Author: Lindsey Wood

Mere Town Council

Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

Minutes of the ANNUAL TOWN COUNCIL MEETING of Mere Town Council held on Monday, 15^th May 2023 at Duchy Manor, Springfield Road, Mere.  BA12 6EW at 7.00 pm.

Present:  Councillors Mrs. L. Traves (Chair), Mrs. K. Symonds (Vice-Chair), Nick Beale, Aubrey Colman, Rachael Hansford, Raymond Hill, Glen Ings, John Jordan.

Public Session

Mr. Nick Gosse mentioned that the 6-axle Intercontinental lorries stopped travelling along Pettridge lane to get into the Beaumont Business Park and he also wanted to know if there was an update on his highways improvement request form that had been submitted to the LHFIG.  He also felt that the Town Council should ask County Hall for an update on the Environmental Impact Assessment that was carried out for Mere when all the expansion plans were given.

John Jordan explained the difficulty being experienced by Moviola in terms of costs and facilities and explained that the future of providing film shows in Mere was at risk.

Glen Ings raised the question of grass cutting Duchy Manor vs school use of the facilities.

245. To elect Chairman of Mere Town Council for 2023/24 and to receive the Chairman’s Declaration of Acceptance of Office

Cllr. John Jordan elected as Chairman of Mere Town Council for 2023/24 on proposal made by Cllr. Mrs. Traves, seconded by Cllr. Nick Beale and carried with a unanimous vote.

Having signed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office, Cllr. John Jordan in The Chair

246. To elect Vice-Chairman of Mere Town Council for 2023/24 and to receive the Vice-Chairman’s Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

Cllr. Glen Ings elected as Vice-Chairman of Mere Town Council for 2023/24 on proposal made by the Chairman, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Traves and carried with a unanimous vote.

Whilst Cllr. Ings signed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office, the Chairman asked for a huge thank you to be Minuted for the work that had been put in by Cllr. Mrs. Traves as Chairman during the last two years.  He said he was aware of what a tough task this is as he had done it before, and it can be quite demanding. He said that it was nice to be supported by a helpful Vice-Chair and thanked Kate for all her candid support.

247. Apologies for absence received from Cllrs. Debbie Beale, Sandra Catley, Philip Coward, Rodney Coward, Clive Hazzard, George Jeans and Linden Stone.

248. To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests and other interests from Councillors on matters to be considered at the meeting.

• None received.

249. Minutes – RESOLVED that the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on Monday, 3^rd April 2023 be approved as a correct record.

The Chairman said, “you will recall that we are looking for a minute secretary. I have had a look at other town council minutes and although we have very descriptive minutes, I notice that many councils simply record decisions. I’m going to ask that we try for next month’s minutes to just provide a briefer version so that when we ask somebody to provide a quotation for the minute secretary post, we can ask for a quote for both versions of minutes (brief and descriptive).  Cllr. Mrs. Hansford suggested the notion of software to record and transcribe the Minutes.

250. Sergeant Matthew Roberts from Wiltshire Police to talk about local policing issues.

Sgt. Roberts explained that he had recently joined the Community Policing Team for this area along with PC Michael Obern and PCSO Stuart Hunt.  Force priorities from the new Chief Inspector Catherine Roper are Safer Public Spaces, Violence Reduction and Burglaries.  There was a discussion about crime reporting and the difficulties for council officers and members to pass on intelligence information due to the lack of communication or presence of local police.  People urged to report any crimes or concerns to the police via 101 or online but this can always be backed up with an email to our PCSO or PC.  The chairman expressed his concern about having to share a PCSO with Tisbury and the issue of police recruitment and staffing was discussed briefly.  Sgt. Roberts did, however, state that Mere police station will be being used again for regular drop-in sessions.

*251.  To review and adopt the Standing Orders & Financial Regulations for Mere Town Council – The Clerk explained that both the Standing Orders and Financial Regulations (which had been distributed with the agenda papers) had been amended in line with new Procurement Regulations.  RESOLVED to adopt, without further amendment, both documents.

252. Internal Audit

To appoint/re-appoint an Internal Auditor – RESOLVED to re-appoint the services of Kate Houlihan via the Local Council Consultancy service if she is happy to continue.

253. To review Committee Structures and appointment of any committees in accordance with standing order 4 and, if appointing committees, to consider terms of reference etc. – It was agreed that the Town Council would continue with the present arrangements of having an Annual Budget Committee + Staffing Panel & Appeals Committee only and an ad-hoc structure of Working Groups as and when considered necessary and required.

254. To appoint members, including Convenors, to serve on Working Groups as required – as above.

255. To appoint members, including the Chairman, to serve on the Staffing Panel – It was agreed that the Staffing Panel member make-up should be Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Cllr. Mrs. Traves.

256. To appoint members, including the Chairman, to serve on the Appeals Committee – It was agreed that the Appeals Committee member make-up should be Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Cllr. Colman.

257. To appoint/re-appoint Trustees for Forest Charities – deferred

258. Review of representation on or work with external bodies and arrangements for reporting back: – deferred.

*259.  Review of delegation arrangements to committees, sub-committees, staff and other local authorities; (Scheme of Delegation attached) – RESOLVED to adopt the Scheme of Delegation without amendment.

260. To review the Council’s banking and signatory arrangements and mandate for direct debits – RESOLVED to continue with the practice of two councillors to verify payments by physically signing each invoice. RESOLVED to approve the list of Direct Debits.

*261.  To review the Council’s asset register (asset register summary attached) – RESOLVED to adopt the asset register without amendment.

*262.  Confirmation of arrangements for insurance cover in respect of all insurable risks (renewal insurance schedule attached) – members were happy with the arrangements for insurance cover as shown in the insurance schedule.

263. To fix the dates and times of ordinary meetings of the Council and Committees for the ensuing year – RESOLVED to continue with current arrangement of holding meetings on the first Monday of every month unless it is a bank holiday, in which case the Town Council will meet on the following Monday. The Town Council does not have a scheduled monthly meeting in August.  It was agreed that meetings would continue to start at 7.00 pm.

264. Matters Arising from Public Session

The Chairman confirmed that Mr. Gosse’s comments will be investigated & considered and the Clerk & Chairman will provide an appropriate response.

