Author: Lindsey Wood

 Mere Town Council

Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

Minutes of an extra meeting of Mere Town Council held on Monday, 23^rd May 2022 at The Andy Young Pavilion, Springfield Road, Mere.  BA12 6EW at 7.00 pm. 

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

Meeting convened at 7.05 with Public Session

• No members of the public present

Members observed a minute’s silence as a mark of respect in memory of Councillor Eric Mitchell who had sadly died on 10^th May.

Apologies for absence received from Councillors Mrs. Debbie Beale & Rachael Hansford.

166. Insurance renewal premium (new information since last Town Council meeting).

The Clerk reminded members that during the last Town Council meeting she pointed out that our insurance renewal premium had risen by £1200 or 37% and the Council decided that it would be better not to opt for the 3-year Long Term Agreement (LTA) but just to renew for one year and to get some quotations from alternative providers in good time before next year’s renewal.  The Clerk said that as far as she was aware there are only really two insurance brokers that cover Local Council insurance – one is Gallaghers (our existing broker) and the other is BHIB Councils and she had actually asked BHIB Councils for a quote before the last Town Council meeting but didn’t mention it because they hadn’t responded in time for the meeting.  However, the Clerk had now received a response and reported that their insurers have declined to quote for us due to our claims experience.

In the meantime, the Clerk had informed the Council’s existing brokers that she had been instructed to renew for one year only as members were concerned about the 37% increase in premium but had accepted that there was not enough time to get alternative quotations in time for renewal.  Gallaghers had now emailed back to clarify, Hiscox are now their preferred and single provider of local council insurance and it is their strong recommendation that the 3-year Long Term Agreement is taken to prevent any chance of rate increase at renewal 2023.

In view of the fact that there are very few companies out there now that provide insurance for Local Councils and the fact that one had declined to provide a quotation due to our claims experience, the Clerk advised the Town Council that it would be prudent to opt for the 3-year LTA with Hiscox via Gallaghers and to hope that during the next 3 years, the Town Council doesn’t need to make any more insurance claims and may be able to get more competitive quotations after that time.

Cllr. Philip Coward proposed that we reluctantly sign up to the 3-year Long Term Agreement with Hiscox via Gallaghers – as quoted.  Proposal seconded by Cllr. Colman and carried with a unanimous vote.

167. EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC – RESOLVED to exclude the press and public from the meeting, in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, section 1(2), to transact business for which publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of its confidential nature (staffing matters).  Proposal made by Cllr. P. Coward, seconded by Cllr. Colman and carried with a unanimous vote.

Mere Town Council

Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

Minutes of the Annual Town Council meeting held on Monday, 9^th May 2022 at 7.00 pm in The Andy Young Pavilion, Springfield Road, Mere, BA12 6EW.

Present:  Councillors Mrs. Lesley Traves (Chair), Mrs. Kate Symonds (Vice-Chair), Nick Beale, Aubrey Colman, Philip Coward, Rachael Hansford, Clive Hazzard, Raymond Hill, Glen Ings, and John Jordan.

139. To elect Chairman of Mere Town Council for 2022/23 and to receive the Chairman’s Declaration of Acceptance of Office – Cllr. Mrs Symonds proposed that Cllr. Mrs. Traves be elected as Chair for the ensuing year. Cllr. Philip Coward seconded the proposal.   Cllr. Mrs. Traves confirmed that she was happy to be nominated and the Council RESOLVED unanimously to elect Cllr. Mrs. Traves as Chair.  Cllr. Mrs. Traves signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

140. To elect Vice-Chairman of Mere Town Council for 2022/23 and to receive the Vice-Chairman’s Declaration of Acceptance of Office – The Chairman said that, in accordance with Cllr. Mrs. Symonds previous statements, she is not prepared to become Chairman of the Town Council and therefore, if there is any member of this council who would like to put themselves forward or be nominated as Vice-Chairman with a view to learning the ropes to become a future Chairman, then please put yourselves forward. There being no nominations, Cllr. Mrs. Traves proposed that Cllr. Mrs. Symonds be elected as Vice-Chairman for the ensuing year.  Proposal seconded by Cllr. Colman and Cllr. Mrs. Symonds confirmed that she was happy to be nominated on this basis.  RESOLVED unanimously to elect Cllr. Mrs. Symonds as Vice-Chair.  Cllr. Mrs. Symonds signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

Apologies for absence received from Councillors Debbie Beale, Louise Bennett, Rodney Coward & George Jeans.

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

• To receive Declarations of Interest relating to matters contained in this agenda, in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 in respect of officers and the Localism Act 2011 in respect of members.
• Philip Coward declared a pecuniary interest in Minute No. 162a) Payments
• Lesley Traves declared a pecuniary interest in Minute No.162a) Payments
• To receive written requests for new DPI dispensations.

Members are invited to declare disclosable pecuniary interests and other interests in items on the agenda as required by the Mere Town Council Code of Conduct for Members and by the Localism Act 2011.  The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.  If you become aware, during the course of a meeting, of an interest that has not been disclosed under this item, you must immediately disclose it.  Whether you can remain in the meeting and the extent to which you can participate depends on the type of interest you have.

142. Minutes – RESOLVED that the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on Monday, 4^th April 2022 be approved as a correct record of proceedings on proposal made by Cllr. Jordan, seconded by Cllr. Colman and carried with a unanimous vote of those that were present on 4.4.22.

*143.  To approve and adopt the Standing Orders for Mere Town Council – RESOLVED that the Standing Orders (as distributed) be approved with no amendments on proposal made by Cllr. Colman, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds and carried with a unanimous vote in favour.

*144.  To approve and adopt the Financial Regulations for Mere Town Council – RESOLVED that the Financial Regulations (as distributed) be approved with no amendments on proposal made by Cllr. Colman, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds and carried with a unanimous vote in favour.

145. Internal Audit

To appoint/re-appoint an Internal Auditor – The Clerk asked for this matter to be deferred until after the 2021/22 end of year internal audit had taken place on 26^th May.

146. 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.

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

148. To appoint members, including the Chairman, to service on the Staffing Panel – it was agreed that the Staffing Panel member make-up should be Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Cllr. Jordan.

149. 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.

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

*151.  Review of delegation arrangements – RESOLVED to approve Scheme of Delegation (as distributed) without amendment, on proposal made by Cllr. Philip Coward, seconded by Cllr. Hill and carried with a unanimous vote.

152. To review the Council’s banking and signatory arrangements – the Clerk confirmed that, in accordance with Minute Reference 124b) of 14.3.22, this current banking arrangements were under review.

153. To review the Council’s asset register – deferred.

*154.  To review the Council insurance policy and discuss/decide on alterations – RESOLVED to approve the insurance schedule summary, as distributed to members.

155. To fix the dates and times of ordinary meetings of the Council and Committees for the ensuing year – it was agreed that the Town Council meetings would continue to be held 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.

156. Matters Arising from Public Session

• None

157. Matters Arising from previous Meetings
158. a) Platinum Jubilee Celebrations (Minute 131c) – update on plans to erect beacon, programme of events & finance etc. – Cllr. Ings reported that everything was coming together quite nicely and the committee had managed to bring everything in under the budget that they had anticipated. Arrangements for the beacon on Castle Hill were in hand.
159. b) Provision/installation of conduits/ducts for street lights and battery powered EV chargers at Duchy Manor (Minute Ref: 131d) – deferred.

158. Reports & Consultations
159. a) Wiltshire Councillors Report – No report given as Cllr. Jeans was absent from the meeting.

159. Planning
160. a) Applications for consultation response:

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application.  However, the Clerk was asked to add the following Informative:  As this property is in a development that was designed in consultation with the Duchy of Cornwall, the Town Council believes that the applicant is required to seek permission from the Duchy of Cornwall before carrying out any works to the exterior of the property.

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

There was some confusion as to the functions of the Parish Steward and Sparkle Team and how the two services differ –  the Clerk was asked to provide Councillors with a report on the functions, roles and responsibilities of each service.

• Jordan asked if it would be possible to get either the Parish Steward or the Sparkle Team to look at tidying up Wiltshire Council owned garages – there is a site in Manor Road which is looking very overgrown and untidy with rubbish strewn around and further sites in Bramley Hill and The Lynch.

1. b) Accessibility issues relating to footpaths and dropped kerbs– the Clerk reported that this had been raised because it had been reported on Social Media that people with mobility scooters or wheelchairs could not access certain places but were also facing difficulties due to cars being parked along dropped kerbs and causing an obstruction. The Clerk said that she had agreed an alternative route for some wheelchair users to get access to Castle Hill via the Castle Hill Play Area by providing a new coded padlock to the vehicle gate.  However, there were still some complaints about improving the footpath from Castle Hill Lane to Castle Hill to allow for wheelchair access.  Jordan said that this was, perhaps, something that the footpath group could investigate further.  With regards to the parked vehicles blocking dropped kerbs, Cllr. Rachael Hansford asked if the Town Council could target offenders and print off some kind of stickers to put on offending cars.  It was agreed that this would be raised again at a future meeting.
2. c) Change from CATGs to LHFIGs – change of name and remit – The Clerk informed members that Wiltshire Council has increased the remit of the Community Area Transport Groups (CATGs) and has approved additional funding to allow this to progress. In order to reflect the changed remit, it has decided to rename the groups as Local Highway & Footway Improvement Groups (LHFIGs). The CATGs have been encouraged to seek local funding to assist in scheme delivery and Wiltshire Council have agreed that this should continue with the LHFIGs with a minimum local contribution of 20% being suggested.  The Clerk read out a list of projects that Wiltshire Council have said can and cannot be funded by LHFIGs.  The Clerk said that she had written an email to WALC raising concerns as to the financial implications and also extent of Powers of expenditure for Parish & Town Councils in relation to Highways, Footpaths and Transport schemes.

