North Perrott Cricket Club

Announcements from NPPC

NEW DATES FOR THE VILLAGE CALENDAR

/ parrettbrand

Did you know that you can see all upcoming village activities on the village website? Check it out on the home page. (you may need to scroll down the page)

If you have an event that is not listed, please use the contact page and we will add it for you.

JUST ADDED – Cricket Club social dates for December.

Darts Nights – 7pm; 1st and 15th December

Local teams battling it out in a fun, friendly atmosphere.

Social Bar Evenings – 7pm, Friday 5th, 12th and 19th December.

Join us in the cosy upstairs bar for a relaxed evening from 7pm.

Village Fete

/ parrettbrand

Some say this is Somerset’s event of the summer.

Hamstone Vets are back by popular demand with their Family Dog Show.

Ever popular with more stalls and interest than you can throw a stick at.

This Sunday, 12 until 4pm at North Perrott Cricket Ground.

CO-OPTION OF NEW COUNCILLORS

/ parrettbrand

NPPC is currently looking for 2 new members to co-opt as parish councillors.

PLEASE DO NOT BE SHY!

It does not matter if lots of people put their names forward because the term of this Council has only 2 years left to run and so there are plenty of chances to serve at a later date. Like other parishes, North Perrott struggles to convey the importance of community involvement but if we lose our own parish council, then local governance will be passed to Crewkerne Town Council, and our voice in local matters will be severely diluted.

If you think you want to know more, please read on and come to the meeting on Tuesday 7th May at 7.30pm at the Hoskyns Memorial Hall.

North Perrott Parish Council (NPPC) consists of 5 members, drawn from the people who either live or work in the parish. At the last meeting, two members offered their names for resignation and so there are currently two spaces available for co-option.

Being a parish councillor in North Perrott is not an onerous job but a new councillor would be expected to undertake a basic training course (paid for by NPPC) and attend bi-monthly meetings regularly. You must abide by the Council’s code of conduct and standing orders, both of which are published on the website. The amount of extra work would depend on current commitments and projects, but are normally split between councillors so that they amount to no more than a few hours each between meetings. There are currently a number of long running projects, including minor road improvements and new village gateways. Future projects include a 20mph zone around the village green and the hall. There will also be consultations about how the community money from the Solar Park will be applied for when it finally goes online in about 2 years time.

A Parish Council has three basic functions;

To communicate the needs of the Parish to the next tier of governement above, in this case the Somerset Unitary Council.

To respond to requests for consultation from Somerset Unitary Council on behalf of the Parish, the most frequent of these would be for planning applications.

To manage and develop community assets groups within the village, usually a community hall, sports of amenity areas and a cemetary.

For historic reasons, in North Perrott the village hall, cricket club and St.Martins churchyard are all managed by independent community groups, which leaves NPPC with less manditory work to do that most parish councils. This does not mean there are not important projects to be managed but it does mean that commitment as a councillor in North Perrott is not as onerous or time consuming as it might be in other parishes. We do however, communicate with the bodies that run these facilities, help with funding where we are allowed and assit them in grant applications, where funding is funnelled through normal goverment pipelines.

The last parish council elections were in 2023 (to co-encide with the start of the new Unitary Council) and elections are generally held every four years. An election only actually happens if there are more than 5 valid nominations, if there are less, then the applicants are deemed to be elected without oposition. Whenever there are less than 5 members, then the existing Councillors are empowered to co-opt new members up to a maximum of 5. A quorum for NPPC is 3, if we drop below 3 members then the process becomes rather complicated and we risk losing our status as a parish council. There are currently only 3 members!

To qualify to stand as a parish councillor, you must be:

*British or a citizen of the Commonwealth. You may also be eligible as a citizen of the European Union, however the criteria has changed now that the UK has left the European Union. Please check on the gov.uk website for advice about EU citizens’ voting and candidacy rights in local elections.
*At least 18 years old.
*Registered to vote in the area or have lived, worked, or owned property there for at least 12 months before an election.

*If you have a criminal record or are in bankruptcy, you may be banned from serving.

This is not a long term commitment and now is an ideal time to dip your toe into the experience of serving on a parish council. At the end of the 4 year term (2026), the Council has to be re-elected, and although some Councillors choose to continue to serve, it is healthy to have a regular change to keep the Council fresh and effective.

UPDATE on the PIPPLEPEN Solar Farm

/ parrettbrand

For those not following the Parish Council minutes, a few years ago, Elgin Energy began a process of applying for permission to build a large Solar Park at Pipplepen Farm. During the consultation phase, North Perrott Parish Council (NPPC) pushed for environmental improvements to the plan and in the first instance, Councillors were split in their support and declined the plan on the grounds of size and archaeological investigations, that had not then been completed. Almost two years later, permision has now been granted and Elgin Energy have sold the rights to construction and management to Scottish Power Renewables (SPR). SPR specialise in renewable energy and own many hydro-electric and wind farms. Pipplepen will be among the first of their solar installations and the first environmentally managed site. SPR sent a team to the last NPPC meeting and attached is the first of their periodic newsletters, to keep the community updated about their plans and progress.

Scottish Power are keen to emphasise that while there maybe a few tweeks to the plan, they have undertaken to honour everything that Elgin had agreed, including the community fund. Despite what the newsletter says, the community fund was agreed between Elgin Energy and Somerset District Council. Neither NPPC or South Perrott were consulted other than to agree that the fund would be split equally between the two villages. The value of the fund is calculated on the output of the site and is estimated to be about £128k in total. This fund, of which North Perrott will be entitled to half, will be released when power is finally switched on and energy is being supplied to the National Grid.

