Author: Lindsey Wood

Minutes of a meeting of Mere Town Council held on Monday, 4^th September 2023 at 7.00 pm at Duchy Manor, Springfield Road, Mere, Wiltshire.  BA12 6EW.  

Present: Councillors John Jordan (Chair), Glen Ings (Vice-Chair), Debbie Beale, Nick Beale, Aubrey Colman, Rodney Coward, Clive Hazzard, Raymond Hill, George Jeans, Kate Symonds & Lesley Traves

Also Inspector Harmsworth from Wiltshire Police & 5 members of the public

Public Session

Mr. Ives suggested that the Town Council might like to name a footpath across The Meads or the new pedestrian way around Edgebridge the Mitchell Way after the late Eric Mitchell of Two Counties Farm.  The Chairman said that this was a kind thought and one which the Town Council would discuss.

Sharon Hollick spoke about the increased volume of traffic around Edgebridge, the speed of the traffic and the lack of pavement or even signage warning drivers that there is no footway and there is a likelihood of pedestrians in the road.  She asked for the ‘SLOW’ markings in the road to be repainted and said that ‘DEAD SLOW’ would be preferable.  The Chairman said he was aware that there used to be signage in the vicinity warning drivers that there is no footway and Cllr. Jeans said that he had been informed that even replacement signs would need to be applied for via the LHFIG route.

Mr. Collin Senneck spoke in favour of his proposals to improve and continue using the Old Swimming Pool site for pétanque (as circulated to the Town Council members with their agenda papers).

Mr. Ian Sheppard spoke about the difficulties being faced by many of the residents along Waterside in carrying out their riparian ownership responsibilities in clearing the river – some properties are empty and other properties have very elderly residents and it is not easy to maintain that stretch of river.  He asked if the Town Council could help cleaning the stream and said that if some help could be provided to get it to a certain standard then it may be possible for them to keep it maintained at that standard.  Cllr. Kate Symonds said that the Town Councillors have no responsibility or powers to deal with the rivers but pointed out that there are a few councillors who show an interest in the rivers and attend the Rivers Group meetings.  Cllr. Rodney Coward volunteered his son to help with clearing the weed.

The Chairman reminded the meeting that Mere Annual Carnival will be held on 16^th September.

Insp. Harmsworth spoke about the local crime data analysis.  He said that his team were aware of the anti-social behaviour and who was responsible and that this was being dealt with.  With reference to speeding, he said that his speed enforcement officers would like to know if there were any specific locations that were causing concern and they would come out and carry out some speed enforcement activity – email locations to  warminsterareacpt@wiltshire.police.uk.   If you are interested in setting up community speedwatch teams then their teams would come out to carry out traffic surveys in areas to see if these can be instigated and/or speed indicator devices being installed – contact communityspeedwatch@wiltshire.police.uk   There are quite a few operations going on relating to rural crime, i.e. hare coursing and theft of farm machinery. We continue to hold local drop in sessions – and I am publishing a monthly report to let people know what is going on add what the local police are doing in your area.

Rodney Coward asked about fly tipping and pointed out that this is becoming a big problem for farmers.  Insp Harmsworth suggested that the farmers should e-mail in details of the fly tipping to the community police team and also report it to Wiltshire Council who have powers to deal with fly tipping.

303. Apologies for absence received from Cllrs. Sandra Catley & Philip Coward. RESOLVED to waive S. 85 LGA 1972 (6-month rule) in respect of long-term absence for Cllr. Philip Coward due to personal circumstances.

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

• Lesley Traves declared a pecuniary interest in Planning Application Ref: PL/2023/04023
• George Jeans declared a personal interest in the Car Park Leases.

305. Minutes – RESOLVED that the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on 3^rd July 2023 & Delegated Decision Report dated 1.8.23 be approved as a correct record.

306. Matters Arising from Public Session

River Cleaning – some members felt that the Town Council should provide the manpower to clean out the river but the Clerk informed members that the Town Council does not have the powers to look after water courses unless they are in such a state as to be prejudicial to health (i.e. stagnant water).  The Clerk also mentioned that it might be worth contacting Wiltshire Wildlife Trust as they may be able to bring volunteers or at least provide the insurance/risk assessments for our own volunteers to do some of the work.  The Chairman said that he would bring this back to the October meeting by which time he hoped to have some positive information from Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and an action plan for volunteers to carry out the river clearing.