161. Buildings, Open Spaces, Play Areas, Sports Grounds, Car Parks, Allotments & Cemeteries
162. a) Request for replacement memorial seat on Castle Hill – The Clerk explained that a local gentleman had requested a memorial seat to be installed on Castle Hill as a replacement for an existing plank seat. The Clerk reminded members that Historic England will no longer allow us to install any more benches on Castle Hill as it is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and therefore, we can only replace existing seats by using exactly the same fixing points and methods. The Clerk had therefore asked the grounds team to assess the location and they did raise some concerns that this could mean that a new bench in this location could end up being a bit too close to the edge of the hill in view of the fact that it would be much wider than the existing non-back bench.  Cllr. P. Coward proposed that the Council should revisit this with a view to making some kind of bracketry to fit to the new bench so that it would be possible to adjust it so that the front edge of the bench is in the same place and the same anchor points can be used.  Proposal seconded by Cllr. Rachael Hansford and carried with a unanimous vote.

162. Finance, Policy & Resources

Cllr. Mrs. Kate Symonds in The Chair

*a)  Payments – To review and authorise schedule of payments (attached). RESOLVED to recommend approval of the payments as listed in the schedule of payments on proposal made by Cllr. Colman, seconded by Cllr. Rachael Hansford and carried with a unanimous vote of those present.  Cllrs. Philip Coward & Lesley Traves , having both declared a pecuniary interest, left the meeting room for this item and took no part in discussion or voting.

Cllr. Mrs. Lesley Traves in The Chair

8. b) To confirm approval for S.137 payments for 2022/23 financial year (as listed in payment schedule) – The Clerk reminded members that Section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972 allows the Town Council to spend a limited amount on activities for which it has no specific power, but which the authority considers ‘will bring direct benefit to the area, or any part of it or all or some of its inhabitants.’ The limit for 2022/23 for Mere Town Council is £8.82 per elector.  Using the latest electoral register which was provided in December 2021 this would equate to £22,129.38.  Members confirmed the S.137 payments for 2022/23 which had previously been approved as part of the budget recommendations for this financial year.

*c) To adopt recommendations made by working group at annual meeting to assess effectiveness of internal control measures (see Minutes of meeting held on 31^st March 2022) – RESOLVED to adopt the recommendations as agreed om the Minutes of the meeting held on 31^st March 2022 on proposal made by Cllr. Philip Coward, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds and carried with a unanimous vote.

4323. d) To consider quotation for insurance renewal – the Clerk informed members that the Town Council had previously signed up to a 3-year Long Term Agreement (LTA) with Hiscox Insurance Company via our insurance brokers, Gallagher.  However, the 3-year LTA expired this year and the renewal premium was now £4323.97 which was nearly £1200 more than last year.  The Clerk said that Gallaghers were inviting us to choose a 3-year binding LTA with Hiscox insurance again at the LTA premium of £4323.97.  The renewal was due on 31^st  In view of the short time available to get new quotations, it was RESOLVED to pay the insurance premium this year but NOT to sign up to a 3-year LTA and the Clerk was asked to obtain quotations for the Council to consider in good time for renewal next year.  Proposal made by Cllr. Philip Coward, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds and carried with a unanimous agreement.

*e) To report on Allotment rent audit for 2021/22– the Clerk reported:  The Town Council runs 3 allotment sites: Wellhead, Jack Paul Close and Southbrook.  We have been splitting the allotments into smaller plots over the years, for two reasons: 1 – because people seem reluctant and/or unable to manage such large plots anymore and 2 – we have a waiting list for allotments so it is better to provide more people with smaller plots than less people with large plots that they are not cultivating fully.  We currently have between 92 and 97 allotments across the 3 sites, with two vacant allotments at Wellhead and 4 vacant allotments at Southbrook.  We have a waiting list of 22 people at the present time with the longest having waited since June 2020 although those that have been fairly specific about where they want an allotment are the ones that have to wait the longest.  I do not have any debtor allotment holders.  I do, however, have one issue with an ex-allotment holder at Wellhead who has left Mere and has left his allotment with a whole load of rubbish on it.  It will probably cost us a considerable amount of money to get this rubbish removed and I will not be able to do this until I have a full grounds staff team and we have caught up with the mowing schedule.  The Clerk asked the Council for authority to dispose of the rubbish in due course and to seek to claim the expenses from the ex-allotment holder.  Members agreed that the Clerk should get the rubbish cleared using someone with a waste removal licence and to seek to claim the expenses from the ex-allotment holder if a contact can be found.

1. f) To review and approve Budget/Expenditure Report and End of Year Summaries – RESOLVED to approve the Budget/Expenditure Report and End of Year Summaries. The Clerk also put forward suggestions to members to Vire reserves to pay for the tractor outright.

Members were in agreement with these suggestions and the Clerk said that she would amend the budget report accordingly.

1. g) To update the Council on staffing issues (vacancies and applications) – The Clerk reported that the Town Council received four applications for the post of grounds person and seven for the post of project co-ordinator. The Chairman confirmed that the staffing panel had met to consider a shortlist for both posts and interviews had been arranged for 2 candidates for the grounds persons’ post on 11^th May and 3 candidates for the project co-ordinator post at a later date.
2. h) Car Park Leases – the Clerk informed members that she had received copies of the draft leases for the car parks and public toilets from Wiltshire Council. However, she pointed out that the Town Council’s previous solicitor was no longer available to deal with this matter and asked members for their thoughts on how to proceed. The Clerk said that options available to the Town Council were to use specialist Local Council solicitors, local solicitors who may not be aware of local government administration or Hampshire Legal Services (the latter having been recommended by colleagues in the Clerk’s network).  Hampshire Legal Services is Hampshire County Council’s team of lawyers who now outsource their services to members and officers across local government, emergency services and schools.  Members were happy to instruct the Clerk to ask Hampshire Legal Services for a quotation and also to ask for clarification to ensure that there were no restrictions precluding the Town Council from charging for the use of EV charging points in the car parks.
3. i) To consider replacement hand wash unit for unisex toilet block and quotation from Wallgate – the Clerk read out a quotation from Wallgate for a new hand washer for the unisex toilets in Salisbury Street Car Park. The price being £3620.59. The Clerk pointed out that the present unit from Wallgate was extremely old and very unreliable. The Town Council currently has a service agreement with Wallgate who are based in Salisbury. It may be possible to install another kind of unit or to revert back to a sink/tap but this would also involve extra plumbing work and possible re-tiling etc.  Jordan said he was happy to go along with the Wallgate unit where everything is included and the Town Council doesn’t need to manage anything.  RESOLVED to ask Wallgate to provide a new unit, as quoted.  Made on proposal by Cllr. Jordan, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds and carried with a unanimous vote of those present.

163. General Items & Consultations/Briefing Notes

*a) Briefing Note No. 22-10 – Electric Vehicle Charging Points – members noted the information in the Briefing Note which explained the basis of Wiltshire Council’s Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy and the fact that they want the framework agreement to allow town and parish councils to use the same contract to make it cheaper.  The briefing note also gives information on government grants and charging options.

*b) Report on meeting to discuss matters relating to Mere Day Centre 26.4.22 – members noted the information in the report which was distributed with the agenda papers.

164. Future meetings and events
165. a) Invitation for Chair and Clerk to attend Wiltshire Town & Parish Council conference on 27^th May 2022
166. b) Invitation for Chair & Clerk to attend Mere School lunch on 20^th May and to hand out Bee Saving Flower Seeds

165. Future agenda items

Please note that the Town Council will be discussing matters raised during the Annual Town Meeting including Cemetery Rules and Regulations at the June Town Council meeting which will be held on Monday, 6^th June 2022.

Cllr. Jeans has requested that the Town Council consider proposals for additional parking restrictions for Mere Town Centre at the June Town Council meeting which will be held on Monday, 6^th June 2022.

Agenda item requests:

• Communications Policy – Cllr. Rachael Hansford
• Replacement Defibrillator

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 8.19 pm

MERE PEACE MEMORIAL SPORTS AND RECREATION GROUND

Registered Charity No. 1093497

For Trustees:

1. To receive report on end of year accounts and approve end of year accounts.
2. To approve payments to:

Mere Town Council  – Maintenance charges for 2021/22                  £12,283.40

*In order to pay this, Mere Town Council has agreed to provide a donation to the Mere Peace Memorial Sports & Recreation Ground Charity for £12,300.00.  The reason for these contra payments is to separate the Charity Accounts from the Town Council’s accounts.

Mere Town Council

Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

Minutes of a meeting of Mere Town Council held at the Andy Young Pavilion, Springfield Road, Mere, BA12 6EW on Monday, 4^th April 2022 at 7.00 pm. 

Present: Councillors Lesley Traves (Chair), Kate Symonds (Vice-Chair), Louise Bennett, Aubrey Colman, Philip Coward,  Rodney Coward, Rachael Hansford, Clive Hazzard, R. Hill, Glen Ings, George Jeans, John Jordan & Eric Mitchell

Also: David Hytch, Spence Gunn & Claire Shaddick

Meeting convened at 7.00 pm with Public Session

David Hytch – had a conversation with Cllr. Jeans about the provision of electric charge points.  I also talked to him about the fact that in areas where there is a low grid supply there are options involving battery storage.  Mr. Hytch said that electric vehicle charging points are lacking in Mere and we should take as many opportunities as we can to improve the situation.

Clive Hazzard said that he was pleased to see that roadside ditches had been cut out in various pleases but noted that Wiltshire Council were going to close some roads for maintenance and felt that it would be a good idea for them to dig out the roadside ditches at the same time.  Cllr. Jeans said that he would suggest this to the Highways Authority.

Apologies for absence received from Councillors Debbie Beale, Nick Beale,

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

• To receive Declarations of Interest relating to matters contained in this agenda, in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 in respect of officers and the Localism Act 2011 in respect of members.
• To receive written requests for new DPI dispensations.

