November newsletter

This months news includes:

Green Spaces consultation
New equipment coming to childrens play areas in Frome
Bus services saved for now but work needed to increase passenger numbers
Selwood Garden Community meeting on 24th Novermber
Plans for affordable housing at North Parade car park – public exhibition at Frome Town Hall on Tuesday 8th November from 3pm to 7pm
NEW – Somerset Business Survey launched:
Helping Somerset become a cultural destination – consultation on the Somerset Cultural Strategy
Have your say on Somerset’s SEND strategy
Local Community Networks consultation (or, will Somerset Council have a Frome Area Committee?)
Hundreds sign up to help shape council services
Lib Dem’s first 100 days as county council leader
Fair payment for towns and parishes
Meet the Parliamentary candidate on Friday 8th December
£300k boost for Somerset tree planting plans
Solar farm approved near Frome
Environment Scrutiny Committee meets
Collegians withdraw planning application
Fromefield 20 is plenty
Packsaddle fields
Gypsy Lane site on market
Selwood Crescent green
Support to mitigate Cost of Living crisis this winter
Winter flu and COVID booster jabs available
Other news

Green spaces consultation:

An online consultation has been launched to help Mendip District Council identify the extent and nature of the district’s existing local parks, woodlands, recreation and green spaces. Residents are being encouraged to read and have their say on a draft Supplementary Planning Document (which gives guidance on the implementation of Local Plan policies on the provision and protection of open space and greenspace); and a Greenspace Audit which aims to map and describe the main existing green spaces, but appears to omit a number of smaller spaces. Please see here for more on this. The consultation closes on 25 November 2022.

New equipment coming to childrens play areas in Frome:

Mendip District Council will soon be installing new childrens play equipment in several play areas across the district which are in need of refurbishment. This includes the play areas at Hawksworth Close (where parents identified the need for new play opportunities last year) and Blackbird Way. Please see here for more on this.

Bus services saved for now but work needed to increase passenger numbers:

A reminder that the D2 Frome-Bath evening and weekend services have been saved until April, please see here. However, work is needed to increase passenger numbers to save the evening and Sunday services in the long term, which the Somerset Bus Partnership is having regular meetings about now, so please contact somersetbuspartnership@gmail.com if you would like to attend.
The last SBP meeting was attended by over 100 people, you can see a recording here and slides from the meeting are here https://www.somersetbuspartnership.co.uk/news.

Selwood Garden Community meeting planned:

Frome Town Council will host a meeting to discuss the Selwood Garden Community development at Frome Town Hall from 7pm – 9pm on Thursday 24^th November. This is the outline planning application for up to 1,700 new homes, care homes, employment land, a mixed use local centre, primary school, cafes/restaurant and convenience store, and other infrastructure and greenspace, at the southern edge of Frome – you can see the application plans and Environmental Statement here, and read about it here and here. There will be a presentation on the proposals, followed by presentations/representations from other interested bodies, and a Q&A session to allow discussion from the audience and councillors (see here). The planning application has been recently amended (see here and here) and is expected to be determined at Mendip’s Planning Board (of which I am a member) in the next few months.

Plans for affordable housing at North Parade car park:

Stonewater, a registered affordable housing provider, is planning to submit a planning application in the next few weeks for 18 low carbon, affordable, modular homes on part of the North Parade car park in Frome. Before submitting the planning application, Stonewater is holding a public exhibition so that residents can see and discuss the proposals, in the Council Chamber in Frome Town Hall on Tuesday 8th November, between 3pm – 7pm – please see here. These proposals form part of Mendip District Council’s social housing programme which was launched in November 2020 (see here and here).

NEW – Somerset Business Survey launched:

Somerset’s five Local Authorities are jointly undertaking a survey to better understand and support local businesses, now and in the future. The Somerset Business Survey 2022 will takes 10 minutes and can be completed at https://somerset.inconsult.uk/AnnualBusinessSurvey2022/answerQuestionnaire?qid=8297763.

By completing this survey, local businesses can help shape Somerset Councils’ joint approach to backing businesses. Now in its 3rd year, this is a shared initiative between the County and District Councils, with input from the Somerset Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses. The survey will give valuable insight into current business challenges, such as inflationary pressures, supply chain issues, higher borrowing costs, ongoing recruitment and skills concerns, and the journey to net zero carbon emissions, and will also be used to inform future targeted business support programmes.

