Welcome to the Town Council's website.
The Council hope that the website will improve communication with the parishioners and enable the community to keep up to date with what the Council is currently involved with.
You can now easily access the Agenda for forthcoming Council Meetings and download the Minutes too. Take a look at the CALENDAR which gives details of forthcoming Council and Committee Meetings and any major events that are coming up in the town.
Keep an eye on the LATEST ITEMS section which indicates when any new information has been put on the site. This could be Minutes of Meetings or any important information received from the other local authorities like the Cotswold District Council or Gloucestershire County Council, indeed any organisation that has information or news which the Council think would be of interest to the community.
The Council hope that you will find the website useful. If you have any suggestions for additional information that could be included on this site please do get in touch.
Parking
The Town Council accepts that there are parking issues in the town. The challenge is to decide the nature of the parking issues and, through consultation with residents and businesses, determine the best solutions.
A number of studies undertaken in recent years, including the latest by the Parking Working Group, all identify parking concerns. The Parking Working Group was instigated by the Council, however is separate from the Council. The Parking Working Group, comprising residents and businesses, has collated data and evidence, the analysis of which led to their conclusion that additional parking is needed in the town.
Parking within the town centre consists of a mix of:
- - off-road parking (private land and paid for spaces of Cotswold District Council and Great Western Railway)
- - free parking on land belonging to Gloucestershire County Council and the Town Council,
- - free parking on the public highway.
Parking space in the High Street is constrained by the weekly market (whose rights were established by the High Court), the Fairs (who have legislative rights) and various events given permission by the Town Council, e.g. music festival.
Pressure on the available free parking spaces arises from the needs of residents, employees, rail users and visitors.
The existing parking signs in the High Street are ineffective as, without a road traffic order, they are unenforceable. If a road traffic order was created, to give effect to those signs, without any other parking changes, it would create the problem of where the displaced vehicles would move to.
Outside the town centre, there are a number of issues. Two examples are:
- - Parked vehicles on Evenlode Road occasionally preventing quick turnaround of road gritting lorries, which are based at the Gloucestershire County Council depot
- - The need for improved parking outside the top cemetery.
The volume of vehicles requiring parking can reasonably be expected to increase due to a number of factors including:
- - The future expansion in the town’s population,
- - Great Western Railway’s expectation that passenger numbers using the railway station will increase, as reflected in its decision to increase the frequency of trains,
- - Longer-term the possibility that the proposed Cotswold National Park will increase the number of tourists.
Information obtained from Cotswold District Council indicates that the car park in Old Market Way has capacity to accommodate additional vehicles. However, it appears to have insufficient capacity to accommodate the volume of vehicles that might be displaced by a road traffic order. Great Western Railway have indicated that they would like to have additional parking spaces for rail users.
The Council had commissioned a potential redesign of the High Street which would modestly increase car parking capacity and provide clearer identification of parking bays.
Following the Council’s unsuccessful bid for the Royal British Legion site, attention turned to identifying potential alternative car park sites. The initial site identified, within reasonable walking distance of the town centre and the railway station, was the Glebeland; a site owned by the Gloucester Diocese. Initial discussions with the Gloucester Diocese has established that they are willing to consider the use of part of their land for a car park.
The Council is currently in consultation with Gloucestershire County Council and Cotswold District Council regarding the Town Council’s preference to create a parking strategy for the town. This strategy would seek to address a number of issues:
- - a parking survey/capacity study across the town
- - a demonstration of the extend of the need for additional parking
- - consideration of the differing needs of various residential areas within the Town Council’s boundary.
- - a prospective management plan settling out how existing and any proposed additional parking would be managed and operated in the future.
To support the parking strategy, the Council is examining the feasibility of a car park on the Glebeland site, or other possible sites. Additionally, work is underway to understand the range and nature of any prospective road traffic order which would give legal backing to any changes in parking arrangements.
Parking is a complex subject. The Town Council is determined that any proposed changes are based on evidence, including the views of those who may be affected by the changes.
