CCS projects and services 2013-2014

Building and supporting a

resilient Somerset

About us

During the year we have said goodbye to two very valued trustees, Dawn Hill and Edward Hosken. We are delighted, though to have welcomed new trus-tees who come to us with a wealth of skills and knowledge which strength-ens the board’s diversity of skills.

We continue to hold the highest ACRE Quality Standards III Award which is Charity Commission endorsed, the principles of which, are deeply embedded in our policies and procedures

In December 2013 we said a fond farewell to our longest serving member of sta�, Karen White. Karen had been with CCS for 15 years in a range of roles, and was a fundamental member of the team in recent years as Deputy Chief Executive, helping CCS to adapt to meet the changing environment in which we operate.

I hope in the coming year that you continue to work with us and thinkof CCS in the future.

Best wishes

I am Katherine Armstrong, the Chief Executive of CCS. We are a charitable company that is committed to supporting communities. In this annual review I hope you will see the vital role CCS has played in assisting and supporting

communities across the county and get a �avour of our projects.

It has been another busy year where, despite the challenging funding environment, we have seen our sta� team grow from 17 to 24 members of sta�. This has helped us to strengthen our position in the county of Somerset, further enabling us to work at a very local level in communities and to continue to raise the organisation’s pro�le.

In addition the team has been able to respond to situations such as the �ooding from late December 2013 onwards impacting to a greater or lesser extent much of the Somerset Levels and Moors area.

The Somerset Village Agent project has come into it’s own in responding to the devastating �ooding on the Levels. Because of their local knowledge, the Village Agents were very quick to identify the vulnerable and assist the Fire Service and Police. Nearly the whole team became involved in supporting the Flood Assistance Centre/Distribution Centre and assisting Somerset Community Foundation in distributing the money donated by the whole country, by helping people a�ected by the �oods apply for the funds.

reached over 386 new clients, identifying 457 new issues. 240 separate �ood related clientsmade 151 referrals to other voluntary groups and agencies

Somerset Village Agents have:

We continue our work signposting and supporting people in these areas on the long road to recovery. We now have 15 Village Agents who cover 109 mainly rural parishes, which covers about a third of Somerset.

Community Projects

Breakdown of issue categories

Employment 1Funding 2Relationships 6Legal 7Volunteering 9Young People 9Debt 9Grant Awards 10Education 11

Consumer 19Utilities 29Transport 32Bene�ts 45Safety 52Housing 52Flood 240Health/Social Care 130Other 34

Excitingly this year we have instigated a number of varied group events in communities to build knowledge, resilience and community spirit such as First Aid Courses, Route 60+ driving for the over 60`s and cookery for people in receipt of food parcels. The Village Agents have also been responsible for setting up 2 Contact the Elderly Tea Party groups (with another on the way), a community café in a rather disconnected village and a Youth Club.

Village Agents reach people who fall below the radar and are unable to have their voice heard. They provide a preventative service to catch people before they fall into crisis and, this year, have yet again certainly achieved this.

To see all our agents and the patches they cover visit: www.somersetrcc.org.uk/somerset-village-agents-project

Grand Total: 702

issues(over 2 years)

To keep our halls up to date:

meet with neighbours have some time outmeet organisation repsask questions

Moorland & Fordgate Community Hub

Community Buildings, Building Communities

Community buildings o�er a wide range of social and employment opportunities to local residents. Managed by volunteer committees, CCS has a vital role in supporting these management committees with issues including legislation, funding, best practice and much more.

we have distributed 15 Community Building newsletters/bulletins we answered 172 enquiries from 115 halls across Somerset we also held the Annual Community Buildings networking event where representatives from 34 halls and over 60 committee members attended, lsitend to three presentations : social media,

CCS have taken on the liaison role and overseeing of the insurance claim and refurbishment of the Moorland and Fordgate Village Hall in response to its �ooding in February, following a request from the committee. As part of this process, we have worked with the committee and other agencies to provide a temporary Village Hall – The Community Hub - which is a portacabin on the hall car park. This hub is a meeting point for residents to:

