Mere Town Council

Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

Minutes of a meeting of Mere Town Council held at Duchy Manor, Springfield Road, Mere, BA12 6EW on Monday, 4^th October 2021 at 7.00 pm. 

Present:  Councillors Kate Symonds (Vice-Chair), Louise Bennett, Aubrey Colman, Rodney Coward, Rachael Hansford, Clive Hazzard, George Jeans, John Jordan, Eric Mitchell

Also 1 member of public

Meeting convened at 7.02 pm with Public Session

Mr Clowser said that he wanted to thank the Council for submitting the request for a review of the 40mph speed limit along Shaftesbury Road to Wiltshire Council.  He said that he understood that Wiltshire Council required a contribution from the Town Council of £625 to carry out the review and appreciated that the Town Council had limited resources.  He said that a number of residents of Shaftesbury Road had intimated that they would be prepared to contribute to the review costs to such an extent that they would be prepared to fund the full amount of £625 if this is necessary or indeed possible.  Mr. Clowser went on to say that Shaftesbury Road has become increasingly busy over the years due to traffic from new development.

Apologies for absence received from Cllrs. Debbie Beale, Nick Beale, Philip Coward, Raymond Hill, Glen Ings & Lesley Traves

In the absence of the Chairman, Cllr. Mrs. Kate Symonds (Vice-Chair) Chaired the meeting.

61. 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.

• Jeans declared a pecuniary interest in Minute No. 68a) Payments (recipient)

62. Minutes – RESOLVED that the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on 6^th September 2021 be approved as a correct record on proposal made by Cllr. R. Coward, seconded by Cllr. Hazzard and carried with a unanimous vote of those present on 6.9.21

63. Matters Arising from previous Meetings
64. a) Report on Carnival Fun Day on 18^th September 2021 in Duchy Manor Sports Field & Recreation Ground (Minute Ref: 54b) – Jordan reported that the fun day was well attended and well-organised with about 600 people attending and the day was blessed with wonderful weather. He said that because they had organised a dog show in the Recreation Ground they had, unfortunately, ended up with a lot of dogs in the Duchy Manor sports field and we apologise to the town Council as this was against the terms of use. He did add, however, then when they went to clear up the next day they did see a number of football supporters on the site with their dogs. Cllr. Jordan said that the event had been successful in raising money to help support the Carnival and to help run a procession next year.

*b) Update on Wessex Water Environment Fund Grant Application for water refilling station (Minute Ref: 54e) – with reference to the information in the Clerks Report, Cllr. Jordan said that he had found a company that can install a wall-mounted water refilling station for £910 which included installation and a four-year maintenance agreement.  Cllr. Jordan said that a wall-mounted water refilling station could be mounted on the outside wall of the public toilets and proposed that the Clerk contact this company to ensure that these details are correct and to ensure that both Wiltshire Council and Wessex Water are happy with the installation of the water refilling station.

*c) Request for Speed Limit review along Shaftesbury Road – in view of the response from the Highways Authority, does the Town Council want to submit this ‘highways improvement request form’ to the Community Area Transport Group (CATG). (Minute Ref: 57a) – members noted the information in the Clerks Report and the offer of financial contribution from the residents as reinforced in the public session.  Cllr. Jeans said that he felt he should abstain as this issue was likely to be debated at a future CATG meeting to which he will be expected to vote and he did not therefore wish to compromise his position on the committee at this stage.  Cllr. Jordan said that if there is an offer of help then he is always in favour of accepting that help.  Cllr. Hazzard said that he agreed with every comment made by Mr. Clowser but he thought that this was something that the Town Council should pay for and not the local residents.  RESOLVED that the Town Council should ask for the review and should be happy to pay a contribution for the review and if necessary a contribution towards the Road Traffic Regulation Order and associated works if the review should recommend them.  Proposal seconded by Cllr. Jordan and carried with a vote of 4 in favour, 3 against and 2 abstentions.

*d) Replacement road signs (Minutes Ref: 218a) – with reference to the information in the Clerks Report, members agreed that the aluminium substrate signs would be better value and agreed that the Town Council should replace a number of road signs that might be deemed as missing or priority for replacement within the town Council’s budget allocation. The clerk pointed out that the town Council has no budget allocation under this heading at the present time but confirmed that she would add one for the budget committee to consider the forthcoming budget meeting.

1. e) Suggestions for expenditure of S.106 funding (Minute Ref: 59i) – the Chairman said that with reference to the discussion held at last month’s meeting and the suggestions for expenditure made by the community following the public consultation, the Council discussed it in general terms but did not come to any conclusions and she said that it was hoped that the Council could reach an agreement on the projects that were put forward as priorities by the previous Town Council for the use of some of this funding: namely the refurbishment of the Walnut Road Play Area and the widening, surface and amenity improvements to the footpath leading from Clements Lane to Angel Lane. Colman raised an objection to the Walnut Road Play Area being refurbished as he said that it was not used by the community. Cllr. Louise Bennett argued that the Walnut Road Play Area was very much used by the community and was in need of improvement.  Cllr. Hazzard said that the Walnut Road Play Area was in need of refurbishment and one of the reasons this was so appropriate for the use of the S.106 funding was because, being the closest play area,  it would be of most benefit to the residents of the housing development which was, of course, the source of the funding.  RESOLVED that the Walnut Tree Play Area be included as priority No. 1 for the expenditure of the S.106 funding on proposal made by Cllr. Rachael Hansford, seconded by Cllr. Hazzard and carried with a majority vote with 1 abstention.  RESOLVED that the Right of Way improvement project (Clements Lane to Angel Lane) be put forward as priority No. 2 on proposal made by Cllr. R. Coward, seconded by Cllr. Jeans and carried with a unanimous vote in favour.

The Clerk pointed out that she was hoping that the Council would be able to fund many more projects from this allocation and was hoping that it would be possible to use the funds as a basis to apply for more match funding from other grant giving organisations, thereby making the money go further.  She did point out, however, that in previous communications, Wiltshire Council officers did not see the right of way improvements as an eligible use of the funding and deemed that it did not meet the expenditure criteria in the legal agreement as they do not consider footpaths to be open spaces, play areas or amenity land.  The matter was not pursued in great deal at the time because we had not received the money but it may be necessary, if Wiltshire Council officers do not concede, to ask C. G, Fry & Son if they would be prepared to grant a legal variation to the agreement.

64. Reports & Consultations

*a) Wiltshire Councillor’s Report including South West Wiltshire Area Board Car Club Pilot

SWW Area Board Car Club Pilot – With reference to the information that had been distributed to members prior to the meeting, Cllr. Jeans said that he thought this would fit in with the Council’s ‘green’ causes and would help the community with transport problems. He said that he was asking for the Town Council to agree in principle only and then on the proviso that there was no loss of existing car parking spaces.  Cllr. Jordan expressed concern about how this could be achieved with no loss of existing car parking spaces considering the fact that there would be a requirement for two charging points and a place to put the car or cars.  Cllr. Jeans said that he was thinking about utilising the wide pavement areas either side of the car park as replacement car parking spaces for those that may be required for EV charging spaces.  Cllr. R. Coward said that he could not support this initiative as he thought that electric cars were not going to be feasible.  Cllr. Rachael Hansford said that she would support it completely and would be happy to use the car parking spaces.  Cllr. Hazzard said that he would be happy to support the survey only at this stage but he pointed out that he often goes to Salisbury where there is a line of electric vehicle charging points with no vehicles there.  Cllr. Mitchell pointed out that the Town Council had rejected the Doctors Surgery extension proposals for fear of losing car parking spaces in the car park and that these electric vehicle charging spaces are much wider than normal spaces.  RESOLVED to agree to submitting the car club survey as long as it is reworded and the principle only of creating two EV charging spaces in the Salisbury Street Car Park on the proviso that two replacement car parking spaces can be created on the wide pavement area outside Hayley’s Hair, thereby resulting in no loss of parking spaces on proposal made by Cllr. Rachael Hansford, seconded by Cllr. Louise Bennett and carried with a majority vote in favour and 1 abstention (Cllr. Mitchell).  Cllr. Hazzard said that if, during the course of distribution of the survey, Cllr. Jeans finds himself out of pocket then he should inform the Town Council.

Wiltshire Councillors Report – Cllr. Jeans reported that he represented the Town Council as well as Wiltshire Council when he attended the unveiling ceremony of the blue plaque as awarded by the Salisbury Civic Society for Wolfe Frank, Chief Interpreter at The Nuremberg International War Crimes Trials of Nazi Leaders who,, from 1984-1987, lived at the Malt House. Cllr. Jeans said that the event was well attended.  He also reported that he had asked for signage for White Road (behind the Social Club) to try and help with the difficulties being faced by residents during school collection times.  Cllr. Jeans said that the road was owned by Wiltshire Council and he was asking for a sign that said it was a private road and not allowed to drive up there unless invited to do so.  Cllr. Jeans said that the loss of Fives Court was a major issue in the town and that Wiltshire Council was now planning a review of older people’s housing stock in Mere although this time there would be consultation.  The first round of residents’ consultation would begin at the end of October.

1. b) Formulate consultation response to Wiltshire Council’s draft ‘Climate Strategy’ and ‘Our Natural Environment Plan’ – The Chair said that she and Cllr. Mrs. Beale had looked at both documents and watched the engagement webinar. In retrospect it is hard to criticise because the strategies are very general and full of exemplary objectives and aspirations which are all very hopeful i.e., insulation to all council houses, making properties carbon neutral. However, there was not much mention of the wherewithal to implement the objectives and aspirations. RESOLVED that the Town Council should submit a collective response to fully support the Draft Climate Strategy and Green & Blue Infrastructure Strategy and agrees with all the objectives and aspirations.  We look forward to finding out more information about how the objectives and actions can be delivered and implemented including the sources of funding that might be available.  We would request that Parish & Town Councils be given the resources to assist in the delivery of these strategies and support the request for Good Green/Environmental Practice Guides for Town & Parish Councils.
2. Planning
3. 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 application number or use the link given below)

The Chairman confirmed that she had visited the site and talked to the applicant.  The Chairman said that she did not think that the balcony would cause an overlooking or privacy issue as it would mostly overlook the allotments and views beyond.  RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application on proposal made by Cllr. Jordan, 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.

