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MIDSOMER NORTON LIFE
COMMUNITY
ASSET TRANSFERS
After a number of exploratory meetings, B&NES is now planning to enter a period of formal consultation with a view to coming to an agreement to lease these assets to the Town Council from April 2014. The Town Council hopes to agree long leases on the buildings and open spaces so that investment can be made in their development, enabling them to become true community assets. Plans for the Town Hall are being developed which will see its original Market Hall reinstated on the ground floor, allowing it to resume its role as a key civic and community building. The Orchard Hall and Town Hall will be brought under the umbrella of the newly launched Midsomer Norton Community Trust which will manage the buildings and maximise the access of community groups to their facilities.
I
n an exciting new development for Midsomer Norton, the Town Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES) are considering the potential transfer of some key community assets, including buildings and green spaces. As part of the Town Council’s response to the Government’s Localism Bill, we are embracing a policy to “mobilise the assets within a community to meet their needs and aspirations”. Midsomer Norton Town Council has identified key community assets: • Town Hall • Orchard Vale Recreation Hall • Landscaped areas including The Hollies Gardens, land to the west of the Telephone Exchange, land to the west end of Rackvernal Road and the planters alongside the River Somer outside the Library.
The open spaces will continue to be enhanced by the Town Council in partnership with its horticultural contractors to improve the appearance of the town and increase civic pride. Adding the Hollies Gardens to the properties under the management of the Community Trust will provide a key community space for the promotion of markets and as a centrepiece of the town centre for events such as the various fayres in the town. Provided the Trust operates the buildings and uses the open spaces for the benefit of the community only a peppercorn rent will be in place.