Cwmbran Community Council

Cyngor Cymuned Cwmbrân

Report Item

Committee: Policy & Finance Committee (and Members Matters 1 October 2014)

Date: 27 October 2014

Report Author: Clerk to the Council

Event attended: Local Councils in Partnership Committee (AGM & Ordinary Meeting)

Date of Event 23 September 2014

Event Attended by: Councillor S Evans (as substitute for Councillor Howell), Councillor TA Matthews and David Collins (Clerk to the Council)

Introduction

1. This report provides members with brief details of the above meeting.

Summary of key issues discussed

2. AGM – Councillor D Daniels appointed Chairman.

3. Ordinary meeting – see agenda and minutes attached.

4. Report of Councillor Matthews:

Matters arising from TCALC meeting

Grass verges, hedges and tall tress not being cut?

The workforce are fully engaged in grass cutting throughout the summer and are then employed on the above during the months of October – April.

Refuse collections irregular

Some delays due to staff absences, HGV training and employment of agency staff

Management of Manner, Sports Grounds and Community Halls

No response to these matters, meeting at to be rearranged, two current developments at

Departmental Updates

(a) Trading Standards

To be co-ordinated through Gwent Councils following reduction in staffing, the possibility of providers providing their own inspections was mentioned.

(b) Neighbourhood services

Football pitches become the responsibility of the leasers, for surrounding areas - responsibility to be confirmed.

Meadowland at has been resolved and they will be included in any subsequent schemes.

Bus services to Cwmbran cemetery and Henllys, unlikely to be implemented as there is very little passenger demand.

Mowing of meadowland was discussed with no resolution.

(c) LDP

Developments at South Sebastopol and are at planning stage. No immediate interest by developers for remaining major sites

(d) Schools

Secondary education will go forward as planned at Fairwater and – A new primary school to be built on the Llantarnam site and a further primary school to be built on Blenheim Road site.

(e) Waste

It would seem that the new recycling plan will include smaller black bins on a fortnightly collection.

The transfer station at is undergoing a massive reconstruction and will open later in the year with the ability to receive virtually any waste matters.

(In the absence of some officers written responses would be forwarded to Clerks).

AOB

At the close of the meeting the Chairman asked the LC Partnership to consider the prioritisation of future objectives which may coincide with the seven principles currently adopted by the Unitary Authority.

5. Date of next meeting

Tuesday 16 December 2014

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Tuesday 23 June 2015 (AGM)

LOCAL COUNCILS PARTNERSHIP COMMITTEE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES OF THE MEETING TUESDAY 23rd SEPTEMBER 2014 HELD AT 5.45PM IN COMMITTEE ROOM 1, CIVIC CENTRE, PONTYPOOL

1. Attendance

Attendance register was circulated

2. Apologies for absence

Apologies received from Cllr Colyn Evans, Cllr Margaret Howell BEM, Cllr Sylvia Lewis, Cllr Stewart Matthews.

3. Election of Chair

Cllr David Daniels introduced himself to the committee as the Leaders representative. Cllr Daniels was elected as the Chair on behalf of County Borough Council.

4. Election of Vice Chair

In rotation the Vice Chair should be a member from Henllys Community Council. As Henllys Community Council was not represented at the meeting, it was agreed to contact them for their nomination. ACTION - N. Marsh

If they are unable to nominate a Vice Chair this will then be passed to Pontypool Community Council who is next in the rotation.

4. To agree the dates and times of the meetings for 2014/15

The following dates were agreed:-

Tuesday 16 December 2014

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Tuesday 23 June 2015 (AGM)

It was agreed that these meetings should start at 4.30 p.m. and will be held at the Civic Centre in Committee Room 1.

LOCAL COUNCILS PARTNERSHIP COMMITTEE TUESDAY 23rd SEPTEMBER 2014 HELD AT 6PM IN COMMITTEE ROOM 1, CIVIC CENTRE, PONTYPOOL

Present:-

Members Cllr David Daniels (Chair) Executive Member Communities Torfaen CBC, Llantarnam Ward Councillor, Cwmbran Community Councillor Cllr Stewart Matthews Croesyceiliog & Llanyrafon Community Council Cllr Tom Matthews MBE Cwmbran Community Council Cllr Steven Evans Cwmbran Community Council Cllr Robert Davies Ponthir Community Council Cllr Gaynor James Pontypool Community Council

Officers/Clerks David Collins Clerk to Cwmbran Community Council Ruth Tucker Clerk to Pontypool Community Council Cynon Edwards Neighbourhood Services, Torfaen CBC Jacky Rue Community Halls Officer, Torfaen CBC Adrian Wilcock Planning & Public Protection, Torfaen CBC Nikki Marsh (Minutes Secretary) Senior Members Services Officer, Torfaen C.B.C.