265. Matters Arising from previous Meetings

*a) Minute Ref: 286a) Lease/Licence for Car Club Car Club – Members noted the information in the Clerks Report.  Members were reminded that this legal agreement was for EV charging points and that the car share company had now pulled out of the deal.

*b)  Lynch Close Sheltered Housing Review – Newsletter May 2023 (attached) & correspondence – The clerk confirmed that she had entered into correspondence with Wiltshire Council as residents had raised concerns about a meeting to which the Town Council had not been invited and also statements in the Newsletter which were not accurate or ambiguous.  Assurances from Wiltshire Council had subsequently been received.

266. Reports & Consultations
267. a) Wiltshire Councillors Report – None

*b) Report from Project Co-Ordinator (reports [2] attached) – With reference to the two reports, it was noted that work on the Walnut Road Play Area is about to start next Thursday.  With reference to the Public Toilets refurbishment project, members approved the appointment of Wayne Card Architectural services and Cllr. Rachael Hansford agreed to work with Roger Pipe on this project.

267. Planning
268. a) Applications for consultation response:

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application.

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application.

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application.

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application.

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application.

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application.

1. b) Planning Appeal Notification – PL/2022/06387 – Breaches Barn, Barrow Street, Mere, Warminster – APP/Y3940/W/23/3319335 – The appeal had been changed from a hearing procedure to that which would be considered by written evidence only. The Clerk confirmed that the Inspector would be in receipt of the Town Council’s original consultation submission to this planning application.
2. c) Report on Strategic Planning Committee meeting held for planning application 20/07643/FUL – Full Planning Permission Address: Land at Jane Oaks Farm, Mere, Warminster, Wiltshire, BA12 6LH Proposal: Change of use of land to use as a residential caravan site for 4 gypsy families. Laying of hardstanding, access improvements and erection of two amenity buildings – Cllr. Mrs. Traves reported that she and Cllr. Symonds had attended the meeting in Trowbridge on 25^th She pointed out that all planning authorities are supposed to allocate land as designated gypsy and traveler sites but, unfortunately, Wiltshire has not done this which put them at a real disadvantage in objecting to this planning application. Everyone spoke well and tried their best but the application was approved.

*d) DLUHC Consultation On Infrastructure Levy – Final NALC Request To Circulate Briefing To Member Councils, (consultation document attached) – it was agreed that the Chairman & Cllr. Colman would prepare a consultation response.

*e) NALC response to the government’s consultation on permitted development rights (response attached – for information) – Members were happy with the response from NALC and had no comments to add.

268. Highways, Rivers, Footpaths, Traffic & Transport
269. a) To identify jobs for the Parish Steward, Sparkle Team and MyWiltshire reports – It is uncertain as to whether or not there is a Sparkle Team at the moment but the Clerk confirmed that there is currently no Parish Steward service as the Parish Steward is currently tasked with filling potholes.

*b) Traffic Management in Mere – response from Traffic Engineer – RESOLVED that the traffic & transport working group would assess the response from the Traffic Engineer and make some recommendations on progression and priorities.

269. Buildings, Open Spaces, Play Areas, Sports Grounds, Car Parks, Allotments & Cemeteries

*a) Review of football provision and facilities in view of proposals to change football fixtures for Mere Town Football Club – there was a long discussion about the current football provision in Mere and the proposals being put forward by Mr. Down. The Clerk summarised the situation and said… in short, we have Mere Town Football Club which is the Sunday Adult team and the youth football (as was agreed with the Town Council last September) and we have a new Football Club proposing to use our facilities on a Saturday which will have a separate committee – it might be helpful if they operated under a different name to avoid confusion but whether or not they all use the same name is up to them.   In general, members felt that any new sporting provision would be beneficial for the town but there was obviously a need to consider financial constraints and ensure that existing sporting provision is not adversely affected. RESOLVED to investigate and estimate the likely cost involved in re-utilising hot showers and raise again for discussion at the next meeting.

270. Finance, Policy & Resources

*a)  Payments – RESOLVED to authorise payments as shown in the schedule (attached).

1. b) To confirm approval for S.137 payments for 2023/24 financial year (as listed in payment schedule) – members confirmed the approval of the S.137 payments and agreed that they would provide a direct benefit to the area and/or inhabitants.

*c) To consider quotation for insurance renewal – Members expressed concern about the quotation that had been given which included insurance on the two car parks.  The Clerk was asked to request a second quotation to exclude the car parks insurance and the Chairman & Clerk delegated authority to renew the insurance if considered appropriate on this basis (car park insurance would be added when the lease has been completed/signed).

*d) To review and approve end of year Budget/Expenditure Report including revisions to reserves and to discuss debtors/creditors and End of Year Summaries (report attached) – The Clerk had highlighted and explained the reductions she had made from the reserves and any significant variances from budget which included an overspend on the electricity for the public toilets.  The Clerk also explained the Recreation Ground Charity summary which, in effect, separated the Charity’s accounts from the Town Council’s but required the Town Council to give a donation of £16,000 to the Charity in order for the Charity to pay the Town Council’s invoice for maintenance.  The Budget/Expenditure Report and End of Year summaries were approved without amendment.

*e) Wiltshire Towns Programme – funding for 2023/24 – the Chairman reported that the Town Council had received the £5k grant for 2022/23 and had just found out that we are going to get £5k for 2023/24.  Ideas for expenditure which should be based on increasing footfall into the town and so this will be on the agenda for the next meeting.

1. f) Actions from Interim Internal Audit Report
2. i) Specialist advice on requirement for VAT Registration – deferred.

271. General Items & Consultations/Briefing Notes
272. a) The Tower Stories – Heritage Lottery Bid – members were advised that the Town Council had added a letter of support for the Church to submit with their Heritage Lottery bid.
273. b) Briefing Note 23-10: Guidance for Neighbourhood Planning within Wiltshire – noted.

272. Future meetings and events

Ask the Leader of the Council event – it was reported that there would be a series of these events and the Mere area event would be held at a later date.

273. Future agenda items

The Chairman requested a future agenda item “Vision for Mere”.

Note:  Members are reminded that the Town Council has a general duty to consider the following matters in the exercise of any of its functions: Equal Opportunities (race, gender, sexual orientation, marital status and any disability), Crime and Disorder, Health and Safety and Human Rights.

