• Agenda
• Minutes 11 June

Planning applications (opens application in Sedgemoor Planning website)

• 36/18/00008 4 Audley Close
• 36/18/00009 House of Curiosites, 12 St Mary Street

We regret to announce that Colin Penny has tendered his resignation after four years as a Parish Councillor. We thank him for his invaluable work as Chairman of the Finance and Audit Committee and in his role as Parish Council Representative on the Playing Field Committee.

Colin’s resignation means that a vacancy has now arisen. Please see the formal notice for information.

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

will be held at
Nether Stowey Village Hall
on Thursday 24th May 2018 at 7pm

ALL ELECTORS OF THE PARISH ARE
INVITED TO ATTEND

HAVE YOUR SAY ABOUT LOCAL ISSUES OR
RAISE MATTERS OF CONCERN

MEET REPRESENTATIVES FROM LOCAL GROUPS AND ORGANISATIONS

The Parish Meeting may, by law, discuss all Parish affairs and pass resolutions about them. The following matters have so far been placed on the agenda:

1. Apologies for Absence

2. Minutes of Previous Meetings:
To approve minutes of the APM held on 3 April 2017

3. Chairman’s Report

4. Items for Discussion
To consider any other matters raised by electors of the parish

5. Reports from Local Organisations
To receive reports received from local organisations

Please contact the Parish Council to add a matter to the agenda.

Each year an Annual Parish Meeting is held at which residents can air issues and ask the Parish Council to investigate certain matters which are of concern. The meeting is NOT a formal Parish Council meeting but it is facilitated and funded by the Parish Council for the benefit of the community. The draft minutes from last year’s meeting and 2017 Organisations Report are available at Annual Parish Meetings.

The consultation period for the Library Service review has been extended until WEDNESDAY 13 JUNE. There will also be a new questionnaire next week which will be available at the library and the Parish Office when we get it.

The Library Service have also provided some additional information available below:

Community Library Partnerships

Library Outreach Services

PRINTED VERSIONS OF THE PROPOSALS AND QUESTIONNAIRES ARE NOW AVAILABLE FROM THE PARISH OFFICE AND POST OFFICE.

Somerset County Council (SCC) are looking at how to deliver library services across the county in the face of an increasingly difficult financial situation. A public consultation period started on 29 January and runs until 22 April. Details are on the notice board, from the Library and the Parish Office and at https://netherstowey-pc.gov.uk/somerset-libraries-review-and-consultation/.
There are two possible options for Nether Stowey Library.:
1) a partnership with the local community to maintain the library building with SCC funding contribution
2) a mobile library service

Representatives of the Parish Council and FONSL first met with Library Services on 24 October. Details were reported at the November Parish Council meeting and again at the December meeting after further details were provided.

Nether Stowey Library has a catchment covering the area from Kilve to Stogursey, Fiddington, Spaxton and Over Stowey, an estimated population of 4,700. The number of users for the whole of this area is estimated at 366, of which two-thirds are Nether Stowey residents, and one-third from elsewhere. These figures were provided by SCC Library Services and can be seen in more detail in the consultation document.

You may have been told that the Parish Council is “doing nothing to save the Library”. This is far from the truth.

It is an attractive proposition to take on the library building as a community asset. But it is a potentially expensive responsibility and not one the Parish Council can take on lightly without consultation with the community who have to pay for it. The basic annual running costs are approximately £13-15,000. This would require an increase to your Council Tax of about £22 per year for every household – Library users or not. We are aware of some issues with the existing building which will probably require funding to bring it up to a reasonable standard. Without a building survey of the building we do not know everything about its condition – we could end up with a hefty bill for unforeseen repairs and we would need to start building up an additional contingency fund.

So we have suggested possible “joint ventures” and had preliminary discussions with some organisations who might be interested. Further meetings are planned later this month. We discussed these ideas with the County Council representative on 29 January. It was agreed that at this stage discussions can only be in very broad outline and nothing can be progressed far until the consultation results have been fully analysed and the County Council have made a decision.

If this path is possible it will mean compromise as to how much of the library’s space can be given up to create viable accommodation for another “occupant”, and there may be work required to achieve this.

We also have to be sure that we can manage sustainable Library Services. This mean an adequate and committed volunteer team for the long term and possibly “buying in” professional librarian services to support the volunteer team – more costs.

These are big decisions and not ones we can take with knowing the community’s views. It would be irresponsible to make commitments without knowing the full extent of that commitment. And none of this can go forward until we know the County Council’s decision.

Important Dates:
Consultation period runs until 22 April
The main consultation documents and questionnaire for this area is available from the Parish Office and the library or online at http://somersetlibraries.co.uk/consultation/. There you will find links to the proposals, more detailed information and the online questionnaire.
14 February from 2pm – Consultation Drop-in event at Nether Stowey Library
Meet representatives of Library Services and join in a group discussion.
12 March – Nether Stowey Parish Council meeting
Mr Oliver Woodhams from the County Council will be joining the Parish Council meeting on Monday 12 March when he will talk about the proposals and hopefully provide some thoughts on the local consultation.
9 April – Nether Stowey Parish Council meeting
The Parish Council will agree the their formal response to the consultation.