Mere Town Council
Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood
Minutes of the Annual Budget Meeting held on Wednesday, 19th November 2025 at 7.00 p.m. at The Andy Young Pavilion, Springfield Road, Mere, BA12 6EW.
Present: Councillors: Rachael Hansford (Chair), Sandra Catley, Aubrey Colman, Clive Hazzard, George Jeans & John Jordan.
Public Session – No members of public present
Apologies for absence – Cllrs. Philip Coward & Sam Dean sent apologies
Declarations of Interest
- Hazzard declared an interest in Floral Enhancements & Rental & Town Council workshop compound.
PUBLICATION – Please note that we will be required to provide a breakdown of expected expenditure and income to Wiltshire Council for them to publish as our precept is likely to be over £140,000
TAX BASE – The Clerk advised members that she had just managed to receive an estimated Tax Base figure but the actual final Tax Base figure was not yet known.
NOTES ON DRAFT BUDGET SPREADSHEET
The Clerk provided members with a comprehensive set of notes which is copied and pasted below.
EXPENSES
ADMIN
Advertising – no comments
Audit Costs –This heading covers both internal audit fee and external audit fee.
This year’s internal audit fee was £560 + an admin fee of £65 to SLCC.
Last year’s external audit fee was £600 but this year we paid £1050. Scales of fees for Town & Parish Councils external audit fees are based on bands of annual income or expenditure, whichever is the higher (2023/24 accounts were £1050 but 2024/25 accounts were £840) Also please note that if information and explanations are not submitted fully and accurately within the required timescales and the external auditors may also apply extra fees where they have to consider objections to the accounts from local electors or exercise special powers in relation to the review or undertake any special investigations.
Our likely fee will be £840 for the 2025/26 year.
Bank charges – We are currently paying £8.50 pm on the Imprest a/c and between £10-14 pm on the general account. However, our discount has now come to an end so I have kept reserves of £200 and budgeted a further £300 for next year.
Hire of Rooms – no comment
Insurance – Our insurance was £5855 this year (+ £2500 for building valuations) and £4514 the year before. We have signed another 3-year undertaking so our insurance costs should be reasonably similar for next year. However, we need to add new premises to the insurance schedule (Children’s Centre which has a flat roof). So, I have retained £400 in reserve for additional premium for Children’s Centre and increased insurance to £6500 for the whole of 2026/27.
Legal Services –We will have the lease for Office and old Children’s Centre + renewal of lease for Railway Modellers Club) which we haven’t started on yet. The Office/Children’s centre one is likely to be complicated but the other two should be straightforward. I have kept reserves at £1500 and suggest we budget a further £500.
(The legal fees for the Youth Club lease renewal have been included elsewhere in this report
Office expenses –office expenses will include stationery, stamps, cleaning, office equipment not connected to computers. Costs for office expenses so far this year have been £921. Suggest we retain £400 in reserve and budget £1500 for next year.
Petty Cash – no comment
Office rentals/rates – We pay £50 a year in rent but we are responsible for rates. Last year’s rates cost £1596.80. Suggest budget increase to £1700
Subscriptions – our present subscriptions are:
South West Councils – £499
WALC – £905.14
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust- £36.00
CPRE – £36.00
SLCC – £240
Telephone/broadband expenses – Our current provider is Mainstream Digital: We have changed over to VOIP phones this year. Expenditure so far this year is £335.35. Suggest we reduce reserves to £240 and budget £600 fo next year again.
IT Support – As you know, we are currently seeking some help with an IT support package. I thought it would be nice to find one provider that can deal with website, email issues, computers, hardware and software. However, this doesn’t seem possible. We currently have an informal arrangement with Tim Cook but it is not the best arrangements – it is a bit hit and miss whether or not he reacts to my emails in a timely manner and he has not provided us with an invoice for 2 years despite me asking for one. The new Audit Regs are placing more emphasis on IT and IT security. Most places are now requiring a monthly subscription rather than offering a pay as you need service. Suggest we retain reserves and add a further £750.
IT & Software – This heading encompasses our internet security subscription, AnyDesk subscription, antivirus for laptop and Scribe accounts software package. Sadly, I have ceased using the Scribe accounts software package as it did not meet my expectations and was too ‘clunky’ although I have nothing but praise for their training and support efforts This heading does not include new computers or hardware which is listed under Capital Purchases. I have reduced the budget heading from £2000 last year to £1000 this year on the basis that we will not resubscribe to the accounting software package.
Staff & Councillor training :
We have carried out some training from our training requirements list this year. Both Simon & Paul have been on the NRSWA training courses but I have taken this from the SSEN funding heading as this enables them to work on the highway (clearing drains during floods etc). Therefore, suggest we retain reserves of £1225 and make no budget.
