The February meeting continued our series of Zoom meeting however preliminary advice is starting to be received around a return to face to face meetings around he middle of the year.
There was one significant Planning Application that was reviewed, which concerns the replacement of the railway bridge at the Athelney crossing. While this is a permitted development the Parish Council unanimously agreed that the failure to reconfigure the design to permit greater flow of the river Tone during times of flood, represented a missed opportunity that will be exacerbated by the effects of climate change over the life of the bridge.
The Parish Council resolved on the basis of a recommendation from the recently commissioned Climate Action group to in future adopt a more proactive stance with regard to planning applications and the environment.
Jill Loader, Census Engagement Manager for Somerset, presented to the meeting about the upcoming census which will take place in March. This will be as far as possible on on-line exercise however paper forms will be made available to those who need them. Completing the census is a legal requirement, however it is intended to provide support to those who may be challenged by this process.
With the impending return to school now on the horizon, the PC would like to take the opportunity to remind everybody to act responsibly regarding parking in the centre of the village. Even before school has returned there have been instances of blocked access in particular an ambulance unable to reach its destination. The combination of school return and the high frequentation of the Community Shop makes the likelihood of an accident even greater. Please use the off-road parking facilities that are available to minimise this possibility.
Continuing the theme of traffic. The boundaries of the proposed 30mph zone at Meare Green have been formally agreed with SCC. We now await their detailed proposal to formally approve this expenditure at a future meeting.
A communication has been issued generally to groups and the community around possible opportunities that are available to improve infrastructure in the village using funds allocated to the PC as a consequence of the Broomfield Park development, the so-called Community Infrastructure Levy. While this is not a major sum it can contribute to projects which are in the interests of the community. If you have ideas on how this money can be put to good use, we would like to hear from you.