Members are invited to declare disclosable pecuniary interests and other interests in items on the agenda as required by the Mere Town Council Code of Conduct for Members and by the Localism Act 2011.  The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.  If you become aware, during the course of a meeting, of an interest that has not been disclosed under this item, you must immediately disclose it.  Whether you can remain in the meeting and the extent to which you can participate depends on the type of interest you have.

• Clive Hazzard declared a pecuniary interest in 136a)

129. Minutes –RESOLVED that the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on Monday, 14^th March 2022 be approved as a correct record on proposal made by Cllr. R. Coward, seconded by Cllr. A. Colman and carried with a unanimous vote of those present on 14.3.22

130. Matters Arising from Public Session

• None

131. Matters Arising from previous Meetings
132. a) Report on the receipt of information and co-ordination of efforts to help people from Mere that wish to take in Ukrainian refugees to their homes – (Minute No. 118) – Cllr. Mrs. Hansford said that nothing is really happening at the moment but Mere will be ready when things start to move. The Clerk informed members that Wiltshire Council was aware of 136 Wiltshire households who are offering homes through sponsorship to Ukrainian refugees and around 1,500 who have applied through the Government website after the Homes for Ukraine scheme was launched and the number is growing every day.
133. b) Mere Car Club – report on decision made by Wiltshire Council’s South West Wiltshire Area Board (Minute No. 119 ii) – Cllr. Jeans reported that the Area Board had approved the grant of £10k towards this project with strong support. The Clerk read out an email from John Price (Estates Surveyor at Wiltshire Council) which stated that he was reviewing the draft leases for the car parks and needed a specific authority to include the car charger spaces.  His report is going to need to refer to the length of lease to be granted and his understanding is that Econetiq needed a 15-year agreement.  Should he make the lease 15 years or would 20 be better?  Members generally felt that it would be better for Mere to have the lease as long as possible.
134. c) Platinum Jubilee Celebrations – report from Jubilee Committee and to agree final decision on location of beacon and other updates from Committee and Town Clerk. (Minute 119b) – Committee upset that its not going to be on the hill. No-one got time or ability to do paperwork but we can do the manual work to get the beacon on the hill. GJ prepared to propose we have it on Castle Hill and that the committee get the funds to pay people to get the beacon on the hill which is what they have offered.  RESOLVED that the Town Council’s admin team carry out the necessary paperwork to have the beacon on the hill i.e. correspond with Historic England and carry out Risk Assessment and that the Jubilee Committee arrange for the manual work in order to get the beacon on Castle Hill.  Proposal seconded by Cllr. Rachael Hansford and carried with a unanimous vote.
135. d) Response from Wiltshire Council and contractors relating to the provision/installation of solar powered street lights at Duchy Manor and the provision/installation of conduits/ducts (Minute 123b) – The Clerk said that she had mentioned to the contractors about the possibility of installing solar powered street lights if the Town Council purchased the lights but the contractors were concerned that this would require planning permission. Meanwhile, Cllr. Jeans had expressed concerns to the planning officer regarding insufficient lighting and they had included extra lights in their approved scheme but the Clerk pointed out that these were around by the MUGA and not near the pavilion or office which is where the lighting was needed most. Jeans had also provided the Clerk with copies of his correspondence with Wiltshire Council relating to his concerns about the lack of EV points in the parking scheme and whether they might be willing to put in conduits for a battery storage EV charger.   Cllr. Jeans said that there is a possibility that the contractors may install the ducting but there would be a cost associated with doing this and he wanted the Town Council to agree to explore the costs.  RESOLVED to authorise Cllr. Jeans to explore costs.
136. e) Update on minor refurbishments for Public Toilets (Minute 123e) – the Clerk reported that everything is now in place. The new signage is up and the footfall counters were installed on Friday, 1^st April when we actually completed the changeover from the gents to the ladies block of toilets. The Clerk said that she would like to get the exterior windows and doors painted this year and think that this is a job that our street orderly can do as part of his town centre enhancement work.  We may, however, need some woodwork replacing for the toilet windows.  The Clerk also explained that there was an issue with the hand-wash unit which is really past its sell-by-date and, in her opinion, is not fit for purpose.  She had asked Wallgate for a quotation to replace this with a new unit and would come back to the Town Council when the quotation costs were known.
137. f) New format for the Annual Town Meeting and councillor leads (Minute No. 125) – The Chairman said that she was hoping that councillors would open the discussions on the specific discussion items (numbered 6 – 12) on the agenda and asked for volunteers. With regards to the fact that organisations and groups were not being asked to present reports at the Annual Town Meeting this year, it was agreed to invite those organisations to submit a written report if they wished to which could be attached to the minutes and reproduced on the Town Council’s website.

132. Reports & Consultations
133. a) Wiltshire Councillors Report – Cllr. Jeans reported that with reference to the outline planning application for the development of the old Beaumonts site in Woodlands Road which had still not yet been determined, he was aware that Wiltshire Council were considering a viability assessment which had been submitted on behalf of the applicant to determine whether or not the project could support a S.106 agreement which included an affordable housing contribution. Jordan asked if Cllr. Jeans had raised the matter he brought up last month about Wiltshire Cllr. Mark McClellan’s walking/cycling route in Hilperton. Cllr. Jeans said that he would have pursued this but could not recall the response.

133. Planning
134. a) Applications for consultation response:

The Chair explained that each of the houses on that corner had parking spaces further up the hill but the person who bought No. 2 sold the house without its parking space and has kept the parking space which is the location for this planning application.  She said that this planning application has actually deprived No. 2 of a parking space and she was concerned that the parking spaces for this planning application are going to be unviable due to accessibility issues.  The remaining land adjacent to the site is parking for Nos. 3 & 4.  The site abuts Linden Barn. Cllr. Jordan said that he was familiar with the plot as he walked past it every day and confirmed that the whole plot was slightly larger than his front room and he finds it quite remarkable that they can get a house & 2 parking spaces on this site.  Cllr. Rodney Coward added that the second bedroom is only 6 ft square.  It was confirmed that it would be necessary to dig down considerably in order to construct the house with its front door on Castle Street.  RESOLVED to recommend refusal of the above planning application for the following reasons on proposal made by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds, seconded by Cllr. |Colman and carried with a vote of 10 for and 2 abstentions.  Also RESOLVED to ask Cllr. Jeans to request that this planning application is called into committee if the planning officer is minded to recommend approval.

Reasons:

The Town Council is unable to support this planning application for the following reasons:

1) Members consider that it is overdevelopment of the site as it is an extremely small space to accommodate a 2-bedroom house with 2 parking spaces which will result in a cramped form of development with low-quality accommodation.

2)  Members felt that this house will look out of keeping with the character of the area and have a detrimental impact on existing properties and amenities in the conservation area and the change of street scene in Castle Street will have an impact on the immediate neighbourhood and their amenities.

3) Members were extremely concerned about the accessibility and viability of the two parking spaces which would be accessed from an extremely narrow road just around the corner from a blind bend.  Members felt that these parking spaces would be fairly difficult to manoeuvre in and out of and would present a hazard for other drivers using Castle Hill Lane and that, ultimately, occupiers and visitors to the proposed property would end up parking on Castle Street exacerbating the existing parking congestion problems on the main road through Mere.

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application.  However, the Clerk was asked to add the following Informative:

As this property is in a development that was designed in consultation with the Duchy of Cornwall, the Town Council believes that the applicant is required to seek permission from the Duchy of Cornwall before carrying out any works to the exterior of the property

The Clerk pointed out that the above application had been submitted by the Town Council in response to the Tree Inspection Report and as such, she recommended that the Town Council should decline to submit a consultation response.  Members were happy that no comment should be submitted.

134. Highways, Rivers, Footpaths, Traffic & Transport
135. a) To identify jobs for the Parish Steward, Sparkle Team and MyWiltshire reports – the Clerk reported that with reference to progress relating to the reinstatement of the faded yellow lines in Salisbury Street outside the Lecture Hall, Wiltshire Council had confirmed that this work had been added to their ongoing maintenance list but that refreshment of restrictions for Parking Services are prioritised as and when other lining works are scheduled in that area to minimise resources and costs. The works are carried out on a priority basis where highway safety lining takes precedence over parking. For instance, STOP markings, give ways, speed roundabouts etc.  Therefore, it is difficult to provide us with an exact date when the work will be carried out.

*b) To approve ‘What do I do if I get Flooded?’ document (attached) – members thanked the Town Council’s admin team for producing this document and requested that it be published on the Town Council’s website.

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

*a) Report on informal meeting held with Mere Pre-School representatives on their suggestion to swap premises – prior to the meeting papers had been distributed to members relating to proposals from Mere Pre-School asking for the Town Council to give careful consideration to exchanging premises and a report of an informal meeting with pre-school representatives and Town Council representatives held on 29^th March.  The Chair said that following our meeting the pre-school representatives had been to see the Headteacher at Mere School, Catriona, who had given the Town Council the following statement “I admire the desire and vision to develop the provision that Mere Pre-School is providing for the benefit of young families in Mere.  However, knowing the complexities of the building and leases, the lengthy period of negotiation and planning relating to the school expansion works and the significant costs associated with moving into the Town Council offices, this is not an initiative I can support and I have shared this opinion with the manager and Mrs. Faulkner-Bryant.  The organisation needs to consider other, more appropriate and better value options and I have discussed some ideas with them.  The school is more than willing to help in any way possible.” The Chair said that the pre-school would very much like to be able to compete with Leaping Frogs in Zeals in terms of its child care provision and its facilities but feels that it is restricted in its present situation and premises and, at the meeting we held with representatives, we offered to help in providing information, possible sources of grant funding and/or contact numbers etc.  Cllr. Rachael Hansford said that she was impressed with the approach and creative proposal that was put forward by the Mere Pre-school.

