Draft Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on Thursday 21st March 2024, at the Welfare Hall, Heol Y Felin, Cwmgwrach and via Zoom, commencing at 6.30 pm
Present: Cllr C Edwards (Chair), Cllr A Edwards, Cllr A Hippsley, Cllr P Rudd, Cllr J Bulman, Cllr R Williams, Cllr R A Williams and Cllr M Mortimore.
Council Employees Present: Clerk/RFO Linda Evans
Members of the Public Present: There were no members of the public present.
152/23 Apologies: Cllr A Doherty had sent their apologies.
Chair Cllr C Edwards started the meeting at 6.30 pm by welcoming all present. The meeting is held as a multi-hybrid meeting in accordance with The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021. Council Standing Order 3b(i)
153/23 Declarations of Interest: There were no declarations of interest at this meeting.
154/23 County Councillor`s Report:
Cllr H Davies had sent her apologies and passed on an up date for the Councils information:
- Temporary repairs had been carried out on the High Street (near the bridge). Cllr H Davies was not entirely happy with the work completed and have Highways have returned to carry out further temporary repairs. RESOLVED and all Councillors have noted.
- Cllr H Davies passed on an email she has received from NPTCBC regarding correspondence dated 10/04/2024 culvert situated beneath Heol Wenallt. Initial cleansing has been undertaken, NPTCBC Drainage officer has met with NRW to discuss future work to reduce or mitigate further flooding. Proposed works are in the design stage and will require planning and SAB. Councillors discussed past flooding and where the flooding occurs. Councillors were pleased to hear the issue is being investigated and that plans to mitigate or reduce further flooding were ongoing. RESOLVED
155/23 To Approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 21st March 2024
Proposed and seconded that the minutes from the meeting held on 21/03/2024 are a correct record thereof. RESOLVED
156/23 Matters Arising from the Meeting held on Thursday 21st March 2024:
- Matters Arising Review Budget Items and “5 Year Plan” 144/23 (a) Vandalism of the park lighting. Cllr C Edwards had discussed with the Representative of the Pen y Cymoedd Fund the possibility of funding towards the paths and park lighting. RESOLVED the Clerk to contact the representative to investigate further and up date at the next meeting.
- Matters Arising Town and Community Council Civility and Respect Pledge 151/23 (d) – The Clerk has completed the pledge on behalf of the Council and will display the signed certificate on the Council Website and Council email. RESOLVED
- Matters Arising 155/23 Correspondence (3) Black Popular Tree – Clerk had contacted Celtic Wildflowers and they have a tree available to donate to the Council for planting, Clerk will collect and arrange for the tree to be planted in the Cemetery. RESOLVED
157 Agenda Items:
a) Remembrance Sunday 2024 – Cllr C Edwards has met with the local Royal British Legion (RBL) Representative who will be unable to officiate at this years’ service to be held at the Welfare Hall. Councillors discussed options for the 2024 service. The concern is the possibility that without a RBL Representative the service will not be able to go ahead, this would be a great disappointment. Cllr C Edwards and Cllr A Hippsley contributed with possible contacts within the RBL to arrange another representative to attend. Councillors also reflected on the previous service and identified the need for all parties involved in the service to meet beforehand to run through the order of service and designated responsibilities. It was proposed and agreed that the “Order of Service” handouts be reprinted due to typos and mistakes in the running order. RESOLVED to discuss further and finalise arrangements. Clerk to investigate the cost of reprinting the handouts.
b) One Voice Wales – Draft Digital Health Check – Clerk had met with the IT Representative from OVW to review the Council’s Digital Systems, the report looked at the Councils Digital Engagement, Communication and Collaboration, Services and Operations, Technology, Infrastructure and People Centic-Digitalisation. The report was overall positive with several recommendations for the Council Website. Information on the Website to include an accessibility notice, more use of the Welsh language and to incorporate Hall Bookings and Usage. The report also recommended the switch to a gov.wales/llyw.cymru domain for the website, councillor emails and clerk email. RESOLVED Clerk will look into the cost and possible grant funding for a possible change to the recommended domain addresses, and work through the other actions.