Apologies:- Cllr Gareth Davies Town Council Cllr Sylvia Lewis Blaenavon Town Council Cllr Colyn Evans Croesyceiliog & Llanyrafon Community Council Cllr Margaret Howell BEM Cwmbran Community Council Mark Horton (Report Provided) Head of Forward Planning & Access, Torfaen C.B.C. Maria Evans (Report Provided) Social Care & Housing, Torfaen C.B.C. Steve Jarrett (Report Provided) Neighbourhood Services, Torfaen CBC

ITEM DISCUSSION ACTION

1. Welcome and Introduction The Chair opened the meeting and the attendance register circulated.

2. Apologies for Absence Apologies as noted above

3. Declarations of interest – Any declarations of interest will be declared as the meeting progresses

4. Minutes of the last meeting – Tuesday 29th April 2014 and notes from the meeting 24th June which was inquorate To minutes of the meeting of 29th April and the notes from the meeting 24th June were accepted as a true record. There were no matters arising

5. Action Sheet & Update on actions The action sheet has been updated. An update to Bus Services at the new cemetery has been received and documented separately at the end of the Action Sheet. Please note that updates to items Community Halls and Education will be

covered in the officer’s reports in Item 6. 6. Departmental updates

Mark Horton - Head Forward Planning & Access(Torfaen LEA) Written Report read by the Chair in Mark’s absence (details below)

Declaration of Interest The Chair and Cllr Steven Evans declared an interest as they are both on Llantarnam Governing Body

Post 16 Education Nothing further to report at this stage – discussions continue between Coleg Gwent, and Torfaen CBC.

In the case of school reorganisation proposals, emails have been sent to community/town councils during the various stages of the process; the current position is as follows:

Removal of Surplus Secondary School places in the South of Torfaen The decision has now been approved to close both Llantarnam and Fairwater Secondary Schools at the end of the 2014/2015 academic session, and establish a “new” school in the premises of the current Fairwater school from 1st September 2015. The “working name” for the new school is Cwmbran High School, subject to approval as required in the instrument of government next year. The temporary governing body of Cwmbran High School has appointed Helen Coulson as headteacher for the new school when it opens in September 2015. Helen is currently the headteacher at Fairwater High. Closing Fairwater and Llantarnam and creating a single secondary school will help tackle the issue of surplus places and bring Torfaen in line with the Welsh Government target of no more than 15 percent surplus places.

School Closures Following the conclusion of the statutory process the following proposals have or will be implemented: Nursery School closed at the end of the 2013/14 academic year. Kemys Fawr Infants School closed at the end of the 2013/14 academic year. Primary School (and SNRB) closed at the end of the 2013/14 academic year. Nant Celyn Primary School’s age range was extended from 4 to 11 to 3 to 11 at the start of the 2014/15 academic session to accommodate nursery aged children displaced as a result of the closure of Two Locks, and the Autistic SNRB previously at Pontymoile has relocated to Nant Celyn. Primary School will close at the end of the 2014/15 academic session.

New Schools Consultation has closed in respect of proposals to replace the following schools which are due to open in their new premises in September 2016: Blenheim Road Community Primary School (new build on its existing site (315 places plus nursery). Llantarnam Community Primary School (new build on the current Llantarnam Secondary School site (315 places plus nursery).

Ysgol (new build on the former Avesta steelworks site,

Griffithstown (420 places plus nursery).

Statutory Notices are due to be published in respect of the Llantarnam and Ysgol Panteg proposals towards the end of September 2014 (Note: Statutory notices are not required for the Blenheim Road proposal).

Maria Evans, Social Care & Housing, Torfaen C.B.C Written Report read by the Chair in Maria’s absence (details below)

Social Care and Housing are currently consulting on Market Position Statements. They have developed one for adults, and one for children and families. The documents are available on My Say. The MPS’s outline predictions for changing demographics in Torfaen over the next 5 – 10 years and the need to ensure new services are developed to meet the needs of complex health conditions and an aging population.

