Before the start of the February meeting of Amroth Community Council, Geraldine Murphy, CEO of Citizens Advice Pembrokeshire, gave a presentation to councillors about the work that they carry out in the county. There are offices in Pembroke Dock and Haverfordwest that can help with managing debt, housing and benefit issues and understanding rights at work. They also work at different locations in the county on an outreach basis and can provide advice over the phone, online and by email. They are a charity made up of employees and trained volunteers. For more information, see www.pembscab.org or www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Chair’s Welcome

The chair welcomed all councillors to the meeting and informed them that he had received a letter of resignation from Mary Megarry, effective immediately. A letter of thanks had been sent for the service she has given over the last three years.

Matters arising from previous

minutes

• A grit bin would be sited directly across from 1 Staggers Hill, Birds Lane, Stepaside in the near future.

• Route gritting. Robert Evans, PCC, would raise ACC’s request regarding treatment times on bus routes/secondary routes in the next winter maintenance review.

• ACC concerns regarding inconsiderate parking and traffic speeds in Stepaside had been forwarded to the PCC Traffic Management team. The clerk was waiting a reply.

• The Modus car blocking the Clay Pits was still there. Chairman of ACC, Stephen Phillips, had written to Clr. Phil Baker asking for PCC to take action. The clerk had written to Simon Hart MP to ask him to look at making changes to the legislation concerning vehicles blocking public places. A case worker had been in touch to say they had contacted PCC last week on the matter asking for action to be taken. A notice had since been placed on the car requesting removal in seven days or the car would be removed by PCC.

• Re. changes to the bus service 351 Tenby to Pendine. Owen Roberts, PCC, had met with Carmarthenshire County Council to discuss the potential of merging the 351 and 222 into one route. Both councils were keen to implement this, but the main issue was the difference in the size of the vehicles required in the summer months. Due to the demand on the 222 between Laugharne and Carmarthen, Taf Valley operates a full-sized Enviro 200 style vehicle which is 11 metres long. This size bus is needed on this route as it is very busy during the summer months and would not be suitable for getting through Pleasant Valley and Wisemans Bridge. To better promote the connections between the two services, they would look at changing the destination boards on the buses to show the onward journey to Carmarthen and Tenby.

Clr. Harvey had responded to these comments with suggested solutions and a dialogue was ongoing to maintain a good service agreeable to all.

• Replacement seats for the Old School Gardens, Llanteg. These were used quite a lot in the summertime. Clr. Harries would look at options such as recycled plastic wood-like seating and report to the next meeting.

• Three seats were also needed in the Memorial Gardens as the wooden seats there were rotten. A discussion took place and it was agreed to look at the cost of renovating the whole area. Clr. Harries would request quotes for this work and report back to the next meeting.

• Gary Meopham had replied to their request regarding a reduction in car parking charges for local people. He wrote “the ticket pricing which has been in place over the last few years is based around the common need to park, rather than the status of a particular individual, or the individual’s reason for parking. The result is our offer of a range of Pay and Display parking charges ‘bookended’ by  short term free parking at one end  and season tickets at the other which are standardised across all of our charging car parks and universally available to all to meet the reasonable needs of the motorist. For this reason, we are not able to provide Amroth residents with any preferential or bespoke access to Amroth car park and would instead encourage them to consider which of our universally available parking offers might best meet their individual requirements.”

The clerk would contact the PCNPA to investigate if there was an option for local shops to sell season tickets.

• Re. monthly community police meetings. The clerk had written to the Police Commissioner explaining how informative these meetings were for the community and asking that officers be allowed to attend even if not on duty to enable these meetings to continue. He had forwarded this request to Dyfed Powys Police.

• Pembrokeshire Coast Path 50th birthday celebrations. ACC had been informed about The Good Life + Work Project who are planning a charity walk along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path over nine days covering the full 186 miles in aid of Tonic Surf Therapy (West Wales). The Big Walk 2020 will be split into nine legs. People can choose to walk a single leg, multiple legs or join them for the whole walk.

The project will use Amroth as its base. The project is being supported locally. There is an event set up on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/events/976833586012865/) and further details here (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-good-walk-big-walk-tickets-83536254185). They are hoping to set up additional fundraisers between now and May to support raising additional funds for the charity.

PCNPA had also replied to say they were still looking at options.

• Repairs to slipway to allow access for a beach wheelchair. Clr. Davies had kindly agreed to take photographs of the slipway surface to be sent to PCC.

• Meadow House Caravan park. PCNPA had been in touch to say that the investigation was now completed. The felled trees had no protection on them and so the owner was entitled to take them down. The new caravan units were within permitted size; however, an application had been requested for the extensive decking surrounding the caravan units.

