Saltford Parish Council - Key achievements over the past four years - Saltford Parish Council

The current Saltford Parish Council formed after elections in May 2019. Since then the Council has met monthly (bar August – and a brief pause during COVID when rules meant it was not permitted to meet virtually). Saltford Parish Council (SPC) is active in between meetings, with Councillors and staff always aiming to help make Saltford a great place to be.

During this time many actions have been accomplished (either as a Council and also working in partnership with others), and we have received and responded to a high number of resident concerns, queries and comments. Plus several positive projects are in the pipeline (replacement phone box, tree planting etc) so watch this space! For a summary of key achievements please see below.

What follows is an overview of the past four years (since May 2019). We could not include everything but hope it gives a good idea of what’s been happening:

Key statistics:

·SPC’s given almost £20k in direct grant funding, including £3,452 for COVID related support. SPC has given grants to local organisations including Saltford Festival, Saltford Community Association, Saltford Lawn Tennis Club, Saltford Santa Dash and Saltford Sports Club.

·SPC’s responded to over 225 B&NES Council planning consultations since May 2019.

·SPC’s held 42 Full Council meetings (including during COVID as soon as they were legally permitted to be held online), an Extraordinary meeting (COVID), four Planning Committee meetings (in addition to planning at Full Council) and Staffing Committee meetings.

·Hosted Annual Parish Meetings, ‘Meet Your Community Police Officer’ meetings, Parish Walks and more – all open to residents to attend

·Communications: A page in every SCAN, a (free!) quarterly page in The Week In, a quarterly e-newsletter for residents, regular noticeboard updates, plus of course SPC agendas and minutes (also available online).

·Online communications: 260+ website news articles, plus in the past four years it’s created over 2000 Tweets / Facebook posts!

·SPC’s made dozens of reports to B&NES Council via FixMyStreet, resulting in new road & street signs, graffiti removal, overgrown vegetation removal, fly posting removal, road markings repainted, and much more!

·SPC’s monitored and maintained its 11 assets, including restoring and relocating its phone box to the Bird in Hand pub; repainting the Youth Shelter, and replacing the phone box by Norman Road following its destruction in a RTA (action in progress! Kiosk on order)

·Given 28 SPC Community Awards to individuals and groups who have contributed significantly to the Saltford community including providing over £2k of prize donations which were donated to local groups and organisations.

·Overseen planting of 600 sqm of wildflower seed balls (18 species of wildflowers native to Britain) inc. in seven public spaces (working with B&NES Council), Saltford School, Saltford Sports Club’s playing fields, and Kingfisher Lodge care home. All as part of ‘Saltford Wildflower Project: All You Seed Is Love’ initiative, for which SPC was shortlisted for the WECA ‘Bee Bold – People for Nature Award’. (SPC will discuss giving wildflower seeds to each primary age child in the village to mark the coronation at its March meeting). 

·Planted two memorial oak trees at Broadway with SCA to mark the centenary of the end of WWI. More tree planting planned for March!

·Carried out four internal audits and four external audits – see the ‘Finance’ section of SPC’s website for details.

·Responded to multiple public consultations from B&NES Council, the West of England Combined Authority, the National Association of Local Councils and other organisations, on matters relating to planning policy, transport, environmental actions and local council matters.

·Staff and Councillors have attended many external meetings including: Keynsham Area Forum, B&NES Parish Liaison, Avon Local Council Association etc. This is in addition to attending as link members many local groups and organisations.

·Responded to regular and numerous resident enquiries, concerns, suggestions and comments, often resulting in action at SPC meetings

What’s new?

·New SPC logo, designed to reflect and define SPC in the 2020s

·New and improved Saltford Parish Council website launched in autumn 2019, visit www.saltfordparishcouncil.gov.uk

·Newly restored K6 telephone box (with the Bird in Hand’s new defibrillator) plus new map/list of all known defibrillators in Saltford

·Newly refurbished K6 telephone box at Norman Road (on order!)

·New lower bus fares for Saltford’s residents following SPC’s ‘Fairer Fares for Saltford’ campaign, based on distance in the ‘West of England Zone’ e.g. Children pay £1 one way or £1.80 return, compared to £1.85 and £3.25 previously.

·New Saltford Resilience and Emergency Planning voluntary group (working with B&NES Ward Cllrs) as organised and supported by SPC

·New double yellow lines and Saltford’s first resident parking zone in Saltford’s conservation zone (inc High St / Homefield Rd junction, Mead Lane & The Shallows), to support residents living near the river (all actions working with B&NES Ward Cllrs)

·New ‘Share the path’ signs on the Bristol to Bath Path, working with Sustrans

·New ‘Float to Live’ and ‘Hidden Dangers’ water safety signs and publicity, working with Avon Fire & Rescue

·New ‘Pick it up’ signs around the village as reminders to dog walkers; along with media campaigns (working with B&NES Dog Warden)

·New ‘SLOW’ markings by the Mead Lane bridge, a known accident hot spot

·New extra large bins on The Shallows, especially required during the summer months

·New SPC policies and procedures to ensure an effective Council, as well as many others updated on an annual basis.

