Agenda and minutes

Welcome from the Chair of the Council, Cllr Shaun Stephenson-McGall followed by an introduction from Chief Operating Officer, Mandy Bishop.

The Chair welcomed those present and thanked the parishes for their input into the Agendas for Parish Liaison meetings via BANES ALCA.  He noted that this would be the last Parish Liaison meeting before the Local Elections on 4 May.

The Chair handed over to Mandy Bishop, the Council’s Chief Operating Officer, who thanked the parishes for their commitment to the Parish Liaison meetings and to working with Bath & North East Somerset Council.  She also thanked the sub-group that represents parishes on setting Agendas for Parish Liaison and matters relating to the Parish Charter.  She said that, the run up to the election, work will continue on preparing for the next Parish Liaison meetings and on inductions for new Ward and Parish Councillors.

Malcom Parsons, Head of Capital Delivery at WECA will give an update and take questions.

The Chair introduced Malcolm Parsons, Head of Capital Delivery, West of England Combined Authority (WECA).  He explained that his team leads on delivering the Demand Responsive Transport (DRT).

MP said that WECA has received funding from Government as part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan.  This provides a suite of opportunities, including DRT.  He noted that while presentations on DRT have recently been given to the Area Forums, the picture is changing on a daily basis, so there could be some new information this evening.  He then gave a presentation and took questions.  Details are in Appendix 1.

A map of the DRT bus stops was requested by parishes, together with a copy of the presentation given this evening, the Communications Plan and publicity materials.  Keynsham Town Council offered to put posters in bus shelters in the town.  MP agreed to provide these.

MB said that if there are any further questions, parishes should send them to Alison Wells to pass on to him.  Email: alison_wells@bathnes.gov.uk

Simon de Beer – Head of Planning, B&NES

Richard Daone – Deputy Head of Planning Policy, B&NES

The Chair introduced Simon de Beer, Head of Planning, B&NESand Richard Daone Deputy Head of Planning Policy, B&NES who gave an update on the Local Plan, feedback from recent workshops held with parishes and details of the next steps in the process.  They also took questions.  The full details and link to the presentation given are in Appendix 2.

Planning will be back in touch with parishes for further engagement in the Local Plan process in the next couple of months and noted how much they value their input and the working relationship we have.

The Chair thanked them for their presentation.

Aurora Loi – Electoral Services Manager, B&NES

The Chair introduced Aurora Loi,Electoral Services Manager, B&NES, who gave an update, followed by questions.  Full details can be found in Appendix 3.

Sue Dyer thanked Aurora for all the information provided to parishes as, having spoken with Clerks in other Authority areas, they have not received the same level of detail.

Lynda Deane - Head of Service City & Town Centre Management, B&NES.

Mandy Bishop, Chief Operating Officer, B&NES thanked the parishes that had let the Council know about the events they are planning to mark the Coronation.  If there are parishes that have yet to do this, please notify our Events Team by email to: event@bathnes.gov.uk.  Even if the events are small or not taking place on Council land or highways, it is still helpful for us and our partners, such as the Police, to have an overview of what is taking place, when and where.

The deadlines have now passed for road closures and premises licences.  It’s still possible to get a TENS licence ten days before a small event but applying earlier than this would be helpful.  The latest B&NES Coronation Toolkit can be found at the bottom of our ‘Working with Parish Councils webpage’ and provides helpful information for parishes, community groups and residents.

MB highlighted some grants currently available to support Coronation Events from the National Lottery and locally from St Monica Trust for Coronation events that involve older people (deadline of 31 March).  The Royal Voluntary Service also has a new awards scheme for volunteers – Coronation Champions – and are accepting nominations until 2 April.

WECA has recently been awarded funding from the Government to support the use of screens for the Coronation and Eurovision.  If you are interested, contact the Events Team by email to event@bathnes.gov.uk

Lynda Deane - Head of Service City & Town Centre Management, B&NES.

Mandy Bishop assured the parishes that the Council and its partners have robust and well rehearsed plans in place for flooding; major incidents and severe weather.  These relate not only to our communities but the Council’s own business continuity for the many services it provides.  A presentation and commentary can be found at Appendix 4.  There will be a B&NES/Environment Agency Resilience Day on 28 September and Parish/Town Councils will be invited to this.

MB highlighted the valuable role parishes play in emergency situations – this includes helping to identify vulnerable person and places of safety as well as their involvement in flood warden schemes and resilience plans, such as the excellent example in Chew Magna.

The Council’s Emergency Planning team has recently been in touch with all parishes on support with preparing Community Resilience Plans/Emergency Plans and are currently working with Combe Hay; North Stoke; Saltford and Westfield.  The team can offer resources as well as a plan template.  The team is also keen to hear about any Places of Safety such as a local village hall, church or community building that could be used in an emergency and local contacts.  They would also like to have copies of any existing Emergency Plans you might have on file.  For further information or to send them plans, please contact them by email to emergencyplanning@bathnes.gov.uk

The Chair thanked those present for attending.  He also thanked any parish councillors that would be standing down at the election for all their valuable work in our local communities.

He said that there would be a new Chair for the forthcoming Parish Liaison meetings which are on 19 July and 18 October.  Both are currently scheduled to take place in person at the Community Space in Keynsham.