Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Laleston Community Council held at Blandy Hall on 19 October 2023, commencing at 7.00pm.

Present:. Cllr’s A Berrow, JP Blundell, Z Blundell, J Cook, C Davies, D Harrison, I Spiller, V James, P King, S Philpin, S Richmond, and C Webster.

In attendance:  Gail Jewell

1.  19.1321   Council undertook a period of silent reflection.

2.  19.1322   Apologies for absence. Cllr C Smith.

3.  19.1323   Representation from members of the public.  None.

4.  19.1324   Items of business that the Chair deems urgent.  None.

5.  19.1325   Declarations of Interest. 

Cllr I Spiller – Item 23 and 24 – Prejudicial Interest as the Chair of Broadlands Community Hub.

6.  19.1326   Approval of Minutes.

An amendment was requested for Item 17. 19.1319 To receive correspondence – relating to the email received requesting further information to the funding of Broadlands Fun Day.  A Member asked that the resolution state ‘A response to the email was provided and circulated prior to the meeting.  Subsequent to debate, the majority of Members agreed to send the response as presented, following the removal of any political reference within the document’.  

Resolved:  In addition to the amendment outlined above, the minutes of the ordinary meeting of Council that took place on 21 September 2023 were approved as a true and accurate record.  Proposed by Cllr A Berrow and seconded by Cllr S Philpin.  

Matters arising:

Item 16 19.1298 To discuss playparks in Cefn Glas.

Cllr J P Blundell confirmed that a response had been received from Cllr J Spanswick, outlining that Barnes Avenue play park was scheduled for refurbishment in 2024 and Wordsworth Avenue North in 2025.  Members noted the omission of the playpark in Trelales and asked that Cllr J P Blundell sought clarification on this matter.

Item 10 19.1312 – To discuss obtaining an additional container, via external funding opportunities, to be sited at Bryntirion Community Centre.

The Clerk provided an update stating that planning permission for the container would be required and that the planning application will detail all 3 containers on site. The Chair confirmed that advice had been sought from the Planning Department relating to the application, who confirmed that it was likely that temporary planning would be given until the condition of the containers are examined. 

7.  19.1327   To receive quotations, if any.

	Quotations Received
1	Centregreat Limited To repair 7 festive features – £498.00	A Member questioned how often contractor costings are reviewed. Resolved:  Members agreed to progress with the quotation received but requested that the Finance Committee look to investigate alternative companies to ensure value for money is being achieved.

8.  19.1328   To discuss Christmas Lighting.

The Chair provided an update, stating that unfortunately Bridgend County Borough Council had not cut back the trees surrounding the lampposts on the B4622, and therefore it was unlikely that Council would be able to progress with installing any additional sockets along the B4622 in this financial year.

Resolved:  Members agreed to progress with installing 3 additional sockets on Merlin Crescent and 1 additional socket on Mount Pleasant.

9.  19.1329   To consider moving web hosting from our current provider.

Resolved:  Due to web hosting issues for to the Council website, it was agreed that a temporary solution be progressed, whilst the Chair of Council, Chair of the Finance Committee and the Clerk investigate and action a longer-term resolution.   

10.  19.1330  To consider investigating costings for a website content manager.

Resolved:  Members agreed to progress with investigating costings for an external website content manager, which would include researching whether the service could be provided by students in the local college.

11. 19.1331  To receive an update from the Community Development Officer.

The Clerk provided an update on work carried out to date by the Community Development Officer, which included supporting Phil Cope on the Laleston Well Project; working alongside Cllr P King to progress the RV32 plot into a constituted community group, which has led to securing two funding streams and investigating options for utilising the boules court based at Blandy Hall.

In addition to this, the Community Development Officer regularly attends meetings and sessions relating to green prescribing and biodiversity and attends the Biodiversity and Allotment Committee to provide advice and oversee any decisions for development that are agreed at the meetings.

Resolved:  Council noted the update relating to work carried out by the Community Development Officer and all Members that had worked her projects, commended her for her invaluable knowledge and time provided to each given to allocated ventures.

12.  19.1332  To receive details of the Chair’s Charity for 2023/2024.

Resolved:  The Chair confirmed that Lads and Dads would be the Charity for 2023/2024.

13.  19.1333  To discuss damaged entrance to Rhodfa Mes, Broadlands.

Resolved:  Council agreed to obtain costings to repair the walled entrance to Rhodfa Mes, to present to Bridgend County Borough Council to ascertain whether it would be feasible for Laleston Community Council to instruct and oversee the works, whilst BCBC cover the costs as the landowner.

