Wotton Town Council Meeting

20th January 2025

A rolled car on Blackquarries Hill 20th Jan 2025.

I attended a packed meeting at the Civic Centre on Monday evening along with SDC Cllr. Braun and SDC Cllr. Cohen. Agenda here. These are my informal notes.

The normal formalities. Apologies from two councillors. A Cllr. declared an interest relating to the KLB grant application 8c. Previous minutes were approved.

In the public forum a spokesperson for the Heritage Centre, advised that they were withdrawing their application for an increase to their grant, 8b. Another resident asked if the Town Council were commemorating the life of David McMurtry. The Clerk said that there would be a public memorial and the family would make any announcement. Another resident asked that the Town Council look favourably on any funding requests from Synwell Playing Fields as some of their equipment was damaged.

The meeting then jumped to item 8. which is where the grant applications were to be discussed (8c.) and why this meeting was so well attended. The Chair read out some charges that needed to be increased for the use and hire of various Town Council and Town Trust facilities. The list was long and the Clerk had to ask for clarity. A Cllr. queried the high costs, but the Chair said that the Town Council is in competition with the Baptist Church and they charge more. Carried.

8b. Heritage Centre. Even though the request for an increase was withdrawn (in the public forum) there was a lengthy discussion by Cllr.'s on the high heating costs and comparisons to domestic tariffs. It was pointed out that the heating was located in the ceiling of the building and installation dated back to when the fire engine was stored there. The heaters were used to dry the top of the fire engine when it got wet. Consequently, volunteers have to work in anoraks and gloves during cold weather. Hot air rises. The rep. pointed out that the new lease had not yet been agreed with Town Council. This makes planning very difficult and they are inhibited from seeking other types of funding. In the end a £5,500 grant was approved.

Then we moved on to the reason the meeting was so well attended, 8c. To review and award grant applications for 2025/2026. Wotton is lucky to have so many excellent community groups, all volunteer led and they provide all sorts of benefits to the town. Asking for funds at a public meeting like this is a daunting experience but everyone coped with that stressful experience really well.

First up was Gloucestershire Breast Feeding Support. [I was told afterwards that one male Cllr. sniggered when this was announced] Their rep. explained that they get some funding from Sure Start, GCC and NHS but have to do lots of fundraising. This covers the costs of their breast feeding councillors. The group offers much support to new mothers in Wotton. A Cllr. asked questions on their accounts and donations not covering expenses, other questions on the status of their councillors being self-employed or not. These Cllr. questions seemed inappropriate and argumentative in a public forum. However, the rep answered in the most polite way possible. £200 granted.

KLB Friends were next up. The Cllr. who earlier declared an interest left the room. KLB Friends are a small group of around 15 volunteers involved in an endless list of fundraising for KLB. They were asking for £500 to improve the school's SEN offering. The money would go toward two laptops or tablets. Again, difficult questions were asked of the volunteer who required support from another member public representing a different community group but familiar with KLB Friends. Their application was granted.

Next up reps from Synwell Playing fields. A small committee of seven people who have raised over £30,000 of play equipment so far. They are working to improve the 0-5 year provision. Also, relating to the item raised in the public forum, money is needed to replace an item of equipment that was destroyed by the fire brigade. A child became trapped in a 'tango swing' and had to be cut free. A Cllr. asked about insurance cover which the rep confirmed wasn't in place for equipment, only public liability. A Cllr. declared that they sat on their committee and testified to the hard work they all do. The Chair chose to ignore this declaration. There were murmurs from the public who realised the Cllr. was conflicted. Questions continued. A Cllr. said the cost of replacing the damaged equipment was noted at £1,710 but VAT and fitting was not included. The Cllr. who served on their committee proposed to award the grant of £5,000 which was seconded and approved.

Christmas under the Edge had their application of £550 reduced to £435. Insurance costs only, I think.

The Skate Park was looking for £1,000. They are part of WCSF but have no revenue stream. The skate park is a great resource for under represented individuals who often don't participate in team sports. Cllrs. thought that the sports foundation didn't require support as they had £232,000 in the bank. The Skate Park rep had to emphasise that the money in the bank was ring-fenced and has to be used to replace the 3G pitch and lighting which is getting old. The rep. also pointed out that Wotton has the 3rd most important sports venue in Stroud District and it needs to be properly maintained. A Cllr. noted that the Town Council has a surplus in the Youth Services budget. Carried, two against.

