MAYOR’S  REPORT– February 2025

 “I attended a meeting at Highbridge Station on Tuesday 28^th January, with representatives from Somerset Council and GWR, to discuss access and signage issues.  Also in attendance were Councillors Millard, Vickers, Keen, a representative of Our Highbridge and an aide to our MP.  Wheelchair users were able to show rail and council employees the difficulties they face when trying to use the station.

The purpose of the meeting was to share information about Highbridge Station, to find a way forward to improve accessibility and to improve signage and information for people with mobility issues and young families with pushchairs.

This was a very constructive meeting, with an acknowledgement from all sides on the difficulties faced by those with mobility issues.  There were some practical suggestions for accessing funding from GWR to improve signage in the short-term and a commitment from the Somerset Council representative to explore improvements to the roads leading from the station and from one side of the station to the other.  A bid was submitted to the GWR community fund by Our Highbridge later that week.

Further meetings are to be held soon to ensure that improvements are implemented.  Congratulations to all those involved in raising this important issue.

On Tuesday 28^th January, I met with our new Neighbourhood Sergeant J. Atkinson, to discuss the crime statistics that had been presented to the Town Council meeting earlier that month.  Also in attendance were Cllrs Millard, Matthews and Searing.

Sgt Atkinson explained that the Home Office has recently re-classified some elements of crimes; for example, harassment with violence covers incidents such as text messages that are sent which threaten violence or cause distress, as well as incidents involving physical violence. 

Sgt Atkinson agreed to make proposed changes to how the data was presented to the Town Council so that councillors would have a better understanding of the levels and types of incidents occurring in our towns.

We were pleased to hear Sgt Atkinson’s aim for her Beat Team to become more visible and to build positive relationships with the community and businesses in both towns.  She is hoping that the Beat Team can start to embed themselves back into the community and that they were looking for local hubs from which they can work.

We raised with her the experiences of some residents regarding anti-social behaviour, and the impact of travellers and illegal encampments.  Sgt Atkinson told us that she would be willing to attend future meetings with residents on these subjects.

On Friday 7^th February, a meeting was held with Cllr Richard Wilkins, Somerset Council Lead Member for Transport and Waste Services, and Steve Deakin who is the Manager for Parking Services at Somerset Council.  In attendance were myself, Town Councillors Millard, Searing and Hendry and County Councillor Cook-Woodman.

The purpose of the meeting was to raise the issue of mobile homes being permanently parked on the Esplanade.  The group took a walk along the seafront to assess the scale of the problem.

Cllr. Wilkins and Mr. Deakin were advised by councillors that this was a cause for concern amongst residents and councillors.  It was noted that some of the mobile homes had been there for months.

Currently, there are no regulations to prevent overnight parking on the Esplanade.  There was a discussion about the possible solutions to this problem.

Mr. Deakin agreed to write a proposal for the Town Council to consider which would address this problem.  Any proposals would also be subject to consultation with the public before implementation.

I chaired a meeting on Friday 14^th February, which brought together residents, councillors, police and a representative of our MP.

There was a wide-ranging discussion on topics such as: building a bund at Cassis Close: the establishment of further Neighbourhood Watch Groups in Burnham; the Somerset Council priority list for an immediate response to illegal encampments; and communications from the police in time of crisis. 

The meeting was a useful forum for bringing all interested parties together.  A further meeting has been arranged for the end of April”.

Cllr. Sharon Perry