PARISH COUNCIL 9th Sept '26' • PART 1
PART 1
GPC 9th Sept '26: THE FIRST 56 MINUTES
GPC Chair Sam England chaired his first meeting in months, meeting the new clerk for the very first time in person. The entire meeting ran for over two hours, which is why this report is split into two parts. To set the stage for Part 1, I will start by offering up Sam England’s closing comment at the end of this initial 56-minute section:
"People do prefer the scandal as opposed to the discontent as opposed to all the good stuff, sadly."
While this is probably true, this report contains both the good and the bad. The balance of those two things is entirely upon the council.
The surroundings for the evening provided a welcome change of pace, held in the soft seating and comfortable space of the Methodist Chapel School Room. A crowd of 18 members of the public were in attendance (even without some of the usual public), all warmly offered tea and coffee as they arrived. All 10 sitting parish councillors were present, with Ward Councillor David Wells attending for part of the meeting before needing to leave early.
Dressed for the Occasion:
Injecting some genuine humor into the evening was our lovely new clerk, Natasha Wilkinson. After 18 months without a Proper Officer—a stretch during which The Goxhill Gander team affectionately dubbed the post "The Myth", Natasha walked in wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with "The Myth" across the front. It was hilarious, pitch-perfect, and warmly received by everyone who had been following the saga.
The Usual Suspects:
In a sitting council of 10 (They don't seem to want an 11th, as the vacant position has not been advertised for co-option), there is a glaringly obvious 7/3 divide in the ranks. Here are what the 3 most opinionated voices have to say about 'reporting':
- David Elliott protests that reports do not reflect "context";
- Sam England throws out accusations that the press "misquotes them";
- Charlie Leaning declares it is "a load of rubbish" and "all lies."
Political commentating is not the easiest thing to do, as those being commented upon will no doubt, make objections.
The outcome of a council meeting, however, is reported quite accurately, and if it is a clown show, it will inevitably read like one.
Other reports have relied upon minutes (often unavailable), eye-witness accounts, including my own eyes and ears, and confirmation of specific points with councillors who were in attendance via email. THIS report, is derived from not only being witness myself, but from the entire meeting recorded in full. There is zero wiggle room for them to claim false accusations here, their wish for factual accuracy and complete transparency has been granted.
The First 56 Minutes by the Numbers
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Time Consumed / Caused by Cllr Elliott: 42 minutes, 47 seconds (76.5%)
(Includes 39m 10s of direct disruptions, defeated motions, and HR demands, plus 3m 37s of public participation addressing his 0% precept campaign) -
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Routine Council Business: 6 minutes, 53 seconds (12.3%)
(Declarations of interest and ward councillor updates) -
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General Public Participation (Non-DE Matters): 6 minutes, 15 seconds (11.2%)
(Three residents raising concerns on a no-confidence vote, Hawthorn trees, and bridleway conditions)
The "One" Man Show:
Looking at the agenda, it was immediately clear it was an ambitious one, with 33 items crammed into a maximum 2-hour session, leaving 3 minutes and 36 seconds for each item. It has occurred to me that the reasons for this overcrowding may be very deliberate by some and calculated, perhaps designed to discourage public attendance and press reporting alike. Or, was it to deliberately make certain items drop off the end of the 2-hour session? Or was there just a lack of thought on it?
In the interest of providing a full account while delivering timely reporting to the village, this meeting report is split into two parts. Part 1 covers an incredible 55 minutes and 55 seconds, an hour of meeting time that managed to cover only Agenda Items 1 through 10 out of 33. Five of the first ten items were directly brought by Councillor David Elliott. Not a single one of those five items achieved any substantive, or positive action for the Parish.
Four of the remaining four items were directly 'tainted' by Councillor Elliott. Public participation for example, opened with a direct response to his self-styled "Robin Hood" 0% precept crusade published in the local press; declarations of interest brought his disruptive commentary right out of the gate; Minute approval was dragged out by Elliot for over 9 minutes; and the NLC letter on standards was heavily shaped by his conduct and his own defiant commentary on governance. It is no wonder recent grapevine posts have started referring to him in meeting accounts as "One" - the dominating character in almost every debate.