It was confirmed that this was an amendment to a previous application.  RESOLVED to recommend approval on proposal made by Cllr. Rachael Hansford, seconded by Cllr. Mitchell 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. R. Coward, seconded by Cllr. Jeans and carried with a unanimous vote.

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application on proposal made by Cllr. Rachael Hansford, seconded by Cllr. Jordan 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. R. Coward, seconded by Cllr. Jordan and carried with a unanimous vote in favour.

1. b) Is there an appetite to try and regenerate the Mere Neighbourhood Plan? The Chair reported that the process of creating a Mere Neighbourhood Plan had started back in 2018 but, despite efforts to try and reignite interest, the process had stalled due to the lack of volunteers willing to take on the role of Chairman and Secretary. The Clerk pointed out that it was fairly clear that the process of reviewing and creation of the Wiltshire Local Plan was placing more emphasis and importance on the existence of Neighbourhood Plans and expressed concern that, without a Neighbourhood Plan, Mere would be more open to challenges for development in areas or locations that we might not want to be developed. The Clerk said that she had heard that there may be a member of the community who was willing to regenerate this project and it was agreed that this might be followed up.

66. Highways, Rivers, Footpaths, Traffic & Transport
67. a) Wiltshire Council’s Highways 5-year Investment Plan Proposals (see: https://cms.wiltshire.gov.uk/documents/s194287/SW%20wilts%205%20year%20major%20maintenance%20plan.pdf ) – Members noted the link. The Clerk pointed out that this document proposed ‘small specialist surfacing’ of a track leading from Burton Road towards Charnage where, in effect, public money would be spent on surfacing a track that leads to an unauthorised dwelling and business. Members agreed that this was wholly inappropriate and that priorities for highway surfacing and maintenance in Mere should be directed elsewhere and more specifically towards Angel Lane, Manor Road, Old Hollow, Mill Lane and Shaftesbury Road.  Members agreed that the Clerk should send a strongly worded response with the above comments on proposal made by Cllr. R. Coward, seconded by Cllr. Rachael Hansford and caried with a unanimous vote.

*b) Report from Wessex Water on the Mere stream support trial – The Chairman said that the stream support trial is down to the work having been put in by Ian Shepherd.  Cllr. Rodney Coward said he looked forward to hearing more about the effectiveness of the trial but pointed out that the more houses are built, the more water they will need.

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

*a) Tennis Courts & potential tree root issues – members noted the information in the Clerks Report.  The Clerk also reported that since writing this report, she had received emails from two residents who live within close proximity of these beech trees (Windermere & Nuts, Chetcombe Road) who had raised concerns about the health of these trees and safety of their property.  RESOLVED that the Town Council should agree to the Clerk’s suggested option 1, i.e. Take no action at the present time but monitor the cracking/damage to the tennis courts surface and take action if it becomes more visible or problematic for players.  However, as a further provision members agreed that the Town Council should ask Mr. Jonathan Astill, Arboricultural Consultant, to give a full written & detailed assessment of the two beech trees in question having gained access from the properties in Chetcombe Road.

*b) Issues with public toilets – with reference to the information in the Clerks Report, Cllr. Hazzard reported that he had asked a local man to look at the drains on Friday and he is coming back next week to put a CCTV camera down the drains & do a dye test to see if there are any other blockages.  The Chair suggested that the Town Council might need someone to do a proper survey of the drains and services but the Clerk pointed out that Wiltshire Council should have a plan of where all the services are.

RESOLVED to replace the lighting in the gents toilets and disabled toilet with LED strip lights and sensors.  Ask Wallgate to come out and service the handwashing units.  It was agreed that all other items would be raised on the budget meeting agenda.  Proposal made by Cllr. Hazzard, seconded by Cllr. Colman and carried with a unanimous vote.

68. Finance, Policy & Resources

*a) Payments – RESOLVED to authorise payments as set out in schedule of payments (attached) on proposal made by Cllr. Jordan, seconded by Cllr. Colman and carried with a majority vote.  Cllr. Jeans, having declared a pecuniary interest in this agenda item, left the room and took no part in discussion or voting on this item.

31. b) Conclusion of Audit for Town Council’s Accounts for period ending 31.3.21 – the Clerk confirmed that she had received the external auditor’s report and certificate and was very pleased to report that no matters had come to their attention giving cause for concern that relevant legislation and regulatory requirements have not been met. The Clerk confirmed that a Notice of conclusion of audit had been posted on the Town Council’s website. Members thanked the Clerk for all the work involved in preparing the accounts and information for submission to the external auditor.
32. c) Request for contribution towards relocation of street light at Kingsmere Open Space – the Clerk explained that the Town Council had raised a query with Atkins regarding the re-positioning of a street light at Kingsmere. The grounds staff had reported that it had been moved only a matter of inches but that the repositioning was now causing an obstruction for the contractor to get into Kingsmere and cut the hedges. Correspondence has been going on for months with Atkins denying that the street light had been moved but eventually it has been agreed with the help of Cllr. Jeans and in consultation with nearby residents that the street light can be moved elsewhere.  However, in view of the fact that neither party can provide definitive evidence that the street light has been moved, Atkins are requesting that the Town Council make a financial contribution of £350 towards the anticipated cost for the relocation work of £800.  RESOLVED to approve a financial contribution of £350 towards the relocation of this street light on proposal made by Cllr. R. Coward, seconded by Cllr. Hazzard and carried with a unanimous vote in favour.
33. d) To set date & other details for Annual Budget Meeting –Cllr. Hazzard proposed that this item be deferred as there were a number of councillors not present at this meeting who may have a strong desire to be involved.
34. e) Noticeboard for Cemetery (Angel Lane) – The Clerk reported that she had been investigating the cost of a noticeboard for the cemetery and based on a double-door version taking 8 X A4 sheets, the cost was higher than the budget allocation of £500. The Clerk said that she thought it would be a good idea to install the new noticeboard once the works on the new cemetery had been completed. RESOLVED to approve increased budget allocation of £1200 to allow for purchase/installation of noticeboard a.s.a.p.

69. General Items
70. a) Does the Town Council agree that the Old Ship Inn building and it’s unique ironwork sign are precious heritage features of the town that the people of Mere cherish, and wish to preserve, and that they give character and interest to the town centre? Can the building owners be encouraged by the council to ensure the proper maintenance of the sign? As there is undoubtably a cost associated, would the council give consideration to finding a suitable means of funding, to ensure the sign remains both a safe and attractive feature of the town centre?– Mr. David Drewett

Members felt that responsibility of the sign rested with the owner of the property and that the owner of the property was made aware of the significance of the sign by the Conservation Officers of the Planning Authority when he submitted plans to convert the building.  Cllr. Jeans said that he had arranged for the old metal ‘Old Ship Inn’ sign that fell to the ground last year, to be refurbished and that, with the permission of the owner, the Town Council was intending to put it back on the brackets when we have the cherry picker to put the Xmas Lights up.  However, Cllr. Jeans said that he had been made aware that adding the sign back onto the bracket needed to be a delicate job.  Cllr. Jeans offered to go to the Conservation Officer at Wiltshire Council to ask her if she was happy with the state of the bracketry and metalwork but it was agreed that the Town Council should write to the owner, Mr. Peter Harding, in the first instance to ask if he had any future plans for the refurbishment of the sign & bracketry.

*b) Proposed Westbury Incinerator – email from Westbury Town Council – in a unanimous vote members felt that they were unable to support the notion of making a financial contribution to Westbury Town Council’s fighting fund to help with their Rule 6 status in the planning appeal for the proposed incinerator on the edge of Westbury on the basis that this would set a precedent.

70. Future meetings and events
71. a) Invitation to Neighbourhood Planning Webinar on 9^th November 2021 at 10 am (Organised by CPRE Wiltshire and Wiltshire Community Land Trust) – Cllr. Rachael Hansford said that she may attend the webinar and the Clerk handed her the invitation instructions.

71. Future agenda items

• None

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

*Further information on these items enclosed/attached

Meeting closed at 9.35 pm

MERE PEACE MEMORIAL SPORTS AND RECREATION GROUND

Registered Charity No. 1093497

For Trustees to consider the following:

Tennis Courts & potential tree root issues

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 4^th October 2021 (Minute Reference 67a)

Mere Town Council

Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

Minutes of a meeting of Mere Town Council held on Monday, 6^th September 2021 at Duchy Manor, Springfield Road, Mere.  BA12 6EW

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

Also 8 members of public

Meeting convened at 7.02 pm with Public Session:

Mr. Simon Moon read out 2 paragraphs from an email he had sent to the Chairman (this email was printed in the Clerk’s Report which was distributed to councillors with their agenda papers).  He said that re-wilding is fast becoming a national trend and it may require more rather than less work until it becomes established but it would have benefits to wildlife and butterflies in the long term.  Mr. Bill Coltham said that he and Simon Moon are good friends and meet many times on the Kingsmere Open Space.  Mr. Coltham had experienced some difficulty in finding out what re-wilding means exactly and his investigations had come up with two explanations – one being to leave nature to do its thing.  This would result in an unattractive field that would become inaccessible and would attract rubbish and dumping.  The other version is total removal of existing grass and planting with wild flowers.  This would require regular and fairly intensive maintenance and will increase costs to the council and ultimately to the community.  Mrs. Sue Coltham said that as her house backs onto the Kingsmere Open Space, she can see the number of people that use it every day and it gets used a lot and was especially well used during lockdown last year.  She said that where grass is not mown then it is impossible to walk through. Mrs. Kathy Herbert, also resident adjacent to this open space, said she wanted to reinforce what Mr. & Mrs. Coltham had said.  She said that in areas where the grass had not been cut the nettles stretched to 7ft in height and the blackthorn was viscous.

Mr. Clowser spoke in support of his request for the Town Council to ask the Highway Authority at Wiltshire Council to carry out a review of the 40 mph speed limit along that road and reiterated the information that had been given in the Clerks Report.

