
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.



