Family Fun Day at Bridgwater Docks

Mayor and Mayoress (that's the one in the frock) open the Docks Gala while Town Council Leader attempts to recall his SBS training (if needed).
Mayor and Mayoress (that’s the one in the frock) open the Docks Gala while Town Council Leader attempts to recall his SBS training (if needed).

When Bridgwater woke up this morning it was chucking it down. All the work put in by Pat, Sara and their team might end up being viewed through aqua rimmed glasses from beneath a veil of umbrella tracked raindrops. Not only that, but the weed in the canal was threatening to scupper the planned pleasure boat trips before the day had even got under way…..But none of this was going to stop the people of Bridgwater from having a party, descended as they are from Pirates and Terrorfish.

It had been months in the planning and in a place like Britain you clearly can’t expect a bit of rain to put you off, so by 1030 on a slightly damp Sunday morning the Bridgwater Docks Gala opened regardless and the people turned up regardless.

Celebrating our Canal

Le Mayor sur La Mer
Le Mayor sur La Mer

Not one to be deterred by weed clogging his propellers or sinking, Captain Ken Bussell made sure the Mayor and Leader of council were on the first boat of the day out into the docks. The event had been planned to commemorate the re-opening of the Canal 21 years ago but due to the failure of the CRT’s contractors to actually clear the weed, the irony wasn’t lost on the landlubbers.

Around the dockside dozens of stalls had sprung up from the Flower Show to the Civic Society, the Blake Museum to the Carnival clubs and their fundraising tomboli and from Sue’s Smoothies to Nicks ‘Indian Head Massage’ all to the rhythmic accompaniment of Pulse Radio.

Organiser Sara Evans chats to Hannah from the Civic Society
Mayoress Tracey Redman chats to Hannah from the Civic Society

And never far from public gathering, local campaigning group Bridgwater Forward had a table where people were being asked what they wanted on the Northgate site now that Tescos had dissapeared up it’s own marketting myth. ‘Leisure facilities’ seemed to be every second contribution.

Harbourside fun

If you popped into the Sea Cadets HQ there was an Arena set out where Majorettes and cheerleaders performed their hearts out and then at the opposite end of the harbourside was a miniature funfair.

The Admirals Landing pub did a roaring trade with queues for their carvery stretching half way round the bar while a hog roast outside took care of those who couldn’t wait.

Rhiann Childs shows a couple of likely Councillors around her boat
Rhiann Childs shows a couple of likely Councillors around her boat

“That’s the way to do it” shrieked a helpful Mr Punch from under an overhanging apartment block while at the bascule bridge end of the dock some concerned Firefighters positioned their vehicle alongside a bouncy castle, a surf-yourself-daft machine and one of several ice cream vans.

Assaulting  MTB219

Rhiann Childs was on standby with her Torpedo Boat MTB219 to show the odd councillor around it – and none odder than Cllrs Dudderidge, Smedley and Hinckes who decided to re-enact a scene from ‘The Three Stooges Continually Bang Their Heads on some very low Beams’.

Marine Cadets to the rescue!!
Marine Cadets to the rescue!!

But it was MTB219 that saw even more action that afternoon when the Marine Cadets staged an amphibious attack on it in a spot of military theatre. An attempt to (obviously successfully) rescue a hostage involved snipers on the dockside, frogmen appearing from beneath the waves and an inflatable (boat) full of cadets storming aboard, blowing up the place (with confetti) and then speeding off into the night. Well, the Sea Cadets hut). And all this done with imaginary guns- now some may say this is health and safety gone mad, but the last thing you want in a war situation is the enemy suing you isn’t it.

Organiser Pat Robinson smiles as the sun comes out.
Organiser Pat Robinson smiles as the sun comes out.

The Docks are back

The docks are a gem of Bridgwater’s heritage and they need to be made use of. So thanks should go to Pat Robinson and Sara Evans for organising such an event designed to draw people’s attention to it’s potential. There’s talk of an annual event and maybe a Christmas Market – but whatever happens next, the Docks are back on the town’s agenda.

Westover councillor Kathy Pearce commented “This is a great way to celebrate and promote this historical and important part of the town. Lots of local, community, organisations are taking part by having stalls, activities or refreshments. It’s taken a lot of hard work to make this happen.”

