Amroth Community Council recently met via the online platform Zoom, with the chairman welcoming everyone and outlining the etiquette required for this.

He also expressed his sincere thanks on behalf of ACC to Clr. Alec Cormack for all the work he has been doing as volunteer co-ordinator for the Amroth Good Neighbours Scheme.

Among matters considered and discussed were the following:

Matters Arising

• Initial work had been carried out to clear scrub and bush in the Clay Pitts and Old School Gardens by Dig It Garden services. Trees were also removed for safety purposes from the Clay Pits. The work was checked by Clrs. Harries and James independently and approved. Clr. Harries suggested having the rest of the work to remove the trees affected by Ash Dieback carried out. Councillors agreed on the basis the contractor made the decision to work and maintained the recommended social distancing rules. There was some urgency as the trees were dangerous.

• The Modus Car was still present outside the Clay Pitts..

•Repairs had been carried out by PCC contractors to the hole in the sea wall which appeared following storms earlier in the year.

• No other council activity had taken place due to the current lockdown because of the coronavirus. Amroth Good Neighbours was operating smoothly, and Clr. Cormack updated the meeting later.

• Unfortunately, Llanteg Gardening group were unsuccessful in their bid for funding from Local Places for Nature. This was because of the huge number of applications and that areas of greatest deprivation were given priority.

County CLR.’s Report

Emergency Planning Protocol: On March 30, the council’s Urgency Committee introduced temporary, protocol to deal with planning applications, which in normal times would come before the planning committee. Clr. Tony Baron explained the six steps of this process.

It is possible that this protocol will be short-lived, depending on which regulations the Welsh Government introduces allowing remote meetings to take place, but this protocol is currently in place.

Covid-19 scams: While the overwhelming majority of people have shown great community spirit, there are unfortunately some who try to take advantage of the emergency to profit illegally. There has been a spike in scams linked to the Covid-19 outbreak, raising concerns over vulnerable people who are self-isolating or shielding.

In response, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a branch of the intelligence agency, has launched the suspicious email reporting service. The public is being asked to forward any dubious emails to [email protected], and the NCSC’s automated scanning system will check for scam emails and remove criminal sites. NCSC will also seek to block the address the email was sent from and share information with partners about the nature of commonly reported suspicious emails and the methods of scam used.

Information dissemination: There have been very many press notices from PCC and Welsh Government, which have been distributed by Kathryn, while Alec has ensured relevant links are given on the Amroth Good Neighbours website.

Normal Council Overview and Scrutiny and other meetings are not taking place, but I expect that PCC will start to test video-conferencing, at least for some meetings, in May.

Planning

Glenwood, Pleasant Valley - extension for elderly relative (approved).

Woodland Heights, 1 Clos Yr Ysgol, Stepaside - double storey side extension to provide new holiday let (no objection).

Pleasant Valley House, Pleasant Valley - change of use of guest house to two dwellings along with alterations and erection of car ports (no objection).

Former Craft Village Car Park, Heritage Park, Pleasant Valley - variation of condition 2 (relating to twin unit caravans) and 7 (relating to car park) of planning permission 11/0585/PA (ACC objected to this application and would submit reasons to PCC planning dept.).

Former Craft Village Car Park, Heritage Park, Pleasant Valley - discharge of conditions 3 (layout and landscaping), 4 (caravan anchoring), 5 (emergency plan) and 6 (surface water drainage) of planning permission 11/0585/PA (ACC objected to this application and would submit reasons to PCC planning dept.).

Correspondence

• PS Beverly Rodriguez wrote to confirm that the monthly police meetings would continue. They were moving to a more relaxed approach and would be called ‘Catch up with a Copper’. They would take place every third Thursday of the month once it was safe to resume.

• Wales Audit Office had written to set out how the annual audit must be conducted in the current situation. There may be a delay in finalising the audit for some councils.

• ACC had received numerous information updates from PCC regarding the current situation, all of which had been forwarded to councillors, community web site hosts and community Facebook page moderators for publication. The Amroth Good Neighbours website https://sites.google.com/view/amroth-good-neighbours was being kept up to date with current information and advice for the community and volunteers.

• The Long Course Weekend had been cancelled

• Welsh Hearts Charity were offering £100 grants towards the cost of defibrillators for the community. They could also signpost to other sources of funding that could be used to help towards the purchase of defibrillators.

• The Post Office had sent out information regarding the continuation of its service during the crisis. One issue to highlight was that some offices may have to temporarily close if staff became ill and were unable to work.  The post office would do what it could to keep offices open.

