Among matters considered and discussed at the November meeting of Amroth Community Council were the following:

Mr Evans attended the meeting to report:

• Two signs had been knocked down recently, one for a footpath by 1 Staggers Hill and a Give Way road sign by Staggers Hill.

• The Met Office had reported possible severe winter conditions. The corner by Staggers Hill gets slippery in icy weather and receives limited sunlight so does not thaw. Mr Evans asked if a salt bin could be provided as he was willing to spread the salt to make the road safer.

• Road barrier checks. The road barriers between Stepaside and Merrixton were in very bad repair and needed urgent attention.

Mr Evans provided photographs of the issues and asked that they be reported to PCC for attention. The clerk and Clr. Baron would follow these up with PCC.

Matters arising from previous

minutes

• Clr. Roger Harries had met with several contractors to survey the Ash trees on community owned land for Ash Dieback disease. Written quotes had been received. Clr. Harries would appoint contractors to carry out the job once the ground dries out or is hard enough with frost not to make a mess, hopefully shortly after Christmas. He also enquired into having the large tree made into a sculpture, as was done in Stepaside, however this was not possible with Ash Dieback Disease as the tree dies from within

• Widening of the gateway to Llanteg churchyard. Clr. Harries reported that there were two trees to come down either side of gateway plus some stonework. This should allow access for the mower. He would organise to have the work done which was anticipated to cost no more than £150.

• Four new memorial seats had been installed on Amroth front. Seats were still available to purchase including four in Llanteg. Contact the clerk for information.

• Following pressure from ACC, the 30 mph speed limit had been extended on the approach to Summerhill. The sign was moved to the end of the layby forcing cars to reduce speed before entering the village.

• There was considerable concern regarding the state of the sea defences in Amroth, specifically the groynes by the New Inn. Councillors Baron and Phillips would be meeting with PCC officers on December 16 to discuss the sea defences and would report back to the December meeting.

• Woodland Band of Hope. Clr. Baron had obtained more information regarding this piece of land and had registered ACC’s interest with PCC, with a view to acquiring it for the community. He was also investigating possible grant funding.

• Fly-tipping was still an issue in Amroth. Clr. Davies reported that rubbish had been seen pushed into the old mine vent hole in the middle car park. The clerk would report this to PCC. Clr Baron had discussed the issue with Tracy Wareham and Richard Brown at PCC. It seemed that some accommodation providers were refusing to buy trade waste bags. It was a criminal offence to pass off trade waste as municipal waste. PCC were aware of the issue and were looking at ways to combat this.

• Amroth Castle were interested in hosting the beach wheelchair.

• Clr. Harries reported that Emyr Williams of PCC was looking into the repair of the slipways in Amroth to make them more wheelchair friendly.

County

Councillor’s Report

• Clr. Baron has invited Clr. Bob Kilmister, councillor for finance at PCC to address Amroth Community Council and residents of Amroth ward at Llanteg Village Hall on Wednesday, January 22, at 7 pm. This will allow residents to ask questions regarding council spending and inform Clr. Kilmister of what issues should be prioritised.

• Budget preparations delayed. The calling of the General Election on December 12 has delayed the process by which PCC determines the rate of Council Tax for the coming fiscal year starting in April 2020. The planned Council Members’ November Budget Seminar was cancelled, and PCC is affected by the period of political ‘purdah’. The full council meeting scheduled for December 12 has been postponed to December 19. There is still very little clarity about what financial settlement PCC will receive from the Welsh Government, but by law the council must decide upon its Council Tax rate before the fiscal year starts and cannot vary it thereafter. Decisions will have to be taken without full information and to meet the required deadlines a public consultation on Council Tax rates will be undertaken from January 6, 2020. I have asked Clr. Bob Kilmister, the cabinet member for finance, if he would be prepared to present budget options again to ACC members and local residents as he did for this year’s budget. He has agreed and I would suggest we propose dates to him asap before his diary fills.

