work
hard in August to deliver and collect the subscriptions before
the August deadline as the September draw cannot be held
until all the money is in!
If anyone would like to join St Andrew's Rippingale PCC
200 Club. Please contact Julia Lister on 01778 424688
August 2025 Draw
£200 ticket number 146 Mr P Thurston
£100 ticket number 172 Mr & Mrs N Adams