Footpath naming – the Chairman said that this would be discussed at the next meeting and, in the meantime, Cllr. Hazzard agreed to discuss the matter with Eric Mitchell’s family to see if they were happy about the proposal to name a footpath/route after him.

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

*a) Minute Reference 268b) Traffic Management in Mere – Report from Working Group (in Clerks Report) – the Chairman said that he had numbered the paragraphs as requests numbered 1 – 5 and that request No. 4 should say repaint the SLOW sign.  It was agreed to consider and submit the requests separately so that one request does not hold up another one. Requests 1 – 3 were approved.  With regard to request No. 4 – Cllr. Jeans warned that there could be some resistance from residents which may cause some issues with progressing this.  There were also concerns that double-yellow lines on both sides of the road may cause traffic to travel too fast.  Some councillors thought the idea of a priority give-way system with parking at the side might be a solution but Cllr. Jeans said that this was extremely expensive.  It was agreed to do some local consultation on this particular request.  With regard to request No. 5 – it was mentioned that having a disabled space at the end nearest the clock tower would mean that a disabled driver would be getting out onto the road which may cause conflict but it was felt that the highways officers would advise on this.

The Chairman said that the position at Edgebridge could well become request No. 6 as this was well deserving of ‘caution’ signs at least that say there is no footway on both sides and also ‘SLOW’ markings on the road and that this particular matter would be discussed at the next meeting.  The Chairman also said that he and the Vice-Chairman would carry out some consultation with residents in Hazzards Hill in relation to request No. 4.

556. b) Minute Reference 296b) Highway Improvement Request Forms – the working group’s recommendation on the request for the installation of a ‘No Through Road’ sign at the junction of The Fields/Hazzards Hill was as follows: “As of April 2022 the cost of a warning or regulatory sign on a new signpost is estimated between £300 and £520 dependant on size (this is without external illumination).  Applying an inflation rate of 7% that would now bring the cost to between £321 and £556.  The Town Council’s financial contribution of 25% would therefore be £80 or £139.  Given the Town Council’s financial constraints and considering the number of households that this would affect, members felt that they could not recommend this request for submission to LHFIG as we could be asked for many similar considerations from residents in other areas.” The Town Council agreed with this recommendation.

The working group’s recommendation on the request for a 20mph speed limit and central white line at junction of Manor Road & Castle Street was as follows:  “This would be a very major project that would require assessments, surveys as well as new Traffic Regulation Orders, signage and possibly some kind of physical traffic calming measures – the cost of which could fall somewhere between £50,000 & £100,000, possibly more.  This would require a contribution of between £12,500 and £25,000 from the Town Council.  Whilst the Town Council could consider this as a viable contribution if it were to guarantee improved highway safety, pedestrian safety, retain existing on-street parking for shoppers and visitors, we felt that it would be unlikely that the 20mph speed limit would be enforced by any authorities and that it could, in turn, become even more dangerous giving drivers a false sense of security and encouraging them to come out onto the road thinking that traffic would only be driving at 20mph.  At the present time, we felt unable to recommend this request for submission to LHFIG – the working group have recommended, however, to submit a request to re-instate the white central line from The Malthouse, Castle Street to The Brainwave Shop in Salisbury Street and to request a sign at the junction of Castle Street & Manor Road between the former Lloyd’s Bank and Walton’s Antiques, warning motorists turning into Manor Road that there is no footpath for 400 yards and/or pedestrians in the road.  These requests may help to alleviate some concerns.  A 20mph speed limit may be something that we will need to consider in the future but it will need to be an all-encompassing and very comprehensive scheme, following extensive consultation with businesses and residents.”  The Town Council agreed with this recommendation.  Agreed to raise the notion of a 20mph limit for Mere as an agenda item for the Annual Town Meeting next April so that the public have an opportunity to join the debate on this.

