Quantock Area News

URGENT ACTION REQUIRED!
County Council Plans to sell part of Quantocks

29th Jan 2012
Two weeks before Christmas Somerset County Council (SCC) announced, solely by means of a small advert at the back of the Bridgwater Mercury, its intention to sell off nearly 2000 acres of the Quantock Hills. Parish Councils and other interested groups, including the Quantock Rangers, were not informed of this intention.

In the advert anyone in disagreement with the proposal was given until the 23rd Dec to register their objections. Despite the very short deadline, many objections were submitted. However the matter has not ended there. We have started a petition which, if it reaches 5000 signatures, will mean that SCC will debate the issue at a full meeting, something the council has not been obliged to do so far in the process - the land being considered a 'minor asset'.

sign the petition

Furthermore, the Lib Dem opposition group on the County Council will be putting down a motion to oppose the sale of the Quantocks at a full council meeting on Wednesday Feb. 15th, 10:30 am, at Shire Hall. This meeting is open to the public.
Map    Post Code:TA1 4EU

Read on for more detail.

Update 25th Jan 2012
A meeting at County Hall on 13 January has shed some disturbing light on the proposed sale of land on the Quantocks.

Lib Dem councillor, John Baily, reports an exchange with Councillor David Huxtable (Conservative), who is in charge of the sale.

' It's official from Tory Cabinet member, Cllr David Huxtable

"We want a smaller Council and will transfer this to others. That is the objective, it doesn't matter if it does not raise much money."

This was in response to a question of how much money would be raised by the sale of land on the Quantocks.

In the case of some of these land sales there is very little competition and real concerns that the public interest has been ignored.

Then perhaps the sale will the save money? The answer came - 'We don't know'!!

Shadow Spokesperson John Bailey said: 'So it is offical there is no business case, it is pure dogma. Don't worry the Tory Administration is not selling the family silver - they are giving it away'

UPDATE 22nd Jan 2012

The Lib Dem opposition group at county hall have raised a formal objection to the proposed sale of land on the Quantocks. However, according to Councillor Ross Henley, it appears that the council is determined to ignore objections.

The Lib Dem's are intending to put down a motion opposing the sale at a council meeting on Wed 15th Feb. It would be helpful if members of the public opposing the sale could attend. More details will be posted here soon.

To acutally force a council debate over the issue our online petition needs to reach 5000 signatures - we need about 1300 more, so please sign now.

Dec 2011
Somerset County Council has just announced plans to sell off parts of the Quantock Hills - Great Wood, Over Stowey Custom Common and Thorncombe Hill. Two of these areas are nationally important Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Copy of notification

We have started an online petition at the Somerset County Council web site. This is a quick way to register your protest, but do make sure to write in as well. This petition will continue beyond the formal date for lodging objections, and we have formally asked SCC to take the petition into account in any decision making process - so do sign it!

The County Solicitor was contacted on 23rd Dec, and was formally asked that the petition be taken into account at any meetings discussing the proposed sale. There were over 2,500 signatures on the petition by 23rd Dec.

There are currently over 3,300 signatures (3rd Jan 2012). SCC has indicated that it will still accumulate views from the public, and will take notice of the e-petition. The final decision regarding disposal will not be until February - so do act now!

PROTEST MARCH IN TAUNTON

22nd Dec 2011
A protest march, organised in just one day by Harry Procter and Chrissie Amey, walked through the centre of Taunton today.

In the short walk to the Council offices about 70 protestors quickly gathered around 400 signatures, which is in addition to over 1,500 gathered in an on-line petition over just two days.

The council official, Charlie Fields, who received the petition indicated that there had already been several expressions of interest in buying the land, and did not seem hopeful that the council would change its mind.

Protest reported on: BBC - link and
Somerset County Gazette - link.

We would also suggest writing to your County and District Councillors, as well as your MP, Ian Liddell-Grainger. To do this simply go to WriteToThem.com and enter your postcode. This will give you all required details for your area.

The county councillor in charge of the sell off is David Huxtable - e-mail: djhuxtable@somerset.gov.uk

We have heard that several parish councils will be objecting to the proposal - details to follow, as we get them.

Pamela Hill has made some requests under the Freedom of Information Act regarding some aspects of the sale. Her requests and SCC's responses can be found here.

Roger Conway has made requests under the Freedom of Information Act about SCC's reported disposal of assets worth £120 million in 2011. The request and responses can be seen here.

You can object by post, to Honor Clark, Deputy County Solicitor, Legal Services, County Hall, Taunton TA1 4DY (ref: CNV0038/1/JAH). Alternatively e-mail: HCClarke@somerset.gov.uk This must be received by 23rd December. Although this date has now passed objections can still be made directly to councillors & your MP.

The Quantock Rangers position on the proposal can be seen here. And their web site is www.quantockhills.com

Watch a West Country Tonight news report from 21st Dec about the sale - be amazed at the County Council's view!

A Facebook group "Sale of Quantock Land", objecting to the sale has also been formed.

Quantock Eco's letter of objection can be seen here quantockeco.org.uk

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has lodged an objection to the sale.
See a copy of the letter.