Training requirements (wish list) for grounds staff:
- Simon – RPII (for those responsible for routine inspections of play areas) – £135 (completed)
- Simon – Legionella (completed)
- Simon – Pest control (completed 2020)
- Paul & Sam – Brushcutters & Strimmers (completed 2023)
- Simon & Paul – Basic Tree Inspection
- Simon & Paul Simon + Paul – IPAF (working from platform (cherry picker) course
- Sim & Paul– Ride on mowers – £225 + VAT per person
- Simon & Paul – First Aid at Work course @ £90 completed January 2025
- Simon & Paul – NRSWA (Signing, Lighting & Guarding) @ £250 completed July 2025
- Simon & Paul– NRSWA (Operatives Course) @ £695
- Simon – Chainsaw cross cutting and felling 380mm diameter £400 completed 2024
- Paul – Weed spraying (Pesticide – Hand held applications) – £520 completed 2024
- Paul is going on a management of memorials course in March 2026 costing £195
- Training requirements (wish list) for admin staff:
- Clerk – conferences, seminars as and when available
- Other admin – CILCA
All staff undertook some basic Health & Safety training in 2024
Travel Expenses – No comment
Data Protection Registration – Now increased to £47 pa
Project Management Admin – No comment
Outsourcing – HR & Payroll, GDPR – no comment.
DUCHY MANOR (Old Children’s Centre)
Rentals/Rates – We now have the lease for the admin suite and the foyer at Duchy Manor. We are going to be responsible for paying the rates. I am assuming that we will not have to pay rates on the foyer as this is a shared area but I am not 100% sure on this. Apparently, toilets and corridors do not count towards rateable values. I have therefore calculated that the other offices would add up to the same size as the main office and so, for a pro-rata figure, I have reduced the reserves to £800 and suggested a budget of £1750 for next year. In the next financial year, I will amalgamate the admin accommodation expenditure headings so that all the Duchy building expenses (including office) come under one heading.
Heating/Utilities – Currently the Children’s centre is heated by oil. Don’t know anything about water and electricity and how we are going to separate these We had £1000 so I have reduced this to £500 and suggest we budget a further £1000 for utility costs going forward next year but, in the meantime, it would be really good if we could explore opportunities for solar energy including storage (I have included some funding under the heading of Climate Change).
Repairs/Maintenance – As you know, the basis of the draft lease is that MTC will be responsible for the maintenance and the building condition survey raised some issues (none that we didn’t already know about). The remainder of the building still has the Crittall windows and flat roof has not received any attention in years. I would also suggest that members take a look at the old offices – not in a very good state of repair. Suggest we retain £2500 and budget a further £2500.
ALLOTMENTS
Materials & repairs – We are currently changing the tap at the Jack Paul Close allotments to a water trough in view of the water we used there this summer. We would also like to provide a trough at Southbrook allotments and start building up some reserves for the Wellhead car park (last work carried out in 2019/20). Reserves are £240 and suggest we add another £260.
Pest Control – no comment
Rentals – We no longer have to pay any rent to the Duchy of Cornwall.
Water rates – no comment. Water usage is largely comparable to weather conditions. Tap at Jack Paul Close allotments is being changed to trough in order to reduce water usage. Clerk to check that there is no fee for ‘Return to Sewer’
ANDY YOUNG PAVILION
Equipment & Furniture – No comment. Would like to replace some tables and chairs and replenish some kitchen equipment in 2026/27
Fencing & Security –Not aware for any immediate fencing and security issues at the moment. Suggest we retain reserves at £440 & make no budget.
Footpaths & Car Park – Due to the new car park, lighting etc, we removed all reserves. Should we start building reserves for car park/footpath and lighting maintenance?
Gas – No comment.
Maintenance/Repairs – The building was built in 2005 and is now 20 years old and we need to look after it or it will start to deteriorate. The sewage pump is a bit of an issue. Suggest we retain reserves of £1750 & budget a further £250.
Cleaning Equipment/Materials – No comment
Water & Sewerage – No comment
Consumables – No comment
Fire Alarm Maintenance – We have a contract with Wessex Fire & Security
BAND HUT – The Town Council did agree to build up reserves so that when the roof needs replacing, we have enough money to do the work. However, we reserves have been reduced from £3000. The Railway Modellers Club do carry out a lot of maintenance to the building (repairing woodwork and repainting windows). Suggest we retain reserves of £1500 and make no budget.
We still need to action getting an asbestos register for the building (as approved last year). Do we not need to have an asbestos register for Youth Club, Clock Tower etc?
BOWLING GREEN – No budget allocation. Green is leased to Bowls Club.
BUILDINGS
I have previously registered my concerns over the reduction of our building reserves as the asset value of our buildings is considerable at £2.5m and the current level of reserves (£14750) + budget (£2000) is not sufficient money for us to deal with any kind of catastrophe with our buildings whilst also enabling us to continue with our current service and function level.
This year it was recommended to add £2000 to the Buildings Budget as a general heading without allocating it to specific buildings although Cllr. Jordan said that he couldn’t imagine that all buildings would need that amount of maintenance.
CAPITAL PROJECTS
Vehicle & trailer – We purchased the Mitsubishi in 2015 for £5850. We paid for major maintenance work on it two years ago on the understanding that we could nurse it through a couple more years. Also…. What would we get to replace it? We have reserves of £8000 and suggest we budget a further £1000 to build up reserves to buy new vehicle.