Mrs. Farendon from The Stables in Bramley Hill spoke in favour of her planning application, pointing out that the current garage is not used for parking because it is in very poor condition.  She said that The Stables was a 3-bed property but was converted to a 2-bed property by the previous occupants.  She said that her mother suffered from poor health and that this ancillary accommodation would enable the family to provide support.  Mrs. Farendon said that she was aware that there may be concerns about parking but wanted to reassure members that the current parking arrangements would not change.

Apologies for absence received from Cllrs. Philip Coward and George Jeans.  The Chairman informed members that Cllr. Philip Coward has been in hospital, having had an operation the outcome of which is good news but it has left him very weak.  The Chairman said that, on behalf of the Council, a card had been sent to Cllr. Coward conveying our best wishes for his recovery.

52. 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 Minute No. 61

53. Minutes – RESOLVED that the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on 5^th July 2021 be approved as a correct record of proceedings on proposal made by Cllr. Colman, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds.

54. Matters Arising from previous Meetings
55. a) Thank You Day (Minute Ref 42a) – Cllr. Hazzard reminded members that at the July meeting it was suggested that this event might be combined with the Carnival Fun Day. However, Cllr. Hazzard said that he was not keen on this idea as he wanted to hold a separate event to thank all the volunteers and felt that this would be more personal. He confirmed that he had therefore met with Rachael Hansford & Richard Jefferies and they were going to plan another meeting with a view to arranging a thank-you event on another day/time.  Hazzard said that he would keep the Town Council updated on arrangements and progress.
56. b) Carnival Fun Day on 18^th September 2021 in Duchy Manor Sports Field & Recreation Ground (Minute Ref: 47a) – Cllr. Jordan reported that the event planning was going well and that John Gammie as Chairman of the Carnival Committee had spent some considerable time & effort in ensuring that the event would avoid clashes of use and any damage to facilities.
57. c) Clarification on Town Council’s view on use of old Mere Swimming Pool site for school expansion car parking (Minute Ref: 47c) – the Clerk reported that the Head Teacher of Mere School had informed her that the appointed contractors for the school expansion project were of the opinion that the Town Council did not want the swimming pool site to be incorporated into the car parking proposals and had asked for clarification of this point. The Clerk said that it was her understanding that the Town Council had reluctantly agreed that the swimming pool site could be used for the car parking expansion project but had hoped to receive a refund of £4k to reimburse the Town Council for the costs involved in filling in the swimming pool. The Clerk had subsequently been informed that there would be no reimbursement from the Education Authority and wanted members of the Town Council to clarify their position on the use of the swimming pool site.   RESOLVED that the Town Council should respond to say that they agree that the old swimming pool site could be encompassed into the school’s car parking plans and that the Town Council will try and seek an alternative location for the outdoor fitness project.  Jeans asked if some kind of plaque could be made to point out that there was a swimming pool on the site which was erected as a peace memorial for the Second World War.  The Clerk said that she had specifically saved some of the mosaic tiles from the swimming pool for this purpose.
58. d) The Queens Platinum Jubilee Celebrations (Minute ref: 49a) – Cllr. Ings reported that the working group had held their first meeting and were leaning towards organising a fun day along the lines of the Old Mere May Fayre, focusing most of the celebrations on Saturday, 4^th The Chairman informed members that the church would be arranging a 4-day flower festival. The Clerk informed members that the official guide, including a guide on beacons, was now available and that local councils were encouraged to register their involvement by 1 June 2022.
59. e) Update on Wessex Water Environment Fund Grant Application for water refilling station (Minute Ref: 32d) – The Clerk confirmed that the grant application had been successful and that £1500 was received on 30^th Cllr. Jordan reminded members that the decision was to put a free-standing pillar next to the toilets but his question was whether the Town Council should employ a company that supplies and installs the refilling station or whether or not we deal with the supply and installation separately. RESOLVED to find a company that will supply and install the water refilling station.

55. Reports & Consultations
56. a) Report from Wiltshire Councillor – None

*b) Councillors Briefing Note No. 21-12 – The Substantive Highways Scheme Fund Bid Application Process for funding in 2022/23 (attached) – Cllr. Jordan wondered if this scheme might provide funding for surface widening and improvements for the right of way that runs from opposite the Walnut Tree Inn to Angel Lane as he was aware that the Rights of Way team do not have anything like this kind of money in their budgets.  Cllr. Jordan said that he would make further investigations on this.

*c) Councillors Briefing Note No. 21-15 – Climate Strategy & Natural Environment Plan – Consultation (attached) – members noted the information in the Briefing Note and the Clerk confirmed that the consultation on both these documents ended on 17^th October and therefore the Council would need to consider its collective response at the next meeting.  Cllr. Mrs. Symonds and Cllr. Mrs. Beale agreed to read the consultation documents.

56. Planning
57. 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 approval of the above application on proposal made by Cllr. Ings, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds and carried with a unanimous vote

The Clerk informed members that this planning application had already determined by the Planning Authority and a decision notice to approve the application had been issued on 3^rd September 2021.

Cllr. Jordan said that he had studied the plans and he felt that this was overdevelopment in that the developers were trying to squeeze in two houses that were designed for hobbits.  He pointed out that the bathrooms were only going to be 2.5m X 1.5m.  Cllr. Ings pointed out that the previous planning application, the design of which was for one large building of two units with undercroft parking, had received permission and therefore could be built and he suggested that this new planning application was a better design although he did raise concerns that there were various wildlife nests on the site that now met the protected species criteria.  Cllr. Hill felt that the Town Council should be consistent on this point in that it was clearly overdevelopment to try and squeeze two houses into a site that can only comfortably take one dwelling.  RESOLVED to recommend refusal of the above application for the following reasons:

Overdevelopment:  Members of the Town Council felt that the effect of the above application is to try and squeeze two dwellings into a space that can only comfortably take one dwelling with associated parking/turning and amenity space.

Parking/Turning/Access: Members of the Town Council feel that the parking turning and access for the car parking spaces will be restricted in this small area and manoeuvrability of the vehicles will be difficult to achieve.

Proposal made by Cllr. R. Hill, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds and carried with a unanimous vote.

Cllr. Mitchell said that the mobile home was clearly going to be ancillary accommodation and did not see any reason why this application should not be approved.  RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application on proposal made by Cllr. Hill, seconded by Cllr. Rachael Hansford and carried with a majority vote.

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

RESOLVED to recommend approval of the above application on proposal made by Cllr. Hill, seconded by Cllr. Ings and carried with a unanimous vote

57. Highways, Rivers, Footpaths, Traffic & Transport

*a) Request for re-assessment of speed limit along Shaftesbury Road with a view to amending the 40 mph intermediate limit to a 30 mph limit – Cllr. Mitchell said that he expected that an extension of the 30mph limit along Shaftesbury Road would happen eventually given the development of the old brush factory and possible re-development of Beaumont’s’ site in Woodlands Road.  He said that he had noticed that the amount of traffic using Shaftesbury Road had increased considerably since people had started moving into the houses on the old Brush Factory site.  Cllr. Mitchell said that he would therefore be in favour of moving the 30mph limit out further.  RESOLVED that the Town Council request that Wiltshire Council undertake a review of the 40mph limit along Shaftesbury Road on proposal made by Cllr Mrs. Symonds, seconded by Cllr. Mitchell and carried with a unanimous vote.  Cllr. Hill raised concerns about Wiltshire Council expecting the Town Council to pay a contribution towards this.

*b) Traffic Survey Request Form for speed limit reviews on Castle Street – With reference to the information in the Clerks Report, Cllr. Hazzard said that he lives in Castle Street and whilst he has noticed a couple of motorbikes that roar out of Mere, he thought that on the whole the Speed Indicator Device (SID) has been great and very effective at making people reduce their speeds.  He also pointed out that on-street parking reduces speeds in the particular area identified for this traffic survey and he could see little point in requesting a traffic survey in this location.  RESOLVED not to request a Traffic Survey in this location on the basis that on-street parking reduces the speed of traffic in this location on proposal made by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds, seconded by Cllr. Nick Beale and carried with a unanimous vote.

*c) Traffic Regulation Order Application (waiting restriction for ‘Lordsmead Lane’ [off Pettridge Lane]) –With reference to the information in the Clerks Report, Cllr. Mitchell felt it would be really difficult to enforce parking restrictions tucked round the corner in this little lane and felt that there were other areas that would make better use of public money.  It was pointed out that individual residents could apply and pay for a white line “access protection road markings” and that this might be more appropriate in this instance.  RESOLVED not to proceed with any traffic regulation order request for this location but to advise resident of the “access protection road markings” procedure.  Proposal made by Cllr. Mitchell, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Beale and carried with unanimous vote in favour.

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

*a) Report on meetings held in July & August 2021 to discuss priorities for new cemetery & cemetery extension (attached) – members noted the information in the report which had been distributed prior to the meeting and Cllr. Jordan provided members with a costings report at the meeting.    The Clerk informed members of the money that was in the budget for these works.  Cllr. R. Coward reminded members that the Town Council had some Mere stone if it wanted to replicate the stone pillars or any walls either side of new gates.  Cllr. Hazzard also asked if Sam Doman could join the grounds staff on this project to provide additional labour.  It was agreed that the Town Council would try and build pillars for the gates and incorporate this into the job.  RESOLVED to take on the first stages of this work using our own staff and to leave a row of graves adjacent to the track vacant for the time being so that work does not affect the graves being dug.  Proposal made by Cllr. Jordan, seconded by Cllr. R. Coward and carried with a unanimous vote.

*b) Request to adopt a re-wilding policy and limit grass cutting at Kingsmere Open Space  – Cllr. Rodney Coward said that he was not in favour of re-wilding at all.  If you want to see a field that has been re-wilded then you need to look at the little field on the corner of the Gillingham Road junction, opposite the Industrial Estate which has been left to nature and is now full of thick shrubs, brambles and nettles.  He pointed out that the Town Council planted copses of fruit & nut trees in the Kingsmere Open Space to help encourage the wildlife. Cllr. Coward said he was in favour of keeping the field mown as and when it can be.  Cllr. Mitchell said he agreed and pointed out that he has an open space area by his fishing lakes and he mows paths through this in the summer where people walk but he said that he finds all sorts of rubbish and dog mess in the long grass areas that haven’t been mown.  Cllr. Rachael Hansford asked if re-wilding would save time and the Chairman said that she had been talking to someone who is very keen on re-wilding who explained that it is fairly time-consuming and that things have to be done at particular times of the year.  Cllr. Jordan said that as a user he finds the Kingsmere Open Space really pleasant and that he thought the Town Council had shown particular foresight in planting the young avenue of beech trees to replace the old beech trees that were nearing the end of their lifetime.  He also pointed out that with the grass cut it was easy to spot where your dog had poo’d so you could pick it up.  Cllr. Coward pointed out that a wild flower meadow is totally different to re-wilding and needs cultivating and looking after.  RESOLVED that the Town Council continue its present arrangements for the maintenance of Kingsmere Open Space on proposal made by Cllr. R. Coward, seconded by Cllr. Ings and carried with a vote of 10 for and 2 abstentions.

