Cyngor Cymuned Llanegwad Community Council

Cyngor Cymuned Llanegwad Community Council.

Minutes of the meeting of Llanegwad Community Council held at The Reading Room , Cwrt Henri ,on Monday 11th December 2017, with Madam Chairman Elizabeth Tremlett presiding. Present. John James, Clive Pugh, Hugh Harries, Iwan Griffiths, David James, Alun Thomas, Elizabeth Tremlett. Diane Evans, Mansel Charles, Gaynor Davies ( Clerk ) Apologies: Gary Thomas, Elfryn Daniels Due to the illness of the clerk it was proposed and seconded that Councilor Clive Pugh take the minutes. Chairman’s Welcome The Chairman welcomed all present to the December meeting of Llanegwad Community Council , taking the opportunity to express the Community Councils deepest sympathy and condolences to Gary Thomas and his family following the loss of their daughter.

68 /17 Declaration of Interest None made .

69/17 Previous Minutes. The minutes of the meeting held on November 13th 2017 having been previously distributed were proposed and seconded as being a true reflection of the meeting and were duly signed by the Chairman.

70/17 Matters arising 58/15/1b Provision of additional street light along A40 at Pontargothi: a cost of £615 plus VAT has been quoted, with an option of up to 6 lights. A local resident has raised a compliant with SWTRA regarding the possible installation of additional pedestrian lighting . Await further update from SWTRA No updates 65/15/12 Dog fouling in Pontargothi, Local Councilors met with CCC to discuss the dog fouling in Pontargothi. A second bin has been agreed however its location is yet to be confirmed No updates 34/16/2 Following the site meeting on Friday 27th of January, The Clerk has prepared a consultation document detailing requests over previous years for road safety improvements at Nantgaredig Square. This report has been forwarded to SWTRA; Adam Price AM expressing our concerns, and our request for permanent speed cameras and traffic lights. Following the recent road safety improvements concerns have been raised that the cost of the Improvements undertaken do not appear to have improved road safety , and that the work has not resolved the longstanding issues at this junction. No updates

61/15/3. response from John McEvoy regarding speed restriction outside Nantgaredig School , for the introduction of a 20mph speed limit on Station Rd., Nantgaredig outside the school The County Council’s Traffic Management traffic management revenue budget is fully

30 committed for 2017/18 to complete traffic management schemes already commenced (consultation / design / construction stage) in 2016/17 No updates

67/15/2 reply from Edwina Hart regarding the River Towy near Llanegwad “a preliminary report on the river erosion and environmental constraints affecting the site has been reported and my officials are currently considering the findings. Further funding will be made available this fiscal year to continue the work and obtain the necessary consents to proceed. An investigation has taken place and landowners are being notified of their concerns in due course. It has been brought to our attention that some landowners have received correspondence regarding the river erosion . No updates 67/15/4 Damage to the soft verges is increasing along the B4310 and require urgent attention, it was noted that the road has partly sunk between Meiros Hill and Cefn Meiros, other areas of concern include Penrhiwgolau and Alltygolau. No Updates 42/16/7 following a discussion Councillors have now decided to request the return of the letter box to its original site in Pontargothi . clerk to advise RM Residents are happy with the removal of the existing letter box from Felingwm Isaf and for it to be replaced by a larger modern box. Clerk to request if the current box can be donated to the Community Centre in Felingwm Uchaf due to its historic value . No updates

09/17/5 it was requested that the salt bin at the old School in Brechfa has been removed, but not placed in the suggested location . clerk to write to CCC

09/17/7 The repair work of the road surface near Eisteddfa farm, needs completing. Clerk to contact CCC and request a further visit . Clerk to write to CCC

15/7/1 B4310 Hafodgrugyn to Ffynnon Newydd dips in road getting worse. Clerk to contact CCC No Updates

15/7/3 B4310 Felingwm Uchaf to Brechfa, white lines need replacing as they are becoming faded, additionally a request for double white lines to aid road safety. CC Charles has made requests for the white lines to be repainted from Nantgaredig to Brechfa. . No Updates

20/17/3 a further request has been received for a bus shelter at Llanegwad, as the number of school children is to increase. Councillors wish to have accurate information regarding the number of potential school children using the bus service in these areas. Chair to investigate.

