Milverton Parish Council

Report of Meeting held 6^th March 2017

Nine members of the public joined Councillors for the meeting which was opened by a question about traffic management problems that were being experienced at the school. Councillors agreed to discuss the matter in depth at their April meeting.

The Clerk reported that a protected yew tree had been damaged in the Churchyard by grave digging operations. The TDBC Tree Officer was aware and had offered advice.

Councillors then discussed the recent decision of the Recreation Ground Committee not to fund the cleaning of the toilets there. The Chairman and Treasurer of the Committee were present and were able to give Councillors some background information relating to the decision. The basic position is that the Recreation Ground only has a limited income and cannot afford to pay an extra £1200 a year to clean the toilets. Whilst Committee members feel obliged to help the Cricket Club with repairs and maintenance of the Clubhouse they do not believe that public toilets are needed. They were pressed on this by Councillors but said that their decision had been almost unanimous with only one member disagreeing.

After some further discussion Councillors felt that a Parish Council meeting was not the time or place to resolve this matter. Councillors felt that the toilets had to stay open and therefore agreed to cover the cost of the Recreation Ground toilets from parish funds for six months from 1^st February 2017. It was also agreed that there would be a meeting between the Parish Council and the Committee to try and resolve this situation.

The Clerk reported that Notaro had asked for a Non Material Amendment to the planning consent granted in 1979. This was ostensibly to bring road widths up to 21^st century standards. Whilst there was no consultation process it was agreed that the Parish Council would write to TDBC to seek reassurance

about the process and what would and would not be considered.

The Clerk reported that the tree felling and cutting back work in the Jubilee Gardens had been successfully completed. Councillors felt that an excellent job had been done resulting in a significant improvement.

Under matters to report dog mess again featured prominently with the Churchyard and Jubilee Gardens being specifically mentioned.

In February the Council spent £1974 on salaries, PAYE, toilet cleaning (£538) and works in the Jubilee Gardens (£540).

Gwilym Wren

Clerk to Milverton Parish Council