Exciting scenes as Dog Waste Bin finally installed at Docks

Cllr Smedley along with 2 passing strangers officially opens the new Dockside Dog bin and confirm "it's already been used"
Cllr Smedley along with 2 passing strangers officially opens the Dockside Dog bin and confirm “it’s already been used”

Earlier this year , Westover councillors responded to residents requests for more dog waste bins by working with Clean Surroundings and Bridgwater Town Council to access a couple of extra bins for the ward.

The original campaign called for a bin in the vicinity of Manley Gardens and resulted in the one currently on the canal access path off Old Taunton road. However, with a second bin on offer, councillors then carried out a survey of ALL dog bins in the ward , identified gaps in provision and put them to the vote as part of an online survey.

A satisfied customer
A satisfied customer

After an exciting tied result for first place  the top 3 choices – Morrisons, West street and the Docks, were all put to one final vote with the nail biting result that the ‘Docks had it’.

Councillor Brian Smedley said “In many ways it was a bit like Britains Got Talent, the X Factor and Big Brother. Although we stopped short of getting Ant and Dec involved.”

Sedgemoor takes forceful action on Taunton Road noisy neighbours

Sedgemoor and the Police take decisive action against noisy neighbours on Westover's Taunton road
Sedgemoor and the Police take decisive action against noisy neighbours on Westover’s Taunton road

Anyone passing along Taunton road on Friday evening – maybe taking their time to get through the Broadway EDF roadworks – will have seen a line of Police vehicles and a TV crew on some major operation. In fact it was the final act in Sedgemoors long struggle to deal with the ongoing anti social behaviour issues emanating from one household along the A38.

Sedgemoor successfully applied for a Closure Order on 40 Taunton Road, Bridgwater on Friday, June 19, 2015. The Police and SDC officers gave evidence to the Court at 1400 hrs, chronicling the 2-year history of anti-social behaviour; threatening behaviour, threats of violence towards neighbours; unsanitary conditions within the house; two previous seizures of noise equipment.  Both the Council and the Police have tried to work with the occupants and neighbours to sort out the problems, but this has proved unsuccessful.

Action popular with neighbours

Workers move in to board up windows
Workers move in to board up windows

The Closure Order was enacted on the same day as issue to protect the neighbours from any retaliation from the occupants; to ensure the occupiers do not have any opportunity to barricade themselves in or take other action over that weekend at the house.  SDC appointed bailiffs to enforce the Order, given the previous behaviour and threats by the occupants towards the neighbours, Police and Council staff.

 
Adrian Gardner, SDC’s Group Manager for Environment and Housing said “This is drastic action for the Council to take, but the situation has become increasingly intolerable for the neighbours.”
 
PC Jennie Atkinson said: “It is our role to prevent a breach of the peace while the District Council carries out the eviction. There has been a long history of community tensions due to the noise coming from the property and the poor condition of the house.Unfortunately, it has come to the stage where the council have had to issue full closure order because the house is environmentally unsafe. The occupants were offered a housing appointment prior to the eviction notice.”
 
The property is being boarded up and noise equipment removed.  The occupants have left the property. A total of 58 items of separate music/noise related equipment such as turntables, speakers, amplifiers and TVs were seized from the property in September and December 2014.  The occupants were fined £5,160 in relation to the last seizure and breach of a noise abatement notice.
 
A Sedgemoor spokesperson said “This operation demonstrates Sedgemoor District Council’s willingness, where appropriate, to use its full range of enforcement powers to tackle this sort of anti-social and nuisance behaviour which can seriously affect the quality of people’s lives.”

 

Meads Eco Park: Looking for ‘Friends’

Westover councillor Kathy Pearce joins a group of 'Friends of the Meads' on a ramble.
Westover councillor Kathy Pearce joins a group of ‘Friends of the Meads’ on a ramble.

A few short years ago the area of private swampland between Hamp, Westover and Durleigh, known locally as ‘The Meads’ was brought into public ownership by Sedgemoor District Council in a landswap with Summerfield Homes. The result was the new Housing development  south of Durleigh road, which wasn’t terribly popular with some residents and the shaving off of a corner of the Fairfield to provide an access road (opposed by the Town Council). But on the positive side the people of Bridgwater now have access to a swathe of land where the biodiversity can be protected, people can wander freely and a welcome addition to the town’s threatened green spaces can be celebrated.

