Wotton Town Council Meeting

17th March 2025

I attended two meetings at the Civic Centre last night along with SDC Cllr. Braun. SDC/GCC Cllr. Cohen arrived later as there was another parish meeting in her ward. There were a few parishioners present. These are my informal notes.

Annual Community Meeting

(I can't find a link to a publicly available agenda)

To meet statutory obligations the purpose of this meeting was to arrange another community meeting at 2pm on 18th May 2025, to be held on a Sunday during Town Hall Teas. It is thought that holding the event on a weekend will enable more residents to attend. ¯\(ツ)/¯

However, an open discussion followed with the Chair talking about the Chipping and Town Hall and the need to borrow money using a Govt. loan. Tender documents going out now with a view to work starting late spring early summer for it to be finished well before Xmas. Consultation in May is for the public to have a say. The work is structural and these are listed buildings, so if work not done, SDC could serve a notice on the Town Council and get the work done regardless.

A question from the public says that plan seems very quick and racey. Chair says they've been working on this tender for six weeks. There is a six week tender period and following that three weeks to select the best response and start. Chair is chartered civil engineer so feels confident as he has done many projects like this. Once Carter Jonas work is complete local companies can also be included in tender.

Another question asked if the Council had included youth voice in their plans, the program and priorities. Including youth voice in the new facilities to see if it can be revitalised. KLB had been approached to see if citizens involved. Youth Council.

Another question about lighting on OK path. GWR fund approached, planning. SDC has 25k saved. TC set £1k set aside. Application went in waiting on response. Kingswood want to go all the way to the school, but probably just to the junction. Need to speak to landowner. Technology has changed and costs are now much reduced since first investigated. Solar.

Path needs clearing along the road down to the Sports Foundation land and skate park. This pavement has become very narrow as the verge has encroached and now very dangerous. The public want it dealt with but the Chair brings in lack of insurance as an excuse for inaction. Member of public just wants to get on do it. Clerk will check.

Talk about putting a weight restriction on Haw Street because of the continual roadworks fixing burst water mains. This has happened in Wickwar when there was a problem with a gas main many years ago. A Cllr. says this cannot happen because it's a main route. Community meeting drawn to a close.

Town Council Meeting

Agenda here.

Normal meeting formalities three councillors offered their apologies. There had been two candidates come forward for co-option on to the Town Council. One couldn't make this meeting so their application would be considered at the next planning meeting.

Rich [his surname I didn't catch] has a background in Law enforcement. Familiar with risk assessments and legislation etc. Good at moving things forward. Enjoys walking because there are no buses. [ah, good sense of humour too!] team working, good listener, basic grasp of IT. Seems like a great candidate, the Council agreed and he was co-opted.

One member of the public remained for the public forum. A representative from Grimes & Goscombe Funeral Directors wanted to speak on point #13. They wanted to help out shuttling people around during the VE Day Commemoration offering use of their limousine and or minibus. A really nice gesture.

Flowing from the District Councillor's report, there was more discussion on LGR (Local Government Reorganisation). The Council need to start thinking about assets held by SDC. Rope Walk toilets, for example. A unitary could sell these assets if strapped for cash. There is no new money on the table for Town and Parish Councils to deal with all the extra responsibility that will be coming their way. Also, there is very little public consultation happening. This needs to change. [I'm supportive of a Citizens' Assembly on this to gauge true feelings] SDC will vote on the best way forward on Thursday and have to notify Govt. of their intentions by Friday. It was noted that Cheltenham BC have done their own work on this and just released a report. [Although I sign up with the principles SDC are voting on, I'm really unhappy with the way this whole reorganisation is being done ++to++ us, without any consultation and the scantest of data on which to base any decisions. Very unhappy personally]

Chairman’s Report. Cllr very concerned about the future of the Recreational Trust. Worried about number of members if it becomes non- quorate as its responsibilities will have to be folded back into the Council.

Town Council Asset Register approved but the value apportioned to the Old Town toilets was queried. Clerk assures it is correct. List of benches in the town is due to be completed soon and a working party will then be formed. Risk Assessment list approved, basically a continuation of the old one but updated and reviewed since last year.

Chair thanks the Play Area team as a grant of £17,887 from the National Lottery Community Fund was received for the Symn Lane improvements.

A quote was approved for a replacement router and NAS for Council IT system. Hard disks upgrade for the scanner. Shared drives to cloud. Separate backup for the scanning system. Router needs to be upgraded too as discontinued, will cause problems if things go wrong. Also approved quote for four replacement PCs as existing ones are very slow.

