FFORWM WARD PENYGROES WARD FORUM
Neuadd Caerbryn Hall, 9 May 2006


Present
Alun Lewis (Chair), Julian Tandy, Mark Waygood, Siân Thomas, John Davies, Nicola Davies, Llinos Hindley, Lynnette Reynolds, Phil Owen, Huw Evans

Apologies
Mark Durdin, M. Griffiths, Sal Armstrong, Yvonne Kelly, Marie Hughes-Jones, Julie Owen

Matters Arising
* Games Evening – Climbing Wall will be booked from the council in late May.
* Forms have been filed for business grant.
* Newsletter completed, 500 copies done, volunteers to deliver.
* Dog-Fouling – More complaints at Maesglas.  Request for special bin and more signs.  There have been 60 prosecutions for dog-fouling.  We need to follow dog to the owner and issue a ticket.  Situation has worsened since last meeting.  First prosecution will go in the local paper.
* Gardening Club – Bank Account opened.

The Young Peoples Project – Pavilion Update

* Work should be finished in 2-3 weeks.  So far £83,000 has been spent; this is far in excess of the £8,000 promised two years ago.
* The Pavilion has been refurbished twice in the last 20 years; let us hope it will last longer this time to enable greater use.
* Local developers, Clos y Cwm & Gilfach y Gôg have promised sums to help replace the park equipment and The Emlyn site developer is to provide a football goal.  These additional amounts will mean £100,000 will have been invested in the village’s playground facilities.
* There will be places for parents to sit and the play area will be split between the older and younger children.
* The children are to be consulted on what equipment they would like to see in the park.
* The youth club has had a further £300 for resources.

* There was a public meeting on the 27th April in Llandeilo regarding the Apostolic Church development.  We should hear the result in about 1 month’s time

* We cannot have a road and more traffic in front of the park. If toilets were to be built in the park, there might be safety concerns such as syringe needles being discarded.

* Money for the youth has been promised by the Forum.

Gardening Club Update

* Spring day out on the 15th April at Cwm Deri & Colby Woodland Garden was a great success.
* Lynnette Reynolds is coordinating the stand for the Penygroes Park Fun Day.  We expect to sell plants and compost and inform people about the hanging basket competition on July 22nd.
* Mr Morgan has been approached about some of the children growing plants for the flower show, if all goes well the same offer will be made to Blaenau School.
* A meeting was held with Carms. Council Disability Access about the Community Garden Plans.  In short, we will only have to move the path access down a few feet.  Eleri Davies is progressing with the grant options and the GC is continuing the design process (accurate costing from mid-May).
* Wherever possible, the children will be involved, including the RFC and the Flower Show.

Building Development – A Brief Update

* The large rubbish pile in Norton Road has not been cleared yet.
* An oily substance has been seen on the ground surface at the rear of properties in Norton road.  Could Phil Owen talk this over with Cllr. Siân Thomas with the view that the Environment Agency should look into it.
* There are still concerns about the condition of Waterloo Road and Caerbryn Road after the recent works.  The committee feels they need assurances regarding the road repair as the developers have not yet repaired Gors-Ddu Road after they put in a public footpath alongside the Emlyn site.  This road is now in very poor condition and littered with potholes.
* Update is still required regarding the Landscaping and Holding Tanks.
*  Further development proposals for the site are; Community School (converting to Community Centre after School hours), A Pub/Club, Phase 1  - 250 homes, a new surgery, dentist and O.A.P. home.
* If a new school is proposed, it needs to be built before the new homes are ready as there isn’t any room for more pupils in Penygroes School.
* The County Council’s Unitary Development Plan (very complex document) 15 years ago proposed to create a built-up area from Cross Hands to Ammanford, but this simply doesn’t match local needs and is likely to prove an unbearable strain on the local infrastructure.  There is already gridlock at Gorslas Square and this will get worse if every home has 2/3 cars (you are only required to allow for 2 cars per house)

* There is currently room for an additional 700 homes in Penygroes

* Fortunately, the Community Council are taking an aggressive stance toward local planning propositions, as these planning issues affect lives.

* The Apostolic development (if allowed to go ahead) will cause further problems around the school.

A Local Forum Marketing Campaign

* Cllr. Siân Thomas has created a leaflet informing the local residents on what the Forum is and what it does.  These are to be distributed to Penygroes and Blaenau Post Offices and placed in the local notice boards.

Ward Newsletter – The Way Forward

* This project was initiated by Marie Hughes-Jones and will have to be discussed at the next meeting, as she was unable to attend this one.

Any Other Business

* Many local public footpaths are blocked.  Should we close off the least used and concentrate on the remaining better ones, especially if they lead to picnic sites? Costs for clearing and or closing down footpaths can be prohibitive.
* Birds of prey have started to come back into Penygroes.  We need a Preservation Order for the only mature trees left, at the Annexe site.  Require someone to carry out survey, this could cut down the number of houses, if not, we will lose what trees we have left.
* Large Refrigerated Lorries are using Waterloo and Gors Ddu Road.  There is poor turning (because of the island) at the junction Waterloo / Gors Ddu Road making it a safety issue.  Could we have someone look into traffic calming along Waterloo Road.
* Poor parking has been noted along Waterloo Road.  Cllr. Siân Thomas asked for the registration numbers of poorly parked cars.
* Games Night – Ideas please, games, cards, and skittles etc.  The W.I. are going to bring things along including outside games e.g. bowls (weather permitting).
* Noisy Dog Barking – A dog barking constantly has been heard at the rear of No. 12 Norton Road.
* Local Hero (Penygroes Ward Volunteer of the Year)  – Cannot vote for paid or elected officials e.g. Siân, Huw, meals on wheels etc.  Closing date 25th May.  Need to contact the local paper (or send a press release) to have someone come down and cover the Local Hero story.
* There is a meeting at the RFC on Thursday 11th May at 6.30pm regarding the setting up of a second Forum.  This could cause problems and undo all the work hat has been done.  As many people as possible try to attend.

Meeting Closed
Next Meeting – Calfaria Chapel Tuesday, 13th June 2006