The Chair to advise the Committee of any items on which members of the public have requested to speak and advise those members of the public present of the details of the Council’s public participation scheme.
For those members of the public who have submitted any questions or statements, please note, a three minute time limit applies to each speaker and you will be asked to speak before Councillors debate the issue.
Temporary measures during the Coronavirus Pandemic
Due to the Government guidance on measures to reduce the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), we will holding meetings in a virtual manner which will be live webcast on our website. Members of the public will still be able to register to speak and ask questions, which will then be read out by the Governance and Democracy Case Manager during Public Question Time and will either be answered by the Chair of the Committee, or the relevant Portfolio Holder, or be followed up with a written response.
Minutes:
1) Trull Residents Group – Item 5
We understand that you are shortly to hear from officers of Somerset West and Taunton (SWT) Council in relation to the ongoing use of Canonsgrove Halls of Residence as temporary emergency accommodation for homeless people during the Covid-19 crisis. We further understand that you are to be asked to approve the preparation of an Options Appraisal in relation to future permanent homeless accommodation across the Council area, with Canonsgrove being one of the options under consideration.
Simon Lewis of SWT has told Trull Parish Council and local residents that the Options Appraisal was to include a review of potential sites around the town. However, rather than an open, forward-looking review of potential sites, it appears that you are being asked to approve SWT spending £10,000 to formulate a business case for the potential further use of Canonsgrove.
Aside from the Options Appraisal’s flawed scope, it is wrong for the Parish Council to be excluded from deliberations until such time as they are presented with Canonsgrove as the preferred option.
Trull Parish Council and local residents should be party to an open and evidenced Options Appraisal which takes account of all relevant matters and ongoing / future costs in determining which site(s) are most appropriate for future homeless accommodation in the SWT area. During initial talks with the Parish Council meaningful, ongoing consultation was promised. Then Simon Lewis stated that any involvement would only come if Canonsgrove became the preferred option. In his report he says there will be such involvement. Can we please have a guarantee of this along with terms of reference?
You will be aware that the current use of the site led to issues including antisocial and criminal behavior in Trull and Staplehay which has been deeply unsettling to the village community. A Community Trigger was approved by the Police as a consequence of these problems and, in recent months, conditions have thankfully somewhat improved due to the Police presence around our villages, greater engagement by SWT and the YMCA (who run the site).
The concerns relating to the current and potential future use of the site have led Trull Parish Council to form a Working Group to liaise with SWT and the YMCA. Local residents have also formed a communication group to enable the recording and reporting of the ongoing issues relating to Canonsgrove, as well as the dissemination of news relating to the site. We have prepared the attached summary of the situation at Canonsgrove as it has developed, which we hope you will find useful in framing your discussion.
It is worrying to hear the Leader of the Council go on record to say that Canonsgrove should be promoted as a permanent facility, in advance of any options review or consultation. Likewise, it is concerning to see the Executive Member publicly describe the anti-social behavior, crime and anxiety experienced by the local community as nothing more than ‘inconveniences’.
In short, this is not about removing homeless people from the villages. Rather, local people rightly insist on proper management of the facility in order to avoid the issues which have previously arisen.
Any presumption towards Canonsgrove in the Options Appraisal would be procedurally wrong – it overlooks the potential for the use or re-use of other sites in the town and, it seems to us, would enable procedural challenge via the Local Government Ombudsman and other routes. What is actually needed is a wider-ranging, transparent and properly-evidenced review, taking account of all relevant matters including the views of the community.
I hope that this is helpful in setting the context for the concerns of the local community. Thank-you for your time in this matter.
The Portfolio Holder and Report Officer stated that a written response would be provided to the Trull Residents Group and the points they raised.
Cllr Habib Farbahi requested to pass on the concerns of Comeytrowe
Parish Council also. They had met in October
and discussed Canonsgrove and had sent a letter to Cllr Fran Smith
outlining their concerns. The crux of their concern was a site in
Town Centre would be more appropriate to be nearer the services
required to support the individuals.