A few things this month:

Waste and recycling strike action suspended: 

Somerset Council can confirm that strike action, which was planned to start on Wednesday 12th July for four weeks by waste collection crews employed by Somerset Council’s contractor Suez, has been suspended. Residents are asked to put out refuse, recycling and garden waste as usual.

Talks between the Unite union and Suez made progress today (11th July) and the union has agreed to suspend the strike for two weeks to ballot its membership on an improved pay offer. There is a risk of industrial action in the future but the immediate threat of disruption to waste and recycling collections has been avoided for now. Associate Lead Member for Climate Change and Active Travel, Councillor Dixie Darch (Lib Dem, Rowbarton & Staplegrove) said, “We are glad to hear that Unite has suspended their strike action after today’s talks with Suez. We recognise that crews work incredibly hard and provide an invaluable service for residents across Somerset. We would urge Unite members to accept the deal.”. The webpage  www.somerset.gov.uk/strike is the best place for further updates.

Somerton & Frome By-election: 

There will be a parliamentary hustings in Frome at the Cheese & Grain on Sunday 16th July at 3pm, where people can hear from and pose questions to the candidates – please book your tickets before they all go: see here, and you can submit questions to the candidates here.

If you would like to help elect Lib Dem candidate Sarah Dyke as the new Member of Parliament for Somerton & Frome in the by-election on 20th July, please see here and click on ‘Volunteer’. To host a Lib Dem poster board please sign up here. The full list of candidates is here.

Due to the Conservative Government’s recent changes to voting law you will now need a form of photo identification to vote in person at a polling station – please see here. If you do not have an accepted form of identification, you will be unable to vote unless you apply for the free photo ID by 5pm on 12th July here. The deadline to register for a proxy vote is also 12th July – see here.

Council to call for more housing development sites to include in Local Plan:

Somerset Council’s Executive meeting on 10th July agreed a timetable to commence the Mendip Local Plan Part 2 site allocations review, to satisfy a High Court Order. This arose from the successful legal challenge by Norton St Philip Parish Council (which removed sites from the Local Plan previously allocated for 505 dwellings near Midsomer Norton, Norton St Philip and Beckington).

The site allocations review will include a ‘call for sites’ in the former Mendip District, from 24th July for 6 weeks to 4th September. This will aim to identify sufficient housing development sites for 505 dwellings to be allocated through an update to the Mendip Local Plan. The sites will need to be available, suitable and deliverable by 2029. Once potential sites have been identified they will be assessed, including through Sustainability Appraisal, Habitats Regulations and other assessments. A Preferred Option with proposed site allocations will be subject to public consultation by early January 2024 for 6 weeks, a further consultation is needed by May, and a submission to Examination is required by September, before a public Examination and final adoption. Please see here for the report (item 8 of the Executive meeting agenda).

The Old Showfield: 

Last week we had some unwelcome visitors at the Old Showfield, with over 20 travellers caravans and vans, and some horses and dogs off the lead. This affected the community’s use of the Old Showfield, as Cricket club and Collegians football activities were suspended, and dog walkers were avoiding the area. But Frome Town Council and the Police, with advice from Somerset Council, successfully moved the travellers on three days later.

Frome Town Council is also moving forward with plans to completely refresh and improve the Old Showfield play area, and a public consultation is expected to start shortly.

Packsaddle Fields: 

The deadline for comments on the planning application was extended to 4th July, so has now passed – please see links here. At the time of writing there were 227 comments (objections) from members of the public. Frome Town Council’s Planning Committee considered the application on 29th June, and voted to object – see the video here. Somerset Council’s Planning Committee is expected to determine the application later this year. I asked for it to be determined by the Committee as the applicant is acting under an agreement with the Council as landowner.

On 10th July twenty cattle were introduced to graze the site by Somerset Council’s Estates department, to keep the grass down. Please be careful with dogs around the cows, and watch where you walk with all the cow dung on the paths. If there are any health and safety issues please contact estates@somerset.gov.uk.

Frome Housing Crisis meeting:

Frome Town Council and Frome Area Community Land Trust (FACLT) are hosting a meeting on Tuesday 18^th July at the Town Hall to discuss the current housing issues in Frome and to raise awareness across the board – see here.

Selwood Academy significant change consultation:

The Trustees at Selwood Academy are inviting the community to consult on the proposal to grow Selwood from a middle school serving pupils in years 5-8 to an extended middle school serving pupils in years 5-11, with the first year 9 cohort arriving in 2025. The proposal will also include extending the site with state of the art facilities to deliver the full Key Stage 4 offer. Details and a response form can be found here. The consultation will close on Monday 24th July 2023.

