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Neroche Villages Action Groups |
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Other Neroche Action Groups Parish Plan Action groups
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Parish Plan Action GroupsAnnual Parish Meeting Action GroupThe Annual Parish Meeting Action Group was formed to organise with Neroche Parish Council the annual meeting that by law has to be held in every civic parish in England. These are open meeting of residents, independent of the parish council, which allow residents to discuss issues of concern or interest to their parish. Parish councils are responsible for ensuring that it occurs and, in our case, it is invariably presided over by the Chair of Neroche Parish Council. In past years it had been very poorly attended by residents But these meetings can take many forms and, in 2011, the first Annual Parish Meeting organised with input from the action group was a great success. It was a pleasant and informative event, very well attended. It gave local organisations and groups the opportunity to have displays and to talk about their activities. In particular Action Groups, formed as a result of the Neroche Parish Plan, were able to report on progress with their undertakings and plans for the future The formal part of the meeting was a bit complicated. Neroche Parish Council is an overarching body that looks after the affairs of the four parishes of Bickenhall, Curland, Orchard Portman with Thurlbear, and Staple Fitzpaine, so in fact four meetings needed to be held on the one night! Fortunately, in practice, most of the proceedings occurred as one combined meeting of residents The Action Group will meet early in 2012 and join Neroche Parish Council in planning the 2012 meeting to be held in April or May. Input from residents is essential so please join the group or contact us with your ideas for the next Annual Parish meeting Contact Tim French: 01460 234 410 or tim-french@tiscali.co.uk for further information Neroche Broadband and Mobile Phone Action GroupThe Parish Plan identified serious problems with both the broadband service and mobile phone reception in our area. It recommended that an Action Group be formed to work with Neroche Parish Council to investigate ways of improving the services Many residents and businesses are adversely affected by poor broadband speed. Less than a third had a good connection and some cannot get a landline broadband connection at all owing to the long copper wire link to exchanges. Half of those responding to the parish plan questionnaire had poor mobile phone reception adversely affected their personal or business use A meeting has been held to establish a working group. About a dozen individuals and businesses expressed support for forming a group but many were unable to attend and no action group was formed. However another meeting is to be held in summer to try again to form an action group. It will look further at suggestions made at the first meeting or sent in by those unable to get to it One idea was to use the community website to make available information about the issues. A number of initiatives, particularly relating to broadband, are in the pipeline or coming to fruition – unfortunately many will have no immediate impact on our area. These will be added via a link from this section of the site For further information, or to get involved, please contact:Tim French 01460 234 410 or tim-french@tscali.co.uk Business GroupThe Parish Plan revealed that there is a wide range of businesses operating in our area. The largest groups are those engaged in farming and agriculture, associated with horse riding, IT based activities, hospitality and tourism, building, arts or crafts, country sports and schooling. But there are many other diverse types of local businesses operated by one or two people. Over half of all working in the parish do so from home Less than a third of businesses people said that they would be interested in joining a local business group to facilitate networking and to exchange ideas, and an equal number said they were undecided. However, they felt that the following would be useful: a community website for advertising local businesses; a business and farming directory; a downloadable map; and links to business advice forums. Likewise, advertising in the Parish Magazine and a community newsletter was supported. Poor mobile phone and broadband services were identified as problems The Parish Plan identified four ways of providing a coordinated approach to support local businesses, one of which was to develop a Businesses Action Group if further interest was demonstrated A member of the Neroche Parish Plan Steering Group called and facilitated a meeting of local business people to see if they wished to form a Business Action Group. They discussed a number of subjects, including: a business fair/market for local businesses; a business section on the Community Website; advertising on the Community Website and in the Parish Newsletter; a ‘hard copy’ local business directory delivered free to every household; improvements to mobile phone reception and broadband connectivity; local business meetings; and the possibility of other initiatives to enhance the profile of local businesses, and improvements that might be made to make Neroche a more attractive location from which to be based and operate Those attending identified that some benefits could emanate from such a group but nobody present wished to take on the task of developing one. At the moment there are no plans to take the matter further although individuals were prepared to develop some of the initiatives as part of the remit of other Action Groups and would be prepared to