Litter bins –The problem with providing new litter bins is that they have to be emptied which is more work on our grounds staff and the waste has to be removed which is more cost on our waste removal contract. We have been asked, however, to provide a litter bin for the Edgebridge/Walnut Road area and with the new development at Woodlands Road – this is likely to be more of a demand. A sturdy metal litter bin costs between £600 & £800. We also need a new litter bin to go outside the cemetery car park gates. Suggest we retain reserves of £1400 and purchase the two new litter bins this year.
Replacement tractor/ride-on mowers – The tractor was purchased in 22/23 at a cost of £34k, the two Stiga ride-on mowers were purchased in 23/24 at a cost of £9850 each. Paul’s mower has now done a lot of hours – is it going to be our policy to run them into the ground or do we want to p/ex them when there is still some value left in them? We need to start building up reserves for replacements when they are needed. Retain reserves of £4500 and budget a further £1500
Trimax Mower attachment – new Trimax mower attachment was purchased 24/25 at cost of £8575. Suggest we start building reserves for replacement when required.
Office equipment – The Town Clerk’s computer replaced in 2016/17 financial year and Clerks Assistants computer purchased in 2013/14 financial year. Equipment which was necessary to implement zoom meetings but unanticipated was purchased in 20/21 financial year. This was justified as Clerk applied for and received a business support grant. Main printer was replaced two years ago and Clerk has a second monitor too + Roger had new office chair. As both Sonya and I have Windows 10 which is no longer being supported, I would suggest that we should have replacement computers with Windows 365 in order to enable us to provide Cloud back-ups which will resolve an issue raised by the Internal Auditor but this will require a monthly subscription. I have received a quotation from IT ambulance for the two computers + software + replacement screen for Sonya at £2100 Therefore suggest we keep reserves of £1425 and budget a further £750. Cllr. Hazzard provided the Clerk with details of someone else who may be able to help with the provision of new IT equipment and also website and IT support.
Seats & benches – the Town Council’s policy is to have these donated. Please see separate item under Recreation Ground for benches in Rec.
Xmas Lights – We have £320 in reserve for new/replacement lights. We have ordered 2 X new strings of lights this year. Fingers crossed, when the lights get erected, they will all work but sometimes we have to order a new string at the last minute. (one string costs about £120) Suggest we retain reserves and make no budget.
Play Equipment for Castle Hill Play Area –The low level wooden trailway and matting under the swings has just been replaced (October 2024). We used S.106 money for this work.
Skatepark – it would be lovely to extend the skatepark and do a Phase 2 because it is very popular. Could possibly get funding for this but I think the feeling is that there are far more urgent items for the time being.
Swimming Pool/Outdoor Gym Equipment – Our intentions were to build an outdoor gym area inside the old swimming pool site and indeed, we filled in the old swimming pool at a cost of £3880. The whole project was put on the back burner because Mere School wanted to use part of it within the car park expansion project. This has now been completed and two years ago we installed a pétanque piste on the site, leaving a good-sized area that could accommodate a table-tennis table and/or calisthenics workout equipment – these options could be funded from our S.106 funds and it is possible that Roger can include it within the MUGA refurbishment project. For the purposes of the budget meeting, suggest we retain reserves of £1120 as this was in fact a third-party grant received for the outdoor gym project.
Public Access Defibrillator – the defibrillator in The Square is a new replacement (insurance claim) that was installed in October 2022 at a cost of £1074. A new defibrillator was installed outside the Walnut Tree which was partially grant funded. The defibrillator outside the dentist is the oldest. Suggest we retain reserves of £500 and budget a further £250 to build up funds for a replacement.
Speed Indicator Device – The Council have agreed to purchase a device that collects data in order to demonstrate average speeds on certain roads and this may help to prioritise requests for speed limit assessments. £1000 was budgeted last year. Cllr. Jordan apologised as he has not been able to find a price for an Automatic Traffic Counter (ATC). The Clerk wondered if it might be better to buy a new Speed Indicator Device that also provides the data but pointed out that this would probably require more funding.
Grounds machinery & power tool replacements – we have purchased a new blower this year. There will always be replacement machinery requirements. Suggest we retain reserves of £1130 and make no budget. Cllr. Hazzard pointed out that the grounds staff would find a tipping trailer extremely useful.
CAR PARKS
Castle Street Car Park – Rates – no comment
Salisbury Street Car Park – Rates – no comment.
Maintenance – Reserves have been reduced during recent years and now stand at £1560
Future work requirements:
- Pointing work on stone walls around Castle Street Car Park.
- Capping work and some pointing to walls around the Railway Modellers Club. Also to install some HD bollards as the walls keep getting hit by cars.
- One of the stone walls in Salisbury Street Car Park is coming away from the pillar – I think it is due to root damage having been caused by a wisteria which was planted by a resident living adjacent to the car park.
- Dead tree in Salisbury Street car park.