450. c) Minute Reference 298 b) – Wiltshire Towns Programme 2022-23 – the Chairman reported that the Town Council is proceeding with the programme for expenditure as planned i.e. the Mere circular path to include waymarkers and illustrative map. We are also going to join VisitWiltshire to see if they can help to boost footfall and increase visitors to the Town and this is going to cost £450.  We have received five requests for financial help towards publicising events from Mere Carnival, Mere Literary Festival, Mere Footpath Group, Friends of Mere Church & Healthy Mere Walking.
451. d) Minute Reference 298 c) Wiltshire Towns Programme 2023-24 – We are able to get £5000 again but have to put in a detailed plan of how we propose to spend the money and the expenditure needs to help boost footfall and increase visitors to the town. One idea was an intelligent noticeboard outside the town which would display events and notices & QR codes for residents and visitors. Another idea was to put on a large event which could be organised professionally.  The Chairman said he would try and circulate some suggestions to members for the next meeting and told members to let him know if they had anything they wanted to include.
452. e) Minute Reference 265a) Lease for EV charger in Salisbury Street Car Park – The Clerk said that she just wanted to report that the lease is waiting for Wiltshire Council to give final approval and then our solicitor is going to send out the engrossment documents for signing.
453. f) Minute Reference 276c) Lease for Salisbury Street Car Park – the Clerk had distributed a report to councillors as follows: Please find attached the lease plan for the Salisbury Street Car Park & the lease plan for the Castle Street Car Park.  You will see from the ‘T’ markings that we will be responsible for ALL the boundary fences/walls around the car park.  I would really like to reach a conclusion with the solicitors on the outstanding issues which are:

• Wiltshire Council have confirmed they are not willing to allow overnight sleeping, lorry drivers and camper vehicles for the following reasons:

The Council is concerned with issues, and costs of remedying such issues in relation to nuisance, (particularly for adjoining properties), and covenants to keep the land clean and tidy. Larger vehicles will increase wear and tear on the car park and would require enhanced safety measures. Lorry drivers and campers and mobile homes do leave behind a degree of waste and a 24-hour restriction would be hard to enforce. The other issue in allowing overnight sleepers, mobile homes, and caravans, with a 24hour time restriction, is that it would hinder the removal of travellers should they come onto the car park.

• They also noted that that the 2013 lease to the Town Council excluded storage of any caravan or movable dwelling, defined the opening hours of the car park as being between 8 and 4pm and permitted vehicles under a weight of 1525kg. It also prohibited sleeping accommodation.
• With regards to the schedule of condition and photos taken by the Town Council, they are taking instructions, but feels it will be unnecessary unless improvements have been made during the last 10 years, as you are still responsible for the repairing responsibilities of the last 10 years during the previous lease. The Council does not want to evidence the condition now if it is the same or worse condition – which is reasonable, as it means you will be absolved of the responsibility of the previous lease.

The Clerk said that, since sending this out, she had looked back on the old lease and the new draft lease and could find nothing in either of them that said the car park’s opening hours were between 8am and 4pm and neither could she find anything in either of them about a weight restriction of 1525kg.  RESOLVED that the Chairman & Vice-Chairman are delegated to clear up these two particular matters to reach a point where the lease can be signed.

1. g) Minute Reference 276d) Lease for Castle Street Car Park – RESOLVED to delegate to Chair & Vice-Chair to clear up the outstanding matters

308. Reports & Consultations
309. a) Wiltshire Councillors Report – Cllr. Jeans started to give a report on a Community Resilience Event he had recently attended in Tidworth but was called away from the meeting unavoidably. It was therefore agreed that Cllr. Jeans should get together with the Clerk to produce a written report of this meeting to present to members.

*b) Project Co-Ordinator’s Report (two attachments) – Cllr. Colman raised a question relating to the balance of S.106 funds and the Clerk said that she would send members a more detailed breakdown of this balance.  The Chairman said that he was interested to read that the estimated costs for the footpath lighting should be available in September and so he was hopeful that the Council may be able to approve some costs at the next meeting.

309. Planning
310. a) Applications for consultation response: In order not to compromise his position as Wiltshire Councillor, Cllr. Jeans abstained from voting on all planning applications below.

