Stogumber Parish Council represents the interests of the village and the whole parish, including the hamlets of Capton, Kingswood, Escott, Castlake, Combe Sydenham, Higher and Lower Vellow, Preston, and Higher and Lower Vexford.

The Parish Council has few powers and not very much money, so to meet the needs of the parish it works through persuasion and facilitation, and in partnership with other organisations and councils. County and District Councils do not have to do what the Parish Council tells them to do, but it is hard for them to completely ignore the Parish Council if we are determined.

There are nine Parish Councillors and a part-time Parish Clerk:
   Chris Bramall (Vice-chairman)
   Daphne Criddle
   Jeremy Danson
   Clifford Matravers
   Kim Rew
   Viv Sellick
   Julian Spicer (Chairman)
   Mostyn Symes
   Tracey Thomas
   Allan Weir (Parish Clerk)

How to raise a problem or alert us to an opportunity

If you feel strongly about something, the most effective way of persuading the Parish Council to pursue it on your behalf is to come to a Parish Council meeting and tell us directly what needs doing and why. Every Parish Council meeting is open to the public, and there is always an opportunity for members of the public to speak. You do not need to tell us in advance that you wish to speak, but doing so helps us to plan the meeting agenda.

Alternatively, you can raise issues by writing to the Parish Clerk, or by speaking directly to any Parish Councillor.

Meetings

The Parish Council meets roughly every two months, usually on a Wednesday evening at 7.30pm in Deane Close Common Room. Meeting dates and agendas are published on the Parish Council noticeboard at the corner of Brook Street and Sawpits, four or more days before the meeting. The Parish Council also holds site meetings to consider planning applications, and information about these are also published on the Parish Council noticeboard. See below for links to minutes of meetings.

Planning applications

The 'planning authority' in our area is West Somerset Council, based in Williton. Planning applications should be sent to West Somerset Council, and West Somerset Council will ultimately make the decision. The Parish Council is always consulted by West Somerset Council about any applications within the parish. Our comments and recommendations are given serious consideration by West Somerset Council, but our recommendations are not always accepted. The Parish Council usually holds a site meeting so that it can understand the proposal and its impact. Members of the public (including the applicant and neighbours) are welcome to attend and speak at these site meetings. Details of site meetings are published on the Parish Council noticeboard.

Budget

The Parish Council receives its funding through a 'precept' added to Council Tax bills. For the year 2009/10 the precept was £3,000 which was equivalent to £9.44 on a house in Council Tax band D. Across West Somerset, parish / town council precepts ranged from £8.44 (Sampford Brett) to £92.07 (Watchet) on a band D house. Villages similar or smaller in size to Stogumber had precepts ranging from around £10 to £40. Stogumber had the third smallest precept. The average parish / town council precept in West Somerset was £26.73.

At its meeting in January 2010 the Parish Council decided that it would not be right to force an increase on residents, in the current economic situation. Therefore, the precept for 2010/11 will remain at £3,000. However, this is less than our expected expenditure, so the Council's reserve will be eroded, and an increase in the precept will probably be necessary in a year or two.

Out of the current precept we must pay the (part-time) Parish Clerk and expenses such as hiring meeting rooms. Therefore, we cannot solve many problems simply by spending money, and must instead work in partnership with other organisations and councils.

Contacting the Parish Council

Parish Clerk:
   Allan Weir
   Clouter's Brook
   Brook Street
   Stogumber
   TA4 3SZ
   656 145
   adwidentify@yahoo.co.uk

Chairman:
   Julian Spicer
   Little Hintock
   Higher Vellow
   656 156
   julianspicer@hotmail.com

You are also welcome to speak to any of the Parish Councillors about any matters concerning you.

Parish Council email list

The Parish Council receives vast amounts of information from numerous organisations, some of which would be of interest to parishioners, such as crime warnings and road closure notices. The Parish Council places a selection of information on the village noticeboard at the corner of Sawpits, together with notices of forthcoming Parish Council meetings and site meetings, etc.

To supplement the village noticeboard, the Parish Council is setting up an email list, so that information can be sent directly to parishioners. If you would like to join the list, please send your email address to julianspicer@hotmail.com.

The Parish Council will be selective about what it sends you, but it cannot guarantee that everything will be of interest to everyone! You would of course be able to withdraw from the list at any time.

Minutes of Parish Council meetings

Below are links to the minutes of Parish Council meetings. They are published in draft because the minutes are not formally approved until the following meeting. If you would like to see a copy of the approved minutes, please contact the Parish Clerk.

A two page review of 2009/10 is available here