Chard Town Council Annual Town’s Report 2024-2025

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CHARD TOWN COUNCIL
The Guildhall, Fore Street, Chard, Somerset TA20 1PP
Mayor: Councillor Victoria Bates
Chief Executive & Town Clerk: David Bell

Chard Town Council 2024/2025
Annual Town Report

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Chard Town Council 2024/2025, Annual Town Report

Report From The Mayor, Councillor Victoria Bates
I acknowledge that it’s a been yet another challenging year. I won’t dwell on the individual
issues, however, many aspects are changing, and in the latter part of 2024/25, I am pleased
to report that I can see not only upfront changes for the better but also behind the scenes.
Our new Chief Executive & Town Clerk has made significant contributions since starting and
he and I would like to thank all staff for upping their corporate game and further developing the
services we provide to the community. David will tell you that it is still very much a work in
progress, but the green shoots of recovery started in late 2024/25.
Thank you also to fellow councillors who have pulled together to work for the community in
what, to me, feels like a very different Council.
A commitment given by David in his opening address to Full Council in January 2025, in the
final quarter of 2024/25, was to foster better relationships with our numerous volunteers and
their organisations. A commitment that I whole-heartedly support and reflected my own
commitment when I became mayor. I wish to thank those organisations for rising to the
challenge of working with the Council and playing your part in fostering these new relationships,
we wouldn’t be Chard without you.
Included in the highlights of my year are the many grant recipients and the great work they do
in our community. They are, in no order of priority:
Chard Bowling Club

Chard Horticulture & Craft Show

1st Chard Scouts

Brave Bold Drama

Chard Reservoir Volunteers

Chard Carnival

Somerset Youth Theatre

Reading Revolutions Project

Town Team

Chard Museum
This is the highest number of grant recipients in one year. Well done to you all.
Additional highlights of my year were: the ongoing links with Helmstedt, visits to local schools,
organisations, charities and celebrating successes with the wider community.
Finally, in a year where so much has been achieved, I can confirm that just over £1000 has
been raised for Mayor’s Charities.

Mayor of Chard, Councillor Victoria Bates

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Chard Town Council 2024/2025, Annual Town Report

Report From The Chief Executive & Town Clerk, David Bell
Multiple Town Clerks, changing Proper Officers and changing Responsible Finance Officers,
you probably don’t need me to tell you it’s been a rollercoaster! Add into that mix the ongoing
saga of “Rolleygate”, what Somerset Council term “devolution”, disgruntled staff and councillors
and the very definition of a sick building. However, much has been achieved - which is a credit
to those who have soldiered on.
In the little over three months I have been in post, I have answered numerous questions such
as ‘Why’, ‘What’, When and ‘How’. For example, why am I here, what am I doing, and how did
I get here. The latter was by a full recruitment process. The others are somewhat harder to
answer. In the final quarter of 2024/25, I made a statement in public about matters such as
stability, openness and accountability. Other matters to note were that my style of leadership
(which is what the organisation appeared to need) is about clarity, not control. We, as an
organisation at the end of 2024/25 were well on the way to establishing a good level of stability,
drawing a line under some past difficulties and providing a platform for the future by installing
positive change, supporting staff to understand and undertake their roles and facilitating good
debate. It would be remiss of me not to say that I have noticed a change in the public gallery.
Public questions are encouraged and, hopefully, answered. Thank you for listening and asking
those questions.
We are planning for the future but still dealing with matters from the past. We are breaking
new ground, consolidating what is good, focusing down on where improvements are needed
and the overall goal is to build a improved Chard Town Council. In so doing we are helping our
community to build a better Chard.
Talk Chard up, not down!
Some of the fundamental parts of this revival are likely to include the development of a Council
Strategy supporting individual plans and working with other agencies and organisations to
identify needs within Chard. One developing project involves collaboration with up to twenty
organisations to identify and bid for funding. Add in aspirations to take on non-statutory public
facing services and also improving our council and community relationship and we have an
ambitious programme emerging.
This is a taster of where we are after three or four months at the end of the 2024/25 financial
year. I predict that take-off on some matters is imminent.

Chief Executive & Town Clerk, David Bell

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Chard Town Council 2024/2025, Annual Town Report

Giving The Young People of Chard A Voice
Chard Town Council is very aware that we need to improve our understanding of young
people’s views, needs and preferences. We are trying to address this in a number of ways:
•

The Youth Council currently comprises students from Holyrood School and meet with
Councillors and Officers on a regular basis. One key area this year has been their input
to the improvement of safety for our outdoor spaces. We have listened to their feedback.
Chard Town Council and the Youth Council are now working closely with Avon and
Somerset Constabulary, Abri and Stone Water Housing to improve relationships and
understanding.

•

Chard Town Council is actively seeking ways to expand positive relationships with
young people. For example, supporting the creation of a ‘Senior Youth Council’ that
have voting powers on certain aspects of Council business. We are aspiring to create
working groups that include a wider range of ages and representing the diversity of
young people.

•

Chard Town Council has traditionally financially supported youth provision in Chard,
something that is not a statutory requirement of Town Councils. In addition, towards the
end of this 2024/2025 financial year, the Youth Club approached Officers in confidence
to discuss their difficulties and explore future options for continuing services. These
discussions helped prepare information and background for a Full Council meeting to
be held in the 2025/2026 financial year.

