Local Parish Council Members from 23 May 2022 to present day

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

Mrs Linda Vijeh - SDC Representative 
Mrs Sue Osborne - SSDC Representative

Meetings take place bi-monthly at Speke Hall at 7.00pm on a Monday unless otherwise noted

Next Parish Council Meeting is AGM on Monday 23 May 2022

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 Handley 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.