�nd information

The hub is open 7 days a week for residents and we are delighted that it is being extremely well used. CCS is dealing with the insurance issues – both buildings and contents, liaising with a wide range of people. These include the loss adjustor, surveyor, builders, electricians, plumbers, dry cleaners (cleaning the curtains), French polishers (restoring the wooden stage), the drainage board and many more. The Hall should be restored and ‘open for business’ in December, 2014.

funding advice, The Clark Foundation and had the opportunity to learn from one another’s experiences.

we have distributed 15 Community Building newsletters/bulletins we answered 172 enquiries from 115 halls across Somerset we also held the Annual Community Buildings networking event where representatives from 34 halls and over 60 committee members attended, lsitend to three presentations : social media,

A Community Buildings quaility standard scheme

This year; 20 hall committees achieved a Hallmark award

18 achieved Hallmark One14 achieved Hallmark Two 4 achieved Hallmark Three

Trustee of the Year Award

Community Buildings Loan Scheme

Gaining recognition for good standards in management of your hall Establishing and rewarding good practice Ensuring the committee are up-to-date and have correct proceduresEncouraging improvements in established systemsInspiring con�dence in trustees and hall users alikeEnsuring that funders are aware of the hall committee’s professionalism.

(Hallmark can be a requirement when applying for certain grant funding).

We received a very good response to our request for nominations for Trustee of the Year. After careful consideration, the panel short-listed six nominees. As always, the decision was very di�cult as all were deserving; but this year, it was so di�cult that the panel could not decide between two so, for 2013, the award was shared between Gwen Bawden of Hawkridge and Roy Yates of Easton.

We have operated a Loan Scheme for community building management committees for a number of years. Loans can be awarded, up to a maximum of £3,000, to subscribing community building members, towards the cost of a speci�c project. Interest is charged at 3% and loans are repaid over a three or �ve year term.

Download our application form here: www.somersetrcc.org.uk/community-buIldings-somerset

We continue to run the Hallmark Award scheme which bene�ts and users of those halls by:

Careers in CommunitiesSomerset’s Dairy Careers

Somerset Dairy Careers Awards

Events

/somersetdairycareers

@somersetrcc

The project is working to support and encourage 14-18 year olds in Somerset to start and develop a career in the dairy industry. We also work with employers, training providers and the education sector to promote opportunities in the industry, encourage visits, training and employment.

The project has engaged with 131 organisations .

The project, resources and Dairy Careers Awards were launched at Bath and West Show 2013 kindly hosted by NFU. This showcased the project to the industry, local farmers and the press.

Comprehensive website with areas for young people, employers, teachers and careers advisors (www.somersetdairycareers.co.uk ) Promotional �lm highlighting careers in the industry (www.somersetdairycareers.co.uk/careers�lm)

Resource packs available to young people that are handed out at events and distributed to schools/colleges 1500 have been distributed so far.

40 young people attended 2 taster days events giving them an insight to the variety of careers available. 210 young people have attended farm visits and dairy careers information.

Industry information /upskilling teachers and careers advisors withindustry professionals, including a farm walk and tour at Lye Cross Farm

The awards were a huge success with 7 categories for young people sponsored by local businesses. The awards were presented at the Dairy Show hosted by Mole Valley Farmers with attendance from winners, runners-up, sponsors and industry representatives.

Resources we have produced include:

Please visit www.somersetdairycareers.co.uk

For more information download or register your interest forFREE: www.somersetrcc.org.uk/lsienquiry

Somerset+ Energy Group

To date:

69 groups and businesses have

joined the scheme

Making an average saving of 20%

against their renewal price.

Oil Scheme

For more information please visit:

www.somersetrcc.org.uk/oil

This year: In total our members in Somerset saved a massive £41,396.29 On average members saved 4.13 pence per litre

The Somerset Community Oil Scheme is a bulk-buying oil scheme which is being run by Community Councils throughout the country. We launched the scheme in September 2011 and we now have over 645 members; domestic users, schools, businesses and community buildings. For an annual £20 membership subscription for individuals, members can order with the scheme and buy together in bulk, saving money on the cost of their heating oil.

Individuals, Community groups and businesses who pay utility bills join the Somerset+ Energy group to seek to make savings. The ideas is that, by combining the buying power of many small businesses and organisations, negotiations can take place for cheaper-priced electricity and gas. All potential clients are o�ered a no-obligation comprehensive analysis of their current gas and electricity expenditure and are guaranteed to obtain the best price as a result. Norton Sub Hamdon

Village Hall said: “…we switched our electricity supplier in January…As a result of the change we currently appear to be making a saving of over £300 a year ...”

