Licencing Pre-Application Meeting – 30th January 2020

Please be advised that the PIP committee will be applying for its new premises license in early February.

We had a license granted previously but was limited to 3 years so that the local authority could monitor the events to make sure that we did uphold to all the conditions and safety requirements.  We have had nothing but praise from them and they are happy for us to apply again for a permanent license to enable us to run the annual event plus any small events like the community clean and possibly an open air cinema free for residents.

The licensing team at Taunton Deane now make having a pre application mediation meeting a condition which is a sensible thing. When we made the application last time there were a few concerns from some residents which were alleviated at a face to face meeting. Unfortunately there were also quite a few rumours about large scale commercial events and things like firework displays which were not true and only stirred up more concerns and delayed our application.

There will be an open meeting at the village hall on 30th January 2020,18:00 – 19:00 in the upstairs meeting room and two committee members will be available to answer any questions or concerns you might have. If you would prefer you can email us on pip@creechstmichael.net or leave us a message on 01823 445056.

Please note that this event is organised and run completely by volunteers to encourage community spirit and raise funds for other community events and groups in our parish. Some of the events and donations made so far that have benefited the local community are:

Fish & Chip Lunch

In January 2017, 2018 & 2019 with the help of a large team of volunteers we laid on a free fish and chip lunch with bingo (starring our own David Fothergill as bingo caller) for the over 60’s at the village hall. Due to the popularity of this event we be running it again in 2020.  This event is attended by over 100 residents and it is a good place for people to meet and socialise.

Creech Clean Up Days

PIP organised and funded a second clean up day this year which was very well attended and again managed to clean up a whole trailer of rubbish and
litter. There was then a BBQ with chips from LayzRicks paid for from the funds and lots of fun and games laid on for the children. We would like to hold
this event twice a year so if you would like to be involved or even help organise, please get in touch.

For the Youths of the Parish

PIP has been able to make donations to Pre School, Primary School and the Baptist Church to be used for various projects over the past couple of years.

Remembering The Fallen in WW1

A donation to sponsor a tree for each of the fallen soldiers from WW1 was made to the Somerset Wood project this year.

Other Donations

Thanks to our volunteer group of “Phone Box Ninjas” we have donated the funds to replace all the glass in the tatty phone box in St Michaels road which has had a lovely coat of paint. This phone box houses the new defibrillator cabinet which we also contributed to, along with the defibrillators in other locations around the parish.

A bench was also purchased and installed at the end of Hyde Lane this year.

Another donation was made towards making the pathway safe to the canal which was recently completed.

We have also be able to purchase a lot of equipment for the recreation ground, some of which was stolen late late year but was insured thankfully.

If you have any ideas for worthwhile projects in the parish let us know.

PIP 2020: No Daytime Event – After Dark Only

Sadly, we have taken the decision to NOT run a daytime event in 2020.

The evening After Dark event will go ahead as usual – more details will be announced in due course.

This decision was taken for a number of reasons:

Volunteers – the organisation and pre-planning of the event takes a massive amount of man hours and unfortunately, although our volunteers are amazing and do a wonderful job,  we do not have enough to share the workload around. We don’t want to overload our volunteers as we want them to enjoy being involved.

Costs – the daytime event costs thousands of pounds to put on.  Activities and demos are free and rides are subsidised so the daytime event is run at a loss.  It is all paid for from the profits of the After Dark event, and  while we definitely want to give back to the community, we are considering if there are better ways to spend funds.

Time – the daytime is always hectic, with the setup starting days before and the turn around to get the site ready for the evening very tight.

Other events – it’s very hard to find a weekend in July that does not clash with other events, although we do try.  Next year we inadvertently clash with Ruishton Village Day and the first Taunton Live Pride event, so there is already lots happening in the day.

There is a possibility that we might do something small and low key in the daytime, such as a cleanup day or family games, however the committee need to discuss this in more detail.

We are also discussing whether it would be better to do a summer fayre completely separate to the After Dark event in future years.

Can you help in 2021?

We hope that the daytime event will return in 2021 – but this will only be possible with sufficient volunteers to be part of the following teams.  Please contact us on socialmedia@creechpartyinthepark.com if you’d like to be contacted nearer the time about volunteering.

  1. Arena – organising the displays and games that happen in the central arena, including the running order, booking etc
  2. Kids entertainment – arranging stalls, activities, demos etc for our younger audience.
  3. Adult/Teen entertainment – arranging stalls, activities, demos etc for our older audience.
  4. Food Stalls – organising the food pitches
  5. Stalls – organising and liaising with all stall holders
  6. Raffle – contacting local businesses for prizes, arranging raffle prize display, selling tickets etc
  7. Amenities/Site – layout of field, toilets, lights, electrics, safety, marquees etc
  8. Advertising/Social Media/Web/Print – updating website, posting to social media, creating posters, press releases etc

2020 Evening Event

The After Dark live music event WILL take place next year.  We will be making some changes including increased security and increased prices to cover the extra security.  More details will be announced in due course.