Wotton Pool. The Pool's Service Level Agreement with Town Council expires in March. They have seen energy and wage pressures with minimum wage going up 6% and they have lots of young workers. Cllr. asks what happens if Council doesn't approve the increase. They will drift into deficit came the reply. A Cllr. proposed to award £35,0000, another Cllr. amended this to a lesser amount, the Chair decided to amend the amendment?! Finally an amount of £33,000 was agreed. A member of the public felt compelled to interject on a point of procedure and remind the Council that you cannot amend and amendment in that way..... but the Chair and Cllrs. seemed content with the outcome.

The Keepers were asking for £500. Their rep. outlined the amazing work they do for people in the town. The money will make a big difference to their ingredient costs, cooking meals mainly for older people. They also keep a pantry of dry goods stocked from the local supermarket. People in need can access this food if required. They need to raise £60,000 this year. One Cllr. wanted to award them more, but the request was for £500 and that's what was granted.

Wotton Pride were asking for £250.75 to cover insurance and first aid for their event later this year. Their rep. said that there are a number of LGBTQ+ people living in Wotton but their group benefits people from well beyond Wotton. Last years event attracted 600 people to the town. The group works in partnership with The Keepers in providing a safe place and counselling. A Cllr. asked why they need to grow the event if last years format worked so well? The rep said that this was what people were asking for. So a street party is also being planned in Market Street after the main parade. More performers, comedy, drag etc. The amount was granted.

Grants to Air Ambulance, Colbalt and Tabernacle grass-cutting were waved through. The £300 CAB grant was questioned because they no longer operate out of the Civic Centre. They are now at The Keepers fortnightly, but waved through anyway.

Inexplicably we returned to 8a. even though it had been voted on earlier. Burial and Allotment charges.... then voted on again!?

The meeting moved onto 8d. A long an protracted discussion on the budget and precept. I couldn't keep track of what was being discussed even with the benefit of the backing papers. Separate spreadsheets had been circulated amongst Cllrs. prior to the meeting. The main issue seemed to be that Cllrs. were concerned a 7.04% precept increase was 3x current rate of inflation. They wanted Youth Provision cut back. After protracted debate the Clerk interjected to say that Cllrs. just don't understand the subject and they have no idea of how modern Youth Services are delivered. The young people and others in the community are saying that there are all these surveys that have happened and why isn't more/anything being done to address the need.

A Cllr. is convinced that with £1,000,000 in the bank account there is £220,000 of un-allocated funds in the Council's reserves. The Chair believes that it's only £85,000. It's a technical argument and at various points the Clerk confirms where Cllrs. are correct, but there's little consensus. Eventually, I think, it was proposed that a £29,000 Public Works loan is reduced by £10,000. The deputy clerk has to make adjustments to complex spreadsheets to work out the consequences, but it's an unfair ask of them in the middle of a meeting and they struggle to offer a result. Anyway, I think the precept will be £526,688, a 5% increase on a Band D property.

It's now gone 9pm and we are back to item #5 on the agenda. Questions were asked on why there has been no report from GCC on the stability of the bank in the new Symn Lane Car Park. Cllr. Cohen said that GCC were probably busy on a myriad of other issues but would look into it. A Cllr. asked if there was revised timetable for the #40 bus. consensus seems to be that it's the same, except via Dursley.

Needless to say Rushmire Hill was discussed at length. The signage is being reviewed and the situation is being constantly monitored. However, we just need to keep reminding people that the official diversion, via Dursley is the only practical solution and the only viable route. There was another accident earlier in the day where a car rolled on Blackquarries. Photo at the top of the page. The driver, who was unhurt, was unfamiliar with the road and clipped the bank rolling the car. The Police told me that this can happened at just 20mph.

Cllr. Braun gave an update on the Gloucestershire devolution mandate. Clearly it's not devolution in the true sense of the word because power is being taken from a lower tier and moved upwards towards Westminster. One unitary seems favourite, but other ideas have been floated. Nothing is certain. It does seem unlikely that the County elections will be delayed though. I wrote a blog item on this before Xmas, my view hasn't changed.

Cllr Cohen made forceful comment that the format of the grant application used at the meeting needs review. All these people who were at the meeting this evening were volunteers who should be thanked for their services to the town. The tone of the questioning was unfair. I have to agree with Cllr. Cohen.

As it was getting on for 9:30pm myself Cllrs. Cohen and Braun left the meeting before item #9. My diverted journey home, back to Stroud via Dursley, seemed longer than usual..........

Although I missed item 10. There is detail on the Potter Pond EV Chargers Project on my blog.