The windows in the workshop are beyond repair. A quote to get two replaced closet to the Civic Centre. For security too. Cllr. says better (any) maintenance would negate all this expenditure. Same with Chipping Hall. Approved cheapest quote. Approved quote for electrical works following the Electrical Installation Condition Report testing. Cllr. interrogated supplier and accepted.

The audiovisual system on the agenda yet again. Extra equipment required for trailing cables to complete the work. New screen (old one 25 years old) to replace the one installed and a remote, clip radio mic. A Cllr. very unhappy about the way this project has been managed. The project started in Nov 24 where it was agreed to spend £1,736. Then Council persuaded to upgrade total £5,500 now we have even more things. So now £7000 lump in new projector and installation and we are up to £10,000 when Council initially agreed £1726!!! Chair says now we've got to this stage, useful to hire with good equipment. Bring back screen to council after we look at it further. Voted four for, one against. Then backtracking, sigh. It became apparent there maybe additional cost for another install of the automatic screen. Clerk delegated to check prices and resolve.

Costs of broadband/telephone , cemetery waste disposal and confidential waste disposal all increasing and noted.

Approve membership subscription renewal to GAPTC for 2025/26 at a cost of £1789.72 and approved March accounts for payments of £55k which includes Business rates for cemetery and Civic Centre car park £12,000. Approved quote for PAT testing of devices and equipment. Far quicker than doing in house and works out to £2.50 per item. Contractor A for both.

Cllr Cohen arrived from her other meeting so the agenda flipped back to her County Councillor report. (thanks to Stinchcombe Parish Council for publishing that!) Jo Walker back at GCC. Old Post Office on Long Street still no disabled sign needs chasing. chair says the speed hump signs out of car park are illegal and says that suspension damage could be claimed off GCC. Needs distance plates fitted below sign. Linda says that's a nonsense strategy to seek compensation but will ask her hard working department to investigate. [there is far more important work that needs doing imho]

Back to #9 Road Safety Initiative for KLB and British School. Also frustration at North Nibley and Kingswood. Reduce speed would take a TRO all time and money. Crossing patrol quick fix. Slow traffic and help children to cross. Now finally got someone in post at GCC. We don't meet level for a funded scheme so needs to be volunteers. GCC will supply uniform and lollipop. Chair queries responsibility for insurance and suggests we need a meeting with other parishes, two people working party to seek agreement. Cllr Cohen says Kingswood and NN already in agreement. Now worries that the TC doesn't have the power of competence any longer. Clerk says there must be old legislation as parishes employed lollypop ladies [lollypop persons?] in the past. Agreed.

Bizarre question about white goods being dumped on people's driveways. Suggestion that it's a Facebook fad? [Personal rant: People spend far too much time on Facebook. The UK's greatest productivity sump, sucking up advertising revenue and spiriting away profits back to the US, avoiding UK tax, enriching their authoritarian billionaire owners.] SDC offers a bulky waste collection service £25 for three items.

Review and comment on Stroud District Council’s Equality, Diversity, Inclusion, Equity & Belonging Policy but the deadline passed yesterday. Extension sought and SDC will accept comments by tomorrow. Clerk made some excellent comments to widen diversity and align with other organisations. Also, noted that Police and Fire Service have been criticised for their policy in these areas in the past. Good work.

VE Day 80th Commemoration. Government changed from one day to four days of celebrations. Nobody knows about it apparently. St Mary's Church are doing something. Want to approach Fish & Chip van after checking with local fish and chip shop.

Stroud Councillor Advocacy Scheme. Meeting with Police. Mayor will attend along with new Cllr Rich who has a background in law enforcement. There's a Zoom meeting with GAPTC on 24th March (6pm-8pm). Very helpful if everybody attends. Council to support the campaign a safer use of lithium batteries campaign. Invitation to the Culture Shock Symposium. Cllrs can claim £5 lunch out of the Mayor's allowance.

Allotment Tenants Meeting. The Chair thank Cllr Paul Barton for all his hard work with the allotments.

The Clerk gave an update on the The Strategic Forum for Stroud District Council and Parish and Town Councils. It was poorly attended. Only one Cllr. and seven clerks out of fifty odd. Led by CEO Kathy O'Leary, Deputy CEO Andrew Cummings, strategic planners and officers. All about equality, engagement, devolution and local plan.

Footpaths work group are 4/5 through their survey. 20 pths to finish off. Map. Thinking to put together a pamphlet of wotton walks. The new SDC Officer (name I didn't catch) may come back with more ideas. Maybe use OS map licence and utilise better? Transition Stroud. Feasibility Dulas report on solar a couple of weeks away. Twinning exchange 1st May-5th May with Beaumont-le-Roger 32 people going.