*c) Tower Clock – Quotation to fit new drive motor & capacitor and refit the strike auto winding motor – With reference to the information in the Clerks Report, Cllr. Jordan said that the clock needed to be working before November.  It was suggested that perhaps it was time to think about replacing the whole clock and striking mechanism with something else as we seem to keep spending money on this and it was RESOLVED to ask Cumbria Clock Company out to re-set the clock time and also to give us a complete assessment on the clock on proposal made by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds, seconded by Cllr. Jordan and carried with a unanimous vote.

59. Finance, Policy & Resources

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

*b) To approve Budget/Expenditure Report at 31.7.21 (attached) – members noted and approved the Budget/Expenditure Report at 31.7.21 which had been distributed with the agenda papers.

*c) Mere Bowls Club – Request for £200 grant funding to help support SWW Area Board Grant application – Cllr. Mrs. Symonds said that the Bowls Club is always neat and tidy and they are a credit to Mere.  RESOLVED to show the Town Council’s support for the SWW Area Board Grant Application by approving grant funding of £200 on proposal made by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds, seconded by Cllr. Ings and carried with a unanimous vote in favour.

*d) Changing Places Fund – the Changing Places Fund will invest up to £30 million over 3 financial years from 2021/22 to increase the number of Changing Places toilets in existing buildings in England that are accessible to the public – Noted

*e) Community Ownership Fund – the government is providing £150 million over four years to support community groups across the UK to take ownership of assets and amenities at risk of closure, sale, neglect or dereliction – Noted

1. f) Suggested terms for lease of ground floor premises at Duchy Manor Building – The Clerk confirmed that she had now head back from the Estates Surveyor at Wiltshire Council who said “as long as Wiltshire Council can break the lease in the (unlikely) event that the school needs to increase beyond 315 places, it can be for the remainder of our lease term less a couple of days. I would suggest that we make it match the other one. I am happy to keep the rent at a low level, say £100 per year with RPI increases every five years, on the basis that Mere Town Council will pay all the running costs.  Hopefully this will give you something to give to your members.”

The Clerk said that she did not know which lease the Estates Surveyor was suggesting this should match – it could be the lease for the Duchy Grounds & changing rooms which expired in 2062 or the lease for the office which had already expired (2020).   The Clerk also pointed out that although these terms sounded very favourable in terms of rent, members needed to note that the Town Council would be responsible for rates and heating costs.  Although the heating costs could not be determined, she did point out that the rates for the office came to £1422 and using this as a comparison it was likely that the rates on the remainder of this ground floor area would be somewhere between £5,000 & £6,000.  Cllr. Hazzard said that it would obviously be to the Town Council’s benefit to have this facility and this would be highly preferable to having a third party rent it out.  However, he felt that the Town Council would need to earn something from the facility i.e. be able to hire out rooms for shared office space for small businesses.  He therefore proposed that the Town Council should confirm to Wiltshire Council’s Estates Surveyor that we are minded to take on the lease, subject to the wording and clauses and ask them to proceed with preparing the draft lease.  Proposal seconded by R. Coward and carried with a unanimous vote.

323. g) Receipt of CIL funding (£323.98) from Development 20/02840/FUL – Midstone House (Warminster Hollow) – Noted
324. h) Suggestion that Mere Town Council uses CIL receipts received so far (£598.95) towards expenditure necessary to create cemetery extension – RESOLVED on proposal made by Cllr. Louise Bennett, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Beale and carried with a unanimous vote.

*i) Suggestions for expenditure of S.106 funding – With reference to the information in the Clerks Report, Cllr. Hazzard said that it’s all very well coming up with ideas of things that we want to be done but our Clerk is working far more hours than she gets paid for and we cannot expect her to manage any additional projects and he would therefore like to suggest that the Town Council employ someone to manage these projects.  Cllr. Jordan said that he would support this idea.

60. Future agenda items
61. a) Formulate consultation response to Wiltshire Council’s draft ‘Climate Strategy’ and ‘Our Natural Environment Plan’ – the Clerk reminded members that this would be an agenda item for the October meeting.

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

*Further information on these items in Clerks Report or enclosed/attached

 Mere Town Council

Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

DELEGATED DECISION REPORT _- AUGUST 2021:

As you know, we do not generally meet in August unless there is some compelling reason to do so.  However, we continue to receive planning applications, invoices and requests from residents.  Therefore, the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and myself have considered the following items and have put forward the following Delegated responses.  If councillors feel strongly about any of these responses, please could you let me know a.s.a.p. and we will decide whether or not to call an extra meeting or defer responding.

Planning Applications

1. 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 application number)

Consultation deadline 10.8.21

Application Link: https://development.wiltshire.gov.uk/pr/s/planningpplication/a0i3z000015R4IN

Delegated Response:

Mere Town Council is happy with the variation of condition 2 (i.e. replacing Yurt No. 3 with a single-decker converted bus) but is not happy with the variation of condition 3 and feels that the bus should not be occupied for the period 1^st Nov to 1^st April.   Whilst we appreciate that the bus cannot be disassembled or even moved from the site, members are concerned that If the bus were to be occupied 12 months of the year it would be akin to giving planning permission for permanent holiday accommodation which could then lead to permanent residential occupation.  This site is in a position where permanent residential occupation would not be permitted.

Consultation deadline 5.8.21

Application Link: https://development.wiltshire.gov.uk/pr/s/planning-application/a0i3z00001634D

Delegated Response:

No objection.

Consultation deadline 25.8.21Application link: https://development.wiltshire.gov.uk/pr/s/planning-application/a0i3z000015vLxs

Delegated Response:

No objection

Finance

Please see attached payment schedule

Lifting of restrictions

Regarding the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, we have reviewed our Risk Assessments (RA) for all facilities and I am attaching our written RA for the Andy Young Pavilion.  I have pointed out to all user groups that whilst we are advising caution whilst prevalence is high, we don’t feel it is appropriate to impose restrictions but would like to suggest that when holding an activity or meeting in the pavilion, that they ensure that all members/participants are happy with their proposals in relation to social distancing and mask wearing.

• Andy Young Pavilion – please find the attached amended Risk Assessment.
• Clock Tower – Decision has been made to re-open the Clock Tower during the daytime.
• Public Toilets – Decision was made by Town Council at July meeting to re-open all public toilets and revert back to once-daily cleaning only. Hand sanitiser is provided in accessible toilets but not in gents or ladies.  Gents urinal is not working and has now been blocked off with signage asking gents to use cubicles.
• Changing Rooms – there is no pending use for the changing rooms but the RA & suggestions that we have applied to the Andy Young Pavilion would be appropriate should we receive any requests for use.
• Duchy Manor Foyer (Town Council meetings) – the RA & suggestions that we have applied for the Andy Young Pavilion would apply
• Town Council Offices – offices have reopened for public to call during public opening times i.e. 10 am – 3 pm Tuesdays – Thursdays.
• All Children’s Play Areas – we have re-attached the swings that were removed to allow for social distancing. Signage remains appropriate and will stay in situ.
• Cemetery – social distancing signage was removed by public and there is no intention to replace
• Recreation Ground – Tennis Courts (Mere Tennis Club are adhering to LTA guidelines). Signage on skatepark was removed by public but there is no intention to replace.
• Castle Hill & Long Hill – no restrictions imposed and therefore unaffected.
• Allotments – no restrictions imposed and therefore unaffected.

Football:

I have received an email from Neil Francis informing me that there is not going to be any adult football next season (September to April) and I have also been told that the Under 18 team will not be playing next year either.  This means that there will be no football on the main pitch.  (The youth football teams are all still running but they use smaller pitches on the Recreation Ground and on Duchy Manor Sports Field).

I have received an email from someone who wants to start a new Sunday league football team and would like to use the Mere Town Football pitch for their home games.  They have no need to use the showers but they would like to use the changing rooms if that complies with FA & our COVID Risk Assessments.   This is an informal Sunday league team made up of mostly Wincanton & Mere players (I believe that there are 4 or 5 players that come from Mere) and the team will be registered with the Blackmore Vale Football League and have public liability insurance.  Their league season will run from 12^th September 2021 until mid-March 2022.   There are no objections to this proposal from the other football teams.

Delegated Response:

We allow them use of the main pitch for their home games at the Delegated fee of £350 for the period 12.9.21 – mid-March 2022

We allow them use of the main pitch & changing rooms at the Delegated fee of £480 for the period 12.9.21 – mid-March 2022

Conditions of use:

• A copy of affiliated membership and proof of public liability insurance to be provided to the Town Clerk
• Teams must comply with government guidance in relation to COVID-19 and set its own risk assessment which will need to be approved by the Town Clerk.
• Teams (home and away) must adhere to Mere Town Council’s conditions of use and COVID-19 guidance and risk assessments.
• Teams (home and away) must adhere to FA guidance, best practice and policies generally but also more specifically FA COVID-19 guidance and keep up-to-date with changes to this guidance.
• No shower facilities
• No storage facilities
• Changing rooms must be kept clean at ALL times
• Football pitch & any other areas used (including car parking areas) must be cleared of all litter after use.
• No vehicular access to football pitches or across grounds other than for emergency vehicles in the event of an accident.
• Club to follow Policy for the clearance of sports grounds and recreation grounds in the event of air ambulance landing
• Mere Town Council will not cut the grass to order. We cut the grass in the Recreation Ground which includes the main football pitch on a regular basis.  However, there are occasions when the weather conditions, staff holidays/sickness or machinery breakdowns may preclude cutting the grass as regularly as we would like.  If the pitch conditions do not meet the team’s required standards then the team may appoint contractors to cut the pitch providing that the Town Clerk is notified beforehand and provided with the contractors public liability insurance certificate.

