Cotford St Luke Parish Council

12/03/2024

What Has the Parish Council Done For Me?

Hopefully you enjoy the hard path that the Parish Council commissioned from Burge Crescent to Bethel Mead which has replaced the muddy, and in winter, impassable path there before.

Have you used the exercise equipment installed and maintained by the Parish Council? Or maybe you prefer to shoot hoops on the MUGA or play a few games of tennis with your friends and family, taking advantage of the Parish Council funded facilities available near the Community Centre.

Do you use the new rubbish and dog waste bins, again paid for by the Parish Council? These are so well used that they require weekly emptying. The alternative to these would be little bags of dog waste and piles of litter left around the parish.

If you are unfortunate enough to experience a heart attack, luckily the village has two defibrillators (at the Co-op and Community Centre) available for use 24/7. Again, funded and maintained by the Parish Council.

If you are tired or just want to stop and take a break in your busy day, you can take a rest on the benches in the village provided by the Parish Council, with more to be installed shortly.

You could browse the art exhibits at the school, or just enjoy the fact that the ground maintenance carried out around the village by the Parish Council keeps Cotford safe and tidy.

The Community Centre lease is held by the Parish Council and the Centre is managed by the Community Association. Who is on the Community Association committee?...Three Parish Councillors give up their time and energy as no other villagers have stepped forward to keep this vital community asset up and running.

The PC have financially supported the work of the Friday youth club and funded children’s activities and bunting for the Coronation and Jubilee celebrations. It also supports other local organisations, such as Taunton Citizens Advice, which offer much needed resources to many local residents.

Individually, one of the councillors spends a great deal of their own time looking at planning applications on behalf of the Parish Council and is responsible for writing lengthy, technical objections concerning housing developments on the edge of the village on behalf of the parish. Another attended the planning meeting in Taunton representing the PC objecting to the development of 80 houses. Others have engaged with Somerset Council advocating for the village and the maintenance of its flood defences and some have committed a significant amount of time to village maintenance concerns.
Essentially though, it is a group effort. Councillors and the clerk work together for the good of the village.

Historically the level of interest in parish council matters is low. All meetings are open to the public yet normally very few, or indeed, no one attends. It may be remembered that the Parish Council sent out a questionnaire to 650 houses and received just 56 replies.

There are two current vacancies on the parish council. Maybe, instead of complaining, some people would like to offer their specific skill set to the community by applying to join the Council and giving up their time to enjoy the unpaid voluntary work that is carried out by the Parish Council on behalf of the village. As a Member your actions will have a direct impact on your community; you can share your thoughts and ideas and be a part of democracy in action.

12/03/2024

2024/2025 Precept

The Parish Council is aware that Council tax bills for 2024/25 have now been issued by Somerset Council.

The budget, and subsequent precept request, was considered at the January Parish Council meeting which was, as are all Parish Council meetings, open to the public. For those unable to attend, as always, Parish Council agendas, supporting documents and minutes are published on the website.
If you visit the Parish Council website, agenda and minutes page, https://www.cotford-st-luke.org.uk/agendas-minutes/ you will find the meeting support documents for the January meeting. These include the draft budget and the supporting report.

The supporting report details the financial difficulties faced by SC, which have featured heavily in the local and national press, and how these could affect the parish.
The SC ward councillor Mike Rigby was invited, and accepted the invitation, to attend the January PC meeting to answer questions that the public and parish council may have concerning Somerset Council's financial position and how it would impact Cotford-St-Luke but sadly he did not attend on the night. After the meeting he was sent the questions that were going to be asked but has, so far, not responded.

Two versions of a draft budget were presented - the blue column indicates the budget if no services were to be devolved to the PC by SC in 2024/25, and the green column the budget that would be required if the anticipated services were devolved to the PC.

The figures clearly demonstrate that if Somerset Council were not in such financial difficulty and had not advised parish councils across Somerset to budget for additional services, the Parish Council would have been able to set a balanced budget at a level marginally less than 2023/24 which would have actually facilitated a small decrease in the precept.
The rise in the precept is entirely due to the Parish Council being advised by Somerset Council to budget to cover the anticipated cuts to the services it would be providing in 2024/25.

Many Parish Council documents are now posted online in a PDF format. All Meeting Minutes and the Meeting Agenda for the forthcoming meeting are detailed below. Documents for previous years can requested by completing the contact form (click here)

04/03/2024

Avon & Somerset Police - First Point of Contact Survey (Neighbourhood Policing)

This survey will help us improve police services by understanding more about how members of the public prefer to interact with Avon & Somerset Police.

Your participation is voluntary, but you must be 16 or older to participate. The survey should take approximately 5 minutes to complete. All responses are anonymous, however we will ask for some optional personal information at the end of the survey.
Thank you in advance for your participation.

This survey will help us improve police services by understanding more about how members of the public prefer to interact with Avon & Somerset Police.  Your participation is voluntary, but you must be 16 or older to participate. The survey should take approximately 5 minutes to complete. Al...

28/02/2024

The Parish Council has a vacancy for a Councillor.
Would you like to be involved in developing the village and its facilities, helping to decide how the money is spent?

The Council needs a full remit of Councillors to carry out its work.

If you are interested, or would like to find out more contact Claire Morrison-Jones, Clerk to the Parish Council by email at [email protected]

28/02/2024

Further comments from the Parish Council, maintaining its previous objection, concerning planning application 53/22/0007, the er****on of 47 No. dwellings, formation of access off North Villas and associated road/footway/cycleway provisions, open space, landscaping, surface water attenuation and ancillary works on land east of North Villas
https://www3.somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk/WebPages/Imaging/ViewImage/ViewImage.aspx?SRBarCode=Ty1DGRDRMsSm%3dGACBHT&ExtID=PDF&QC=8SbC1

20/02/2024

Premises Licence Variation application for The Chapel, Cotford St Luke, Taunton

Please note that an application (MA/57050) to vary the Premises Licence has been received for the above premises.

They are applying to increase the timings for the Sale of alcohol and recorded music Thu – Fri from 11:00hrs until 00:00hrs; Sat from 11:00hrs and to add timings for the provision of Live music Thu – Fri from 11:00hrs until 00:00hrs; Sat from 11:00hrs until 00:30hrs.

Any comments in relation to this application must be made by no later than 5th March 2024

Licensing Officer
Somerset Council
0300 123 2224
[email protected]

23/01/2024

11/01/2024

Do you have a question?

Somerset Council Division Councillor Mike Rigby will be in attendance at the Parish Council meeting on Thursday 18th January to explain the financial crisis facing Somerset Council and what it means for Somerset residents.
To ensure that the meeting runs efficiently, if any members of the public wish to ask a specific question, please contact the clerk at [email protected] before the evening of Tuesday 16th January with the question you would like raised.

11/01/2024

A reminder that this page is for information sharing only.
Messages and comments are not monitored and will not be responded to.
If you wish to contact the Parish Council please email [email protected]