- Bay marking for motorbike parking (the current motorbike parking area will be where the new EV chargers are going and so I plan to move the motorbike parking to the other side of the car park)
- drop curbs to allow for parking on the wide pavements at the entrance to the car park either side
Suggest we retain reserves and budget a further £500
Dropped kerbs by Doctors Surgery – last year we diverted funding that we had previously set aside for a different purpose (no longer required) to be used to provide a dropped kerb by the Doctors Surgery to aid wheelchair access. Hoping to proceed with the work in the very near future we have obtained a quotation to provide two dropped kerbs – the one by the Doctors Surgery and one by the public toilets. The one by the surgery would cost £2180 and the one by the toilets would cost £2400. I have put in enough funds to provide the one dropped kerb. Cllr. Jeans asked if professional tarmac pothole repairs could be carried out at the same time as providing the dropped kerbs.
Metal tie support strap for wall in Dark Lane – George Jeans suggested that the wall is unstable and that we should look into providing a metal tie support strap. He has sent me some photos. Last year we budgeted £1000 for this. It was recommended that this money would be sufficient for the work required.
CASTLE HILL
Flags – Each flag costs about £160. Requirement for new flags is slightly dependent on the weather, especially in the winter. I suggest we retain reserves of £350 and budget a further £150 which should allow for 3 flag replacements.
Flag Pole – A new flag pole was installed in 2024.
Grass seeds & weed control – no comment
Maintenance of floodlight – Recommended to remove these reserves as Cllr. Jeans pointed out that the floodlight is not working.
Rentals – no comment
Signs/information boards – no comment
Gates/fences & footpaths – see under Castle Hill Environment Plan/HLS Scheme below
Tree management –This is for Castle Hill only. Suggest we retain reserves of £1540 (tree work identified in inspection report).
Castle Hill Environment Plan/HLS Scheme – Our environmental stewardship scheme expires in September 2028 and we should continue to receive our grant funding year on year as long as we comply with the conditions, i.e. keep the hill grazed and carry out some scrub clearance. I am concerned that the ground staff have not had an opportunity to carry out any scrub clearance up there for the last three years and it is therefore imperative that we keep the goats grazing on there (see fencing concerns). This budget heading does not really need any funding allocated to it (just time).
Gates/fences – we really ought to replace the whole of the fence around Castle Hill and Long Hill as it is in very poor condition. Last year we built up reserves to carry out some of the repair work but unfortunately it was too dry in the summer to do any of this work. I am hopeful that I can get our staff upon the hill to do some scrub clearance and fencing repairs this winter.
CEMETERY
Rates – No comment.
Walls, railings, fences & footpaths – We have replaced some fence panels this year. Future work requirements are:
- solve issues around gate on the northeast corner by Barnes place. (The gates don’t meet because the pillars have moved due to large oak tree roots)
- painting railings
- pointing perimeter wall where necessary (the walls are not in the best condition and would cost an awful lot to repair if they fell down).
Suggest we retain reserves of £2335 and budget a further £200
Water Rates – No comment
Signs & Security – We are planning to use the £250 to refurbish the solar panels on the Victorian street light at the entrance to the old cemetery.
Tree Management – Reserves are allocated to deal with actions in tree inspection report. Some work at the bottom of the old cemetery adjacent to the boundary with some of the properties in Pettridge Lane needs doing and other work has been identified within the tree report. Suggest we retain reserves of £1730.
Ground & Weed Management – Grounds staff would like to remove some of the spoil from the old cemetery. This would require the hire of machinery and could be done when footpaths are refurbished or when work on new cemetery is carried out. Suggest we retain reserves of £280 and budget a further £100
Materials/Repairs – I would suggest that these reserves are added to the Walls/Railings/Footpaths and a concerted effort is made to improve footpaths, gates, railings, walls, fences etc. over the next few years. Retain reserves but make no further budget.
NEW CEMETERY
Drainage & paths – Phase 2 of the drainage and path work was carried out last year. It was agreed that reserves were not required for this at the present time and should be diverted to the heading ‘New gates and drive’ in order to get this job carried out during the 2026/27 year.
Fencing, gates & hedging – we get some of the hedges cut by contractor (cost £348.50 this year). Suggest we retain reserves of 820 and make no budget.
New gates & drive – We can get new gates from The Iron Works and Gate Company in Malmesbury for £650 – https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152693171699
Suggest we contact them and see if they can do a couple of sets of railings too and perhaps, we could then afford to build a couple of pillars and two sections of short wall with our Mere stone. Suggest we retain reserves of £2500 and budget a further £500 (see comments under ‘Drainage & paths’ heading above – add £1250 to this giving a total allocation of £4250.
Water – No comment
Planting scheme – No comment.
Lych Gate – Members have historically said that although this was an aspiration which was financially unviable but requested that I keep it as a budget heading in case the situation changes.
Signage – Signage & new noticeboard was replaced in 2021. No reserves. No budget.
Burial Books – no comment
CHAIRMAN’S EXPENSES – This is usually raised by 3% each year.
CHAIRMAN’S PENDANT – No Comment
CHANGING ROOMS
Electricity – Please remember that the office electricity supply (which provides heating as well as lighting/computer comes from the changing rooms supply as well as the MUGA lights). I suggest we retain reserves of £580 and budget £1000 again. Aspiration would be to change the water heater/showers in the changing rooms to something a little more user friendly and of course, there is a chance that we may be able to use alternative energy for office power supply. (see Climate Change initiatives below)
Fire Alarm Maintenance – no comment.