Suggestion to disable showers in the Community Changing Rooms

As part of our legionella risk management, at the present time our grounds staff are required to go into the changing rooms on a weekly basis – they then have to fire up the water heater (which is huge) wait for it to get to temperature and then run all the showers and the taps and flush all the toilets in the changing rooms.  The water has to be left running for some time and the temperature of the water has to be recorded for each outlet.

There is no Mere Town Football Club at the present time and there is no requirement for the showers to be used for the foreseeable future (certainly not next season).  I have had this confirmed by all football teams.

I would therefore like to suggest that we disable the showers by removing the shower heads and putting up tape/signage and that we cease with the shower legionella testing for the time being.  This would mean that we would reduce the amount of gas that is used considerably and the amount of water that is used considerably – these resources are currently being wasted when there is no use of the showers.  It would mean that when we do want to re-use the showers, that we will have to have the pipes & mixers professionally cleaned out by our legionella contractors but this shouldn’t cost any more than the amount of money we will have saved on gas and water + our grounds staff’s time in doing all the testing.  We will still need to go in there and flush the toilets, run the taps on a weekly basis but this will not take as much time or need to waste so much water.

Urgent Tree works:

We have just received our tree survey report back and one tree in the back of Salisbury Street Car Park has been marked as ‘High Priority’ as it has shown rapid physiological decline since the 2017 survey and has abundant deadwood over parked cars.  Lewis Wood Tree Surgeon (my son) has offered to come and cut this tree as a priority for £100 and will take the wood away.  He has £5m public liability.

Delegated response:

Accept this offer for immediate High Priority work.

With regards to the remaining tree report – Clerk to work her way through this, assess work required and categorise it into work that can be done ‘in house’ and work that needs to be done by contractors.  Clerk to submit application for any tree works within Conservation Area or any tree works that may require Forestry Commission consent.  Clerk to draw up specification for contractors work and go out to tender.  Clerk to liaise with grounds staff on work that can be done ‘in house’.

Mere Town Council

Town Clerk – Mrs. L. C. Wood

Minutes of a meeting of the Town Council held on Monday, 5^th July 2021 at 7.00 p.m. at Duchy Manor, Springfield Road, Mere, BA12 6EW

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

Also Mr. Richard Jefferies, PC Richard Salter and PCSO Dan Gill and PC Dan Chaventrey

Meeting convened at 7.01 pm with Public Session

Richard Jefferies explained that he had attended the meeting to make himself available to talk about the Foodbank and the Mere Resilience Forum.  He stressed the importance of the Mere Foodbank and their need for an appropriate venue for storage and urged the Town Council not to make any immediate action that would cease or abolish the Mere Resilience Forum.

PCSO Dan Gill introduced himself to those present as the new PCSO for Mere.  PC Richard Salter also introduced PC Dan Chaventrey who, he said, would be taking over from him on 1^st August because he is due to retire.  PC Salter explained that he is actually working until the autumn but migrating to a different area and going to be away for the majority of the time.  He has worked in Mere from 2007 to 2015 and then came back 2.5 years ago and since that time the way that policing is delivered has changed.  Under the new regime the police officers start at Warminster and then come down to Mere when they can.  There are problems with that because there are times when things happen in Warminster and they are called to help out with them and therefore do not get to come down to Mere.  However, Dan has had a great handover from Pete Tscherniawsky and we are confident that he will keep up the mantle and continue to do good work in Mere. PCSO Dan Gill gave out his telephone number. On behalf of the Town Council, Clive Hazzard thanked PC Richard Salter for all the work he has done for Mere over the years and wished him a long and happy retirement.

Clive Hazzard also congratulated Kate Symonds on the ‘Mere Town Council Supplement’ produced in Mere Matters and the photos she had done for the website.

Apologies for absence received from Councillors Philip Coward, Raymond Hill & George Jeans.

40. 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.

• Hazzard declared a pecuniary interest in Minute Ref: 48a) Payments

41. Minutes – RESOLVED that the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on Monday, 7^th June 2021 be approved as a correct record on proposal made by Cllr. Colman, seconded by Cllr. Jordan

 42. Matters Arising from Public Session

a) Thank You Day – The Chairman reminded members that a Working Group had been formed to make suggestions on what could be done to thank all the Community Support Volunteers but that it was unlikely that there would be an event on the suggested date of 4^th She informed members that COVID-19 restrictions were still in place on 4^th July in any case and so any event on that date was not possible. The Clerk said that there was an agenda item on later in the meeting relating to a Carnival Fun Day and she wondered if the Working Group/Carnival Committee might like to consider holding the ‘Thank You’ event on the same date and combine the events.  Cllr. Jordan said that anything that would help promote the Fun Day or increase participation should be a good thing and would discuss it at the next Carnival Committee meeting and report back to the Town Council.

43. Matters Arising from previous Meetings

a) Public Toilets – to consider the current opening arrangements for public toilets in car park. (Minute Ref: 32c) – The Chairman reported that this matter had been raised again due to the fact that there had been reports of long queues outside the toilets during weekends and that people were approaching Hayley’s Hair Design asking to use their toilets. The Chairman said that she had investigated this matter and it seemed that the problem was occurring at weekends.  RESOLVED that the gents and ladies toilet blocks should be reopened as soon as possible on proposal made by Cllr. Mrs. Beale, seconded by Cllr. R. Coward and carried with a vote of 9 for and 3 against.

44. Reports & Consultations

*a) Wiltshire Council’s Briefing Note No. 21-08 – Enhancement of Bus Services – With reference to the information that had been sent out with the agenda papers, members thanked and congratulated Cllr. Mrs. Beale on producing the excellent information on bus times and public transport options available to Mere.  The Clerk pointed out that within the Briefing Note, Wiltshire Council were asking for suggestions for new services or changes/additions to existing services.  They were looking for suggestions that would make significantly more people from communities use public transport.  RESOLVED to submit the following suggestions:

• The provision of an evening bus from Gillingham to Mere that would meet the last train coming in from Salisbury. This would enable residents from Mere to attend events in Salisbury at places like the City Hall and The Playhouse without having to drive to Salisbury.  It would also enable older teenagers to attend events in Salisbury without relying on parents to collect them.
• Better coordination for the South West Coaches service to meet trains coming into and out of Gillingham railway station would encourage more people to use the buses and trains. For example, currently the early morning bus leaves Mere at 06.49 and arrives at Gillingham at 07.11 and the train leaves Gillingham Station at 07.15 – a wait of 4 minutes is acceptable but it doesn’t leave much time to account for potential traffic hold-ups or delays in Gillingham.  Furthermore, the 15.43 from Mere arrives at Gillingham at 16.05 but the next train from Gillingham to Salisbury/London is at 16.51 so that means a wait of 45 minutes.

*b) Wiltshire Council’s Briefing Note No. 21-09 – Temporary Pavement Licences – the Clerk reported that the objective of the Temporary Pavement Licence (TPL) scheme is to promote outdoor dining and socialising.  The scheme allows businesses to apply to place tables, chairs, barriers and similar items on the highway adjacent to the premises concerned, for the consumption of food and drink.  Local Authorities can charge up to £100 for each licence but Wiltshire Council has taken the decision not to charge for Temporary Pavement Licences.

c) Report on SWW Area Board meeting held on 30^th June – The Chairman reported that no-one was able to attend the meeting and Cllr. Jeans is not present to give a report. Await Minutes.

45. Planning 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 application number)

RESOLVED to recommend the above application for approval on proposal made by Cllr. Beale, seconded by Cllr. Jordan and carried with a unanimous vote.

Cllr. Mrs. Symonds said that she had visited the site today and confirmed that the barn was quite a way from the road and hidden by a belt of trees.  Cllr. Mitchell raised his concern that a number of agricultural buildings have already been converted to live/work dwellings or holiday lets on this site and that within those applications this barn that they are now proposing to convert was going to be partially demolished to be used for car parking.  Furthermore, the red line application boundary would suggest that it is going to take quite a lot of agricultural land for residential purposes.  Cllr. Jordan said that it would appear that this farm is now becoming a little village and felt that this would have an impact on the surrounding area.  There were also concerns that the Town Council may see an application for a small barn in a few years time when the applicants realise that they no longer have anywhere for storage.  RESOLVED to object to the above application for the following reasons on proposal made by Cllr. Mitchell, seconded by Cllr. Ings and carried with a vote of 9 for and 2 abstentions.

REASONS:

Transport & highway impacts of the development – the site has been developed over recent years and this old working farm now contains a number of live/work units, holiday accommodation and holiday yurts.  The Town Council has concerns about increased traffic using the Barrow Street junction on the A303 Trunk road.  This junction has a high accident record and increased usage will only exacerbate this situation.

Overdevelopment of the site – the Town Council is concerned as this farm has already seen substantial development over recent years and very recently had planning approval for holiday yurt accommodation.  This has an impact on the hamlet at Barrow Street.  Furthermore, the plans do not correlate with the planning applications submitted in 2012 (S/2012/1599 & S/2012/1562)) which stated that the existing portal framed building (now the subject of this Prior Approval notification) would be reduced in length with the end section as covered parking for the live/work units.  It is not clear from these plans whether or not the barn has been reduced in length but it is presumed that the parking for the live/work units would now be removed as it is included within the red line boundary for this application.

 Inappropriate use of agricultural land – the red line boundary for this Prior Approval notification would appear to encompass agricultural land as can be seen from Google maps.  The Town Council understood that conversion of an agricultural building to a residential dwelling was such that no extra agricultural land should be encompassed into its residential curtilage.

RESOLVED to recommend the above application for approval on proposal made by Cllr. Ings, seconded by Cllr. Jordan and carried with a unanimous vote.

RESOLVED to recommend the above application for approval on proposal made by Cllr. R. Coward, seconded by Cllr. Ings and carried with a unanimous vote.

