Parish Council | dowlishwake

Local Parish Council Members from 23 May 2022 to present day

Mr Jonathan Perry - Chairman
Mr John Walker - Vice Chairman / Tree Warden
Mrs Patricia Hollard - Footpath Warden
David Williams
Mr Roger Beale
Mrs Patricia Amos
Ms Nicola Handlay - Treasurer & Website

Mrs Sue Osborne - SSDC Representative

Meetings take place bi-monthly at Speke Hall at 7.00pm on a Monday unless otherwise noted
Future Meetings: Monday 21st November 2022, Monday 23rd January 2023, Monday 20th March 2023

DowlishWake Parish Council Meeting held on the 27th July 2022

Present: John Walker, Pat Hollard, Pat Amos, David Williams, Nicky Handlay, David Williams and Roger Beale.

Minutes: The minutes of the July meeting having been circulated weew approved and signed. Any matters arising were dealt with in this meeting.

Planning;The District Council confirmed that the footpath running across the Kitchells site was not being diverted as a result of the development and that being so there were no objections to the application. It was not known whether Sue Osborne had contacted the enforcement office about the breach of planning conditions concerning the height of the verge on the dangerous corner at the Old Cider Barn.

Finance: The payment of £1120 to Bei Looker for work on the footpath was approved as was the payment of £248.96 reimbursing Nicky Handlay for the councils annual insurance. Current Bank Balance £5150.36.

Highways: The recent road closures were discussed and the general consensus was that the parish had been badly treated by the contractors who in the main were very unhelpful and took too long. Further closures to put right Gigaclears work were planned. The speed limit at Kingstone was going through the necessary approval procedures. There were bad potholes and Mr Williams said he would contact the council accordingly. There had been builders vans blocking the lower entrance to the Playing Field and Mr Walker said he would ask them to park elsewhere.It was reported that construction lorries had been going through the village and it was agreed that an eye be kept on this. It was thought they could have been delivering locally.

Footpaths: Mrs Hollard gave an update. There were various gates available and it was suggested that the stiles at Kitchells be replaced with gates.

Tree Warden: Mr Walker reported that the dangerous tree at Holloway had been taken down by contractors working for the Clarke’s who had accepted responsibility.

New Inn; The application to have the New Inn listed as a community asset had been accepted.

Councillors Report: There were no councillors at the meeting. Sue Osborne’s report had been previously circulated.

AOB: It was generally agreed that the re wilding of the open spaces in the village was not successful and if this was to continue into the future that the council pay to keep these areas cut.

Next Meeting: Monday 26th September 2022

Dowlish Wake Parish Council Meeting held on the 23rd May 2022

Apologies: Mrs Pat Hollard

Officers: The following were proposed and seconded as officers of the Council for the following year: Mr Perry Chairman, Mr Walker Vice Chairman, Mrs Handlay treasurer (FRI), Mr Walker Tree Warden and Mrs Hollard Footpath Officer. There being no one willing to stand as Clerk Mr Perry said he would continue to cover this role.

Declaration of Interests and Acceptance forms for the new council were all completed other than Mrs Handlay. Mr Perry to send the Declaration of Interset forms to SSDC.

The Minutes of the March Meeting having been previously circulated were approved and signed. There were no matters arising.

Finance: The Annual Accounts and Governance and accountability Return were presented to the Council and these were approved. There was a balance in the bank at the year end of £5057.32.

It was agreed that the late Mrs Kemps unpresented cheque of £40 be split equally between the Parish Church and Fern Animal Sanctuary.

Planning: The plans for The Mill and Beam Ends were discussed and approved. The Council continued to be concerned about the new application at the Cider Barn in Kingstone because of the dangerous road junction. It appeared that the planning conditions on the Cider Barn regarding the roadside verge had not been adhered to.

Highways: The Council were not at all happy with the contractors who had laid the new gas pipe. They were unhelpful and could have kept the road open a lot of the time. There was damage to the wall on the Green which had not been repaired. Mr Perry said that the speed limit at Kingstone was going ahead and that he had been invited to a meeting with the Highways traffic Officer and residents. There was also considerable erosion on the diverted roads as a result of the road closures which need looking into.

