Chairman’s Report 21-6-18

Last year, Collett Festival celebrated the life of Jo Cox MP when we joined in the national “Great Get Together” organised to remember her loss. It was a reminder immediately after the terrible events at the Ariana Grande Concert in Manchester and the Westminster Bridge attack that we have much more in common than that which divides us. It also highlighted that many politicians are not out for themselves, but really do care aboutdoing what is best for their communities.

The Collett Park Management Committee held its latest meeting last week. We have been reviewing all policies that affect the use of the park and a working party has been established to look at the existing by-laws and make recommendations to update them. In parallel with our ongoing consultation on plans for the future of Collett Park, we welcome your opinions on the what by-laws we need and which are superfluous.

The Friends of Shepton Mallet Recreation (FreSH), the community group that raised money for the skate park and the BMX track at West Shepton Playing Fields, have offered to raise funds to improve the play areas in Collett Park.  Matt Harrison is leading this initiative, and has 540 members of FreSH and many more supporters behind this welcome plan.  Again it is all about getting to know what people want for their park. There will be plenty of opportunity to help FreSH raise the funds to replace and update our ageing play equipment.

The Town Centre Partnership also met last week. I recentlyconducted an audit of all of Shepton’s street signage, and found most to be dirty, damaged and in some cases incorrect and misleading. The town council has earmarked money to address this. We now have to decide which signs we need, which are just clutter, and then select a consistent and appropriate design thatcommunicates where locations are, and attracts visitors to the town.

June has been an exceptionally busy month, with Love Your Library Day, Collett Festival and the Charles Chipperfield Circus in Collett Park for the first time.  Last Sunday we had a really successful Sunday Market and currently the fairground is in full swing in the Mid-Somerset Show field.  Shepton certainly is the place to be!

Chris Inchley, Chair, Shepton Mallet Town Council

Chairman’s Column 14-6-2018

The 2018 Collett Festival was a brilliant success, with great events, ideal weather and a lovely atmosphere showing Shepton at its very best. 

Last week I wrote of my pride in Shepton, and again we can be quite sure that our town is on the up. The small dedicated team of Garfield Kennedy, Wayne Frapple and Mike Daniels, ably supported by our dedicated town council staff, delivered an amazing and memorable weekend in Collett Park for thousands of residents and many delighted visitors.

The traditional Collett Park Day once again gave many voluntary groups the chance to raise much needed funds for their charities, schools and societies. We plan to send out a survey to establish the totals raised for good causes, and seek feedback on thefestival in general. We also want to hear from any community groups who declined our offer to join in, since we want to give you the opportunity to participate in Shepton’s annual summer celebration in 2019.

During Collett Park Day, town councillors and volunteers manned our gazebo to listen to townspeople’s views on how we should manage Collett Park for its best long term future.  We still want to hear from many people of all ages (especially those good ideas!) to hear their opinions on the range of options that our consultants, Swan Paul, have presented to the Council.

Collett Festival continued into the evening when an enthusiastic crowd of revellers enjoyed a night of pure Madness when the very talented Los Palmas 6 tribute band came on stage, after local artistes, Shoot the Moon and Theo Wakeling, set the mood.

Our children’s event on Sunday drew thousands of excited young people (and smiling parents) who were royally entertained and thrilled by some amazing performers, including the brilliant Bubbleman and world-famous juggler, Haggis McLeod.  

I wish to praise and thank our efficient and professional securityand medical staff who had to handle a range of issues at all three events, including finding lost children and locating lost parents!

On Sunday for me, it was a tale of two towns since I attended the Mayor of Glastonbury’s Sunday Service. I left this traditional display of civic pride, consisting of a church service, parade andbuffet lunch, to return for our much jollier Children’s Festival!

The week of great events in Shepton continues into the weekend with Charles Chipperfield’s Circus in Collett Park for the first time. This honours and respects John Collett’s wish to have well managed commercial events take place in the park he bequeathed to the town over a century ago.  Then Saturday sees the return of the very successful Park Run (after a week off for Collett Festival). Watch out for the team of circus performers in this week’s mighty pack of runners.

Last but not least, remember the latest Sunday Market is this weekend.  I hope to see everyone there if you’re not too exhausted from this truly sparkling week of happenings in our amazing town.