Cllr. Jordan confirmed that this was an end house in a row of houses and he did not think it would be overlooked.  RESOLVED to recommend the above application for approval on proposal made by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds, seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Beale and carried with a unanimous vote.

b) Beaumont Business Park Outline Planning Application (Ref: 20/07469/OUT) – letter from Savills Planning – the Clerk confirmed that following a conversation with the planning officer involved in this case, she had been advised that this matter should not be discussed at this time.

c) Notice and confirmation of Tree Preservation Order – 2021/00003/ND at Fives Court, Angel Lane, Mere. BA12 6DH – The Clerk pointed out that the Tree Preservation Order had been confirmed on 14^th June 2021 and it related to a Yew Tree at Fives Court, Angel Lane.

46. Highways, Rivers, Footpaths, Traffic & Transport

a) Highways Act 1980 – Application to stop up highway – Highway adjacent to 2 New Cottages, Shaftesbury Road, Mere – Wiltshire Council sent notice of their intention to apply to the magistrates’ court for an Order authorising the stopping up of highway adjacent to 2 New Cottages, Shaftesbury Road, Mere. The Town Council gave consent to this application on 22 July 2020.

b) Report on Community Area Transport Group meeting – Cllr. Mrs. Beale said that she was unable to attend the meeting. Await minutes.

c) Notification of footway resurfacing works – the Clerk informed members that she had only today received notification of footway resurfacing works that will commence on 15.7.21 and be completed by 21.7.21 with work taking place between 07.30 and 18:00 (no weekend working). There will be a road closure and no vehicular access available to Castle Hill Lane from the junction with Manor Road although pedestrian access will be maintained.

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

a) Request for Carnival Fun Day on 18^th September 2021 in Duchy Manor Sports Field or Recreation Ground – Cllr. John Jordan reported that there will not be a carnival in 2021 because groups have not been able to get together to build floats and so the Committee had thought about holding a Family Fun Day running from about 2.00 pm until 9.00 pm on what would have been Carnival Day. The Fun Day would include entertainment, Music, Bands, Comedians and demonstrations from local groups and a dog show. There would also be a barbeque and bar and stalls.  The other notion was to have some small-scale fun-fair rides and perhaps some dodgems.  Jordan confirmed that the Carnival Committee would arrange for insurance, ambulance, security and would also hire portable toilets.  Members of the Town Council generally felt that the sports field was not a suitable surface for the heavy vehicles that would be necessary to provide the vehicles and vehicular access for the small-scale fun fair rides and the dodgems and it was also pointed out that it was not suitable for a dog show since dogs are not permitted on the site.  There was further discussion on whether the Recreation Ground would be a better venue and the suitability for access etc.    The Clerk pointed out that the two sites were easily accessible to each other and it could be possible to use Duchy Manor for parking and the Recreation Ground for the dog show etc.  RESOLVED that providing all the sports clubs are happy then the Town Council agree to the Fun Day on either site but do not agree to dodgems as they are too large and too noisy.

*b) Report on Working Group meeting held to discuss replacement Youth Development building in Recreation Ground – with reference to the report of the Working Group meeting which had been held on 14^th June and distributed to members with their agenda papers (report attached), Cllr. Hazzard proposed that the Town Council should agree and adopt the recommendations made therein and pass them on to Seeds4Success for comment.

c) Report on meeting with school and Wiltshire Council officers to discuss school expansion proposals – the Clerk read out her notes on the meeting (attached). Hazzard said he was very pleased that all had agreed not to partition off the foyer.

d) Cemetery – update and progress report on cemetery extension proposals – Cllr. Jordan said that the ‘working group’ would be meeting on site tomorrow. The Clerk asked if it would be possible to include the grounds staff in the meeting as they would like to make some suggestions and have some input.

e) Use of Duchy Manor for Mere Foodbank – The Clerk reported that the Town Council and School had explored an option for Mere Foodbank to use the old shower room at the end of the corridor on the ground floor of Duchy Manor for an extra, much needed, storage facility. There was no key for the door and so it would be necessary to remove & replace the door lock. The Foodbank had given assurances that there would only be two front-door keyholders (her and one other for when she is unavailable).  There was also a question from the Foodbank on whether or not Duchy Manor could be used as a distribution point for the toddlers’ foodbank (i.e. food that comes from supermarkets to be distributed to young families).  The Clerk said that she had discussed this with the Headteacher of the school and both felt that this would need to be distributed from under the canopy and only if manned (i.e. we do not want food left on tables unattended).  However, both the Clerk and Headteacher felt that as there is no lease at the present time, we should ask Wiltshire Council whether or not they would be happy for us to permit these arrangements. Cllrs. Hazzard and Hansford felt that we needed to think of the young families who are relying on the foodbank and that the foodbank should be given all the support it can get and given the amount of time it is taking Wiltshire Council to open negotiations with the Town Council on the lease for the ground floor of Duchy Manor then we should just grant permission for them to use the shower room for storage as it could take months and months to go down the formal route.  It was resolved to support the Mere Foodbank wholeheartedly but bear in mind that there may be logistical issues to work out regarding access/security etc.  In the meantime, it was agreed to point the Foodbank to the grant funding opportunities and in particular the “Places Called Home” grant funding programme (see Minute Ref: 48b) – Cllr. Jordan pointed out that this could perhaps provide the Foodbank with a space and efficient trolleys that could help with loading, unloading and displaying food.

f) Requirement for external decoration of Andy Young Pavilion – RESOLVED that the Town Council seek quotations for the external decoration of the Andy Young Pavilion and the Chairman is delegated authority to appoint contractor.

g) Emergency Item – refund of allotment expenses – the Clerk explained that she had recently re-let an uncultivated allotment and the allotment holder had booked a contractor to rotavate the allotment. Unfortunately, the contractor could not rotavate the allotment because old carpet had become embedded into the allotment weeds. The allotment holder had asked the Town Council to remove the carpet and also to reimburse the costs of the contractor.  Members RESOLVED that the grounds staff should remove the carpet and also that they should rotavate the allotment for the tenant instead of reimbursing the costs of the contractor.

48. Finance, Policy & Resources

*a) Payments – To review and authorise schedule of payments (attached) – Having declared a pecuniary interest in this item, Cllr. Hazzard left the room and did not take part in discussion or voting.  RESOLVED to authorise payments set out in the payment schedule on proposal made by Cllr. Colman, seconded by Cllr. Ings and carried with a unanimous vote of those present.

Cllr. Jordan asked about the clapper for the bell of the Clock Tower & the Clerk explained that she was awaiting a report from the clock company that recently came to re-set the clock.

*b) Notice of “Places Called Home” grant funding programme – The Clerk had provided links with information about this funding programme with the agenda papers.  Cllr. Jordan said he thought this would be an excellent funding opportunity for the Foodbank to apply for storage facilities.  He pointed out, however, that it is only open for a fortnight and only open for first 1500 applicants.

49. General Items

a) The Queens Platinum Jubilee Celebrations – the Clerk reported that a four-day bank holiday weekend running from Thursday, 2^nd June to Sunday, 5^th June 2022 would mark the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and that during this weekend Platinum Jubilee beacons will be lit across the UK and communities will take part in the Big Jubilee Lunch with street parties being held throughout the country. The Clerk reported that there was no official itinerary of events on the Pageant Master’s website yet and that the office would look out for updates. The Chairman said that the Church wants to be involved in event planning and it was pointed out that it would be an advantage to involve the church with any organisation of events in order to avoid clashes of events which has happened in the past.  It was agreed that this would be raised as an agenda item in September and that members may want to think about event ideas in the meantime.

b) How does the Town Council see the future for the Mere Resilience Forum (Community Support Group) developing? – Cllr. Rachael Hansford who is the new Resilience Forum co-ordinator reported that there was still a lot of need in the town and there are a lot of people doing good work who were being supported by local organisations such as the Foodbank, Linkscheme and Church. Ms. Hansford said it would be a shame to let it all disappear and wondered about the idea of seeking funding to employ someone to signpost people to the right organisations. Cllr. Hazzard said that the COVID-19 situation and the Mere Resilience Forum has brought out a whole new generation of volunteers with a new selection of people putting themselves forward to help.  Cllr. Ms. Hansford said that she wanted to draw on this by bringing all these people together and was suggesting that there could be a job opening to co-ordinate all the volunteers.  Cllr. Hazzard said that he recalled attending an Area Board meeting when Wilton had applied for funding for a co-ordinator but he couldn’t remember whether this was successful or not.  RESOLVED that Cllr. Ms. Hansford be delegated authority to apply for grant funding in the name of Mere Town Council.

50. Future meetings and events

Events –  The Future of High Streets & Town Centres – Online event Wednesday, 29^th September between 12 – 1.15 pm  (Cost to Council is £30 per delegate)

51. Future agenda items

• None

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

*Further information on these items enclosed/attached

Meeting closed at 8.28 pm

MERE PEACE MEMORIAL SPORTS AND RECREATION GROUND

Registered Charity No. 1093497

Meeting convened at 8.30 pm

For Trustees to consider the following:

1. a) Request for Carnival Fun Day on 18^th September 2021 in Duchy Manor Sports Field or Recreation Ground – Cllr. John Jordan

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 75^th July 2021 (Minute Reference 47a)

1. b) Report on Working Group meeting held to discuss replacement Youth Development building in Recreation Ground – 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 75^th July 2021 (Minute Reference 47b)

Meeting closed at 8.34 pm

Mere Town Council

Minutes of a meeting of the Town Council held on Monday, 7th June 2021 at 7.00 p.m. at Duchy Manor, Springfield Road, Mere, BA12 6EW

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

Also Mr. Roy Sims, Mrs. M. Coward & Mrs. P. Andrews representing Mere Tennis Club + Mr. David Coward + 1 other.

Public Session
Roy Sims wanted to congratulate councillors on being elected or re-elected and also to inform them that the Mere police station is no longer going to be a drop-in centre. He also wanted to inform the Town Council that Rev. Carol Green had left the Benefice of Mere after serving here for 8½ years to work in Devon.  He also said that work to St. Michael’s Church had now been completed and that this was now the largest venue for events in the town.  Lastly, Mr. Sims said that although he is no longer a town councillor, he would happily represent the town Council at the Gillingham and Shaftesbury transport for.