Public Participation Highlights
Jack Lawtey in response to Robin Hood antics
Public Participation opened with Mr Jack Lawtey, a former councillor and GPC Chair himself, delivering a direct rebuttal to Cllr David Elliott’s local press article, where Elliott had branded himself a "Robin Hood" for demanding a 0% precept. Lawtey exposed how Elliott’s crusade—now eagerly backed by Chair Sam England—dates back to 2021, completely ignoring financial reality. (Robin Hood article)
Citing the Spring 2021 Gander (p. 19) in the GANDER ARCHIVE, Lawtey noted that while reserves grew from £24,214 to £126,674, no financial reconciliations have been published all year. Pointing to a £22,000 budget deficit, he urged councillors to demand a full audit before buying into Elliott and England’s reckless proposal.
Paul Weeks on Cherry & Hawthorn trees
This was followed by Paul Weeks, who updated the council on the successful grant for the Cherry Trees—thanking Cllr Ruddy and NLC Tree Officer Paul Beaton for their enthusiasm and dedication—and urged prompt payment of the invoice, so NLC could plant them in October. Weeks then made a plea for the council to favourably consider funding 8 large Hawthorn trees along Barrow Road at a net cost of £880, which NLC will plant for free to enhance the village entrance as part of the wider tree regeneration in Goxhill.
Mr. Kirwan questions the chairs honour
Next came Mr. Kirwan, another former councillor, who addressed Chair Sam England directly regarding the vote of no confidence passed against him on July 20th: "Mr Chairman, at a meeting on the 20th of July 2026 of the Goxhill Parish Council, reference 2610/06, a proposal was put and seconded in public session, that Goxhill Parish council had no confidence in councillor England as chair of the council and inviting him to resign. It was passed with 9 votes FOR and one vote AGAINST (David Elliott). As the chairman is voted in this role by parish councillors I would have expected that an honorable and principaled councillor who has lost the confidence of the council would stand down from the role as chairman. What do you intend to do?"
(NB: While Mr. Kirwan stated 9 votes FOR on the night, minutes show the vote was 7 FOR, with Cllrs England, Leaning and Bollington absent).Sam England’s response (at 9:00) was brief:
"When evidence is presented to me of the perceived failings from any other councillor, I will, um, I maybe, I'm… I would be more at liberty then to review my position. But as that hasn’t happened, I, I um, I have no intention of standing down. Thank you."
England's insistence that no "evidence" of failings has been presented to him - despite seven sitting councillors voting that they have no confidence in his leadership - shows a complete refusal to accept the council's position.
Mrs. Kirwan on footpath issues
Mrs Kirwan thanked the Gander team for highlighting Goxhill's disgraceful footpaths, noting overgrown brambles, dog fouling, and phone-distracted dog walkers. She highlighted the Green Ramper bridleway, now reduced to 30 cm instead of its required 3-meter width. Stripped at a cost of £3,060 in 2021 with a 2-meter gravel path laid by NLC, it is now inaccessible to mobility chairs and hazardous due to council neglect. She urged winter maintenance to restore the path and clear running ditches to prevent flooding.
Finally, she questioned why councillor expense claims are kept secret from council taxpayers.
Agenda Breakdowns 2-10
Councillor Elliott's Outburst: When asked for declarations, Cllr Elliott launched his first disruption of the night:
"Yeah, I've got interest in everything. Because I'm interested in it all."He then failed to declare a personal or pecuniary interest in Item 29 (Letter Before Claim and his request for £150 compensation), despite it directly concerning his own financial demand against the council.
Chair Sam England's Conflict: Chair England declared an 'interest' in Item 2613/31 (ACAS increased compensation request), casually noting:
"well, mine's prejudicial."This directly links him (somehow) to the costly ongoing employment dispute at the heart of the council's trouble.
Nine Minutes of Obstruction: Approval of the August 20th minutes dragged out for nearly 9.5 minutes, entirely driven by Cllr Elliott. Chair England acknowledged at the start that he was absent from the August 20th meeting.
Elliott's "No Context" Grievance: Launching his second disruptive episode, Cllr Elliott complained he was "perturbed" by receiving earlier draft minutes late, arguing his name appeared throughout the text without sufficient context. The grievance sparked widespread cross-talk and a sharp exchange with Cllr Rob Snell.
Allegations of Harassment: After the council voted to approve the August 20th minutes, Cllr Elliott formally logged his objection, claiming the record lacked context, constituted personal attacks, and accused the council of
"I view that as harassment" (21:06).
Training Offer & Sign Cleaning: Ward Councillor David Wells addressed the room, reminding members that ERNLLCA provides full council training, and presented the council with a sign-cleaning brush.
