UPDATE 23 Mar 20: UK Prime Minister announcement: "... we will immediately: close all shops selling non-essential goods,​ including clothing and electronic stores and other premises including libraries, playgrounds and outdoor gyms, and places of worship; we will stop all gatherings of more than two people in public – excluding people you live with; and we’ll stop all social events​, including weddings, baptisms and other ceremonies, but excluding funerals. Parks will remain open for exercise but gatherings will be dispersed." (Transcript and BBC)

Can you volunteer to help NHS? Also, here is a website to find local volunteer groups but, please take the time to read their disclaimer, there are now thousands of local groups across the country shown, however unfortunately be aware that many are only on facebook although see more advice below.

"Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a new strain that was discovered in 2019 and has not been previously identified in humans."

The following is some information on the Coronavirus (COVID19):

• The World Health Organisation Coronavirus information
• The Department of Health & Social Care and Public Health England are leading the UK government response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. 
• Find out the number of cases and risk level in the UK, what to do if you have symptoms, and what the government is doing about the virus.
• Track coronavirus cases using a dashboard showing reported cases of coronavirus in the UK, including new cases, cases by upper tier local authority in England and number of deaths. BBC and ITV mapping also interesting global world maps and world statistics.
• For information about the virus and how to protect yourself visit the NHS advice page 
• Keep up to date with North Somerset coronavirus outbreak news by following the Weston Mercury's live blog e.g. Reference to "UK schools closed indefinitely from Friday and exams cancelled" 
• Beware of scams.

After careful consideration you may decide to volunteer to assist in your local communities, if so, please also review the approach taken by WSM Coronavirus Response Group on facebook (or see their website) with regards to your own and vulnerable people's health, safety, well-being, confidentiality and data protection issues, e.g."In order to safeguard both the vulnerable and volunteers unfortunately at this time we are only able to accept volunteers who are in possession of an in date DBS certificate and who are aged under 70 and have no underlying health condition that would mean you should be staying at home. Access to a vehicle is helpful If you are able to volunteer then please email your name, address, mobile number and a scan of your DBS to wsmresponse@outlook.com All information will be held in compliance with GDPR practices.". Alternatively see also Bleadon WI/Joint CV volunteer info here.

Finally, some businesses are opening early for elderly customers only e.g. "... some ... stores will open an hour earlier to allow the elderly to shop when it is quieter and to get first dibs on essentials amid the coronavirus outbreak" and others offering to "... open to the elderly and vulnerable the first hour of trading ... but will open for an hour longer so other shoppers do not miss out."

NB: There may be some buying restrictions E.g. to "... stop shoppers buying more than three of any particular food item" and some online food delivery services may be suspended e.g. "This temporary closure will allow [companies] to complete essential work that will help to make sure distribution of products and delivery slots is as fair and accessible as possible for all ... customers"

North Somerset Council is proposing:

"Changes to Financial Assessment Processes for Adult Care Users of adult social care and support services undergo a financial assessment in order to determine how much, if any, they should contribute to the costs of their care. We are proposing some changes to a number of procedural arrangements for financial assessments, which will result in changes to client contributions for non-residential adult social care and support packages, including both managed services such as home care and non-managed services such as Direct Payments.

 

The two key proposals which we are keen to hear your views on are:

• a change in how we treat the enhanced rate daily living element of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in assessments; and
• a change in how we treat the Minimum Income Guarantee for adults who are part of a couple.

You can read more about these proposals and our work to understand any potential impacts in our Equality Impact Assessment. We have also provided an online questionnaire to collect your views of how these proposals may impact service users and their families."

.

North Somerset Council is:

"... reviewing parking in North Somerset and are looking to understand the fairest way to manage parking in our communities and help encourage lower carbon choices ...

 

First, [NSC] asked town and parish councils to let [it] know the best way for [it] to gather this feedback. [How did BPC respond?] 

... Some tariffs in car parks and on the roads in Weston will become cheaper, while fees will be introduced to other areas and charges will become more consistent across North Somerset [See report here] 

... [NSC launched] an online questionnaire to help you think about the key issues and help [it] understand how people use the parking available now, and how and where they would like to see changes in future. Visit www.n-somerset.gov.uk/carparkingreview 

 

... If you would like to raise concerns that you feel haven't been addressed in the questionnaires you can speak to a representative from your town or parish council or your North Somerset councillor. They will collate and share with [NSC] a combined set of comments for your area 

 

... Once all the feedback has been collected transport teams will use it to develop detailed proposals for each area. There will then be a legal process we have to follow, which usually includes a statutory consultation. The earliest new charges are likely to be seen is the summer, but this will depend on the feedback we are given in the coming weeks.