David Coward spoke in support of the planning application for an agricultural worker’s dwelling at Manor Farm.  He pointed out that the farm acreage had more than doubled and they now had over 400 cattle, calving in the autumn and spring.  These animals were a highly valuable asset to the farm and their long-term viability required 24-hour supervision by an experienced person and this responsibility was shared between himself and his son.   Mr. Coward pointed out that the Duchy of Cornwall had approved the land for release for the farm worker’s cottage and had also approved the plans.

Mrs. Myrene Coward said that she had been approached by the tennis club’s representative, Cllr. Jeans, about coaching.  She said that the tennis club was extremely busy but felt that two morning sessions per week could be allocated for tennis coaching.  She said that the tennis club would like confirmation that the coach is qualified and has the required insurance & risk assessments etc.  Mrs. Coward also pointed out that they felt that if he was charging for tennis coaching then he should be a member of the Mere Tennis Club.

The Chairman said that the Town Council had today received notification that a national Thank You Day is being organised for 4 July 2021.  The idea is that Thank You Day will be a chance to come together to mark what has happened over the last year, to celebrate the community spirit and say a big thank you to all those who have helped us along the way.  The Chairman said that she knew that Clive was keen to thank all the volunteers but she was concerned that 4th July was too soon to make adequate arrangements and also, possibly, too soon in terms of the lifting of COVID restrictions.  Louise Bennet said that if we don’t do anything and the rest of the country is arranging events, then we will get criticised so she suggested that we set the date and think about what we could do in the meantime.  Clive Hazzard said that whatever we did, we must make sure that we do not upset anyone by not including all.  Cllrs. Louise Bennet, Aubrey Colman & John Jordan volunteered to form a working group to make suggestions on this.

Apologies from absence received and accepted from Cllrs. Raymond Hill and Glenn Ings

28. To receive Cllr. Philip Cowards, Declaration of Acceptance of Office – Cllr. Philip Coward signed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office

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

• Cllr. Mrs. Traves declared a personal interest in planning application PL/2021/03298
• Cllr. Rodney Coward declared a pecuniary interest in planning application PL/2021/03298
• Cllr. George Jeans declared a personal interest in planning application PL/2021/03137

30. Minutes – RESOLVED that the minutes of the Annual Council meeting held on Monday, 17th May 2021 be approved as a correct record on proposal made by Cllr. Colman, seconded by Cllr. Ms. Hansford and carried with a unanimous vote of those present on 17.5.21

31.  Matters Arising from Public Session
 a) Library charges – with reference to the issue raised last month by Mr. Meyer, Cllr. Jeans said that the Library charged 80p to order/reserve a book separately which he understood was to cover administration costs.  Members felt that this charge was reasonable and that it was important to sustain the library service we have in Mere and therefore RESOLVED to take no further action.
b) Mere Foodbank location – with reference to the issue raised during last month’s Public Session by Mr. Meyer, the Chairman said that she had spoken to Mrs. Ann Rich who runs the Mere Foodbank.  Mrs. Rich said that she was very happy with the Foodbank distribution location but pointed out that they did have some storage problems.  The Chairman asked councillors to think about ways in which the Town Council could help with the Foodbank’s storage problems.  In the meantime, Cllr. Mrs. Symonds said that she had asked Richard Jefferies, Editor of Mere Matters, to write an article explaining how the Foodbank works and how to use it.  Cllr. Mrs. Bennett said it would be a good idea to explain the food swapping element also.

32.  Matters Arising from previous Meetings
 a) Dog fouling in public spaces (Minute Refs : 219a) & 19b) – Cllr. Jeans said that he had sought advice from an officer at Wiltshire Council on the idea of putting dog waste bags in 3rd party residents bins (with their permission) and whether or not this would be considered legal.  The officer had advised that the contractors needed to be consulted and Cllr. Jeans said that he needed to chase this matter up.  Cllr. Mrs. Beale said that if this was not possible, could we please do a costing exercise for more bins (including waste removal and labour to empty) and see whether we could get residents to sponsor new bins.  Cllr. Mrs. Symonds said that one of the problems is that whatever we provided, we would not change the mindset of certain people and we cannot just put extra bins all over the countryside.
b) Update and information on communication between Mere Patient Participatory Group (PPG) and Wiltshire Council relating to Fives Court building and request for Community Asset Transfer (Minute Ref: 208c) – Cllr. Ms. Hansford said that a paper had been submitted to Wiltshire Council and the PPG were just waiting to hear and would report back as and when any news was heard.
c) Public Toilets – to consider the current opening arrangements for public toilets in car park. (Minute Ref: 191a) – The Clerk explained to new members that when the first COVID-19 lockdown was announced in March 2020, the Town Council decided to close all three toilet blocks, not least because of concerns for the health and welfare of our cleaning/maintenance staff but also because we did not think there would be much cause for the use of public toilets since everyone was in lockdown at home.  As the first lockdown began to cease and trade and travel started again in June/July 2020, the Council took the decision to reopen the accessible toilet from 8 am until 4 pm.  The reason for doing this, as opposed to opening all three toilet blocks was threefold:

1. It was not possible to follow government guidelines on handwashing in the gents or ladies toilets because the automatic hand-washing dispensers did not facilitate 20-second hand washing
2. We were able to clean this one toilet TWICE daily for the same cost as cleaning all the other toilets ONCE daily.
3. It is safer for our staff who only have to sanitise one set of touch points when they go into the toilet for maintenance/cleaning
4. It is safer for the public because it is easier to control social distancing – only one person can go into the toilet at one time and we can ask people to queue outside where there is more ventilation rather than people queueing inside the toilet blocks (there are narrow corridors inside the gents and ladies toilet blocks).

The Clerk said that this matter had been raised on the agenda because of issues raised by members of the public and concerns that the car park was being used as a urinal.  Cllr. Rodney Coward and Cllr. Jeans felt that the accessible toilet should be open 24 hours a day as people come into Mere from the A303 expecting to find public toilets because there is a sign on the A303.  Cllr. Hazzard said that he did not understand why the toilet needed to be open at midnight and explained that the public toilets had suffered vandalism and anti-social issues when they were open during the night in the past.  He felt that an auto-lock system on the accessible toilet could be installed which would allow the door to be opened early in the morning and shut later in the evening. Cllr. Philip Coward suggested that CCTV cameras may help to stop vandalism but Cllr. Mrs. Symonds said that she had done some work on a draft policy for CCTV for the Council and reported that it would involve an enormous amount of work relating to the GDPR implications.  However, members were in general agreement that there should be a sign on the building to say that it was covered by CCTV.  Cllr. Mrs. Beale said that she felt that all the toilet blocks should be open and that having public toilets was a basic facility. Cllr. Mrs. Bennett said that if you are providing a public toilet service then you should be providing it 24 hours a day.  Cllr. Mrs. Symonds said that no-one is saying that we shouldn’t open the toilets but we are asking whether we need one toilet open for part of the day or 24 hours a day or all the toilets open for part of the day or all the toilets open for 24 hours a day.  Cllr. Mrs. Symonds proposed that the Town Council should keep the one accessible toilet open 24 hours a day in a good state of cleanliness.  Proposal seconded by Cllr. Colman and carried with a vote of 10 for, 1 against and 1 abstention.

d) Grant Application for Wiltshire Community Foundation for Wessex Water Environment Fund (water refilling station) (Minute Ref 25c) – the Clerk reported that she and Cllr. Jordan had jointly filled out a grant application for the water refilling station and submitted this within the deadline. A submission acknowledgement has been received but there was no further news to report. The chairman thanked the clerk and Cllr. Jordan for their work in this matter.

33.  Reports & Consultations
a) Wiltshire Councillor’s Report – Cllr. Jeans had nothing specific to report although he was asked about contract requirements relating to verge cutting at junctions. Cllr. Colman asked him to obtain a copy of the service level agreement which says how many times the grass should be cut per month.  Cllr. Mrs Beale said that she thought some authorities may have been participating in “No Mow May” in an effort to preserve wildlife wild flowers and wildlife. Cllr. Jeans said that he did not know whether or not they were participating in this initiative but pointed out that they were legally obliged to cut back verges on junctions where visibility splays are compromised and visibility is obstructed by vegetation.  Cllr. Jeans said that he would take this matter up with Wiltshire Council and the Town Council gave their support for this.

34.  Planning

Cllr. Mrs. Kate Symonds in The Chair

Cllr. Mitchell confirmed that he had visited the site and felt that this new dwelling would tie in well with neighbouring properties and Cllr. Mrs. Symonds said that she was aware that the site had been selected specifically by the Duchy of Cornwall.  Cllr. Jordan said it was heartening to hear of such a success in farming and it is good that the Duchy of Cornwall have been involved in the planning process for this application and proposed that the application should be recommended for approval.  Proposal seconded by Cllr. Mitchell and carried with a vote of 9 for and 2 abstentions.  Cllr. Philip Coward abstained from voting.  The Chairman and Cllr. Rodney Coward, both having declared a pecuniary interest in this planning application, left the meeting room and took no part in discussion or voting.  In order not to compromise his position as Wiltshire Councillor, Cllr. Jeans abstained from voting on this planning application.

Cllr. Mrs. Lesley Traves in The Chair

RESOLVED to recommend this application for approval on proposal made by Cllr. P. Coward, seconded by Cllr. R. Coward and carried with a majority vote. Councillor Jeans declared a personal interest as a neighbour and abstained from voting.

Cllr. Mitchell confirmed that he had been to visit the site and confirmed that, in his opinion, the application would be unobtrusive. RESOLVED to recommend this planning application for approval on proposal made by Cllr. Mitchell, seconded by Cllr. Ms. Hansford and carried with a vote of 11 for.  In order not to compromise his position as Wiltshire Councillor, Cllr. Jeans abstained from voting on this planning application.

