Mendip South councillor report for August
Somerset Council disposal of assets in response to financial emergency
Somerset Council has authorised the sale of non-operational assets, with a combined value of between £17m and £21m. A report recommending the disposal of several Somerset Council assets to help generate funds in response to the financial emergency was considered and approved by Somerset Exec on Monday August 5th.
This includes Land at Evercreech.
Cllr Claire Sully and Cllr Rob Reed attended Evercreech Parish Council’s extraordinary meeting on August 31st to listen to Parish Councillors, and the local community, and to take their questions and feedback back to Somerset Council. Evercreech Parish Council also sent a written response to Somerset Council.
The report to the Resources and Corporate Scrutiny Committee can be found here:
https://democracy.somerset.gov.uk/documents/s33962/Report%20on%20Non-Operational%20Assets%20-%20CR%20Scrutiny%20Committee%2024%20July%202024.pdf
Consultation on possible changes to Council Tax Reduction Support.
Somerset residents to have their say on possible changes to a scheme which offers Council Tax financial support to working age adults on low incomes.
In November 2023, Somerset Council declared a financial emergency due to increasing costs of providing key services and agreed to a number of actions to reduce spending.
This included a commitment to consult with the public on potential changes to the Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme.
If all the revised proposals were to be approved, it could potentially save Somerset Council £6.4m a year.
The options for consideration include reducing the maximum available discount from 100% to 75%.
To have your say or find out more about the proposals, visit the Council’s consultation webpage, as well as the decision report for the Executive meeting on 15 July. The consultation will run until 1 October, with any decisions taking place later in the year and any changes coming into effect from 1 April 2025.
Paper copies will also be available in libraries and letters will be sent by post to all those who currently receive CTR support.
Consultation on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy
A consultation with Somerset residents is being launched to help shape Somerset’s future Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy.
Individuals with lived experience of homelessness and rough sleeping have been asked to provide their thoughts as well.
The consultation has a closing date of Monday 23 September. Further details here:
https://somersetcouncil.citizenspace.com/housing/somerset-homelessness-strategy-consultation
New partnership to boost heat pump installation for Somerset Homes, including areas in Mendip South
The Retrofit Somerset project led by Somerset Climate Action Network in partnership with Somerset Council has recently launched a partnership with green tech company Thermly to trial a heat pump ready scheme.
The scheme could help up to 40,000 homeowners install heat pumps through a pilot online suitability assessment which makes it quick and easy to work out if a heat pump is a suitable option for their home and connect them with local heat pump installers.
It can help people take advantage of £7,500 in government funding available to support installations – with Thermly also offering an additional £1,000 bonus to the first twenty viable homes in Somerset to install a heat pump.
Retrofit Somerset is initially focussing on homes in rural locations in the south east of Somerset with plans to eventually roll out the scheme across the county.
Interested homeowners in south east Somerset can find out if their home is suitable for a heat pump at the Thermly website: https://www.thermly.co.uk/community/somerset).
Terms and conditions apply which include a list of the current scheme’s viable locations in the area (https://thermly.co.uk/articles/article/somerset-launch).
Heat pumps are in high demand as a low-emission energy efficient heating solution in the UK. They work by collecting heat from an external source of air, ground, or water – and then concentrate the heat using a pump, making them three times more efficient than a gas boiler. They are basically a fridge working in reverse pumping concentrated heat into the home heating system from external sources.
Because they are more energy efficient, they produce less greenhouse gas emissions. A typical air source heat pump produces 850kg of CO2 per year compared to gas boilers producing 2,500 kg of CO2 and oil-fired heating 5,200 kg, plus the carbon impact of delivering the oil to homes.
In Somerset, it is thought that around 7,300 homes have already installed heat pumps, while 277,000 need to be installed by 2050 to meet decarbonisation requirements and to support more energy efficient heating solutions for householders in Somerset.
It is estimated that nationally nearly 100,000 people search for heat pumps online each month, but installations have not kept pace with this demand.
For more information about Retrofit Somerset, explore www.retrofitsomerset.info
Buses of Somerset – strike action announced
Bus services provided by Buses of Somerset (BoS) could be subject to further disruption as a result of industrial action next week.
The RMT has announced two days of strike action on Friday 9 August and Monday 12 August, along with two days of industrial action withholding overtime on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 August.
