Agenda and minutes

Only members of the core membership are eligible to be nominated as the 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.

Councillor Henry Hobhouse proposed that Ewan Jones (Bruton Town Council) and Judi Morison (Castle Cary Town Council) be co-Chairs of the South East (Wincanton) Local Community Network.  This was seconded by Councillor Nicola Clark.

Howard Ellard (Wincanton Town Council) also proposed that Councillor Tom Power be the Chair of the South East (Wincanton) Local Community Network, however this proposal failed to be seconded.

There being no other proposals it was:

Resolved:

That Ewan Jones (Bruton Town Council) and Judi Morison (Castle Cary Town Council) be appointed as co-Chairs of the South East (Wincanton) Local Community Network for the 2023/24 municipal year.

Only members of the core membership are eligible to be nominate as the Vice-Chair. Either the Chair or Vice-Chair must be a Somerset Council Councillor.

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

It was proposed by Councillor Henry Hobhouse and seconded by Tim Carty (Milborne Port Parish Council) that Councillor Nicola Clark be the Vice-Chair of the South East (Wincanton) Local Community Network.

There being no other proposals, it was:

Resolved:

That Councillor Nicola Clark be appointed as the Vice-Chair of the South East (Wincanton) Local Community Network for the 2023/24 municipal year.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Sarah Dyke, Tom Power, Claire Sully, Lucy Trimnell and Alex Wiltshire.

To receive and note any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests, other registrable interests and non-registrable interests in respect of any matters included on the agenda for consideration at this meeting.

(The other registrable interests of Councillors of Somerset Council, arising from membership of City, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes.)

There were no declarations of interest from the Unitary Councillors present.

The Chair to advise of any questions, statements or petitions received that are not covered by items on the agenda for the meeting on which members of the public have requested to speak.

In response to a question from Howard Ellard (Wincanton Town Council) the Service Manager for the LCN’s confirmed that the core partners as defined in the Local Community Network’s Terms of Reference would have voting rights during their meetings, however it was not anticipated that they would be a regular occurrence.  The core partners included the Somerset Councillors, the nominated Parish Representative from each Parish Council, and other key organisations including the Police, Fire Service, NHS, Education Service, voluntary and faith groups and businesses.

(a)   What are Local Community Networks (LCNs) and how we will work together.

A map of the South East Somerset (Wincanton) LCN area is attached for reference.

(b)   Discussion - What is important to residents and businesses in our area? (An opportunity to raise any local issues or concerns for LCN to consider).

The Terms of Reference for the LCNs are detailed at agenda item 1 or can be viewed at: Terms of Reference (somerset.gov.uk)

Frequently Asked Questions can also be viewed at: Frequently Asked Questions (somerset.gov.uk)

The Service Manager for the LCN’s advised that there were 18 LCN areas across the county and the South East (Wincanton) LCN was geographically the largest with the greatest number of parishes.  She provided a short power point presentation (slides attached) on the purpose of the LCNs and how they would be supported. 

There then followed a round table discussion on the topics important to local residents and what could be done to resolve or improve the issues identified.

The following points were raised:

·       Opportunities for young people to give them support and provide facilities for them.

·       Traffic and traffic safety

·       Cleaning up of local rivers around Lydford on Fosse and also addressing litter and parking issues in that locality.

·       Enforcement of the 17 tonne HGV lorry limit through Queen Camel

·       The enforcement of the escorting of agricultural equipment over 8ft 6” through narrow lanes.

·       Antisocial behaviour around the clearing of dog waste, lack of enforcement and the delay in obtaining new dog waste bins in the area.  Could they be incorporated into Section 106 agreements in new housing developments?

·       Flooding issues in the area

·       Refuse and recycling bins collected on the designated collection day and missed collections not left until the following week.

·       Difficulty in reporting planning enforcement issues on the Somerset County website which was not helpful as it appeared to go in a circle.

·       Maintenance of roads, potholes and drain emptying in the area.

·       Seek agreement from South West Rail to allow bus operators to enter Castle Cary Station and turn around.  They currently only allowed buses travelling north-south into the station.

·       Speeding traffic on the A37 to Shepton Mallet at Ditcheat Hill as there had been a number of collisions at this point in the last 6 months which the Highway Authority & Police were aware of. A speed camera half way down the hill would help.

·       Public transport in rural areas for vulnerable people.  There had been a reduction in the number of buses.

·       High Street investment for Wincanton had been lost. 

·       Flooding in North Cadbury – how to install flood defences and how to prevent future flooding.

·       Health and wellbeing and the provision of footpaths in the Templecombe area.

·       Issues with the planning process and the perception that parishes were not listened to and had no say in Section 106 planning agreements in their area.

·       Issues with developers trying to ‘change the goalposts’ once they had started building a development.

·       Adjacent parishes not being consulted on developments proposed in neighbouring parishes which could potentially have an incremental impact on traffic in the area.

At the conclusion of the feedback session, the Service Manager for the LCNs confirmed that all the comments would be collated and would inform the debate at the next meeting.  Officers would check the issues raised with colleagues to obtain feedback for the meeting.

Judi Morison, the Co-Chair provided information on the LCN pilot which had taken place in the Wincanton area.  She advised that youth provision and antisocial behaviour had been identified as their priority and so a feasibility study had been commissioned in Castle Cary, Bruton, Milborne Port and Wincanton.  Based upon the data collected they had tendered for some youth provision in the area which other Parishes could also buy in to.   It was hoped to appoint a youth provider the following week to provide some activities during the school holidays.  

Ewan Jones, the Co-Chair advised that the funding for the youth work provision had come from the 3 Town Councils and the SALC wellbeing fund.   Under the wellbeing theme they had also developed active travel through walking and cycling travel plans.  Future funding for projects would be sought from the Government and from local funding sources.

The Service Manager for the LCN’s advised that it was anticipated to schedule the LCN meetings every two months with the next to be held in late September or early October.  There could be working group meeting held in between these dates as an effective way of information gathering on a particular issue.

It was requested to vary the day of the week for the meetings to avoid coinciding with Town or Parish Council meetings. 

The Police representative said the LCN meetings were a great opportunity for them to solve local problems through partnership working and provide feedback on local issues.

It was noted that members would like to see representatives of the Environment Agency and the Health Service.

Councillor Val Keitch, as Associate Lead Member for Localities (LCNs) & Public Health said she was impressed with the enthusiasm and engagement by those who had attended the meeting and she thanked all for attending.

The Co-Chairs also thanked all for attending and said they looked forward to working together in the future.

The schedule of LCN meetings for the next 12 months will be circulated as soon as the dates and venues are confirmed.