The Clerk read out an objection letter that had been sent in by a resident relating to this application.  RESOLVED to object to this planning application for the following reasons:  Whilst members of the Town Council noted that other commercial premises along this road had been converted to residential premises, they expressed very grave concern about the fact that this would be yet another residential property without any parking provision whatsoever.  There is no parking provision either off-street or on-street.  It is not possible to park outside the property without blocking Angel Lane completely, parking in Angel Lane is already congested and parking in the Town Centre is congested.  Furthermore, members felt that the access into and out of the property straight onto the lane was dangerous and that the plans did not preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Conservation Area.

Cllr. Mrs. Traves, having declared a pecuniary interest in this planning application, left the room whilst this application was considered.  Members felt that this extension could easily be converted to provide separate accommodation.  The Town Council RESOLVED to approve the above application ON CONDITION that the extension provides ancillary accommodation to the property known as Springwater Cottage only and cannot be rented out, occupied or sold off separately.  Services must be shared with the main house and it should have no separate access or separate garden.

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application.

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application.

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application.

The Clerk informed members that the planning application for another dwelling at Underdown Mead has just been approved (the Town Council objected to this on grounds of overdevelopment and insufficient parking).

*b)  Planning Inspectorate appeal decision & costs decision for PL/2022/06387 – Breaches Barn, Barrow Street, Mere.  BA12 6AB (2 attachments) – Noted

*c) Wiltshire Council Local Plan Consultation – in-person and online events.  Members noted the information in the Clerks Report and the Chairman confirmed that the event for Mere will be held in Tisbury on 4^th October.

*d) DLUHC Consultation on Local Plans (attached) – The Chairman said he would look through this and try to come up with a response.

310. Highways, Rivers, Footpaths, Traffic & Transport
311. a) To identify jobs for the Parish Steward, Sparkle Team and MyWiltshire reports – the Clerk reported on the jobs that had been carried out by the Parish Steward during his last visit.

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

*a) Petanque proposals for the old swimming pool site (attached) – members agreed that they did not want to make a decision on this facility that would have an impact on this particular site in isolation at the present time when it would probably be more prudent to look at the bigger picture and future potential sites/facilities that Mere might be able to offer and would benefit from.  The Chairman agreed to speak to Mr. Senneck and explain the situation.

312. Finance, Policy & Resources

*a)  Payments – RESOLVED to authorise payments as detailed in the schedule of payments distributed to members.  The Clerk reported that she had paid the Kompan invoice eventually, after some extensive correspondence, and had managed to get a total reduction of £1723.78 for items that were invoiced but not used by the construction company.

*b) To note the reconciliations for June & July 2023 – the Chairman confirmed that he had signed and verified the reconciliations against the bank statements.

*c) To consider and approve Budget/Expenditure report @ 31.7.23 (report attached) – the Clerk confirmed that there was a deficit of £11,233.75 at the end of July but this is explained by the overspend of £11,700 on the two mowers.

1. d) To consider quotation to provide internal audit for 2023/24 accounting period – quotation for the same internal auditor as last year would cost £560 for 2023/24 (£535 for 2022/23). RESOLVED to appoint internal auditor as quoted.

*e) LHFIG Funding Model and suggestion for parishes to contribute more, contributions to be means tested and/or larger parishes to contribute more than smaller parishes (Clerks Report) – The Clerk had circulated a report outlining her thoughts on these suggestions.  RESOLVED that the Town Council should submit the Clerk’s thoughts as their formal collective response to the Area Board & LHFIG Committee.  Cllr. Jeans abstained from voting on this.

*f) Review of council’s complaints procedure (attached) – RESOLVED that the Council’s Complaints Procedure be approved without amendment.

313. General Items
314. a) To amend standing orders in relation to recording minutes and to set a defined period for keeping recorded minutes – RESOLVED to keep recorded Minutes (the recording) for a period of 18 months on the Council’s computer. Printed Minutes are kept indefinitely and stored by way of hard copy and electronically.

Briefing Notes:

*Briefing Note 23-20 – Air Quality Action Plan and Air Quality Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) consultations (attached)

*Briefing Note no. 23-22 Wiltshire & Swindon Tree Warden Scheme (attached)

*Briefing Note No. 23-23: Waste Sorting at Wiltshire’s Household Recycling Centres (attached)

314. Future meetings and events
315. a) Invitation to The Tower Stories Launch Party – Friday, 8^th September in St. Michael’s Church at 7.00 pm – 8.30 pm – Mrs. Traves said that she would be attending this event.
316. b) LHFIG meeting is on Wednesday, 6^th September at 2.00 pm – Debbie Beale & Nick Beale said that they would be attending this event.
317. c) Mere School Firework event – Duchy Manor, 4^th November

315. Future agenda items

The future of Mere Chamber of Trade – Cllr. Clive Hazzard

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 either in Clerks Report or attached.

