Following the surprise decision by Sedgemoor District Council to hand the future of Apex Park over to the town council for consideration, it means Burnham and Highbridge have a massive decision to make.
It had been expected that a Sedgemoor consultation over leasing the BMX track area of the park would result in a loss of part of the park for the next 50 years. Instead councillors in Bridgwater House decided to halt plans to hive off part of the public land to Bourne Leisure for a caravan park and to ask whether the town council would like to take on the running of the whole park.
Sedgemoor District Council said in a statement: “Following the Localism trend, Sedgemoor District Council has had a programme of handing over community assets to town and parish councils such as Bridgwater Town Hall to Bridgwater Town Council; various public toilets to parishes etc.”
The district council said that with Apex Park, they currently carry out a number of activities as part of their care for the area. These include the emptying of dog bins; the co-ordination of events with the Friends of Apex Park group; grass cutting; the letting of concessions to food vans; planting of wild flowers, general maintenance and keeping the park tidy.
At the last public meeting at the Old Court House of the town council Cllr Keen read out a statement imploring the district council not to give a lease to Bourne Leisure. However this letter was not read out at Sedgemoor and it was left to locals Brian Burt and John Parkes to put the case to keep the park as a park.
Having won the argument for the towns it will be up to the town council to make the decision as to whether to take on the park. Sedgemoor said there would likely to be protracted negotiations over the terms as the deal would include considerable expense should the town accept the park.
In previous town council meetings councillors and members of the public have lined up to demand the park stays together as a whole.
No date has yet been given for the debate at the town council over the park’s future.
What do you think? Should the town council take on the park or should Sedgemoor decide its future? Your views to harry.mottram@nqsw.co.uk
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