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Donyatt Parish Council
More information about Donyatt Parish Council
Donyatt Parish Council:
Donyatt Parish Council meets bi-monthly (January, March, May, July, September, November). Dates for 2024/25 are:
Tuesday September 09th 2025
Tuesday November 11th 2025
Tuesday January 13th 2026
Tuesday March 10th 2026
Often the council has to meet between the scheduled meetings mainly for planning applications. These will be held as and when required. If you need to know details of the next Parish Council meeting, please contact the Clerk. clerk@donyattpc.co.uk Meetings commence at 7.00pm (unless otherwise stated) and are held in the David Willis Room at the Village Hall.
There is an opportunity on the Agenda for the public to make comments or ask questions.
Donyatt Parish Council is made up of 6 Councillors.
David Light
Chairman
Parish Path Liaison Officer
01460 259891
Julia McKenzie
Councillor
Rebecca Preece
Councillor
Recreational Ground Representative
James Attlesey
Councillor
07545207959
Steven Payne
Councillor
Guy Wilson
Councillor
Vacancy
Canal Way – Ilminster development.
Good afternoon, I’m David Light, Chairman of Donyatt Parish Council and Sustrans Ranger for the Ilminster to Chard section of the National Cycleway.
Donyatt, a village of around 400 people, borders the southern edge of Ilminster, the only thing that separates the two communities at present are fields off Canal Way that Persimmons are proposing to build ‘up to 400 houses’ on.
That’s possibly up to any extra 1,000 people (two and a half times the population of Donyatt) living right up against our parish boundary with no planned buffer-zone in between.
Donyatt Parish Council feel this is fundamentally wrong.
The potential for overspill into our community will be huge, with all these extra people out walking, some with dogs, and their children looking for big open spaces to play and explore and to ride their bikes. There is also the potential for an increase in anti-social behaviour.
The extra pressure on the nature reserve at Herne Hill, just a short walk from the proposed development, would completely change it from the quiet , peaceful place to walk that it has always been.
And with no buffer zone in place, all of this extra activity will spill over into local farmers fields and into our parish.
Donyatt Parish Council is totally opposed to this development, as we can’t see any way these issues can be overcome unless this major change is made to the proposals.
Ilminster to Chard Cycleway:
On a fine day, this section of the Cycleway will have scores, sometimes hundreds of people using it. Even in wet weather it is still well used.
And it’s not just cyclists, families out walking with their children, often with prams, dog walkers, joggers, children learning to ride their cycles, horse-riders as it’s also a Bridleway, it’s also a lifeline for workers as a safe route between Ilminster and Chard avoiding the busy and dangerous A358.
Because the Cycleway is heavily used, the surface is deteriorating fast, In its’ current condition it will not take the extra traffic from the housing development, increasing the likelihood of accidents and injury.
Therefore I urge you, that if this development is approved, upgrading the Cycleway is made a condition of planning approval.
Thank you.