Any proposed changes to parking will be subject to public consultation. That public consultation will influence any changes in parking arrangements that the Town Council decides to take. Further information will be communicated, as it be becomes available.
Statement agreed by Council 23.5.18
PARKING COMMITTEE
If you would like to help the parking committee as an advisor please contact the town clerk for more information
Allotments
We have allotments available in Old Town (University Allotnments) and off Evenlode Road (Croft Allotments). Please contact the office if you would like to rent a plot. £20 per year.
Report or view local problems on your street like graffitti, broken paving slabs, potholes or lighting.
Flooding - some useful contact numbers and information
Please follow the link: http://www.cotswold.gov.uk/residents/environment/flooding/
2017 - 18 Accounts. Period for the Exercise of Public Rights
The accounts will be available for viewing between the dates of 4th June and 13th July. Please contact the office to arrange an appointment.
Snow
Gloucestershire County Council will clear snow from the roads.
The Town Council have grit bins located at the Cider Press (Fosseway Ave), Church St (Manor House), Church Street (St David's Church), East Street (steps to embankment), Wellington Rd and Hospital Road.
The Council also has bags of salt that can be collected from the Council Office. The grit and salt is provided by GCC and is for use, by the public, on public roads and footpaths.
Town Council Budget/Precept Statement
This year the Council’s Finance Committee has put a lot of hard work into setting out our budget proposals.
The Council will seek a precept of £144,118, which is approximately a £48,000 increase on previous years. This equates to an increase of approximately 50p per week on a Band D household, we would like to explain the reasons for this larger than usual request.
The increase can be broken down to two basic elements.
1. Operational costs that include:
- Increased spending on staff costs bringing our employees remuneration in line with the Government’s Workplace Pension Laws.
- Our grass cutting outlay has increased as we have added 3 extra cuts to the scheme to keep the town looking good.
- Provision has been made for street furniture and fencing upkeep and improvements including a comprehensive program of painting.
- An increase in professional costs, which includes legal advice and payroll and accounts management.
2. Structural alterations:
We have altered the make up of the budget by transferring investment income into reserves. This will enable greaterfinancial resilience for the future and help your Council fund anumber of special projects including but not limited to:
- - Consultation, design and legal requirements to improve the town centre parking arrangements.
- - A contribution to Cotswold District Council of £10,000 for continuing flood defence works.
- - The refurbishment of the Horse Pool.
- - Cleaning and repairing the town’s War Memorial.
- - Progressing and developing the Neighbourhood Plan
- - Part funding with the GCC of a new pavement to improve safety and access to the Queen Victoria Gardens.
- - In future all activities sponsored by the Council such as music events, anniversaries and other special events will be funded from reserves and not through the public precept.
Your Council has agreed that this is the best way forward for the Town and we look forward to delivering these improvements on your behalf.
Tom Lewis (Chairman) 12/01/2017
Parking Consultation
Thank you to all the Moreton residents who attended the parking consultationn event held on 17th September. 138 forms were submitted with the followng results (allocated numbers reflect the total responses weighted by preference);
1. High Street Car Park - 627
2. Old British Legion site - 510
3. 'Bund' site on the A44 north - 348
4. Redesdale Place - 294
5. University Allotments - 259
6. Swan Close - 206
The Town Council will immediately commence the legal process to have the High Street Car Park correctly designated and signed so that time limits on free parking can be enforced; this will take a number of months. Parking for business users will also be addressed.
In the next few weeks a meeting will be held with Gloucestershire County Council's parking team to review options for on-street parking which falls under their jurisdiction.
Subsequently, the Council will explore the possibility of acquiring the British Legion site for use in due course as a further car park.
Facebook and Twitter
The Town Council are on Facebook and Twitter. 'Follow' us on Twitter or 'Like' our page on Facebook to keep up to date with news and events in the area and to see what the Council are currently working on.
https://www.facebook.com/moretoninmarshtowncouncil/