Jacky Rue, Community Halls Officer, Torfaen CBC Meetings are planned for Pontypool and Cwmbran Community councils (Cwmbran had to be rescheduled last minute due to illness) There was an offer to invite other community councils to the Cwmbran meeting, however it was agreed to have separate meetings as halls are different and each has different needs. Pontypool confirmed they have now received the information requested and this will be discussed with their Chair. Two main issues that have been identified so far are cost implications and costs of repairs.

Adrian Wilcock - Planning & Public Protection The optional chargeable service for Planning Pre-Application Advice is now in place; he confirmed that planning advice by letter to the general public for small householder developments is free of charge and is being regularly used. Also, there is no charge for Town or Community Councils or registered charities. Adrian will provide Guidance Note for circulation; this, along with other free advice and links, can be found on the Council’s website. It is now the practice for all relevant planning applications to go to Planning Committee and not to Council as a matter of course. A new outline planning application for the South Sebastopol site has been submitted with a few amendments in the overall layout design, and downgrading the use of the secondary access points previously approved. The planning application for a 31 pitch Gypsy & Traveller site at the former Race AFC site in Cwmynyscoy is in for consideration by the Council. Adrian will circulate the LDP newsletter to Community Councils over the next few weeks. Community Infrastructure levy - still working on the viability of this. Adrian W The following are responses to a question whether there is anything major on the skyline:- Former Hillside School, Blaenavon - recently obtained planning permission for housing and construction is expected to start shortly Former Comprehensive School - site now under construction for housing Mamhilad Strategic Action Area - nothing to report on this yet Pontypool College - waiting for post-16 education decision Canalside Strategic Action Area - lot of work on land assembly required to progress the scheme Former Police College - still no news of a buyer / developer Adrian Llantarnam Strategic Action Area - expected to be determined by Planning W Committee shortly Llanfrechfa Grange SCCC Hospital - detailed design application due in shortly, work due to start Feb 2016 and Complete by 2019. Arvin Meritor (Girlings) - remaining industrial area should create new jobs once

developed Land adjacent to Cwmbran Bus Depot - no news on this land

Cynon Edwards, Neighbourhood Services Waste Management - Residents were consulted in June; 1,492 surveys were completed and 75% of these were in favour of skinny bins. This exercise has been considered invaluable, and was carried out without any additional cost using existing members of staff. Note Monmouthshire changed to black bags last year without consultation with residents, and Newport has recently changed to skinny bins without any consultation. Note - families of 6+ will be given additional bin capacity. A paper is being presented to full council in October with a recommendation for the skinny bin option. To offset some of the cost implications existing bins will either be recycled or offered for sale to the current resident if they would like them for water butts etc. Only 50% recycle every week, there is a need for more education on this. There will be a feature in Torfaen Talks to raise awareness and updates on changes. This change is needed in order to hit recycling targets; if we fail there is a fine of £100,000 per percentage missed. Concerns from the public arise when they have their bin stolen or set on fire; they feel they should not have to pay for a new one. Since this charge was put in place replacement bins have decreased by 75%, however please note that if a bin is damaged by the crews during collection this will be replaced free of charge. New site in New Inn is under construction, and due to be competed end Nov/Dec. This will be much bigger that the existing one, and on a split level; it should be operational in 2015 once the management contract has been confirmed.

Declaration of Interest Cllr Steven Evans declared an interest in maintenance of sports grounds as his house backs onto the pitches at Raglan Court / Cardigan Close

Items addressed from TCALC meeting - Grass Verges/meadowland - these are only cut once a year and this is due to be done shortly. Verges/banks - cutting of these had to be put on hold following a serious near miss accident. This has now been reviewed by Health & Safety and once a safe system is agreed it will be back on schedule. Hedges - no hedges are cut between April and September due to bird nesting. It is the same crews who cover grass & hedges, their schedules change April & September. Tall trees - it is not a policy to cut these unless there is a risk of danger by broken branches/dead wood. Such cases should be reported and an officer will assess on priority and add to schedule. Refuse being collected on wrong days - there were issues during the summer due holiday period and a new legislation where drivers needed to have a HGV licence in place. During this agency drivers were employed, and were not always on schedule. There has been a recent recruitment drive, additional staff to start 1 October. Maintenance of sports grounds - it is the club’s responsibility to manage the land; their boundaries are shown by red lines in their lease. This may not be as frequently as the pitch. It was requested that any issues are referred to Cynon or his department so that they can discuss with the

individual clubs.