Fly nuisance around Frome sewage works: 

In late June I and other councillors and three residents met with Wessex Water to review the effectiveness of the trial period of netting being placed over the filter beds at Frome sewage treatment works at Welshmill Lane. Wessex Water stated that the monitoring over the last year had found 77% less non-biting midges (chironomids) and 87% less window gnats above the nets than below the nets. Residents have mainly reported a large fall in the number and frequency of flies and fly nuisance events. Some still get through so the installation of swift boxes and bat boxes helps bring fly predators to the site and nearby houses, and other measures are being looked into to drive down the numbers of flies getting off site. The Fly Management Plan for the site will be updated and reviewed by Somerset Council. Wessex Water will also be writing to residents by letter to give an update, and will also be publishing a scientific paper about the effectiveness of the netting, which could provide lessons for other water companies.

Also, there had been several complaints about ‘terrestrial’ flies, like bluebottles, which are not associated with the sewage treatment works at all, so residents are asked to please provide photos of the flies when making a complaint, to help identification – please see here about how to complain and what types of flies are associated with the treatment works. Please let me know if you have any concerns.

Update: Wessex Water have written to residents about the measures they have employed at Frome Water Recycling Centre (sewage works) to abate the fly nuisance that has plagued residents for so long, and the types of flies that come from the works. Please let me know if you live in an affected area but have not had the letter, and I can email a copy.

Review of support for the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector:

Following local government reorganisation and the establishment of Somerset Council, the Council is looking at how to bring together the support for voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise group sector which was funded by Somerset’s district and county councils. Part of this is understanding the types of support that groups have found helpful, where the support came from, and whether there are gaps in the support currently available. Somerset Council will be in conversation with a range of groups over the coming weeks, and have produced a short survey to gather information from as many groups as possible – please see the survey here. For more information about how Somerset Council supports the sector, please contact communities@somerset.gov.uk. 

Somerset energy support:

Does your business need support in cutting your energy bills and reducing your carbon footprint? The Make it Net Zero is a programme for SMEs, offering guidance for businesses to become carbon neutral, including calculating your carbon footprint and creating a bespoke action plan for carbon and cost savings for businesses here. The Somerset Energy Efficiency Support Scheme and a Green Grant scheme are expected to launch this Autumn – for information, email greenbusinesssupport@somerset.gov.uk.

Climate and Place Scrutiny:

The next Climate & Place Scrutiny meeting, chaired by cllr Martin Dimery (I am Vice-Chair) on Wednesday 19th July will consider updates on transport policy, climate, environmental and sustainability next steps, Green Growth, and the Mendip Local Plan update. The meeting will be in County Hall in Taunton at 10am but is also live streamed – please see here.

Have your say on the Council’s Licensing Policy:

Somerset Council is inviting residents and businesses to comment on its updated Licensing Policy document. This sets out an approach to the Council’s licensing functions in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003. A consultation is open until 13 July 2023, please see here.

Grants for rural businesses and organisations:

Businesses and organisations in Somerset are being encouraged to find out if they are eligible for capital funding grants aimed at supporting businesses and community infrastructure in rural areas – see here. The funding is available following Somerset Council’s successful £3.4 million bid to Government’s Rural England Prosperity Fund. Grants can be between £5,000 and £100,000 and match-funding contributions are required. The projects must be delivered, and grant funding spent, by the end of March 2024.

Frome Community grants:

Frome Town Council’s next round of Community Grants is also now open ‘for applications of up to £3,000 from groups or organisations who can demonstrate improved physical, mental, emotional health and environmental or economic outcomes and have a direct, positive, impact on Frome residents’ – see here.

Somerset Pride:

Somerset Council is flying the Progress Pride flag in a show of support for the LGBTQ+ community- see here.

20 mph speed limits invitation:

Somerset Council has invited all parish councils to consider submitting an expression of interest to Somerset Council to support the design and implementation of a 20mph speed limit in their areas. It is estimated that the cost would be in the region of £15,000, which would need to be paid by the Parish Council, who would also need to pay an initial £500 non-refundable application fee to cover an initial assessment (including 2 weeks of speed readings). Please get in touch if you are interested in having 20mph limits in your area, and I will be pursuing this with our local parish and Town councils.

Car park charges:

Somerset Council will be introducing new increased parking charges across the county following a review which will ‘give consistency and cover inflationary costs. During August, there will be an overall 10 per cent rise in parking charges across Somerset – though this will vary from car park to car park, in some the increase will be very slightly above or below 10 per cent, as the new fee will be rounded up to the nearest 10p.’ – please see here.