MERE PEACE MEMORIAL SPORTS AND RECREATION GROUND

Registered Charity No. 1093497

For Trustees to consider the following:

Request from Mere Youth Football Club to re-erect fixed goals on the second pitch on Mere Recreation Ground.

The Clerk said that she had spoken to Cllr. Catley today (football representative) who had requested that this item be deferred as she could not be present.  However, Cllr. Ings said that this needed to be resolved as the season was starting.  He therefore suggested that if the youth football club wanted to buy fixed goals then the posts should be inserted into sleeves – the idea being that the sleeves are fixed into the ground and the goal posts can be fitted into the sleeves with the goal posts in place from September until April and then removed by taking them out of the sleeves and freeing up the space for the summer.  Alternatively, the youth football club could buy pop-up posts if they felt that these would be easier to store out of season.  Members unanimously agreed with this suggestion and felt it was a good compromise.

Request from Wessex Internet to lay fibre to Seeds4Success – the Clerk said that following a meeting with them on site, they now appeared to be reconsidering their options and so this would probably be raised again at a future meeting.

 Mere Town Council

Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

DELEGATED DECISION REPORT _- 1^st AUGUST 2023:

Due to the fact that the Town Council has no meeting in August and in accordance with the Town Council’s Delegated Decision Scheme, after consultation with members via email and discussions between the Clerk and Chairman, the following delegated decisions were made:

287. Planning Applications
288. Applications for consultation response –

Submit ‘No objection’ response.

Submit ‘Objection’ for the following reasons:

There has been a history of development around the two semi-detached houses formerly known as 3 and 4 Underdown Mead.

PL/2022/04385 granted approval for a 2-bed bungalow to be built in the garden of No. 4 Underdown Mead

PL/2022/08821 refused permission for a new 2-bed bungalow to be built in the garden of No. 3 Underdown Mead for the following reasons: The proposed development will fail to ensure that the occupants of the proposed dwelling have a high standard of amenity, due to the overlooking from the parent dwelling and a lack of adequate private amenity space, contrary to the provisions of Policy CP 57 of the Wiltshire Core Strategy and to the requirements of paragraph 130 of the NPPF. The amenities of the occupants of the parent dwelling would be adversely affected by the significant reduction in the amount of usable amenity space to the rear of that dwelling as a result of the proposed bungalow to the immediate rear of the property, contrary to the provisions of the above Policy and paragraph of the NPPF.  PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TOWN COUNCIL SUPPORTED THIS APPLICATION.

PL/2023/02925 –granted approval for a Loft conversion with velux roof lights of 4A Underdown Mead.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Town Council raised no objection to the application for a bungalow in the garden of No. 3 Underdown Mead – it is noted that No. 4 has a dwelling i0n the garden and also now has approval for a loft conversion, this application is asking for a loft conversion and a further dwelling.  The loft conversions create extra bedrooms and therefore the potential need for more car parking spaces.  We therefore felt that the Town Council should object to this planning application due to the fact that it would create a cramped form of development and the parking provision for both the parent dwelling and the new dwelling would be difficult to access and would be insufficient.

Submit ‘No objection’ response.

Submit  ‘No Objection’ response.

288. Football

The Youth football club have received a grant from Wiltshire Council to buy some new steel goal posts which they would like to erect on the second pitch in the Recreation Ground and have asked us to grant permission.  (This is the pitch that is nearer the tennis courts/youth club).  These goal posts would be a permanent fixture as they would be cemented into the ground.  (There used to be goal posts on this pitch but they were removed as they were unsafe).  The Chairman and I have assessed this and feel that on balance we should raise no objection as the installation of these goal posts should not cause any hinderance or obstruction to anyone and whilst we could insist that the youth football club use portable goal posts we need to acknowledge that they would have nowhere to store them securely and they would likely become vandalised.  An objection was raised by a councillor and so this item has been deferred for discussion at the September Town Council meeting.