Footpaths: As Mrs Hollard was not at the meeting there was no full report although she had passed on the message that work was to be carried out at Moolham,that the Coombe’s had made the access through their land less accessible and the new footpath officer was really helpful with the offer of gates etc.

Tree Warden: Mr Walker said that contrary to what we had thought the dangerous tree in Holloway had not been cut down as the landowners were squabbling about who was responsible for this.

Flooding: Mr Perry reported that he had been in contact with a group in Ilminster who were looking into how this could be alleviated in the Ilminster catchment area.

Better Accountability to the Parish: It was thought that it might be a good idea to circulate the council minutes when they had been approved to hopefully get the parish more involved and better informed of village matters. Also the Agenda should be put on the village website.

District Councillors. Mrs Osborne gave a report of what was happening with the new Unitary Council and also the planning controversy concerning the Carnival park at Longforward Lane. There was a full report about this in the Leveller magazine. It would appear that senior councillors had not fulfilled their roles as they should have done. It was agreed that Val Keitch our other Somerset County Councillor shoul be invited to our meetings in future.

AOB: Dead birds had been reported near to the footpath across to Stretford Lane and it was thought that it could have been avian flu which should be reported to Defra.

Future Meetings:

Wednesday 27th July

Monday 26th September

Monday 21st November

Monday 23rd January

Monday 20th March

There being no other business the meeting was closed.

Minutes of the Dowlish Wake Parish Council held on the 28th March 2022 in the Speke Hall

Present: John Perry, Pat Hollard, Pat Amos, Roger Beale, David Williams, Nicky Handlay and Sue Osborne

Tribute: Mr Perry said that our retired Parish Clerk Heather Kemp had sadly died. Heather had served our council as both councillor and clerk for over 30 years. She was a good friend to all, had always been very professional in her work and always had the best interests of the village at heart. There followed a minutes silence in her honour.

Apologies: John Walker

Minutes: The minutes of the January meeting having been previously circulated were approved and signed. There were no matters arising

Planning: Councillors were unable to open the SSDC planning portal and therefore were unable to comment on the Glamping Site application at Kitchells Lane and garage extension at Meadowbanks. This was felt by all to be totally out of order and undemocratic. From a previous conversation with the Meadow Bank applicant who wished to increase the size of his garage the council had no objection to this.

Finance: It was resolved that the authorised signatories in the current mandate with the Nat West account number 70966508 be changed. Mrs Heather Kemp was to be removed as an authorised signature and Mrs Nicola Handlay the new treasurer was to be added as an authorised signatory to the account.
The Current Bank Balance was £5057.
As a result of Covid the Playing Field and Speke Hall had been given special grants to help with their finances and on this basis the council had decided to temporarily stop the annual grants we had given them and reallocate funds to the village footpaths. The Playing Field and Speke Hall say that they need help once again and the council unanimously agred to grant them and the Church £500 each. Part of the Church’s grant was to help towards the Moolham churchyard.

Highways: the council were very unhappy at how the village had been treated by the contractors laying the new gas main from the village green to Kingstone. They had been ignorant and unhelpful.The road could have been kept open at times for the residents and businesses but no attempt was made to do this and with a bigger gang the work could have been done in half the time. It was reported that the dangerous tree in Holloway had now been cut down. The chairman would contact Highways about the drains on the Oxenford and the work and road closure to be carried out in July.

Tree Warden: As John was away there was no report.

Footpaths: Pat said there was a new footpath officer who was very helpful and would provide additional gates. There had been some issues with electric wire at the Moolham footpath and access at the Mill. It was noted that the footpath officer had said that the right of way through the Mill would not be changed.

Councillors Report: Matters had been covered during the course of our meeting.

Other Business: Sue Osborne reported that as a result of the new unitary council the length of the parish council had been reduced to 3 years and a new council installed in May. This came as a surprise to the meeting as the parish council had not been notified. Mr Perry said he would look into this and do whatever was necessary to make sure there was a new council in place in May.

Minutes of a meeting of Dowlish Wake Parish Council held on the 26th January 2022 held in the Speke Hall

There were no apologies as all councillors were present

The Minutes of the 26th January 2022 having previously been circulated were approved and signed.

There were no matters arising.

Planning: the revised plans for Gable End Mill Lane were discussed and approved. These were far more acceptable to the Council and it was pleasing that our previous objections to the design had been taken into account. It was noted with regret that the Carnival Park planning application had been passed.