Questions & Responses at the meeting What is the last date for collection of Green Bins - dependant on which rota this will be either 21 or 28 November. A resident wants a bath moved, rang council but they won’t collect it - it is possible but there is a charge for collecting large items. Concerns expressed about rats in meadowland - environmental health team should be contacted if this is the case. Meadowland unsightly, their advantages are on an ecology basis not visual - as this is the first year this project has been tried there may be some refinement needed in the future. May need to educate residents on its advantages to the ecology. Football Pitch issues in Croesyceiliog (this item was discussed in full at the last meeting but still outstanding) - if this does not get resolved forward details of the club concerned to Dana Eynon as it is part of the conditions of their lease if this area is in the “red zone” on the plan. Copy of the lease requested by Cllr Stewart Matthews If there is a right of way through the area a club is responsible for who cuts the right of way - depends on the individual lease agreement, if this area is in the “red zone” on the plan the club owners are responsible. Is there a charge for van permits for residents - not for residents, contact Call Torfaen, note only 2 visits per vehicle Cynon E 7. Matters arising from TCALC Meeting An update has been requested with regards to funding of the Theatre and this will be sent out separately on receipt of a response from Neighbourhood Services.

8. Any other business The Chair recommended a set of shared objectives may benefit this group, on the lines of the Corporate Plan.

As Community Councils are all different sizes it was felt that joint shared aims would be something that everyone could put into.

The Chair suggested Greener or Safer as examples of working together to share expertise and asked members to bring some ideas to the next meeting.

It was stated that with the uncertainty around the Williams Report it is not known whether community councils will expand, but they will still have a need in Torfaen.

The Chair agreed to send a letter out to the Clerks outlining his ideas, which can be discussed at the individual councils. Chair

9. Date of the next meeting

Tuesday 16th December 2014 at 4.30 in Committee Room 1

ACTION SHEET

Date of Action to be taken By Whom Meeting

Transport - Bus timetable issues in Ponthir & Henllys Henllys and Ponthir Community Councils have asked that this items remains on the Action sheet incase further issues arise. - Ongoing

Trading Standards 29/01/13 LCPC to monitor Gwent wide operation proposals It was noted that this will be discussed further following outcomes from Chair 28/01/14 the Williams Report

Community Halls 23/09/14 Ongoing All Clerks - Cwmbran CC due to hold meeting shortly - this item has been covered in officers report Item 6

28/01/14 Education proposals - Post 16 Mark Horton to provide details of the proposals for Post 16 education M. Horton as soon as they are available 23/09/14 This item was covered in the officer’s report Item 6

28/01/14 Llanyrafon Manor LCPC requested to be kept up to date re. the future of Llanyrafon D Congreve Manor - there are rumours within the community that this may be sold 29/04/14 or put up for tender. Email from Jess Gabriel distributed at the meeting, copy to be 11/09/14 attached to the minutes for those not in attendance. Further update requested

29/04/14 Football Pitches Who is responsible for cutting grass around boundaries S. Davies To check conditions in lease as to what substances can be used for

killing weeds and to clarify which Club is doing the spraying. 23/09/14 This was covered in the officer’s report Item 6

Bus Services Neighbourhood 29/04/14 Concerns expressed that busses do not go to the new cemetery; there Services 23/09/14 is an hourly service only as far as Ton Road. ** see update below

** Bus Services - update from Steve Jarrett 23/09/14 There are currently no buses serving that part of Way that fronts Llwyncelyn Cemetery. The previous Service 25 that operated along this section of Hollybush Way was discontinued as a result of low patronage, and the Authority being unable to continue subsidising this service. Due to the current financial constraints, there are no plans to replace the former Service 25.

The nearest stop to Llwyncelyn Cemetery is approximately 950m away. The stop is identified as Bryn Milwr on Hollybush Way which is served by Stagecoach bus service 7 which operates every 15 mins throughout the day from Cwmbran Bus Station.