289. Payments

The following payments were authorised:

14.7.23                  DD          Mainstram Digital                             Admin: Telephone & Broadband                               38.39

20.7.23                  BACS     Veryard Machinery                         Grounds machinery:  Stiga mowers                          50.88

20.7.23                  BACS     SLCC Enterprises                              Admin:  Internal Audit                                                    642.00

20.7.23                  BACS     Veryard Machinery                         Grounds machinery: Stiga mowers                           314.90

20.7.23                  BACS     Mr. R. E. Pipe                                     Admin:  Travel expenses                                               24.75

20.7.23                  BACS     Screwfix                                               Health & Safety: Changing Rooms                             124.59

20.7.23                  BACS     T. J. Thornley                                     Publicity/Tourism promotion: Website                   158.16

20.7.23                  BACS     Mole Valley Farmers                       Grounds expenses, grounds sundries                      209.59

20.7.23                  BACS     Cleaning Supplies Ltd                      Public Toilets: Cleaning products                               96.24

20.7.23                  BACS     Garden & Hire Spares                     Grounds sundries: strimmer line                                                58.55

20.7.23                  BACS     Forge Garages                                   Grounds expenses: Fuel & Oil                                      235.10

20.7.23                  BACS     Amazon (via L. C. Wood)               Public Toilets: Air Fresheners                                     40.93

21.7.23                  DD          Southern Electric                              Clock Tower:  Unmetered electricity                        8.74

31.7.23                  DD          British Gas                                          Public Toilets: Electricity                                                55.18

31.7.23                  DD          Hills Waste Solutions                      Street Cleaning:  Waste removal                                                166.70

4.7.23 – 31.7.23                                 Imprest Account –                           Payroll (amalgamated)                                             11526.01

The Clerk pointed out that she had still not yet paid Kompan for the play area refurbishment at the Walnut Road Play Area as she was negotiating with them over aspects of the invoice that they have charged for but which were not used.

Mere Town Council

Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

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

Present:  Councillors John Jordan (Chair), Glen Ings (Vice-Chair), Sandra Catley, Aubrey Colman, Rachael Hansford, Clive Hazzard, Raymond Hill, George Jeans, Lesley Traves.

Also 9 members of public.

The Chairman opened the meeting and notified attendees that the meeting would be recorded for administrative purposes.

Public Session

Sophie Heneage & Sue Phipps spoke in support of the proposals for a community garden which was on the agenda for discussion at this meeting.

Mr Page spoke in support of his highway improvements request which was on the agenda for discussion at this meeting.

The Clerk read out an email from a lady who had visited Mere and who had written to say how impressed she was with the town and that she had come away with a feeling that Mere is very well looked after and cared for.

Apologies for absence received from Councillors Debbie Beale, Nick Beale, Philip Coward, Rodney Coward & Kate Symonds & the police.

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

Cllr. George Jeans declared a pecuniary interest in minute number 298a) and a personal interest in minute number 294b)

The clerk informed members that they would be considering her own planning application this evening and said that while she was not a member of the town Council and therefore not subject to the councillors regulations on declarations of interest, as an officer of the Council she felt it would be best practice to leave the room whilst her planning application was being considered.

291. Minutes – RESOLVED that the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on Monday, 5^th June 2023 be approved as a correct record.

292. Matters Arising from Public Session

• None

293. Matters Arising from previous Meetings (not covered by other agenda items)
294. a) Comment on style of Minutes (Minute Ref: 249 and 278 b) – Cllr. Jeans raised a question relating to the style of minutes and whether or not it would still be possible to ascertain voting records or gather information that might be necessary for legal purposes. The clerk explained that recordings of meetings ) and the clerk’s notebooks would be kept for a defined period.

*b) Review of football provision and facilities in view of new proposals for extra football fixtures/team (Minute Ref: 269a) & 278 d)– Notes of meeting held on 26.6.23 + Statement for members to consider/vote upon attached.  The Chairman gave a resume of the meeting and questions raised by members were clarified.  The statement, as presented to the Town Council, was approved with a unanimous vote of approval with the inclusion of an amendment put forward by Cllr. Ings for the Town Council to make a contribution towards the costs of materials for the changing rooms redecorations and the annual fees to be reviewed at a later date.

