Weston Town Council AGM - A dive into local democracy

Yesterday (Monday 27th April) Weston Town Council held its Annual General Meeting in the wonderful setting of the revamped Blakekay Theatre auditorium.

Attendees were treated to a detailed update of the councils activities over the last year with the meeting also showcasing three local community groups that are supported by Weston Town Council.

The event started with opening remarks from the outgoing Mayor Cllr Martin Williams, followed by addresses from Cllr Ciaran Cronnelly (Finance & General Purposes Committee), Cllr Owen James (Amenities, Culture & Leisure Committee) and Cllr Caroline Reynolds (Planning & Environment Committee)

Cllr Owen James shared the work the council had undertaken across amenities, culture and leisure (Photo: Weston Independent News)

Cllr Cronnelly opened with highlighting “how great it was to see so many people interested in Weston-super-Mare as a place” before moving on to talking about the councils decision to not raise the council tax precept for Weston Town Council and major milestones achieved in the last year by the council such as the Old Town Quarry. He also talked about the desire by the council for the devolution of further assets from North Somerset Council to Weston Town Council but highlighted the complexities that come with the council taking on further assets and the need to ensure they were affordable and that Weston Town Council could run them better.

Cllr Owen James talked about investment in play areas and other spaces and the councils desire to enhance play provision across the town. He further highlighted investment that had taken place in public toilets, allotments street furniture and events such as the Christmas Lights Switch On.

Cllr Caroline Reynolds shared actions by the council over the last year by the council around environmental issues, and the success of Blooming Weston.

Next up was updates by a range of local community groups that had received support over the last year from WTC.

First up was Blakehay Weston Arthouse, the organisation behind Blakehay Theatre who highlighted how “this isn’t just a theatre, we want the community to have a sense of broader ownership and feel connected to performances”

Blakehay Weston sharing their work (Photo: Weston Independent News)

Weston Artspace at The Old Town Quarry, a grassroots vounteer led community organisation praised the council for their work in redeveloping The Old Town Quarry that in turn permitted them to use a space there which has grown from its opening day of 1500 visitors to a solid membership base and a whole host of weekly events

Weston Arthouse are passionate about the work they do in the community (Photo: Weston Independent News)

Last but not least, the Fridge of Free Stuff delivered a detailed video outlining their work and the positive impact they were making in reducing food waste whilst making a positive environmental impact. They highlighted how their work was “not about charity, but about community ownership”

To end the evening questions were opened up from the floor with issues raised including the use of scooters and e-bikes in Weston Town Centre, the effect the dilapidated buildings on Waterloo St was having on the town and the towns future plans for more parks to come under the control of Weston Town Council.

An array of questions was put to Councillors and Operational Staff (Photo: Weston Independent News)

More information about Weston Town Council and the work they undertake and are responsible for can be found here