Agenda Misquote: Cllr Wells raised a point of correction regarding Agenda Item 24, which claimed he wanted no-confidence votes held in private. He flatly rejected the agenda wording:
"I don’t quite see how it relates to what was actually said at the meeting."
Discussion vs. Vote: Wells clarified his concern applied strictly to the August 12th discussion on "next steps" after the no-confidence vote (the meeting where he notoriously stated "the Chair is GOD"), not the vote itself. Cllr Favell noted the wording was 'a direct copy from what was requested to be stated on the agenda' and had not been changed at all from the requesting Cllr email.
False Claims of "Approved Minutes": Motion 2613/05 sought an official council letter demanding The Goxhill Gander retract a clarification notice stating Cllr Elliott's 0% precept proposal "fell" for lack of a seconder. Chair Sam England claimed the notice contradicted "approved minutes." In reality, the July 8th minutes were merely unapproved drafts, and meeting chair Cllr Val Gorbutt had explicitly confirmed the motion was never seconded.
Elliott's Newspaper Rant: Cllr Elliott attempted to frame the independent local publication as rogue actors:
"If we want the Goxhill Gander to actually run the Parish Council... that's what we need to sort of agree that we're gonna do... We can't have outside bodies deciding what we said."
The Vote and Chair's Outburst: Seconded by Cllr Gorbutt, the motion was overwhelmingly defeated 3 in favour (the usual united suspects, 2 of whom were not at the meeting in question), 6 against (who were all at that meeting). Facing a clear council mutiny, Chair England lashed out at the room in frustration:
"So Goxhill Parish Council are in favour of people misquoting them in the press!"
Elliott's Procedural Attack: For nearly 7 minutes, Cllr Elliott challenged the legality of the August 20th Extraordinary Meeting under Standing Order 6, claiming it was improperly convened without a valid signed request. In doing so, he ignored the fact that three councillors (Cllrs Gorbutt, Jones, and R. Snell) signed off after Chair England proved consistently uncontactable.
Priorities in Question: Cllr Favell called out the endless pedantry, pointing out that the August 20th meeting was urgently convened to address major Carbon Pipeline planning applications affecting local traffic. Public accounts noted Elliott arrived late to that meeting, ate crisps, used profanity toward Cllr Jones, and tore up his agenda papers.
England Calls Council a "Farce": Rather than supporting his council's urgent work during his own absence, Chair England sided with Elliott, stating:
"If we've got standing orders and we're failing... I don't want to use the word farce, but... it calls into question the credibility of the council."When Cllr Ruddy pointed out England had missed four or five meetings while trying to dictate policy, England deflected:
"No, this is your policy."
Unilateral Deferral: Despite Ward Cllr Wells noting that declaring the meeting illegal would invalidate critical planning decisions, England shut down any vote on the motion, unilaterally deferring the item pending ERNLLCA advice.
Passing the Buck: Cllr Elliott placed this item on the agenda to demand an update, attempting to pin responsibility onto Cllr Rob Snell. When Elliott claimed Snell was managing the project, Snell flatly shut him down:
"Right, there is no update, I never said I was doing anything about it. I told you the last meeting I've got enough going on and not got time to do it. You came up with the suggestion, and you batted it across to me... If you want to do something about it then feel free."
Agenda Manipulation: The exchange exposed the item as a transparent attempt by Elliott to publicly embarrass a fellow councillor over a proposal Elliott introduced himself but refused to work on. With no progress made, Chair England closed the item in under a minute.
Passing the Buck: Cllr Elliott placed this item on the agenda to demand an update, attempting to pin responsibility onto others for "his" idea.
More Deflection and Bickering: Opening the item, Cllr T. Snell asked Cllr Elliott if he planned to lead the initiative, prompting an immediate snide exchange before Elliott again refused to take responsibility for his own agenda item. When Elliott challenged Tony Ruddy for an update, he responded " No comment... pass".
The Reality on the Ground: Elliott claimed Howe Lane was constantly covered in mud and urged a formal committee, but councillors responsible for investigating reported that the issues had already been resolved.
Concerns Addressed:Cllrs Ruddy and Gorbutt confirmed they spoke directly to local residents and the original complainant, finding no ongoing concerns or traffic obstruction now that site access is open.
Cllr David Carnell interjected to say
" I would like make comment. The item referred to, I agreed to speak to Keigar about was the positioning of the fencing, (Elliott muttering over him) Nothing else. Because the husband at Nut Villa was complaining about the vehicles coming out were having to turn sharply alongside his property. I have been in touch with the contractor and that situation no longer exists.