*Further information on these items enclosed/attached

Meeting closed at 8.42 pm

MERE PEACE MEMORIAL SPORTS AND RECREATION GROUND

Registered Charity No. 1093497

Meeting opened at 8.43 pm

For Trustees:

1. To receive report on end of year accounts and approve end of year accounts (summary is included in Budget/Expenditure Report) – the end of year accounts were approved without amendment.
2. RESOLVED to approve the payment to Mere Town Council for maintenance charges for 2022/23:

Mere Town Council  – Maintenance charges for 2022/23                  £15,921.07

Meeting closed at 8.45 pm

Minutes of a meeting of Mere Town Council held on Monday, 3^rd April 2023 at 7.00 pm at Duchy Manor, Springfield Road, Mere, Wiltshire.  BA12 6EW. 

Present:  Councillors Mrs. Lesley Traves (Chairman), Mrs. Kate Symonds (Vice-Chairman), Debbie Beale, Nick Beale, Sandra Catley, Philip Coward, George Jeans, Rachael Hansford, Clive Hazzard, Glen Ings, John Jordan & Linden Stone

Also Present:  Mr. & Mrs. Clowser, David Drewett, Colin Senneck

Public Participation Session

Mr. Clowser spoke in support of the 30mph speed limit along Shaftesbury Road and said that he had the written backing of a number of residents who are prepared to contribute financially towards the scheme but would pledge to personally underwrite the difference between the £1000 that the Town Council is willing to contribute towards the scheme and the final costs.  He also said that, in the event that Wiltshire Council may not be prepared to accept the money from local residents, he would be prepared to pay the money to the Town Council so that their contribution does not exceed £1000 and I have confirmed this in writing to the Town Clerk.

Mr. Drewett spoke in support of the agenda item for the replacement of 3 street name signs, namely the Wet Lane sign, Clements Lane and The Pound.  Cllr. Mrs. Symonds said that she thought The Pound sign had recently been replaced again, although this time it was positioned higher on the wall so that it could not get stolen.  Cllr. Jeans confirmed that a resident had paid for this sign privately.

Colin Senneck spoke in support of his request to use the old swimming pool site for pétanque – He said that he had recently moved to the area but found there to be a lack of Boules or Pétanque and although  Gillingham has spent a lot of money on putting an international sized piste in the Town Meadow, he had found it to be unsatisfactory with no-one there. He therefore wanted to utilise the old Mere Swimming Pool site at Duchy Manor to offer Pétanque and encourage people to come along and play.  Cllr. Jeans said that the understood there was a Croquet & Boules Club in Mere in North Road.  Mr. Senneck said he had been in contact with them and they have told him that the interest in Boules died out with the pandemic but Mr. Senneck thought that their piste was unsatisfactory and not in a good position.  The old swimming pool site is in a far better position and within the sports complex.

Cllr. Jordan wanted to thank the 13 litter pickers who joined him yesterday to pick litter around the town.  He also said that he had been approached by some people from Devon who complimented Mere on how neat and tidy it was and how wonderful the cemetery was and they said that Mere was much tidier than Devon.

Apologies for absence received from Councillors A. Colman, R. Coward & R. Hill

283. To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests and other interests from Councillors on matters to be considered at the meeting.

• Jeans declared a pecuniary interest in planning application PL/2023/02228 and also in Minute No. 241a) and a personal interest in Minute Ref: 286b) as his son lives along Shaftesbury Road.

284. Minutes – RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on 6^th March 2023 as a correct record with an amendment to Minute Ref; 279b) – as highlighted and RESOLVED to approve Minutes of working group meeting held to review & assess the effectiveness of Internal Control Measures held on Thursday, 23^rd March 2023 (attached)

285. Matters Arising from Public Session

• None

286. Matters Arising from previous Meetings (not covered by other agenda items)

*a) Minute Ref: 276 b) Lease/Licence for Car Club – report from solicitors – Cllr. Jordan made some comments about the fact that the solicitor had pointed out that the licence agreement did not concur with the conditions of the main lease and that permission had to be received from Wiltshire Council to amend the terms of the main lease and he also noted that if for any reason we have to terminate the agreement, we have to pay Econetiq despite the fact that they will be making money out of our car park. Cllr. Rachael Hansford asked what the termination payments would be and Cllr. Jordan said that it was on a sliding scale and the figure depreciates over years and pointed out that the solicitor had said that we needed to take this into consideration.  Cllr. Philip Coward said he thought it was reasonable to find out what these costs would be before we signed the agreement.  Members were happy for the Clerk to proceed on the basis of all the queries that had been raised by our solicitor.

*b) Minute Ref: 279 b) LHFIG Issue No: 14-21-10 Mere TC Request for speed limit assessment along Shaftesbury Road – update from residents on contributions – the Clerk informed members that she had received written confirmation from the residents that they would provide a financial contribution towards the cost of providing the 30mph speed limit, with gateways, at anything over and above the £1000 contribution that the Town Council had agreed to make towards this scheme.  Therefore, the Clerk assumed that the Council was happy to go back to Wiltshire Council asking them to proceed in accordance with the decision that was made last month and members concurred.  (Having declared a personal interest, Cllr. Jeans abstained from discussion or voting.)

*c) Minute Ref: 268 b) Extension of Environmental Higher Level Stewardship Scheme for Castle Hill & Long Hill – members noted the information in the Clerks Report.

287. Reports & Consultations
288. a) Wiltshire Councillors Report – Jeans asked for help erecting flags and bunting. Cllr. Jordan said he hoped that the new Highways Maintenance contractors would do a better job than the previous ones and Cllr. Jeans said that he thought that they could only do what they were asked to do by Wiltshire Council.

*b)  Notification of Revision to boundary of  Asset of Community Value – The Butt of Sherry Public House

They have changed the registry for the land and split off the property at the rear so it is outside the ACV.  Cllr. Rachael Hansford said that she couldn’t understand how this could be done without consultation.  Cllr. P. Coward asked what was to stop them separating another bit.  The Clerk said that as it was the Town Council that asked for the ACV to be imposed then she thought the Town Council should have been consulted.  It was agreed to write to the officer to ask for clarification as to how this has happened without consultation.

