The summer has been busy for the parish council with good progress across a wide range of areas.
You may have noticed that a number of hedgerows in the village have been cut back recently. This work was commissioned by the parish council because during a recent ‘village walk’ by councillors and parishioners it was obvious that vegetation growth was becoming a real problem in places where it was encroaching the roads.
Initially we contacted the County Council to ask for this work to be done but were told that they would be unable to do further cutting this season due to budgetary constraints. We commissioned two days of work, and the contractor covered a number of areas in the village that may not be immediately obvious.
If you have walked or driven down Chapel Hill recently you will have noticed that the overgrown vegetation has now been fully cut back on both sides of the road which has made a huge difference. Future maintenance of these hedgerows will now also be much easier as they can now be cut with a tractor flail-mower.
Our excellent grounds contractor has also been hard at work over the summer and has now completed all of the hedge cutting within the recreation ground. This is a much larger task than it may appear but makes a real contribution to keeping the grounds looking smart.
His team have also recently completed work on clearing the footpath on the Montacute Road adjacent to the old nursery that leads to the bus stop. This had been neglected for a number of years and required significant cutting back but is now back to its proper condition.
On a very positive note, Terry Heath, Clerk of the Parish Council, met recently with a representative of the Highways Department to discuss a range of issues in the village - some of which were raised directly by parishioners. All of the following are now under consideration by their relevant departments, but the positive meeting suggested that we would see progress in each of these areas.
Initially, a resident came to the August Parish Council meeting to raise concerns about vehicles speeding around the corner at the bottom of Donne Lane in Lower Odcombe. At Terry’s meeting it was suggested that measures could include new ‘Slow’ road signs leading up to the corner in both directions as well as the same markings on the road surface. Whilst there are no perfect solutions to this problem it might help to mitigate the issue.
The plastic bollards on the approach to Higher Odcombe from the Camp Road were also discussed. Arguably, these are unsightly and inappropriate in a rural location. They are also constantly being damaged and have to be replaced when they are hit by hedge cutting equipment. A better solution is to be considered to achieve a similar effect.
The speed-hump markings on the Ham Hill Road through the village are also worn and have lost some of their visual impact in terms of speed deterrence. It is possible that these could be repainted and refreshed.
The junction at Broadway with the Ham Hill Road has been raised a number of times by residents concerned about vehicles parking immediately adjacent to the corner which restricts access and reduces visibility. It may be possible to restrict parking in this location with the use of double yellow lines.
You also might have noticed that some of the old weight limit sign posts are still in place on Dray Road near the bottom of Cherry Lane and adjacent to the churchyard perimeter wall. These are unsightly as well as being a safety hazard and we are hoping to have these removed.
As part of our ‘village walk’, we also noticed that a number of the street name signs in the village are in bad shape. In some cases, they have simply faded over time whilst in others they are obscured or so worn as to be illegible. Terry has liaised with the department responsible for this area of the highways and we are expecting a number of replacements to be installed in the near future.
A number of things have also been happening at the Recreation Ground and Village Hall area. You may have seen our trial marking of parking spaces at the football pitch side of the car park. We were very pleased to see that markings have proved resilient and will now proceed to mark the remainder of the parking spaces once we have a period of dry weather.
We’re also very pleased to report that the damaged bearing in the children’s play area roundabout is about to be replaced. This initially looked to be an extremely expensive repair at around £600 but thanks to the timely recommendation of one of our parish councillors it will now be done for a fraction of that cost.
We have also recently had the oak tree that is adjacent to the BMX track surveyed because of concerns about its safety. Unfortunately, it is unclear who is responsible for this tree, and we are now awaiting clarification through our local councillors to enable us to proceed with the appropriate work to make it safe.
We have recently received a number of complaints from residents regarding the use of petrol-powered model cars being used on the BMX track. This creates a noise nuisance and is obviously an inappropriate use of a facility which is designed for unpowered cycle and scooter use. We have now adopted an amendment to our Recreation Ground Usage and Access Policy and will monitor the situation going forward. If necessary, we will meet with the individuals involved to explain the constraints on the use of the track.
Thank you very much indeed to residents who contributed to our survey which enabled us to make an informed response to the letter that we received from Adam Dance, MP requesting our view as to whether Odcombe parishioners would support the reopening of Chinnock Hollow.
On a positive note, we are about to undertake a review of the Parish Council website. The site looked fresh and contemporary five years ago when it was launched but is now in need of a major overhaul and we would welcome any views on adjustments that would improve it. Our plan is to make the site much more ‘current’ in terms of active weekly updates and information as well as linking it directly with our Facebook page and so-on.
One of the things that we plan to include is an inventory of businesses, clubs, societies and services in the village that could be a useful feature for residents. If you would like to be included in this section, please email Terry Heath at clerk@odcombeparishcouncil.gov.uk