Gas – now that the football club are carrying out their own legionella testing it means that we do not have to run showers/light boiler so frequently and the gas bills are not too high. Football club have been able to pay the gas usage. I suggest we retain reserves of £235 and budget a further £100.
Maintenance/Repair – Suggest we retain remaining reserves of £500 ad budget a further £100.
Security – no comment.
Water & sewerage – as Gas above. The water usage is likely to increase due to increased football usage. I suggest we retain reserves of £200 and budget a further £200 for next year.
Boiler Maintenance & water testing – We have one contractor to service the big boiler and another to service the smaller boiler. Water testing is carried out by the football club and professionally if thought necessary or prudent. Suggest we retain reserves of £600 and make no budget
CLIMATE CHANGE INITIATIVES
The Town Council has aspirations to be proactive with climate change initiatives such as solar panels for Duchy Manor, changing rooms and/or public toilets, EV charger for Duchy Manor and possibly Castle Street car park. Reserves have been built up and then depleted year-on year. Last year we had reserves of £4320 but this was removed. Cllr. Rachael Hansford has been successful in getting grant funding for solar panels on the public toilets but this was through a third-party (Chamber of Trade). Now we have the lease for Duchy Manor, I would suggest we should explore every opportunity to get solar panels on the flat roof in order to provide power and battery storage for our part of the building. We may be able to get some grant funding but I expect this would need some match funding too. Suggest we budget £2000 for this purpose. There was a long discussion about this issue but eventually voted to keep the budget using the Chair’s casting vote.
Community Resilience Group – members may recall that this was grant funding secured by Cllr Rachel Hansford in order to appoint a contractor to co-ordinate the Community Resilience Group. This purpose is no longer necessary and we have used some of the funding for training for our grounds staff (signing, lighting and guarding) to enable them to direct traffic in the event of an emergency or flooding. We wondered whether it might be appropriate to think about providing a man shed/repair shed on the old Croquet Club site and whether the remainder of this grant could be used for or towards this purpose. Recommended to consider this at a separate Full Council meeting.
Croquet & Boules Club – As you know, the Croquet Club have handed back the space to the Town Council. We will now be responsible for hedge cutting and grass cutting on the site. The hedge is quite onerous although we have spent some time in reducing its size this summer. I need to liaise with immediate neighbour about future reductions and the implications this would have but their reaction may depend on its future use. I would suggest that we should try and find a use that is going to minimise the maintenance for our staff. Recommended to consider this at a separate Full Council meeting soon.
Members should be aware that we have a large beech tree by the gate which is causing some concern.
DEFIBRILLATORS (Maintenance) – No comment.
DUCHY MANOR GROUNDS
Maintenance – Future work requirements:
- Fencing between Duchy Grounds and Burton Path needs some attention
- Fencing along eastern boundary also needs some attention
- Pest control would now appear to be an annual expense of about £750.
Suggest we retain reserves of £1885 and budget a further £500.
Rates – No comment
Rentals – No comment
Security/Safety/Lighting – One of the lighting bollards was damaged by vandalism. Having spoken to the manufacturers, they tell me it is not possible to replace the broken components but that the whole bollard needs to be replaced at a cost of £340 + installation costs. Therefore, suggest we retain reserves of £315.
Signs – Would like to get a Mere Town Council sign. I know this has been previously approved in any case. Wondering whether we should have ‘MERE TOWN COUNCIL’ above porch over double-doors (similar to school signage) with a smaller sign on the wall detailing opening hours, contact details etc. Suggest we retain reserves of £400 and budget a further £100
Tree Management – Funds should be retained in order to respond to actions within tree inspection report. We still need to plant two smaller trees to replace the two felled poplar trees. Suggest we retain reserves of £1490 and budget a further £300.
ELECTION COSTS – The suggested fee given by Wiltshire Council in January 2021 for a medium sized parish/town council was between £7938 & £8985. Out reserves were reduced in 2022 and last year we built up reserves again so that we could cover a fee of £8500. We received our invoices from Wiltshire Council and it was £4503. I have therefore reduced reserves to £1250 and suggest we budget a further £1250 over the next 4 years so that we could meet an invoice of £5000 in the 2029 elections. Of course, there is always a chance that we could be required to hold a by-election in-between. Cllr. Jordan proposed that the budget is reduced to £750 and £2000 will be budgeted each year for the next 2 years bringing this allocation to £6000 by May 2029 and if a by-election is required in the meantime then it will be necessary to vire the funds. Proposal carried.
EVENTS – I am not aware of any significant events in 2026 that we may need to consider funding.
FINGERPOST SIGNS – We have repaired all the fingerpost signs that we got grants for. I would suggest we reduce reserves to provide enough funds to repair the Wet Lane fingerpost sign and to keep a little bit in reserve in order to carry out some more repairs.
