MINUTES OF LLANGWM COMMUNITY COUNCIL
TUESDAY 25th FEBRUARY 2020 AT THE PARISH HALL, LLANGWM
COUNCILLORS PRESENT: Cllr John Watkins (Chair), Cllr Colin Evans, Cllr Malcolm Hatfield,
Cllr Peter Gough, Cllr Bob Trigg, Cllr David Williams, Cllr Gwyn Rowlands
IN ATTENDANCE: County Councillor Bob Greenland and Shirley Hughes, Clerk
1. OPEN SESSION
a) POLICE REPORT
There were no Police present, but CSO Andy Jones had sent correspondence stating that 8/2/2020 - Report of an attempted theft of a quad bike from a property in the Wolvesnewton area. The caller disturbed the thieves when he heard the quad bike start up as it had a very noisy exhaust. The thieves we believe left the scene in a red Mitsubishi truck.
12/2/2020 - Report of a motocross bike, a pit bike and a mountain bike were stolen from an outbuilding at a property in the Llangwm area. The caller had been away since the 15/1/2020 so not unaware of the exact time of the theft. A padlock had been cut off to gain entry.
17/2/2020 - Report of an outbuilding broken into at a property in the Llangwm area and a red Honda quad bike and a child's Polaris buggy were taken. Lock and chain cut off to gain entry.
There have been several break-ins in the last few weeks in the Newchurch and Earlswood areas where similar items and tools etc. have been taken.
It was also noted that there had been a great deal of sheep stolen in the Llandenny area in broad daylight.
2. APOLOGIES
There were no apologies for absence received.
3. DECLARATION OF INTEREST
Declarations of interest will be made as and when required.
4. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of 21st January 2020 were agreed and signed as a true and correct record.
5. MATTERS ARISING
a) Update from Broadband Sub-Group
Cllr Gough reported that the unfortunately the sub-group had not met, but would do in the near future.
Cllr Watkins and Cllr Hatfield both reported that their Broadband speed had increased slightly in the last month or so. Cllrs reported that they received between 3MB & 8MB, and CC Greenland stated that he received 15MB by using Spectrum at £33 per month.
CC Greenland reported that Monmouthshire have just been awarded a Government scheme to enable 5G broadband to roll out into the rural areas, and this would come very soon. He also reported that the old Tetra Masts will now be available for use to help role out 5G.
b) Update on Road Signs
It was noted that this project had been going on for at least 3.5 years, when Mr Royds and Mr Sheath had approached the Council. The Clerk reported that she had received a reply to an email sent in October to M.Watkins which states that we now need to contact another MCC Officer. This will be the 19 Officers that LCC have had to deal with, which is not at all acceptable. The Clerk had already written to Roger Hoggins to ask WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH OUR SIGNS??
AGREED - CC Greenland asked to be furnished with the information, and he would see what he could do to resolve this long standing agreement to have road signs in Llangwm.
5c Update on Appointment of Internal Auditor
Cllr Gough had not received an answer from Mr Smith, and it was AGREED to try and get an answer for the March meeting.
5d) Boundary Review
Cllr Gough stated that he had attended the meeting on 19th January in County Hall, where it was announced that the new Boundary Review for MCC, had already been signed off by the WG Minister.
Following this meeting, where nobody was in favour of the changes, and that the Consultation period was not implemented correctly, One Voice Wales have now taken the lead and written to all Community & Town Councils in Monmouthshire asking for their opinion on the process.
Cllrs expressed their concerns that the report had been published prior to them being afforded the opportunity to submit their objections/comments to the draft proposals produced by Monmouthshire County Council. LCC had sent in comments on 2 separate occasions, and none of these had been taken into consideration by either the Local Boundaries Commission or the Welsh Government.
AGREED - that Cllrs Gough and Watkins draft a letter supporting OVW with their request to MCC and demand they complete a fresh review.
5e) Change in Speed Limits
The Clerk reported that she had emailed the MCC Officer to ask for an update on the Consolidation Order for the change in the Speed Limits through both Llangwm & Llansoy. CC Greenland felt that this order has now been passed, but will await confirmation.
