Community Engagement - Cowbridge Community Consultation Summary Report Final

Cowbridge Community Consultation ------

Creative Rural Communities is the rural regeneration team within the Vale of Glamorgan council. We are offering community consultations as part of our community engagement work to help demonstrate support for possible projects. We are looking for ideas and projects that would benefit local people in their community. We started the Cowbridge community consultation with a stand at the Farmers market on Saturday 16th June and then an evening at the Quarter Penny café on the 21st June 2012.

We had flyers distributed to every household in Cowbridge, Llanblethian and Aberthin and the Chamber of Trade also assisted in distributing posters and flyers to encourage local people to attend. The consultations were advertised on the Creative Rural Communities twitter and facebok sites and emails were sent to the Town council and councillors and active groups in the area. We also took out an advert in the local Cowbridge GEM newspaper.

In total 63 people attended the 2 consultation events. At the farmers market there was a mix of local people and the Quarter penny event there were many traders from Cowbridge present.

When asked “what do you Love about Cowbridge” there were numerous comments about the rural location, the quaintness of the market town

 Many commented about the friendliness of the people and one person said the eclectic people and the strength of community spirit.

 People said that they like the shops, restaurants’ and café’s and in particular praised the small independents’ that made gave the town is distinctiveness. That it is not too commercialised.

 Several people mentioned that the loved the Farmers market.

 Loved the heritage of the town, sites to see including Physic garden,

 The fact that the town is old fashioned, it has a charm to it.

 Rural location, size of the town, open green spaces, plenty of pubs and restaurants to choose from.

 In Lanblethian they love their park for young people

 Cinema club, the theatre

 Free parking

1  People said that they love the community events i.e. Reindeer Parade, Food Festival & Book Festival.

 That it is a community you can get involved in.

The next stage of the consultation asked people “What could make Cowbridge even better?”

155 recommendations in total for what could make Cowbridge even better:

60 recommendations came from the Farmers Market consultation 95 recommendations from the Quarter Penny consultation

The priority with 43 suggestions was raised for more signage and information for Cowbridge with suggestions for:  Signage from the M4, from the A48 both directions  Improved signage within the town to the car parks, Pedestrian access down Penny lane to Car park, Physic garden  More information/maps/leaflets/guides on the town  Maps with Walks in the and around Cowbridge  Better pavements and disabled access i.e. drop down kerbs  More planting in town

The second priority from the consultation with 23 suggestions, was on the issue of parking:  More Parking spaces required  Knock down cattle side of market site and create 60-70 spaces and expose more of the historic Town wall  Parking at school on weekend  Charge for parking after 2 hours (First 2 hours free)  Extend parking on high street to 2 hour stay  Lease the main car park to Chamber of Trade for pay & display to generate income.

18 people wanted to stop chain stores from coming into Cowbridge- Keep local independent shops and restrict chain shops taking away the rural image of the market town.

10 people mentioned the need for more equipment at Twt park, the possibility of toilets and create a meeting space for all ages.

8 people suggested having bunting for events and festivals to enhance Cowbridge.

8 people requested more bins for rubbish and dog poo (Note:Dog poo bags are allowed to go in normal council waste bins).

7 people mentioned the need for more venues/facilities for young people

2 Suggestions were made by 7 people to convert the cattle/sheep market site into a market hall i.e. for events and arts space, 2 people suggested keeping it as a sheep market as well.

6 people mentioned the need for the pot holes to be fixed

5 suggestions were made for cycle paths and cycle racks in and around Cowbridge

4 people wanted CCTV across Cowbridge.

4 people requested a swimming pool in Cowbridge

4 people mentioned they would like more green areas

Llanblethian – 4 people wanted to renovate pump and create more open space, maintain what it has, enhance pavements and ford.

3 people mentioned the need for a market and/or community café/arts & crafts centre in Cowbridge

3 people wanted more for senior citizens

2 people mentioned bring back zebra crossing instead of traffic light in centre of town

2 people would like to see more Christmas lights.

2 people wanted to see more promotion of local heritage, county treasures – community led representing local residents & associations were mentioned.

People mentioned they wanted better internet service, more festivals and events, garden sharing scheme, limit new housing and better planning development, More sky TV in the pubs, a cinema in Cowbridge, bring back Martins newsagents, more local events, IT system to collect data on visitors and more street lighting.

On a positive, it was mentioned that there is an excellent recycling service provided by the Vale of Glamorgan Council.

Next Steps

Creative Rural Communities has several grant schemes that could be considered to help groups/societies/council to develop projects to implement some of the consultation suggestions to assist or improve Cowbridge.

The key priority from the consultation was signage, maps and information of the town; this could be considered under Destination management which is a scheme that Creative Rural Communities is currently looking to take forward.

3 The Pride in our Villages grant scheme could be applied for the suggestions of bunting and more equipment for the Twt park, this grant scheme requires applicants to demonstrate community support; therefore evidence from this consultation can be used towards applying for this particular grant. For more information please contact Jane Williams on 01447 704755 or e mail [email protected]

There is also a cycle routes project, Mark Cottray the footpaths and cycle officer may be able to suggest some help for the suggestion of cycle path/routes. Contact details 01446 704645 or e mail [email protected]

For more information on grants available please contact Creative Rural Communities on 01446 704754 or e mail [email protected] . Creative Rural Communities is a regeneration and economic development initiative led by the Vale of Glamorgan Council in partnership with various public, private and voluntary sector organisations. The project is funded by the Vale of Glamorgan Council and through the Welsh Government’s Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. There are funding programmes available for villages, heritage, farming, tourism, basic service and community grown food, which can strengthen communities and businesses in the rural Vale.

Previous projects that Creative Rural Communities have supported in Cowbridge are the Physic Garden, Cowbridge Food & Drink Festival, Cowbridge fair-trade group, Old Hall grounds improvements, Cowbridge Community college community facility, Big Screen community cinema, new footpath, Cowbridge Chamber of Trade marketing, Vale Marketing Group, Holy Cross Church lighting, Aberthin play area, Coed Hills community space, Cowbridge Town Hall kitchen improvements, Cowbridge Youth club heating and Llanblethian church hall improvements.