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July Update

Keeping our village in good shape

Many of you will have been aware that the Parish had a Ranger (Martin); this was an extra service that the Parish Council subscribed to and was provided by South Somerset District Council. Martin would spend one whole day per week in the Parish carrying out a set lists of tasks including strimming, cutting, hacking, clearing, unblocking, sweeping, trimming, planting, cleaning or even painting. He would be around the Parish every Wednesday and seemed to have every tool going in his large white van. When South Somerset District Council ceased to be over a year ago, there was much concern from parishes in the former South Somerset area that the important Ranger service would be lost. But those fears proved unfounded for the first year as things seemingly continued as they were. Then the big crunch came and as we are sure your aware, things have been looking a little tricky for the new Somerset Council, who have been warning of bankruptcy. The Ranger service was one of many services reviewed and as a result Somerset Council decided that the cost of the Ranger service would have to be doubled, resulting in most of the parishes saying they would no longer buy into the service, and the whole scheme collapsed in a matter of months. Martin still works for Somerset Council; he has been reallocated to the Streetscape Team, and so sometimes he visits the parish to sweep the pavements in the centre.

A new solution

The Management Committee resolved that it was important to get an alternative solution in place as quickly as possible, and that it would be preferable to use local people to provide the service. Word was put out that the Parish Council wanted to engage local help to keep the Village looking nice.

The Chair & Vice-chair of the Management Committee worked with the Parish Clerk to re-confirm the areas that need looking after and the tasks that need to be undertaken. As a result, two local people have been engaged to look after specific areas of the parish, both working ½ a day a week each. One (Nathan) has taken on a Gardener/Groundsman role with particular focus on the Grove Garden, Ball Court, Cemetery and Springfield Road. The second (Kyle) has taken on the Highway’s clearance role, but also looking after the Allotments/Gainsborough Park area.

It’s early days and everyone is still settling into their roles; we are still updating our lists of areas that need attention and also writing to the private landowners to encouraging them to look after any bits of privately owned land that are overgrown and have been reported to us.

Parish Council Meetings in August

Planning and Environment Committee: Tuesday 20th.

Meetings take place in the Town Hall and start at 7pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend and can address the meeting with questions or comments from 7-7.15pm. If you would like to attend but would experience access difficulties, please let us know in advance and we will relocate to the Community Room downstairs.

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