6. HIGHWAYS
a) Update on Matters Reported
i) Potholes throughout the whole length of 60.2 between Llansoy and Nant-y-Gelli crossroads - COMPLETE
ii) Gullies were covered over and blocked on the B4235 (Usk bound) at the bottom of Jnt. 60.9 and Belmont Farm - STILL WITH SUPERVISOR
iii) Blocked Gully between Pwll Farm & Coed-y-Fern - Clerk has reported this via MonApp - STILL WITH SUPERVISOR
iv) Flooding on B4235 by Bridge Inn - Clerk has reported this via Highways - CLEARED
v) Dangerous trees on the right hand side of Ty-Free - OWNER HAS BEEN GIVEN NOTICE
b) New Highway Issues raised by Councillors
i) Cllr Williams - Crossroads sign turned around on Route 72 from the Raglan direction
ii) Cllr Hatfield - Potholes on Trevella Lane
iii) Cllr Evans - B4235 Very deep pothole coming from the Chepstow direction between Huntsman's Inn and the Council Houses
iv) Cllr Watkins - B4235 Potholes Usk bound near Turnpike Cottage
v) Cllr Trigg - Route 80 blocked gully 5mts Nantygelli side of entrance to Trevine Farm
vi) Cllr Trigg - Route 81 potholes between junction B4235 and Duffryn Cottage
vii) Cllr Trigg - Route 81 drainage problems between Duffryn and Pont-y-Caith - water running down road as drain needs jetting
viii) Cllr Gough - B4235 and other lanes across the Ward - road safety/speed signs have been turned around during the recent gales
c) New Highway Issues raised by others
There were none
7. FINANCE
Barclays Bank
Balance at the Bank as of 29th January was £3,830.18
Monmouthshire Building Society
Balance as of 31st March 2019 - £1,783.53
INVOICES FOR PAYMENT
i) Robert Trigg - Payment for Leaving Plates - £75 Chq 782
ii) One Voice Wales - Annual Membership Fee - £59 Chq no 783
iii) Mrs Joan Bennett - Best Kept Village Donation - £96.07 Chq no 784
iv) Shirley Hughes - Salary for February 2020 - £231.75 Chq no785
v) St Tysoi's Church Llansoy £100 - Donation Chq no 786
vi) Llangwm Baptist Church £100 - Donation Chq no 787
vii) S Hughes - £45.55 Clerks Expenses for Nov-Jan Chq no 788
viii) Friends of St Johns Church - £100 - Donation Chq no 789
ix) Llangwm Parish Hall - Hire of Village Hall for meetings - £192.20 Chq no 790
AGREED that the above invoices are paid.
The Monthly Finance Reconciliation for January was:
Receipts: £7179.30
Payments: £4,099.20 (Net)
This was signed by the Chair, and will be circulated to the Cllrs in the near future.
7a) To Review Financial Regulations
Copies of the Financial Regulations had been sent to Cllrs and it was agreed to adopt them for 2020/21 without any amendments.
Proposed by Cllr Bob Trigg
Seconded by Cllr Gwyn Rowlands
7b) To Review Risk Assessment
Copies of the LCC Risk Assessment were circulated and after some discussion, it was proposed to adopt without any amendments.
Proposed by Cllr Colin Evans
Seconded by Cllr Malcolm Hatfield
7c) Clerk's Hours
Due to the Clerk not presenting her hours for the January meeting, it was reported that since the November 2019 meeting, which is 14 weeks ago, the Clerk has worked 72hrs & 45 mins, which averages out at 5hrs 17 mins per week.