158/23 Planning: There are no planning applications
Councillors discussed the traffic congestion due to parking on the High Street, and how this was contributing to the traffic being held up when the bin collections are taking place. Cllr R A Williams reported that traffic was backed onto the dual carriage-way due to this issue. All Councillors agreed this was an ongoing concern. Councillors agreed that the lack of parking in the Village confirmed the need for parking to be provided at the Hall and Park, especially Disabled parking. This should be investigated when looking at the paths and lighting. For Further discussion.
159/23 Crime and Policing
Clerk reported on the February 2024 – Crime Map and Figures as reported on the Police UK website.
Reported Crimes were as follows in the Blaengwrach/ Cwmgwrach Area: 2 Anti-social behavior, 2 Criminal damage and arson, 2 Other theft, 1 Shoplifting, 5 Violence and sexual offences. RESOLVED and noted.
160/23 Finance
The following payments were scrutinised and approved:
| Clerks Report – Monthly E&I 22/03/2024 to 18/04/2024 | ||
| Payments Made | 22/03/2024 to 18/04/2024 | Amounts £ |
| Pension and Staff Salaries | (4 weeks) | £2756.75 |
| HMRC | Tax and NI 05/03/24 to 06/04/24 | £484.72 |
| Utility Warehouse Ltd | Electricity @ Welfare Hall February 2024 | £272.79 |
| Welsh Water | Water Rates for Welfare Hall | £125.00 |
| Welsh Water | Water Rates for Cemetery | £30.00 |
| NPTCBC | Rates Welfare Hall | £397.00 |
| NPTCBC | Rates Cemetery | £22.32 |
| NPTCBC | Repay overpayment for Hall Hire | £96.00 |
| N Power | Witch Light – Yearly Charge for Electric | £40.70 |
| Amazon | Printer Cartridge | £46.38 |
| British Gas | Hall Usage 17/02/24-16/03/24 | £582.87 |
| Totals £ | 4854.53 | |
| Income Received | 22/03/2024 to 18/04/2024 | Amounts £ |
| SRCC Stores Ltd | Monthly Rental of Shed in the Park | £30.00 |
| TSB Bank | Monthly Interest on “Reserve” Saver | £6.29 |
| Celtic Archers | Hall Hire Fees – March 24 | £144.00 |
| Singing for the Brain (Empower CIC) | Hall Hire – February 24 | £72.00 |
| VIEW (Glynneath) Ltd | Hall Hire Yoga – March 24 | £48.00 |
| Sion-Lee Savage Danzfit | Hall Hire Jan/Feb and March 24 | £84.00 |
| NPTCBC Messy Play | Hall Hire February | £72.00 |
| Totals £ | 456.29 | |
| Account Balances | As at (Date) | |
| General Account | 21/03/2024 | £1,684.65 |
| Reserve/Saver Account | 21/03/2024 | £1,701.48 |
| Total Account Balances as at 18/04/24 £ | 3386.13 | |
Unpaid Leases and Hire Fees = £370.00
Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee Cllr P Rudd gave an overview of the Quarterly Budget that had been reviewed at the Finance and Audit Meeting earlier, and moved that the Council approve the final quarter budget. RESOLVED and approved.
Cllr P Rudd commented on the budget overspend in quarter 4 due to the Audit Fees and Christmas Lights invoice. Income had exceeded projected figure due to increase usage of the Hall. RESOLVED
Clerk has received a quote from a solicitor regarding drawing up the Lease for the Cwmgwrach Rugby Club. Council requested another quote be obtained to compare costs. RESOLVED Cllr M Mortimore will investigate.
Westward will carry out the Boiler service and the additional repair costs of £355.94 + VAT was approved for cleaning internally and new electrodes. RESOLVED
161/23 Correspondence & Section 137 Request:
- Letter received from the Old Age Group representative. Councillors noted the content. RESOLVED
162/23 Review Budget Items and “5 Year Plan”:
No further updates – items such as lights and paths were discussed in Matters Arising. RESOLVED
163/23 Set Date, Time & Proposed Agenda Items for the next meeting; …
The next meeting of Council will be at 6.30 pm on 16th May 2024 for the Annual General Meeting followed by the Ordinary Meeting. The venue of the meetings will be the Welfare Hall, and available remotely on Zoom. The proposed agenda items are, at this time – None
Notices for the meetings will be posted at least three working days before they are due to take place
Meeting closed at 7.50 pm
The Council resolved to enter Closed Session under Section 100 of the Local Government Act 1972 & the Council Standing Order 3c to Discuss Personnel Issues.