According to the plan in the newsletter, this is some time in the future and the NPPC will be organising one to two village consultations about how the money can be invested in our community. Ideas can be sent into the NPPC at any time. At this point it can only be explained that we will not be given the money, there will be a community fund that projects can apply for funding from via the NPPC. The funds can be used for a single large project, lots of small ones or a combination. They must be community based and jointly agreed between NPPC and the Community Liason team from SPR and any co-signatories of the original agreement. Presumably, as South Somerset District Council no longer exist, this part will be managed by Somerset Council.

Bellow

PIPPLEPEN SOLAR FARM finalDownload

ANNUAL VILLAGE MEETING

/ parrettbrand

The Annual Village Meeting will take place at 7pm on Tuesday 2nd May at the Hoskyns Memorial Hall.

Afterwards there will be the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council at 7.30pm and immediately afterwards, a normal Bi-Monthly meeting to cover regular council business.

The Annual Village Meeting does not have an agenda and is a opportunity for anyone to discuss topics perhaps not normally covered at Council meetings. It is also an opportunity for other village groups to report on their activities to a wider audience.

The Annual Meeting of the Parish Council starts with the Chairman’s report and then election and signing in of officers for the next 12 months. This is normally quite brief.

Then follows the normal Bi-monthly meeting for which the agenda was published on the Village website last week.

IN MEMORIUM

/ parrettbrand

Losing any member of our community is a sad occaison and just lately, we have lost 3 characters that were perhaps, larger than life.

In January, Mike Back, a long time resident of the village and even longer time supporter of North Perrott Cricket Club, passed away after a long illness. His total commitment to the Cricket Club included designing and overseeing the construction of the Pavillion. While President, Mike devoted much of his time to ensureing a strong bond existed between the village and the club. Last year the Pavillion was named after him in permanent memory to his service to the club.

Allan Edwards also left us in January. Allan was a man who made his presence known and wanted to be a force for good in everything that he did, especially for the village. This was especially marked by his committment as a Parish Councillor where he excelled in raising money for capital projects. He and his wife Caroline renovated the Old Rectory to an extremely high standard, something that he strove to achieve in all aspects of his life.

Allan Jay died more recently, having spent the last three years in a nearby care home. Allan’s destiny with North Perrott started in 1948, when he first met Bill Hoskyns at a fencing competition and they became life long friends. Allan was an accomplished fencer and as well as two silver Olympic medals, his sporting career peaked in 1959, when he won the World Foil Championships and came second the same year in the Epee, losing a second Gold by the smallest of margins. An astonishing accomplishment. Allan retired to North Perrott after a successful career as a London Solicitor.

Everyone who knew them are invited to join their families in celebrating these remarkable lives at the following events in chronological order. The dates are also on the village website calendar.

Allan Jay – Funeral at Yeovil Crematorium on Monday 20th March at 1.20pm and afterwards at Haselbury Mill. (This funeral is also available online https://allan-jay.muchloved.com/)

Mike Back – A Celebration of His Life at Haselbury Mill on 14th April at 3pm.

Allan Edwards – A Service of Remembrance at St.Martins Church, North Perrott and afterwards at the Old Rectory on 1st May at 2pm.

Notification of Meetings on 16th May

/ parrettbrand

Because of the local elections on 5th May, the normal bi-monthly meeting of the Parish Council has had to be delayed until tomorrow, Monday 16th May. The programme of meetings is as follows:

7.00pm – Villlage meeting – no agenda (but village groups have been invited to present an annual report)

7.30pm – Annual Meeting of NPPC – Summary of the previous year by the outgoing Chairman, swearing in of new Council members and election of officers and co-option of Councillors.

Following the Annual Meeting the first bi-monthly meeting of the new NPPC.

Download the Agenda here

View previous Minutes here

Local Council Elections 2022

/ parrettbrand

In the normal course of events, the next round of Town and Parish and Council elections
would be due to take place in May 2023. However, due to the recent decision made by the
Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Town and Parish Council
elections will be brought forward to 5 May 2022 so that they align with the Somerset unitary
council elections.

If you live or work in the Parish of North Perrott you might want to take a small part in the administrative affairs of your community? There are a number of community groups and committees in the village that require voluntary input to allow them to function and contribute to village life. As well as the Parish Council, there are voluntary groups that manage the Hoskyns Memorial Hall, the Cricket Club and the Parochial Church Council for St.Martins. As well as committee members, all these groups need occasional volunteers for fundraising or events, so your level of commitment can be as large or as small as you like.

However, Parish elections are normally every five years and so if you feel you want to put your name forward for election on 5th May, please start to think about it sooner rather than later. There is plenty of historic information about Parish Council work on our website and please contact the Parish Clerk or any or all of our existing councillors to get an idea of the level of commitment involved.

When the time comes, a link to the correct forms will be posted on this website.

National Village Cup

/ parrettbrand / Leave a comment

Yesterday, North Perrott Cricket Club sent Pentyrch home after a convincing win in front of a large crowd of home supporters. NPCC now go through to the quarter finals of the National Village Cup against Frocester Cricket Club, again at home next Sunday afternoon.

Looking at the Frocester Cricket Club website, they have some startling similarities to North Perrott. The village has a population of less than 200, a village pub and farm shop! Most perturbingly, it has a Cricket Club that is described on their website by Simon Jones MBE, as a “Friendly thriving club with possibly the best pavilion I’ve seen at club level”

They make no mention of a nationally recognised head groundsman or being the best ground in Gloucestershire, so North Perrott still has the bragging rights in what is expected to be a tight and hard fought match.

Sunday 30th August, 13.00 at North Perrott Cricket Club Ground, Willis Lane. Bar will be open. Social distancing rules apply.

Links – North Perrott Cricket Club / Frocester Cricket Club