See previous Your Neighbourhood Consultation.

Information on Statutory Consultees.

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Full extract from NSC Consultation website 17 Feb 20:

"North Somerset Car Parking Review

We are reviewing parking in North Somerset and are looking to understand the fairest way to manage parking in our communities and help encourage lower carbon choices in line with our climate emergency declaration.

We have to:

• Make sure the finite number of spaces we have allow people to park when needed
• Encourage turnover in our town centres to give retail businesses more potential customers
• Consider the safety of everyone who travels in areas where on-street car parking is allowed
• Raise enough money to cover operational costs, including maintenance and enforcement
• Encourage people to consider making sustainable travel choices

A cross-party working group of councillors from across the district have drawn up the proposals.

A detailed report outlining the proposals was presented to the councils Executive Committee in January 2020. You can read the report here.

Tell us what you think!

We invite you to respond to our questionnaires to help us develop our parking proposals. We are looking for feedback to help us decide on how new parking controls will operate in each area of North Somerset. After the consultation closes work will be undertaken to design final details. The detailed proposals will then be subject to a further statutory consultation before changes can be adopted.

If you would like to raise concerns that you feel haven't been addressed in the questionnaires you can speak to a representative from your town or parish council or your North Somerset councillor. They will collate and share with us a combined set of comments for your area. You can find the details for your town or parish council on our website at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/parishcouncils or your North Somerset councillor at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/findmycouncillor

Your answers to the questionnaires will be used alongside the feedback from town and parish councils to help our transport policy officers develop the details of the proposals. There will then be a legal process we have to follow, which usually includes a statutory consultation, before bringing a report back to the Executive for a final decision. The earliest new charges are likely to be seen is the summer, but this will depend on the feedback we are given."

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Full extract from NSC Consultation website 16 Feb 20:

"About the car parking review

Changes to car parking charges are coming to North Somerset this year and we want your help to shape the plans. In January our Executive agreed to several changes to what and where people will have to pay to park.

But before the plans are finalised, we are collecting feedback from communities to help us design the best approach for each area. First, we asked town and parish councils to let us know the best way for us to gather this feedback. We planned to launch the consultation on Monday 10 February, but have put this back to Monday 17 February to make sure we are able to incorporate all the comments we have received.

The proposals were drawn up by a cross-political party working group in response to residents’ calls for a fairer approach to parking. Some tariffs in car parks and on the roads in Weston will become cheaper, while fees will be introduced to other areas and charges will become more consistent across North Somerset.

The changes aim to make sure parking is managed in the best and fairest way possible, to encourage turnover of visitors to town centres, to make sure any fees are reasonable, and to cover the costs of enforcement in paid for and free spots. In response to the climate change emergency declared by the council last year, the changes also aim to encourage people to choose different ways to travel. If you have substantial comments or concerns you should speak to a representative from your town or parish councillor, or your North Somerset councillor, so they can collect and share with us the best information for your area. You can find the details for your North Somerset councillor on our website at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/findmycouncillor 

Next week we will launch an online questionnaire to help you think about the key issues and help us understand how people use the parking available now, and how and where they would like to see changes in future. Visit www.n-somerset.gov.uk/carparkingreview on Monday to take part. It will be open until Monday 16 March.

Once all the feedback has been collected transport teams will use it to develop detailed proposals for each area. There will then be a legal process we have to follow, which usually includes a statutory consultation. The earliest new charges are likely to be seen is the summer, but this will depend on the feedback we are given in the coming weeks.

Car parks where new charges are proposed Clevedon – Great Western Road East Clevedon – Great Western Road West Clevedon – Marson Road Nailsea – Clevedon Road Nailsea – Station Road Portishead – Roath Road

Areas where new on-street charging is proposed Clevedon town centre Clevedon Hill Road area Clevedon seafront Leigh Woods area Nailsea town centre Portishead town centre"

Extract from NSC Consultation website:

"Have your say

We want North Somerset to be a sustainable and fair place to live, work and visit. We want to work with you to create a place where all our residents have the opportunity to access quality education, jobs and housing.

We want you to get involved and work with us to shape the future of North Somerset and harness the great opportunity we have to achieve more for our people and place.

As part of this, we are looking at how your neighbourhood services are run and how we can ensure that they are fit for the future. Over the next few months we will be seeking your views on how we deliver a number of these services and where we should focus our future priorities.

The services we are consulting on are:

Garden waste

Help us shape the new garden waste collection service and options for home and community composting.

