We currently have one vacancy on the Timberscombe Parish Council and are looking for a positive , enthusiastic person to fill this role.

The role need not be onerous and meetings are held once a month, usually on a Monday.

I have repeated the Chair’s annual report below , so you can see the sort of things the PC is responsible for.

If you are interested in filling this vacancy, or have any questions please reply to this email.

Timberscombe Parish Council Chair’s Report May 2024

There have been no changes in personnel on Parish Council this year. In May 2023 I was re-elected as Chairperson for the year and Flo Lloyd was elected as vice-chairperson. The Parish Councillors are now K. Attwater (KA) – Chairwoman, S. Campbell (SC), S. Walker (SW), A. Sutton (AS), Flo Lloyd (FL)- Vice Chair, I.  Ware (IW), K. Walker (KW), L. Webb (LW)- Clerk

Our County Councillors are F. Nicholson (FN) and S. Pugsley (SP)

The following areas of responsibility were confirmed in May 2023.

KA – Chair, LCN rep, Housing Enabler link

AS – Footpaths and Bridleways

KW – JAPF chair, Bus representative

SW – JAPF and SID monitoring

SC – Defibrillator Guardian, Village eyes and ears

FL – Liaison with the School

IW – Defibrillator monitor, SID.

All Parish Councillors are also trustees of the JAPF.

Over the last year there has been just one planning application (change of use at Middle Burrow),  which the Parish Council supported. Details of planning applications can be viewed on the ENP website.

Probably the most discussed item this year was the question how frequently to mow the village green. A village Survey was carried out with 59% in favour of regular cutting. We have listened to these views on this and amended our plans accordingly for the coming year.

Throughout the year the PC has organised village maintenance, including the cutting of hedges and grass and the clearing of roadside weeds. We no longer have the services of the Exmoor Highways Steward and Mr Smythe has recently been employed to carry out odd jobs within the village such as resetting the Willow Bank sign, clearing weeds from the Orchard Bungalow wall and around the play area gate, etc.

We contract the emptying of the dog and rubbish bins and the filling of the salt bins and bags. The bus shelter was treated by Councillor Scott walker but it’s condition was poor. The Council is waiting for Barry Fowler to replace the wood.

On the roads numerous potholes and damaged or missing signs were reported to Somerset Council for repair by the clerk. Parishioners should be aware that they can report problems themselves by using the “problems on the roads” page on the Somerset Council website. Alternatively, they can be reported to the PC clerk.

Footpath problems have been dealt with by our Footpath Liaison officer, Gary Southon, Cllr. Allan Sutton or the PC clerk. Reports have included trees down, vegetation blocking pathways, broken and discarded tree guards and rubbish. I took part with ENP in the removal of tree guards from Timberscombe Hill Fort. The clerk and Mr Southon also took part in the exercise.

The PC has not forgotten the perennial problem of the surface water in Great House Street. The Parish Council has been working with Somerset Highways to try to resolve this problem. Jetting of the water pipes in the road was undertaken in September and an underground camera revealed severe blockages in the system. It is hoped that this can be rectified by Wessex Water during their scheduled work in June/July. If this fails to solve the problem Highways have agreed to programme in the construction of a drainage channel to remove the water before it crosses the roadway.

Speeding has long been an issue in the village. Highways have now approved the Parish Council’s plans for a speed indicator device (SID). We have applied for a grant towards the SID and are awaiting the outcome of this application (in July) before purchasing the SID. Councillors Ian Ware and Scott Walker have agreed to take part in the required training. The total cost of the SID, posts and training will be approximately £3600, so a grant towards this would be very helpful. We are grateful to the owners of Duddings who have agreed to us siting a post on their grass at the Dunster end of the village.

Last year the PC received complaints from riders about abuse and dangerous driving around horses and riders on the roads. We have listened to these concerns and a number of new signs , including “horse in road” signs have been installed around the village.

The PC supported the Coronation celebrations by purchasing commemorative mugs for all under 17s in the village. A free portrait of the new king has also been obtained by the Parish Council and installed in the Post Office.