Community Energy

Energy advice

Energy Best Deal and Big Energy Saving Network

Surviving Winter Grants

Fuel Poverty - Lloyds TSB Foundation

This year saw the end of the Lloyds TSB fuel poverty project, which ended very successfully. We had a target for year 2 of the project of reaching 75 people at risk of or directly a�ected by fuel poverty and we have reached 392 overall and of these approximately 25 directly and in Mendip our target was 177 and we have reached 385 overall including 38 directly.

Working in partnership with Somerset Community Foundation, CCS helps distribute grants to those individuals in need of ‘Surviving Winter grants’ which for example help towards fuel bills. The grant money has been donated by people who receive the Winter Fuel payment but don’t feel they need it. The grants are available for older people in our communities to ensure they stay warm and well during the winter months.

The Somerset Village Agents are ideally placed to identify those most in need and, during the winter of 2013 /14 we distributed a total of £6,220 to 35 people.

During the last few months of 2013 and the early months of 2014 we were engaged in two government schemes: Energy Best Deal and Big Energy Saving Network, to encourage people to consider switching their energy supplier. We attended;

In addition to the projects, we provide general advice on keeping well in winter to Somerset residents and, as part of our participation in the Big Energy Saving Week, taking part in a radio slot on BBC Somerset.

“...we were so pleased, we wanted to let you know what a huge di�erence it has made to us - couldn’t believe such grants were available.”

23 events across all the Somerset districts helping over 240 individuals, including over 50 professionals

We participate (through the Grassroots Social Enterprise Network for Somerset) in regular Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Social Enterprise special interest group meetings. The purpose is to raise the pro�le of social enterprises as a di�erent way of doing business and as a major contributor to economic prosperity in the county. To support this we started a mapping exercise to gather intelligence about social enterprises in Somerset – this work will be continued and expanded by the LEP to include Devon.

Community Enterprise

Social Enterprise

We have helped 16 groups and organisations with a range of advice regarding setting up and �nancing social enterprises

The Store is the Core programme came to an end in December 2013 having supported a total of 200 village retailers receiving a mix of one to one support and training

support across the South West.

Excellent resources including good practice guides and training �lms are available on the website: www.somersetrcc.org.uk/local-services/

We have also supported other shops outside the programme such as facilitating a ‘Visioning Day’ for Westbury sub Mendip community shop committee. We continue to distribute (free of charge to village retailers) the hugely valuable Rural Retailer publication produced by the Rural Shops Alliance.

27 shops in Somerset bene�tted directly with a range of specialist advice including range, layout, pricing, market research, community engagement and funding advice.

Funding for Communities£££

Business Support

Great Bow Wharf, Langport.

Bishop Fox’s Educational Foundation

We are supporting the work of Somerset Business Agency in promoting the Heart of the South West LEP Rural Growth Network (RGN) business support programme. We were also involved in the panel selection process with Somerset County Council in awarding grant funding through the RGN programme to support the expansion and development of up to 3 work hubs in Somerset. These hubs provide �exible work spaces, hot desk facilities and business support and, to date ,2 awards have been made to Great Bow Wharf in Langport and the Mendip Work Hub in Wells.We have participated in several consultation events for LEP priorities and Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform and have attended and exhibited at business conferences in both Sedgemoor and West Somerset.

CCS continue to administer Bishop Fox’sEducational Foundation (BFEF). The aim of BFEF is to promote the education of young people from Taunton Deane through a grant Scheme. Board meetings are held every two months with the trustees. Over 100 grant applications, amounting to £79,556 have been processed for 2013/14, bene�tting students and projects throughout the District.

Funding Support

Bridgwater Education Trust

Funding Advice service

CCS is part of a consortium with Somerset Business Agency to ful�l the delivery contract for the Bridgwater Education Trust.

CCS’s role in this joint piece of work is to support the governance of the Trust, the �nancial man-agement of the Trust and to seek and apply for funding for the Trust to ensure it continues to deliver services to the Bridgwater Secondary schools into the future.