Leisure and sport centres

Help us understand the way North Somerset’s leisure and sport centres are currently used and how you would like to see them used in the future.

Libraries

Help us understand what is important to you about our library services and how we can ensure they are fit for the future.

Parks and open spaces

As we review our parks and open spaces maintenance contract, help us understand which parks and open spaces you use and how you would like to see them used in the future. Street cleansing

As we review our street cleaning contract,

help us shape how it will look in the future.

We are particularly interested in your ideas around how we can work better with you, your local communities and stakeholders to make these valued services as efficient and sustainable as possible. For example by pooling resources, creating delivery partnerships and taking advantage of income generating opportunities.

As well as completing our survey, we are inviting you to take part in a local consultation event to share your thoughts in more detail on your neighbourhood services and your ideas on how we can make them more fit for the future.

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Link to previous NSC Consultations ending in January i.e. Corporate Plan, Corporate Budget 2020/21, Rewilding in North Somerset and Climate Emergency Strategy consultations.

Information on Statutory Consultees.

BOB has just become aware of a number of NSC consultations about to end this month.

	Consultation	Opens	Closes	Information
	DRAFT Corporate Plan 2019-2023	17 Dec 19	17 Jan 20	Corporate Plan & Overview
	DRAFT 2020/21 Budget	17 Dec 19	17 Jan 20	Budget & Overview
	Rewilding in North Somerset	11 Nov 19	24 Jan 20	Native Woodland Tall Grass Management Overview
	Climate Emergency Strategy	13 Dec 19	31 Jan 20	Action Plan Strategy Overview

Corporate Plan

"Every four years the council develops a Corporate Plan. This is the council’s overarching strategic document. It sets out our vision and priorities for the area and for the organisation. 

As part of our commitment to engagement and transparency, we would like your views on this draft plan"

UPDATE 18 Jan 20 - Corporate Plan Questionnaire.

Corporate Budget 2020/21

"Every February the council approves a budget for the next year setting out how much money we have available to spend on the services we provide. We're consulting on our draft budget for 2020/21 and we would like to hear your views."

 

UPDATE 18 Jan 20 - NSC Budget Questionnaire.

How is it that NSC consult with the public on its Budget but Bleadon Parish Council held their budget and precept setting behind closed doors, in a working group with unknown members, and did not offer it for public consultation or even viewing before it was agreed at full council 13 January 2020 (Min 330.8)?

Rewilding in North Somerset

"Rewilding seeks to change the way open spaces are managed to allow nature to reinstate a more natural environment to benefit both biodiversity and local communities. We are committed to rewilding our parks, open spaces and verges across the district. In order to achieve this, we are planning to change some of our maintenance programmes. This will primarily include planting more trees and allowing some areas of grass to grow taller.

 

More information on the benefits of rewilding can be found on [NSC] website. We have identified locations to rewild and we have created an interactive map to show where these are. The map shows our amenity grass areas, which are the areas which we are proposing rewilding. These locations are where we are proposing to plant trees or let the grass grow taller. The map also shows the Ward boundaries so you can identify where your neighbourhood is located.

 

We want to know your opinion about our proposals and would also like to know of any further locations you think may be suitable for rewilding. As part of this project we would like to get local communities involved, therefore we are looking for volunteers who would like to help out with rewilding projects including tasks such as tree planting and monitoring areas."

Climate Emergency Strategy

"We have declared a Climate Emergency

 

In early 2019 North Somerset Council declared a Climate Emergency. Since then a draft Climate Emergency Strategy and a live Action Plan have been prepared. These documents have been endorsed by full council and now form the basis for the council's response to the climate emergency.

 

As well as seven key principles that outline how we will address the causes and consequences of climate change, the strategy includes an aim for North Somerset to become a carbon neutral council and a carbon neutral area by 2030.

 

We're interested in your views on how North Somerset has responded to the climate emergency and your views on the draft strategy. There's also an opportunity to sign up for future workshops to help develop the action plan which can also be viewed ..."

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Information on Statutory Consultees.

Previous consultation blog: How Fracking Surveys and Consultations Affect Bleadon

There have been three more resignations in the last two months, making 5 councillors and 2 Clerks since June 19.

Around 10 January 20 Bleadon Parish Council (BPC) posted on its website that due to the recent resignations of Cllr Hemmingway, Cllr Richardson and Cllr Sharman, there are now vacancies in BPC.

