Somerset this week: 8 December
A message from this week’s sponsor Somerset Rivers Authority:
Somerset this week has been hit again by flooding. What should we do? At Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA), we’ve just published a draft strategy for the next 10 years, and we’re developing a Flood Action Plan. We’re keen to get your views, so we’ve set up a website at srastrategy.co.uk where you can comment on the strategy and share your flood concerns on a map. You can also sign up for online events. Have your say: take part!
Dear readers
Today’s Somerset Confidential® is available for all our subscribers. We hope you find it interesting. If you’d like to get our free material you can subscribe for it here:
Much of what is reported by Somerset Confidential® goes unreported elsewhere. Either because it is beyond the remit of others or its simply passes them by.
Which is why we see this venture as a public service. Reporting the news and providing much of our journalism free of charge.
However we still have some bills to pay! And we would like to do more, indeed we need to do more.
We’d love to have your support to help us do that. If you feel able to offer it, we’ve set a paid subscription rate at £30 per annum. That’s 58p per edition, or 25% of the price of a cup of tea at Starbucks.
For that we’ll give you:
Two extra articles a month (That’s value for money right there.)
Full access to our back catalogue – you can search every shenanigan we report on. (Yes there have been a few of those!).
Comment – have your say on anything we write!
And experience the satisfaction of supporting the most innovative, public-service journalism project in Somerset.
Supporting Somerset Confidential® is supporting a better governed and more accountable Somerset. You can join and support us here….
Thank you!
Andrew Lee - editor
Somerset this week: 8 December
Packsaddle kafuffle
Packsaddle fields are on the edge of Frome. Around 50 years ago they were set aside as land for a school by the old Somerset County Council. The plans went nowhere. Instead the land became a much loved wild space used by local people for recreation.
When the Council announced the land would be used for housing, local people were up in arms. They formed a group, People for Packsaddle, to defend the fields and fight the planning application put forward by the Council together with developer Live West. For more detail on the background to this story, you can read our Somerset Confidential piece from March this year Fighting for the soul of Frome
The Council cleared the site in 2022. Destroying much of the vegetation in the process. They claimed they were doing this in response to a complaint from a person living nearby. Somerset Confidential has seen an email to that effect from a Somerset Council manager. He says he authorised the clearance for that reason.
Certainly the land was overgrown, but that was part of its attraction. It was a wild space that played host to a variety of flora and fauna.
However Somerset Confidential has now received a recording of a conversation with a council employee at the time the land was being cleared. That tells a very different story. In the recording the council worker clearly states that the land was being cleared at the express request of the developer, Live West. He adds that the developer asked for the land to be cleared so they could carry out a survey of the site.
No doubt that survey has long since been completed. Happily for Live West, clearing the site will make another survey of the site much easier too. The biodiversity survey.
The survey is required to show the impact on biodiversity of a development proposed in a planning application. Comparing how much biodiversity there is before the development is begun with how much could be expected after the development is completed.
Now that Somerset Council have cleared the land of much of the vegetation and the wildlife it hosted, it will be much easier to demonstrate that there will not be a loss of biodiversity when the land in its current state is replaced by housing.
And biodiversity improvement is an important criteria for winning planning permission.
Meanwhile Somerset Council appear to owe Packsaddle residents an explanation. Someone isn’t telling the truth here. We asked the council for a comment and they would only say: “As we’ve not heard the recording, we cannot comment on it.”
We also asked when the planning application would be heard. They told us that: “it is still being considered, but there isn’t a date for committee yet.”
Meanwhile CPRE, the countryside charity have put forward objections to the plans alongside residents. One of the big concerns is the way the affordable housing element (a big selling point of the application) is slowly evaporating. CPRE point out: “there is just a vague promise that policy compliant 35% affordable housing will be included - if Homes England funds it- and they haven’t given any firm commitment to do so. Now the District Valuer has said that the scheme is only viable for 18% affordable housing.”
But the big objection is the loss of local amenity. If COVID taught us nothing else, it was the value of open spaces for recreation: “We say the council should be providing the same or better alternative recreation space, as set out in Mendip LP Policy DP16.
There is no alternative or nearby recreation space in this part of Frome. Denying people proper recreation space massively reduces their quality of life . For example, in the Times on Wednesday, Richmond on Thames was voted the happiest place to live in Britain, and it was clear from the responses that was because of the quantity and quality of green open space in the borough.”