The Friends of Quantock are also making a formal objection about the proposed sale.

If you have any further information you feel would be useful to collate here, just e-mail editor@quantockonline.co.uk

Nether Stowey Community Library Update

Dec 2011
Nether Stowey has been one of the first communities In Somerset to respond to the threatened closure of its library with a detailed plan of action to manage the library service at a local level. Crucially our business and service plans had the full backing of our Parish Council and also had the support of the County Council. The recent Crown Court judgement against Somerset County council’s proposed library closures has changed our plans in the immediate term. It may be some time before we know exactly how County will respond to this judgement, but it does NOT mean we will simply shelve our plans. Already we have agreed to focus on working with the County Council to extend the existing service. In the original questionnaire sent out to parishioners, there was a strong call for later library opening hours, more ‘cultural’ activities and other community services. We will continue to work out how we might achieve this – and it is clear that whatever is decided we will continue to need volunteers and funding .

Clearly we cannot expect County Council to enhance the existing service and it would be naive to assume that they will now continue financial support for our library indefinitely. We have built a firm basis for future local management of the library and will be keeping our plans in a state of readiness. At this point we want to thank all our local supporters, especially those who have volunteered their time and pledged donations. We remained committed to maintaining an active and vibrant library in Nether Stowey and to keeping all concerned informed in the months ahead.

A new support group for Nether Stowey Library is being set up. Its Inaugural Meeting will take place on a Saturday in January 2012 – date to be decided. Please look out for further information in the Library and around the village and come along. We need your support.

Nether Stowey Community Library Steering Committee is being disbanded. Its final meeting will be held on 7th January 2012 at 10.00am in the Library.

Western Somerset Woodland Project

September 2011
The Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) have been awarded funding from Western Somerset Local Action for Rural Communities and the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for the Western Somerset Woodland Project. Working with woodland owners, local communities and with people who work in woodlands, this exciting project aims to restore, enhance and protect Western Somerset’s woodlands for future generations.

The group can provide advice on woodfuel and timber production, and assistance to enhance your woodland for wildlife. We can support you with grant applications, such as the English Woodland Grant Scheme, and can also offer advice on woodland creation.

They are looking to support and increase opportunities for the local woodland industry, and will be producing a Contractors Directory. If you work in woodlands or with woodland products and would like more information about the Western Somerset Contractors Directory, you just need to contact them.

The project is also looking fo volunteers to work in local woodlands.         
 [More details & contact information...]

Holford Flower Show

August 2011

Although it was very dry early in the year gardeners were not deterred from exhibiting in Holford Gardeners Group seventh annual Flower Show on 6 August, with entries up in the Flowers & Container Plants Group. There were some excellent exhibits to admire in the Art, Craft, Needlework, Floral Art, Photographic, Home-craft and Fruit & Vegetables Groups. Local children came up trumps once again with their entries and in particular some imaginative greeting cards, masks and pasta pictures.

Cream teas and cakes were enjoyed by visitors in the garden and conservatory of Glen Close near to the village hall. Two new awards were introduced this year - the Home-craft Trophy and Best Floral Art Exhibit. Organisers would like to thank everyone who helped with the Show and came along on the day.

AWARD WINNERS
Margaret Upson Award for Flowers & Container Plants: Joan Birch
Alan Date Award for Fruit & Vegetables:
Liz Talling
Home-craft Trophy: Gae Richardson
Floral Art Trophy: Margaret Pinn
Best Floral Art Exhibit: Gae Richardson Photographic Trophy: Katie Wicks
Craft Group: Sue Wicks Junior: 6 years & Under - James Taylor 7 - 10 Years - Jessica Koppa Overall Show Winner: Liz Talling.

Surviving Winter Appeal

July 2011
More than 420 vulnerable people died in Somerset last winter from causes directly attributable to the cold and poor living conditions - over 90% were aged 65 of over. Over 33,000 older people in Somerset live in fuel poverty, many in remote rural areas.

The Somerset Community Foundation is calling on all who can afford to forego their Winter Fuel Payment (WFP), to donate the money to those for whom it is not nearly enough.

"It's not very often I'm easily persuaded to support other people's ideas of charity giving,” he said. “But on this occasion I could see immediately the sense and logic behind people who are reasonably well off like myself, giving their winter payment to more needy folk in Somerset. So I'm the first person to sign up to the scheme and hope others will follow suit."
Michael Evis,
founder of Glastonbury Festival

For more details visit the
Somerset Community Foundation web site

Save Our Libraries

June 2011
You will probably be aware that, due to cuts, many of our local libraries in Somerset are under threat of closure, this includes the Quantock libraries of Watchet, Wiveliscombe, Bishops Lydeard & Nether Stowey.

The Friends of Somerset Libraries have mounted a legal challenge against Somerset County Council's decision to close libraries in Somerset and, to this effect, are looking for support from organisations and individuals.

An open letter from the Friends of Somerset Libraries, together with an explanation of the legal process from the lawyers is
attached here (pdf)

In the event that closures do go ahead, Nether Stowey's parish council have put forward proposals to SCC to take over running of its library, however most libraries will not be in this position. More details will be posted here soon.