This week Sedgemoor held a nature ramble for potential ‘friends’ of the Meads. A kind of ‘site visit’ where people can start to think what can and can’t be done with the site.
One day all this will be..well, pretty much as it is now. Protecting and enhancing our natural resources with SDC ecologist Peter Grainger
One day all this will be..well, pretty much as it is now. Protecting and enhancing our natural resources with SDC ecologist Peter Grainger

Led by Sedgemoor’s chief ecologist Peter Grainger, the group now plans to hold a series of days they are calling ‘Bioblitz’ events. Pete explains “You can become a wildlife explorer for the day and discover what’s living right on your doorstep by joining us at our first Bioblitz events at The Meads Eco Park in Bridgwater. You can enjoy one or both of the two free guided walks around The Meads Eco Park on Tuesday 23rd June. We are offering two different Bioblitz’s on the 23rd – one during the day starting at 1:00pm and the other starting at 09:00pm. The meeting point for both events will be the Westfield Street Café, West Street, Bridgwater (outside Westfield Church) or you can join us on-site. Please make sure that you wear suitable clothing for the terrain and weather conditions and bring a torch for the evening event! Children supervised by an adult are welcome to both events, although we would recommend only young people over the age of 14 attend the evening event.”

What’s a Bioblitz

Town Councillor for Wyndham , Liz Leavy, discusses the wide variety of wildlife options in the Meads. Apart from dogs.
Town Councillor for Wyndham , Liz Leavy, discusses the wide variety of wildlife options in the Meads. Apart from dogs.

A Sedgemoor District Council spokeswoman said ‘ A Bioblitz is a period of ecological surveying in an attempt to record all living species within a designated area. A group including our Ecologist, Friends of The Meads and volunteers will conduct an informal field study over the two time periods to identify as many plants, animals and other organisms as possible. The day walk around The Meads, which is managed by Sedgemoor District Council, will look at the birds, insects, plants and other daytime organisms with the night-time event looking to identify bat and moth species. You don’t need to be a wildlife expert just come along with a willingness to learn and explore’.

 
To find out more about The Meads Eco Park and any future events please email community.services@sedgemoor.gov.uk, call 01278 435435 or visit: www.sedgemoor.gov.uk and search Meads Eco Park.
A look at the lay of the land
A look at the lay of the land

 

Bridgwater Forward Plan approved at Town Council Meeting

Town Council Leaders set out bold new plan for Bridgwater
Town Council Leaders set out bold new plan for Bridgwater

Bridgwater Town Council voted tonight to adopt the Forward Plan presented by the majority Labour group which reviews the council’s structures, increases opportunities for public engagement and opens the door for wider consultation.

The plan ,based on the Labour Party ‘Manifesto for Bridgwater’ which was circulated around the town during the recent election which saw the party retain control of the council 14.2, was drawn up by Westover councillors Brian Smedley and Kathy Pearce, who are now Leader and Deputy Leader of the new council.

The Forward plan commits the council to 5 top priorities;-

1. Leisure facilities for Northgate & the establishment of a Town Development Forum to ensure maximum community participation in the process
2. Bridgwater Town Centre , it’s protection, enhancement and development
3. Taking forward the Meads project & preserving and enhancing Community Green spaces
4. Ensuring full access to Community Impact Mitigation funding for Bridgwater from the Hinkley point development
5. Maximising Employment and Training opportunities & pursuing Local Labour Force agreements

Town Council Leader Brian Smedley said “ The Forward Plan was drawn up over the past year at a series of Labour Party meetings and based on campaigns supported by the people of Bridgwater in recent years and which had been backed up every inch of the way by the Town Council. It lays out a framework for public involvement in taking the town forward and it sets up a system of monitoring the work as it develops. All the targets of the Forward Plan are timetabled into the years programme. On top of this we want maximum community involvement, open-ness at meetings and structures that provide opportunities for the talented people of this town and their ideas to play their full part. As part of this we are taking the bold step of holding out the hand of friendship to Sedgemoor District Council to work together on our priorities and genuinely include the people of Bridgwater in future plans. We will set up Public Forums that empower local people and focus on issues that matter to the people of the town and seek to find ways to bring about change that benefits everybody in the challenging years ahead.”

To read the Forward Plan in full click here.