• Community Asset Transfer/Band of Hope Woodland. PCC is reviewing its Community Asset Transfer Policy and intends, should it be agreed, to place all assets it is willing to transfer on to its website with condition reports. Such reports are likely to be undertaken in the Spring. I have registered an interest in the Band of Hope Woodland so that it is not sold before ACC has a chance to fully investigate the desirability or otherwise of taking over responsibility of the woodland. I have requested a plan showing the location of any mine shafts. I understand that the condition report would not include a full appraisal of the cost of decontaminating the part of the woodland used for land fill.

Clr. Kilmister has agreed that the Enhancing Pembrokeshire Grant could be used to turn the woodland into a public amenity, and we would need help in exploring what other grants would be available. I would recommend in any case that a CAT should only be agreed when suitable grant funding has been obtained in principle.

• Enhancing Pembrokeshire Grant. PCC members are being asked what to do with unspent year one Enhancing Pembrokeshire funding. I have argued that the money should be rolled again because it takes time for community councils to development knowledge of the application process and to develop costed business plans for projects. The pot allocated to our area is relatively large because of the large number of second homes in the ward. It is clearly becoming a case of use it or lose it.

• Pleasant Valley/Heritage Park. Note that under the terms of the lease from PCC, whatever planning permission has been given or could be given on Heritage Park cannot be implemented without the consent of PCC as the owners of the land and of WG under the conditions of the grant originally given to the site.

• Waste collection. The move to kerbside sorting has been achieved as well as could be expected given the logistical complexity of the change. This has still meant that several residents have had difficulty in getting their waste collected and even in getting the new containers. Also, residents have had difficulty in contacting PCC, given the large volume of calls to the Call Centre caused by the change in system. I am happy to take up any case where residents are experiencing difficulty in obtaining action from PCC and to report any undue delays in phone calls being answered. Please let me have the date and time of ringing PCC and the length of time before being answered by a human being and if the call was abandoned, your place in the queue when giving up the attempt to speak to an officer. It is best to contact me by email [email protected].

• Schools. Parents of children born between September 1, 2015, and August 31, 2016, will need to apply for a Reception/Primary school place for September 2020, by the closing date of January 31, 2020. Applications received after this date will be considered late which may have a bearing on whether the child gets a place at his or her preferred school.

Planning

Caledonia, Summerhill, Amroth. Proposal - single storey sun lounge extension. Conditionally approved.

Land at West Llanteg Farm. Proposal - signage for residential development. Reconsultation due to amended plans. Conditionally approved.

Graig Y Don, Amroth. Proposal - erection of glass balustrade on existing front elevation patio/balcony. Comment; no objections

Glen View, Amroth. Proposal - garage and multi-gym with roof garden above. Comments; no objections.

Penglyn, Amroth. Application for the discharge of condition four of application NP/19/0394/Ful as approved in September. Condition four reads - prior to the commencement of development works, a biodiversity enhancement scheme to include provision of at least two features for bat roosting or bird nesting shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. This has been done and a report, carried out by Kite Consulting, has been submitted for approval.

Heritage Park, Stepaside. PCC are duty bound to consult with the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (PCNPA) on this application because of its proximity to its boundary. PCNPA are very clear that their role is to maintain or improve the National Park. They have been specifically asked for observations as to whether the development will have any ‘adverse visual impact’ on the National Park. Andrew Richards, case officer. will be visiting the site any day to make his report. It is unlikely that PCNPA will have an objection based on visual impact.

Correspondence

• It has been reported by a regular visitor to Summerhill Park that visibility is poor for cars exiting the park and joining the C3014 due to the hedges on either side of the junction obscuring the view. Following conversations between ACC and PCC, it was established that neither PCC nor ACC had the authority to take any action on this issue. It had been suggested a mirror could be installed opposite the exit to improve visibility. A full discussion ensued. ACC do not have the official power to install road signage and if a mirror was required it would need to be purchased jointly by the occupiers of the 15 properties in the park, who had not commented on this issue to date. If a mirror was to be acquired, it would need to go on council land opposite the exit and so planning permission would need to be obtained.

