FINAL PROPOSALS Community No. B05 - CRAY Community No. B25 - LLYWEL Community No. B26 - MAESCAR Introduction 1. The present communities of Cray, Llywel and Maescar are shaped by the confluence of several streams and rivers, including the Senni, Crai, Hydfer, Usk, Gwydderig and Cilhenni, which come together to form the upper Usk valley. The northern watershed of Mynydd Bwlchygroes and Mynydd Epynt forms the northern boundaries of Llywel and Maescar, while the southern watershed of the Fforest Fawr - Brecon Beacons, ranging from Fan Brycheiniog, through Fan Hir, Fan Gynhirych, Fan Bwlch Chwyth, Fan Nedd, Fan Llia and to Fan Fawr, provides the southern boundary of the three communities. This is with one small exception: the upper Tawe valley, with some 50 resident electors, forms the southern part of the Traianglas ward of the Llywel community, an area to which we shall return. 2. The area has an important network of communications, including the A40, A4067 and A4215, which follow the narrowing valleys and the high moorland passes. Habitation is scattered through the valleys, with a dearth of habitation over the extensive moorlands in the north and south of these communities. In the community of Cray settlement comprises the 3rd tier settlement of Crai. In the community of Llywel settlement is concentrated in the 2nd tier settlement of Trecastle and the unclassified settlement of Llywel, while over the Brecon Beacons in the Tawe valley it comprises the 3rd tier settlement of Heol Callwen in Glyntawe. In the community of Maescar there is the 1st tier settlement of Sennybridge and the closely adjoining 2nd tier settlement of Defynog, together with the unclassified settlement of Heol Senni and the rural settlements of Llandeilo'r Fan, Pentrebach and Pentrefelin. Taken together, the three communities form a coherent community in itself that looks to the 1st tier settlement of Sennybridge for many of its services, leisure and cultural activities. 3. With the exception of most of the Ysclydach ward of the community of Maescar and the northern half of the Traianmawr ward of the community of Llywel, these three communities lie within the Brecon Beacons National Park. 3. Cray has a population of 264, an electorate of 201 (2005) and a council of 7 members. The precept required for 2005 is £2,000, representing a Council Tax Band D equivalent of £15.83. 4. Llywel has a population of 524, an electorate of 408 (2005) and a council of 10 members. The community is warded: Traianglas with 51 electors electing three councillors and Traianmawr with 357 electors electing seven councillors. The Final Proposals – Brecknockshire – Community B05 25 26 – Cray, Llywel and Maescar precept required for 2005 is £4,500, representing a Council Tax Band D equivalent of £21.01. 5. Maescar has a population of 998, an electorate of 796 (2005) and a council of 11 members. The community is warded: Pontsenni with 565 electors electing eight councillors, Senni with 66 electors electing one councillor and Ysclydach with 165 electors electing two councillors. The precept required for 2005 is £9,000, representing a Council Tax Band D equivalent of £21.29. 6. In the 1985 Review, the draft proposals of the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales were for the merger of the then communities of Llandeilo'r Fan, Ysclydach and Maescar to form a new community of Sennybridge, which it was proposed would be divided into two wards: Ysclydach and Pontsenni. A joint meeting of the three community councils made representations for the name of the new community to be "Maescar", representations which the Commission accepted. The Commission also proposed the merger of the then communities of Cray and Senny into a new community of Cray, which it was proposed would be divided into two wards: Cray and Senny. These proposals would have retained the river Senni as the east-west boundary between the Senny ward of the new community of Cray and the Pontsenni ward of the new community of Maescar. This would have led to an unacceptable situation whereby the village of Defynog was split between two communities, with the Glannau Senni estate on the western side of the river Senni passing to the community of Cray. This matter was resolved by the Decision Letter of the Secretary of State for Wales, dated 10 October 1983, who noted that the proposals "had attracted strong local opposition. The Secretary of State has considered the widely supported preference for the inclusion of the whole of Senny in the proposed Community of Maescar and has concluded that the strongest geographical, social and educational links lie in that direction. He has accordingly decided that the Senny ward of the proposed Community of Cray should form part of the proposed Community of Maescar." Thereby, Cray became an unwarded community with a council of seven members, and Maescar became a warded community of three wards with a council of eleven members. 