136. Finance, Policy & Resources

*a)  Payments – RESOLVED to authorise payments as listed in the schedule attached on proposal made by Cllr. Mitchell, seconded by Cllr. Ings and carried with a unanimous vote in favour.    Cllr. Hazzard, having declared a pecuniary interest in this agenda item, left the meeting room whilst this agenda item was discussed and took no part in discussion or voting.  Cllr. Jordan asked for it to be recorded that the Town Council was paying over £10k to Wiltshire Council in non-domestic business rates.

*b) To approve internet advertisement and candidate information pack for the position of Project Co-Ordinator –    The Clerk reported that both Cllr. Colman and she had been working on these documents and what we were really asking the Council tonight is whether or not they were happy with the wording for the job advertisement and the job description.  The Clerk said that she was liaising with the Human Resources Support Officer at South West Councils to whom we pay a yearly affiliation subscription for employment advice on wording and approval for the Application Forms and Candidate Information Pack.  The Clerk said that she assumed that the Town Council’s staffing panel would deal with the interviews – they are Chair, Vice-Chair, Cllr. Jordan & Cllr. P. Coward and asked if the staffing panel was happy with the suggested application closing dates and interview dates.  Members confirmed that they were happy withal the information provided and wanted to include the advert on Social Media Facebook Groups and the Blackmore Vale & Gillingham & Shaftesbury News as well as online on Indeed on proposal made by Cllr. Jeans, seconded by Cllr. Rachael Hansford and carried with a majority vote in favour.  (Cllr. Hill abstained from voting).

1. c) To report on Allotment rent audit – deferred.
2. d) 2021/22 Annual Governance & Accountability Return external auditor instructions – the Clerk reported that she had received instructions from PKF Littlejohn LLP relating to the annual audit – the deadline for submission of the approved AGAR and supporting documentation is Friday, 1^st July 2022. As the income and/or expenditure is over £200k, Mere Town Council will be required to submit an intermediate review and will need to submit the information required for an intermediate review.

137. Future agenda items

NB – Please note that the next Town Council meeting will be the Annual Town Council meeting and will be held on 9^th May 2022

138. Emergency Item – Staffing matters

The Chairman reported that very regrettably, our Head Groundsman, James Suter, had handed in his notice of resignation this morning.  James has been with the Town Council for nearly 8 years and he will be sorely missed.  Cllr. Clive Hazzard confirmed that he had spoken with James to see if there was anything he could do to make him change his mind but that James had said that this was something he had thought long and hard about but his mind was firmly made up.  RESOLVED to offer the job of Head Groundsman to Simon at the Head Groundsman’s rate and advertise for a groundsman on proposal made by Cllr. Mitchell, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds and carried with a majority vote.  The Clerk said that she would speak to Simon who was currently on annual leave and would ask him to consider this carefully over the next 7 days so that she could then prepare the advertisement for the vacant position whether that be for a head groundsman or a groundsman.  The Clerk said that she was also aware that Gillingham Town Council were advertising for a groundsman and so she would check the rates/conditions that they were offering.

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 8.29 pm

MERE PEACE MEMORIAL SPORTS AND RECREATION GROUND

Registered Charity No. 1093497

For Trustees to consider the following:

Wiltshire Council – National Non-Domestic Rates for Recreation Ground                            £0.00

The Clerk asked Trustees to note that Wiltshire Council had applied mandatory and discretionary relief to the Recreation Ground owing to the charitable status.

Mere Town Council

Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

Minutes of a meeting of Mere Town Council held at the Andy Young Pavilion, Duchy Manor, Springfield Road, Mere.  BA12 6EW on Monday, 14^th March 2022 at 7.00 pm. 

Present: Councillors Lesley Traves (Chair), Kate Symonds (Vice-Chair), Debbie Beale, Nick Beale, Louise Bennett, Aubrey Colman, Rodney Coward, Rachael Hansford, Clive Hazzard, Glen Ings, George Jeans, John Jordan & Eric Mitchell

Also: Spence Gunn & Claire Shaddick

Meeting convened at 7.00 p, with Public Session

Rachael Hansford said she wanted to make Councillors aware of the work that has been going on to collect items to help the people of Ukraine with Anne Rich from the Toddler Group & Jenny Bell co-ordinating efforts. I also wanted to ask the Council’s thoughts about co-ordinating the efforts for people who want to have refugees staying in their homes – she said that it seemed to make sense to co-ordinate it with the school and the doctors surgery who she has already spoken to and wondered about putting together a working party to support the people who want to bring refugees to Mere and I wondered whether we could do this under the umbrella of the Town Council or the Resilience Forum although it is better if the Council are supporting anything we do as a community.  Kate Symonds said that she understood that the advice given out by the government was for individuals to apply and they have to make the application themselves and someone comes out to see if their home is suitable.  She understood that Wiltshire Council would be the authority that would coordinate this.  Clive Hazzard made the suggestion that if Rachael Hansford wants to do this then the Town Council should give her the authority to make those enquiries and investigations as a Town Councillor and with the Town Council’s backing and also said that perhaps the Town Council should appoint her as the Councillor in charge of finding out how to go about applying to house refugees in Mere.  Rachael Hansford said she had already been doing some of the work in the background and there is an immigration consultant who lives in Mere and someone else who would help do the admin work.  The clerk pointed out that this was the public session and should be raised in the Council meeting if the Council is to make a decision.

Clive Hazzard pointed out that the yellow lines outside the Lecture Hall are still in need of repainting.

Eric Mitchell pointed out that there was a hedge along Shaftesbury Road that was obstructing the Highway and said that he would provide the Clerk with the address of the property.

Apologies for absence received from Cllrs. Philip Coward & Raymond Hill.

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

• To receive Declarations of Interest relating to matters contained in this agenda, in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 in respect of officers and the Localism Act 2011 in respect of members.
• To receive written requests for new DPI dispensations.

Members are invited to declare disclosable pecuniary interests and other interests in items on the agenda as required by the Mere Town Council Code of Conduct for Members and by the Localism Act 2011.  The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.  If you become aware, during the course of a meeting, of an interest that has not been disclosed under this item, you must immediately disclose it.  Whether you can remain in the meeting and the extent to which you can participate depends on the type of interest you have.

• None Received

117. Minutes – RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Town Council meeting held on Monday, 7^th February 2022 be approved as a correct record. Proposal made by Cllr. Aubrey Colman, seconded by Cllr. John Jordan and carried with a unanimous vote of those present on 7.2.22

118. Matters Arising from Public Session

With reference to the discussion during the Public Session relating to the coordination of efforts to help people from Mere that wish to take in Ukrainian refugees to their homes, it was RESOLVED that the town Council supports Cllr. Rachael Hansford if she wants to use her role as a Town Councillor and the Mere Resilience Forum to help co-ordinate efforts and obtain information in which to advise residents.  Proposal made by Cllr. Hazzard.

*119.  Matters Arising from previous Meetings

1. a) Mere Car Club –

1. Report and analysis of survey results (electronic and paper) for suggestions for Mere Car Club and, if positive response received, to consider the plan for car park charging spaces and car parking replacement spaces, as identified by Cllr. Jeans.  (attached)
2. Also, to confirm support for option (subject to finer details being confirmed) of the car club being run as a Town Council project on the basis that Co Cars manage the club, leaving no/minimal admin for Mere Town Council.

Members noted that the responses to the survey represented only 2% of the population. Cllr. Jordan said that he took this as a massive ‘no’ vote and thumbs down when compared to the hundreds of people that voted on the Fives Court survey.  Cllr. Rachael Hansford said that the Fives Court issue was a high-profile campaign and there was a lot of work involved in that survey.  Cllr. Jeans responded that the Fives Court campaign did not achieve what it set out to do and this survey is different in that it has a definite end result.   The car club are happy to proceed on the basis of the survey results and this will enable us to get a public charge point – the whole idea is to get people into the town and get them to go to the pubs and shops etc.  Cllr. Jeans said “we have got to move towards electrification and this is an interim measure”. This is one of the three initiatives for the whole area from Wilton to Mere.   Cllr. Mrs. Beale said that she supported Cllr. Jeans and said that Wiltshire Council is looking to see what Town & Parish Council’s are doing to help with Climate Change and this is an initiative that shows that we are moving forward.  The Clerk said that, following some questions and concerns she had, she had raised some queries with Karen Linaker who had got answers from the chap who co-ordinates the Salisbury Co Car Club:

There are three aspects to the role of local co-ordinator:

1) operational: recruit, retain and supervise car a checker/cleaner, with support from Co Cars’ Fleet Manager and Customer Service staff based in Exeter; checkers/cleaners make sure the cars are safe! & clean, take the car for MOT and service, react to incidents, e.g. check the car if someone reports damage.  NB Co Cars use an app to prompt the designated checkers/cleaners to perform their tasks, and also to record completed tasks.

2) promotional: make sure everyone in Mere knows there’s ca car club, how it works etc; participating in local events where the car can be promoted, plugging the car in meetings; leafletting the area around the car station, or conducting surveys; all this with support from Co Cars’ Marketing Manager based in Exeter.

3) liaison: being the local contact for Wiltshire Council in case of any problems that need to be fed back to staff in Exeter; or relaying request to the Council e.g. the “car club only” road markings need repainting, the parking permit needs to be renewed.

                Age limited: The age limits are listed in 2.4 at https://www.co-cars.co.uk/terms-and-conditions: 21 and 75                 years. These are stipulated by the motor insurance. Co Cars appreciates that these age limits restrict the                 potential pool of users, but there is little choice of policies in the insurance market at present.

                When the car is out with someone that has hired it, how would we stop other people from pinching the                 designated co car space in our car park?!

