Wotton Town Council Meeting

17th February 2025

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

Apologies received from Roger Claydon, Paul Jones and Jane Tyler, no declarations of interest, minutes approved.

No residents to ask probing questions of the Council.

Standing orders rescinded and #19 brought forward for an update on Brown's Piece (Hack Hill). Dominic Driver gave a short update as the project takes a crucial step forward. He thanked the Council for their support noting that their first AGM was held in the Civic Centre back in 2022. The group has had the money raised for purchase of the land for some months. The project went quiet as the current owners reconsidered, but they have now got a deal. The vendors have taken land off the market and solicitors have been instructed. There was another private buyer and they would have been to looking to build a private home. The Wotton Community Land Trust will ensure that the land is retained for community use. They are now drawing down pledges. £80-90k and had to max out purchase price to get deal done. There is loan involved that's interest free, but the capital will have to paid back over coming years. Affordability will be challenging, so upgrading and maintenance of paths and grazing will take time. They have not asked the Council for money due to cost of living etc. but may come forward for support in the future. A Cllr asked if the Climate Action Network will be involved; they are. The Clerk pointed out that the Council have supported the group in the past.

Questions were asked of Cllr Cohen regarding the GCC report (thanks to Stinchcombe Parish Council for publishing that!). The Chair raised the issue of the deteriorating state of the road surface on Long Street, especially outside The Arc. Cllr Cohen agreed that resurfacing was probably required but it could not considered until a new budget is in place at GCC. Elections are upcoming and her party is pushing for more of the budget being spent in rural locations. Drylease requires considerable work too and there needs to be prioritisation. There was some speculation about an experimental surface being used last time Long Street was resurfaced, levels raised and inadequate substrate but nobody seemed to have any facts, dates or detail.

SDC Councillor's Report Cllr. Braun noted that due to NPPF changes introduced by Westminster Govt. last December planning applications are now having to be considered on a 'tilted balance' basis because Stroud District only has 3.24 years of housing land supply. This means it will be much harder for SDC to resist housing applications on sites not in the Local Plan (speculative development).

The Clerk raised numerous issues relating to Town and Parish Councils regarding English Devolution. I mentioned that Town and Parish Councils do have representation on the Gloucestershire Board working group. Cllr. Braun added, that she along with the other County leaders have met a few times. Terms of reference were being established and six workstreams configured, including Vision and Ambition, Place, People & Culture and Comms. There was some discussion about GCC executive appointing Price Waterhouse Coopers to present options to GCC. A question was asked how spotty teenage undergraduates at PwC would do a better job than the 'experts' and 'professionals' already employed by GCC. ¯\(ツ)/¯ Cllr. Cohen was motivated to seek answers about the costs associated with all this at GCC Full Council. [Personal note: This delegation of responsibility by the executive and officers at GCC infuriates me. Weak leadership. No confidence in their own team. Failed administration. Lost decade. Elections in May.... and boy are they needed]

The meeting moved on. The finance items were the discussed:-

The Chair had visited the Play Gloucestershire group earlier (over in Synwell) and spoke to leaders. Everyone was having a good time. About 15 there, bit less than the normal 20-25 due to half term. It was proposed to renew the contract for a further year rather than three.

Some discussion on the purchase of a flag for VE Day. It was suggested that £37.33 was spent the smaller of two flags which could be reused with a patch sewn over the 80. Contract with Corinium First Aid Events to provide first aid support for the event £69.30 was also approved

The contract for the single page Wotton Directory advert for the Council's comms was approved. [Personal note: I'll mention here, by way of example, that my tiny local parish Council, Rodborough, in Stroud does some amazing comms 'The Commoner' is distributed to all homes in the parish by volunteers.]

A ceiling based projector will be purchased and installed at the Civic Centre. It will help at planning meetings but could also be used by people and groups hiring room. It will connect up with the existing audio system.

The Town Council Budget 2024/25 was noted, no comments and a total of £43k of payments for February approved.

The rep from Wotton Pool clarified an inaccuracy, regarding insurance, in the draft Service Level Agreement between the Town Council and Wotton Pool, this was noted and then approved. Standing orders reinstated from much earlier. Opps.

The Clerk gave a verbal update on the surveys, planning application, and tender preparations re the Town Hall and Chipping Halls. Meeting with Carter Jonas. Structural engineer has been out and drain survey done. First part of report has come in. Some of building worse than expected. However, replacing rather than slicing and repairing woodwork maybe easier. Working with carpenters putting together planning. Because planner won't have contact with Carter Jonas(?) going straight into full planning application. [I didn't catch everything here]. Planning application going in beginning of March. [No pre-app advice?] Damp in attic space spreading into main building therefore(?) included in Listed Building Consent at same time as it's a Health & Safety issue. Approval required to stop water ingress. [I got lost on these points re H&S and LBC]

Item #10 moved to exempt session at end of meeting.

Cllr. Derek Thomas gave an update on his thoughts about the heating of the Heritage Centre. It seems that a solid ceiling will be needed but professional advice required. Council voted to to give Cllr. Thomas authority to seek advice and quotes from various bodies. Although who pays will remain open for discussion with the Heritage Centre.

The Council agreed to set up a new Devolution Working Group to assess the options and opportunities for the town and Town Council. Whilst 'devolution' may not happen for some considerable time work needs to be started now. Accepted the circulated terms of reference and all councillors were appointed to the working group.

Town Council meeting dates for 2025/26 were approved. However, there was lengthy discussion about the date and format of the Annual Parish meeting. Some favouring a week night others a Saturday. This was where myself, Cllr Cohen and Braun left the meeting.