14.  19.1334  To receive points raised at the Blandy Trust meeting relating to the grounds of Blandy Hall.

Resolved:  Council agreed that the Clerk contact the conservation officer regarding appropriate materials for the installation of a handrail leading down to the boules court sited in Blandy Hall grounds, prior to obtaining costings for full Council approval.

15.  19.1335  To discuss the Community Pantry.

Resolved:  Following discussions, Council agreed to receive a freezer from Baobab Bach to extend the food options offered at Bryntirion Pantry.

16.  19.1336  To discuss preparations for annual Firework event.

The Chair provided an update relating to the preparations for the annual Firework event and explained that a timing schedule relating to the evening would be circulated to all Members via email asking for volunteers and support for before, during and after the event.

Resolved:  Members noted the update provided.

17.  19.1337  To review usage of crockery and glasses stored at Bryntirion & Laleston   Community Centre, as agreed at a meeting of Council that took place in April 2023.

Resolved:  Members agreed that the Clerk could gift/dispose of any crockery that was not being utilised, to free up space valuable space required in Bryntirion & Laleston Community Centre.

18.  19.1338  To discuss budget proposals and make recommendations to the Finance Committee to aid the budget setting process.

Resolved:  The Clerk explained that the Finance Committee were scheduled to meet in November to finalise the budget proposals for 2023/2024 and asked that if Members had any specific projects that they would like to see included during the process, that details, including costings, be emailed through by 10 November 2023. 

In addition, Council agreed to add grit bins to the next Finance Committee meeting agenda to collate previous requests for additional grit bins.

19. 1339 To consider S106 proposals relating to any allocation of land from Persimmon Homes to Laleston Community Council.

Resolved:  No further updates had been received, therefore Council agreed to defer the item to the next meeting of Council.

20.  19.1340  To discuss the requirement to use Lalestoncommunitycouncil.gov.uk email addresses.

The Clerk explained that the Practitioners Guide 2023 outlines the importance of secure email systems and that to comply with GDPR, every staff member and councillor should have an email account that belongs to the Council and to which the Council as access to.

Resolved:  All Members duly agreed to utlise a Council owned email address, although did request that investigations were undertaken into the possibility of amending the address to either @laleston.gov.uk or @lalestoncc.gov.uk.

21. 191341 To receive any recommendations and or comments from Committees –

a) Finance Committee.  None.

b) HR & Personnel Committee. 

The HR & Personnel Committee recommend that Council add a section to its standing orders, to confirm the agreement to record all meetings of council, including committees, to aid accuracy of minutes and for the content to be retained by the Clerk for 12 months, to settle any disputes that may occur. 

Resolved:  Due to the fact that the recommendation went against a decision made by Council within the previous 6-month period, as outlined in the Council standing orders, the decision was unable to be amended or changed without a formal rescinding of the decision.

c) Biodiversity & Allotment Committee.  None.

22. 19.1342 To consider Revised Model Standing Orders May 2023 provided by One Voice Wales.

Resolved:  This item was deferred to the next meeting of Council.

23. 19.343 To receive the draft minutes of any Committee meetings held since the last meeting of Council and note any delegated decisions made –

a) Finance Committee

A Member raised concerns relating to the meeting held and questioned whether Members making the decision regarding the Fun Day funding, should have declared an interest as volunteers of the Fun Day.

Resolved:  It was resolved that advice had been sought, who confirmed that the volunteers assisting on the day, were there on behalf of Laleston Community Council and therefore did not need to declare any interest.

b) HR & Personnel Committee

Resolved: Council noted the minutes.

c) Biodiversity & Allotment Committee.

Resolved:  Council noted the minutes.

24.  19.1344  To receive a motion to Council proposed by Cllr S Philpin.

Following presentation of the motion proposed by Cllr S Philpin, an amendment was put forward, as follows – ‘Due to the Councils large financial contribution to the fun day, Laleston Community Council request that they be included in any decision on allocation of profit made from the event’.

As requested, a recorded vote took place relating to the amended motion in the first instance.  The following Members voted for the amendment to the motion:

Cllr JP Blundell, Z Blundell, J Cook, C Davies, C Webster.

A vote was then taken on the proposed original motion:

Cllr A Berrow, V Davies, D Harrison, P King, S Philpin, S Richmond

Resolved:  Following a recorded vote, the original motion proposed was carried.

25.  19.1345  To receive correspondence, if any.  None.

26.  19.1346  To consider Planning Applications.  None.

There being no further business, the meeting ended at 9.26pm.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday 16 November 2023 and will commence at 7.00pm.