Langstone Community Council

Langstone Community Council

LANGSTONE COMMUNITY COUNCIL

MINUTESOFORDINARY MEETING

Date:
Time:
Venue: / 14th November 2016
7.30pm
Langstone Village Hall
Present / Cllr E Jeffery (Chairman)
Cllr C Bryant
Cllr G Hancock
Cllr J Litt
Cllr C Pike
Cllr K Dew
Cllr A Henderson
Cllr L Duthie
Cllr W Routley
Cllr M Kellaway
Cllr M Griffiths / In attendance
Apologies / Ms H K Jones (Clerk)
3members of the public
NCC Cllr R Mogford
2 Community Support Officers
Cllr Y Edwards

16/81.Apologies – Apologies were received from Cllr Edwards.

16/82.Declarations of Interest – Cllr Henderson declared a personal interest in the item regarding a grant for Llanmartin Residents’ Association of which he was a member.

16/83.Previous Minutes

  1. After some discussion, regarding the Chairman’s personal gift of jewels to two past Chairmen of the Council who were still serving members of the Council, a motion was proposed that this honour should be extended to other past Chairmen of the Council. A recorded vote was requested. In favour: Cllrs Routley, Litt and Duthie. Against: Cllrs Griffiths, Hancock, Kellaway, Bryant and Henderson. Abstentions: Cllrs Jeffery, Dew and Pike. Motion not carried.
  2. The minutes for the Ordinary, Extraordinary and Committee Meetings held on 11th October, 1st November and 7th November 2016 were accepted by the Council and signed by the Chair.
  3. The Clerk’s report was accepted to be appended to the minutes for 11th October 2016.

16/84.Gwent Police

Two CSOs attended the meeting. Police Report for October had been received just prior to the meeting. The monthly review meetingwith the local policing team had taken place on 8th November. New priorities for Langstone under the “Your Voice” scheme would be parking and speeding.

Parking is an issue for residents of Lydia Beynon Gardens with commuters parking up and causing an obstruction at the entrance to the estate. Cllr Mogford was investigating when the roads were to be adopted by NCC and would inform the Clerk.

The Chairman had spoken to NCC’s Community Safety Wardens about anti-social behaviour reported by residentsoccurring in and around Centenary Field. They had agreed to carry out a leaflet drop to houses in the vicinity of the park, and had inspected the play park. They had found no evidence of drugs in the park but would patrol regularly for the next three weekends.

16/85.Public Participation

A resident asked about the repercussions of the Boundaries Commission’s recommendation that Langstone should fall within Monmouthshire’s area in future. The Chairman replied that there is a much greater emphasis on local councils co-operating across boundaries in future and on devolving services. The Clerk was communicating with other local Clerks to set up an informal co-operation group. Political boundaries may change in the future to rationalise the number of electors in each constituency.

16/86.City Councillors

Cllr Mogford stated that if he were mentioned in future meetings where he was not present, he would like to be informed.

16/87.Standing Orders

The Council resolved to add a paragraph to the Standing Orders: “Mobile Communication devices are not to be used by Councillors during Council meetings except in case of emergency and with the agreement of the Chair.”

16/88.Finance

  1. The Council reviewed, discussed and approved the draft budget recommended by the Finance & Development Committee (appended to these Minutes). This would be updated as necessary and a Final Budget presented for approval at the January meeting. ACTION HJ
  2. The Council reviewed and approved the list of grants to good causes (appended to these Minutes) which were to be presented at the Christmas Concert. Clerk to write to recipients inviting them to the Concert. ACTION HJ
  3. The Council resolved that the proceeds of the Christmas Raffle should be donated to the charity “Unique – Rare Chromosome Disorder Support Group” in memory of Paul Feltham, a local resident who had tragically died very recently. Clerk to obtain payment details. ACTION HJ
  4. The Council reviewed and approved the draft criteria for the Barradell Award.

16/89.Correspondence

  1. The Council noted the letter from Langstone Primary School’s Board of Governors regarding the Instrument of Governance.
  2. The Council resolved to sign the Service Level Agreement with Streetscene to provide services re the Centenary Field and Poppy Park. Thanks were extended to Cllr Hancock for carrying out inspections of play equipment in the past at no charge, saving the Council a great deal of money.
  3. The Council noted that £1 had been paid to BT to adopt the Llandevaud Payphone Kiosk.
  4. The Council discussed the riding/exercising of horses on land between Ger-Y-Parc and the A48. The land was in the process of being adopted by NCC. Once adopted, if horses continue to be exercised on the land, NCC could be requested to investigate.
  5. The Council discussed the feedback from the Best Kept Village Competition which provided some good information on where to target improvements for next year.
  6. The Council discussed the plans for the Christmas Concert on 10th December.
  7. The Council discussed the plans for the Langstone Seniors Christmas Lunch on 8th December. 36 people were expected to attend.
  8. The Council agreed to allocate a budget of £200 to the Working Party to fund a Christmas Party for the Seniors at their meeting on 22nd December.

