Minutes of meeting of council – 15 December 2022
Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Laleston Community Council held at Bryntirion & Laleston Community Centre on 15 December 2022 commencing at 7.00pm.
Present:. Cllr’s JP Blundell, Z Blundell, D Harrison, V James, P King, S Richmond, I Spiller and C Webster.
In attendance: Gail Jewell
- 19.1148 Council undertook a period of silent reflection and allocated the time to think about one of Council’s employees who was currently very poorly in hospital.
- 19.1149 Apologies for absence. Cllr’s ABerrow,J Cook, C Davies, S Philpin and C Smith.
3. 19.1150 Representation from members of the public. None
4. 19.1151 Items of business that the Chair deems urgent.
The Chair took the opportunity to update all Members of Council on the current health situation of the Facilities Officer.
Resolved: Members requested that the Clerk pass on Council’s best wishes to Phill and his family at this time, and that they hope and pray that a swift recovery is made.
- 19.1152 Declarations of Interest.
Cllr D Harrison – Item 15 – Prejudicial Interest as a Member of Bridgend County Borough Council Planning Committee.
- 19.1153 Approval of Minutes.
Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting of Council that took place on 17 November 2022 be approved as a true and accurate record. Proposed by Cllr C Webster and seconded by Cllr S Richmond.
Matters arising from minutes
a) Item 10. 19.1139 To receive quotations, if any.
Site Clearance – Allotments
Resolved: An update was provided, stating that the allotment car park had now been cleared although the contractor was unable to move the wildflower meadow.
b) Item 11. 19.1140 To discuss and decide on commemorative benches and figurines to be installed throughout ward areas.
The Clerk confirmed that approval had been sought and granted by BCBC for the installation of the Tommy Figurine and commemorative benches as agreed by Council.
Resolved: Council requested that the Clerk approach BCBC for an approved contractor for installation of the benches.
c) Item 17. 19.1146 To discuss Broadlands roundabouts for future Christmas Lighting.
It was confirmed that following investigation into installing lights on the inner roundabouts on Heol Blandy, Centregreat had agreed to undertake the preparatory work in this financial year, subject to a section being cleared to enable connection.
Following discussion, it was noted that feedback on the additional lighting throughout the ward areas had been positive, although a message had been received from a resident in Laleston stating that the lights in Laleston were poor in comparison with Broadlands.
Resolved: Both updates were noted by Council.
- 19.1154 Finance update:
Resolved:
- Members noted the Bank Reconciliation as at the end of November 2022.
- Council approved payments which were presented with the agenda which included vouchers numbers 244 – 297. Proposed by Cllr D Harrison and seconded by Cllr P King.
- Council approved receipts which were presented with the agenda which included voucher numbers 104 – 132. Proposed by Cllr S Richmond and seconded by Cllr D Harrison.
- Council approved a list of salary payments for November and December 2022 which were presented with the agenda and can be viewed here. Proposed by Cllr D Harrison and seconded by Cllr JP Blundell.
- In addition, the Chair requested that the Finance update be removed from the Full Council agenda and be presented to the Finance Committee on a quarterly basis.
- 19. 1155 To receive any recommendations and resolutions from Committees.
a) Recommendation received from the Finance Committee:
Following debate, the Finance Committee recommend that Council increases its precept for 2023/2024 to £262,000, to ensure sufficient funds are in place to cover all impending expenditure in the next financial year. The proposed precept will lead to a 20% increase and will equate to a monthly increase of £0.73p per Band D household compared to this financial year.
Resolved: Council accepted the recommendation to raise the precept for 2023/24 to £262,000 although all Members fully recognised the financial pressures that residents were currently under. Council therefore agreed to provide a statement to members of the public with the view to being open and transparent and to outline why the precept increase was necessary, by ensuring Council has the correct contingencies in place, whilst allowing the Council to undertake its role effectively.
b) Information from the HR & Personnel Committee:
The HR & Personnel Committee have successfully advertised, shortlisted and interviewed for the post of Assistant Clerk. Interviews took place on 3 December 2022 whereby a Mrs Hayley Coburn was successfully appointed for the role. The Assistant Clerk will be contracted to 16 hours a week and will start on 9 January 2023.
Resolved: Council noted the information presented.
- 19.1156 To receive quotations, if any.
| Quotations Received | Comment | |
| 1 | Laptop and mobile phone for Assistant Clerk. | Resolved: Council agreed to purchase a laptop and mobile phone for the newly appointed Assistant Clerk. |
| 2 | Laptop or Chromebook for Facilities Officer/Assistant in preparation for hall hire to be operated via a computerised booking system to ensure all bookings are accessible to all. | Resolved: Council agreed to investigate what IT equipment would be required to enable the Facilities Officer / Assistant to access and populate the booking system. |
10. 19.1157 To receive any updates relating to the Warm Café.
Cllr Z Blundell provided an update relating to the Warm Café whereby currently the cafe is not very well attended and suggested that we look to explore holding an activity to be more inviting and engaging with members of the public. The update led to issues being presented to Council relating to the Community Pantry, where there was not a great variety of food and with only a small amount of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Resolved:
a) Council agreed to investigate options to further utilise the Warm Café opening hours by introducing social activities.
b) Council confirmed that the Community Pantry was an agenda item for Council in February 2023, where the report will provide Council options and/or different models to be considered.
11. 19.1158 To approve the content of the Biodiversity report prior to publication on the Council website.
Resolved: Council noted and approved the content of the Biodiversity report.
- 19.1159 To appoint Members to the Biodiversity Committee.
Resolved: Due to the fact that not all Members of Council were present at the meeting, Members agreed to defer this item to next meeting of Council.
Resolved: Due to the fact that the Repair Café was charged for the use of the Community Centre whilst they are provided space elsewhere for free, Council agreed that the group apply for a grant from the Council to cover the cost of hall hire.
- 19.1161 To receive correspondence, if any.
| Correspondence Received | Comment |
| Email received from Bridgend County Borough Council Traffic & Transportation department explaining that they are due to send out engagement letters on Friday 9 December, relating to the removal of the 2 existing speed bumps on Banc Yr Allt. The engagement period will be for 5 weeks in total to allow for Royal Mail strikes and the Christmas holidays. | Resolved: This item was noted by Council. |
| Email regarding the ‘Examination into soundness of the Bridgend Replacement Local Development Plan (2018-2033) due to our representations made during consultation. (Email circulated prior to meeting). | Resolved: This item was noted by Council and Members requested that the email in question was recirculated, detailing how to participate or observe the hearing sessions relating to the examination process of the Bridgend Local Development Plan. |
- 19.1162 To consider Planning Applications.
Cllr D Harrison left the meeting for discussion on this item.
| Planning Application | Comment |
| Planning Application No.: P/22/800/BCB Applicant: BCBC Education Location: Bryntirion Comprehensive School Merlin Crescent Cefn Glas CF31 4QR Proposal: Erection of a single storey 6 classroom teaching block and associated external works Date: 14 December 2022 | No objection. |
| Planning Application No.: T/22/48/TPO Applicant: Mr C Price Location: 3 Tyddyn Gwaun Laleston CF32 0LN Proposal: Removal of 3 beech trees Date: 15 December 2022 | No objection. |
There being no further business, the meeting ended at 8.48 pm.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday 19 January 2023 and will commence at 7.00pm.