It was agreed that ACC would take no further action on this issue.

• The Older Peoples Commissioner has launched a campaign against Ageism. Ageism is often overlooked or ignored, or seen as being harmless, but has a negative impact on older people, affecting their physical and mental health, recovery from illness, levels of social exclusion, access to services, employment opportunities and even life expectancy.

By sharing the #EverydayAgeism campaign messages, you can help people to understand the impact that ageism has, not only on older people, but also on society, and why it’s so important we end ageism and age discrimination.

Report by Amroth and District Community Association

The hall continues to go from strength to strength. The new tables have arrived. On Saturday, November 30, there was a tabletop sale in aid of Stepaside Chapel.

Report by

Llanteg Village Hall Committee

• Walking Group. For information contact Jill Roberts on 01834 831 142 [email protected]

• The Gardening Group future activity - practical pruning of fruit trees and how to make Christmas wreaths and door decorations. All to be confirmed. For information contact [email protected] or 01834 831 468.

• Short Mat Bowls every week. Badgers Bowls Tues and Friday and Llanteg Bowls Monday and Thursday.

• Superfast broadband is up and running

• Trees to replace those removed with Ash Dieback can be obtained through the Woodland Trust.

• The hall is submitting an application to the Enhancing Pembrokeshire fund for hearing/audio facilities, disabled parking spaces and access and other works that need carrying out.

• The entrance into car park is difficult to see coming up hill, especially in the dark. Improvements are being investigated.

• On Friday, November 29, there was a coffee morning with proceeds to Wales Air Ambulance. WAA is entirely dependent on voluntary contributions.

Update on

Exercise Jantzen

• Following a successful bid, ACC are waiting to hear from the Enhancing Pembrokeshire Fund team that the project can start. All the paperwork has been signed and returned as requested. Clr. Harvey has written to Kevin Shales at PCC for an update and is awaiting his reply. Clr. Harries reported that the Royal British Legion are interested in the project. The plan is to have the official unveiling of the project on VE day 2020.

Update on the possibility of free Wi-Fi for Amroth

• Clr. Cormack reported that a final survey would take place at the Amroth Arms, Temple Bar and The Pirate Café to test the signal. It was planned to have antennae on the Amroth Arms and Temple Bar. with the Pirate Café as back up if required.

Environmental Arts Festival

• Clr Megarry reported that she had met with Tina Cunningham and drafted a proposal. The plan was to hold four festival days in early August, each day starting at 10 am, tide permitting. Two workshops were also planned, one in conjunction with the Youth Club and one open to all.

The Beach Art Team would apply for Lottery funding to support the two workshops and ACC would apply to the Enhancing Pembrokeshire Fund to support the four beach art days.

Clr. Megarry had drafted a comprehensive budget which committed ACC to a maximum matc- funding contribution of £1,224. Some volunteer time could count towards this plus any donations from local businesses.

The Beach Art Team also welcomed the news regarding the acquisition of a beach wheelchair as this would make the festival more accessible.

Future Projects

• Councillors were asked for any future project ideas. There was still funding available to Amroth via the Enhancing Pembrokeshire Grant.

Any other

business

• Crisp packets, biscuit wrappers, toothpaste tubes, bread liners etc can be recycled by Pembrokeshire Care and Share.

• The Educational Charity of David Rees. Clr. Phillips informed the meeting that income was increasing faster than being spent and proposed a meeting to discuss how the money could be better employed. The meeting was arranged at 6.30 pm on January 23, immediately before the monthly council meeting.

• Clr. Megarry reported that the numbered trees at Heritage Park, reported to be diseased, are not Ash trees. Clr. Baron would enquire into this with reference to the lease with PCC, as this would constitute a material change to the land.

• Clr. Evans reported a telephone scam. Fraudsters were ringing residents saying they weer from HMRC and informing residents that they werebeing investigated for fraud.

Date of next meeting: Thursday, December 19, at Llanteg Village Hall, starting at 7 pm.