Chris Inchley, Chair, Shepton Mallet Town Council

Chair column

As readers will know, Shepton is my home town, and it’s a place I’m extremely proud of.  Last weekend, once again, Shepton was at its best.  Sunday’s “Love Your Library Day” was a great success with many people visiting the library and the Cheeky Bean Café to hear local authors talk about their books and share their experiences about writing. Hundreds of concerned citizens came to demonstrate that Shepton’scommunity is not prepared to lose its services without a fight. 

I’ve noticed recently that there is an increasing confidence within our town. Shepton is not only defiant in our opposition to the loss of services, but also we are finding more ways of finding solutions. The Love Your Library Day was the first event arranged by the newly-formed Friends of Shepton Mallet Library.  There is now little doubt that the vast majority want library services to remain in the town centre. The County Council should be rightly proud of its library staff members, Janet and Kirsty, who again showed what an asset they are to Shepton.

The brilliantly successful campaign to keep all our hospital beds also illustrated how Shepton can succeed if it speaks with a strong and united voice. All town councillors, along with residents, were appalled by the potential loss of these respite beds. 

Opposition to the bed closures was led by Major General Ray Pett and Albert Owen, with support from the hospital action group with legal advice from Paul Turner. The hospital beds will now reopen on 9th July.  To celebrate this, the Hospital League of Friends will be holding a Fête at St. Paul’s School on Saturday 21st July at 2pm. I hope to see as many people there as possible to show our support for the hospital and to thank the League of Friends for their persistence and success.

This coming weekend we have Shepton’s Summer Celebration, Collett Festival. Once again we have 3 busy events in Collett Park to showcase our community: the traditional fair on Saturday followed in the evening by the Madness tribute concert, and our free Children’s Festival on Sunday.  I’m really looking forward to the weekend, with its excellent mixture of fundraising, entertainment and displays of local talent. I hope as many Sheptonians and visitors as possible can join us for a brilliant weekend.

Shepton really is a town going places. We have a renewed confidence and purpose, and the more people who participate in our community events, the stronger we become. As Chair of the Council, I want to promote greater co-operation and collaboration between the Town Council and its residents, since I know that a United Shepton is a formidable, unstoppable force.

Chris Inchley, Chairman, Shepton Mallet Town Council

Chair post

CHAIRMAN’S COLUMN 31st May 2018

June is going to be a very active month in Shepton. We have Collett Festival, the next Sunday Market and even the Charles Chipperfield Circus in the park.  But before all that, the Friends of Shepton Mallet Library have arranged a “Love Your Library Day” on Sunday 3rd June starting at 10am

The campaign to keep our library in the High Street has been very active since Somerset County Council launched a consultation to get the public’s views on its plans to move the  library from the town centre into Mendip District Council’s SHAPE complex. Steve Barlow and Sarah Thomas have worked extremely hard over the past months to raise awareness and organise events to keep our library in the centre of our community.

To make sure everyone understands all the benefits of having this town centre facility, the Friends of the Library have organised a full day of activities for young and old alike.  It will all take place in Shepton Library, starting with a mass public demonstration at 10am. Many authors will be at the event and it is a very important opportunity to show your support for keeping this vital community service right in the heart of Shepton.  Please come and show your support!

Remember that the County’s consultation on the future of the library ends on 13th June. There’s still time to tell them what you think of taking the library away from the town centre.

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Garfield Kennedy and his team of volunteers are extremely busy making the final preparations for Collett Festival. This year it will be held over the weekend of 9th-10th of June. Collett Festival 2018 features the traditional Collett Day Fair followed by an evening music concert that goes “One Step Beyond” with the world’s leading Madness tribute act, Los Palmas 6.  It’s going to be a “House of Fun” and a great evening.  Advance tickets can be purchased at CollettFestival.co.uk or in person from the Tourist Information Centre.  Don’t miss out!

On the following day (Sunday 10th), we have the third Children’s Festival, where Collett Park will be filled with bouncy castles, amazing games, and again back by popular request, the Bubble Man - and it’s all free!

There is still time to book a stall or to volunteer to help us stage Shepton’s showcase event. Look out for the Festival Programme and Guide that will be dropping through Shepton letterboxes in the next few days.  It’s going to be another brilliant weekend, so come and enjoy the whole show.

I hope to see as many people as possible this Sunday at 10am at the library, and during the following weekend in Collett Park.

Chris Inchley, Chairman, Shepton Mallet Town Council