FLORAL ENHANCEMENTS – No comment
FOOTPATHS
Footpath Group – this is the Footpath Group’s money
Seed money to tarmac Burton Footpath – No comment
GOUNDS EQUIPMENT
Small Tools & Equipment – No comment
Branded Work Clothing – No comment
GROUNDS EXPENSES
Fuel & Oil – We used less fuel than anticipated this year but I assume that this was due to the fact that we didn’t do as much grass cutting. Suggest we reduce reserves to £2250 and budget £5780 again for next year.
Hedge planting/gates/fences – No comment
Play equipment repairs (in house) – We have just received the 2025 RoSPA Inspection report which identifies various works and repairs, most of which can be carried out “in house”.
Seats & benches (repairs & maintenance) –No comment
Signs – no comment
Hire of equipment – this was a heading that you included last year as you felt it was important to be able to hire equipment in order to save the grounds staff time i.e. hiring chippers, dumper trucks and also on the basis that the inclusion of this heading may also allow us to carry out jobs that would otherwise need to be carried out by outside contractors. We are about to hire a digger for work on the back of Long Hill (footpath) but will try and co-ordinate this with doing the Recreation Ground car park. Suggest we retain reserves of £2000
Weed Control – no comment
Vehicle road tax & insurance –No comment.
CCTV and/or Wildlife Cameras – We have suffered vandalism in the past and we occasionally get “hot spots” which move – sometimes it is the pavilion, sometimes it is Salisbury Street Car Park & other times it is the cemetery. We also have little problems like someone repeatedly allowing a dog into the new cemetery, or someone deliberately leaving the gate open on Castle Hill to let the goats out so we wondered if some kind of more mobile CCTV might prove to be useful. I am not sure how this would work with GDPR though. We budgeted £500 three years ago so that we could consider this which is now in reserves. Suggest retain reserves. Recommended to reduce this to £200.00
Rental for storage containers/compound – Rental is £3600 per year (£100 per container, per month). The Town Council has three containers at Townsend Nurseries and the tractor is houses in another large shed. I am not aware of any other suitable location to use as a compound area although we have got an interest registered with Wiltshire Council.
Other storage facilities – the Town Council does use a large shed at Southbrook for storage. This shed needs some attention and would like to retain reserves of £300 and budget a further £300.
GROUNDS MACHINERY – This section is for maintenance, service & repair costs only. Any new machinery or replacement machinery comes under capital purchase. Obviously, it is not practical or desirable to spend more money on repairs than it would be to buy a new piece of equipment. However, sometimes a chainsaw or a strimmer can be repaired several times but each time the repair cost is minimal. I would like to point out that our grounds staff now carry out a lot of maintenance work themselves which saves us a lot of money. I suggest we retain reserves but make no budget.
GROUNDS SUNDRIES – No comment
HEALTH & SAFETY
Outsourcing Health & Safety – we have been using Guardian Advisors with some success but also some reservations Last year we received some training, some Risk Assessments, a Fire Risk Assessment for the pavilion and we took Keith around all our facilities, premises and described all our work in readiness for the H&S Management Document. Suggest we retain reserves of £2750. Recommended to reduce reserves by £1250 leaving £1500 in reserve.
Fire Safety – No comment.
First Aid – No comment.
Play Equipment Inspection – No comment
PPE – No comment
Tree Inspection – Tree inspection was carried out in 2025 at a cost of £2210. The consultants recommend that this is carried out again in two years
Signs/barriers – No comment
PAT testing – No comment. Due to be carried out shortly.
Fixed Wire Testing – Our H&S advisors have requested that we get all our buildings tested every five years. Sonya – where did we get to with the Fixed Wire Testing?.
Legionella Risk Assessment – no comment.
HUNTSGATE (WALNUT ROAD) PLAY AREA – we should now start building reserves for maintenance/replacement parts and equipment.
KINGSMERE/LONGHILL OPEN SPACE
Tree Works – Tree Inspection Report has identified an awful lot of ash dieback that will need dealing with but this is complicated as could involve the need for a Forestry Commission licence. We have a vast amount of ash die back but will be concentrating on removing trees that are nearest the footpaths. I am hoping that much of this work can be done ‘in house’ now that we have the appropriate chainsaw tickets for our ground staff. However, the very old and large Beech trees on the southern perimeter of Long Hill are a cause for concern as they are now showing signs of old age and stress and losing limbs. Suggest we retain reserves of £3000 and budget a further £500.
Hedge cutting – This is for contract cutting around the Kingsmere Open Space.
Water Supply – No comment
MUGA
Maintenance& Floodlights –– Roger is doing some consultation work on refurbishing this facility at the present time. There may also be an opportunity to get some match funding from Sport England. Suggest we retain overall reserves but make no budget. Recommended to take away reserves for floodlights.
NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN
I am not aware that the Neighbourhood Plan needs funding from the Town Council.