Other actions:

·Regular engagement and liaison with key bodies including Avon Fire & Rescue, Avon & Somerset Police and B&NES Council, regarding additional presence and support required during hot periods esp. by the river and in the ‘old village’ area.

·Annual requests to B&NES Council for priority road and pavement repairs, many of which have been achieved following SPC’s action.

·A4 Bath Road safety actions: Relocation of the Visually Activated Sign (flashing 30mph sign) to the bottom of Saltford Hill from its position by The Crown PH; & Reduction of speed limit from 50 mph to 40 mph from the Globe roundabout into Saltford, to aid safety (both with B&NES Ward Cllrs)

·Managing St Mary’s (closed) Churchyard, including funding the rebuilding a section of fallen churchyard wall; removing two unauthorised non-native trees damaging the churchyard walls; carrying out regular safety management surveys and arranging professional surveys on a set period basis; appointing and funding monthly grounds maintenance works.

·Providing and overseeing the management of allotments for 13 tenants (waiting list available).

·Continued SPC’s active requests (since 2015) for the re-opening of Saltford Station; and hosted a Public talk ‘Saltford’s Railways: Past, Present and Future’ marking 50 years to the day of the closure of Saltford Station in Jan 2020

·New dropped curbs at Golf Club Lane installed last year by B&NES at SPC’s request

·Requested landscape protection designation for ‘Saltford South’ in January 2023, to be determined in the new B&NES Local Plan

·Acted to support Saltford residents and the whole community during the COVID19 pandemic, as part of the Saltford Hub

·Marked 30 years of SPC in 2021 by creating a short history of the modern Saltford Parish Council – see SPC’s ‘Local History’ webpage.

A financial responsible Council

Saltford Parish Council has managed its finances responsibly and appropriately – and transparently – in line with Financial Regulations. SPC’s monthly financial reports are available on its website (please see minutes). SPC’s finances are internally and externally audited annually. Main spends include staff costs, St Mary’s Churchyard maintenance, local projects and initiatives, and its website – spend is detailed on the monthly financial reports. Audit documents are also available on SPC’s website, please see the ‘Finance’ section.

SPC’s main income comes from the precept (look for details on your B&NES council tax letter). SPC will raise its precept in 2023/24 to rebuild its reserves over a three year period following unexpected significant repair works to the churchyard walls in 2022/23 (by law the Parish Council is responsible for maintenance at the churchyard). Band D is used as the national comparison. In 2023/24 an average Band D property in Saltford will pay £27.08 p.a., i.e. c.£2.26 per calendar month. This is a £4.55 per year increase for an average Band D property, or an increase of 38p per calendar month. In 2023/24 Saltford Parish Council will levy fourth lowest precept out of c.50 precepted areas in B&NES, where the average precept for a Band D property will be £49.04 (Saltford’s will be £27.08).

SPC also receives sporadic income from Community Infrastructure Levy receipts (CIL is a planning charge payable on some new developments). CIL funds are used to enhance Saltford’s community facilities, amenities and infrastructure.

New Saltford PC from May 2023

The current Saltford Parish Council retires in May 2023, so now is the time to think about being a Saltford Parish Councillor! If you’re interested in the actions listed and feel that you could contribute to the Saltford community then consider standing for election.

SPC has 11 Councillors who are elected every four years. Councillors work together and individually, with decisions made by the Council as a whole. SPC meets the first Tuesday of the month, at 7:15pm at Saltford Hall (though due to elections the May 2023 meeting will be held on Tuesday 16 May). Nominations open later this month, please see The Electoral Commission website for details https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/ as well as SPC’s news article ‘Parish Council Elections 2023 – Saltford Parish Council‘.

Parish Councillors give their time for free (a small honorarium is given to the Chair to cover expenses incurred, currently £300 p.a.). For more information about SPC’s Councillors see the Councillors page of our website, this links to what being a Parish Councillor involves so residents can better understand the role. Saltford Parish Council is supported by a part-time Parish Clerk & Responsible Financial Officer.

Thank you!

Saltford Parish Council has been encouraged and supported by its residents over the past four years. It wishes to thank all those who contribute positively to the Saltford Community. This includes a wide range of Saltford groups and organisations, especially the excellent work of the Saltford Community Association, as well as Saltford’s B&NES Ward Councillors who have attended SPC’s meetings and continuously engaged with SPC.

The Council especially wishes to thank those individual residents for their interest in SPC’s actions, attending SPC’s meetings, and getting in touch with SPC to share their thoughts, and of course for taking action in a multitude of ways to make Saltford a great place to live for all.

Saltford’s Annual Parish Meeting takes place on Friday 3 March at Saltford Hall (Main Hall), where Saltford Parish Council Chair SPC Cllr Chris Warren will give a speech about his thoughts on the past four years. We hope to see many residents there.

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