PRESENT: Councillors: Carolyn Edwards (Chair); Menna Mortimore; Philippa Richards; Rhian Watts; Rhian Williams; Bethan Parry & Julia Hippsley.
ALSO PRESENT: Clive Baker – Clerk to the Council;
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC PRESENT: None;
64/20 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE:
Councillor Chris Kelly & Councillor Amanda Doherty had sent their apologies;
65/20 DECLARATION(S) OF INTEREST: Councillor Carolyn Edwards declared her interest as a County Councillor of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council;
66/20 CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING AS A TRUE RECORD:
The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 18th February 2021 were accepted as a true record of that meeting;
67/20 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 18th FEBRUARY 2021 & AGENDA ITEMS:
a) Coronavirus/Covid-19 Updates – Various updates have been received since 18th February 2021 and have been examined by the Clerk & the Councillors and acted upon where necessary;
b) Damage to the Bridge near Chain Road – NPTCBC Engineers completed the work on the “new” bridge on 21st February 2021 but there is a problem removing the “old” bridge as engineers cannot enter the river until the end of the “spawning season” of the fish in the river. It is estimated that all the work will be completed by the end of April 2021;
c) New Mower for the Cemetery – This will now be purchased at the end of the pandemic;
d) Vandalism in the Welfare Park – The Local Police are continuing to petrol the area;
e) Christmas 2021 Celebrations – Another quote for the “Cross Street LED Banner” has been received, this one from Centregreat Limited. The cost for producing the “banner” is £3,100.00 plus VAT of £620.00(Total £3,720.00) with erection/removal costs of £265.00 plus VAT of £53.00 (Total £318.00) each year. All the quotes received will now be examined and the Chair & the Clerk will meet with NPTCBC Streetlighting to obtain prices for columns and associated work that will be needed IF the “banner” is purchased. The wooden snowman in the shed – as soon as it was removed the wood started to break off and exposed a sharp spike, so the snowman was put into the skip;
f) Council Fees 2021 – The “new” fees will come into effect from 1st April 2021. There are no organisations using the Hall at the moment but they will be contacted to inform them of the new fees when the pandemic guidelines ease;
g) Possible Future Development of the Welfare Park – After speaking to NPTCBC, Education, Leisure & Lifelong Learning Department and noting their advice it has been decided NOT to proceed with any more development at this time. This item will be revisited after the May 2022 Local Elections. THIS ITEM IS NOW CLOSED;
h) Items Stored in the Shed in the Welfare Park – The skip was ordered and delivered on 8th March 2021 and everything owned by the Council was removed from the shed and the skip was full by 5pm on the same day. It was removed from the park at 9.15am on Tuesday 9th March 2021. The Clerk would like to thank Leighton (The Ground`s Man) for his hard work in completing the task on the same day so that the NPTCBC, Engineers could carry out their work on/and outside the bottom gate of the Welfare Park. THIS ITEM IS NOW CLOSED;
i) Proposal from Glynneath Town Council for the Collaborate Use of “NPTCBC Leader Funding” with a “Dedicated Project Officer” Driving Agreed Initiatives (with Glynneath Town Council, Resolven Community Council & Blaengwrach Community Council as the collaborative parties) – Councillor Doherty is in a “media meeting” with the other Councils whilst this Council`s meeting is taking place and will update this Council at the next monthly meeting;
j) Proposed Litter Pick – This will take place, with the assistance of Keep Wales Tidy, when Covid restrictions are eased further;
68/20 PLANNING APPLICATIONS:
There were NO planning application for the Blaengwrach Ward between 19th February 2021 & 18th March 2021;
69/20 CRIME & POLICING:
South Wales Police are NOT releasing Local Crime Figures during the Pandemic.
PACT meetings MAY be held via “Zoom” in the future but no further details have been received on how to access the meetings (Any PACT meeting scheduled for before 6th May 2021 WILL NOT take place as the Police Commissioner`s Election is due to take place on the above date);
70/20 FINANCE:
For period 19th February 2021 to 18th March 2021:
PAYMENTS MADE:
Welsh Water – Water rates for Cemetery – £17.00;
Welsh Water – Water rates for Welfare Hall – £104.00;
Staff Pension Scheme Payments (4 weeks) – £48.84;
HMRC – Tax & NI Due of Staff Wages/Salaries (6.2.21 to 5.3.21) – £82.82;
Utility Warehouse – Electricity at Welfare Hall (January 2021) – £51.03;
British Gas – Gas at Welfare Hall (17.1.21 to 16.2.21) – £315.21;
British Gas Commercial – Annual Heating Service Contract (including boiler) at Welfare Hall – £883.20;
Crynant Skips Ltd – 12 Yard Skip to Clear Shed in the Welfare Park – £366.00;
INCOME RECEIVED:
Hall Hire/Other Rental Fees – £30.00;
Monthly Interest on Reserve Account – £3.30;
71/20 CORRESPONDENCE:
Various updates from the Welsh Government & One Voice Wales relating to the Coronavirus/Covid-19 Pandemic;
25/2/2021 from the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales – 2020-2021 Report & Recommendations for Councillor Remuneration for 2021-2022;
5/3/2021 from Welsh Government (via One Voice Wales) – Summary of Key Provisions of the Local Government and Elections Wales Act 2021 for the Town & Community Council Sector;
16.3.2021 from One Voice Wales – Invitation to renew annual membership at a cost of £171.00. THIS WAS AGREED BY THE COUNCIL AND WILL BE RENEWED FOR A FURTHER YEAR w.e.f. 1st April 2021;
SECTION 137 Requests Received:
19.2.2021 from MacMillan Cancer Support Wales – Request for Donation – After some discussion it was decided not to make a donation;
72/20 COUNTY COUNCILLOR`S REPORT(S):
Councillor Carolyn Edwards reported that she had attended the One Voice Wales Neath Area Committee Meeting last week and the main points of discussion were “Proposed Audits in Wales over the Next Five Years”; “That Local Elections will take place every five years”; “16 & 17 Year Olds will be able to register to vote in the May 2021 Welsh Government Elections” & “Councillor Training”;
73/20 Set Date, Time, Venue & Proposed Agenda Items for the Next Meeting:
The next scheduled meeting will take place on Thursday 15th April 2021 at 6.30pm. It is proposed that the venue of the meeting will be the Welfare Hall, Heol Y Felin to allow four (4) members of the public to attend if they so wish. The four will be on a “first come” basis and those wishing to attend will need to email the Clerk to confirm. HOWEVER, THIS WILL DEPEND ON FURTHER CHANGES IN CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 GUIDELINES RECEIVED FROM THE WELSH GOVERNMENT. If it is NOT possible to hold the meeting in the Welfare Hall it will be held via Zoom.
The meeting closed at 7.08pm