In the meantime as Somerset Council faces a financial crisis, the incentive to complete the deal and get the development started is obvious. After all as the landowner, the Council stand to gai financially from the development.
Rats!
The company that owns The Range on the Hankridge shopping centre at the edge of Taunton has been fined for food hygiene issues. Well to be more specific, rats eating their way through animal and human food products for sale. Somerset West & Taunton Council first received a complaint from a member of the public in March 2022 It did not take long to find that the store had an infestation of rats.
This led to a long investigation over an 8-month period involving over 20 visits from SWT inspectors.
During the investigation both pet and human food was found that had been gnawed, and packaging was seen to be damaged and contaminated by rats. Rat droppings were also found on shelves next to food in the shop area and warehouse.
Rats can spread a number of serious illnesses to humans, such as E.coli, Weil’s Disease and Toxoplasmosis.
Inspectors said that the business had failed to control the rat activity and act upon the advice given by the Council and their contracted pest control company. The business also failed to protect food from contamination and keep the premises clean and maintained in a clean condition.
On 16 August 2022 SWT served an Emergency Hygiene Prohibition Notice on the store to prohibit them selling food for human consumption. Issuing a “Notice” is usually a precursor to it being turned into an “Order” but SWT had to go to court to get an “Order”.
On 7 September 2022 the notice was duly turned into a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Order by the Magistrates Court.
However during further monitoring visits made to the premises, it was found that food was being sold in contravention to the Order. This SWT said, could have caused an imminent risk to health.
It took two months for the store to satisfy inspectors that the problems were finally sorted. The Order was lifted on 15 November from which date The Range have been able to sell food once again.
At the date of the last Food Hygiene inspection, 23 July 2023, The Range was given a Food Hygiene Rating of 1. The scale runs from 0 to 5 where 0 is the worst and 5 is the best.
Whilst the issues at The Range were clear, we asked Somerset Council (who are acting in place of the now defunct SWT) what the consequences of the rat infestation had been? Had there been recorded incidents of sickness or food poisoning? Their spokesperson told us: “We cannot say if there were actual cases of illness – the food sold was ambient shelf stable, prepackaged food which would not normally be considered as causing ill health in a food poisoning investigation and therefore may have gone unconsidered. The risks came from handling contaminated packaging and product without washing hands, drinking directly from bottles etc.”
It has taken some time for the case to come to court though. Guilty pleas were entered in September 2023 by CDS (Superstores International) Ltd, operator of The Range Home and Leisure at Hankridge, Taunton, for seven food hygiene offences .
Sentencing was passed this week on 4 December. The company was fined £960,000 (not £1m as reported elsewhere). That fine was reduced to £640,000 in recognition of the early guilty plea made by the company. We should stress that the fine reduction was not at the request of Somerset Council. It is a court/legal mechanism that is outside the control of the Council.
Just as important the business was ordered to pay a £190 surcharge and £26,593 which covered the full cost to Somerset Council of taking the case to court.
Yeovil says “no” (again)
At the November board meeting of NHS Somerset (it used to be called the ICB) the initial results of a consultation into changes to stroke services in Somerset were presented. At the beginning of 2023, NHS Somerset held a consultation on the future of stroke services. It offered two plans. In both plans the Hyper Acute Stroke Unit in Yeovil Hospital would be closed. In Plan A the Acute Stroke Unit would be kept in both Taunton and Yeovil Hospitals. In Plan B all stroke services in Yeovil would be moved to Taunton.
The argument for Hyper Acute Stroke Services is that concentrating resources in one place and having larger teams produces better results. It appears to be the direction of travel ad has been endorsed y the Stroke Association. And it is what NHS Somerset wishes to do at Taunton.
A Stroke Association report into the creation of Hyper Acute Stroke Services was highly favourable. However it is notable that it was based on results in London and Manchester. In both cases large and densely crowded population centres with relatively limited geographical spread.
In a rural community with a widely spread population and longer transit times to hospital, there are more questions to answer.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that there has been a huge outcry in Yeovil, indeed the whole of south east Somerset about the plans. Many simply refused to accept the closure of the Hyper Acute Stroke Unit in Yeovil at all.
