Mayor’s Notes October 23

This last few weeks have been marred by my testing positive for Covid and losing a week of my time. I am pleased to say that Cllr Perry kindly stepped up and took over my commitments for that week. I have included her report at the end.

The last few weeks have also been dominated by the Eco Festival which was held in Apex Park on the afternoon of October 30^th. We met our objectives of celebrating the hard work of the Working Group and also raising awareness of ways in which the public can make a difference. Just making one change in their lives would equate to 22,000 changes in our towns. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who worked so hard to make the event a success. Our Council staff, Ian Jefferies and of course all those brilliant volunteers on the day! It was really rewarding to see so many children engaged in environmental activities. The Bug Hotel was a great success and is a legacy that has been left in Apex Park.

I have also been working with Clean Surroundings and the Growing Group to improve the green spaces. We are now working in partnership with Burnham in Bloom to look at ways of improving the types of plants in the flower beds. We need coastal planting that ensures we have plants that are happy in a seaside resort but are also hardy to climate change. They will also need less maintenance. We had a meeting with Clean Surroundings on 9^th November.

The Bus Users Group continues to push for improvement in the bus service. You will see an item on the last Town Council agenda that has come from a meeting with Somerset Cllr Mike Rigby. The group now has a Facebook page to help improve communication between the users and the bus company.

I attended the Climate Adaptation Training at Morland Hub. It was really interesting as we explored data about our local area. We then started to think of how we could plan to mitigate and adapt to Climate Change. This is an important element of our Climate Action plan and much of what we are doing will actually assist this development. There will be an opportunity for the community to contribute to the action plan later in the year.

I had the pleasure of visiting Weston Hospice in Uphill. I joined the Mayor of Weston super Mare on a tour of their new facilities. They are hoping to set up a Friends of Weston Hospice in Burnham and Highbridge as they support so many of our residents.

I also enjoyed attending a fundraising event for the Friends of Burnham Memorial Hospital. It was a good opportunity to thank them for their work to enhance the provision at our local hospital. I also joined the Dementia Friendly Service at St Andrews church. This service offers support and comfort to those who attend.

I was invited to open the Hornby Railway Association Annual Show. It was fascinating to talk to enthusiasts about what for many has been a lifetime hobby. It was good to see such a thriving group in our community.

Cllr Perry attended the meeting that the council called to enable residents who were affected by recent visits from travellers to the Bay Centre to talk to representatives from the Police and Somerset Council.

Cllr Perry

This was an opportunity for residents to raise their very real concerns and to pose questions to Jonathan Eamer, Neighbourhood Police Sergeant of Somerset and Avon Constabulary, and Chris Hall, Executive Director of Community Services at Somerset Council.

The meeting was very well attended, with 36 members of the public.  The full notes of the meeting are available on the Town Council website.

We heard some very disturbing accounts of the impact this is having on residents, particularly around the Cassis Close area.  The Health and Safety of access to the fields was also raised, now that the Lego blocks have been installed.

Mr Hall and Sgt Eamer confirmed that they were working together to speed up the timeframe for the process to issue a notice to leave. 

Residents were advised that, if a crime or criminal damage is in process, they should call 999.  All other problems should be reported through 101, which will help the Police to take more affirmative action.  Residents should not put themselves in danger.

It was agreed that a further meeting with Mr Hall and Sgt Eamer be convened in 3-4 months so that residents can be updated on the process of improvements that have been agreed.

Community Link with Police

On 2^nd October, a community drop-in with Police took place at the Highbridge Community Hall.  This was organised as a collaboration between the Police and Town and Parish Councillors.  As attendance was low, Neighbourhood Police Sergeant Hardaway and the Deputy Mayor took the opportunity to go and talk to local shop owners to ask them of the policing concerns.  We think these Community Link Meetings will be of benefit to our communities, so we are in contact with the police to improve how we further publicise these events and encourage residents and councillors to attend if they have concerns. 

The next meeting will be held at Morland Hub on Wednesday 6^th December from 10-12 o’clock.

From Cllr Keen

The last month has been quite busy for me as I attended the Axbridge Blackberry carnival, where a fun day was had by all, and I also went to the North Petherton Civic service with the presentation of the King Alfred awards.  I then went to the NHS Somerset AGM, their first under the new integrated care boards and I attended the Armed Forces Covenant Conference, with speakers from Somerset Council, The NHS and the Royal Marines.  At the Barb AGM I gave a brief few words and thanked all the staff and volunteers for all their hard work keeping our bit of coastline safe.  Finally, I had the pleasure of going to the Somerset Council Chairs awards ceremony where our own Val Morley was given an award for her volunteering work in Apex park.