Minutes of a Council Hybrid Meeting held in Llangynidr Hall and via electronic media on Tuesday 30th November 2021 at 7.30pm.
Public participation. None
Present: Mr Mark Brian (Chairperson), Mr Alan James, Mr D Williams, Mr David Mantle, Mrs Margaret Price, Mrs Jane Dawkins and Mrs Elizabeth Gibbs.
In attendance: County Councillor Rosemarie Harris, S.Dale (Clerk) and Mrs Joan Preece.
1. Apologies: DF, PL and GT
2. Declaration of interest in items of business listed below: EG declared an interest in item 16 – proposed glass recycling works in Rassau, she took no part in the discussion.
3. Signing of the minutes; 26th October 2021: Approved, proposed MP and seconded EG.
4. Correspondence: As indicated in the agenda.
5. Clerk’s Report
Recycling payments from Powys County Council, republished here at the request of a resident. They are usually found in the clerk's report.
12/2/21 £62.76
29/7/21 £59.36 (September minutes)
28/10/21 £53.03 (November minutes)
Well being assessment from Powys County Council – please participate as it really helps them determine everyones needs. It can be found on Powys County Councils website.
Beacons Broadband are installing ultra fast broadband in the village now.
Query has been raised about the Land Registry records of the old ford at Cyfreddin Lane. I have put in a request for them to check their records and am awaiting a report.
I have requested quotes from new tree contractors, nothing back yet.
There is a new government funding source for jubilee celebrations:
https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/news/press-releases/2021-11-17/over-22million-the-queens-platinum-jubilee But the link does not work at the moment, I have let the organisers know. A councillor has spoken to the person organising the village's jubilee celebration about the planting of 7 trees.
The Dwr Cymru network engineer for this area has requested a camera investigation of the sewers around the public toilets within 14 days. He will copy us in on the results.
6. Finance:
a) Statement of accounts and bank reconciliation for year to October 2021 and estimated expenditure to December 2021. Issues for the budget;trees management, public toilets and annual check of the website. The forecast for the budget indicate that the Community Council is on target.
b) Cheques to be approved in November 2021. Approved.
British Gas (elect. For the public toilets) Nov & Dec £40.00
Cleaning the car park (Nov & Dec) £80.00
Cleaning the public conveniences (Nov & Dec) £560.00
Clerks wages and stationery allowance (Nov so) £471.00
Clerks wages and stationery allowance (Dec so) £471.00
Viking toilets supplies £74.72
Royal British Legion (wreath) £17.00
Insurance £404.82 item 9
c) Cheques approved in October 2021.
British Gas (elect. For the public toilets) Oct £20.00
Cleaning the car park (Oct) £40.00
Cleaning the public conveniences (Oct) £280.00
Clerks wages and stationery allowance (Sept so) £471.00
Tree report £1500.00
7. Report from the County Councillor.
There have been several approaches for social housing in Llangynidr. There are 2000 second homes in Powys (on the agenda tonight). They are quite an issue.
The proposed glassworks are also on the agenda this evening.
There has been a Estyn inspection of Powys' central educational support service. The results were outstanding.
£22 million has been allocated to projects around Powys: Phase 3 of the reinstatement of the Montgomery Canal. Upgrade of Theatre Brycheiniog – a widely used facility. Property conversion freeing-up vital office space for essential services.
Meeting with the Tenant Farmer Association, concerns ranged over storage of manure (for cattle and poultry), phosphates in the Wye and Usk. It seems that domestic sewage is could also be involved in the pollution. Ambulance times were discussed with the One Voice Wales Brecon and Radnorshire Area Committee. Police Inspector Andy Pitt may come to a meeting to talk to the Community Council about ambulance response times and other related issues.
Losses of sheep on the heads of the valleys road, which is very fast, have been extensive. There is a new fence there. RH will follow up with the Head of Highways. The matters are complex as there are many landowners.
The 3rd week in December will see the financial settlement for all councils in Wales, the NHS has 54% of the budget.
Powys is hoping for a better outcome than usual.
Llangynidr's Parking review continues: The parking below the canal is a problem, would double yellow lines work as a deterrent?
Around the Pizza Seller on the top car park (off Beaufort Road) is another place where parking can be a problem. The Pizza seller has finished for the winter now.
Filming just beyond the Dyffryn is underway. Powys County Council will publish a press release to advertise the many wonderful productions filmed there as they take place in Powys. The budgets for filming are huge.
8. Planning Applications:
21/20151/CPE Clog Fawr, conservatory. No objection.
21/ 20376/FUL 12 Clos Castell, porch. No objection.
9. To review and choose insurance cover for 2021-2022. Adjourned from October. Zurich Municipal was chosen as insurance provider.
