[Retired] 2020 to 2021 Action Plan

Background

The parish of Temple Cloud with Cameley is a rural community in Bath and North East Somerset, south of Bath and Bristol. The electorate in February 2020 was 1147. The parish council has an annual working budget of £36,000 for 2020 to 2021. Within this budget, £27,140 was raised by the precept in 2019-20, the majority of the remaining income is raised from village hall hire. The number of councillors has been fixed at nine for the parish council.

The activities of the parish council include the hire and management of the local village hall, which is owned by the parish council and managed by the clerk.

The parish council is the sole trustee of a playing field which includes a children’s play park. The parish council employs two village operatives who look after the children’s play park, playing field and the surrounding village areas. The village operatives also help maintain the public rights of way within the parish boundaries. The parish council employs contractors for grounds maintenance of the playing field including grass cutting and hedge trimming.

The parish council is currently looking at plans to enhance the local facilities around the playing field and village hall using CIL and earmarked reserves of up to £45000, along with any grants that may be awarded. A process of public consultation is being prepared to seek community feedback and participation in the plans to develop the local facilities. Ideas being considered include a cycle / pump track, a running track around the playing field, tennis court and improvements to the village hall.

Purpose

The purpose of the action plan is to set out the vision of the Parish Council for the next three to five years. This vision is supported with objectives to achieve these aims. The objectives are broken down into actions to be taken over a 12 month period.

The current 12 month period covers Nov 2020 to Nov 2021.

Areas for further attention in the future have been identified and will form part of the ongoing planning of the council.

Monitoring and Review

The plan will be reviewed at least annually by the Parish Council, to review the aims and update the 12 month plan of action. The ongoing monitoring and review of the action plan will periodically form part of the monthly parish council meetings along with working parties throughout the year.

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Aims

The parish council aims are to support and improve the quality of life for the parish of Temple Cloud and Cameley.

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Ambitions for the next three to five years

Improvement of local leisure facilities

Projects are being planned to improve the leisure facilities around the playing field and village hall. The remaining part of the CIL reserves needs to be used by 5/4/2023 which adds a deadline to some of the projects being completed. A public consultation has been underway to gauge interest in a pump track installation, with the first part of the consutaton completed in December 2020. The results of the first consultation will be used to form the final project plans.

Pavilion:
There was a safety risk due to a perishing roof. A public consultation indicated there was little support for funds being spent to refurbish the pavilion. The pavilion has been demolished and the underlying surface will be restored to grass. The project is expected to be completed by summer 2021.

Village hall to playground footpath:
Following public requests, research in underway to install a cotswold gravel path from the village hall to the playground. A small stretch of this type of path has been installed next to the playground, which has allowed a test of this surface before more extensive installation. It was decided to make this installation part of the pump track project.

9/2/2021 Update: The council had an extraordinary meeting in February and resolved to instal the Cotswold gravel path as soon as possible following community feedback that this would be appreciated. This has now been completed.

Eastcourt Woods Footpath

The Parish Council is supporting plans to restore the public footpath that passes through the center of Eastcourt Woods. This project is being planned in collaboration with BANES council to clear the footpath, remove litter and address the problem of extensive broken glass from a previous glass dump.

The condition of the public footpath in Eastcourt Woods was reported to the council by the village operative in March 2019. The issues identified were that the footpath was blocked by thick overgrown brambles and there was excessive litter dumped and a safety hazard of broken glass rising up in the earth from the site being used as a glass dump in the past. The BANES public rights of way team were notified of the issues. In November 2020 this has led to proposals from BANES PROW to enhance the area using a budget from a developers ‘Unilateral Undertaking’. The proposals include the creation of an improved surface on the footpath to create a circular woodland route.

Village Hall Repairs and Development

The village hall requires some repairs and improvements. The following ideas are being investigated, and some options are being implemented:

• Some of the walls need to be bricked up to replace stud walls on the exterior. Doors and windows will also be considered for these areas.
• The breeze block exterior wall may benefit from a better looking finish, such as rendering or painting.
• Inside the hall, the lighting can be improved. This is underway with the replacement of energy efficient lights.
• The floor will need maintenance or replacement.
• The kitchen facilities could be enhanced.
• The water cylinders are unsuitable for current use, and better water heating options could be installed.
• An extension that was planned many years ago, this option was investigated in 2020. The conclusion on looking at this was that the costs of such an extension did not add enough benefits for the community compared to other projects that could be considered.

Community Engagement

The council plan to recruit new councillors so that the parish council contains a full complement of nine councillors. The Parish Council aim to encourage and foster relations with all areas of the community and encourage community volunteers and engagement.

Finances

The Parish Council plan to review and develop the reserves policy. Part of this will be to identify potential future capital requirements and possible unforeseen costs in asset management, which is to become part of a planned reserves policy. Areas to address include future building maintenance of the village hall and future replacement of parish council equipment and the potential costs if the parish council is required to hold an election. This policy will be used to support future budget planning.

Litter

The Parish Council plans to maintain the tidiness of the playground, playing field and village hall, along with surrounding areas with continued litter picking. The Parish Council aims to find ways to engage with those discarding litter to improve social responsibility from all social groups.

Timescales for Planned projects and objectives

Proposed Timescales for Playing field area

Responsibilities: Clerk

	20	20	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21
	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
Pavillion demolition	—	–>
Pavillion reseeding					<–	—	–>
Playing field spot repairs	<–	—	—	–>
Playing field re seeding					<–	—	–>

Proposed Timescales for Pump Track

Responsibilities: Council Working Party / Clerk

Pump Track

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

General Consultation

<–

–>

Tender requests

<–

—

–>

Further Consultation

<–

–>

Installation

<–

?

–>

Gravel Path

<–

–>

Proposed Timescales for Village Hall Repairs and Development

Responsibilities: Council Working Party / Clerk

PROVISIONAL TIMESCALES 2020-2021
	20	20	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21
Village Hall	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
Energy lighting installation			<–	–>
School classroom hire				<–	—	—	—	—	–>
Building repair tender process						<–	—	–>
Stud wall Replacement										<–	—	–>

Proposed Timescales for Eastcourt Woods Footpath

Responsibilities: BANES District Council in conjunction with Parish Council

PROVISIONAL TIMESCALES 2022?
	21	21	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22
	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug
Eastcourt Woods Footpath						<–	?	?	–>

The footpath has been cleared to allow access. BANES is preparing a footpath diversion order, this needs to be completed before the works can commence.

Areas for Further Attention

Planning for Unforeseen Financial Risks

As part of the spending plans for the CIL and general reserves, the identification of financial risks should be updated. Potential risks may be from unforseen costs and should be identified and factored into the reserves policy. Risk might include cost of a parish council election, building maintenance, equipment repair or replacement. Delay of funds being received, reduced income from village hall booking.

Litter

The playground and village hall are regularly littered with litter from takeaway food, sweets and soft drinks. The village operatives along with individual volunteers in the community regularly pick up the litter and keep the area tidy. The issue has been tackled in conjunction with BANES council, with posters and social media campaigns. The posters were subsequently vandalised and removed. The parish council will continue to clean the problem areas and remind groups to use the bins that are provided. Opportunities for social engagement with disaffected groups are an area for development.