The concern of residents in Yeovil is that in isolated rural communities the logic simply doesn’t work. By the time a stroke victim gets from say Cucklington to Taunton, having a wonderful team waiting for you will be pointless, as the chances are it will be too late and much of the damage that a stroke can do, will have been done. They argue that with strokes, the speed with which a patient gets treatment is critical.
And at the board meeting a dozen or so residents turned up to make that very point. Having seen the results of the survey were due to be discussed, they wanted to reiterate their desire not for Plan A or Plan B - but to see the Hyper Acute Unit in Yeovil retained.
The consultation results themselves provided limited value. Whilst key themes were identified and discussed there were no numbers. For instance the comment: “Overall views on the proposal to deliver hyper acute stroke services from a single hyper acute stroke unit (HASU) at one Somerset hospital were more negative, with a majority of residents (via the representative telephone survey) and respondents to the open consultation questionnaire disagreeing.”
Well how many? What percentage?
Somerset Confidential raised questions about this at the board meeting. We were promised that detailed findings with numbers would be made available before the January board meeting of NHS Somerset when a decision is expected to be made.
Meanwhile the NHS Somerset Board have at least voted to take Plan B off the table. This was the option of moving all stroke services to Taunton. Taking on board the public outcry, they have recognised that acute services should be retained in Yeovil. However this is not seen, as reported elsewhere, as much of a victory by local residents in Yeovil.
They are still holding out for the option that is not (currently) on the table - to have a Hyper Acute Stroke Unit in both Yeovil and Taunton.
Honoured
Two Somerset men, John Bishton, from Bruton, and Christopher Rutt, from Kilve have been received honours for services to their communities this week. The Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset, Mohammed Saddiq, presided over a ceremony to give them their honours at the Bishop’s Palace in Wells. Honours are normally given out at Buckingham Palace, usually by the King, however where that proves not to be possible, the Lord-Lieutenant acting on the King’s behalf, is authorised to present the honours locally.
John Henry Bishton MBE
John was awarded an MBE for his outstanding record of service to the community of Bruton where his tireless voluntary work has made a significant difference to the residents of this historic small town.
A member of The Bruton Trust, a civic society, he has played a pivotal role as secretary in preserving the nature of the town and has taken the lead in several notable and innovative campaigns including work with English Heritage to upgrade the Grade 1 listed almshouses, overseeing the creation of an attractive riverside walk and sensitive involvement over negotiations for a brown field site housing development within the town centre.
He has chaired the Fabric Committee of the 15th century church, been a voluntary driver for the Red Cross and organised public lectures and guided tours, encouraging local participation in the environment.
Christopher Robin Rutt BEM
Christopher Rutt received his British Empire Medal for improving village life in Kilve for over a period of 40 years.
Prior to his retirement he was landlord of the village pub and was already recognised as someone who would offer help to those in trouble. Since retiring he has committed to a number of voluntary roles in various village institutions.
He has served as editor of Kilve News (including arranging printing and distribution). He has distributed a welcome pack to new village residents.
Christopher has also served as a Parish Councillor and treasurer on the Parochial Church Council, taking an active part in restoring and maintaining the local church.
In summary, he has worked tirelessly for decades to benefit his small village community in both formal and informal capacities.
More trouble in the pipeline
As Somerset Council battles to balance its books for 2024/25 news of other councils in difficulty was released this week. Last week we reported that Nottingham had filed a s114 notice. This week we learned that Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council is trying to balance its budget with “urgent action” needed to avoid a Section 114 notice (declaring bankruptcy), local leaders have said.
Like Somerset, the council says the “serious financial challenge” it faces is due to rising care demands.
According to the Local Government Association almost a fifth (18%) of council leaders and chief executives could be forced to issue a s114 notice either this year or next year.
A survey of chief executives and council leaders, showed that half (54%) were not very confident of funding statutory services up to the end of 2024-25.
The LGA estimates that councils face a forecast funding gap of £4bn in aggregate if they were to fund services at current levels up to the end of March 2025.
Need Christmas present ideas? Enjoy reading our material? Why not gift a subscription to someone close to you who might enjoy it too?
And feel free to share our work with friends family and colleagues. You can do that here:
And of course, don’t forget to subscribe to make sure you don’t miss an issue!