20/17/4 A request for a second bus shelter at Pontargothi near to the Salutation , to help aid road safety for the children travelling to school in Llandeilo . An additional request has come in for a bus shelter along Station Road , Nantgaredig . Councillors to request further information.

55/17/3 Request for branches to be cut back along the Pontargothi to Llanfynydd Road, near the Clwtau to Eisteddfa area. Clerk to contact CCC

31 62/17 Correspondence.

The following items were noted. 1) Brechfa Wind farm , Consultation afternoon at Brechfa Church Hall , 22/11/2017 between 4pm and 7 pm they are now inviting local community members to give their views on our proposals for the fund by completing a questionnaire on the website: www.innogy.com/brechfaforest Councillors were keen to make a request for funding to enable safety improvements . 2) Hywel Dda Planning review , email sent 3) Christmas Toybox appeal CCC ( Drop off points County Hall and Spillman street)

63/17 Planning

Councillors agreed to support the following applications

1) E/36336 Non-Material amendment to E/33252 Amended plans European Homes, Station Road. Sa32 7LQ

2) E/36637 General purpose Farm Building Fferm Penlan Fach , Nantgaredig SA32 7NL

3) A response has been received from CCC Planning department regarding a previous query regarding a Planning amendment previously received “ Re : E/ 35277 Further to your query , I cannot account for why this dwelling was not built at the correct location, as it was erected approximately 14 years ago. The LPA did have compliance officers at one time to ensure planning permissions when implemented adhered to imposed conditions; however, owing to budgetary constraints, those officers are no longer in place”

4) In response to a request at the previous meeting the clerk has prepared the Following information on previous planning matters.

E/34128 20 Maes Awelon Under consideration E/35213 Ysgol Brechfa In consultation

64/17 Highways

1) Public Notice of construction of flat top raised plateau 75mm high width of the road 6M long flat top , near the entrance of TyNant , Station Road. It was noted that a householder whose property will be directly affected by the plateau has been in touch with the clerk and has made representations to CCC. 2) Trees along the A40 opposite Erwlon, Pontargothi have been cut .

32 3) CC Charles together with Sion Lewis have inspected a number of the problematic minor roads within the ward following a complaints ,together with the B4310 from Nantgaredig to Brechfa 4) A Site meeting took place with Councillors Clive Pugh and Iwan Griffiths with members of CCC to discuss road safety along the B4310 . “ I can confirm that Community Councillor Iwan Griffiths and I were able to meet with Sion Lewis and Stuart Quick from Carmarthen County Council Highways Department, today Friday 27th October 2017 to discuss outstanding issues of road safety along the B4310 between Nantgaredig and Brechfa. The meeting was arranged so that Sion, the newly appointed local Highways Inspector; could familiarise himself with the Road Safety concerns of Llanegwad Community Council along this route. All previous matters identified were discussed prior to a drive along the route to identify the location and severity of damaged to areas needing attention. On completion of the route inspection, it was agreed that road surface maintenance is needed and action will be taken as soon as practicable, however some of the work needed was due to other service providers who will be contacted forthwith. All works will be dictated by budgetary restraints and will therefore, be prioritised as and when money becomes available. It was not possible to discuss other issues such as safety barriers and road widening as these come under different departments and areas of responsibility, however, the cutting back of the tree line for large vehicles to pass was noted as being work in progress. This will be done after the autumnal leaf fall, which will aid the process. Both Highways officers were attentive and understanding of the road safety concerns expressed on behalf of the community, and it was felt that the meeting had been very productive and bodes well for future dealings with the personnel concerned. Whilst the meeting had been productive to allow the new officer to familiarise himself with the location, it was decided that all previous issues identified and added to the current budget by Emyr, should be honoured. Letter to be sent to Sion reminding him of previous correspondence and agreed actions. These to include provision of verge bollards and areas of uneven road surface. It was also requested that the clerk send a letter to John McEvoy for update on crash barriers.

