Agenda and draft minutes

Only members of the core membership are eligible to be nominated as the Vice-Chair. Either the Chair or Vice-Chair of the Local Community Network shall be a Somerset Council Councillor.

Only voting members can make nominations. The nomination must be seconded to be valid.

To participate in the election of the Chair and Vice-Chair, as a core member of the LCN, you will need to be physically present at the meeting. (For more information please see Terms of Reference).

Nominations – Jacky Farley was nominated by Pauline Ham, Seconded by Harry Munt.

Unanimous election of Jacky Farley and Jacky was voted in.

Only members of the core membership are eligible to be nominated as the Vice-Chair. Either the Chair or Vice-Chair of the Local Community Network shall be a Somerset Council Councillor.

Only voting members can make nominations. The nomination must be seconded to be valid.

To participate in the election of the Chair and Vice-Chair, as a core member of the LCN, you will need to be physically present at the meeting. (For more information please see Terms of Reference).

Vice Chair – Nominations. Pauline Ham, nominated by Harry Munt, Seconded by Val Bullen.

Pauline Ham appointed as Vice Chair

The Yearly Report to follow.

All agreed the yearly report was good and progress has been made.

Action 1: 

Katherine Thompson from The Space in Cheddar give a talk with presentation shown to the LCN Meeting,

Katherine gave an overview of the history of The Space and how it was founded to now deliver a wide range of services aimed at improving the mental health and well-being of young people in the area.

Lina Curiala-Hopkinson, from the Village Agents, talked to the room about her role. 

Lina explained how the Village Agents, and her role as a social prescriber, are funded by The Community Council for Somerset. They provide practical support to anyone over the age of 18 in signposting them to a wide range of community and nation-wide services, this includes helping people apply for any benefits they are entitles to, feeding into citizens advice, and place-based community groups.

Anyone can reach out to the Village Agents, and people can also be referred, they regularly receive referrals from the emergency services, schools, neighbours, and doctor’s surgeries.

The support they provide is varied and can include in-home support, helping people throughout their journey until they feel they are in a better place. They recognise that when people are struggling even the little day-to-day things such as gardening or getting to the hairdressers can be a challenge so have links with a whole range of services to help someone get back on their feet as well as linking with more major adult social care providers. She also highlighted the talking cafes and caring groups running in Burnham and Axbridge.

Different village agents are linked geographically to doctor's surgeries so Lina will be your agent of you are linked to any surgery in Cheddar, Axbridge, and Wedmore.

You can find out more about The Village Agents here, and make a referral or contact an agent here.

Andy, from Axe Valley Men’s Shed, talked about The Men’s Shed.

Andy explained how Men’s Shed is an international organisation set up following research into the health and well-being of men suffering due to social isolation. He spoke about a lack of infrastructure around men to support them following bereavement, ill-health, or retirement.

He runs the Men’s shed in Axbridge, located at the Old Axbridge Station, but there are Sheds across the country, including in Wedmore and Wells.

They now have 70 members and are a charitable organisation with plans to grow and make their space available for other groups to use.

They have expanded the role of traditional men's sheds beyond woodwork and now run several groups all with the aim of supporting men with their mental health. They have tea mornings on Wednesdays, music class on a Saturday, photography class on a Sunday and even do classes in Tai Chi, have woodwork classes, a model railway club, and occasionally do trips. They have recently taken on some land and are slowly cultivating it. These groups provide respite to those who attend, improving their mental  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

The LCN link officers present provided an overview of the work of the LCNS across Somerset.

The meeting reviewed the highlights of other LCNs in Somerset, including their work on issues such as children and young people, active travel, highways and traffic, health and well-being, housing, economic development, support for businesses, and climate, environment, and conservation.

Snapshots:

·         The Space, Cheddar

·         Village Agents (CCS)

·         Men’s Sheds

At this point the room divided into a breakout session, including those participants online, and asked to give their top priority for the LCN to focus on.

Breakout groups feedback:

Top one from each

·       Access to service and community groups to be included 

·       Traffic – Speed

·       Transport – Access to Transport

·       Access to community services

·       Planning enforcement, 

·       Transport, rights of way,  active travel.

·        

Access to services working group

The possibility of setting up an access to services working group was discussed with some agreement in the room. It was asked that anyone who would want to join a working group to contact the LCN inbox.

Planning

Planning was raised as a possible topic for discussion at the next meeting.

Members of the planning committee felt this may not be valuable until the final Somerset Council re-structure has taken place, as well as until central government have made any planning decisions. It was also suggested that any specific planning enquiries or problems be discussed with Matthew Munt who sits on the planning committee.

Police Community Engagement

Nathan, representing the police, outlined the initiative of beat surgeries in Wedmore to enhance community engagement. This initiative aims to provide a platform for residents to discuss concerns, seek advice, and strengthen the relationship between the community and the police. They take place in the daytime and evenings to allow all to participate.

Next LCN Meeting priorities:

·       Spark to attend the next meeting with a presentation 

·       Feedback from Highways working group

·       Climate and environment

Agree the schedule of meetings for the next 12 months  

·       12/09/2024

·       12/12/2024

·       13/03/ 2025

·       12/06/2025