RESOLVED to recommend the above application for approval on proposal made by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds, seconded by Cllr. Jordan and carried with a unanimous vote in favour

35.  Highways, Rivers, Footpaths, Traffic & Transport
*a) Request for ‘No cycling signs’ along Burton – with reference to the information in the Clerks Report, Cllr. Hazzard said that he would be against a ‘No Cycling’ sign as it was a level route, safe and away from traffic and a lovely little route for young families.  Cllr. Mrs. Bennet said that she thought signs would be ignored.  Cllr. Jordan said that a resident had contacted him to tell him that they had been cycling for 70+ years on that path and he would therefore be opposed to signage prohibiting this. Cllr. Jordan said that there are some good cyclists and some unpleasant cyclists and as a suggestion, he wondered if we could make the footpath wider so that it is wide enough for cyclists and pedestrians and then we could call it an activity route. He said that this footpath, as well as the one at Lordsmead, are already on the-famous red arrows route footpath.  Cllr. Mrs. Beale said that, as a resident of Burton, she would not want to see Burton Footpath being made into an activity way but would prefer a gentle reminder in Mere Matters about it being a footpath.  Cllr. Jeans said that we have talked about improvements being made to Burton Path and the Angel Lane path.  He felt that the Angel Lane path should be a priority.  There was a general feeling that members did not want to put a sign up.  RESOLVED to take no further action on this matter on proposal made by Cllr. Hazzard, seconded by Cllr. Colman and carried with a unanimous vote.

36. Buildings, Open Spaces, Play Areas, Sports Grounds, Car Parks, Allotments & Cemeteries
*a) Application for tennis coaching at Mere Tennis Club – The Clerk confirmed that an application had been received from Mr. Allen who lived in Mere and was interested in providing Tennis Lessons at Mere Tennis Club.  Mr. Allen had confirmed that he would coach all ages and would charge £25 an hour, depending on what type of sessions they were.  He had no set days, dates or times and was willing to be flexible and liaise with the tennis club over this.  Mr. Allen had confirmed that he was LTA level 3 qualified, had £10m public liability insurance, Safeguarding policies and had been DBS checked.  He had also undertaken a First Aid Course. The Clerk confirmed that she had not received copies of Mr. Allen’s Certificates/Insurance but advised that this should be a conditional requirement.   Members pointed out that the tennis club representatives had indicated that they would be happy with 2 morning coaching sessions per week and councillors generally felt that tennis coaching would be of benefit for the community.   RESOLVED that Mr. Allen should liaise with the tennis club over timings and number of sessions per week with the tennis club having final agreement and that any fee to the tennis club for coaching should also be decided by the tennis club although anyone coaching tennis at the club should, at the very least, pay a membership subscription.  If agreement is reached on coaching, then Mr. Allen should submit his certificates and papers to the Town Clerk for filing purposes.
Whilst on this subject, Cllr. Jordan pointed out that his wife had experienced difficulties in trying to join the tennis club.  Cllr. Jeans said that the tennis club booking arrangement had always been very efficient and suggested that Cllr. Jordan’s wife should try again.

Emergency Item
b) War Graves in Mere Cemetery – the Clerk informed members that she had only just received information from the War Graves Commission that it is against their policy to have roses planted in front of scattered war graves and that they should be laid to grass.  Unfortunately, this is at odds with information that the Town Council had previously been given by the War Graves Commission.  The War Graves Commission were asking that the roses be removed from the front of the war graves and the areas in front are laid to grass.  Members agreed that the roses should be removed in the autumn, the war graves should then be laid to grass and, if possible, the roses could then be planted elsewhere by the grounds staff.

37. Finance, Policy & Resources
a) Payments – RESOLVED to approve payments set out in the payment schedule on proposal made by Cllr. Mrs. Symonds, seconded by Cllr. R. Coward and carried with a unanimous vote.
b) To review and authorise the following S.137 – RESOLVED that the Council, in accordance with its powers under section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972, should incur the following expenditure which, in the opinion of the Council, is in the interests of the area of its inhabitants and will benefit them in a manner commensurate with expenditure.  Proposal made by Cllr. R. Coward, seconded by Cllr. Colman and carried with a unanimous vote.  (These S.137 payments were previously recommended at the Annual Budget meeting held 14.12.20).

c) Confirmation of receipt of S.106 funding – with reference to the information in the Clerks Report, the Clerk confirmed that £134k being the S.106 payment from the first phase of the development had been received by the Town Council.  The Clerk said that the Council had previously talked about setting up a working group and also about conducting a public consultation exercise and wondered how members wanted to proceed with this.  Cllr. Colman felt that the Town Council should set up a committee to look at all possibilities for expenditure.  Cllr. Jordan said that when he attended a recent Area Board meeting there was a funding opportunity of £15k created for footpaths under Health & Wellbeing and he pointed out that it therefore appeared that one department of Wiltshire Council has a discrepancy with the other over the purpose of footpaths.  Cllr. Jeans said that he felt that the footpath should be a priority for expenditure and agreed to push this matter with officers and C. G. Fry if necessary to try and get clarification on whether or not expenditure on this footpath would be legal.  RESOLVED to publicise the receipt of the money, the restrictions for its expenditure and ask for ideas from the public in both Mere Matters and Mere Mutters and then to discuss this and the ideas received at a future council meeting.
d) To review Mere Town Council Reserves Policy – RESOLVED to approve the draft policy without amendment.
e) To approve the Accounting Statements – the accounting statements which includes the end-of-year bank reconciliation, identification of variances requiring explanation, reconciliation between boxes 7 & 8, an analysis of earmarked reserves and asset summary, prepared by the RFO were distributed with the agenda papers and approved by the Council.  The Clerk pointed out that there was extra information provided within these statements that needed to be published in accordance with the Transparency Code and in recognition that the Town Council had now moved into the higher band requirement (income over £200k)
f) Annual Governance & Accountability Return 2020/21

1. To receive and note the Annual Internal Audit Report – the Clerk informed members that on 27th May, Mrs. Mary White had carried out an independent examination of the Town Council’s accounting records, its compliance with relevant procedures and its risk assessments and internal control procedures.  Mrs. White had agreed that, in all significant respects, the control objectives were being achieved throughout the financial year to a standard adequate to meet the needs of the council and had completed section 4 of the Annual Return, answered ‘yes’ or ‘Not Covered’ to all questions and had signed the Annual Internal Audit Report in the Annual Return accordingly.  Mrs. White had written a letter: “On 27th May I carried out an internal audit of the Town Council’s Financial Statements for the year ending 31st March 2021. It is my opinion that proper accounting records have been maintained by the Council, financial statements have been properly prepared and that there were at this time no issues of concern. For the purpose of this audit the Town Clerk, Lindsey Wood, ensured as always that everything necessary was to hand and in good order, and provided every assistance during our meeting.”  Members expressed their gratitude to Mary White for carrying out the Internal Audit and asked for their thanks to be recorded in the Minutes.
2. To approve the Annual Governance Statement (Section 1) – Points 1 – 9 of the Annual Governance statement 2020/21 (Section 1 of the Annual Governance & Accountability Return) were read out to members and members answered ‘yes’ to each of the statements.  The Annual Governance Statement was signed by the Clerk and by the Chairman in the presence of the Town Council.
3. To approve the Accounting Statements (Section 2) attached – The Accounting Statements 1-11 (Section 2 of the Annual Return) were approved by the Town Council.  Confirmation of approval of the Account Statements was signed by the Clerk and by the Chairman in the presence of the Town Council.
4. To set the commencement date for the exercise of public rights – The Clerk confirmed that, as required by The Accounts & Audit Regulations 2015 the Town Council must now publish the unaudited Annual Governance & Accountability Return and the Notice for the Commencement of the Period for the Exercise of Public Rights.  Publication is on the parish website: www.merewilts.org
5. To note other information to be sent to the External Auditor and required by External Auditor as part of Intermediate Review 2020/21 – the Clerk pointed out to members that because the Town Council had income exceeding £200k this year, this meant that we needed to have an Intermediate Audit Review which required providing extra information to the external auditors.  This year’s requirement was:

• Copies of evidence that the authority is registered as an employer with HMRC.
• Copies of minutes and any agreed plan showing the corrective action taken to address the prior year ‘except for’ matters (ONLY for smaller authorities who received ‘except for’ matters in the 2019/20 external auditor report).

g) General Data Protection Awareness Checklist for Councillors & to consider setting up merewilts email addresses for councillors i.e. lesley.traves@merewilts.org – A copy of the General Data Protection Awareness Checklist for Councillors had been distributed to members.  The following councillors requested merewilts email addresses:
Lesley Traves
Kate Symonds
Nick Beale
Rachael Hansford
Debbie Beale
Louise Bennett

38.  General Items
a) Production of Mere Town Council information leaflet and approval of expenditure – Cllr. Mrs. Symonds said that recent criticism over the lack of information on councillors and the council had propelled her into thinking that we needed to be a bit more clear to the public.  She had therefore compiled a leaflet using information on the Town Council’s website and on Wiltshire Council’s website and proposed that this should become a centre-page pull-out information leaflet in Mere Matters.  The leaflet will identify the councillors, with agreed contact information.  The second page is what we do do, third page is what we don’t do and the last page is a pie-chart on our expenditure.  Cllr. Mrs. Symonds said she was hoping that the Town Council would approve the idea and wondered if there was anything else that members would like to add.  It was pointed out that people did not understand the difference between George Jeans’ role as Wiltshire Councillor and Town Councillor.  Members thanked Cllr. Symonds very much for the work that had gone into producing this leaflet and thought it was a marvellous idea to include it in Mere Matters.

39.  Future agenda item
The Clerk informed members that PC Richard Salter was hoping to come along to the next meeting and introduce PCSO Dan Gill and talk about policing issues and priorities for Mere.

Meeting closed at 8.50 p.m.

The Clerk said that she would be doing some informal training sessions for new council members and that if anyone else was interested in attending, she would be happy for them to make contact with her about dates/times and come along.

MERE PEACE MEMORIAL SPORTS AND RECREATION GROUND
Registered Charity No. 1093497

Meeting convened at 8.51 p.m.

For Trustees to consider application for tennis coaching at Mere Tennis Club

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 7th June 2021 (Minute Reference: 36a – Application for Tennis Coaching at Mer Tennis Club)

The following members agreed to meet to discuss the latest plans and draft leases for proposals for new Youth Development Building in the Recreation Ground:

• Chairman,
• Vice-Chairman
• Cllr. P. Coward
• Cllr. A. Colman