                Parking bays are usually marked “car club only” on the tarmac. If it’s on the highway, then there will also be                 a Traffic Regulation Order and signage on a post. Experience shows that bays get pinched occasionally; this is                 mitigated by arranging permission to park at an alternative nearby location (e.g. Council car park, residential                 parking zone or private drive); users are also required to inform Customer Service of the ‘pinching’ so that                 the subsequent user informed of the current location of the car, and/or the cleaner / checker can be tasked                 to reposition the car.
            Cllr. Jeans said that he would be quite happy to take on the role of checker/cleaner.

RESOLVED to agree for the Car Club to proceed as long as it has a public EV charge point and that the running of the Car Club is not to be undertaken by the Town Council on proposal made by Cllr. Hazzard, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Beale and carried with a vote of 9 in favour, 1 against and 2 abstentions.

*b) Platinum Jubilee Celebrations

1. Do we accept recommendations including conditions made by Historic England to be included in their advice that consent should be granted for Scheduled Ancient Monument Consent for the beacon on Castle Hill to be made to the Secretary of State?

With reference to the conditions imposed by Historic England, as outlined in the Clerks Report, Cllr. Rodney Coward said that he was not happy with all these restrictions – it would be too much mucking about and he had an alternative idea and suggested that the Town Council ask David Coward if the beacon can go up at Penn End.  Cllr. Hazzard suggested that the Town Council should go along with this suggestion.  Cllr. Ings said that although he supported Cllr. Coward’s idea, he thought he should ask the Jubilee Committee for their thoughts.  There was general support for Cllr. Rodney Coward’s idea but agreed that if the Jubilee committee felt very strongly that the Beacon has to go on Castle Hill then the Town Council would think again.

1. Purchase of flags & bunting – members were happy to purchase the bunting and flags as outlined in the Clerks Report. It was RESOLVED that it would be too time consuming to try and claw back some money by selling the flags and bunting and that the Town Council should just give it out to the community and local businesses.

• Suggestion by Town Clerk on gifting wild flower seeds to Mere School pupils – members thought the suggestion, as outlined in the Clerks Report was an excellent idea and agreed that the Town Council should purchase the seeds.

1. Update from Jubilee Committee – The Clerk reported that, following the request for the Town Council’s ground staff to prepare the church field she had been to view the site and had some concerns as to its suitability given the fact that there was a large low-lying branch from the London Plane tree which would reduce the amount of available space. However, she was arranging for a meeting with Jubilee Committee members where this would be discussed further.

*c) Climate Change Strategy –

1. suggestions for community survey & also Town Council strategy document – Cllr. Debbie Beale (information attached)

Cllr. Mrs. Beale said that the main outcome of the meeting was communication and she thought it would be a good idea to do some kind of survey in the community to find out what green initiatives people are currently doing and the ones they would like to do: i.e. Who’s got solar power, green energy, wind turbines, ground source heat pumps etc.    She also felt that, following this, there could be an opportunity to develop a town Climate Change strategy.

1. adoption of Wiltshire Council Climate Strategy – The Clerk confirmed that on 1^st February Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet had approved and adopted their Climate Strategy which would help to shape the next five years of Wiltshire Council’s carbon reduction and environmental plans.
2. invitation to WALC Online Event – Fighting Climate Change – (learn more about the actions that councils can take locally to fight climate change and discover how councils are already doing this successfully) Wednesday, 25^th May 2022 – 12.00 – 13.15 BST (£38.93 per ticket if paid by card.) – Cllr. Debbie Beale said that she would look to see if she can attend.

8. d) The future of Sheltered Housing at Lynch Close – update on communication since last meeting and report from Chair & Vice-Chair on meeting attended on 8.3.22. The Chairman reported that she and the Vice-Chair & Cllr. Jeans attended this meeting at Lynch Close with Wiltshire Council officers and residents. The meeting was well attended and the residents spoke well. Wiltshire Council said that they were committed to delivering high quality affordable homes and had a target of 1000 such homes and has been reviewing 21 schemes in Wiltshire.  The Chairman said that she thought change was inevitable at Lynch Close as the bungalows are 60 years old and need to be brought up to modern standards of insulation as part of the Council’s commitment to upgrade all council owned properties.  Doing nothing is not an option and, at this early stage, there is no way of knowing whether the bungalows can be upgraded.  The action of residents has made Wiltshire Council very much aware of their worries and has lead to Wiltshire Council giving firm commitments about how the process will progress – these commitments were clearly stated in a document that was given to all those at the meeting.  Thus, a decision will not, therefore, be made this spring.  To quote “Our priority, now, will be to provide quality specialist accommodation for older people in Mere at the Fives Court site.  Only when these homes are nearing completion will we finalise the review process at Lynch Close.”  Other commitments are stated in items 2, 3 and 4.  If moving out is necessary, Wiltshire Council guarantee an opportunity for residents to move back to the Lynch Close site.  Residents will be compensated and given plenty of notice.  The residents have organised themselves very effectively and have won the right to be consulted fully.  It was very clear that the majority of residents see no need for change.  Nor do they wish to move away from Mere.  The Council offered to take residents to view their flagship accommodation in Amesbury and look around and talk to its residents.  There was no suggestion that any of them would be moved to Amesbury or, indeed away from Mere, against their will.  In summary, because of this commitment to make the refurbishment contingent with the development of Fives Court, it is clear that the timetable has been moved much further into the future and gives the opportunity for residents to be re-housed temporarily within Mere.  The Lynch Close committee with the help of the Town Council will need to keep a close eye as to whether the Wiltshire Council commitments are adhered to.  Jeans said that he would be against any flats being built either in Fives Court or Lynch Close and informed members that he received more complaints about flats than any other type of housing problems.  He said that the flats at Lynch Close are disgraceful and they should be the properties that need knocking down but he was aware that some of them had been privately sold.  He also pointed out that it was his understanding that there would no longer be an option for any health and well-being facilities at Fives Court or Lynch Close as the clinical commissioning group has not come back and requested any space at Lynch close. Cllr. Jeans said that he felt that Lynch Close should at least have some facility to enable visiting health visitors but said that he would be doing more investigations into this matter.
9. e) Cemetery Wall- update on storm damage – the Clerk informed members that two builders quotations had been submitted to the Town Council’s insurance company and that the insurance company had, in fact, already paid out the sum being that of the cheapest quote. The Clerk had therefore instructed the builder of the cheapest quote to carry out the work at his earliest convenience and had relayed this information to the owners of the adjacent property.

120. Reports & Consultations
121. a) Wiltshire Councillors Report – although Cllr. Jeans had no wish to add anything, Cllr. Jordan said that he was upset over reading a report made by Wiltshire Councillor Mark McClellan boasting about a costly cycling and walking route that Wiltshire Council had created in Hilperton. Jordan had been told that it was not possible for Wiltshire Council to spend money on creating a cycling/walking routes. Cllr. Jeans agreed to pursue this matter.
122. a) Government’s White Paper: Levelling Up the United Kingdom published 2.2.22 (the actual document is 305 pages so here is a link to the LGA briefing) – https://www.local.gov.uk/parliament/briefings-and-responses/levelling-white-paper-lga-briefing

The Clerk reported that the government’s long-awaited levelling up white paper was finally published in February.  The 300-page policy document sets out the government’s analysis of the scale and causes of geographic disparities across the country, as well as a programme of change to improve central and local decision making.   Of specific note to parishes – it states: Government will launch ‘a review of neighbourhood governance in England, looking at how to make it easier for local people and community groups to come together, set local priorities and shape the future of their neighbourhoods.  The review will also look at the role and functions of parish councils in England.’

121. Planning
122. a) Applications for consultation response:

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application on proposal made by councillor Debbie Beale seconded by councillor Nick Beal and carried with a unanimous vote in favour.

Cllr. Rachel Hansford aired concerns as to whether there actually was enough space for a bus to get around the car park. Cllr. Jordan said he thought it was a reasonably good solution to improve pedestrian safety but noted that there were no longer proposals to use the swimming pool site.  The clerk confirmed that a strip of approximately 1 m wide would be used from the swimming pool site in order to create a pedestrian footpath but that was all. RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application on proposal made by Cllr. Hazzard, seconded by Cllr. Jordan and carried with a vote of 9 for and 2 against. In order not to compromise his position as Wiltshire Councillor, Cllr. Jeans abstained from voting on this planning application.

Cllr. Ings pointed out that these garages are not wide enough for modern vehicles.  RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application on proposal made by Cllr. Ings, seconded by Cllr. Rachael Hansford and carried with a majority vote in favour.  In order not to compromise his position as Wiltshire Councillor, Cllr. Jeans abstained from voting on this planning application.

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

122. Highways, Rivers, Footpaths, Traffic & Transport
123. a) To identify jobs for the Parish Steward, Sparkle Team and MyWiltshire reports – Cllr. Debbie Beale said that on social media there had been lots of conversation regarding drain clearance. Jeans said that ditches between Burton, Southbrook and Limpers Hill had been cleared but he was aware that there was now water coming out of one of the ditches and onto the road in one location. However, he pointed out that this matter was being dealt with.  No other issues reported.
124. b) Report on CATG (Community Area Transport Group)meeting held on 23^rd February – Cllr. Mrs. Beale said that she was unable to attend the meeting.
125. c) Speed Limits on The Lynch – Rachael Hansford said that there was someone on social media who had raised concerns about the speed of vehicles travelling along The Lynch wondered if the Town Council had any thoughts on this. Cllr. Jordan said that the suggestion of putting a 20 mph speed limit throughout the whole of Mere has been discussed in the past and he confirmed that he had been through villages with 20 mph speed limits recently and he wanted to put a recommendation for a 20mph speed limit on all the roads feeding into Mere. Cllr. Jeans said that he had nothing against this proposal but pointed out that getting the funds would be extremely difficult and expensive. The proposal would need to be made to the CATG and the Town Council would be expected to make a 25% contribution. The Chairman asked for a show of hands in pursuing this matter further with the CATG: there were 5 in favour, 5 against and 2 abstentions.  The Chairman used her casting vote against the suggestion. It was therefore RESOLVED not to pursue this matter further.