16/90.Training / Conferences

i)The Council resolved not to commission a bespoke workshop from OVW on communication and working together.

ii)Training for Councillors would become more important if LCC wished to apply for “Competent Council” status. Councillors to consider what training would be appropriate to them. New Councillors should attend a Code of Conduct training event as soon as possible. ACTION ALL

iii)All Councillors were reminded to complete Skills & Expertise Questionnaires. ACTION ALL

16/91.Project / Working Party reports

  1. Centenary Field & Poppy Park – 250 responses to the Consultation Survey had been received.

Of these, 91% were from Langstone, 7% from Llandevaud and 2% from Llanmartin.

Regarding whether dogs should be allowed into the parks, the responses were:

Poppy ParkNo59%

Yes on lead34%

Yes off lead6%

Centenary FieldNo45%

Yes on lead41%

Yes off lead14%

After some discussion, the Council decided that dogs should be banned from Poppy Park and that dogs on leads should be allowed into the Centenary Field. (Service dogs are exempt). Public Space Protection Orders would be sought via NCC.

Other feedback showed that of those who had visited the parks, 93% liked Poppy Park and 94% liked Centenary Field. 84% of people would like to see more events at Centenary Field.

  1. War Memorial – Tenders for designing and constructing the memorial were due to be evaluated on 15th November.
  2. Langstone Village Hall Improvements

LCC and LVH Trustees had been represented on the Project Board when contractor tender documents were opened. The Project Manager was scrutinising the tenders and would report back to the Project Board with recommendations. LCC would be ensuring value for money and protecting the public purse whilst ensuring the future of a local facility highly valued by residents.

  1. Catsash Road –A site survey had found it was not possible to site a VASS in a resident’s garden due to underground services. Alternative sites were being explored.

Old Chepstow Road - In order to implement a 20mph limit, additional traffic calming measures would need to be introduced at an estimated cost of around £60k which was unaffordable for LCC.The Police have agreed to carry out some speed monitoring on the road.

Priory Drive - A parking control was progressing through the legal stages, expected January 2017.

Llandevaud speeding – The police had been made aware of the issue.

  1. Defibrillators – The Clerk was investigating suppliers and grants for installing 5 units in the area.
  2. Environment- Cans of spray chalk were now available for volunteers to spray dog-poo.
  3. Village Plan / Local Well-Being Plan –No report.

16/92.Representatives’ Reports

i)One Voice Wales (OVW) – Cllr Henderson had attended the AGM at Raglan. Topics related mostly to devolution of services in Monmouthshire. Nothing of direct relevance to LCC.

ii)Gwent Association of Voluntary Organisations (GAVO) – Councillor Pike attended the GAVO Conference and AGM. The Conference theme was Leadership for Future Generations. Speakers talked about the Third Sector role in implementing the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act through partnership work and consultation. The Act requires public bodies to put long term sustainability at the forefront of their thinking and to work in partnership with other organisations and the public to prevent and tackle problems. There is a strong emphasis on involvement, capturing people's opinions and perceptions to discover what they want and plan for the future. Public Service Boards will create a joined up approach, bring in key partners and will consult and scrutinise for better outcomes.

iii)NCC Liaison Meeting–No report.

iv)Langstone Primary School– No report.

v)Community First – Clerk to contact Editor to offer help with deliveries if needed. ACTION HJ

16/93.Items for next agenda

  • Possibility of Doctor’s Surgery in Langstone
  • Court Farm Solar

There being no other business, the meeting concluded at 21:50 with the date of the next scheduled meeting of the council being confirmed as Monday 9th January 2017 at Langstone Village Hall’s Kennett Room

Grants 2016
Name / £
Langstone Church / 500
Llanmartin Church / 500
Llandevaud Church / 500
Langstone Methodist Church / -
Langstone Village Hall / -
Llandevaud Parish Hall / 500
Old Hamlet of Llanmartin Residents Association / 500
Total Concurrent Grants 2,500
Langstone Seniors / 100
Langstone Primary School / 100
Tan Gwyllt Explorer Scouts / 100
Wales Air Ambulance / 100
St David’s Hospice Care / 100
Newport Night Shelter / 200
SARA / 100
Macmillan Cancer Support / 100
The Stroke Association / 100
HCPTGroup 99 / 100
CLIC Sargent / 100
Talking Books Wales / 100
Kidney Wales Foundation / 100
Teenage Cancer Trust / 100
Barradell Award / 500
Old Hamlet of Llanmartin Residents Association / 764
Total S137 Grants 2,764

Minutes of the Full Council Meeting 14th Nov 2016 Page 1

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