Finance: the precept for the following year was discussed and it was agreed to hold this at £3000. An invoice from Bei Looker for £280 for work on the footpaths was approved for payment. The current Bank Balance was £5337.32. Mr Perry said that he would get a bank form to enable Mrs Handley the new Treasurer to be added to the account.

Highways: The drainage work on the Oxenford road seemed to be taking a long time although the work done to date was very satisfactory. The road drains on the Cudworth road had been cleared and highways have said they will cut back the hedge at the T junction at Kingstone.

Flooding: Contact needed to be made with the flood authorities re the recent flooding of property to see if anything could be done about this. It was suggested that the stream down from the packhorse bridge might need to be cleared out.

Road Closures: The road from the village green to Kingstone is to be closed for 8 weeks. Mr Perry was asked to contact United Utilities to get a summary of the works to be done which could be circulated via the parish email and also to ask the County Council if the work could be done with traffic lights to avoid the road being closed.

Speeding Kingstone: Mr Perry gave a report on how the Kingstone residents were hoping to have traffic calming installed and the costs involved. Funds were being raised and as part of our parish was in the scheme the parish council pledged £1000 towards the costs.

Tree Warden: John Walker had nothing to report.

Footpaths: Pat Hollard gave an update of work to be carried out which included the bridge at Sheepwash, sign at the playing field and post at Stretford Lane.Work had been carried out at Moolham

Councillor Report: most of Sue Osborne’s report had involved the above matters. She also said she was very unhappy at how the Carnival Park application had been dealt with as there seemed to have been a lot of conflicts of interest with the councillors involved in the decision.

There being no other business the meeting was closed.

Dowlish Wake Parish Council meeting held on the 22nd November 2021 in the Speke Hall

Apologies were received from Nicky Handlay and Linda Vijeh

The Minutes of the September having previously been circulated were approved and signed

Any matters arising were dealt with in the agenda.

Coopted Councillor: David Williams having said was he was willing was proposed and seconded to become a councillor following Heather Kemp’s resignation in 2020.

Planning: There had been no new planning applications since the last meeting. The Mill Lane and Apple Close applications had yet to be approved.

Finance; It was agreed that a payment to Robin Rich of £40 for cutting verges at Holloway be paid. Pat Hollard asked if the Council would be prepared to pay an additional £100 to the church to cut the grass at Moolham churchyard. The council agreed in principal but would leave the final decision to the March meeting when grants will be discussed.

Highways: The drainage works on the section of road into the village from Chard Lane was about to be started. John Perry, John Walker Sue Osborne and three villagers had met with Lee Crossland of Somerset county council to see if anything could be done about the flooding and drains down Cudworth road. Lee said he would cut out the verges along the road on the corner coming into the village and hopefully take water down the river rather than going down the road in the village. Since the meeting there were markings on the road which suggested furthe work was going to be carried out. Lee was also asked to cut back the hedge on the T junction at Kingstone Cross.

Flooding: There had been two of the worst floods for many years which had flooded 5 properties twice as well as the Cider Mills. The food alleviation scheme carried out in the 1990’s had helped but building on the flood plain in the 1960’s on the flood plain was the root cause. Diverting water from Chard Lane to the withy beds on the Oxenford road might help as would clearing out the stream down from the packhorse bridge. It was agreed to contact the County Council to see if anything could be done to alleviate matters.

Footpaths: Pat Hollard gave an update. Work was about to be started on the stiles at Moolham and repairs were required on the gate near Joy Quick’s house and at Mill Lane opposite Keepers. It was agreed that the council will continue to fund expenditure on footpaths.

Tree warden: John Walker said little had happened since last meeting but noted that the oak tree on the green was looking good after pruning last winter. It was agreed to prune the lower branches on the tree at the entrance of Perry’s.

Telephone Box: Pat Amos reported that this had been a great success with seeds in the spring/summer and now books.

Councillor Reports: Linda Vijeh is retiring at the end of December. Linda had been a great help to our council and she had been held in great respect. It was agreed to send her a bouquet of flowers in appreciation. Sue Osborne gave an update on recent flooding and the unitary council.

AOB: there being no other business the meeting was taken as closed.