Electric vehicle charging delayed:

Several electric vehicle charging points in Frome car parks owned by Somerset Council were installed last year, in Cattle Market, North Parade and Badcox car parks (see here), but remain shrouded and not connected or operational after a year. After a humorous photo of their 1st birthday celebration went on social media, I asked for another update from Somerset Council. The issue over the past year has been with the electricity company SSE, and the Council is still awaiting the final wayleave agreement to complete the connection. Other EV charging points in other towns were connected quicker. Thankfully there are alternative fast EV charging points near Frome station.

Highways surface dressing underway:

Somerset Council’s Highways team have started to surface dress some roads as part of the summer
maintenance programme. Dates can change at short notice, but you can check which roads are being surface dressed here. If you need to report an overgrown verge, pothole or more, you can do so here: https://www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/report-a-problem-on-the-road/. You can see dates of planned works here, and make sure to follow Travel Somerset on Twitter and Facebook.

Somerset Council Executive meeting:

The Council’s Executive meeting on 10th July also considered:

• the Director of Public Health Report, with a focus on prevention of cardiovascular disease (and a cricket theme)
• Medium term financial strategy 2024-27
• Transport and fleet policy decisions – the adoption of a set of guiding principles for development and transport planning
• Mendip Local Plan (see above)

Somerset Council news: for more please see https://www.somerset.gov.uk/newsroom/, and you can sign up for weekly updates.

Frome Town Council news: 

The Town Council’s next meeting is Wednesday 12th June at 7pm on Frome Town Council, including action on the town centre, and plans for a community woodland near Spring Gardens (see here).

For Town Council news please see: https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/category/news/, including a meeting on housing issues in Frome on 18th July, a Climate and Biodiversity Fair on 19th July.

The annual Frome Festival is now underway so please see here for information and sign up for updates.

Beckington news: 

The next Beckington Parish Council meeting is Tuesday 18th July at 7.00pm, see here. Issues on the agenda include potentially funding a 20mph speed limit, and updates on the cycling and walking plan, bus shelters, cricket club, allotments, finger posts, Neighbourhood Plan and Local Plan.

Somerset Council officers have also confirmed that the Frome Road and Bath Road will be added to the winter gritting treatment network, and that other parts of the D2 bus route are being reviewed.

I attended the meeting and took away some work to do – to chase up Somerset Council about Section 106 funding from a development for bus shelters, and to help keep the Neighbourhood Plan process moving.

Norton St Philip news: 

The next Parish Council meeting is Wednesday 26th July. At the last meeting (14th June) concerns were raised about the reduction in the frequency of D2 bus services through the village as the new D2X uses the A36. The council objected to the three Lochailort planning applications around Fortescue Fields, and to the Bath Rugby licensing application for Farleigh House – see here.

Farleigh Hungerford news: 

On 19th June, a Somerset Council’s Licensing Subcommittee hearing considered Bath Rugby’s premises license application for Farleigh House as a wedding and events venue. Over 30 objections were received from residents and NSP Parish Council. I also attended the hearing online and objected, including due to a lack of noise impact assessment to assess the impact on nearby residents late at night. A week later the subcommittee decided to grant the license as applied for with amended conditions (see documents here). Since the decision, residents have been disturbed by loud noise late at night from a wedding, which has generated formal complaints to the Council’s Environmental Protection team. Residents are considering how to proceed.

Rode news: 

Rode Parish Council met on Monday 10th July – see here. The meeting included a presentation by Wessex Water on improvement works at Rode sewage treatment works, and discussions on the Mill at Rode licensing application, updates on highways, the solar farm, the parish council’s plan to turn off some street lighting from midnight to 5.30am, and the Local Plan call for sites.

Low Carbon, the promoters of the solar farm recently subject to the public consultation, are gearing up to submit their planning application in a few weeks, and I hope to talk to them soon.

New road surfacing has recently been implemented at the Rode Hill/Bradford Road crossroads, to slow traffic approaching the junction to reduce accidents, and two vehicle activated road signs are due to be installed in the next few weeks. Public notification for a new Traffic Regulation Order for the extension of 30mph speed limits along the A361 (with new ‘gates’) and a new 20mph limit for the village is awaited in the next few weeks. Some new posts to locate Speed Indicator Devices are also being delivered to the parish in the near future.

NEW – A meeting is being held at the Mill at Rode on Friday 14th July at 4pm with the Somerset Council licensing officer and the applicants to discuss the license application by Butcombe Brewery relating to the Mill at Rode becoming an events venue. – see below.

There are of course plenty of other issues going on that cannot be reported. Please get in touch if you have any concerns or questions. I hope you find this useful. My previous newsletter can be found here.

Best wishes,

Adam

Adam Boyden, Somerset Councillor for Frome North (Liberal Democrat) email cllrboyden@gmail.com / adam.boyden@somerset.gov.uk
phone 07809284817
https://adamboyden.mycouncillor.org.uk/

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