We have delivered our funding and enterprise advice service to over 50 communities in all parts of Somerset, both urban and rural. This has involved regular liaison with Town and Parish Councils and community groups, providing them with lists of potential funders and advice on how to tailor their applications to meet the funders’ requirements. The number and type of groups helped has been very varied from those seeking a couple of hundred pounds to those looking to fund large building projects. The communities that we have helped with both funding and enterprise advice include Wiveliscombe, Wells, Crowcombe, North Curry, Westbury-Sub-Mendip, Cheddar, Blagdon Hill and Chard.

As part of our funding advice service and feeding into our contact with secondary schools through the Bridgwater Education Trust, we have produced a funding advice sheet that contains useful options that individual schools could look to use to attract additional funds.

We have also participated in a number of community funding events where we have provided speci�c and general advice to individuals andcommunities.

Funding Support

Community Planning

Localism, Community Rights and Community LedPlanning

We o�er a range of consultancy support services, including surveys, governance reviews, running events, funding searches and applications, market research and design / marketing support.

As part of this service, we have been working with the Taunton East Development Trust to ensure their governance is up to date and they have all the relevant policies and procedures in place to manage the projects which take place. Part of the work which is ongoing is also to support the trustees to put together a business plan to enable the organisation to grow and deliver services to meet the needs of the community alongside other agencies active in the area. This also includes looking at broader funding opportunities to become less reliant on one or two key funders,thus building longer term sustainability for the projects.

We continue to promote Community Led Planning (CLP) as the basis for all community action and we have worked with 6 Parish Councils over the last year: someon the �rst steps of their CLP journey and others who are further down the line.

We believe this is particularly important following the Somerset �oods, as community led planning can build in resilience and emergency elements right from the beginning. We also support local councils with obtaining funding to support the process and we were successful in doing this with 2 communities over the last year.

CCS Consultancy

-

Neighbourhood Planning:

We concluded our support for Rode PC over the year, supporting them through to the �nal steps in drafting their Neighbourhood Plan. We have also started working with Stogumber PC on their plan and have given advice to a further 6 Parish Councils; in particular helping them to decide if NP is the most appropriate course of action for their particular community. In addition to this we have looked at the opportunities for communities to use the new powers that are available under the Act. We have also assisted some of them to raise funds to pay for the planning projects.

Community Rights

We have seen an increase in communities interested in using the Community Rights process to protect orprovide local services and we have given advice andinformation to 4 communities over the last year; in particular with helping to prevent brewery companies trying to close village pubs in favour of selling them o� for development.

Community Consultation

During Autumn 2013 Somerset County Council ran a third round of Local Choices events; an event taking place in each of the 5 district Councils. We attended each event, designed to provide the opportunity for community groups, Parish and Town Councils, volunteers and support organisations to network, collaborate and inspire through demonstrating successful local initiatives. Because of our strong community links, CCS were asked to help organise the Taunton Deane event; providing some of the inspirational case studies, chairing and presenting at the event.

Overall 250 people participated and feedback was very positive overall – particularly for the Taunton Deane event!

Housing Needs Assessments

The government wants builders, investors,and local councils to increase the supply ofboth new homes and re-purposed empty homes. Many funded initiatives have �ltered down to encourage this and we continue to work with communities and Town and Parish Councils to o�er a completely impartial service to provide the crucial evidence needed for housing plans to become a reality. In the last year we started work with parishes in Oake, Churchstanton, Nether Stowey, Rode and Stawley to support them with di�erent types of Housing Needs Surveys including a�ordable and full strategic needs assessments. In addition, we have given preliminary advice to a further 3 communities. We worked closely with Taunton Deane Borough Council to provide local intelligence for a district-wide Rural A�ordable Housing report and we were, once again asked, to present at Sedgemoor District Council’s Rural Housing Conference.

We have continued to establish positive working relationships with other partner agencies across Somerset. We have held meetings with representatives of several of the district councils and they have commissioned some work from us. We have worked with Somerset County Council and Taunton Deane Borough Council to organise an information evening for councillors and other partners.

We are building good working relationships with the county’s MPs and have briefed all MP’s through our communications work and met withTessa Munt and Jeremy Browne to discuss the work of CCS and issues thatwe see as important in their constituencies.

