Members of the public.

In attendance Liz Smith (clerk)

Minutes of the last meeting were circulated. There were no questions arising from them.

Apologies were received from Adrian Flook MP, Sue Hembrow, Alex Morrice, David Lake, Graham & Carole Joll.

Chairman’s Report The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and said it was important that the Parish Council tell the community what it has been doing.

There had been an election in May and four new councillors had been elected.

The Parish Appraisal Group had presented their report in November and the Council had welcomed the feedback from residents but had been concerned that the proposed action plan contained matters that had already been dealt with. She paid particular tribute to the Footpath Officer, David Lake, for his diligence. The Council has started to co-ordinate litter picking and purchased two grabbers. They were also about to conduct a survey into low cost housing; envelopes would shortly be circulated to every house in the village with the newsletter. New street signs had been erected by TDBC. The Parish Clock had been mended. The Burial Ground will be tidied and made into an attractive and peaceful place. Donations had been made to local charities including the Youth Drama Group and the Air Ambulance. She said that the Council had been dismayed to hear that the lottery bid for the New Village Hall had been refused.

While appreciating that the police have many calls on their time, she noted that the Community Beat Officer did not often visit the village. She paid tribute to our County Councillor, Rod Watson, for his prompt attention to the parish’s grievances and queries.

In conclusion she said that "by working together, people in the community can influence decisions that affect the neighbourhood", and urged everyone to help influence the decisions that affect Stoke St Gregory.

Speed Camera The Chairman welcomed Delise Rowland from North Curry Parish Council. DR said that the North Curry Speedwatch had started with a talk and video from Sgt. Steve Wright of the Traffic Section at Portishead. 6 – 10 volunteers were needed. The guns can cost up to £1,000 but they had been fortunate to obtain one at a discount for £100. Two volunteers work together, one to hold the gun and the other to chart vehicle type, colour, registration and speed. The police had prepared a chart with suitable locations; there must be a 30m view of oncoming traffic each way. One of the volunteers must carry a mobile phone; both must wear luminous vests and keep out of the way of the traffic. There is a rota and volunteers were on duty for up to an hour at a time.

There had been a problem with the gun, which had had to go back to the factory on Germany for repair.

She said that the guns were easy to use but there could be as many as 300 cars passing every hour. Speeds of up to 56 mph had been recorded in a 40mph area. She felt that their presence had definitely had a deterrent effect.

Police train the volunteers and are meant to accompany them on their first outing. The completed charts are sent to the police once a fortnight. The police then send letters to the worst offenders. After the third warning the police are meant to attend and book offending drivers. Their chairman is writing to the police to ask for more support.

There had been various reactions from motorists, some encouraging – some not, but the volunteers had not received any intimidation.

She lent the video to the Parish Council and said that they would be welcome to go out and observe Speedwatch in action. She could also let the PC have a copy of the charts that they used.

The Chairman thanked Miss Rowlands for her informative talk and asked that Speedwatch be put on the agenda for the next meeting.

Parish Council Accounts The accounts for the year ended 31^st March 2004 were circulated. The main expense during the year had been the repairs to the Parish Clock. The Grants received had been mainly in respect of the Parish Appraisal.

The Playing Field Accounts were presented by Mrs Jean House. The pavilion roof timbers and felt had been replaced and this had cost over £1000. The tennis courts had had a new concrete surround. The 10k run had mad a profit of over £1000 this year. She thanked the contributors to the 200 Club, without their help, the Playing Field would not have been able to show a small surplus last year. The Playing Field Chairman, Stuart Wilkinson, thanked Clarke’s Electrical for sponsoring the 10k run.

Village Hall Accounts The treasurer, John Lowe, presented the accounts. He said that the electrical meter rate needed to be raised. The bank account had been transferred to CAFcash to obtain a better rate of interest as the Portman had started to charge £5 a month to run the account.

The New Village Hall Accounts were cumulative and showed the position up to 31^st December 2003.

There was a discussion about the future of the New Village Hall:

DH, Chairman of the Project Group said that the second lottery bid had been unsuccessful – there had been doubts about the village’s ability to raise the shortfall. He was now dubious about the money pledged by Taunton Deane BC and Somerset CC; if the money is not drawn down by the end of this financial year then the grant will be withdrawn and another application will have to be made and the Councils’ contributions would probably be reduced. He felt that official documentation was needed to show whether or not the old VH was viable. The Village Hall Committee will make the final decision. The money received had been intended by the donors for a new village hall and advice will have to be taken from the Charity Commissioners as to whether the money can be used to refurbish the old hall. The architect, Ros George had suggested making a start on the ground works. DH was uncertain how far present funds would take the project and he was not enthusiastic about the suggestion.

Ross Young read out some observations from Alex Morrice:

The lottery bid had failed mainly because of the overall cost in relation to funds raised. He felt that the new hall would only go ahead if a deal could be done with a developer in conjunction with another scheme, eg: the school, vicarage or low cost housing. Inflation would erode the fund raising efforts.

Stuart Wilkinson said that the present organisation was not appropriate to such a large spend, more input was needed from the Parish council and the wider community, especially the school and the pre-school. There are other facilities within three miles. The Parish Council had remained at arm’s length and the Appraisal had not reflected the need for a hall. The present hall is only used 20 times a year. People will travel to events, eg: drama but not to functions.

The School Headmaster, Mike Ellis, said that the School had all been 100% behind the new village hall . The old hall is not safe; the storage of the PE equipment is inadequate.

Heartfelt thanks were extended to everyone who had worked so hard on the project, particularly the committee members.

Reeves Feast The accounts were presented by David House. He said that it was nice to keep the old charity going; it originated from the time when Stoke St Gregory was part of the North Curry Hundreds. The money was originally intended for needy old people but was now used to subsidise school children going on a trip to Kilve Court where there are two children in the family.

Tree Warden’s Report by contrast had been a quiet year as TDBC have taken over responsibility for the village tree scheme. He was pleased to see that some willow trees had been pollarded but also disappointed to see that some had been left to become top heavy and vulnerable to high winds.

Parish Appraisal David Evans said that the Appraisal Group had produced their report in November, the conclusions were possibly a little overwhelming for the Parish Council. Various points had been prioritized. He said that another half dozen people were needed with the enthusiasm and commitment of the Footpath Officer. DH thanked DE and encouraged him to stand for the Parish Council.

Matters for Discussion The Chairman invited questions and comments from the floor.

An abandoned earth mover on the river bank near Turkey Cottage was reported. The clerk was asked to find out who owns it and whether it can be removed as it is unsightly and near the right of way.

Judy Wilkinson, on behalf of the Drama Group, thanked the Council for their donation and said that their next production would take place at Burrowbridge Hall on 15^th May.

RY said that the Vicarage will be sold and is being valued. DH said that he had written to the Archdeacon suggesting that the land be used for development, but had not received a reply as yet.

DE said that the new website would be going online soon. If there is any money left over he would like to explore the possibility of making the site accessible to people with a visual impairment.

There being no further business, that Chairman thanked everyone for attending and the meeting closed at 9.25pm.