*c) Report from Project Co-Ordinator (report attached) – Members were very pleased about the grants and Cllr. Jeans asked for the Council’s thanks to be recorded to Roger for the work he has done to achieve this.

288. Planning
289. a) Applications for consultation response:

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application on proposal made by Cllr. Symonds, seconded by Cllr. Debbie Beale and carried with a majority vote.  In order not to compromise his position as Wiltshire Councillor, Cllr. Jeans abstained from voting on this matter.

Having declared an interest, Cllr. Jeans left the room whilst this matter was discussed.  RESOLVED to recommend approval on prop0osal made by Cllr. Hazzard, seconded by Cllr. N. Beale and carried with a unanimous vote.

1. b) RE: PL/2022/08186 – Extension to existing Gypsy and Traveller site with 10 additional pitches, each pitch to consist of 1 Mobile Home, 1 Touring caravan and parking at Mapperton Hill, Mere.

To inform members of additional information (Access & Visibility Appraisal) submitted by applicant – please see link to planning register: https://development.wiltshire.gov.uk/pr/s/planning-application/a0i3z0000198YxTAAU/pl202208186?tabset-8903c=2 The Clerk confirmed that since the Town Council submitted its consultation response, the applicants had commissioned a highway consultant to submit an Access & Visibility Appraisal because the planning officer had raised concerns with them about the highway issues.  The Clerk therefore wondered if the Town Council wanted to review its consultation response in view of this additional information.  RESOLVED to reiterate the Town Council’s previous response highlighting the highway concerns which are still valid.   In order not to compromise his position as Wiltshire Councillor, Cllr. Jeans abstained from voting on this matter.

289. Highways, Rivers, Footpaths, Traffic & Transport
290. a) To identify jobs for the Parish Steward, Sparkle Team and MyWiltshire reports – it was generally felt that the Parish Steward should be asked to fill potholes – Ivymead, Hazzards Hill & the footpath outside the Mere Social Club were mentioned as having particularly bad potholes.

*b) Highways Maintenance Schedule 2023 – 2030 – With reference to the information that had been distributed prior to the meeting, Cllr. Jordan said that it would appear that the only bit of road to be surfaced is a little bit of road that leads to one residence which was originally tarmacked by mistake.  Cllr. Jeans said that he did argue for more resurfacing to be carried out on the road to West Knoyle at a recent area board meeting and he would continue to urge the cabinet member to consider this road along with Pettridge Lane and Shaftesbury Road to be included within the programme.

30. c) Notice of Temporary Closure of: Footpath 60, Mere (30.05.2023) – Noted
31. d) Notice of Temporary Closure of Water Street (Part), Mere (30.5.23 – 2.6.23) – Noted
32. e) Highway Improvement Request Form – 3 replacement street name plates for submission to LHFIG – The Clerk said that she had spoken to Paul Shaddock who administrates the LHFIG who had sent some costs and confirmed different costs for these signs depending on whether we wanted plastic or metal signs. RESOLVED to purchase the two metal signs (Wet Lane & Clements Lane) via LHFIG on proposal made by Cllr. Jordan, seconded by Cllr. Symonds and carried with a unanimous vote. It was further agreed that the Clerk would investigate the costs to provide name signs for Copenhagen Lane, Clewes Lane and Pennybank

*f) Report on Mere Rivers Group meeting held on Thursday, 16^th March – Members noted the report written by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds, as published in the Clerks Report.  Cllr. P. Coward said he attended the meeting and thought it was a good meeting and was very pleased at the work that Wessex Water are going to do in Mere.  It was agreed that the Town Council should send a thank you to Ian Sheppard who has worked extremely hard to get this action.

240. Buildings, Open Spaces, Play Areas, Sports Grounds, Car Parks, Allotments & Cemeteries

*a) Request to use old swimming pool site for pétanque – Cllr. Jeans asked about liability issues and the Clerk confirmed that other established sports groups set up their own insurance or insurance is provided by affiliation.  However, as this was not established, it may be possible to provide a risk assessment and apply the Town Council’s insurance for a temporary period if the Town Council’s insurers agreed.  Cllr. Hazzard said that whilst he was very happy to support this, he felt that the Town Council should set a time limit for a trial period.  Mr. Senneck said he would know by the end of the summer whether or not there was enough interest in Mere to set up a Petanque Club.  It was agreed that Mr. Senneck be given a trial period until the end of the summer (September) to use the old swimming pool site for Petanque and in the meantime the Clerk would investigate the insurance issue and liaise with Mr. Senneck over risk assessments etc.  Proposal made by Cllr. Jordan, seconded by Cllr. Hazzard and carried with a unanimous vote.

*b) Public Toilets – to consider permanent closure of public toilets during the night in view of the level of vandalism that has occurred in recent months.  With reference to the information in the Clerks Report, Cllr. P. Coward proposed that the public toilets should be closed for the foreseeable future but this will be reviewed either when they are refurbished or in the event of the Town Council providing CCTV in the car park.  Proposal seconded by Cllr. Hazzard and carried with 7 in favour, 2 abstentions and 1 against.  Cllr. Jeans asked if the Disabled toilet was still accessible with a radar key at night and the Clerk explained that the radar key accessibility had been stopped at the beginning of the COVID pandemic and that the disabled toilets were now available for everyone to use during the daytime but as, they too, had been subject to vandalism, they were now locked at night time.  Cllr. Jeans asked for this matter to be raised at the next meeting.

*c) Yew Trees in Cemetery – members noted the information in the Clerks Report and agreed that there was nothing that could be done until we get the findings back from Forest Research.

241. Finance, Policy & Resources

*a)  Payments – RESOLVED to authorise payments as shown in the schedule of payments distributed prior to the meeting.  Having declared a pecuniary interest in this agenda item, Cllr. Jeans left the room whilst the matter was discussed.