We are also building stronger links with Somerset Association of Local Councils (SALC). This resulted in the distribution of a joint letter from both CCS and SALC to parish councils extolling the bene�ts of each organisation and encouraging Town and Parish Councils to join both.

We continue to take an active role in the Taunton Deane Borough Council (TDBC) Community Planning Work Group. This group has been looking at a number of issues that a�ect rural communities including digital inclusion, broadband, rural poverty and planning.

It has been particularly involved in the production and monitoring of the Priority Area Strategy (PAS) which is TDBC’s Strategic plan to tackle both urban and rural deprivation across the Borough. The group has been very positive in their support for the CCS Village Agent project and have suggested that they would like to see the project expanded to cover other parts of the district.

Links with other agencies

We continue to work with and alongside a wide range of agencies and this has been particularly apparent during the �ooding crisis where we have been liaising with and working alongside the Emergency Services and �rst Responders, Somerset County Council, the relevant District Councils, other voluntary and community sector groups including the Somerset Community Foundation, CAB’s, Samaritans, Somerset Emergency Volunteers, Parish and Town Councils, Church Groups, Village Halls, the Environment Agency, and local businesses to name just a few.

Our strength has been in having people on the ground and good local connections to enable us to respond to the needs of the individuals and communities. Residents also have con�dence that when many of the agencies have returned to their ‘day job’ , CCS will continue to support people and communities through its range of projects.

A new relationship developed during the year with the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE). We are delighted to host Issy White, a Warmer Improved Somerset Homes (WISH) case worker and energy advisor. This project o�ers people practical advice on energy issues and works alongside CCS projects adding value and opportunities for both parties.

To �nd out more contact Issy: Isobel.White@cse.org.uk

2013 has been a year of modernisation for CCS, with a new streamlined logo, new website, re-establishing the CCS brand across the board with a fresh clean professional look.

The new website really showcases all the projects with a dedicated web page for all the unique projects - it has enhanced navigation and is packed with up-to-date information. CCS has streamlined the website’s menus to give visitors quick access to the items they are looking for. Visit: www.somersetrcc.org.uk

Along with the new look we are also now very active with our social media - with twitter and Facebook accounts now up and running we are really spreading the word about the work we do.

We have also increased our PR coverage and, as a result, have been referenced across the county in many printed publications and featured articles online. We aim to build on the new look and establish more relationships with the media to encourage the whole of Somerset to know more about CCS!

We have continued to produce Thatch e-newsletters for our members, which include information on funding opportunities, events and relevant information.

Follow us & like is on:

CCS Communications

@ruralsomerset

/ruralsomerset

We continue to develop all our projects and look for new opportunities to ensure we are meeting the existing and future needs of Somerset’s communities and residents. The following are just some of the future planned work on our projects:

Community Buildings Support

CCS continues to deliver our community buildings support service and will be holding a number of training & networking events in 2014 to ensure best practice and that halls are sharing from the wealth of knowledge available from the management committees. We will continue to send monthly newsletters and news bulletins on key issues, up-to-date legislation and keep halls informed of government changes and any consultations. For current information & updates visit: www.somersetrcc.org.uk/community-buildings-somerset.

Community Consultation

In the next 12 months we will be working with a number of communities and Local Authorities to undertake local consultations including Nether Stowey, Walton, Churchstanton, Stogumber. We are advising Creech St Michael / Monkton Heath�eld Parish Councils on community facilities within new housing developments. We will continue the support work with the Taunton East development Trust to help them develop a business Plan to become more �nancially sustainable into the future whilst still o�ering good quality services to meet local needs.

Community Energy

We are investigating a number of options to provide funding for this type of work in advance of this year’s winter. We have already been successful in obtaining just under £20k from Scottish Power to run an exciting new programme called ‘Somerset Warmer Families’ that will target vulnerable families with young children who are in, or at risk of falling into, fuel poverty. We are already talking to partners in the County Council’s Children’s Centres and the Pre-School Learning Alliance about how we can reach vulnerable families across the county.

Looking ahead - plans and projects

Somerset Community Oil Scheme

The Somerset Community Oil Scheme has been very successful with domestic users, but we strive to attract more business users. We could save them even more money because of the larger quantities of oil they purchase. We hope a rethink of the membership charges for business users, to make it more a�ordable to join, will increase this membership, and become a real bene�t to business users.