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

*a) Report on survey of beech trees behind tennis courts in Recreation Ground – as carried out by Astill Treecare Ltd (report attached) and also to report on two other beech trees in Recreation Ground that have suffered storm damage this winter.  It was agreed to send the report to the Tennis Club but take no further action.  The Clerk also reported that in early October we lost a large limb from one of the beech trees further down this row (Tree No. 0939) and she asked the arboriculturist to look at this whilst he was there.  The Town Council RESOLVED to accept the arboriculturists recommendations and get a contractor to carry out a climbing inspection.

1. b) To explore the provision/installation of 1, 2 or 3 solar powered street lights for Duchy Manor to be purchased & installed in conjunction with school car park expansion project – the Clerk said that the new proposals for the car park did not include exterior lighting and she was keen to try and provide something nearer the pavilion and she therefore wondered about asking the contractors if they would install some solar street lighting columns if the Town Council paid for the columns and solar heads. Members agreed to this suggestion. Jeans also pointed out that, if the planning application had been submitted after June then they would have been required to install EV charge points and wanted to also suggest that we ask the contractors to install conduits for us to provide battery stored EV charging points.  Cllr. Jeans said that there is a resident who owns a company called “Plus Charge” and would be prepared to supply and install these battery stored EV charging points at no cost to Wiltshire Council.   RESOLVED to put both requests to the contractors.
2. c) Firework Display for Mere School – Cllr. Hazzard reported that The Friends of Mere School would like to run a community fireworks fundraising event for Bonfire Night and would like to hold this event at Duchy Manor Sports Ground. The Clerk had been to the Council’s insurance brokers for advice on responsibilities and passed on this advice to the school which was that the event organiser would be responsible for insuring the event as well as carrying out the risk assessment. Therefore, the school needed to determine and agree which party had overall responsibility for the event.  Members were happy to agree for the event to take place at Duchy Manor Sports Grounds on the basis of the advice passed on from the Clerk to the School.
3. d) Tree planting in Kingsmere Open Space – Cllr. Ings reported that the Jubilee Committee have received requests from four different groups who want to plant trees for the Jubilee. He had identified four trees for planting in this Open Space. The Clerk pointed out that one of the young beech trees planted in 2000 had died so that could be replaced and Cllr. R. Coward said that the little copse of fruit trees could be extended with this small number of trees.

*e) Tree planting in Mere for Queens Platinum Jubilee – Members noted, with interest, the information in the Clerks Report relating to the tree planting work being carried out by the Duchy of Cornwall and their offer of help.  Also, members considered the idea of using the Queens Green Canopy programme to plant the new hedge in the cemetery but agreed that the saplings would be unsuitable for this.  They did, however, agree that the Town Council should ask for a small pack to give out to parishioners to plant in their gardens/land.

1. e) Update on minor refurbishments for Public Toilets – the Clerk reported on work that had been carried out so that the current ladies toilet block can be made into a unisex toilet block, alongside the existing disabled toilet which is now a unisex accessible toilet:

• New lighting has been installed in both so that it is on a PIR and activated by movement, i.e. lights not on all night any longer (this is a Climate Change action)
• New toilet pans/seats have been installed in the old ladies block
• Drainage has been power washed through and checked with camera and confirmed that it is all clear
• Interior decoration in ladies block has been completed (walls, ceiling etc)
• Wallgate hand wash units have been serviced and confirmed that they are working
• Water refilling station has been installed (this is a Climate Change action)
• Uniform signage has been ordered for all doors and water refilling station
• Footfall counter will be installed as soon as signage sorted
• Once signage has been received and installed, we will transfer over the ladies toilet block and close the gents toilet block which can then be used for storage & caretakers facility.

We have, however, recently suffered a spate of vandalism in the accessible toilet:

• The baby changing unit which was mounted on the wall has been broken off the wall and vandalised two weeks ago.
• The soap dispenser which was also mounted on the wall was broken off & vandalised this weekend.

1. f) Flying or display & purchase of Ukrainian flag to show solidarity – members were happy to fly the Ukrainian flag on Castle Hill in order to show solidarity. However, it was agreed that the Union flag should be flown for the Queens Birthday on 21^st April and the St. Georges flag should be flown on St. George’s day.
2. g) Spring Clean – Community Litter Pick – Jordan said that it had been confirmed that Wiltshire will pick up all the bags of rubbish if given notice of the litter pick date and therefore he was suggesting that the Great British Spring Clean community litter pick should take place on 9^th April. The Clerk agreed to arrange for the grounds staff to deliver the materials and the risk assessment/insurance company notification and also agreed to co-ordinate publicity with Cllr. Jordan.

124. Finance, Policy & Resources

*a) Payments – To review and authorise schedule of payments (attached) – Cllr. Jordan raised a question about the payment to Mere School for office electricity wondering what the period of supply was for.

The Clerk explained that this was for electricity for the changing rooms, floodlights in the Multi Use Games Area and the Town Council office for the period 29.9.21 – 31.1.22 (4 months).  Cllr. Jordan said he was happy with that response as his concern was that it was for one month only.  RESOLVED to authorise payments identified in the schedule.

1. b) To review online banking payment controls – The Clerk explained that the Town Council moved over to online payments during the first COVID-19 lockdown as this saved the risks involved in having to get cheques signed by two councillors. However, the Town Council needed to review the current practice to be in accordance with regulations. This would involve the Town Clerk having the ability to set up payments and two councillors having the ability to authorise the payments as signatories (although this would be done via a SMS notification). Cllr. Jordan said that he would be happy to authorise payments and Cllr. Mrs. Beale said that she, too, would be happy although she pointed out that she did not bank with Lloyds.
2. c) Recommendations & finance options for purchase of tractors and possible implements – Cllr. Hazzard reported that he, with the help of Cllr. Mitchell had done some research and investigations and had shortlisted four different makes of tractor for consideration. All of them are 50 hp tractors and we have also ensured that all the tractors we have looked at are as environmentally efficient with the leanest and cleanest engines. All four tractors were very similar and all were fairly similar in price. Our grounds team, Simon and James, drove the tractors and had some adverse issues with one or two but by far the best was the John Deere and that is the tractor we would like to recommend for purchase. The cost of this machine is £32k and we have been offered £7.5K for our old Kubota tractor. Our ground staff would also like a front-end loader which will be very helpful with a number of other jobs. At a later date, it would also be possible to purchase a Power Arm side mounted flail in order to carry out our own hedge cutting which would save having to use a third-party contractor and enable the Town Council to be more responsive to requests from residents.  Hazzard said that the Town Council had a budget allocation of £10k for a machine which can be used as a deposit on a lease hire option. Cllr. Jordan said that it was not financially viable to take a lease hire agreement when the interest rates on borrowing money are so much higher than the interest rates on our reserves and he recommended that the Council should vire reserves and purchase the John Deere tractor and loader outright.  Cllr. Colman asked if the tractor would be able to cut the grass with the grass cutter we already have and Cllr. Hazzard confirmed that it would and would also act as a power base for other purposes.  Members were in agreement to purchase the tractor by some means and gave Cllr. Hazzard authority to make the purchase order.  The clerk agreed to look into options and make suggestions for the Council in order to vire reserves to pay for this machine outright.

125. General Items

*a) To consider draft agenda for Annual Town Meeting to be held on 20^th April (attached) – members considered the draft agenda for the Annual Town Meeting and it was agreed that the items highlighted in yellow should be removed from the agenda and the items highlighted in pink should be included in the agenda. RESOLVED on proposal made by Cllr. Mrs. Beale, seconded by Cllr. Rachael Hansford and carried with a unanimous vote.

126. Future meetings and events
127. a) Wiltshire Council South West Wiltshire Area Board meeting – Wednesday, 16^th March 2022 at 6.30 pm at Wilton Community Centre, Wilton, SP2 0DG.

127. Future agenda items

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 Trustees to consider the following:

1. a) Report on survey of beech trees behind tennis courts in Recreation Ground – as carried out by Astill Treecare Ltd (report attached) and also to report on two other beech trees in Recreation Ground that have suffered storm damage this winter.

Trustees of the Mere Peace Memorial Sports & Recreation Ground Charity were happy to endorse the decision made by the Town Council during the Town Council meeting of 14^th March (see Minute Reference 123a)

Mere Town Council

Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

Minutes of a meeting of Mere Town Council held on Monday, 7 February 2022 at 7.00 pm at Duchy Manor, Springfield Road, Mere, BA12 6EW

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

Also: Anne Rich,  Richard Jefferies,  Craig Bower, John Gammie,  Geoff Sams, Rose Heesom, Logan Lewis-Proudlock, + Spence Gunn & Claire Shaddick

Meeting convened at 7:02 PM

Public Participation Session

John Gammie – here on behalf of the Jubilee committee. I joined the committee last week to help advise them on road closures etc. The group have been trying to set everything up with no budget at all. During carnival our outgoings can run into thousands of pounds.  Is it possible for Mere Town Council to grant them some money to assist the committee.

Richard Jefferies – here to put a bit of flesh on the bones for that request. The Committee’s expenditure would be in excess of £3110 and that is for a minimum social get-together. We have been promised £200 from the Town Council and we have received pledges from businesses and individuals. Of the estimated £3110 expenditure we anticipate a shortfall of £860 we have applied to the area board for some funding but we are uncertain as to the amount, if any, that we are likely to receive we would therefore like to ask the Town Council to act as guarantor and to underwrite any shortfall in funding.