Negotiations continue, but if the action goes ahead the disruption will only affect the BoS services, provided by First Bus South, not other providers operating in the county.
The extent of the disruption would not be known until the days of action themselves.
Somerset Council will do its best to communicate affected services to the public alongside any communications by BoS across social and local media.
In the event of strike action, unfortunately no service can be guaranteed and all may be subject to last minute change. Passengers should check before travelling.
For the latest information, please go to:
• https://www.firstbus.co.uk/somerset
• https://www.firstbus.co.uk/adventures-bus (for the Exmoor Coaster)
• Social media: @busesofsomerset and @adventuresbybus
• Phone: First Bus National Contact Centre 0345 646 0707.
Follow @TravelSomerset on Twitter and Facebook for live travel updates, roadworks and other highways news.
Suicide Prevention Work in Somerset Update
A draft Somerset suicide prevention strategy has been presented to members of the Adults and Health scrutiny committee at Somerset Council. The draft strategy draws on three key areas.
Suicide remains the biggest killer of men aged 49 and under, and the leading cause of death in people aged 20 to 34. Suicide is also the leading cause of direct deaths 6 weeks to a year after the end of pregnancy.
Suicide is a health inequality issue. There are well established links between suicide and social fragmentation and socioeconomic circumstances.
Somerset Council, through its health and wellbeing duties, holds responsibility for ensuring that appropriate and sufficient local arrangements are in place to prevent suicide, this work is coordinated with partners through the multi-agency Suicide Prevention Partnership Forum.
When talking about suicide prevention we are helping to break down the barriers or stigma around suicide. The experts believe suicide can be prevented with the right interventions.
Our new local strategy is based on the 8 national strategic priorities (below) detailed within the national strategy.
- Improving data and evidence
- Tailored, targeted support to priority groups
- Addressing common risk factors at a population level
- Promoting online safety and responsible media content to reduce harms
- Providing effective crisis support across sections
- Reducing access to means and methods of suicide
- Providing effective bereavement support to those affected by suicide
- Making suicide everybody’s business
An event called Walk for a Life has been organised to remember those we have lost to suicide, raise awareness, and encourage and empower people in Somerset to take action to prevent suicide.
A Walk for a Life is on Sept 7th, Walk start time: 10.30am, meeting House, Bath Place, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4EP.
Training we can do includes: Every Life Matters and Orange button Community Awareness Scheme.
There will be continuing annual updates to the Adults and Health Scrutiny committee evaluating the local suicide prevention strategy.
Somerset Council is calling out to anyone who has recently planted or plans to plant trees, to add them to the Somerset Tree Planting Register.
As part of the 10-year Somerset Tree Strategy launched last June, developed with partners like the Woodland Trust and the Environment Agency, the goal is to plant 240 hectares (93 square miles) of new trees across Somerset each year until 2033 to get the county’s tree coverage to at least the national average.
The Somerset Tree Planting Register will help us track these important tree-planting goals.
Further details can be found here: https://somersetcouncil.citizenspace.com/climate-and-environment/woodland-creation-engagement-survey/
Report it first: useful Links to share with your communities
Visit Report a problem on the road: https://www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/report-a-problem-on-the-road/
For traffic updates and roadworks follow @travelsomerset on X and Facebook.
Sign-up for the latest climate news:
https://www.somerset.gov.uk/environment-and-food-safety/climate-and-ecological-emergency/newsletter-sign-up/.
Live travel information
https://www.travelsomerset.co.uk/
Potholes and road damage
Somerset Council repair potholes and other road defects, and maintain our roads, for the safe access of all road users:
https://www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/potholes-and-road-damage/
Report a problem with a street light
We maintain and repair street lights to national standards to provide safe access to all road users:
https://www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/report-a-problem-with-a-street-light/
Roads, travel and parking, road signs, markings and lighting
Includes information about non-illuminated bollards, pedestrian crossings, requesting a village nameplate and how to apply for a new road sign Speed limits:https://www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/road-signs-bollards-and-road-markings/
Speed limits
Request information about new or existing traffic calming measures:
https://www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/speed-limits/
Traffic lights
We maintain over 200 traffic light locations throughout the county
https://www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/traffic-lights/
Street and roadworks
We maintain the roads and pavements that are managed at public expense in Somerset
https://www.somerset.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/street-and-roadworks/