*b) Review & assess the effectiveness of Internal Control Measures – RESOLVED to adopt recommendations of working group as outlined in Minutes of Working group meeting held to review & assess the effectiveness of Internal Control Measures held on Thursday, 23^rd March 2023 (attached) and the Chairman signed the Statement of Internal Control 2023 (attached)

*c) Actions from Interim Internal Audit Report

1. ii) Specialist advice on requirement for VAT Registration – deferred.
2. d)Mowers – Quotations to purchase one or two new ride-on mowers. (This is a different mower/price to that which was discussed last month) – the grounds staff had been to the local Stiga stockists and liked the Pro-Park mower and the fact that they could have two of these mowers for a little more money than they could have one Husqvarna ride-on mower which had been agreed last month.  Hazzard pointed out that buying two of these machines would save time and money on maintenance and repairs but also suggested that the grounds staff should ensure that they use one machine more than the other one so that we can try and establish a rolling programme for replacement and not be in the situation that we have to replace two mowers at the same time again.  Cllr. Hazzard pointed out that three quotations had been received and the local stockist at Castle Cary had proved to be the cheapest.  RESOLVED to purchase the two Stiga Pro-Park machines on proposal made by Cllr. P. Coward, seconded by Cllr. Rachael Hansford and carried with a majority vote in favour.  (Cllr. Mrs. Beale voted against the proposal).

*e) To report on Allotment rent audit – noted.

*f) 2021/22 Annual Governance & Accountability Return external auditor instructions – members noted the information in the Clerks Report.

*g) CCTV – report on meeting with officer from Warminster Town Council relating to CCTV – deferred as it was too late to discuss properly – Cllr. Mrs. Catley said she didn’t think you would get very many convictions from the CCTV and that it would be an expensive way of giving intelligence to the police but may not lead to convictions.  Cllr. Jeans said that people should not have to tolerate this kind of behaviour and we should not be in a position where we have to spend 20 minutes reporting every crime and it is no wonder that only 1 in 8 reports get reported.  Cllr. Mrs. Beale said that there is a responsibility on all residents to report all crimes and incidents of anti-social behaviour.  Cllr. Jordan asked if we could repeat this conversation in front of a police representative if we get one coming along to a future meeting.  The Clerk said that for the amount of money that this CCTV system could cost us, it might be possible to employ our own security guard.  It was agreed not to pursue the Warminster Town Council project.

242. General Items
243. a) National Emergency Alerts System & Toolkit this link – noted.

*b)  Briefing Note 23-06 – Wiltshire School Places Strategy 2023-2027 (Briefing Note attached)

*c) Briefing Note No. 23-08 – Reforms to National Planning Policy

*d) Briefing Note 23-07 Government Energy Support Schemes-Update

243. Future meetings and events
244. a) Kings Coronation – events and preparations (Church Service, Bunting, North Road Allotments Big Lunch)

*b) Annual Town Meeting to be held on Wednesday, 26^th April 2023 at the Mere URC– agenda items – Cllr. Mrs. Hansford suggested that ‘The Future of Public Toilets’ go on the agenda.

13. c) NALC online event – Fighting Climate Change with Local Council Action – 24^th May 2023 12:00 – 13.15 – registration cost for NALC members is from £39.22
14. d) Great Big Green Week – see: https://greatbiggreenweek.com/

244. Future agenda items

NB – Please note that the next Town Council meeting will be the Annual Town Council meeting and will be held on 15^th May 2022

*Further information on these items enclosed/attached                  Meeting closed at 8.50 pm

MERE PEACE MEMORIAL SPORTS AND RECREATION GROUND

Registered Charity No. 1093497

The following payments were approved:

Payments:

Wiltshire Council (National Non-Domestic Rates for Recreation Ground)                                     0.00

Water2Business (standing charge only for water supply to old cricket pavilion)                     £14.92

Mere Town Council

Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

Phone: 01747 860701

e-mail: lindseywood@merewilts.org

www.merewilts.org

Minutes of a working group meeting held on Thursday, 23^rd March 2023 at 2.00 pm at Duchy Manor, Springfield Road, Mere.  BA12 6EW

Purpose of the meeting: To review and assess the effectiveness of internal control measures:

In attendance – Cllr. Mrs. Lesley Traves (Chairman) + Cllr. Mrs. Kate Symonds (Vice-Chairman) + Lindsey Wood (Town Clerk).

Apologies for absence received from Cllr. Aubrey Colman.

Two draft documents had been presented to working group members prior to the meeting:

• Statement of Internal Controls
• schedule for Internal Control Measures

One or two minor amendments were made to the Statement of Internal Controls and members were happy to present these to the Council for adoption and signature.

Members recommended that the Town Council should confirm that it had made proper arrangements and accepted responsibility for safeguarding the public money and resources in its charge.  Members recommended that the Council should agree that they had considered and documented the financial and other risks the Council faces and dealt with them properly.  These assertions would enable the Town Council to agree ‘yes’ to assertions 2 and 5 in the Annual Governance & Accountability Report for the year ending 31.3.2023.

Mere Town Council

Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

Minutes of a meeting of Mere Town Council held on Monday, 6^th March 2023 at 7.00 pm in the Andy Young Pavilion, Duchy Manor, Springfield Road, Mere, Wiltshire.  BA12 6EW

Present:  Councillors Mrs. Lesley Traves (Chairman), Mrs. Kate Symonds (Vice-Chairman), Debbie Beale, Nick Beale, Sandra Catley, Philip Coward, Rodney Coward, George Jeans, Rachael Hansford, Clive Hazzard, Raymond Hill, Glen Ings, John Jordan.

Also Present:  Mr. & Mrs. Clowser, David Drewett,

 Public Participation Session

Mr. Clowser said he was pleased that Wiltshire Council’s consultants had recommended changes for the speed limit along Shaftesbury Road from 40 mph to 30 mph and said that at the last Town Council meeting he had attended, the Council had voted by a majority of only 1 vote to commit £600 to the assessment.  Mr. Clowser said he was hoping that the Council would agree to fund its contribution to the works but rather than lose the vote this time, the residents would be prepared to pay the Town Councils’ contribution or make the equivalent donation to Town Council funds.  He suggested that perhaps the Town Council could have two votes – one on whether to approve the works with Town Council funding and a second vote on whether to approve the works with third party funding?

Mr. David Drewett spoke about near-miss traffic accidents and visibility problems associated with the roundabout on the Shaftesbury Road/Walnut Road junction. He said he was in favour a 30mph but didn’t think it was going to be enforced and therefore an alternative form of speed restriction such as a build-out where the pavement is built out slightly to form a chicane on each side of the road.