Helping Somerset become a cultural destination – consultation on the Somerset Cultural Strategy:

The five Councils across Somerset are working on a Somerset Cultural Strategy, to raise the profile of Somerset as a cultural destination and ’embed arts and culture within the council’s services’. People are being asked to respond to a consultation to say what you would like to see happening in your local area – please see here.

The in-person consultation event for the Mendip district area was held in Wells last week (which will have limited the number of people from Frome attending), but have asked the organisers to see if there is any other way of capturing feedback from Frome’s large and busy cultural sector in the consultation.

Have your say on Somerset’s SEND strategy:

A consultation has been launched to invite feedback from residents on a new draft strategy for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) in Somerset. Improving SEND services in Somerset is one of this council’s main priorities. The consultation will run until Friday 23 December. To read the strategy and provide feedback please see: https://somerset.inconsult.uk/SENDstrategy/consultationHome

Local Community Networks consultation:

Around 600 people responded to the public consultation on Somerset Council’s proposed new Local Community Networks, which ran for six weeks up to mid-October (see here). Following analysis of the findings, a formal decision paper is being submitted to Somerset County Council’s Executive meeting on 16th November 2022, with all reports now available here. The report in item 14 states:

the feedback does not demonstrate a clear case for recommending any particular one of the three geographical proposals presented in the consultation, but provides valuable information which will inform a recommended geographical solution;
a set of principles derived from the feedback, are proposed to inform next steps;
the Executive is asked to support an additional funding request of up to £900,000 to enable the resourcing to implement LCN arrangements;
planning applications will be determined through a dedicated Planning Board/committee rather than the LCN;
a further paper will be prepared to the Executive meeting in January 2023 on the outcomes of the further work, including reasoned recommendations for LCN roles and geographies

Hundreds sign up to help shape council services:

More than 300 people have signed up to join the new Customer Panel which will help shape the future of council services in Somerset, and there is still time to get involved – please see here.

Lib Dem’s first 100 days as county council leader:

In September, just over 100 days after the Lib Dems took control of Somerset County Council from the Conservatives in the local elections, the leader of the County Council Bill Revans spoke candidly about the “unique challenges” facing Somerset over the next few years and how he hoped to make it a better place to live and work – see here.

Fair payment for towns and parishes:

Earlier this month, Cllr Revans wrote to all town and parish councils in Somerset about two things Firstly, next year the new Somerset Council will be paying the parish and town councils their share of Council Tax (their precept) instead of the District Councils, and it will do so in one lump sum in April 2023, instead of two payments, which should be better for parish and town councils’ cashflow.

Secondly, Cllr Revans wrote about the parish councils’ precepts in the context of the 2023/24 Somerset Council budget, in which he outlined the financial challenges ahead (with Somerset County Council projected to overspend by £22 million this year, due to inflation and electricity costs, the lingering effects of Covid, and challenges in recruiting and retaining staff), and effectively encouraged parish and town councils to allow funding in their forthcoming budgets for any ambitions they may have – please see here.

Meet the Parliamentary candidate:

Lib Dem Prospective parliamentary candidate for Somerton & Frome Sarah Dyke is meeting up with local residents in Frome on Friday 9^th December at Frome Cricket Club, Rodden Road, BA11 2AH. Sarah says “I have been working hard throughout the constituency over the summer and would like to take the opportunity to share what I have been doing and what my strategy is moving forward. You can also find out how you can get involved in the campaign as we prepare for a probable by-election or indeed a General Election. It would be great to meet as many of you as possible so there will be plenty of time to chat and meet up with friends old and new. I very much hope you will be able to join us.” Please email Sarah at Sarah4Somerset@gmail.com in advance, or you can just turn up.

£300k boost for Somerset tree planting plans:

Somerset County Council has recently been successful in a joint funding bid with the Exmoor National Park Authority to the Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund and has been awarded £300,000. The funds will be used to accelerate the delivery of tree planting in the next two seasons and deliver the Somerset Tree Strategy which is nearing completion. Planting significant numbers of new trees is a key part of Somerset’s Climate Emergency Strategy – please see here.

