Applications for Community Grants
Are you involved in a local organisation or group that needs some extra funding to support its activities? If so, here is an excellent opportunity to access a grant so that you can maintain or develop the service that you provide for the local community.
Milborne Port Parish Council is committed to supporting the local community by continuing to fund groups and organisations that bring direct benefit to residents. In order to do this, the council sets aside an amount of money to help those groups and organisations and is now inviting them to apply for 2020/2021 funding to support existing or future initiatives.
Last year, the council awarded grants to six local organisations, including the Village Hall Management Group, which applied for a grant to fund the Moviola film showings, and the Play Days scheme. In so doing, the council was able to make a significant impact on the quality of village life for many people.
If you believe that your organisation or group deserves a share of this pot of money, start the process of applying for that money NOW!
The Grants Policy, the Community Grants Criteria and the Grants Application Form can all be found at the following link: http://milborneportpc.org.uk/publications/
Given the current disruption to normal council business caused by the coronavirus, we cannot be certain when the first grant applications will be considered but we hope to be able to start processing them from the start of May.
Town Hall Clock
Beady-eyed residents of Milborne Port will have noticed that our beautiful Town Hall clock has not been working for quite a while. Please rest assured that we are in the process of investigating the best way of getting those hands turning again. The ideal outcome would be to re-install the original mechanism, currently in the Cemetery Chapel Museum; however, we do not yet know whether it can be brought back to life and/or whether it is financially feasible to do this. The other challenge would be in the practicalities of lifting this very heavy mechanism up to the area behind the clock. It might be that we must settle for replacing the modern electrical workings. We will keep you updated, but in the meantime, if anyone has any great ideas for fundraising activities to pay for this work, please get in touch!
Room for long-term hire in the Town Hall
The council is looking to maximise its assets by offering a room (above the Parish Council office) for long-term hire in the Town Hall. Its dimensions are 430cm x 440cm and it has windows on two sides looking down onto the corner of South Street. We anticipate that it could be used as an office, to run a small business or for storage. (Please note that there is no water supply to the room and that there is no disabled access. The room is reached via a wooden staircase.) We would be prepared to invest in preparing the room to suit the requirements of a prospective tenant. Rental fees to be negotiated. Contact us if you are interested and would like to view the room.
Allotments News
As the new Allotments Officer, I am really enjoying getting to know how the allotment area operates and meeting some of the very dedicated allotment tenants, all of whom have been really helpful in filling me in about our allotments’ history. The good news is that of the 57 separate half or full plots, only 4 plots remain untenanted and there are no names on the waiting list. We have a good number of new allotment tenants and wish them luck (and good weather!) with their new horticultural ventures! We are particularly pleased that some allotments that have been unused for many years are going to be brought back into productivity. There is a wealth of information and advice available from the seasoned gardeners up there, so take advantage of it!
If you are interested in taking on one of the remaining plots, please contact me.
For sale: Victorian wooden pew
Our History and Heritage Group has been working hard to develop its museum provision in the Cemetery Chapel Museum in Wheathill Lane, and in order to provide more space for their many interesting artefacts at displays, the council is selling one of the pews that is currently there and which came originally from St John’s Church. It is probably pine, in good condition and has some lovely bosses on its back. Its dimensions are: length 237.5cm x depth 42.5cm x height 90cm. We would like £200 for the pew, or nearest offer. If you would like to view it, please get in touch.
Contacts at Milborne Port Parish Council: e-mail Simon Pritchard at clerk@milborneportpc.org.ok or Nathalie Hetherington at office@milborneportpc.org.uk, or call us on 01963 251268.
Nathalie Hetherington, Deputy Clerk to the Parish Council
District Council news:
District councillor Sarah Dyke confirmed that the draw for the bare-root trees that SSDC has to give to parishes will take place on 7th February. The Clerk confirmed that he has already registered Milborne Port. If we are successful the trees will need to be collected by the end of February and planting completed by mid-March.
SSDC Brexit planning continues. Information is regularly updated on the SSSDC website https://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/your-council/preparing-for-brexit/
“Recycle More” – the roll-out of new kerb-side collections will come to Milborne Port later on this year. Each household will receive information well ahead of the changes.
The key points are that more items that currently are not collected in the kerb-side recycling will be included. Items such as: plastic pots, tubs and trays, tetrapaks and other beverage cartons, household batteries and small electrical items. Black bins that hold non-recyclable waste that goes to landfill will be emptied every three weeks instead of every two.
You can follow Somerset Waste Partnership on Facebook ; this is updated regularly https://www.facebook.com/SomersetWaste/posts/2689931067709622
Where’s SID?
At the time of writing SID is sited at Crackmore, and very useful it is in making people slow down. Before Christmas, SID was at the other end of the village by Ven House. As you know, there was a terrible accident on that side of the village recently. The data retrieved from SID for the two weeks before Christmas makes some shocking reading. Take a look at this table:
Number of Vehicles Speed recorded by SID (MPH)
1 75
9 65
48 60
215 55
1005 50
3331 45
8564 40
9441 35
4065 30
If you would like to volunteer to help with the village “speedwatch” group, please contact Simon, the Parish clerk (clerk@milborneport.org.uk)
Precept 2020/21
The Parish clerk and responsible finance officer gave a presentation on the council finances in the current year (2019/2020) and looking forward to 2020/21. His presentation showed clearly what the council spends our precept on.
Option A would increase the precept for a Band D property to £112.88 – an increase of £2.92 per month;
Option B – which was arrived at by the Clerk analysing all spending to find savings and still allow the parish council to fulfil all its obligations – would increase the precept for a Band D property to £100.94 – an increase of £1.93 per month
The Clerk recommended Option B, and the members voted by a majority to approve this option.