7. The Commission also made proposals for a new community of Llywel to comprise the former community of Traianmawr and the northern part of the community of Traianglas. It was initially proposed that those parts of the upper Tawe valley that were located in the then communities of Traianglas and Glyntawe, would more appropriately be placed in the new community of Tawe-Uchaf: the new community that it was intended should embrace the whole of the upper Tawe valley. At first, there was considerable consensus that the transfer of this area would be appropriate, and the Commission's draft proposals were for the whole of the upper Tawe valley to fall within the new community of Tawe-Uchaf. However, during consultations on these draft proposals, the former Glyntawe community council stated "that it was the wish of the people of Glyntawe that the Draft Proposals be rejected and that the community of Glyntawe be merged with the communities of Traianglas and Traianmawr to form the Community of Llywel. They claimed that the community of Glyntawe was essentially rural and had more in common with the rural communities of Traianglas and Traianmawr than the more urban community of Ystradgynlais Higher." They proposed that the southern boundary of the Llywel community should be the then Adelina Patti Hospital, Craig-y-nos. This view was Final Proposals – Brecknockshire – Community B05 25 26 – Cray, Llywel and Maescar supported by a subsequent joint meeting of the then Traianglas and Traianmawr community councils and by other individual representations. The Commission responded, "We have considered the strong representations that have been made to us by and on behalf of the residents of the present Community of Glyntawe against the inclusion of what is a rural area in an urban community - the proposed Community of Tawe-Uchaf - and see no good reason why the wishes of the local inhabitants should not be respected in this instance." This matter was considered further in the Decision Letter of the Secretary of State for Wales, dated 10 October 1983, "The Commission's proposal… has had the incidental effect of including the Dan-yr-Ogof Cave complex in the proposed Llywel Community", a matter that was opposed by several parties. "The Secretary of State accepts that the links of the Caves are with the urban areas to the south rather than with the rural north and has decided to place the Cave complex in the new Community of Tawe-Uchaf." Thereby, Llywel became a warded community with a council of ten members. Summary of representations received prior to preparation of Draft Proposals 8. No representations have been received for these communities. Assessment 9. We have given careful consideration to the boundaries of these three communities, and we consider that these were largely resolved in the 1985 Review with one probable exception. The southern part of the Traianglas ward of the Llywel community comprises some 50 resident electors who live in Glyntawe in the upper reaches of the Tawe valley. Their dwellings are closely connected to the A4067; they look naturally to the villages and towns to their south for their services, indeed, they currently vote in elections at the County Primary School, Penycae with the electors of the Penycae ward of the community of Tawe-Uchaf. In the 1985 Review, it was argued that Glyntawe was a more rural area and somehow different to Tawe- Uchaf. However, this more rural nature has more to do with the natural thinning of habitation as it reaches the upper valley than with any more agrarian attributes that this area might have. It is difficult for us to comprehend that it is in the interests of effective and convenient local government for the 50 or so electors of this area to be part of a community - Llywel - with which its communications are not good and which has its main focus in the upper reaches of the Usk valley. We therefore consider that the southern part of the Traianglas ward of the community of Llywel, south of the ridgeline between Fan Brycheiniog and Fan Gynhirych, should be transferred to the Penycae ward of the community of Tawe-Uchaf. 10. We proceed to give consideration to councillor allocations in the three communities. The electorate of Cray has declined from an estimate of 263 in 1979 to 201 in 2005. The National Park Unitary Development Plan designates Cray as a 3rd tier settlement in which development will be primarily for locally derived housing need. While additional dwellings may be provided for agriculture or forestry in accordance with policy ES12 of the Plan and by conversions, renovations, demolition and replacement and the enabling of affordable housing in accordance with policies ES24-30 of the Plan, we note that this community's electorate will Final Proposals – Brecknockshire – Community B05 25 26 – Cray, Llywel and Maescar probably continue at about 200 electors, suggesting a continued entitlement in accordance with Table 7 - Guide to Allocation of Councillors to Community Councils above to seven councillors.