Village Agents

We have been successful in securing continuation funding from a number of funding sources including the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, Hastoe Group (Bernard Herridge), Taunton Deane Partnership, the Tudor Trust and the Somerset Community Foundation / Somerset Masonic Charities. This funding will enable us to continue to deliver in the current areas of the county and further funding opportunities continue to be explored for development of the project across the county.

NEW CCS Design Service

In 2014 CCS are o�ering a professional, a�ordable design service – our key objective is to work with organisations that don’t have a full internal marketing function, but really need help or advice with how their business, their brand, their products and/or services are marketed.

We are o�er:

As a charity we understand charity and small organisations perspectives.

graphic designwebsite advice / support and marketing guidance.

Somerset Business Village Agent

We have been successful in securing joint funding through the Federation of Small Businesses, Somerset County Council and South Somerset District council to employ a Business Village Agent (for one year initially) to support �ood a�ected businesses in Somerset.

Nicky Bailey joined the team in early June and has a background of supporting business and enterprise through her experience working with Business Link, community learning centres and the Peter Jones enterprise academies. As a Somerset business owner herself, Nicky personally identi�es with the daily challenges businesses face.

She is available for one-to-one meetings, drop-in sessions, workshops and networking opportunities o�ering a range of practical business and �nancial support to improve business resilience.

Get Up to Speed

Get up to Speed is a support service designed to help businesses and communities across Devon and Somerset improve their ICT skills and knowledge. The service will o�er information locally through events, workshops and other community support activities, allowing businesses and residents to fully harness the bene�ts of current or future high-speed broadband. Later in the year CCS will be working with Cosmic Ethical IT to deliver these events throughout rural Somerset.

@somersetbva

Email: businessva@somersetrcc.org.uk Tel: 07711251334

/somerset.businessva

We are always grateful to our funders, members and supporters fortheir �nancial support:

Contact us

Katherine Armstrong Chief Executive katherine@somersetrcc.org.uk

Keeley Rudd Community Involvement Manager keeley@somersetrcc.org.uk

Andrew Govier Community Involvement O�cer andrew@somersetrcc.org.uk

Sarah Aston Village Agents Project Manager sarah@somersetrcc.org.uk

Geraldine Braycotton Administrative Support O�cer adminsupport@somersetrcc.org.uk

Jason Tinley Finance O�cer �nance@somersetrcc.org.uk Oil Scheme Co-ordinator

oil@somersetrcc.org.uk

Marjie Dorling Quality Standards and Surveys O�cer marjorie@somersetrcc.org.uk

Nicola Elliott

Community Buildings Supportcommunitybuildings@somersetrcc.org.uk

Nicola Bailey Somerset Business Village Agent businessva@somersetrcc.org.uk

Communications and Project o�cernicola@somersetrcc.org.uk

Sarah Aston Village Agents Project Manager

The Community Council for Somerset is aCompany Limited by Guarantee, Registered in

England & Wales No. 3541219, and is a Registered Charity No. 1069260

01823 331222Victoria House

Victoria Street, TauntonTA1 3JZ

WWW.SOMERSETRCC.ORG.UKINFO@SOMERSETRCC.ORG.UK

BY PHONE BY POST ONLINE

Village Agents

Julie AntoniadisYvonne BulmanAndrea de Berker Caroline HardingNick EvelynLauren FarrarAlison HoareYvonne Kay Audrey Mans�eld Trudi Morgan Carolyn RocheJacky Smith Lisa Souster Kate SymondsKim Wilcox

jantoniadisva@somersetrcc.org.ukybulmanva@somersetrcc.org.ukadeberkerva@somersetrcc.org.ukchardingva@somesetrcc.org.uknevelynva@somersetrcc.org.uklfarrarva@somersetrcc.org.uKahoareva@somersetrcc.org.uk ykayva@somersetrcc.org.ukcamans�eldva@somersetrcc.org.uktmorganva@somersetrcc.org.ukcrocheva@somersetrcc.org.ukjsmithva@somersetrcc.org.uk lsousterva@somersetrcc.org.ukksymondsva@somersetrcc.org.ukkwilcoxva@somersetrcc.org.uk

@ruralsomerset/ruralsomerset