help bring about a Business Action Group should interest be expressed in the future For further information or assistance contact Wally Torrington 01823 480656 orwallytorrington@hotmail.com Neroche Communication Action GroupThe Action Group was formed at the end of 2010 to promote communication within Neroche Parish so that residents would be better informed about activities and services available to them and thus more able to participate in the life of the community. It undertook to use various ways of communicating to promote resident groups and local businesses The first major project has been the development of this community website. In carrying out this work it has had the support of Neroche Parish Council which has a section for its activities on the site. The group will continue to develop the website to meet the needs of the community It is also looking at the feasibility of producing a community newsletter that would be delivered free to all households. The group is available, if requested, to use its resources and experience to help other groups in the parish with communication issues The group welcomes as members anyone wishing to help with these activities. Our secretary is Yvonne Welsh. To contact her please use the form on the Contact page of the websiteCountryside Action GroupThe Parish Plan identified ways several ways in which the beautiful countryside in which we live could be enhanced and maintained and how problems affecting it be overcome. Some of these are being addressed by the equine, walking and litter pick up groups The Countryside Action Group looked at ways of maintaining and improving the existing rural nature of the parish. It is currently acting on two aspects, namely Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) Copies of the Taunton Deane Borough Council maps showing trees in the four parishes with TPOs were obtained. The trees were visited by a member of the group with the exception of those on the Taunton Racecourse at Orchard Portman. A report will follow listing these trees and defining the legal procedures for protecting them; this will available on the website. It has been difficult to determine how to take out a TPO on a tree or group of trees, one of the reasons being that legislation on the matter is under consideration Tree Planting There will be an attempt to arrange a tree planting exercise in November during Tree Planting Week. There are many issues involved and discussions with interested parties are currently underway. Watch this space Fly tipping is a continual problem affecting the countryside. Work was undertaken with the Clerk of the Parish Council to determine the reporting procedures for when it occurred and recommendations for deterring would-be tippers. This information is available as a link on the Home page of the Neroche Parish Council of this siteNeroche Planning Action GroupThe Planning Action Group’s objective is to produce a Design Guide for the Parish as requested by 62% of residents (as stated in the Parish Plan) The Action group comprises 5 members who are working with four representatives of the parish council to produce a Design Guide. At the inaugural meeting all agreed to press ahead with the development of a Design Guide with the knowledge that its ‘effectiveness’ would be in raising awareness of and influencing good design. In summary the Neroche Parish Design Guide will: be local and specific Character appraisals of our Parish have been carried out by individual members and now a smaller group are working up a draft design guide for discussion and further work by the whole group At the very least the Design Guide will be available as a PDF file downloadable from the Parish Council website and we hope to launch at a public meeting in the near future. If you want to be part of the group or know more please call Ann Jones on 01420 234 774 or ann@artprojectsandsolutions.com Equine and Bridleways Action GroupHorse riding is a popular leisure activity and it supports several local equine businesses. The Parish Plan identified a number of ways to help improve the area for horse riding and to overcome problems. It was recommended that an equine action group be formed to work with the parish council to address these matters The first meeting of the Equine Action Group was very well attended and issues requiring attention were identified. However a subsequent meeting was not successful and currently the group is without a Chair or committee. Further attempts are being made to see if an action group can be established If you would like to be involved or wish further information, please contact Green IssuesA report from the Green issues group will be placed here when it becomes available Litter Pick Up GroupThe Neroche Litter Pick Up Group was formed by residents who wished to get rid of the rubbish that is left on the roads, lanes and paths of the parish. They decided to go about it in two ways:
