If you are reading this before the 1st of May then I hope that you have been able to register to vote and will be voting.  There are candidates to choose from in both the Unitary (Wiltshire) and Town Council elections.  The returning officer and team are efficient and you should be able to find out the results within a couple of days at most. The Town Council Office will publish results.

My apologies for not getting the Chairman’s report in last month, I shall be brief this month.  My first task is to thank the volunteers who went out to Litter Pick, one and all.

At the last town council meeting we discussed:

• The plans for the Annual Town Meeting, which will have happened on the 23rd April.
• Planning applications.
• A request to use part of the Salisbury Street car park for a small funfair on the evening of the Mere Carnival.  We turned the plan, as presented, down and asked the Carnival and Funfair to consider something taking less of the car park.
• We adopted the recommendations of a working group meeting on the effectiveness of our Internal Control Measures.
• Heard from our Clerk on the allotment rent audit.

The next Town Council meeting will be on 12th May, with the newly elected Town Councillors attending.  The Venue will be the Andy Young Pavilion.

On Thursday 1st May, elections will take place for 98 unitary Wiltshire Councillors and across the Parish and Town Councils in Wiltshire.

Information for candidates is published on Wiltshire Council’s website Local elections – Wiltshire Council

The Town Clerk is happy to give further information to Town Council candidates on request. Please email lindseywood@merewilts.org or phone 01747 860701

South Parish Notice Of Election

South Unitary Notice Of Election

Statement of Persons Nominated for Parish Councils

Wiltshire Council has published the draft Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document which sets out the vision and framework to allocate land for Gypsy and Traveller communities in Wiltshire.  Comments are invited during the consultation period which runs to 5pm on Friday 4^th October.

The Gypsies and Travellers DPD and supporting evidence documents are available to view and download at https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/planning-gypsy-travellers  and people can also download a representation form and a simplified guidance note from this page.

Here is a link to the recent NPPF webinar from Wiltshire Council: National Planning Policy Framework webinar, 14 August 2024 – YouTube

Mere Town Council has requested, through Wiltshire Council’s Local Highways & Footpath Improvement Group (LHFIG) process, that the 30mph speed limit currently in place on the C59 Shaftesbury Road, Mere be extended to cover the section of road currently subject to a 40mph speed limit to ensure that there is a consistent speed limit in place along the road.

An independent speed limit assessment arranged through the South West Wiltshire LHFIG considered the introduction a 30mph speed limit to be appropriate for the length of road in question when assessed against the criteria for introducing a 30mph speed limit detailed on DfT Circular 1/13 Setting Local Speed Limits.

The Traffic Regulation Order currently being consulted upon proposes the extension of the 30mph speed limit to cover the length of the C59 Shaftesbury Road currently subject to a 40mph speed limit.

Deposit copies of the Order, plans and Statement of the Council’s Reasons for proposing to make the Order may be inspected at the offices of Wiltshire Council, County Hall, Bythesea Road, Trowbridge during normal office hours. Details of the proposed scheme may be seen at Mere Library, Barton Lane BA12 6JA during the hours of 10am to 7pm Monday, 9.30am to 5pm Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 10am to 2pm Wednesday and 9.30am to 1pm Saturday until 23rd September 2024.   Details of the proposed scheme may be seen at Mere Town Council offices, Duchy Manor, Springfield Road, Mere BA12 6EW during the hours of 10 am to 3 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays.  Documents can also be viewed online at https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/troconsultations

Comments on the proposal together with the reasons for which they are made should be sent in writing to reach the Sustainable Transport Group, by email to TrafficOrderConsultations@wiltshire.gov.uk or via the website by 23rd September 2024 quoting reference LJB/TRO/MERE30.

During August this year Mere Town Council will be organising an event that promotes activity and fun.

The Activities in Mere (AIM) event will take place between 9^th and 11^th August and will encourage, this year, the over 50’s in Mere to try or retry sports and leisure activities, some of which will be adapted to promote participation.  We hope that the event will not only encourage people to try something new, but that they may boost the membership of clubs and societies in Mere, as well as promoting health and wellbeing. We are providing this event using funds we have obtained from the Wiltshire Towns Fund.

More details will be provided in the coming weeks, in the meantime we would be grateful for any offers of assistance to help organise or provide a sport or activity. For further information please contact Roger Pipe, Project Co-ordinator at Mere Town Council Tel 860701.

Each month, the Town Council looks at planning applications and we decide on our support or objection with reasons.  I must make it clear that the decision is made by the Wiltshire Planning team based on planning regulations but they do take into account comments made by us and by interested parties.  Your voice can be heard on planning applications so do take the opportunity to go to the Wiltshire website and add your comment.