"If by 30 January, 2020 ... a request for an election to fill said vacancy is made in writing to the Returning Officer at Town Hall, Walliscote Grove Road, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1UJ by TEN electors for the said Parish ..., an election will be held to fill the said vacancy,

otherwise the vacancy will be filled by co-option. If an election is called, it will take place not later than 2 April, 2020."

In May 2018 there were six councillor vacancies, filled with the co-option of five lead members of BAT (Bleadon Acting Together), four of whom have now resigned. Just over 18 months later BAT is asking residents to do the same again. 

If residents do choose to stand as councillors they should be mindful that they will be representing the whole 'parish' not just one part of the 'village', or only their own views. Also, that residents do not have to be councillors to influence the outcome of planning applications, as explained via How it Should Work ... blog.

Regardless of how the next councillors are elected, ideally Bleadon Parish Council should consider allocating responsibility for different areas of the parish to each councillor, a similar approach to Weston Town Council. This may hopefully stop the overwhelming 'village' vs 'parish' view and decision making, created through the co-option/'friends' process, and may make local democracy more inclusive for all residents.

--

NSC has not yet published the Electoral Notices

Previous November Resignations.

The last contested Parish Election was held May 2013.

Purn Way Housing Development

THIS IS NOT A NEW APPLICATION - see application & BOB comment

There appears to be much mis-communication and subsequent frustration on social media with regards this application. So to try and clarify a few things:

• Bleadon Parish Council (BPC) DO NOT HAVE the power to decide(approve/reject) planning applications, but they are consulted by NSC
• North Somerset Council decide planning applications according to their adopted policies E.g. NSC Local Plan/Core Strategy & any approved NDP
• RESIDENTS HAVE THE POWER TO INFLUENCE NSC DECISIONS by submitting positive/negative/neutral comments on the application independently

Residents do not have to be councillors to influence applications as NSC has the power to override/support BPC decisions based on policy.

• Residents can be elected or co-opted to be BPC 'parish' councillors BUT they must follow:
• documented and adopted laws, policies, procedures, protocols, legal obligations, etc.
• "Be accountable to the public for decisions and actions" [including financial expenditure]
• "Submit to scrutiny appropriate to the office"
• "Be as open as possible about all decisions and actions."
• "Give reasons for decisions; restrict information only when the wider public interest demands."
• Declare "Disclosable Pecuniary Interests" and "Other Interests"

Note:

• All four current councillors live towards the Purn Way end of the 'village', none from the wider 'parish'.
• Four of the last five resigning councillors also lived towards Purn Way.
• To be able to make decisions, i.e. be 'quorate', BPC only need 3 councillors that have not made an associated declaration of interest.
• As far as BOB is aware, as a council BPC has been 'quorate' in the last few years and has been able to make decisions, except briefly for the one 200 Houses application.

Over the last few years BPC has not been attending to these basic obligations or responsibilities, which BOB believes has resulted in an increase in public frustration and complaint. Let's hope that any newly elected or co-opted resident is fully aware of the commitment required to be a councillor and will represent the 'parish' and not just the 'village'.

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

General Planning Process Overview

• (The Applicant submits a planning application)
• NSC make planning application and consultation decisions NOT BPC (e.g. some current and decided applications)
• NSC set various application time deadlines, then
• NSC asks various Statutory Consultees, including BPC, for their comments on the application, e.g. support, object, neutral
• NSC asks the public for their comments on the application e.g. through the NSC website, via BPC agenda, minutes, public meetings, etc.
• NSC makes the decision whether to Approve or Reject the application, based on documented and adopted laws, policies, etc. NOT BPC.

The Applicant can appeal against a NSC decision NOT a resident(?unless on a point of process)

• The Planning Inspectorate will decide the type of appeal
• NSC will choose how to defend an Appeal NOT BPC e.g. Mendip Motor
• Residents can speak at an Appeal at the Inspector's discretion e.g. 200 Houses and/or become a Rule 6 Party e.g. Bleadon Hill
• The individual Inspector (not a panel) then decides the outcome of the Appeal

General 'Parish' Councillor Roles, Responsibilities, obligations, etc.

• Residents can be elected or co-opted (asked) to be a 'Parish' councillor
• Councillors must then act on behalf of residents of the 'Parish' not just the 'Village'
• They must follow documented and adopted laws, policies, procedures, protocols, etc.
• E.g. BPC adopted National Code of Conduct, which is "based on the seven principles of public life"
• to be open and accountable for decisions and actions and financial expenditure,
• submit to public scrutiny, [including any resident complaint submitted/upheld by NSC]
• declare pecuniary and other interests e.g. Appendix A & B

BPC's adopted Code of Conduct states: "Give reasons for decisions; restrict information only when the wider public interest demands."