For further information or to join in please contact: To adopt a road or path: Social and Community LifeThe Action Group formed in January 2011 and continued until after the Annual Parish Meeting in April 2011 when it reported its findings and subsequently disbanded having finished its brief. The group looked at the issues raised in the Social and Community Life section of the Neroche Parish Plan that covered many different aspects of the life of the community. The group realised that many of these would be undertaken by existing groups within the parish or by other action groups being formed. The group decided not to undertake specific tasks itself, as it believed that it would be best to support groups and organisations already existing in the community. It decided to look in depth at what was recommended in the Parish Plan and recommend to existing organizations and groups to fill in the gaps as needed. Issues in the Parish Plan that were considered and the recommendations included: A village shop This was felt unlikely to succeed for many reasons Developing the Mission Hut at Staple Fitzpaine This had been suggested as a possible site for a variety of uses including a shop, a café, drop in place for people of all ages, an information centre. Again, the practicalities of developing and sustaining it seemed daunting and using existing facilities, including Neroche Hall and Café Fitz seemed more practicableA sale point for local food producers, artists and crafts people The most likely place for achieving this goal was Neroche Hall (the village hall). The group asked the Neroche Hall committee to consider developing events, held on a seasonal or regular basis, to provide these opportunities; for example on a weekend day, in the hall with charges for a table on which to display wares, and with other groups invited to participate. Alternatives to this would include combining such events with a car boot sale. These could be hall run events or run by outside organisations that rented the facilities. Some had been successful in the past. No other venue available seemed appropriateA Café It was felt that Café Fitz should be supported rather than create something else. It would be desirable if, with residents support, it could extend its opening days and/or hours Information It was felt communication is very important and all existing forms of communication were looked at. It was felt that both the written word and websites are necessary, considering the fabric of the community Mobile Library This matter was being decided at a county council level Neroche Traffic Action GroupNeroche Traffic Action Group’s main aim is to obtain safer roads. Eighty percent of residents in the Parish Plan regard roads in our area as being dangerous There are seven members on the Action Group One of the main objectives is to obtain a lower speed limit. A meeting with Police and Highways authorities has been requested. They have toured the area and are willing to bring their suggestions to a meeting with the group A meeting was organised with Ken Brown, Chair of Corfe Parish Council, who explained how they achieved a reduction in the speed limit in their village to thirty miles per hour A meeting has been arranged with an independent Road and Traffic consultant to find the best way to achieve our aims. The Blackdown Hills AONB has been contacted so we can work together to share information If you want to be part of the group or know more please call Andre Wallace on 01460 234 774 Neroche Parish Walking GroupNeroche Parish Walking Group was established in January 2011. It came about as a result of the Parish Plan which identified the need for improving general access and the condition of the local footpath and bridleway network Young PeopleThe Parish Plan identified a number of issues relating to children and young people that needed addressing. These included a lack of a playground or playing field; lack of entertainment for children and young people; lack of a shop or meeting place; and lack of cycle routes within the parish or linking it to Taunton It was recommended that an Action Group be formed to work with Neroche Parish Council as a partner to see how these issues might be addressed. Attempts to hold a meeting of interested parties to form a group did not meet with success. However John Bell is prepared to help to establish such a group if others wish to take on the task For further information contact John Bell at 01823 480 180 Other Neroche Action GroupsSouthwest Action for the Woodlands of Neroche –SAWNThis group was formed at a public meeting held in Neroche Hall on 11 March 2011 shortly after the government announced plans to sell off parts of the Forestry Commission woodlands. In fact, by the time that the meeting was held, there had been much disquiet expressed nationally, the government’s plans had been shelved and it had entered into a new public consultation exercise. The format of the meeting changed and became “ A Celebration of Neroche and Thurlbear Woodlands”, with presentations about their history, archaeology and wildlife, and the recent work of the Neroche Project. For a report go to the News page of the website The presentations were followed by an open meeting to discuss the proposed disposal of Forestry Commission land through the new government review panel. “To advise the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the future direction of forestry and woodland policy in England. For further details see www.defra.gov.uk/rural/forestry/panel This panel is to present a progress report by the autumn and the final report in April 2012. The meeting agreed unanimously to defend the public right to roam throughout the Neroche and Thurlbear woodlands, i.e. all the former Portman Estate woodlands south of Taunton currently run by the Forestry Commission, and enclosed in part by the Blackdown Hills AONB There was a request at the meeting to challenge the lack of “Heritage” status awarded to Neroche woodlands in the recent government consultation document. However this category might well be abandoned during the new consultation process Several things were decided at the meeting. First, to make a database of those who were interested in being kept informed about what was happening to our local woodlands, starting with those at the meeting. This would allow them to act individually or collectively to make the case for preserving our woodlands. For further information about this group or subsequent developments please contact
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