294. Reports & Consultations
295. a) Wiltshire Councillors Report – Cllr. Jeans reported that he is a member of the Police & Crime panel to whom he has pushed his points on how difficult it is to report a crime. He attended the recent Area Board meeting where he noted that Tisbury car-share club has 90 members and where he also learned that there is a grant available from SSE Scottish Power and parish & town councils are being encouraged to apply. Wiltshire Council have taken on 3.5 members of staff to plant trees and have still not given him details about dispensations required to attend town and parish council meetings.

*b) Project Co-Ordinators Report (report and plan attached) – Cllr.  Jeans declared a personal interest as he lives next door to the public toilets. Members agreed that the right-hand transfer should be included in the design and it was explained that funding for and inclusion of a Changing Places toilet had been investigated and was not possible although the design had been considered so that, should funding become available in the future, it might be possible to add a hoist.  Cllr. Colman suggested that we could go for a National Lottery grant and that we should find a company that will issue us with a 10-year maintenance contract and outsource the cleaning to contractors.  The Chairman explained that these issues were not being discussed tonight but it was agreed to delegate to Cllr. Rachael Hansford, Chairman, Project Co-Ordinator & Clerk to make recommendations on further details, fixtures and fittings to the Town Council.

With regards to the Walnut Road Play Area, the Chairman wanted to thank all our staff who turned out for the opening event and those councillors that did come along.  The feedback from young users on the play area so far has been very positive.

295. Planning
296. a) Applications for consultation response: In order not to compromise his position as Wiltshire Councillor, Cllr. Jeans abstained from voting on any of the following planning applications:

The chairman said he had visited the site, the extension is miniscule &  shielded by the neighbour’s fence is. RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application on proposal made by Cllr. Mrs. Traves, seconded by CLlr. Ings and carried with a majority vote.

Members expressed concern at the number of barns being erected in this locality. It was noted that the barn is required for calf rearing and members felt that they were happy to support the application on condition that it was used for agricultural purposes only. RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application with the following condition on proposal made by Cllr. Sandra Catley, seconded by Cllr. Colman and carried with a majority vote.

Condition:  The agricultural barn and land within the red line of the application site as shown on the plan shall be used for agricultural purposes only and shall be maintained for this use in perpetuity.  No paraphernalia unrelated to the approved agricultural use of the site shall be brought onto or stored upon the land.

As this was the clerk’s own planning application, she left the building whilst this application was being considered by the council. RESOLVED to support the above application on proposal made by Cllr. Hazzard, seconded by Cllr. Ings and carried with a majority vote.

1. b) Notice of consultation on Draft Wiltshire Design Guide. Wiltshire Council is consulting on a Draft Wiltshire Design Guide, which is intended to be a supplementary planning document and has been prepared to support the Wiltshire Core Strategy and the emerging Local Plan. The Draft Wiltshire Design Guide will be published today via the Wiltshire Council website and comments are invited until 30^th

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

The Chairman had identified dirty and obstructed road signs.

*b) Highways Improvement Request Forms:

1. i) for the installation of a ‘No Through Road’ sign at junction of The Fields/Hazzards Hill (form attached)
2. ii) for 20mph speed limit and central white line at Junction of Manor Road & Castle Street (form attached)

The chairman pointed out that Highway Improvement Requests are a new initiative imposed by Wiltshire Council and each time one arrives the Town Council needs to consider it and if we agree to it being implemented then we must pay 25% of the cost involved.  At the last LHFIG meeting it was suggested that the cost to Parish & Town Councils should perhaps go up to 50% and it may also be suggested that some residents may be prepared to make a financial contribution themselves or collectively, as has been agreed along Shaftesbury Road.   Cllr. Jeans said he was aware of another ‘No Through Road’ sign requirement at Lordsmead that had been brought to his attention today.  Councillor Hill said he was opposed to the town Council having to pay for any of these things at all but all members were in agreement with the Chairman’s suggestions of considering these requests once per quarter and having a menu of costs to help make informed decisions.

2038. c) Wiltshire LTP4- Stakeholder Engagement Sessions – Wiltshire Council are in the early stages of developing an updated Local Transport Plan for Wiltshire which will cover the period up to 2038. There are two opportunities for us to attend a workshop and these are taking place on 18^th July 2023 and 20^th July 2023 on MS Teams.

