New Councillors Required

We are entering a very interesting stage on the Council with the EDF project and our Steams Up competition.

If you would like to get more involved and join the Parish Council we have two vacancies. Please contact the Clerk for more details.

Community Support Meetings about EDF

 Consultations have commenced in earnest, now that we have more precise details about what EDF would like to do. Besides the chance to grill this Saturday at Danesfield school with EDF, another round of Community Support meetings are being held throughout West Somerset, with ours in St Peter's School again on the 27th of July.

I have pasted the list of meetings, and some links that Guy Braga reckons you take a look at. 

In the meantime, we now know where EDF would like to place the Park and Ride in Williton -  the next field along from Mamsey House on the A39. It is designed to minimise the number of people coming from the Minehead area to work at Hinkley Point, by putting them on buses before they reach Williton.  I believe that could be a big mistake. There are likely to be far more coming from Taunton, as they try to reach Hinkley Point avoiding the gridlock that is Bridgwater is going to become for the next 10 years or so. That means, as I mentioned previously, both cars and the buses to replace them driving past Bellamy's Corner.

Here's the Community Support email.

Open community support meetings to discuss proposed new Hinkley Power Station associated development

Sedgemoor District Council and West Somerset Council are giving support to communities to understand EDF’s second stage proposals for a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point.  EDF has already consulted communities in the spring about their initial proposals for developments of worker accommodation, freight handling and transport routes associated with the site. Sedgemoor and West Somerset Councils helped generate responses to these proposals from a broad range of community stakeholders.

Community Support meetings to help communities interpret and discuss EDF’s now revised ‘Second Stage’  proposals will be organised in July and August by Sedgemoor District Council and West Somerset Council. These events will take place in community halls of key parishes to be affected by the proposed building of a new power station. The Community Support meetings are open to all to drop in any time between 6pm and 8pm on the dates highlighted below. You will be offered the opportunity to discuss with others in the community how the EDF proposals may affect your parish areas. Technical specialists working with the Councils will be available to give advice and listen to your views.

Dates of Community Support Meetings:

27^th July – Williton, St.Peter’s CE Primary School, Doniford Road, TA4 4SF

3^rd  Aug – Stogursey, Stogursey Victory Hall TA5 1PR.

5^th Aug – Cannington, Cannington Village Hall, TA5 2HE

11^th Aug – Bridgwater, The Exchange, Committee Room, Bridgwater, TA6 4RR

17^th Aug – Bridgwater, Sydenham Community Centre, Bridgwater, TA6 4QZ

18^th  Aug – North Petherton, Community Hall, TA6 6QA.

19^th Aug – Otterhampton, Otterhampton Village Hall, TA5 2QS

26^th Aug – Burnham-on-Sea, The Princess Hall, Burnham-on-Sea, TA8 1EH

The consultation period for EDF Energy’s second stage proposals closes on 4 October 2010.

For more information on the community support meetings please telephone Guy Braga at the Community Council for Somerset 01823 331222 or visit the Community Council for Somerset website: www.somersetrcc.org.uk/community_engagement/hinkley  (at the time of this e-mail the webpage is currently being updated).

 or email hinkley@somersetrcc.org.uk

For additional information on the  proposals for Hinkley power station visit the District Council or EDF websites:

www.westsomersetonline.gov.uk       

       

 www.sedgemoor.gov.uk

www.edfconsultation.info

BBC Somerset - some tips.

If you are ever invited on to a discussion for BBC Somerset Radio here's a handy tip.  When you get a chance to ask your questions, bung all you want to get across in the first one. You won't get a chance to ask a second.

We had Richard Mason on the Matt Faulkner show this morning, and he invited contributions from ourselves, as well as Cannington and Bridgwater representatives - prior to the EDF launch of their plans and the start of their consultation process.

Without seeing the plans - not out till tomorrow - I can state that there will be no building of accommodation blocks in Williton or Cannington. Bridgwater will get the lot. There will be a reduced size, temporary, Park and Ride to the West of Williton, although they didn't state exactly where. We shall find out shortly. 

I didn't get a chance to ask why the West of Williton - and in view of the Bridgwater representatives statement that Bridgwater will be even more 'grodlocked' with the current proposals, I am concerned that we shall now get Taunton workers making their way to the A39 via Williton instead of via the M5 - hence up the A358, and past Bellamy's corner on the way to the Park and Ride, and through Williton again on the buses. Doubling the problem!

Not to worry - yet!  We have a chance to make our views known to EDF when they start their consultation process - the first on July the 17th at Danesfield School, between 10am and 4pm, and the second when, (we hope) they will come to our Extraordinary Parish Council Meeting on the 2nd of August  at 6.45pm at Danesfield School again. Same procedures apply for this - you ahve to submit your questions beforehand and have limited time to speak, to give more people a chance - but at least, this time, we have some more concrete proposals (not intending to be a pun!) , and are able to formulate some appropriate response.

More details, and links to the documents released by EDF - and also to documents supporting our arguments put forward to EDF by ourselves and other Parishes - will be posted within the next day or so.