At the January meeting of Whitland Town Council, the following matters were discussed...

All Councillors confirmed they had received a copy of the proposed 2023-24 budget.

Following consideration of all the information provided, Cllr Blandford proposed that Whitland Town Council approve the draft budget, as presented, and request a Precept from Carmarthenshire County Council of sixty two thousand, four hundred and ninety pounds (an increase of 2.1% from 2022/23). Cllr Jones seconded the proposal with all councillors in full agreement.

Consideration of correspondence received - Information received regarding Actif Sports and Leisure, a community hub project held at the Memorial Hall in Whitland offering sports opportunities for children. For more information, contact:[email protected]

There had been a ‘phone conversation with Mr Murphey from Carmarthenshire County Council, relating to the information received regarding Section 106 historical spends.

The Council were advised that Mr Hancock is no longer a member of the Section 106 team at Carmarthenshire County Council and Mr Murphey will make enquires with the new Section 106 Officer if the Council wished to continue with this process.

It was agreed that the enquires should continue, as there were several outstanding matters that Whitland Town Council would like further information on.

There was an update from The Parc Dr Owen Play Park Task and Finish Group regarding the damaged newly laid artificial grass which has been replaced by Sunshire.

Replacement of the basket swing and repairs to the ground around certain play equipment is still awaited. The Clerk has request a date as to when these outstanding works will be carried out.

Various concerns were raised, by the Council, relating to the inconsistent information received from different Trustees of Parc Dr Owen.

It was agreed that a meeting be requested with all Trustees and Councillors to enable various questions to be answered by all Trustees.

A report was received regarding the tree management programme for the trees at Pocket Park and Bryngwenllian Park.

All Councillors confirmed that they had received a copy of the report that covered all Whitland Town Council owned trees along with a suggested management process for the trees aligning the Pocket Park and highway.

Four trees have been identified with Ash Die Back – these are located on the boundary with the highway.

The Clerk to ascertain where the liability for these trees lies. The report has given 12 months for these trees to receive the required attention.

The suggested management process for the very tall trees, located at Pocket Park on the boundary with the highway, was acknowledged and it was agreed that the Clerk should contact Carmarthenshire County Council and advise them of the suggested management process and request their comments regarding such, their agreement for works to be carried out and ascertain if they would be able to offer financial support.