Anne Rich – also on the Jubilee committee. We are trying very hard with John Gammie’s help because we need to do this properly.  Not skimping on risk assessment and insurance and it is not cheap to do everything by the book.  We do not like to have to ask for money at this time after having had such an expensive few years.

Craig Bowers – moved here six months ago and bought property in Water Street and we also bought 4 acres of land to house rescue donkeys in Wet Lane.  Here to speak in support of my planning application which is for a field access so that we can move the donkeys down from Oxfordshire. At some stage we will be applying for planning permission for stables but that is for the future.

The Chairman explained that Christine Brown and Laura Young from Wiltshire Council would be joining the meeting electronically via Teams this evening to talk about and answer questions relating to the options for sheltered housing at Lynch Close.

Mr. Geoff Sams of 38 Lynch close explained that the residents of Lynch Close had formed a committee and, as Chairman of that committee, he asked for permission to read out the following statement:

“First of all, thank you for inviting us to your meeting.  I have come here today in the hope that you will be able to help the residents of Lynch Close with the threat from redevelopment of the bungalows.

Just a little history background – the residents were called to a meeting at the Community Centre on 26 September 2021 where representatives from the Council were in attendance (Christine Brown and Eamon McClelland). They said they were there to talk about the redevelopment of Lynch Close which could take the form of three options:

1. they would do nothing and carry on as we are
2. repair and upgrade the bungalows
3. move the residents out and redevelop the site

The thing is where would we go and would we have to leave the area?  Christine, at the meeting talked about the utopia build at the Council’s new place at Evergreen Court in Amesbury.  There were many other things talked about but the thing with this meeting was that it threw the elderly residents into a panic with the feeling that they were going to be evicted from their homes.  As this has proceeded the fear for residents has multiplied.  At the end of the meeting a survey was produced just for the residents of Lynch Close that we were asked to fill in.  Christine Brown later called another meeting on 9^th November 2021 with the results from the survey but unfortunately it meant little as no one at the meeting could make sense of it.  So now we are in a place of limbo not knowing what is going to happen to us. We formed a committee of Lynch Close residents to give Wiltshire Council officers and others a point of contact should they need to inform the residents of Lynch Close as to what is happening to us.  If this redevelopment goes ahead, it will not only affect Lynch bungalows but the other residents who also live on the estate and will have a knock-on effect with the residents of Water Street. I would just like to say that the elderly residents and the people of Lynch Close are a tight community and during the last 2 ½ years due to Covid have looked after one another. The community is a close-knit family and always have been – they look out for one another only a knock on the door away from help since the warden has been removed from Lynch Close. We are a in the twilight years of our life and have no wish to be uprooted from our homes and move on just to make way for progress as some see it. We are here today to ask the Parish Council for help and some guidance as to the way ahead. I don’t want to be insulting but I feel it is part of the parish council to help their parish residents in this matter. Thank you for your time and patience. In addition, there has been another survey sent out which has caused more worry to residents and that is a survey about decanting residents which we have been asked to fill in. It is basically a survey asking people how they feel about moving out of their homes and being moved to another site.”

Christine Brown (CB)- The Council is undertaking an options appraisal at Lynch Close as part of a wider review of the Council’s sheltered housing much of which was built in the 1960s and 70s.  There are issues with the stock: Access issues and the housing does not meet our commitments on sustainability. We have built some new sheltered housing in Amesbury and Devizes which are of a different standard. Due to these issues we’ve decided to undertake a review of our housing stock.  CB had prepared a PowerPoint presentation (as attached) and stated that there are four standard options:

• do nothing
• minor refurbished (occupants can remain in property)
• major investment and refurbishment (occupants cannot remain in property)
• redevelopment

We are also looking at Fives Court. Earlier thinking is that we will redevelop that site into one and two bed flats for older people.

Would like to offer assurance that we will keep residents involved all the way through

commitment to social housing in council ownership

committed to improve the standard of accommodation for older people

The options appraisal is being undertaken and no decisions have been made.

I understand the level of anxiety

With regards to the decanting survey – this has turned out to be an unfortunate coincidence.  This survey has been put out on behalf of the “Challenge and Change group” which is a group of residents who would like to find out what level of disruption residents would put up with before they feel it necessary to move out of their homes and the survey is being conducted of all of our stock throughout Wiltshire.

Geoff Sams said that in one of the meetings with Christine his wife asked the question in relation to refurbishing the bungalows “if we get moved out will we be able to move back?” the answer she received was “no there was a possibility that you would not be offered your home back”.

Christine responded that her memory of that was different but pointed out that there is evidence to suggest that when people are moved out they resettle in their new home and quite often do not want to move back again but she stressed that this is one of the issues she would hopefully be able to address.

Geoff Sams – mental health is a big thing at Wiltshire Council and we now have four residents who are under the doctors with stress and two residents that are cancer patients.

Cllr. Clive Hazzard (CH) – the people of Mere and, indeed the Town Council does not have much faith with Wiltshire Council due to the situation at Fives Court when we heard about the closure of Fives Court on the morning that it closed. What commitment can you give us that this isn’t a fait accompli. We are all for improving property but at what cost?  This is people’s homes we are talking about and we need more commitment to be kept more informed.

CB – We are at the very beginning of this process and you would have been one of our early consultees and we would have been in touch with you as a matter of course.

CH – at what point do we become involved. Maybe we should have been involved earlier as we now have residents asking us for our help as we are their elected representatives and we know absolutely nothing about what is going on.

CB – I can assure you that absolutely no decisions have been made. I am aware that it has caused a lot of concern and anxiety.  In relation to Fives Court, I am aware that Wiltshire Council only became involved when it became vacant.

Cllr. Philip Coward – It is quite understandable that the main concern of the residents is that they are going to get pushed out of their homes. Is there an option to develop Fives Court so that people can be moved to Fives Court as temporary accommodation before being able to move back to Lynch Close?

CB – It is certainly something that we are going to come back to the residents of Lynch Close about.

Cllr. George Jeans – I am aware that not one of the residents is prepared to move out I am aware that Wiltshire Council cannot force the residents to move out without obtaining a court order.  If you are going to redevelop Fives Court then I hope it will be done as a single-story development as it is in the centre of town and within the Conservation Area.   Also, Wiltshire Council currently has flats at The Yews and at Lynch close and they cause nothing but problems: the communal areas are always an issue and living above or below someone causes continual problems with associated noise levels.  Lynch Close is a very nice sheltered housing development the bungalows are low-density; they have an open environment and individual gardens – I don’t think any resident would want to move out of this environment into a high-density housing environment. Your picture at the beginning of your presentation showed what you described at access problems for the community centre but I want to point out that the community centre has a ramp as well as steps and so there aren’t any access problems – it is the same as the new building in Trowbridge which also has steps and a ramp.

Cllr. John Jordan – It sounded as though a decision had been made by Wiltshire Council on Fives Court – is it going to be housing and not something else because we understood there were proposals afoot for health & wellbeing facilities on the site.

Laura Young – at the moment we are only exploring the option of Residential Development but there is no definitive answer on that.  We have discussed the possibility of the site being used for a surgery with planners but concerns of traffic and parking were highlighted.

The Chairman closed the open discussion on this item and thanked both Christine Brown & Laura Young for giving up their time to attend the meeting on screen.

Apologies for absence received from Cllr. Louise Bennett

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

• To receive Declarations of Interest relating to matters contained in this agenda, in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 in respect of officers and the Localism Act 2011 in respect of members.
• To receive written requests for new DPI dispensations.

Members are invited to declare disclosable pecuniary interests and other interests in items on the agenda as required by the Mere Town Council Code of Conduct for Members and by the Localism Act 2011.  The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.  If you become aware, during the course of a meeting, of an interest that has not been disclosed under this item, you must immediately disclose it.  Whether you can remain in the meeting and the extent to which you can participate depends on the type of interest you have.

– None

109. Minutes – RESOLVED that the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on Monday, 10^th January 2022 be approved as a correct record. Proposal made by Cllr. John Jordan seconded by Cllr. Aubrey Colman and carried with a majority vote of those present on 10.1.22.

110. Matters Arising from Public Session

*a) Concerns raised by residents relating to ‘Options’ put forward by Wiltshire Council for the future of Sheltered Housing at Lynch Close (Clerk’s report attached) – following on from the discussion during the public session and due to the concern & anxiety being experienced by residents, it was agreed that the Town Council should write to officers (Simon Hendey, Mike Dawson, Christine Brown and Laura Young) at Wiltshire Council to request that a representative from Mere Town Council is invited to all future meetings with residents and is involved fully in any consultation meetings & discussions with Wiltshire Council Officers relating to proposals & decisions for the future of Lynch Close and Fives Court in Mere.  If, it should transpire that there are occasions that this might be inappropriate as the meeting would require the disclosure of confidential or exempt information; then, at the very least, our elected Wiltshire Council member should be in attendance.

Members also asked the Clerk to request that officers of Wiltshire Council refrain from using the words ‘stock’ and ‘decant’ from any future discussions with residents as these words are insensitive and offensive when talking about people’s homes.

111. Matters Arising from previous Meetings
112. a) Climate Change Strategy – suggestions for community survey & also Town Council strategy document – Debbie Beale asked for this matter to be deferred until next month so that a report could be distributed to members with agenda papers
113. b) Update on Platinum Jubilee Celebration preparations and application for Scheduled Ancient Monument Consent for brazier – In response to the financial plight of the committee, Cllr. Rodney Coward said that he was Chairman of the Forest Charity and that he was hoping that the Charity would provide a donation of somewhere between £200 and £500 from the Forest Charity funds. However, Richard Jefferies said that this still left the committee with an £860 deficit. R. Coward said that Wood Farm Clay shooting would donate £100 towards the event, Cllr. Nick Beale said that Lavender Lane would donate £100 towards the event and John Gammie confirmed that the Carnival Committee would donate £100 towards the event.  It was pointed out that there were other individuals at the Town Council meeting that had already pledged a donation towards this event.

