MINUTES OF THE YEOVILTON & DISTRICT ANNUAL PARISH MEETING, TUESDAY 14TH MAY 2024, ST BARTHOLOMEW’S CHURCH, YEOVILTON, 7PM.
Present: Mr S Hodgson (SH) (Chairman), Mr R Moffatt (RM) (Vice Chairman), Mr J Scott (JS), Mr P Crang (PC), Mr A Hickman (AH), Mrs N Moore (NM) (Clerk)
- Apologies: Mr A Elliott (AE), Mrs S Thomas-Webb (STW), Mr K Messenger (KM), Rev B Faulkner (BF)
- Minutes of the previous meeting: The minutes of the previous meeting held on 6th June 2023 were
signed as an accurate record.
3. Chairman and Councillor’s Reports:
The former Chairman, JS, gave his report on the Parish Council (PC) business over the past year. He said that the year had been one of consolidation, with the appointment of the new Clerk and setting up new systems and processes for the PC. As a new council we were subject to an external audit and he thanked NM and Mr S Prendiville (Internal Auditor) for their hard work in sorting this out. He made the following points:
3.1 The PC’s main issue during the year was the impact of Somerset Council’s financial emergency. It was frustrating not being able to plan for taking on of additional responsibilities as Somerset Council could not confirm what impact their savings plans would have on the PC.
3.2 Traffic – At times, the A303 dualling scheme continues to impact, especially at Podimore. Hopefully we are getting close to a scheme to install village speed gates in the village.
3.3 Probably the greatest concern has been the impact from flooding and the personal, economic and social impact it has had on residents. This would be discussed later in the PC meeting.
3.4 JS said that from his perspective, he was not sure that time spent on looking at planning applications was worthwhile. He felt it was doubtful that the views of the PC were taken into account.
Lastly, JS thanked the Councillors for their support over the year and passed his good wishes to the new Chairman.
4. Somerset Councillor’s Report: Cllr HH provided the following report:
For the benefit of the attendees at the meeting, HH explained Somerset Council’s funding problems. There are two types of funding the council has to provide, the first is statutory and the second non-statutory. The statutory funding has to be carried out. The problem the Council faces is that this includes adult and children’s social care. The adult social care in Somerset looks after 8500 people, which is costing the council around £200 million. The high numbers of people being looked after is because Somerset is a poor county as opposed to Dorset where 4000 people are being looked after at a cost of £140 million. The children’s social care looks after around 800 children who are referred to as having Special Educational Needs. This is at a cost of £120 million. The children require special schooling and one of the largest expenses is the transporting children to school, the cost being around £20 million. The schools can charge up to £100,000 per term depending on the supervision required. There are two schools which the children attend, one in Templecombe and the other in Chilton Cantilo.
Obviously, the more money that the statutory funding absorbs, the less money there is for the non-statutory funding i.e. mending potholes, bridges, resurfacing roads and other things that people in the county would like.
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5. RNAS Report: Mr P Jones gave the following report on behalf of the RNAS:
5.1 Mr Jones explained where deployments were taking place at the present time. There are aircraft in the Red Sea, Norway and the Caribbean. Commander Helicopter Force have been in Norway training and are now deployed off the coast of Gaza. The Army Air Corps are on exercise and supporting the Estonian air crew.
5.2 Mr Jones mentioned that the Princess of Wales had visited RNAS and would like to undertake a return visit with her children.
5.3 There had been a recent visit of local councillors to the Base to provide insight into the activities being undertaken. Mr Jones said that a formal invitation to visit for Parish Councillors would be issued shortly.
- Church Report: Rev B Faulkner was unable to attend this meeting but would be arriving for the PC meeting at 7.30pm.
- Any Other Business: There was no further business to discuss.
The meeting closed at 7.25pm