Feedback from residents has prompted us to consider a new approach to the format of the Annual Town Meeting. This will take place on the Wednesday, 24^thApril from 6 to 8 pm in the foyer at Duchy Manor where we will be providing information boards with details of the various groups in Mere such as the Carnival and the Link Scheme.  There will be information boards, and councillors to talk to, on the work of the Town Council and how this relates to the work of Wiltshire Council.  There will be boards with ideas and future plans with space for your comments and, importantly, a suggestions board where you can add your suggestions.  We are hoping that this format will give residents more of an opportunity to ask questions, comment and generally participate, rather than at a formal meeting.  We are required to have some formalities and so at 6:15, I shall give the Chairman’s report and minutes from last year.  Comments posted on the boards will be gathered together to form minutes and will be considered at our next council meeting.

In our last meeting we considered the implications of Martyn’s Law (which relates to the protection of premises in acts of Terrorism) for Mere and commented on the public consultation website.  We also took note of the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority’s Community Safety plan. One interesting fact is that they are attending fewer emergency callouts and spending more time going out to residents and companies to discuss safe measure in the home and business.

As a result of a recent announcement made by Gillingham Town Council that their cemetery is now closed for new burials as they have run out of space, Mere Town Council has taken the decision not to permit any burials for non-residents.  This means that if you do not live in Mere, you will not be able to be buried in Mere cemetery unless you have already purchased a plot.  This decision has been taken to preserve our cemetery space for Mere parishioners.  We will, however, still permit the purchase of cremation plots by non-parishioners, at double-fees as per the previous policy.

I was determined not to mention it but must say…    ….I do hope that, after this wet winter, we are spared the April showers!

John Jordan

Chairman, Mere Town Council

for information on Town Council activities, minutes, agendas, etc lindseywood@merewilts.org 860701 merewilts.org

Due to the fact that the Clock Tower is a Listed Building in the centre of the town which is in the centre of the Conservation Area, the Town Council has a policy for the erection of display banners on the Clock Tower.   The Town Council will only permit a maximum of 4 banners for community/charity events held within the town per year.  The four banners for 2024 have now all been allocated as follows:

• Mere Spring Fair & Family Fun Day – 20^th April 2024
• Proms in Mere (Tower Stories project) – 13^th July 2024
• Activities in Mere (Activity event for weekend of 9^th – 11^th August)
• Mere Annual Carnival – 14^TH September 2024

Lindsey Wood

Town Clerk

Mere Town Council welcomes suggestions from residents and businesses which may help to improve existing town facilities or enhance safety or ease of use, or alternatively new or additional facilities which could benefit the town, its residents or visitors.  In order for suggestions to be considered by the Town Council and assessed both in terms of viability and budget all such proposals should be made by filling in the form below or downloading and completing the attached form. This can be sent to the Town Council by post, or delivered to the Town Council office at Duchy Manor, Springfield Road, Mere BA12 6EW (adjacent to Mere School). If a paper copy of the blank form is required please telephone Mere Town Council 01747 860701.

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Last

Address *

Contact Phone No: *

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Location of issue:

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Your suggestion/proposal to resolve this issue:

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Download form in .pdf format

March has been described as a month pulled back by winter’s cold and forward by spring’s warmth, this year I think we would all ask for it to be either, but dry! At the last Town Council meeting we heard from a group of councillors about ways in which we might make the most of the grounds and open spaces available to us in Mere.  There are a great many activities which take place here from archery to tennis and much more, but we will be looking to extend what is available to residents.  Our plan looks to find enthusiasts in activities which do not already have a place on the Mere calendar and to hold an event later in the year for others to try these activities out, watch this space for news of what will happen.  One such newcomer, which you will have seen information about on these pages, is pétanque and we shall be improving the facility on the old swimming pool site.

I have been to the LHFIG (Highways) meeting where, with our Project Co-ordinator and our County Councillor, we were able to put forward plans to make Hazzards Hill, Edgebridge and the end of Manor Road safer places for all road users.  This is one step in a process which can take some time, but we will keep engaged until we realise our aim – of safer roads in Mere.

I had asked for suggestions for the commemoration of 80^th anniversary of the D-Day landings in June and am pleased to report that we have had representations and will be holding a quiet tribute at the War Memorial.  Though it will not be large, in the way of some recent commemorations, it will be important and will mark this day with due respect.

While it is not our business to provide banking in Mere, we are concerned about news that the Lloyds Bank mobile service is due to end in May.  My thanks to Ted Hanson for drawing our attention to this.  Here is a link to the information about this: https://www.lloydsbank.com/banking-with-us/mobile-branch/closures.html.    If this change is going to affect you then do contact Lloyds Bank. If you let us know as well, we would then make a representation from the Council about the impact on the community.

The Town Council has embarked upon a joint project with Wiltshire Council to make improvements to the footpath running from Clements Lane to Angel Lane – which is to be named ‘Eric Mitchell Way’.  Work will start on 4^th March which will mean that the footpath will be closed for the duration of the works.  The official footpath closure is for 8 weeks but we will endeavour to re-open the footpath as soon as it is safe to do so.

John Jordan

Chairman, Mere Town Council

for information on Town Council activities, minutes, agendas, etc lindseywood@merewilts.org 01747 860701 merewilts.org