The Chairman read out a report from the Jubilee Committee requesting that the Town Council attend to various matters:

1. a) Accept responsibility for dressing the town in flags and bunting for the period 2-5 June: Hazzard said that the Town Council once had flags on broomsticks and Cllr. Jeans confirmed that these were provided for the Golden Jubilee but people were asked to decorate their own properties. It was agreed that the Town Council should decorate the Town Clock and Cllr. Jeans said that he would like the town to provide flags.  Cllr. Mitchell said that he would donate £200 towards the provision of flags.
2. b) Many have expressed a desire to plant or pay for a tree to be planted but do not have the space. Could the Town Council take this on? The Clerk pointed out that the Town Council does not own any land that is suitable for planting trees and members confirmed that this was the case.  It was also pointed out that planting a tree is not always as straightforward as people think and is often quite costly.  Hazzard confirmed that the Town Council was purchasing a specimen tree to plant in Jubilee Gardens to commemorate the platinum jubilee.  Cllr. Ings asked for ‘Open Space at Kingsmere to be planted with trees’ to go on the next agenda.
3. c) We were disappointed that neither the Council nor the Church felt able to take on the very modest accountancy responsibility (hopefully accepting the SW Area Board grant). Luckily, the Carnival Committee has stepped into the breach. Jordan confirmed that, as Treasurer for the Carnival Committee, they will be providing the bank account and he will do the treasury for them.
4. d) In the lead up to 4^th June, will the Town Council allow the staff, James, Simon & Sam to help in the preparation of the Vicarage Field and putting up of flags and bunting: The Clerk expressed concern that the amount of work involved in this was unknown and therefore how much time would need to be taken to prepare the field but asked the Town Council to bear in mind that this would be during the busy grass-cutting season. Hazzard said that it should just be a case of going in the field with the topper.  Cllr. Ings said that it would be mowing the grass and making the entrance accessible.  The Clerk said that she would visit the site and assess this with the staff.
5. e) Allow the use of the cemetery car park for the car show: members were happy to grant permission for this use.
6. f) If there is a shortfall, will the Town Council underwrite the costs? Ings said “At the very worst, the Town Council might end up having to pay £860 + the £200 it had already promised.” RESOLVED on proposal made by Cllr. Jeans, seconded by Cllr. Jordan to underwrite the Jubilee Committee for any shortfall between grants and donations and expenditure up to a limit of £860.00.  Proposal carried with a unanimous vote.

*c) Mere School Expansion Project

1. Planning Application – Certification of Ownership notification – the Clerk reported that as Lessees of part of the building, the Town Council had received the Certificate of Ownership notification and had also received confirmation that a Certificate of Ownership notification had been sent to the Duchy of Cornwall.
2. Report on pre-start meeting held on 31^st January 2022 via Teams (report attached) – members noted the contents of the report.
3. d) What is the Town Council’s thoughts on taking on the freehold/leasehold of Mere Library and responsibility for running the facility?

Cllr. Hazzard said that he had an interest in this question as he was Chairman of the Museum Committee and would very much like to keep the museum.   It was pointed out that the structure itself was a Listed Building and, if it came down to an ultimatum then the Town Council probably ought to keep it rather than lose it as it is a great community asset.  The Clerk suggested that the Town Council might do a feasibility study on this and ask other Town & Parish Councils that have taken on the library service, what is involved and the level of resources that are needed.

1. e) Cemetery Wall – the Clerk confirmed that she had received one quotation for the repair of the wall following the storm damage. The insurance company had requested two quotations and the Clerk was awaiting the second quotation before she could submit the insurance claim.

112. Reports & Consultations
113. a) Report from Wiltshire Councillor – no report.

113. Planning
114. a) Applications for consultation response – (All applications can be viewed on Wiltshire Council’s Planning & Building Control Public Register – https://development.wiltshire.gov.uk/pr/s/ – type in the relevant

RESOLVED to recommend the above application for approval on proposal made by Cllr. Mitchell, seconded by Cllr. Colman and carried with a majority vote in favour. In order not to compromise his position as Wiltshire Councillor, Cllr. Jeans abstained from voting on this planning application.

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

• Pothole at Manor Road/North Road junction (Cllr. R. Coward)
• Mud and debris washed down at the top end of Burton Path (Cllr. Mrs. Beale)
• Clean road signs – locations to be advised (Cllr. Mrs. Beale)
• Issues with uneven tarmac along Castle Street (Cllr. Hazzard)

115. Buildings, Open Spaces, Play Areas, Sports Grounds, Car Parks, Allotments & Cemeteries
116. a) Suggestion for a dog ban (Public Spaces Protection Order) for Mere Peace Memorial Sports & Recreation Ground – Cllr. Rachael Hansford said that she had asked for this to be raised as an agenda item because there was a recent incident reported on Facebook where a mother had found her toddler covered in dog faeces which provoked a lot of posts from members of the public. A lot of people were saying they couldn’t understand why dogs were allowed in the Recreation Ground at all. Mrs. Symonds said that she has found the Recreation Ground an invaluable area to walk dogs and she thought it would be impractical to ban dogs there.  Cllr. Colman said he walks his dog in the Recreation Ground twice a day and most dog owners are sensible and clear up after them.  Cllr. Hazzard pointed out that the suggestion of banning dogs from the Recreation Ground was raised 10 or 15 years ago at a public meeting and it caused a lot of upset for parishioners.  Cllr. Hill said that there were a lot of parents who take their children to the Recreation Ground and they take their dog along with them.  If we banned dogs from the Recreation Ground then the children would miss out.  Cllr. Jeans said that the real issue was training dog owners to clear up after their dogs and he said that the dog warden will go and tap on the door of anyone that is reported not to have cleaned up their dog’s mess.  Cllr. Mrs. Beale said she wondered if public opinion may have changed and whether it was time to do a re-consultation. The Chairman asked for members views on whether or not the Town Council should pursue this further -there were 3 in favour, 8 against and 3 abstentions.

*b) Rebuilding of Mere Youth Centre – report on meeting held at Mere Youth Centre on 18^th January 2022 – with reference to the report provided to members, members agreed that the Town Council should pursue the short term solution for the toilets i.e. to operate the girls’ toilets as unisex or gender neutral and to convert the boys’ toilets into an accessible toilet (without shower, hoists etc) and the Clerk was asked to obtain quotations/estimates for this work.  With regards to the longer-term goal, Cllr. Colman said that the Youth Club had obtained quotations to refurbish the existing building and the Clerk was asked to obtain a copy of those quotations.

1. c) Environmental Stewardship Agreement Extension 2022 – the Clerk confirmed that Natural England had offered the Town Council the option to sign up for the Environmental Stewardship Agreement for a further year and members authorised the Clerk to sign up for a further year.
2. d) Mere Electric Car Club Survey – the Clerk said that this matter had been raised to remind members that the deadline for completing the survey was 25^th A reminder would be posted on Social Media a week before the deadline.

116. Finance, Policy & Resources

*a)  Payments – RESOLVED to authorise payments as set out in schedule of payments (attached) on proposal made by Cllr. Mitchell, seconded by Cllr. Colman and carried with a unanimous vote.

2. b) To set date, membership, venue & agenda for Working Group meeting to review and assess the effectiveness of internal control measures – It was agreed that the meeting would be held on 17^th March 2022 at 2.00 pm – membership of working group being Chair, Vice-Chair, Cllr. Colman & Cllr. Jeans.

*c) ‘Specification’ to form job advertisement for Project Co-Ordinator for Mere Town Council (as recommended/approved at Budget Meeting) – Cllr. Jordan said that reading all the agenda papers gives him an insight into how busy the Town Clerk is and the number of issues that the Town Council is involved in which confirms the need for a project co-ordinator to carry out all the other projects that the Town Council wishes to do which is why he had prepared this ‘specification’.  Cllr. Colman said that he had looked at this and that from a professional point of view he has concerns that there are issues that the Town Council needs to address.  Cllr. Hazzard said that the Town Council needed to offer the appropriate wage rate in order to get the appropriate applicants.   The Clerk said that she would do some work on the advert & rates and liaise with Cllr. Colman and try and have something to present to the council at the next meeting.

1. d) To consider setting a Draft Communications Policy – Cllr. Rachael Hansford said that she would like to defer discussion on this matter. She said that she had attended some training on communications for Town Councils and it was clear that the right level of communication is not just about telling people what is going on it also about listening to what they have to say. She said that at the very least, we should have an email newsletter.

117. General Items
118. a) To set date, venue & agenda for Annual Town Meeting – it was agreed that the Annual Town Meeting should be held on 20^th April 2022 in the Grove Building

118. Future meetings and events

Mere Carnival Committee AGM – Monday, 7^th March 2022 at 6.15 pm

119. Future agenda items

• Firework Display for Mere School – Cllr. Hazzard
• Tree planting in Kingsmere Open Space – Cllr. Ings

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 8.48 pm

MERE PEACE MEMORIAL SPORTS AND RECREATION GROUND

Registered Charity No. 1093497

For Trustees to consider the following:

1. a) Suggestion for a dog ban (Public Spaces Protection Order) for Mere Peace Memorial Sports & Recreation Ground – Cllr. Rachael Hansford

Trustees of the Mere Peace Memorial Sports & Recreation Ground Charity were happy to endorse the decision made by the Town Council during the Town Council meeting of 7^th February (see Minute Reference 115a)

1. b) Rebuilding of Mere Youth Centre – report on meeting held at Mere Youth Centre on 18^th January 2022

Trustees of the Mere Peace Memorial Sports & Recreation Ground Charity were happy to endorse the decision made by the Town Council during the Town Council meeting of 7^th February (see Minute Reference 115b)