The PC works closely with other agencies. In order to acknowledge the outstanding work done by Joy Booth and her team of volunteers in the Good Neighbours, the Parish Council nominated Joy for the Chairs Award presented by Somerset Council for services to the community.

A huge amount of time has been spent by councillors on the Magna heating problems. A letter from the Parish Council was sent to Magna detailing the Parish Council’s many concerns including:

• Air source heat pumps should be serviced once a year. This has not been happening.
• Since all the heaters were installed at around the same time, pre-emptive checks are now needed to all other units on the site.
• Tenants need to be reassured that all additional costs would be met before their bills needed to be paid.
• Concern also about the alarm system which appeared to fail in the recent power cut.
• Rebates needed for tenants who have not had the service they have paid for.

Responses from Magna indicate that there seems to be a significant gap between what was said by Magna and the reality experienced by the residents.

The clerk compiled an circulated a letter for all Magna residents detailing “How to complain” . At least one resident has taken his case to the housing ombudsman and we await this outcome with interest.

I continue to have discussions with FN, SP and Somerset County Council to try to ensure Magna are held to account at County level and above.

The Parish Council have been working with Wessex Water to ensure the smooth replacement of the water mains throughout the village. In August we met with their representatives to try to iron out any problems before their plans were presented to the public. We arranged a public meeting for November 2023, which seemed to go well. So far, it appears that all the planning is working, with villagers reporting how well the works have been progressing and how helpful the workmen have been.

The Parish Council have liaised with the Environment Agency to ensure clearance of the vegetation in the stream by the pub. Cllrs Lloyd, Sutton and myself have set up a sub-group to look at the issue of flooding in the village.

The local Citizens Advice team attended our February 2023 meeting to tell us about their work with Timberscombe residents and this year the Parish Council agreed to a donation of £300 to help them with their work with Timberscombe residents.

The Parish Council also gave a donation of £20 to the Poppy Appeal and our internal auditor donated her fee of £40 to the Red Cross. The church was given a donation of £350 to help with their grass cutting costs and £200 was donated to kick start the new village newsletter.

Cllr Kathy Walker is our representative on the local bus forum and she attends the local bus forum looking at services in the area.

Cllr Ware has  now taken over the responsibility for the defibrillator.

As you may be aware, WS and T Council no longer exists and has been incorporated into Somerset Council. The clerk and I have been regular attendees at the Local Community Networks (LCNs) which meets to ensure that local issues are dealt with. The worrying financial crisis at Somerset is likely to require Parish Councils to take up the slack when cuts are made to services such as highways maintenance. The Council has a good reserve, which has been earmarked for village projects, such as the SID. It was agreed not to increase the village percept by more than the rate of inflation, which was at the time 4.7%.

As trustees to the John Arlott Playing Field, the Parish Council looks after the play area. Thanks to Cllr. Scott Walker who has carried out weekly checks on the equipment and completed minor repairs. As a result of our work the play area received a very good annual inspection in October.

A grant of £7000 from the Morrissons Foundation was secured to remove the rotten large slide and wooden structure and replace it with outdoor gym equipment suitable for teenagers and adults. Thanks must go to Owen Rush who helped to remove the old wooden structure and has been cutting it up and using it to supply some of the elderly villagers with wood for their fires.

We understand that the Dog Exclusion Order applied for last year has finally been approved by Somerset Council and we should shortly be receiving the required wording for signage. Meanwhile we have put up temporary “no dogs” signs. We have, on numerous occasions , asked the school if they could install new gates on their field to prevent dogs from entering.

Together with the clerk I planted a large number of free daffodil bulbs around the play area and this gave a good show in the spring.

The JAPF have long found it difficult to secure grants for new equipment, because the do not own the land , or have a long term lease. The JAPF committee have put a proposal to the Diocese that we buy the land from them and are awaiting a response. If this is agreed a huge amount of fundraising will be needed. If you are interested in helping please get in touch.

Katy Attwater    21/05/24