Agenda item

·       Climate and Environment

·       Flooding

·       Footpaths and Open Spaces

·       Anti-social Behaviour

·       Young People

The LCN focused on three areas: Climate and Environment, Flooding and Young People.

Climate and Environment

The challenges for the Broomfield area - 5 streams that flow from and around it and pass through multiagency land owned areas.

Suggested work / plans that could be considered to improve and help the environment – introduce beaver colony, leaky dams, more hedge growing / retaining, invitational speakers i.e.The Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme

The development of properties and the designation of West Monkton as a garden town – the demand to enhance approach and the affect on planning applications.

New developments and non-enforcement of delivery of the original planning requirements – not managing tree planting and maintaining trees, lack of retail and industrial, the skew from the original balanced neighbourhood concept (and reinforces the need for cars).

West Monkton Parish Council water management and threats and maintenance of trees – residents to work together.

Flooding

The many challenges presented, including the flooding affects for both higher and lower ground, ditches and drains, where and who does the responsibility lie with, average and increased rainfall, flash flooding, farming methods, containing and preventing water flow.

Suggested work to aid the situation, including: multi agency collaboration, tree and hedge planting, stream meandering, reinstate ponds, dams, catching and retraining water flow, attenuation ponds.

That planning applications require developers to prove and demonstrate mitigation of phosphate generation for 80 years, phosphate credit system - how is this defined, monitored and enforced for non-compliance – more information needed for Local Councils understand phosphate mitigation system to enable effective commentary on planning applications.

LCN Member invitation to the Flooding resilience meeting West Monkton Parish Council:

Flooding resilience meeting:

Friday 20th October at 11.30am

Brittons Ash Community Hall, Bridgwater Road, Bathpool, Taunton, TA2 8FT

Young People

What provisions already exist and challenges across urban / rural areas - the number of children in the areas, public spaces.

Mapping of youth sports activities, sports clubs information and diversity of requirements.

Mental Health and wellbeing support.

How can the young migrants (particularly Holiday Inn residents) be supported and aid integration.

Planning policy - what could work well to serve the diverse community

Town and Parish Councils requested to find out what youth provisions there are in their area. A request for this information to be reported back by the next LCN meeting (11th December 2023).

Other discussion

The Cross referencing of notes / topics with other LCNs / link with other LCNs to work together on topic areas.

Action plans for delivery – working groups, guest speakers, invitations to groups.

Communication of meeting discussion and actions to residents – Parish Council newsletter / LCN Team newsletter / Leveller / summary of notes to distribute / circulate / website / Facebook – all have different ways of communicating is a communication strategy or plan required – consider staff resources and funding.

LCN attendance and the availability / challenge due to short spaces between other meetings.

Healthwatch Somerset Gillian Keniston-Goble, advised of the Dentistry survey through Healthwatch Somerset and requested the information be shared with residents, with feedback from the survey fed back to NHS England

Access to NHS dentistry in Somerset | Healthwatch Somerset.

Future discussion suggestions

The diversity of the Hestercombe LCN and delivery actions for health and loneliness across urban / rural areas.