MINUTES OF THE BRENT KNOLL ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

held on Monday 24 April 2006 in the Parish Hall at 7.30 pm

with Councillor Miss J J M Owen, Chairman of the Parish Council,

in the Chair

Present:   County Councillor A J Ham: 9 members of the Parish Council; the Clerk: and 14 members of the public. 

The Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 25 April 2005, having been circulated, were approved as a correct record for signature by the Chairman of the Meeting.

Parish Council Report: The Parish Council Report for 2005/6, having been circulated, was accepted with no questions arising on the content.  Cllr Freestone asked those present to bear in mind the existence of the Village Website and to use it to the full to publicise forthcoming events etc.

Sedgemoor District Council Report: Cllr Filmer reported that this year the provision of free bus travel had added £¼m to the District Council’s costs. The District Council were hoping to transfer it's housing stock to an "Arms Length Management Organisation and a further £300,000 had to be found for this. There had however been good business growth in the Council’s area which had brought in a £340,000 grant from Central Government. The Council’s collection rate for Council Tax and Business Rates in the year had been over 99%.

Cllr Filmer explained that he had served on the District Council Executive as Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transport, (which remit also included the Revenues and Benefits Sections), responsible for a total budget exceeding £20m per year.

All information relating to planning applications was now published on line, and it was even possible to submit planning applications electronically. The planning enforcement team had now been brought up to strength, and one example of the results of their endeavours was the disappearance of unauthorised advertising signs alongside the M5 Motorway.

The Council were seeking to ensure that all those who were entitled to benefits received them. A change in car park tariffs had been introduced and parking was now free overnight. The Police had abolished their Traffic Warden section and the District Council were now looking at setting up their own Wardens scheme. Following the Government’s introduction of the "high hedges" legislation, there had so far been no enforcement action, all cases having been resolved by negotiations.

In response to questions Cllr Filmer confirmed that the new planning conditions agreed with Sanders Garden Centre would only come into force when their redevelopment started; outlined the scope of the new free bus passes; explained that plastics and shoe recycling facilities were planned to be provided by the Village Green subject to Bottle and Can recycling being relocated to the Red Cow car park; confirmed that the District Council considered that quality was as important as cost in service provision generally; and comment that the Council was still operating under the shadow of more local government reorganisation

Somerset County Council Report: Councillor Ham drew attention to the explanatory booklets which had been issued with the Council Tax bills explaining how the various charges were made up. He explained that Somerset County Council continued to be disadvantaged in national grant terms: central government officials had paid a visit to the County, by invitation, to see the problems at first hand but this had not resulted in an increased grant.  It had been necessary to raise Council Tax by 5% this year, one of the highest increases anywhere in the UK.  There would however still need to be substantial reductions in services, such as higher charges for home help, reductions in the numbers of Trading Standards Officers, and cutbacks in the provisions for Special Needs education. 

The County Council employed 17,600 staff (although not all of these were full time employees), and in the last 18 months a some 600 staff had been taken on: but many of these would be doing additional jobs imposed by the Government.

School funding rules were being changed, with various education allowances now being paid direct to the schools themselves.  But the number of children being educated was falling, and there would be a consequential need to look at federating schools.

The Avon and Somerset Police Authority budget had increased.  The Police Service has had a good year, with a drop in volume figures for all types of crime.  This was due, in part, to the deployment of a number of extra police officers: detection rates had also improved and were above 50% in places.  The force was investing in 120 Community Support Officers, of whom 7 were to be deployed in the Burnham-on-Sea area.

The Government was reviewing both the Council Tax system and the Local Government structure.  A number of different ways of funding local services were being considered, as were a number of different local structures, some based on communities or neighbourhoods.

Turning to local issues, Cllr Ham confirmed that each County Councillor had a £5,000 community initiative budget: this had been used in the past to help the Parish Hall acquire some new chairs.  The scheme for traffic lights at the Fox and Goose had not progressed and was unlikely to do so this year: the Government generally favoured the enhancement of public transport in preference to road improvements.  On the question of the proposed Wind Farm development, Cllr Ham explained that the County Council would be a consultee but would not be determining the application.  There was provision in the Local Plan for renewable energy installations at appropriate locations: the question was whether the proposed site was appropriate.

In response to questions from the floor, Cllr Ham explained the difficulties in increasing visible police presence in rural areas; confirmed his understanding that a local meeting on traffic arrangements would be held when work started on the Sanders redevelopment; and agreed that there was a need to ensure that superfluous signs were not left in place on highways.

Age Concern Presentation: Mrs Kim Prowse presented a summary of the activities of Age Concern Somerset.  She explained that Age Concern sought to improve the well being of all people, but particularly the older strata of society.  Services offered included Information and Advice, Advocacy, Mental Health, Welfare, Befriending, Toenail Cutting, Safety and Security Advice, and Ageing Well Advice.  Telephone information services were available, as was on-line advice.

Advocacy include offering confidential and personal advice, an example being the assistance recently rendered in challenging an incorrect high water bill.  Assistance was also given with welfare rights issues, including checks on eligibility for benefits and assistance in filling out the  various (and often complicated and daunting) application forms.

Befriending was, as the name implied, the provision of a regular visitor for lonely or isolated people.  Advice was also given on security and crime prevention, including the installation of appropriate locks on windows and doors.  Another service was a Scooter Hire to enable less mobile people to go shopping.  Appropriate insurance was offered to older travellers, who could experience difficulty in obtaining cover at reasonable cost.  Finally, Mrs Prowse mentioned that

grant assistance was also given to old people’s clubs.

There being no other business to raise the Chairman thanked Cllr Filmer, Cllr Ham and Mrs Prowse, and also the ladies of the WI who were about to provide refreshments.  The meeting closed at 9.15 pm.

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