Mr. Drewett also spoke about the footpath Mere 60/50 from Lordsmead into town and questioned whether it would get used at night if it was illuminated.  He felt that safety in crossing the road at Edgebridge could be improved by removing the overgrowth which is blocking the view between pedestrians and traffic coming down the road and he had logged this with MyWilts and hoped that Wiltshire Council would take some action.

Cllr. Jeans responded by saying that he and the Town Council had never wanted the mini- roundabout at the Walnut Road/Shaftesbury Road junction and said that the alternative of a T-junction did not receive much support locally either and so he had wondered if the roundabout could be rounded off and raised into a hump that vehicles could not drive over.  He said that he could only suggest that this is raised as a future agenda item as a potential Highway Improvement Request.  Enforcing speed limits is a police matter and there is more funding available for speed enforcement as there is now a dedicated team dealing with it although, obviously, they have a very wide area to cover.  A build-out, like that which has been installed in Zeals, is very expensive – something like £40k – and a project of that cost would need to be submitted as a substantive highway scheme.  Regarding illuminating the footpath from Lordsmead to Angel Lane, Cllr. Jeans said that whilst he realised that some ladies will not want to walk the footpath on their own even if it is illuminated, he feels that that if it has no lighting then it will not get used at all.  He is not advocating that we ruin our dark sky status, but would like to see some low-level lighting so that the use of the footpath could be increased.   Cllr. Jeans said that he would see if he could get some action on the overgrowth along Edgebridge to improve visibility.

Clive Hazzard asked what was happening about the repainting of the yellow lines outside the Lecture Hall.  Cllr. Jeans said that he fully agreed that this needed doing as well as the white lines on the Gillingham corner junction but we have been told is that they will only come out when they are doing some more painting in the area.

Apologies for absence received from Cllrs. A. Colman and L. Stone.

273. To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests and other interests from Councillors on matters to be considered at the meeting.

• Hill declared an interest in Planning App PL/2023/00771
• Jeans declared a personal interest in Planning Application PL/2023/00771 & a pecuniary interest in Minute No. 281a) [Finance]

274. Minutes – RESOLVED that the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on 6^th February 2023 be approved as a correct record on proposal made by Cllr. Rachael Hansford, seconded by Cllr. P. Coward and carried with a unanimous vote of those present on 6.2.23. RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Staffing Panel meeting held on Thursday, 16^th February 2023 be approved as a correct record on proposal made by Cllr. P. Coward, seconded by Cllr. Jordan and carried with a unanimous vote of those present on 16.2.23.

275. Matters Arising from Public Session

• None

276. Matters Arising from previous Meetings (not covered by other agenda items)

*a) Minute Ref: 264a) Wiltshire Towns Programme – with reference to the information in the Clerks Report, members agreed that the grant agreement document should be signed by the Chairman & Vice-Chairman and gave approval to sign it electronically.

*b) Minute Ref: 264b) Lease/Licence for Car Club – Members noted the information in the Clerks Report.  The Clerk said that the quotation from the solicitors to advise on and deal with the legal documents would cost £500 and the Clerk needed confirmation that the Town Council was happy to proceed with this.  RESOLVED to proceed on the basis suggested on proposal made by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds, seconded by Cllr. Rachael Hansford and carried with a unanimous vote.

1. c) Minute Ref: 252b) Lease for Salisbury Street Car Park – Correspondence was received back from our solicitors dated 28^th February which the Clerk conveyed to members:

• Wiltshire Council have agreed to the 6-month break clause relating to the possible expansion of the Doctors Surgery which was our compromise after they refused to take it out.
• The Clerk has received details of all the conveyances on the rights of way that she had identified.
• Wiltshire Council are issuing a new plan with T-marks to show which boundaries we will be responsible for (not yet received).
• Wiltshire Council confirmed that Town Council will be responsible for all street lights within the red line of the plan which includes the ones on Dark Lane.
• Schedule of condition survey – Wiltshire Council only willing to do this if we have improved the property during the last 10 years since we first became a tenant. The Clerk pointed out that we have the condition survey that was carried out in 2012 and the only thing that we have really changed that much is the line marking although, of course, the surface would have deteriorated since that time.  P. Coward said we should issue Wiltshire Council with our own photographic evidence of the surface of the car park and walls etc.
• Although not strictly permitted within the lease, Wiltshire Council would be willing to provide a side letter to allow permission to have, say a pizza van on site, once per week (subject to further details).
• Other points raised need to be resolved with the Parking Services Team.

1. d) Minute Ref: 252b) Lease for Castle Street Car Park – we only had two questions relating to the Castle Street Car Park. One of them was the condition survey and the other one is the plan showing the T-markings to indicate boundary responsibilities (still awaiting this). It was agreed to ask the same question about the condition survey i.e. would our own photographs be acceptable.

277. Reports & Consultations
278. a) Wiltshire Councillors Report – Jeans said that Wiltshire Council’s licensing committee had agreed to extended licensing hours for the Kings Coronation and also, they are considering the impacts of Martyn’s Law which is pending UK wide legislation that will place a requirement on those responsible for certain publicly accessible locations to consider the threat from terrorism and implement appropriate and proportionate mitigation measures.

*b) Report from Project Co-Ordinator (report attached) – members noted the information in the Project Co-Ordinator’s report.

278. Planning
279. a) Applications for consultation response:

The Chairman reported that she had carried out a site visit with the Vice-Chairman and reported that the property was tucked away from Barnes Place.  Cllr. Jordan said that he didn’t think that the extension would cause any issues and it was a small extension that looked in keeping.  RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application on proposal made by Cllr. Jordan, seconded by Cllr. Ings and carried with a majority vote.  Cllr. Jeans and Cllr. Hill, having declared a personal interest, refrained from discussion or voting.

The Vice-Chairman reported that she and the Chairman had visited the site and spoken to the applicants.  She raised concerns about the tight clearance between the existing and proposed new dwelling and said that she felt it was short-sighted to have a shared driveway for properties that will end up under separate ownership as these are often a cause of neighbour disputes and friction.  Cllr. Mrs. Symonds said that there was also concern as to whether this number of cars could get into the off-street parking area shown.  Cllr. Jordan said he wouldn’t say that it was in keeping because it doesn’t look anything like any of the buildings in the area and Cllr. Hazzard said that the issue about shared or independent driveways could be sorted out by the applicant easily and isn’t really a planning issue but the main concern is that adequate parking for both properties is off-road and not on the road because parking during the evening along there is horrendous.  RESOLVED to recommend approval on proposal made by Cllr. Ings, seconded by Cllr. Debbie Beale and carried with a majority vote.   In order not to compromise his position as Wiltshire Councillor, Cllr. Jeans abstained from voting on this matter.