All-Age Support For Our Community
In the latter part of the 2024/2025 financial year we have built strong working relationships with
many local groups, councils and clubs. Our objective is to continue to work together to improve
the facilities and opportunities that Chard can offer to all members of the Chard community.
A further aspiration is to expand our range of social activities which will assist mental health
provision, thus providing support for those effected and their carers
Parks and Open Spaces
Parks in Chard are either owned and run by Chard Town Council or Somerset Council. We are
working alongside Somerset Council to ensure our Open Spaces are maintained to a maximum
level. However, financial difficulties have created operational challenges for Somerset Council.
The parks are important open spaces so we are working hard to resolve challenges. The
2025/2026 financial year will require significant effort to mitigate safety problems, many caused
by anti-social behaviour. We have a programme to repair and improve play equipment and
continue to reduce a backlog of vegetation and, particularly, tree maintenance. Enjoyment of
parks across the whole age range is paramount.

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Chard Town Council 2024/2025, Annual Town Report
Operations & Amenities - Works
1. Zembard Lane Cemetery Development.
Areas of focus this year have been:
•

Stage 2 of the new Cemetery area at Zembard Lane, which has progressed
towards completion.

•

Headstone Survey work was completed in January, contributing to the safety
and management of our historic site.

•

A new Peace Garden has been opened up on the western side of the Cemetery,
which will create a unique and one-off area for our cemetery in Chard.

•

A wildflower area has been established and, planted last spring, is now starting
to thrive alongside the additional planting of eight new trees on the western side
of the Cemetery.

In the coming year the Grade 1 listed Chapels are scheduled to be re-pointed under
the guidance of Historic England.
2. Allotments:
The existing Allotment Terms and Conditions of the lease agreement have been
adjusted to reflect better working practices within the allotment set up. In addition,
much of the old and dead vegetation in the western hedge boundary has been
removed to ensure new growth. Allotment inspections in November and May have
proven very worthwhile.
The close working relationship with the Allotment Committee and Chard Town Council
grows from strength to strength.
3. Open Spaces – Stringfellow, Upper and Lower Henson, Jocelyn, Wills Mead,
Our Amenities and Operations team are working alongside local organisations to
change the feel and look of our open spaces.
•

We are working alongside local community groups and primary schools to
create a Tree Planting Scheme, which is planned to start in October 2025.

•

Work with and support Chard Community Plan to install park and street
benches, providing a family orientated community feel.

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Chard Town Council 2024/2025, Annual Town Report
Operations & Amenities- Project Examples
1. Community Resilience and Flooding:
Many areas across Chard incurred devastating flooding in January 2025, with many
of our community adversely affected. This follows on from the numerous incidents
since 2021 and before.
Chard Town Council aim to further develop a Community Resilience Plan. With the
support of Chard Area Resilience Group, we aim to establish a response plan for bad
weather and other incidents and to run a exercise scenario so that all operations
personnel involved have a clear understanding of what is needed and how it works.
Since the January 26th events, Chard Town Council is working with agencies such as
Somerset Council (including Highways), Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group, Somerset
Rivers Authority, and Wessex Water to establish the causes flooding with a view to
mitigating the sources and impacts.
This is not a statutory task for the Town Council, but Councillors and Officers alike feel
we need to be actively and strategically involved and promote solutions for Chard.
2. Anti-Social Behaviour
Like so many other areas in Somerset, and nationally, Chard has seen a dramatic
increase in littering and drug paraphernalia in our parks, streets and public & civic
assets. This is creating a huge challenge for our Amenities Teams who are working
alongside Local Authority teams to take on this challenge and make our parks and
open spaces more attractive, inviting and safer places to be. Input from our Youth
Council and the wider community shaping and facilitating our planning.
Events
Chard Town Council would like to express sincere appreciation to all the community
groups who make Chard special.
The Chard Town Crier Competition, Wassail, The Mayor Making parade and
ceremony, St. George’s Parade, Remembrance Parade, D-Day, Chard Showcase,
Chard Helmstedt Civic Reception all contribution to this, to name but a few.
The Guildhall has had the pleasure of hosting another excellent performance by
CLOKS, The Chard Horticultural Show, A Buddhist Festival, The Chard Museum
Margaret Bondfield Birthday Celebration, The Variety Show for MND and Mayors
Charities, Numatics Black Tie Dinner and the spectacle of Wrestling. These events
are in addition to our various regular bookings, many of which have used the Guildhall
facilities for several years.

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Chard Town Council 2024/2025, Annual Town Report

Finance Matters
A precept is an allocation of money that helps fulfil Town Council expenditure for the
coming year and is requested from and provided via Somerset Council. All local
councils set a precept and have a budget.
Our precept covers spending on service delivery within our community. It includes,
but is not limited to, services such as cemeteries, our parks & open spaces, toilets (if
we take on the future service and maintenance from Somerset Council), community
buildings, seats and shelters.
The Council can also take on projects and schemes at a local level for the benefit of
parish residents and also provide information services to help residents keep in
touch with local community events and support services, including those provided by
the voluntary sector.
The precept is divided by the taxbase which is the number of households in the area
that are eligible to pay Council Tax.
The resulting figure is then multiplied by a proportion relative to Band D of Council
Tax in the property banding. This leads to a larger Council tax bill for bigger
properties. Equally, a smaller home is given a banding further up the scale, which
results in a smaller Council tax bill.
The precept data for 2024/2025 and the precept agreed at Full Council in January
2025 for 2025/2026 are shown below.

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Chard Town Council 2024/2025, Annual Town Report
Ward Boundary Map
Chard Town Council has 15 Councillors representing six wards of Chard.
The map below includes the boundaries of each ward:
Councillor details are available on our website.

Contacting Chard Town Council

Website - https://chard.gov.uk/
Telephone: 01460 239567
Email: chardtowncouncil@chard.gov.uk
Visit: The Guildhall, Fore Street, Chard, Somerset TA20 1PP

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