PUBLIC CONSULTATION – Chairman’s Statement

The consultation galvanised opinion in the village, some good, some not so good and in a few cases downright defamatory. Misinformation or “Fake News” whether accidental or deliberate thrived, especially on social media, neither was any of this helped by people commenting using obvious false names.
Among the claims that are repeated on a regular basis are that our village school and the Quantock Medical Centre can’t cope with any expansion of the village. I would question how many people making these claims have consulted the two organisations concerned which is something the Parish Council has done and will continue to do in the future.

There was a lot of concern expressed for the capacity of the school, “The school can’t cope”. Even when it was posted on social media that school numbers have dropped and it is now under capacity people kept saying “The school can’t cope”.

However, it is worth bearing in mind that Somerset Council requested a contribution of £127,128 from Strongvox towards the additional education services, primarily the expansion of early years provision to meet the needs arising from the development. This is dealt with by Somerset Council with no reference to the Parish Council.

There was also a lot of concern about the Quantock Medical Centre. Planning Officers recommend that Strongvox make a contribution to the NHS through the Community Infrastructure Levy of around £23,000 towards the expansion of GP services at the Quantock Medical Centre to cater for any additional demand. The Parish Council have offered their support but there are legal issues to be over¬come before the building can be extended and improved. However, there are also difficulties recruiting doctors and other practitioners, even when the practice has the space for them to work. Again, this is dealt with by Somerset Council with no reference to the Parish Council.

A good number of people complained regards the parking in the village centre, “can’t park near enough to shops” “can’t park near my home”
Another car park in the village would be great: but where?

To accomplish this the Parish would have to buy a vacant property, demolish the buildings and then create a car park estimated cost at the present time around £1 million and would mean doubling or tripling the precept for the next 30 years, as well as ongoing maintenance costs. And it assumes that permission could be obtained to knock down a property in the heart of the Conservation area.

The PC has looked at more remote sites, but these do not provide the answer for those who need to park near the shops and who find the Castle Street car park too far. Residents have previously indicated that they would not wish to park their car in an unattended car park on the edge of the village so far from their home. The Church Centre car park is private property (just like your driveway) and not for sale.

Many want residents’ parking permits which would therefore ban shoppers and visitors from the centre of the village. There are more residents’ cars than spaces available. And who would police it? And who would you call at 10pm on a Saturday night when you find a non-resident car in a space you want to park in?
Other, more limited ideas, have generally been rejected by the people who would be affected, such as the proposal to make a back access to part of Lime Street. There are also difficulties in that the Parish Council is prohibited from funding a scheme which financially benefits individual householders, which this example would.

The Parish Council would be delighted to take forward any reasonable suggestion that would meet the needs of everyone who needs to park in the centre. If you have an idea that is affordable and practical, and hasn’t already been looked at we would love to hear it.

There was a lot of support for the local shops being in the centre of the village. We must be realistic – shops fail because their costs (staff, rent, premises, business rates etc) outpace their income. They can put prices up – but lose custom by doing so. The only way to keep shops viable is by people spending money in them, and not shopping elsewhere, outside of the village or online, evidenced by the number of home delivery vans circulating the village 7 days week.

I grew up in this village and can remember when we had two Butchers, a Bakers, four pubs, Chemist, Post Office, Grocers and sweet shop, Littles Stores, Saddle maker, Blacksmith, Castle Stores, Wool shop/Drapers, Garage, Farm Shop, Bank, DIY Shop, Three Hairdressers, Mr Ellis who sold all things on earth, also over the years several Café/Tea rooms.

Obviously I have missed some but of those businesses now gone the question should be where have they gone and why? The Parish Council cannot financially support businesses at all by law. And to clarify – the Parish Council does not set business rates – the Government does.

There was some support for a community shop. This idea came forward only after plans for the consultation were in progress. The Parish Council would be delighted to support the project if it is viable. But it will take a considerable amount of time and effort to get it going and keep it going. And again, a community shop will have all the same costs as any other business. A strong volunteer team is essential – but we understand volunteers are in short supply. There are other big projects in the Parish that also need and struggle to get sufficient active volunteers such as the Playing Field and several other smaller organisations. Too often it’s the same few people. It may also need residents to “invest” funds directly, depending on the business model used. So don’t sit back and say, “I want…”, think about what you can do to help, and especially if you have practical skills in running a business, financial management, renting accommodation, working in a shop or cafe etc, or if or you are willing to put up funding if needed please contact the group at Stowey Community Space.

There was much criticism that Strongvox had not contributed anything to the village. This is wrong. They have delivered extremely expensive junction improvements, including the traffic lights, which have been a Parish Council priority for 30 years. Working with Sedgemoor District Council and the Homes England they built 16 Affordable homes to the first phase of their development which are now all occupied. They will provide further affordable housing in the second phase. Additionally, they will be paying several hundred thousand pounds of Community Infrastructure Levy money to Somerset Council, a proportion of which will be available for the parish to spend but note that this must be within the statutory regulations governing Parish Council spending.

And Strongvox did not fill in the pond, the previous owners did. And the Jeanes family did not previously own the land. This land was (and is) owned by the owner of the  Cricketer Farm and Cheese Factory.

Finally – There has been quite a lot of criticism aimed at the Parish Council, if you don’t think the Parish Council is doing enough, or doing the right thing, there is a vacancy for a new Councillor or alternatively take one hour a month and attend the parish council meetings. Councillors put in a good many hours a month on behalf of the village for which they do not get paid. Instead of criticising through a lack of understanding why not work with us to direct activities to get what we all want.