Solar farm approved near Frome:

Plans for a new solar power development (solar farm) in fields off the B3098 at Lodge Hill, Berkley, near Frome and the Wiltshire border were approved unanimously by councillors at Mendip District Council’s Planning Board in October. The development could power over 3000 homes. I voted in favour and am quoted as saying “This development alone would meet the electricity needs of about 8.5 per cent of the households in the whole districts – that’s a quite substantial amount of electricity coming from this site. We’ve declared a climate emergency, and we say a lot of nice things about that, but it seems to me that this is a decision we can take tonight to actually do something about it.”. Please see here for the report, and here for the planning officer’s report (item 7 site DM02).

Environment Scrutiny Committee meets:

Earlier this year the new Somerset County Council Lib Dem administration formed a new Scrutiny Committee for the Environment to look how a wide range of county council policies affect environmental and climate change outcomes. I am Vice Chair of the committee which has met twice so far, in September and October, when we scrutinised reports on the local aggregates assessment, the local economic assessment for Somerset, the Connecting Devon & Somerset broadband programme, climate change and the economy, the county council’s Electric Vehicles Strategy and its approach to fleet decarbonisation. The meeting agendas, reports and minutes are available here. The next meeting is on 30th November at 10am and will cover: Phosphates issues agreed from a recent Phosphates Summit, Nature Recovery, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty overview, and Chard and Ilminster flooding report findings. Please let me know if you want to raise any issue or have queries.

Collegians withdraw planning application:

I have heard from Frome Collegians that they have withdrawn their planning application for visitor toilets and servery facilities, adjacent to their football pitch at the Old Showfield (see here). Instead they will use temporary arrangements for matchdays that do not require a permanent building on site.

Fromefield 20 is plenty:

In October I met with the Frome Area Community Speedwatch Coordinator and a concerned local resident, about speeding in Fromefield and the idea of extending trhe town cente 20 mph speed limit to the Co-op at Fromefield. Residents there have suffered damage to vehicles, noise and vibration, and witnessing accidents caused by speeding, and a survey in 2021 found that 70% of people who responded supported a 20 mph speed limit here. I am hoping to meet with Frome Town Council and Somerset Highways team to agree what needs to be done shortly. Please get in touch to find out more or to support us on this.

Packsaddle fields:

LiveWest’s initial draft layout for a development of the Packsaddle Way site remains likely to be available for comment early next year, and I am asking the project team what might be appropriate to compensate for any ecological damage done as a result of the clearance in the summer. The Packsaddle for People campaign has hit the press, and there is another Packsaddle for People community group meeting on November 16th at 8pm in Frome Town Football Club – please see here for updates.

Gypsy Lane site on market:

The bungalow and industrial site at Gypsy Lane with planning permission for the development of 6 houses and offices has been put up for sale and is being marketed by Cooper & Tanner – see here. Planning permission was granted in March at Mendip’s Planning Board (see here).

Selwood Crescent green:

I am also still asking Mendip District Council to remove the old tree stump, put the two tree stakes up right, and to allow a community park bench and noticeboard (which Frome Town Council agreed to pay for). The proposal that MDC transfer the green open space to Frome Town Council was refused by MDC earlier this year, largely on the grounds that it is too close to vesting day (April 1st 2023, when MDC will transfer all its assets to the new unitary Somerset Council) so that will have to wait. But I understand that council officers’ consideration of the potential value of the land for development (even though no planning application was ever submitted for housing, and it has been a public open space since its creation, and there has been no valuation of the site as yet) is preventing the installation of a bench and noticeboard, but I am seeking a way round this.

Support to mitigate Cost of Living crisis this winter:

Barry O’Leary, deputy leader of Mendip District Council writes, ‘Mendip was the very first District Council in the UK to recognise that we are now in a cost-of-living Emergency. We want to help people struggling with cost-of-living crisis as we recognise that the rising cost-of-living is causing a strain on many households. The first action we took was to process the Council Tax rebate. I wanted to be sure that Mendip residents were the first to get their rebate in the county. We paid out £6,047,250, immediate to help pay energy bills. All 40,315 eligible council tax payers in Mendip have received their rebate. Speaking
very generally and barring a few notable instances, I think this whole piece of work has been fairly
successful…

‘Our Second Action was to increase our Hardship Fund. Given the Emergency had we had greater
demand than ever on the Fund. Mendip gave £71,670 of support last year, actually over £11,000 more
than we had budgeted, but by making prudent savings elsewhere we were able to extend this help.
Four months into the new financial year and already £25,000 has been drawn on. I gave a promise to
get our fund to £100,000 it is now a certainty those monies will be needed.