65/17 Finance

1)HSBC statement 251 £9094.33

Councillors agreed to pay the following Invoices

33 2) Invoice from Wales Audit Office £225:00 3) Invoice for Room hire Reading Room Cwrt Henri. £60:00 4) Invoice for Room hire Llanegwad £45:00 5) Invoice for room hire Y Ganolfan Felingwm £45:00 6 ) Invoice from Clerk Postage etc £84:00 7) Invoice from clerk Jan – Apr 2017 £1033:00 8) Invoice from clerk May – Dec 2017 £2067:00 9) Councillor James attended a recent meeting of the Brechfa Village Trust to discuss matters of concern raised by the Community Council. Cllr James was attending on behalf of Llanegwad Community Council to discuss the request to this council for financial support to assist in the ongoing maintenance and running costs of the public toilets at Victoria Park. The toilets have in the last few years been adopted by the Victoria Park Trust from Carmarthenshire County Council. He was advised that fair wear and tear, high electric bills and ongoing maintenance compound the running costs. In order to assess the request for financial support, he suggested that an account of the financial running of the toilets be forwarded to this council for deliberation. It was also suggested that other avenues could be investigated such as Lottery Funding and proposed Wind Farm support to local organisations. However it appeared that the accounts were not available. Cllr James suggested that no financial support could be provided from a public purse such as the Community Council, unless there was a clear audit trail available for scrutiny. At this time two attendees left the meeting without a resolution being reached. The remaining attendees were in general agreement to the request for further information.

Following this a letter received by the clerk from an attendee of the meeting was read out, as follows. Re: Brechfa Village Trust/public toilets

I would be grateful if you would read this letter out at the next Community Council meeting on 13th November 2017. I write as an individual. The committee of the Brechfa Village Trust do not know I am doing this. I am not on the committee of volunteers who have taken responsibility for the maintenance, running and improvement of Victoria Park. I do help with fundraising and events, which is why I attend meetings. I don’t know if Mr John James had been invited to the meeting in the Forest Arms last night (26th October) but I do know he monopolised it. He revisited old ground and brought up matters which were not related to the Trust’s request to Llanegwad Community Council for financial aid to keep the public conveniences open for the public. It has been established that without the toilets neither the Church Hall nor the Park could function. Many other regular users would be disadvantaged. Three years from taking on the toilets from CCC, the Park committee will be wholly responsible for running them. The Trust is well established and has an excellent record. The trustees and committee members are volunteers. They have work and family commitments yet do a thorough job with the Park. Llanfihangel Rhos y Corn Community Council has taken full responsibility for the public conveniences in Abergorlech yet still gives financial support to the Brechfa Village Trust to keep everything operative. Your community council hasn’t taken responsibility for any public toilets. Given the tremendous work that these volunteers do, it seems to me quite reasonable to ask for a regular contribution towards maintenance without

34 having to produce balance sheets, constitutions and agreements. Should you really need this information, perhaps a letter to the Park’s secretary would have been sufficient? As a member of the community, I would be grateful if your community council could allocate a regular financial contribution towards the upkeep of the public toilets as I am concerned that the committee might just give up under the pressure.

Following the reading of the letter and ensuing discussion, it was agreed to send a letter from the council to the secretary of the Victoria Park Trust, Mena Davies, Rose Cottage, Brechfa; re-iterating the request made by Cllr James for information, before any further action can be considered by this council. A copy of the email received to be included for her information.

66 /17 Website

No further development; await production of pictures for main page from councillors and members of the public

/17 other matters of relevance to Councillors it was noted that several free standing mail boxes within the Parish have been damaged

1) Councillor James gave an update on the expenditure at the Ganolfan in Felingwm , noting the running costs in maintaining the heating and safety checks 2) Coffee evening Felingwm 24th Nov 7pm 3) Coffee morning/Xmas Fair Cothi Bridge hall 9th Dec 10:30am 4) Carol Service Cothi Bridge hall 22nd Dec raise money for Marie Currie 7pm 5) Footbridge in Pontargothi slippery due to leaves, letter to Council to brush it , Clerk to contact CCC 6) Culvert cleaning around the parish not effective as waste material not being removed and re-entering culverts in adverse weather. Clerk to contact CCC 7) non-skid surface Abergolau bend needs upgrading, Clerk to contact CCC

With no further matters to discuss the meeting closed at 9.35 pm. The next meeting will be held at The Reading Room , Cwrt Henri on Monday 11th of December 2017 to commence at 7:30pm.

Councillors thanked Clive for taking the minutes.