• Llanavis (Gareth) Davis had written requesting community councils to look at starting up a working group within communities to help set up Community Supported Agriculture and a  Partnership with a Farm in the area. The aim was to help local farmers and communities and to address food security within Pembrokeshire. Contact the clerk for more information. 

• A resident had written asking for ACC support in acquiring additional signage for the village of Llanteg to help preserve local history. He wrot: ‘I believe that it is very important to make sure that small rural villages such as Llanteg retain their historical names for special roads. Once these names are less frequently used and older residents, who know them well, are no longer with us then these historical and original names become lost forever. It is obviously very sad when this happens, and we should do all we can to prevent that from happening’.

Suggestions included

1. Two extra village ‘Llanteg’ signs on entering the village from 1. Amroth and 2. Tavernspite. This is really important for our village to exist as more than just a line of properties alongside the A477 and for people to realise that they are entering Llanteg when they come down from Tavernspite or up from Amroth.

2. Ledgerland Lane – The road from the Captain’s Pond down to Llanteg Park.

3. Chapel Lane (historically known as Stoney Road) - The road from the Captain’s Pond up to the main road.

4. Allen’s Lane - The lane down to the Rose Cottage and Garness Mill just past Sea Breeze.

Councillors were very supportive of this scheme and Clr. Phillips would contact the resident to discuss evidence and locations and generally explore how the scheme could be progressed. An application to the Enhancing Pembrokeshire Grant Scheme could be made to cover costs.

Clerk’s hours

Clr. Phillips proposed a motion to increase the clerk’s hours to 30 hours per month, 35 in exceptional circumstances. This was unanimously agreed by councillors. The clerk thanked councillors and stated that she would only use the additional hours if needed.

Report by

Llanteg Village Hall Committee

The hall is temporarily closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, only the second time in the hall history that this has happened.

The lighting upgrade in the Village Hall is now understandably on hold due to the lockdown.

However, there are only two items of work remaining, the main hall wall lighting and the exterior lighting around the disabled access ramp. All of this work will be completed as soon as is practicable

On a positive front, the hall has been awarded grants from Milford Haven Port Authority and the Pembrokeshire County Council’s Enhancing Pembrokeshire Grant Scheme.

We are deeply appreciative of these awards, with these funds going towards improving the amenities at the hall.

IT room conversion: The Village Hall committee has agreed to the conversion of the IT room, currently been used primarily for storage, into a lounge style meeting room, for quieter conversations and meetings. 

Staying Connected

• The Book Group meet-ups are via Zoom online.

• The Art Group still work on their paintings and share their efforts online. 

• There is a WhatsApp Group for the Llanteg Community Walks so they can still keep in touch and share pictures and chat - even though the walks are now all being done solitary and where people live. 

• The Gardening Group are sharing photographs and chat online.

• Llanteg Facebook page has daily updates of any relevant information.

• Amroth Good Neighbours: Clr. Cormack reported that AGN had 51 volunteers of whom 29 were mobile and had ID cards to help them carry out volunteer jobs. AGN were receiving few calls currently, with the main requests being for collecting prescriptions. There had not been a great demand for shopping as neighbours were helping, plus local shops were offering delivery. Requests through the scheme were being logged to help provide information to PCC and other central support groups as to the impact of lockdown on the community.

Most rural area support groups in Pembrokeshire were recording low demand for services, although urban areas were recording more. Homeless people had been helped and food and clothing banks were seeing a rise in need. It may be that AGN was called to help other areas if a need was identified.

While Pembrokeshire had benefited from its distance from London and the ‘lockdown’ occurred before infection became widespread here, there was concern that there may be a spike in cases when lockdown is relaxed.

• Exercise Jantzen: Clr. Harvey reported that he was working on the text for the information board, so it was ready to go when lockdown is lifted.

Urgent Business not on the Agenda

• Ownership of land in Church View, Summerhill. A resident hasd reported that the piece of land between numbers 9 and 11 had become very overgrown and had attracted litter. There was concern that it would also attract vermin if not cleared. Clr. Harvey had established the land was in private ownership. It was agreed that the clerk write to the owner asking for the land to be cleared.

• Clr. Harvey reported that the tap outside the toilets in Amroth had been removed. It was registered as a water bottle filling station and was much used by dog walkers. This had been reported to PCC who had contacted the contractors DANFO to query its removal.

• A resident had queried if the dog restrictions on the beach would be relaxed during lockdown. County Councillor Baron had contacted PCC Cabinet Member for the Environment, Cris Tomos, to ask about this.

• Clr. Phillips thanked County Clr. Tony Baron for all the work he does to support ACC. Councillors all expressed their gratitude.