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

*a) Proposals for a Community Garden – Generally members felt that the proposals were a great idea but could not readily identify any land that would fit the brief.  Cllr. Hill wondered whether it might be worth approaching the Church to see if the plot of land in Angel Lane could be used for this purpose.  Agreed that the Chairman would approach the Church to see if the site at Angel Lane could be used for this purpose.

1. b) Fencing on Long Hill – The Clerk informed members that the goats cannot graze Long Hill at the moment because the fencing is inadequate and so for the time being they are going to have to stay on Castle Hill. In the meantime the grounds staff are going to assess the length of fencing that needs replacing/repairing and the Clerk will try and get an estimate of the likely costs for the Council to consider at a future meeting.

*c) Yew Trees in Cemetery – response from Forest Research via Astill Treecare – Agreed that if there is further spread then we do want to send further samples and it was agreed to ask Johnathan Astill for help with this.

1. d) Pest control at Duchy Manor – RESOLVED to proceed with a second round of pest control in the autumn.

298. Finance, Policy & Resources

*a) Payments – To review and authorise schedule of payments (attached) –The Chairman reported that negotiations were taking place with Kompan over some issues with their invoice and it was agreed to delegate these negotiations to the Clerk & Chairman and to pay the amount due once satisfied on the understanding that this would be less than the invoice presented. All other payments were approved and authorised.

*b) Wiltshire Towns Programme 2022-23 – we are going to send this information to all the active groups in town informing them that they can get money from us if they would like to put on an event that is going to bring people into Mere.   There is also a possibility that we might join VisitWiltshire in an effort to promote tourism in the town.

1. c) Wiltshire Towns Programme 2023-24 – this will be raised as an agenda item for the next meeting and would request that you bring ideas to that meeting of how we can bid for the money that is available (£5k) bearing in mind that the criteria is to attract people into Mere.

299. General Items

*a) Community Governance Review – Confirmation that Mere Town Council still wishes to proceed with the request as submitted in 2019 (see attached request). RESOLVED to confirm previous resolution still stands on proposal made by Cllr. Hill, seconded by Cllr. Colman and carried with a majority vote.  Cllr. Jeans abstained.

5. b) South Operational Flood Working Group Hybrid meeting 5.7.23 – The Chairman informed members that there is a Teams meeting this Wednesday morning if you want to take part in it but members agreed that the Town Council does not have the resources to set up a Flood Risk Management Plan at the present time and that residents and councillors should be encouraged to work together and pool resources should flooding issues arise.
6. c) Digital Inclusion pilot project for older and vulnerable adults in South West Wiltshire (see email link attached) – It was mentioned that the Doctors Surgery’s Health & Wellbeing coach and Age UK might be appropriate avenues to publicise this project and also to put up posters in Mere Day Centre and Mere Linkscheme.

300. Briefing Notes

*Briefing Note no. 23-17 – Launch of the second Solar Together scheme in Wiltshire & Swindon – It was agreed to put this on our website to help publicise the scheme.

*Briefing Note no. 23-18 Explore Wiltshire Heritage App – We might want to get some usage figures and see whether we want to become involved in this in the future.

301. Future meetings and events
302. a) Inspector Kevin Harmsworth, Wiltshire Police will be holding Facebook Live Event July 11^th between 5.30 – 7.00 pm. Are there any specific questions you would like to submit? – Can we see a PCSO in the town so that people can approach him and get information.

302. Future agenda items

• None

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

MERE PEACE MEMORIAL SPORTS AND RECREATION GROUND

Registered Charity No. 1093497

For Trustee to consider the following:

*a) To approve Town Council recommendation made at last meeting: 

Minute 279b) RESOLVED to recommend that the Trustee of the Charity should grant a 50-year lease to Seeds4Sucess on proposal made by Cllr. Debbie Beale, seconded by Cllr. G. Ings and carried with a vote of 11 for, 0 against and 1 abstention. 

The Chairman read the proposal which was made at the last meeting (as above).  It was agreed that the lease should be non-transferable so that it can only be used for the purposes of a youth and development centre and cannot be transferred to another organisation.

Meeting closed at 8:40 pm

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