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application on proposal made by Cllr. Rachael Hansford, seconded by Cllr. Debbie Beale and carried with a majority vote.

The Clerk confirmed that the above planning application had been withdrawn.

RESOLVED to recommend the above application for approval on proposal made by Cllr. P. Coward, seconded by Cllr. R. Coward and carried with a majority vote.  Cllr. Hazzard abstained from voting.

RESOLVED to recommend the above application for approval on proposal made by Cllr. Kate Symonds, seconded by Cllr. Nick Beale and carried with a majority vote.  In order not to compromise his position as Wiltshire Councillor, Cllr. Jeans abstained from voting on this matter.

279. Highways, Rivers, Footpaths, Traffic & Transport
280. a) To identify jobs for the Parish Steward, Sparkle Team and MyWiltshire reports.

• Clean “Welcome to Mere Signs” – especially the one on Mere Down – Cllr. Debbie Beale
• Potholes in general – Cllr. Jordan
• Raised hump on Manor Road bridge – Cllr. R. Coward
• Graffiti on bridge over A303 – Cllr. P. Coward

Cllr. Debbie Beale wanted to thank all the people who voluntarily carry out litter picking around the town and said that it does make a huge difference.

*b) LHFIG Issue No: 14-21-10 Mere Town Council Request for speed limit assessment along Shaftesbury Road – update & indication of support for recommendations – The Clerk said she had received emails from two residents of Shaftesbury Road – one fully supported a reduction in speed limit on condition that the new 30 mph speed limit would come into effect where the existing 40mph speed limit starts.  The second said they felt that speeding was not an issue that warranted expenditure of £1250 when other highway issues such as footpaths and potholes required attention.  The Clerk advised members that the highways department had said that we could be looking at a cost of around £8000 for the works roughly breaking down as follows:

• £2,000 TRO amendment
• £3,000 Sign and lining amendments
• £3,000 Provision of village gates

This is on the assumption that the Town Council would like to have gated signs which we have not discussed previously. Cllr.Jeans asked if it was necessary to have gateway signs and the Clerk pointed out that many years ago the Town Council had commissioned the “Welcome to Mere” signs instead of gateway signs and we do have a Welcome to Mere sign outside Three Counties Farm.  Cllr. Debbie Beale said that she felt that gated signs created the illusion that the roadway is smaller and helps people to slow down.  Cllr. Jordan asked if we could make our own gates.  Cllr. P. Coward said he thought it was an obscene amount of money and said he would rather spend the money on sorting out the problems with the roundabout by the Walnut Tree Inn.  Cllr. Hill said he was opposed to requesting the assessment in the first place as he thought it was a waste of money and that there are much more important things to spend our money on.  The Clerk said that at 1^st April the Town Council will have an allocation of £3250 to spend on LHFIG projects but we are already committed to pay £625 towards this speed assessment so that will leave £2625.  Members pointed out that the residents had agreed to make a financial contribution towards these costs and Cllr. Hazzard proposed that the Town Council should support the extension of the 30mph speed limit, as recommended, on condition that the contribution from Town Council funds does not exceed a further £1000.  Proposal seconded by Cllr. Jordan and carried with a majority vote.  In order not to compromise his position as Wiltshire Councillor, Cllr. Jeans abstained from voting on this matter.

1. c) Update on MyWilts reports including direction signage at both Salisbury Street & Castle Street Car Parks + white line give-way markings at Gillingham Corner junction – the Clerk reported that there were two direction signs: one in the Castle Street Car Park and one that is still standing in the Salisbury Street Car Park and both signs were/are completely illegible. We reported them both on the MyWiltshire reporting app and Wiltshire Council have closed the case on the Castle Street Car Park item and we have noticed that the sign has been removed – presumably this will not be returned.  They also closed the Salisbury Street Car Park sign case but they have now said that it is being investigated and at todays date the sign is still there.  The Clerk wondered whether it was necessary to have the sign there as most people used SatNav systems in their cars/phones these days.  The response to our request to repaint the white line give-way markings at the Gillingham Corner junction was: “we have noted your request and will carry out this work when white-line marking is being carried out in your area.  It is too expensive to send them out on a special journey.”  The Clerk said that this is the same response received when reporting the faded faced double-yellow lines outside the Lecture Hall and the parking bay markings around the town centre.

280. Buildings, Open Spaces, Play Areas, Sports Grounds, Car Parks, Allotments & Cemeteries

*a) Main terms for Lease of Duchy Manor (Old Children’s Centre) – Cllr. Jordan said, “my compliments to Roger whom I saw dealing with the chap over the phrase Peppercorn Rent so it sounds as if we are going to have an extended office without having to pay too much rent.”  The Clerk pointed out that preliminary discussions for the lease were always on the understanding that it would be a peppercorn rent but that the Town Council would be responsible for all other outgoings and for the business rates.  At present the Town Council pays approximately £1500 in business rates for the office but it is likely to be at least another £3000 for the extra rooms that were occupied by the children’s centre, and this is on the understanding that the foyer will be classified as a circulation space.  RESOLVED to proceed with preparation of the draft lease based on the terms set out in the report attached.  Proposal made by Cllr. Hazzard, seconded by Cllr. Jordan and carried with a unanimous vote.

1. b) Yew Trees in Cemetery – deferred.

281. Finance, Policy & Resources

*a)  Payments – RESOLVED to authorise payments as indicated on the payment schedule on proposal made by Cllr. P. Coward, seconded by Cllr. Jordan and carried with a unanimous vote.  Cllrs. Mrs Symonds and Clive Hazzard signed the invoices accordingly.  As Cllr. Jeans had declared a pecuniary interest in this item, he left the room whilst the matter was being considered and took no part in voting or discussion.