Payroll – to discuss at meeting under ‘CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS’ – see additional confidential information at Appendix 1 and Appendix 2
PUBLICITY/TOURISM PROMOTION
Website – the Town Council’s website was reworked five years ago to comply with the new website accessibility requirements but the requirements have been changed again and more work is needed on the website. We need to try and have all this in place by the end of March 2026 and the Council needs to decide whether or not it wants to go over to gov.uk or keep the org domain. Anyhow, I am currently obtaining quotations from local companies as well as sector specific ones and it would appear that we will need from ??? to ????. Suggest we retain reserves of £965 and budget a further £750.
PUBLIC TOILETS
Personnel fee for holiday cover & extra cleaning – we have recently contracted MG cleaning to carry out holiday cover for the public toilets which was successful although I have not yet received an invoice. Suggest we retain reserves of £800 but make no budget.
Service Contract for Wallgate units – We have a quotation for a 3-year service contract from Wallgate.
Year 1 – £697.04 (this is cheaper because the unit in the gent’s toilet is brand new and won’t need servicing for 1 year)
Year 2 – £899.08
Year 3 – £899.08
I have divided the total (£2495.20) by 3 and reduced reserves to £850 and budgeted a further £850
Cleaning Equipment – No comment
Cleaning Products – No comment
Dispensers – We have learnt that it is better to buy the more expensive stainless-steel ones than the cheaper plastic ones. Retain reserves of £170 and make no budget.
Security – We have approached nearby businesses for collaboration with CCTV to help combat vandalism.
Plumbing & Repairs – Suggest we retain reserves of £570 and make no budget.
Electricity – I have reduced the budget figure from £850 to £500 on the basis that solar panels will reduce our electricity consumption.
Water & sewerage – No comment
Refurbishment Costs – All work, apart from an outside light, is now completed.
RECREATION GROUND
Gates, fencing, hedges, locks & security – No comment
Hedge cutting – This is an issue and I would like to revisit the controversial concept of reducing the height of the hedge drastically as its present height causes a lot of problems for cutting and maintenance. Also, I wonder if we should fill in the archway gaps that have been created by residents as a shortcut.
Health & Safety – no comment
Legal/valuations – We need to pay our solicitor for the lease work. Suggest we retain reserves of £1250 and budget a further £1000.
Play Equipment/Area –Members removed reserves in the knowledge that S.106 funding could be used for this purpose and I know that this is now a priority in our Project Co-Ordinator’s work schedule.
Signs – Would like to replace the large ‘Regulations’ sign in the Recreation Ground as it is now quite old and tatty. Suggest retain reserves of £495 and make no further budget.
Tennis Courts – I think it is unlikely that our S.106 funding is going to stretch to refurbishing the tennis courts in the future, I would suggest that we should start building up some funds for future maintenance. Suggest we retain reserves of £750 and budget a further £750
Water Rates – No comment
Litter bins –A fireproof bin cost us £450 – £550 Suggest we retain reserves of £550.
Trees – We have been building reserves in order to get extra tree work done to crown lift the TPO trees on eastern boundary – both sides – so that farmer can get underneath with tractor etc. Two years ago, I received a quotation for this work at £1430 (quotation now expired). We have lost some very large limbs from these trees over the last couple of years. Also, there is a tree in the corner of the Rec that has limbs very close to electricity wires. Tree report is recommending various work to trees in the Rec. Suggest we retain reserves of £2515 and budget a further £500 so that we can respond to recommendations made within the tree inspection report & carry out the crown lifting work on the farmer’s boundary.
Skate Park maintenance – The skatepark is very popular and is wearing well although there are some minor small cracks appearing in the concrete. Maverick (the people that installed the skatepark) have been extremely helpful and have been out and filled in the cracks free of charge on two separate occasions. Suggest we retain reserves of £400.
Car Park Repairs – We are receiving a number of complaints about the state of the car park for the Recreation Ground even though our grounds staff did try to do some levelling work on it last year but it is now back to potholes and uneven ground. I am not sure how we do it but would suggest that we do need to give this some attention (and funding) fairly soon. Suggest we retain reserves of £900 and budget a further £2000.
Youth Club – Four years ago I amended the reserves to £6000 which is the sum that we have promised the Seeds4Success to be put towards their project. This is the wording I put in my report which was subsequently approved by the Town Council: ‘Mere Town Council will consider, at its Annual Budget Meeting each year, the budgeting and allocation of grants or donations to Seeds4Success to go towards this project until the building has been completed and thereafter, will consider, upon request, grants or donations to Seeds4Success to be used towards repair/maintenance costs of the building that may be necessary or required.’ We budgeted £1000 to add to these reserves three years ago and the reserves stood at £7000. However, members removed £3000 from reserves three years ago but did put another £1000 two years ago. We have had to have a condition survey and carry out an asbestos survey on the building and I have taken these fees from this heading. Can we reduce the reserves to £2230? Recommended to reduce reserves to £2230
Public Toilet for Recreation Ground – no comment
Bench seating for Recreation Ground – the Town Council is happy to consider applications for donated seats and benches.
RIVERS
This is money which has been awarded to the Rivers Group as a grant.
SECTION 137
The limit of expenditure for S.137 during 2025/26 is £11.10 per elector (11.10 X 2550 = £28,305)
Area Board Support Gants – The Town Council donated £500 to The Grove Building two years ago. Suggest we retain reserves of £1000 and make no further budget.