County

Councillor’s Report

Budget Consultation: Bob Kilmister, cabinet member for finance, held a budget seminar for countycouncillors on February 17. He explained that the consultations he had undertaken showed strong support for the priority given to education in the proposed council budget for 2020-2021. He was particularly complimentary about the quality of the wide-ranging questions raised by Amroth residents at the meeting held in Llanteg Village Hall. This meeting was by far better attended than the meeting arranged in County Hall in Haverfordwest. Bob held up the Llanteg meeting as the template for future local budget consultation.

Estyn Report: The recently published Estyn Report on Pembrokeshire’s schools made for very disappointing reading. Estyn had left PCC with clear recommendations. These include:

• raising standards in literacy numeracy and Welsh second language.

• improving outcomes for learners eligible for free school meals.

• improving teaching and leadership

• evaluating its work and planning for improvement.

It should be noted that performance varied widely across the county, with some very good primary schools such as Tavernspite. The variability, however, needed to be addressed. PCC was currently developing its post-inspection action plan and revised strategies to ensure that all learners receive a good education and that all children are equipped with good literacy and numeracy skills.

I have supported substantial increases in Council Tax in the past in large part to protect the schools’ budget. However, the Estyn Report clearly indicates that there has been a lack of leadership and training provided by PCC to schools. The cabinet has found a one-off £1 million to improve standards. Nevertheless, it is clear that a consistent multi-year approach is required to raise the performance of all Pembrokeshire schools to an acceptable level.

Community Asset Transfer/ Band of Hope Woodland: PCC has acknowledged that ACC may have an interest in a Community Asset Transfer of the Band of Hope Woodland from the County Council to the Community Council. It has also confirmed that Enhancing Pembrokeshire Grants can be used by community groups in connection with community asset transfers. PCC is still reviewing its Community Asset Transfer Policy, but is likely to formally adopt a new policy in the near term. It is already accepting formal expressions of interest prior to the new policy going live. I registered an interest in the Band of Hope Woodland so that it would not be sold before ACC has had a chance to investigate fully the desirability or otherwise of taking over responsibility of the woodland. I have not entered a formal expression of interest form. Note that even if a formal expression of interest is submitted by ACC or any other group, there is no commitment to proceed with the transfer. Given that the woodland has mine shafts and a relatively small area that is contaminated, a reasonable way of proceeding might be to seek an initial Enhancing Pembrokeshire Grant to undertake a feasibility study of turning the woodland into a public amenity and wildlife sanctuary.

Community Works Grant: The purpose or the Community Works Grant is to provide an opportunity for town and community councils to submit bids for small highway schemes, which have a cost to PCC of up to a maximum of £10,000. Funding is available for short footway connections, signing schemes, visibility improvements (e.g. by hedge removal or set back), bus stop improvements and contributions to traffic calming schemes. Only one application per community council can be made per year. But the grant could be used to fund different stages of a project, with a further application being made once a phase has been completed. PCC will fund 90 per cent of any project. Bids are currently being collated, but so far there has been no allocation from the total £100,000 that is available for this year. Given the various road issues we have, for example in Pleasant Valley and Summerhill, it may be worthwhile making a bid. I have a copy of the simple bid form.

Waste collection - good news: The move to kerbside sorting has resulted in a substantial improvement in recycling in Pembrokeshire. By the end of last December recycling had reached 73 per cent, the highest in Wales. The Welsh Government’s target for the whole of Wales is 64 per cent this year. Two years ago, the recycling rate in Pembrokeshire was 57 per cent, one of the lowest in Wales, and the county faced large fines if it did not meet the Welsh Government’s targets.

Planning

Amroth Car Park, Amroth - installation of Pay and Display ticket machine and sign. Noobjection

Glenwood, Pleasant Valley - proposed annex for elderly relative. No objection.

Woodland Heights, I Clos Yr Ysgol, Stepaside - erection of single and two storey extension. No objection, but this application has since been withdrawn.

Heritage Park planning application - Clr. Cormack updated councillors, reporting that the application may come before PCC’s planning committee in March.

Correspondence

• Clr. Davies forwarded a copy of a resident’s email which was a strongly worded objection to the introduction of car parking charges in Amroth Car Park. It had been sent to the Ombudsman for Wales. As requested, the clerk had forwarded it to other community councils where charges were to be introduced and to Simon Hart MP and Angela Burns AM. A case worker for Simon Hart had contacted the clerk to say that Simon could not influence the Ombudsman as they were independent, however he would watch the reaction with interest.

