May 2018 – Chairman’s report
Time really does fly!
I would like to thank the members of the Parish Council and our Clerk for their hard work and commitment over this last year, I would also like to thank the public who attend the Parish Council meetings, some regularly, your voice, opinions, knowledge and presence is vital and helps the Council to make balanced and fair decisions.
I would like to thank Ken Hayward who has remained on the Parish Council and supported me with knowledge and advice throughout this year despite being acutely unwell, Ken is not well enough to attend tonight, I think I can safely say all of our thoughts are with him.
Here is a summary of the Parish Council’s actions, outcomes and achievements over this year;
Grants awarded
Mower for the Church - £400
Ride-on mower for the playingfield - £3833.33
Norton News - £466
Agreed 50% towards cost of Marshall room floor - £6410
Projects
Nature reserve – in development, trees planted, looking at options for a seat in the centre and information board
50% towards the replacement of the wooden bridge in the Hill Fort, thank you Andy Sully for helping to secure 50% from TDBC
Proposal to join the SID scheme run by Somerset Highways
CCTV on village hall and recreation ground in a bid to combat anti-social behaviour and vandalism
Maintenance and Repairs
Repair of the Pavilion roof at the playingfield
Agreed annual cut to the Laurel hedge in Church Lane
We now have a trained strimmer on the Council
Maintenance now paid for by us instead of TDBC due to budget cuts
Regular litter picking
Pavement weed spraying
Maintenance to garden on B3227
Cutting grass bank on B3227
Developments
Developments remain contentious within the Parish and surrounding areas, we have entered the last phase at Langford Mead but still do not have a resolution to the access for the new playing field. TDBC are currently progressing towards a CPO for the access.
We have received the application for flood alleviation works at Ford Farm, currently the environment agency objections have not been satisfied.
We are working with Staplegrove and surrounding Parishes to try and influence the decision by Highways and Planning to link up roads to complete a Northern ring road to try and mitigate some of the impact on commuters from and through Norton travelling to the M5 and A303.
The Year Ahead
In the year the Council will work with TDBC to resolve the access issue the Playingfield and hopefully start to build a fabulous sports and recreational facility for the local community.
We will continue to support local groups and charities who provide facilities for the Parish and wider community.
Our hope is to develop and expand the Nature reserve we are looking for volunteers to support this.
We are reviewing our website and will be revamping and updating it this year and this will be part of our strategy to reach out to more people in the Parish.
We will work with Highways to improve the safety on our roads, the speed watch is starting again soon, thank you to then volunteers, and we will be joining the new SID scheme to monitor and report the speed of traffic through the Parish.