8. CORRESPONDENCE
From MCC
a) Agendas for various MCC Select Meetings
b) Press Releases including Residents encouraged to apply for energy saving grants, Novel Coronavirus Info, Council begins major recovery following flooding
c) Council News and Road Works
d) Jan. Enforcement Cases (Nothing for Llangwm or Llansoy)
e) Invite to Dog Fouling Working Group Meeting - 5th March
f) Invitation to The Power of Community event on 4th March
g) Invitation to Chairman's Fundraising Events on 14th & 20th March
h) Letter Re Closure of Mounton House
i) Further Phone Boxes being removed across the County
One Voice Wales
a) Minutes from OVW Monmouthshire/Newport Meeting
b) Details of various training sessions
c) Keep Wales Tidy and Spring Clean information
d) Circular Economy Strategy for Wales - Free event in Chepstow on 9th March
Welsh Government
a) Consultation on Future Audit Arrangements
b) Wales Audit Office News
GAVO
a) Invitation to The Power of Community event on 4th March
Business
a) AB Community Health Council Meeting on 27th Feb
General
a) Info from Green Spaces for Good Cymru
b) Annual Review form the Wales Air Ambulance
9. PLANNING APPLICATIONS
a) PLANNING APPLICATION NO: DM/2020/00171
Formation of access and visibility splays. Construction of bridge, driveway and parking/turning area. Wagon House Cottage, Church Farm, Church Farm Road, Llangwm Usk
A full discussion took place regarding this application and it was AGREED that the Community Council would not make any representation to the Local Planning Department.
10. COUNTY COUNCILLOR'S REPORT
County Councillor Bob Greenland gave the following report.
Monmouthshire received the lowest settlement of just 3%, and had asked for a 4% rise, where Newport had 5.5% uplift. This left MCC with a £495k deficit, so the Council Tax looks to be set at a 4.95% increase. The most pressure was on Children's Services, Education and employee costs. The rurality of the County has not been taken into consideration, as it costs more to provide all services, and as the average age of residents is 48, the older residents cost more to look after.
The process to adopt a new Local Development Plan to take MCC up to 2033 is underway. 7500 new houses need to be built in Monmouthshire, as there are 2,500 on the housing waiting list. It was felt that 57% will be in Primary Settlements, 28% in Severnside, 9% in rural settlements with 6% in the Raglan/Usk/Goytre areas.
It was noted that there needs to be 2,155 affordable houses. These could be intermediate/low cost houses, which means owners pay half rent and half mortgage.
MCC are working with the City Deal to bring new jobs into the area. An example being an average wage of £50k to work at the Semi-Conductor business in Newport. Monmouthshire has got the right infrastructure in place to get to the Midlands, Bristol and London. More land is required for 'Shovel Ready Sites' for employment purposes. There was also a possibility of having a new settlement in Monmouthshire. The LDP will go out to consultation after 5th March.
Flooding - over 100 homes were affected, 7 landslips, and all river bridges have had to be checked for damage. Other Councils have helped by sending in their staff. The Welsh Government have put £90m forward for aid for the whole of Wales and this was not thought to be enough. MCC had committed to give £1k to families who were flooded and did not have insurance.
11. WARD REPORTS
a) Usk Cluster Group
Cllr Malcolm Hatfield attended this meeting where the Budget was clearly given by CC Phil Murphy. Most of the meeting was taken up by the discussions over the future of the Re-Cycling Centre in Usk. Although it was agreed to close the site, it was objected to because there was no consultation period.
CC Greenland stated that the level of re-cycling in Usk is lower than the other sites, and the site is not viable due to the steps which do not comply to H&S guidelines.
The Usk Town Plan will now be discussed at the next meeting due to time constraints.
The Chair thanked Cllr Hatfield for attending.
12. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
a) Possible Breach of Planning Permission
Cllr Trigg reported that a Welsh Water employee had raised an issue with him regarding a lady living in a converted animal shelter near to the Pumping Station on the Duffryn Lane, near to New House Farm. There were no facilities at the site, and it was thought that the piece of land was being rented. The welfare of the individual was of concern, as was the livestock on the land, which includes Rheas.
AGREED to raise this with MCC Planning as a possible Breach of Planning Permission.
b) Bridge Inn
The Clerk was asked to write to the Enforcement officer to see what the situation was with the owner, and if any planned works are in the pipeline.
c) Apologies
Cllr Watkins gave his apologies for the next meeting in March.
Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday 17th March 2020.
Meeting closed 10.08pm