• Elizabeth Owen, PCC, is the digital assistant with PCC. Her role is to support people who wish to use alternative/digital methods of communicating with Pembrokeshire County Council – mainly via the My Account system.  The My Account has many useful features including reporting issues, applying for jobs with PCC, paying bills, checking your waste calendar, find your nearest councillors and much more. It can be accessed via a computer/tablet, on a smart phone, or at a public library for anyone who doesn’t have internet at home.

She is keen to attend community events that could benefit from her attending.

• Take Me Too! This project matches people who need a lift with people going that way anyway. See www.takemetoo.org.uk or call 01 437 775 033. Drivers can sign up to take part.

• The Replacement Pembrokeshire County Council Local Development Plan (LDP 2) has been extended by a week, to March 18 at 4.30 pm.

 • Two donation requests had been received.

Sandy Bear Children’s Bereavement Charity had requested a donation. This year, one of their major fundraising events is a concert held by the London Welsh Male Voice Choir, supported by local young musical talent performing in the iconic setting of St Davids Cathedral during midsummer weekend, Saturday June 20, at 7.30 pm.

Paul Sartori Hospice at Home had written requesting a donation towards their work in Pembrokeshire.

ACC’s policy is to support charities with specific remit within the Amroth CC area or that have specific benefit to residents. Both requests were declined.

• Local Places for Nature. A Local Places for Nature scheme - a brand-new initiative, has been launched, funded by Welsh Government, that aims to create, restore and enhance hundreds of habitats across the country.

Applications are now open to community groups and organisations looking to help reverse nature’s decline.

There is a choice of ‘packages’ tailored to different groups and organisations. Each pre-paid package includes native plants, tools and other materials. We’ll handle the orders and deliveries, and our project officers will even provide support on the ground to help you create your new nature space. 

The packages fall into three categories:

• Starter packages for town and community councils (one each) - Choose from; a) Butterfly Garden, b) Fruit Garden or c) Wildlife Garden.

• Starter packages for community-based organisations (three per county);  Choose from; a) Butterfly Garden, b) Fruit Garden or c) Wildlife Garden.

• Development packages for community-based organisations (three per county) -Choose from a) Food growing area b) Sustainable urban Drainage System or c) Wildlife Garden. There is a simple application process, and the deadline for first application round is 12 noon today (Friday).

Llanteg Gardening Group are keen to apply and have requested permission to plant fruit trees on CC land. This was agreed.

 

Report by

Llanteg Village Hall Committee

• Llanteg Newsletter has eight new advertisers which has helped to sustain it.

• All groups and activities are still making excellent progress.

• A WW2 Quiz is to be held in May, date still to be decided

• Gill Roberts was commended for organising popular community walks throughout the year.

• The hall lighting has been improved.

Monthly Police meeting

• NHS now has its own non-emergency medical helpline. The number is 111.

• Jim Moffatt PCSO will still attend meetings and these will now be on the third Thursday of the month starting in March

• HSBC Scam. Callers threatening a visit from bailiffs.

• Tenby Police Station will revert to a 24-hour station

• Drink-driving is being closely monitored as it is reported to be on the increase.

Update on

projects

• Update on Amroth Free Wi-Fi. This project is still under consideration with Clr. Cormack looking at solutions to overcome hosting issues.

• Exercise Jantzen - Clr. Harvey has identified nine pictures from Imperial War Museum reels that show activity at Amroth. He will draft copy for the information board and then choose the most relevant images to illustrate it.

• VE Day Celebration May 2020 Amroth - Clr. Harris has been in touch with the Scouts to ask them to be involved in some capacity. Kelvin Thomas of ADCA is organising a tea party and film show in Amroth Parish Hall to coincide with the celebrations.

• Beach Art event - The clerk was to contact Tina Cunningham following the resignation of Clr. Megarry.

• Brown signs. This project is ongoing. An application is to be submitted to PCC initially assuming local businesses are willing to support it. The clerk will check with SWTRA re likely cost for a brown sign on A477

Any other or urgent business

• Clr. Roger Harries has carried out repairs to the fence and sign on the ground opposite/ adjacent to Amroth Castle Caravan Park.

• Ice cream van vendor has requested permission to sell ice cream by the slipway. Clr. Phillips to investigate legality.

• Clr. Tippett-Maudsley has reported that the fence around the playing fields in Summerhill is damaged and needs replacing. The clerk has informed PCC. Clr. Harries has agreed to take photographs and investigate how much work is needed.

• Solar lighting between the Slip way and New Inn - Clr. Davies to find out costs.

• It was agreed to order an additional five memorial seats.

Date of next meeting: Thursday, March 19, at Amroth Parish Hall. starting at 7 pm.