Milverton Parish Council

Report of Meeting held on 5^th October 2015

The Chairman reported receipt of a letter from Buckingham Palace thanking the Parish Council for it's congratulations to Her Majesty for becoming Great Britain's longest reigning monarch.

The meeting was preceded by a presentation from Lesley Knight of Somerset County Council's Civil Contingencies Unit (CCU). SCC is trying to revive its Emergency Plan and list of local contacts which fell into abeyance several years ago. The Flooding events of recent years have acted as a catalyst to restore the plan and so SCC is getting in touch with Parishes to ask them to nominate local contacts from councillors, Emergency Planning Groups etc. These contacts will be expected to have good local knowledge and will be asked to give and receive information to and from emergency services and utility providers, to ensure good communication of a situation both at a local and county level. To be effective it is important that these contacts are representative of all a parish including outlying hamlets and settlements. The CCU is also providing support to local resilience strategies and has examples on its website. SCC is in the process of setting up a single number for emergency events so that accurate and timely information can be passed – until that is set up the contact number is 01823 356804.

Councillors thanks Ms Knight for the presentation and agreed to re-convene the Emergency Planning Committee to discuss a local Emergency Plan. The Clerk was asked to pass the details of the Committee to SCC as local contacts.

Under Matters arising Mr Cotton reported that there would be two meetings in the Victoria Rooms on 27^th and 31^st October to give residents a briefing on the use of the Community Defibrillator.

Under Planning Councillors unanimously approved applications for small extensions to Glendowan and 5 Woodbarton. Comments were also made in relation to an application to carry out work to trees at the Vicarage. The Chairman reported on the Urgency Committees objection to the application to fell a tree at Felton Hall.

The Clerk was asked for an update on the new access that had been made on the Wiveliscombe Road. He reported that TDBC was aware of it and was pursuing its normal enforcement procedures. He was also asked to chase TDBC for a progress report on Burn Hill woods and Lancaster House.

The Chairman reported that the Creedwell application would be at last coming to the TDBC Planning Committee at 5pm on 14^th October. At the time of the meeting the report was not available and there was no indication of the Officers recommendation. This was expected on the 6^th October so Councillors resolved to hold an extra meeting on 12^th October to discuss the report and the Parish Council's response. It will be held in the Victoria Rooms at 7pm.

In response to the many concerns raised recently about the speed size and volume of traffic the Chairman had begun to write a paper setting out the issues and examining how they could be addressed and by whom. He was thanked for this and it was agreed to discuss it when the Creedwell application had been decided.

PCSO Louise Fyne attended the meeting and gave the monthly Crime Report. It had been a quiet month in Milverton although there were a spate of shed burglaries in and around the district. She also gave advice on doorstep crime and how neighbours could help prevent fraudsters preying on the elderly and vulnerable.

In the light of the ongoing discussions about taking on the toilets Councillor discussed whether transferring all its property assets to a separate entity controlled by the Council would be beneficial. There was support for the idea in principle but Councillors wanted to know how in detail such an arrangement would work and what the risks were. It was agreed that the Chairman would draft a 'template' for a company that could hold, manage and purchase assets on behalf of the Council.

The Clerk reported that, following the loss of the gardener he had asked the Gardening Club to tidy up the Jubilee Gardens before winter. A team of 6 volunteers had done an excellent job and he recommended that the Council make a donation of £100 towards Club funds. Councillors were delighted

In September the Council spent £1406 on salaries, gardening, grass cutting and planning officer attendance at meetings.

Gwilym Wren

Clerk to Milverton Parish Council

8^th October 2015