1. b) To sign off latest bank reconciliation – the Chairman confirmed that she had checked the bank reconciliation against the bank statements and signed this off prior to the meeting.
2. c) To agree staffing panel recommendations as outlined in Minutes of staffing panel meeting held on Thursday, 16^th February – All agreed with the recommendations as outlined in the Minutes.
3. d) Actions from Interim Internal Audit Report
4. i) To review Standing Orders – RESOLVED to approve the amendments to the Standing Orders as outlined in the Addendum to the Clerks Report for the Town Council meeting 6.3.23 on proposal made by Cllr. Sandra Catley, seconded by Cllr. K. Symonds and carried with a unanimous vote.
5. ii) Specialist advice on requirement for VAT Registration – deferred as correspondence is still ongoing.
6. e)Mowers – thoughts, ideas, suggestions, prices and quotations for the provision of mowers for the grounds staff (see Minutes of Budget meeting held on 23^rd November 2022) – Clerk read out relevant Minutes from the budget meeting. The Clerk said that she had obtained one quotation for a ride-on mower that the grounds staff had identified as being top of their wish list and this was £18,885 + VAT.  The Clerk had also received quotations for finance (Hire Purchase and Finance Lease) and then the Clerk read out the Town Council’s relevant Standing Orders (8.2) relating to borrowing which does not require formal approval from the Secretary of State which required a written report in respect of value for money for the proposed transaction.  Given the fact that, whether we lease hire or Hire Purchase, we are going to end up spending £2k more, I don’t know whether that would provide you with value for money when we could possibly vire reserves from other headings and buy one machine outright.  However, the Clerk thought it would be more difficult to vire reserves for two ride-on mowers at this price.  Hill expressed his doubts as to whether the grounds staff would be able to cope with only one ride-on mower.  Cllr. Hazzard said that he was very impressed with our recently recruited groundsman who had spent a lot of time this winter repairing and maintaining our equipment and had saved us a lot of money on our roller mower but the ride-on mowers we have are at the end of their life and he wondered whether or not it would be possible to get one new mower and nurse the other two mowers through the year.  Some members asked whether it would be possible to not mow some areas or mow them less and the Clerk said that she couldn’t think of any places where you could do this and reminded members that during the last two summers we had only mown pathways through the open space at Kingsmere due to staff shortages but this had led to lots of complaints from residents and the other problem is that there is dog poo everywhere in the long grass that can’t be seen.  She could not see how it would be possible to not mow the cemetery, sports pitches, play areas.  Cllr. Hazzard proposed that the Town Council should buy one machine as soon as possible.  Cllr. R. Coward seconded this proposal which was approved with a majority vote.  Cllr. Debbie Beale was against the proposal.  The Clerk confirmed that she would need to get three quotations.

*f) Suggestions for Town Council Priority Strategy – A spreadsheet had been distributed which, the Clerk explained, was a draft document intended to give the council somewhere to start from.  Amendments to the draft strategy were suggested and agreed. There was a discussion about whether or not to produce a different kind of strategy based on the Mere Parish Plan produced in 2005 and there was a discussion about whether or not this strategy document (when approved) should go out to public consultation or should be a discussion item for the Annual Town Meeting.  However, it was pointed out that there were items on there that related to internal management and others that related to external resources and facilities and although it would be appropriate to have public debate on the latter, it would not be appropriate to discuss the former with the public.  The Clerk explained that the original purpose behind creating this strategy was to help staff and councillors and it was not intended as a public discussion document and if that is what the council wanted, it would probably be a better idea to design a separate document.  It was agreed that the Council should go back to the original purpose for creating the list and keep it as an internal document.    Cllr. Jeans, proposed that the draft document should be approved (with the minor amendments previously suggested) and in the order of priority that it is written as an internal document.  Proposal seconded by Cllr. Rachael Hansford and carried with a majority vote.

1. g) King’s Coronation celebrations, events – one volunteer had come forward in response to the Chairman’s notice in Mere Matters and so it was evident that no community event would take place although it was quite possible that individual streets or organisation were organising their own ‘Big Lunch’ or ‘Street Party’. RESOLVED that the Town Council would purchase bunting and flags for the town and councillors agreed to help Cllr. Jeans erect the masts and flags.

*h) CCTV – report on meeting with officer from Warminster Town Council relating to CCTV – deferred as it was too late to discuss properly

Cllr. Hazzard spoke regarding an inappropriate email that had been sent by a Parish Councillor and distributed to all members of the Town Council.  He said that he wondered if there ought to be a Code of Conduct for Town Councillors in the use of emails.  Cllr. Jeans said that the Standards Board at Wiltshire Council is responsible for dealing with the conduct of Parish & Town Councillors as well as Wiltshire Councillors.

282. General Items & Briefing Notes
283. a) Report on special WALC meeting – Cllr. Sandra Catley reported on the meeting which was well attended. She said that a vote was taken on whether WALC should increase its subscription costs but all those present said that they did not feel they were getting value for money at the present time and that the service would need to be improved if the subscription were to be increased.
284. b) Lynch Close Sheltered Housing – report on informal consultation meeting held on 23.2.23 on options for refurbishment/redevelopment – The Chairman reported on the stakeholder meeting which was held at Visit Hillbrush and was one of three meetings held on that day: the second two meetings were residents’ meetings at Lynch Close. “We were presented with two options – Option 3 which is to refurbish the existing bungalows and Option 4 is to completely redevelop the site. We were presented with two different layouts – one was to have bungalows and the other was to have a mixture of flats and bungalows.  There was a bit of an anomaly in that one of the plans had an empty space which caused quite a lot of concern and suspicion at the meeting and we asked them to fill this space with more bungalows, care facilities, green space and parking so that it was less ambiguous for the next round of consultation.  There were discussions with residents about where they would go whilst this work was being carried out and this, of course, brought Fives Court into the discussion.  On the whole the meeting we attended was open, questions were being asked and answered well and there was a general feeling that everyone was being involved in the consultations.”

Meeting closed 9.28 pm  – Due to the lateness of the evening, the remaining agenda items were deferred for discussion at the next available Town Council meeting.

Note:  Members are reminded that the Town Council has a general duty to consider the following matters in the exercise of any of its functions: Equal Opportunities (race, gender, sexual orientation, marital status and any disability), Crime and Disorder, Health and Safety and Human Rights.

*Further information on these items attached/enclosed