‘We know that nationally, a staggering £15bn in benefits are unclaimed every year. In fact, some 1.3m
families do not take up the offer of up to £2,000 a year in childcare costs. A third of eligible households
who could take advantage of Pension Credit, worth an average of £1,900 a year, are not applying for
this funding. That’s why I have asked our team to put a benefits calculator on Mendip District Councils
Webpage. You can access it with the following link Benefits Calculator – Mendip District Council.

‘The Fuel Poverty Coalition estimates that more than one in 10 families in Mendip (5,354) are in fuel
poverty, according to recent government figures (2019) and almost 30,000 households received £1.5m
worth of support via the Council’s Household Support Fun between October 2021 and March 2022 to
help with the cost of heating and food. This needs to be an action point going forward.’

In July, Somerset County Council also declared a Cost of Living emergency and set-up a cross-party working group to investigate action the Council can take to help people through this period. Somerset County Council’s Executive has now approved a wide-ranging package of support to help local people deal with the impacts of the Cost of Living crisis this winter. This support includes financial assistance with food and energy bills through the Household Support Fund, a ‘Warm Welcome’ network of venues where people can find warmth and company, and targeted support for clinically vulnerable people in cold homes – please see here.

To make an application to the Household Support Fund, please visit https://www.somerset.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/somerset-household-support-fund/ or call 0300 123 2224. People who applied to previous rounds of the Household Support Fund are welcome to apply again. For more information about support available for Somerset residents, please visit: https://www.somerset.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/additional-support-for-somerset-residents/

The Somerset Cost-of-Living Crisis Appeal, run by Somerset Community Foundation (SCF), has raised over £100,000 since its launch on 5 October, for local charities and community organisations supporting those in most urgent need during the cost-of-living crisis. The charity is now offering grants to local charities with the funds raised to date and has launched the Warm Somerset Spaces Fund. Charities and community groups across the county offering ‘warm spaces’ to people experiencing fuel poverty this winter are invited to apply for a grant of up to £1,000 – please see: www.somersetcf.org.uk/100000-raised-in-first-month-of-somerset-cost-of-living-crisis-appeal-and-grants-now-available-for-charities-and-community-groups. To donate to the Somerset Cost-of-Living Crisis Appeal today visit: www.somersetcf.org.uk or call 01749 344949.

Frome Town Council have also partnered with Frome Medical Practice to produce a leaflet that will help signpost residents to cost of living support that might be needed over the coming months. The leaflet will be delivered to homes across the town with the Frome Times and is also available to download on the Cost of Living Crisis Support page. This includes a programme of where and when warm spaces are available, some of which will have free or low cost food available.

Mendip District Council’s website is also there to help residents save household energy, reduce energy bills and learn what financial assistance is available – please see www.somersetenergysaver.co.uk. Five top tips to save energy and money can be found here.

Winter flu and COVID booster jabs available:

It is now time to get your free ‘flu vaccine and COVID-19 autumn booster as soon as you are offered them. There are clinics across Somerset where you can book your appointment now – please see:

COVID: https://bit.ly/SomersetCovidBookings
Flu: https://bit.ly/SomersetBookFluJab

Other news:

Mendip District Council news: https://www.mendip.gov.uk/news

Park for free in Mendip this Christmas
Electric vehicle charging points go live in Mendip car parks
Mendip landlords urged to note new safety laws

Somerset County Council news: https://somersetnewsroom.com/: including

Ten signs of an unhealthy relationship
Taunton’s new ‘shadow’ Town Council
Could you support young care leavers?
Learn a new language for free
Campaign launched to tackle under-reporting of Disability Hate Crimes in Somerset
Somerset County Council launches Orange Button Scheme at Walk for a Life event
Somerset County Council Customer Services team named best in the South West

Frome Town Council news: https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/news/: including