10. Brecon Beacons National Park are considering the status of the footpaths at Pentwyn. Comments have been invited from the Community Council. The Pentwyn Paths are marked on local maps, and were used, mainly without problems, for many years. They have been used and valued by local residents. Council was clear that it was commenting on 2 paths. Council supports the adoption of the paths as public rights of way. In a vote there were 6 for supporting the adoption and 1 abstention.
11. Some Usk water quality data has been received but it is not in a format comparable to the first data set received. Information only. The new data set does not indicate if any of the measures breach tolerances etc.
12. Planning for the renewal of the public toilets on Cwm Crawnon Road. There is a grant from Powys County Council that may be appropriate. Does Council wish to apply? Clerk to apply for updated toilets and disabled facilities and remembering to make provision for a tourist information panel. To include a map with walks delineated, advertisements for the pubs etc.
13. LCC and VHC. The recreation ground land is held in trust by the Community Council. This encompasses the playground the skating park the public toilets, the tennis courts and village hall. The Car park on the opposite side of Cwm Crawnon Road is likewise owned by the Community Council. The VHC and the Community Council wish to resolve the issue of management of the land. To that end the Chairman and one other councillor need to be delegated to discuss the matter with the VHC representatives and reach an agreement. DM and MB were chosen to attend the meeting which will take place before the next meeting of the Community Council. They will report back then for Council to decide it's course. Burial ground may be a good model to follow, Clerk to provide MB with a copy of the deeds and lease. Llangattock and Talybont have recently made innovations in their recreation grounds, there may be lessons to learn.
14. Brecon Beacons National Park Authority ask Council to consider it's document “Future Beacons” Management Plan which has been circulated. To be discussed and action agreed. Adjourned to next meeting. Clerk to circulate the date of the 3rd and final meeting (9/12) with the new CEO of Brecon Beacons National Park Authority.
15. Second homes and self catering accommodation - premium council tax etc. One Voice Wales has responded on behalf of Community Councils. The consultation ends in January. The difference between business rates and council tax is that the former go to Central Government and the latter go to the County Council. Adjourned to next meeting.
16. A proposed recycled glassworks in Rassau may affect Llangynidr due to weather conditions. NRW have made comments to the planning authority. Councillors and residents have raised the matter. A time extension has been given to allow Council to comment. To be discussed and action agreed. One of the Councillors analysed a complaint from a Blaenau Gwent resident that had been sent to the Community Council. He concluded that the arguments were a little confused and underdeveloped. The 75m stacks are there to push the fumes high into the atmosphere where they would disperse. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Blaenau Gwent Planning Authority would ensure all modern technologies would be deployed to reduce effects.
It was anticipated that Llangynidr residents may see plumes of gases but it is unlikely that the stacks themselves would be visible from Llangynidr.
It was reported to Council that Llangynidr was not identified as an affected area.
The hundreds of jobs created may help the residents of our neighbouring Borough. Clerk to send the comments to Blaenau Gwent Planning Authority. EG declared an interest due to her work with the Brecon Beacons Park Society and took no part in the discussion.
17. The pull-in area down Cyffredin Lane has been used by drivers as a meeting place and they leave rubbish behind. To be discussed and action agreed. The pull-in is private property and is matter for the owner.
The council wanted to alert walkers down Cyffredin, and Castle Road, to wear reflective gear and carry a torch if out in the dark.
18. Problems with accessing a footpath at Pencommin have been raised by a resident. The clerk has drawn the matter to the attention of the Rights of Way Officer at Brecon Beacons Nation Park. To be discussed and action agreed. Council noted that there is a new Brecon Beacons National Park Warden for this area, who may become involved in this enquiry. The path concerned would link up with a path that returns the walker to Cwm Crawnon Road near the bike shop. Council awaits information from the Rights of Way Officer.
19. A resident has pointed out that overhead infrastructure on his property, such as wires and poles etc, can be replaced with underground equipment for comparatively low costs. He is keen to let residents know. To be discussed and action agreed. The Council thanked the resident for raising this so that other residents can be aware of the possibilities, they agree that the village would look better without the infrastructure. Clerk to write to the resident.
20. Reports from meetings attended. The British Legion's regional representative hosted a special event for poppy collecting teams in the area at Clarence Hall, Crickhowell. Individual collectors were awarded with medals and accolades for their service, a Llangynidr lady has served 45 years! It was a lovely evening.
The School was pleased to return after a week's absence due to illness, clerk to write a letter to the school showing the warm support of the Council.
21. Any agenda items for the next meeting? None
There being no further business to discuss, the Chairman closed the meeting at 9.49pm.
Date of next meeting: Tuesday, 4th January 2022 (Finance Committee)
Tuesday, 18th January 2022
Dated