Scrutiny over £7.5k HR Contract: Cllr Elliott introduced this item to question the value of the council's £7,500 3-year contract with WorkNest HR services, asking what specific guidance the Personnel & Disciplinary (P&D) Committee had received.
Committee Defends WorkNest: Cllr Favell flatly rejected Elliott's skepticism, declaring that WorkNest had been...
"invaluable to the recruitment process."
Cllr Gorbutt added that the council was acting on Chair England's own past recommendation to use WorkNest over ERNLLCA.
Fishing for Confidential Files: When Gorbutt confirmed written email evidence of WorkNest's advice existed, Elliott immediately demanded:
"Can we see that, is it possible?"
The exchange devolved into cross-talk as Elliott interrupted Gorbutt ("So we we have some advice from them") and resisted privacy objections. Cllrs Favell and Gorbutt repeatedly spoke over the interruptions to enforce P&D rules ("Well it’s personnel committee, information isn’t it", "It’s private and confidential"), leading Cllr Favell to firmly cut off the discussion:
"At this moment in time, some of the issues that are going on at the moment, informationis confidential and will remain between the P&D committee. I will discuss it in due course at another the time, but not now."
England's Snide Remarks: Chair England attempted to minimize the committee's praise by flippantly remarking "So WorkNest is a bargain," forcing Cllr Favell to correct him that the word used was "invaluable."
England then reiterated his ongoing push to bypass sector body ERNLLCA entirely ("It was a great idea, I don't know why we use ERNLLCA"), a notable stance given his declared prejudicial interest in ongoing ACAS employment disputes.Goxhill Parish Council generated 16 standards complaints in six weeks, bringing its tally to 52% of all complaints received across all 55 town and parish councils in North Lincolnshire combined.
The Monitoring Officer noted the council is "dysfunctional and driven by petty arguments and frequent antagonism," announcing immediate emergency screening measures to filter Goxhill complaints and recommending professional mediation.
The full letter and councillor commentary is available in the transcript/notes.
Leaning’s Utter Contempt for Standards:
Cllr Leaning met NLC's warnings with complete defiance, boasting about his own history of complaints and openly mocking the Monitoring Officer's authority:
"What a load of rubbish... North Lincs Council, to be absolutely honest with you, are an absolute waste of time... if anybody wants to report me to North Lincs, get on with it, cos I couldn't care less, cos I know they're not going to do anything."
Elliott’s Open Disregard for Enforcement:
Cllr Elliott matched Leaning's brazen cynicism, treating NLC oversight as a complete non-factor and signaling that zero consequences mean zero change in behavior:
"The people that are getting complained about are just going to carry on doing what they were doing as they know they can just circumvent and navigate around it."
David Elliott then hijacked the item to launch a personal attack against Cllr Jones.
Leadership Challenged:
When Chair England claimed the council was "more fractured than it has been for a long time,", Cllr Ruddy immediately cut across him, identifying the root cause in three words: "Lack of leadership."
Mediation investigation reluctantly Passed:
Despite Chair England attempting to block NLC's mediation recommendation by insisting it required a unanimous decision to work, Cllr Favell formally moved to investigate mediation and team-building options. Seconded by Cllr Leaning, the motion carried with 7 in favour and 1 abstention recorded on the audio. Immediately after the vote, Cllr Elliott interjected to make sure the Chair noted the defect, clearly not happy with the outcome:
"Chair, that wasn't unanimous."
The Part 1 Takeaway: A Council at War with Itself
The first 56 minutes made one thing crystal clear: Goxhill Parish Council is trapped in an operational deadlock. With over 76% of the meeting’s time swallowed by Cllr Elliott’s disruptions, defeated motions, and procedural attacks, routine governance has taken a back seat to constant infighting. When faced with a historic rebuke from North Lincolnshire Council, the leadership’s response was not introspection, but deflection, cynicism, and blame.
As Chair Sam England attempted to sweep a 52% complaint tally under the rug by accusing the public of preferring "scandal", Part 1 drew to a close with zero substantive progress made for the residents of Goxhill.
The clock was ticking, and 23 items still remained on the agenda.
I cannot offer you the audio recording at this time, without seeking permission from the relevant parties, but I can provide you with a transcript of the proceedings. Naturally, both the GPC and the monitoring officer have been given the courtesy of being provided with the original recoding of the full meeting.
PART DEUX IS NOW AVAILABLE
Exploring Collection: GPC Watch
