User:Apwoolrich/Bridgwater Town Council

After the abolition of the Bridgwater Borough Council in 1974, Charter Trustees were created, drawn from the 16 councillors elected to Sedgemoor District Council that represented the borough wards, who maintained the continuity of the town's legal status until such time as a parish council was established. Duties were limited to ceremonial activities. In Bridgwater's case this extended to being responsible for the Town's charters, muniments and historic silver. They were also able to nominate and elect a mayor from amongst its number, provide him/her with a 'allowance' and were consulted on street names. A parish council is the first tier of local government. They are elected corporate bodies, have the powers to raise a precept (element of Council Tax) and are responsible for areas known as civil parishes. A parish council serving a town may be called a town council. Bridgwater Town Council was created in 2003, with sixteen elected members representing six wards of the town; Bower (three); Eastover (two); Hamp (three); Quantock (three); Sydenham (three) and Victoria (two). The wards were changed in 2011 to Westover (three); Hamp (two); Wyndham (two); Victoria (two); Eastover (two); Fairfax west (one); Fairfax east (two); Dunwear north (one) and Dunwear south (one). It has powers or functions over allotments, bus shelters, making of byelaws, cemeteries, clocks, crime prevention, entertainment and arts, heritage, highways, litter, public buildings, public conveniences, recreation, street lighting, tourism, traffic calming, community transport and war memorials, a well as consultation on planning applications and such things as street naming.

The Town Clerk is responsible for the day-to-day running of the council with a team of staff.

The Council's seal is that used by the Mayor, Bailiffs and Burgesses of the town in the Middle ages, so signifying continuity over 800 years.

The Bridgwater Town Council owns the Town Hall, which houses the Town Clerks office, Mayor’s Parlour, Charter Hall and meeting rooms and a new suite of additional offices plus numerous offices hired out to the community. The Town Hall main rooms have been restored, and some are available for hire. The Town hall theatre can seat 435 and plays host to the annual carnival concerts which brings the greatest number of local residents to its auditorium. The Town Hall throughout the year hosts various shows, such as, pantomimes, musicals, dance shows, tribute acts, etc. The Council has earmarked funds which include funds for civic enhancement, heritage regeneration, and property building maintenance, Christmas lights and elections and it provides service support to Sedgemoor District Council for other services including street cleaning, public toilets, dog bins and town centre management. It owns and administers the Blake Museum, and the adjacent historic Bridgwater Town Mill These are administered by joint committee of councillors and volunteer members of the Friends of Blake Museum, who do the day-to-day management. Trinity Hall is leased to On Your Bike, a local charity that trains people to refurbish bicycle and learn skills. The Town council has recently taken over the running of the cemeteries from Sedgemoor District Council and currently employs a total workforce of 13 people.

The Council gives financial support to the Victoria Park and Sydenham Community centres and the Hamp Community Association. It gives financial support to Bridgwater Arts Centre, and in May 2020 it took over the ownership of the Arts Centre from Sedgemoor District Council.

The Town council operates an innovative system of Community Forums which encouraged public involvement in the council procedure. These include Transport, Tourism, Twinning, and Community Development. The Town Council also runs its own Youth Council with delegates drawn from all the local schools. The Town council sponsors the Bridgwater Cultural Partnership and the Quayside festival. The town has international links with La Ciotat (France), 1957; Homberg (Germany), 1992; Uherske Hradiste (Czech Republic), 1992; Marsa (Malta) 2006; Priverno (Italy) 2015; Seattle USA 2015 and Camacha Madeira, (Portugal) 2019.

Town-wide Grants
The Council's two Grant Schemes are for one-off grants up to £2,500 for community groups. One is ring-fenced for grants in Wards; the other is for town-wide community groups with heritage, cultural and social aims, such as the Friends of Wembdon Road Cemetery, a group which is restoring a closed Victorian cemetery.

The Council funds with £7,000 the Quayside festival in the summer                                                                                                                          (via Bridgwater Cultural partnership).

In the winter it sponsors a Bridgwater History Day when various talks are given on aspects of the town's past.

Youth Grants - These total £10,000 per year and applications are decided by a 'Youth Forum' drawn from the schools.

Twinning Grants - These total c.£2,500 per year, of which £300 goes as general running to the 6 twinning organisations and the remainder on an annual twinning week.

Other key funding supports the Carnival fireworks and the town's Christmas lights, and the Council sponsors £500 a year for key sports per club-Football, Rugby, Cricket etc (this focuses on a single event for each club).

Other Links

 * Blake Museum
 * John Chubb (artist)
 * Bridgwater Town Mill
 * Bridgwater Arts Centre