CATG Commitments/Projects – We have requested that the 30mph speed limit is extended in Shaftesbury Road – it is anticipated that our contribution towards this work will we be £2511.69. However, the residents have agreed to pay the Town Council £1000 towards this (net cost to the TC would be £1511.69). We have requested two street name signs from LHFIG and it is anticipated that our contribution towards them will be £280. Heaven knows what our contribution towards the Town Centre Traffic Management proposals and the Clements Lane/Edgebridge proposals would be. Suggest we retain reserves of £5625 and budget a further £1000.
STREET CLEANING
Bing bags & consumables – No comment
Protective Clothing – No comment
Commercial Waste Collection – We have a waste removal contract with Hills Waste and we added an extra bin to our contract last year which has resulted in a slight reduction in our excess weight charges and overall collection costs. I have therefore reduced the reserves to £850 and suggest we continue budget @ £2000 for next year.
Dog waste bags – We are getting through these rather rapidly although I am sure the provision is appreciated, not least by our own staff but we have noticed that some people just go and take loads of the bags. Last year, you asked me to reduce reserves and you reduced the budget with the suggestion that dog owners should provide their own poo bags. We get endless phone calls when the dispensers are empty.
Street Cleaning Machine – Last year a resident has suggested that we should purchase a street cleaning machine that will also pick up dog poo under the assumption that it will transform the efficiency of our street cleaning! The cheapest machine has a cost of £13k so I thought you would prefer me not to include this in the budget report.
STREET LIGHTS
Last year, Cllr. Jeans requested that some money be put aside for additional street lighting. One in Dark Lane, on the left-hand side when you come out from the Doctors Surgery steps, one for Jupes Lane/Pettridge Lane junction
He said he was pursuing the repair of a street light in Church Street. Suggest we retain reserves of £2000 and budget a further £1000
TOWN ENHANCEMENTS
Paint/brushes/tools – this is mainly for equipment & consumables to enable our Street Orderly to carry out town enhancements e.g. painting litter bins, railings, bollards etc. Unfortunately, the paint for the railings is very expensive
WHITE ROAD GARDENS
We have been wondering whether this might be a suitable site to provide a community orchard area with seating and perhaps play equipment for very young children e.g. sandpit, games panels etc. or an outdoor gym or calisthenics fitness site. Either way, I am sure that S.106 funding or grant funding would be appropriate.
Suggest retain reserves and make no budget.
Road Name Signs
This is another function that has now been dumped onto – sorry – delegated to Parish & Town Councils by Wiltshire Council. Suggest we retain reserves of £990.
Install EV charging point for car park – No comment.
INCOME
ADMINISTRATION – No comment.
Allotments – If we want to apply an allotment rental increase we need to give 1 year’s notice. We sent out a letter to all allotment holders in March 2023 giving them a year’s notice that we would be applying a 10% increase to all allotment rents w.e.f. March 2024. The allotment rents received during the previous financial year amounted to £2250.
CAR PARKS – Sponsorship pledges by businesses – I have raised my concern that some of the sponsor businesses have changed hands. We have just issued invoices and I believe that Cllr. Jeans and the Chair will be revisiting the businesses to seek new and renewed pledges.
Cemetery (Burial fees & charges) – The average annual cemetery income from 1.4.19 to 31.3.25 is £9983. I think we were a little optimistic with our income forecast for 2025/26 which was based on the income received during the previous year. The fact that we have stopped non-resident burials which were double-fees has also had an impact on our income. I carried out some fairly extensive research into local cemetery fees about 6 years ago and we were comparable at that time. Last year the Council approved an increase in cemetery fees by 10% for 24/25.
CIL & Policy R2 –We have received a revised planning application for 7 dwellings on the Catholic Church site and so that may produce some CIL receipt for 2025/26 or 2026/27?? A new dwelling next to Green Pastures in North Road is also nearing completion and I have made enquiries with Wiltshire Council about this but I believe it may be classed as a self-build so will be exempt.
Duchy Manor rentals –it is my understanding that we either intend to get some income or provide some kind of beneficial service from the space at the old children’s centre when and if we require it. I have not included any income at this stage though.
Floral Sponsors – No comment
Forest Deer Leazes – discussed earlier this year.
Grants & Donations – No comment
HLS Scheme – We extended our contract for the HLS Scheme for another 5 years and I have submitted a claim for the grant for this year.
Interest – This has been increased in anticipation of continued increased interest from the CCLA account.
Policy R2/Section 106 – I am assuming that we may receive some S.106 funds if/when the development at the Beaumonts site starts but if this is anything like the Brush Factory site funding, it could be a year or two before we receive any funding so I have not included this.
Sale of Assets – We have a shed full of seasoned wood that we will be offering for sale soon.
Sports Clubs fees – I have applied the annual 3% increase across the board. We no longer have Archery (Club 2) and the Petanque Group denied that they agreed to pay us any fees on the basis that the pétanque piste is there for everyone to use at any time and is not exclusively theirs.
Meeting closed at 9.30 pm
