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January 2021

Minutes of Monthly Meeting of Llangunnor Community Council held remotely at 6.30pm on Thursday 21st January 2021

PRESENT: Councillor Robin Griffiths (Chair), Geraint Bevan, Paul Totterdale, Elwyn Williams, Lee Whatley, Heather Lewis, Sandra Thomas, Jennifer Slate and John Porter

APOLOGIES: Councillor Dafydd Williams

One elector present

Declaration of Interest

Item 5ii and 5iii: Councillor Totterdale
Item 7: Councillor Griffiths

2. Police Report

No police report had been received

3. Chair's Announcements

The Chair asked the members to hold a minute’s silence for residents of Llangunnor who had been lost to Covid and to Cllr Bevan on the loss of a close family member. There were no other announcements

4. Minutes

It was unanimously agreed and RESOLVED to approve as a correct record the minutes of the monthly Council meeting held on 10th December 2020 (minute 0121–4)

Points to Report

a) Pigeon spikes: Carmarthenshire County Council were currently considering different options
b) Access to Charlies Car Park: Clerk reported that he had not a response from Charlies with regard to a pedestrian access into the car park at the bottom of Babell Hill. He also reported that a couple of members had contacting him following the recent flooding in Pensarn and that Post Office vans were stranded in the depot and no deliveries were made that day, following a discussion it was agreed that this was a important service and it was unanimously agreed that the Clerk write to Carmarthenshire County Council asking whether an emergency exit, controlled by retractable bollards could be placed at this point (minute 0121–4b)

5. Committees

Finance Committee Cllr Totterdale declared an interest in items 5ii & 5iii

The draft minutes of the meeting held 11th January were noted the following were discussed:

i. Precept for 2021 / 2022 The recommendation from the committee was to raise the Precept to £33,000, Councillor Elwyn Williams explained the reasoning behind this was that it had been £36K some years ago, reduced to £30K in 17/18, having considered the proposed budget for 21/22 and council balances it was thought it was an appropriate time to increase the precept slightly. Following a discussion when Cllr Totterdale thought that with the current covid issues, furlough etc. members should consider deferring the decision for 12 months and he proposed this as amendment, this was seconded by Councillor Lewis, when put to the vote For 3 Against 6 the amendment was not accepted. The members then voted on the recommendation that a precept of £33,00 be set for 21/22 For 8 Against 0 Abstentions 1 (minute 0121–5i)

ii. Recommendation for donation of £7,500 for construction of Outdoor Classroom Councillor Whatley expressed some concerns that this was not the correct expenditure of the Valero money, Councillor Griffiths argued that this money had been sitting in the bank for some years and the residents of Nantycaws had plenty of opportunity to come up with suggestions of how to spend it, indeed as of 31st March 2021 it would be moved to general funds. Following a vote, it was agreed (minute 0121–5ii) to allocate £7,500 to the school for this project, monies to be released once project is complete For 8 Against 1

iii. Recommendation for donation of £2,000 for purchase of chrome books / ipads to assist with remote education Councillor Whatley and Griffiths made the same arguments for this proposal. Following a vote, it was agreed (minute 0121–5iii) to allocate £2,000 to the school for the purpose of purchasing new ipads For 8 Against 1

iv. The remainder of the finance minutes were noted–(minutes 0121 –5iv).

Both ii) & iii) are permitted within the power of well-being (Local Government Act 2000 ss 1-5) this would be apportioned to S137 under the legislation) [Transcribers Note]

Park & Environment Committee Meeting

The draft minutes of the meeting held 18th January were noted

Web & Media Committee

The draft minutes of the meeting held 12th January were noted. Councillor Slate wished to record her thanks to Cllr Lewis for taking the time to check the welsh on the new website, it was hoped that a draft version of the website would be circulated to members before the February meeting

Christmas Committee

The draft minutes of the meeting held 13th January were noted

6. Update on applications for position of Clerk

The Clerk reported that he had received 5 applications to date (closing date-noon on 22nd January), applications would be circulated to Chair/vice-Chair/Chair of planning and a shortlisting meeting would be convened. Although it had been hoped to have face-to-face interviews, current restrictions meant that it would more likely be via zoom

:: In line with Standing Orders 2d the press and public were excluded for items 7 & 8 ::

7. Consideration for Community Awards Cllr Griffiths declared an interest for one of the nominations, and took no part in the discussion

Members discussed nominations for awards, names were put forward and recorded

8. Consider two applications for co-option

The members considered the applications received and following a discussion it was unanimously agreed (minute 0121–8) that Mr SWJ Richards, 26 Glanffynnon and Mr P Price, 35 Glanffynnon both be co-opted onto the Council

:: The press and public were allowed to re-join the meeting

9. Reports from Members Representing Council on other Bodies

Riverside Association - No Meeting

One Voice Wales - No Meeting

School Governors - No Meeting

Training - None

10. County Councillor Report

Cllr Elwyn Williams had nothing to report

11. Approve the Schedule of Accounts

It was unanimously approved (minute 0121–11) that the accounts submitted be approved.