• To achieve better openness and transparency:
• "The Freedom of Information Act requires every public authority to have a publication scheme, approved by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and to publish information covered by the scheme.
• The scheme … [sets out BPC's] commitment to make certain classes of information routinely available, such as policies and procedures, minutes of meetings, annual reports and financial information."
• "The legal commitment is to the model publication scheme, and public authorities should look to provide as much information as possible on a routine basis.

Neighbourhood Plan

• The fundamental creation and adoption of a Neighbourhood Development Plan (unlike Bleadon's adopted Parish Plan) prescribes that Bleadon identify sites where housing will be permitted. As well as the ongoing maintenance obligation and cost to Bleadon, BOB has always argued that identification of sites by BPC would inevitably create conflict amongst residents... Purn Way would appear to be one of them, but other sites adjacent to boundary have also already been considered for the JSP and NSC Local Plan purposes, as well as BPC's NDP as indicated in its recent grant application submission.
• BPC NDP Feb 19 Minutes - "The response to the survey had been magnificent – 281 questionnaires completed in total (130 online)."  and  "There are just under 500 houses in the village and just over 950 adults on the electoral roll ... nearly 30%.". (NB: The 200 House Appeal submission and BVN113 states " The responses equate to 56% of households in the parish")?
• Reference should also be made to the BPC's responses to the JSP(Joint Spatial Plan) and NSC Local Plan 2036 consultations. E.g. Currently there is housing all along Bleadon's Settlement Boundary, except for the Quarry area.
• On 10 Dec 18 BPC indicated that a flex of settlement boundary may be acceptable at some point? "The current [NSC] policy should be amended to ensure that the size of any housing development adjacent to the boundary is limited in number to no more than 10% of the existing homes in the parish (currently circa 500 homes)" (Min 317.12)? What sites adjacent to the boundary did BPC have in mind? However, most of the councillors who submitted this consultation comment have since resigned!

The following request is from Little Dandelion Australia via Amy in Brent Knoll: 

"Knitters of the World - Australia needs your help. Over 1 million hectares of land have been burning in 300 fires across NSW and Queensland … There has been a call out for knitted, crocheted Joey pouches and sewn pouch liners for our beloved kangaroos, and other natives such as possums and wombats, to help in the treatment of burns."

The items most needed, and associated patterns and sizes required, can be found on various sites including Animal Rescue Collective Craft and Little Dandelion Australia.

If you would like to contribute 8-ply natural wool or knitted/crotched items then Corinne is kindly offering to collect the items from you and take them to the lady in Brent Knoll, who's sister will take them to Australia on 5th February.

Please note you can send items to Australia yourself but if you would like to use the local method of someone taking your items to Australia personally then you will need to:

contact Corinne on 07979 532 960 before 3rd February deadline.

[UPDATE 09 JAN 2020] 

For more information and local updates also see Corinnes Facebook Page

E.g. "The first flyer flew out today [9 Jan] with first batch of items made" and "There are collection points around the country and these are growing all the time ... British airways are discussing about moving crates carrying 500kg of items. Tom Ball of the Times has done a report on this all and it should be out tomorrow [9 Jan]. You can look on fb.uk crafters Australian Animal Rescue Effort and find out lots of information from here inc patterns, collection points ,carriers etc."

The 09 December 2019 Bleadon Parish Council Agenda (Min 329.8) stated another two resignations, Cllr Hemingway on 21 Nov 19, and the Clerk, Naomi, on 15 Nov 19.

The December minutes have not yet been published so reasons for their resignation may not be known until the next BPC Agenda is published, around 08 Jan 20.

The end of this year therefore sees the return of Bruce as interim Clerk, from 15 Nov 19. Since his leaving in 2015 BPC has seen the departure of 13 councillors and 7 clerks, including 2 locums, as seen below.

The interim Chair, Cllr Williams, has stated on her appointment that she will be Chair up until next Apr/May 2020, so it will be interesting to see what the New Year brings.

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Previous resignation blog

13 Resigning Councillors since May 2015:

Gibson, C.Findlay, Clarke, Edwards, Gibbon, Gutsell, Strong, Chinn, Dobson, Blezard, Selway, Baines & Hemingway

7 Clerks (2 locums) since May 2015: 

Hazel, Sam, Tony, Maria, Kevin, Marian & Naomi

This appeal has been dismissed. The Inspector concluded in his report "There are therefore no material considerations that would lead me to a decision other than in accordance with the [North Somerset] development plan."

See previous blog for previous application and appeal information