A) Council is requested to consider and approve the following items of expenditure:

Payee	Info	(£) Amount
E Williams	Playing Field (31/12/20)	97.00
CJ Thomas	Salary - Jan 2021	655.70
	Office Allowance - Jan 2021	100.00
	IT Allowance - Jan 2021	30.00[1]
	Reimbursement: Zoom Monthly Payment	14.39
	Reimbursement: Stamps	15.60
	Reimbursement: Batteries for Sanitizers	4.00
Defib World	New Pads for Defibrillators in Aelwyd / School £60 + £12 (VAT) + £3.99 (delivery)	75.99
Wales Audit Office	External Audit Accounts 2019/20	403.75
I Wyn Davies	Assistance with Christmas Trees	220.00
One Voice Wales	Training: Code of Conduct - (Cllr Ingram)	30.00
Capel Philadelphia	Community Grant	100.00
Llangunnor School	Donation for purchase of i-pads	2,000.00

Overpayment of £10 made in April so this payment adjusted accordingly

B) Council to note receipt of income: None

12. Correspondence

The following correspondence be noted/action taken:

No	Nature of Correspondence	Agreed Action
1	Carmarthenshire County Council: Outstanding Queries Llangunnor	Appendix 1[2] For information
2	Survey aimed at Older Carers in Wales	Circulated
3	Launch of Public Consultation on the Strategy for an Ageing Society	Circulated
4	Letter from Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner	Circulated
5	Neges Nadolig gan Gyngor Sir Gâr | A Christmas message from Carmarthenshire County Council	Circulated
6	Letters of thanks for donations a) C. Ff. I.; b) Cancer Information Services; c) Marie Curie; d) Cerebral Palsy.	For information
7	A48 Nantycaws WelTAG - Stakeholder Engagement	Circulated
8	WLGA coronavirus email update 15.12.2020	Circulated
9	Latest news from Carmarthenshire County Council	Circulated
10	NHS, Social Care & Frontline Workers Day on 5th July	Circulated
11	Postponement of local government by-elections	Circulated
12	Cynnal Cymru Newsletter | January 2021	Circulated
13	WLGA coronavirus email update 08.01.2021 / Diweddariad am y coronafeirws gan CLlLC	Circulated
14	South Wales Truck Road: Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding the broken light in Sticle Bach subway, Llangunnor. Our street lighting contractors are in receipt of the defect and will programme in to attend site, investigate and repair as necessary. Apologies for any inconvenience caused at this time	For information
15	Local Development Order for Carmarthen Town Centre	Circulated
16	Letter from Llangunnor Network: "Light Up Llangunnor / Goleuo Llangynnwr" was not a competition as a certain Facebook page kept implying but an opportunity for the community to come together and spread some Christmas cheer	For information
17	Email from Carmarthenshire County Council regarding outstanding traffic issues - copy enclosed	For information
18	NHS bodies maintain good governance during the COVID-19 crisis	Circulated
19	Have your say on council’s budget CTCh-Town and Community Council Forum	Cllr Porter will be attending
20	Ministerial Advisory Forum on Ageing (MAFA) - Welsh Government funded project	Circulated
20	Email from resident regarding wet areas at the park. (Companies providing estimates to come up with suggestions)	Noted

13. Councillor's Report

a) Cllr Porter reported that light at Maes Lewis Morris had been repaired
b) Clerk asked to chase footpath sign at Blaengwastod Road / Login Road
c) Clerk to check on progress on solar streetlight to be placed near Tywi View Park
d) Map for website showing position of defibrillators
e) Trees had been cut down in lane opposite road up to church, Clerk to check with Carmarthenshire County Council if they had carried out the work

14. Statement from Cllr Whatley

Cllr Whatley read out a prepared statement in which he informed the Council that he was standing down from his role as Councillor

15. Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on Thursday February 18th 2021 at 6.30pm

Meeting closed 8.25pm

Transcribers Note:It is noted that the text highlighted in italics was not discussed during the meeting held on the 21st January and was not recorded on the draft minutes but have been added to the minutes which were approved at the February meeting

Appendix 1

Mike Jacob Carmarthenshire County Council Update: My apologies once again, the covid situation has had a significant effect on our service and we continue to play catch on may outstanding issues from the initial lockdown and then the firebreak

1) In respect to Llangunnor Park I will arrange for Access Protection Marking (H Bar) to be placed in the first instance and the situation to be monitored.
2) The changing of a speed limit does require a Traffic Regulation Order which is a particularly lengthy legal process and normally takes at least twelve months, if there is a budget available (please note the 2020-21 budget has been fully committed). New speed limits should also be in line with national guidance on ‘Setting Local Speed Limits in Wales’ which sets out the criteria for different speed limits in particular circumstances. Before it gets to the aforementioned stage it is necessary to carry out a detailed assessment, which once complete is presented to the SLWG (Speed Limit Working Group) which consists of officers from our Division, Roads Policing and GoSafe. The full assessment will be undertaken in the New Year with presentation to the SLWG in early Spring. Please note that should the request receive the support of the Group then it may be considered for inclusion within the 2022-22 programme for speed limits.
3) I’m afraid I cannot accede to the request to relocate the existing electronic sign, the sign in question was placed following an assessment of area in question. Should there be concerns regarding speeding traffic I would inform you that the role of enforcing the existing speed limit rests with the Police and the Go Safe Partnership rather than the County Council as we have no enforcement powers in this respect. I have attached below a link to the Go Safe website which I hope you will find informative. You will note on their website the locations of current speed camera enforcement sites, details of community campaigns and there is a contact section for passing comments on to the partnership.https://gosafe.org/
4) In respect to warnings signs depicting ‘Pedestrians in Road Ahead’, we will arrange to provide these, however due to the current situation I cannot give a definitive timescale for their placement, however I do hope that they will be provided by the end of the financial year

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