Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Laleston Community Council held at Blandy Hall on 19 June 2025 commencing at 7.00pm.

Present:. Cllr’s A Berrow, JP Blundell, Z Blundell, C Davies, M Fouracre, D Harrison, V James, S Philpin, S Richmond, C Smith, M Smith, I Spiller and C Webster.

 In attendance: Gail Jewell

1. 19.1678 Council undertook a period of silent reflection.

2. 19.1679 Apologies for absence. None. Cllr M Smith, I Spiller and C Webster explained that they would need to leave the meeting early.

3. 19.1680 Representation from members of the public. None.

4. 19.1681 Items of business that the Chair deems urgent.

The Chair explained that a car had driven into and caused damage to the fence bordering the Community Centre car park and requested a resolution on an agreed way forward.

Resolved:  Council agreed to create a post on Facebook outlining the damage made and requesting that the person come forward to rectify the damage, prior to contacting the police.

 5. 19.1682 Declarations of Interest.

Cllr I Spiller – Item 8 & 9 – Prejudicial Interest as the Chair of the Broadlands Fun Day Committee.

Cllr I Spiller – Item 17 – Personal Interest as a Member of Bridgend County Borough Council, the current landowner.

6. 19.1683 Approval of Minutes.

Annual Meeting Minutes.

Resolved: The minutes of the annual meeting of Council that took place on 15 May 2025 were approved as a true and accurate record.  Proposed by Cllr I Spiller and seconded by Cllr C Webster.

Matters Arising from the Meeting that took place on 15 May 2025:

Item 7. 19.1944 Review inventory of land and other assets including buildings and office equipment.

The Clerk provided an update stating that the asset register had been updated but still needed to be sent to the insurance company to ensure appropriate cover.

Ordinary Meeting of Council Minutes.

Resolved: Cllr C Davies queried proposing the minutes of the meeting that took place on 17 April 2025 and asked that the recording of the meeting is checked, and the minutes amended if necessary.  The minutes of the ordinary meeting of Council that took place on 15 May 2025 were approved as a true and accurate record.  Proposed by Cllr I Spiller and seconded by Cllr C Webster.

Matters Arising from the Ordinary Meeting that took place on 15 May 2025:

Item 13. 19.1662 To consider replacing the bins in the park on Chestnut Bush with closed top bins in the centre of the park.

An update was provided, explaining that BCBC agreed to Laleston Community Council replacing the bins in the park on Chestnut Bush with closed top, 40L pole bins.

7. 19.1684 To receive quotations, if any. None.

8. 19.1685 To receive an update on Broadlands Fun Day.

The Chair changed the order of the agenda to receive Item 9 prior to Item 8.

Cllr I Spiller left the meeting.

An update was circulated prior to the meeting, detailing the outcome of a meeting held with the Headteacher and Governing Body of Maes Yr Haul Primary School.  An email was presented that concluded that the Headteacher and Governing Body were content to continue to provide the school site to host Broadlands Fun Day.

Cllr C Davies stated that the Headteacher would not have provided the response if he were to know that it would be presented at a public meeting.

Resolved:  Members noted the update.

9. 19.1686 To receive any recommendations and or comments from Committees.

a) Finance Committee

Following scrutiny of the overview and outgoings for Broadlands Fun Day, the Finance Committee resolved the following:

Resolved:  The Finance Committee received and scrutinised the overview and outgoings for Broadlands Fun Day.  During deliberation, Members outlined that due to the increase in business costs and the fact that the Laleston Fete budget heading would not be required in 2025, Members agreed to submit a recommendation to Council that £17,000 be allocated to the Broadlands Fun Day budget heading for 2025.

In relation to the accounts submitted to the Finance Committee for scrutiny, Cllr C Smith stated that the donation to the Broadlands Fun Day is a donation to an outside organisation, and that any outside organisation applying for a donation should provide a copy of its annual accounts as audited and accepted in the minutes of its annual meeting.  He clarified that this was not the case in respect of Broadlands Fun Day and that it should be rectified.  Cllr C Smith concluded by saying that the repeated argument that the money is not a donation, but a budget heading is not acceptable.

Cllr C Davies raised further concerns with the fact the Broadlands Community Hub was not a charity and did not meet the criteria as outlined in the Council’s donation policy.

The Chair responded by explaining that the spend was not a donation, but an agreed budget heading and that the Council’s donation policy was for non-profit organisations or clubs, not only registered charities.

Further discussions were restricted by the Chair, who highlighted that the Broadlands Fun Day accounts had been formally ratified by the Finance Committee and that further debate would be duplication of efforts.

Resolved:  Following deliberations, Council agreed to revert to the original agreed budget heading of £15,000.  Proposed by Cllr M Fouracre and seconded by Cllr S Richmond.

Cllr I Spiller returned to the meeting

b) HR & Personnel Committee

The Chair of the HR & Personnel Committee provided an update, explaining that shortlisting and interviews had taken place for the Office Manager post and asked Council for a resolution to recruit.  

Resolved:  Council agreed to recruit the highest scoring applicant and invite the successful candidate to attend a meeting of Council, as a way of introduction to Members.

10. 19.1687 To review current situation with grass cutting schedule from Bridgend County Borough Council and consider the requirement for additional grass cutting during 2025/2026.

Resolved: Council agreed to continue with the current contractor to carry out the grass cutting for the remainder of the season. Proposed by Cllr I Spiller and Seconded by Cllr C Webster.  Members outlined the need for Council to liaise with Bridgend County Borough Council to avoid any potential overlap with cuts.

11. 19.1688 To receive quotations for planting the centre verges on Heol Blandy, Broadlands and to agree a way forward.

Resolved: Following presentation of quotations received for excavation and cart away of 20t existing ground and importing of topsoil, Council agreed to progress with Supplier A for £4350 (plus VAT) and with the quotation received of £1700 for planting of the verges with colorful summer bedding and perennial plants.

12. 19.1689 To approve the Wellbeing Report for 2024/2025 prior to its submission to external audit

Resolved: Following its review, Council duly approved the Wellbeing Report for 2024/2025 prior to its submission to external audit.  Proposed by Cllr I Spiller and seconded by Cllr C Webster.

Cllr M Smith, I Spiller and C Webster left the meeting.

13. 19.1690 To discuss Pen-Y-Bont Football Club.

Cllr C Davies initiated discussions relating to the parking issues caused by visitors to Pen-y-Bont Football Club and proposed allowing use of Bryntirion Playing Fields for parking purposes. 

Resolved: Although Council confirmed that Bridgend County Borough Council were the landowners of Bryntirion Playing Fields and that Pen-y-Bont Football Club should be seeking to resolve the parking issues themselves, Members agreed to write to Bridgend County Borough Council to ascertain whether previous planning applications had been submitted for extending the car parking facilities for Pen-y-Bont Football Club.

14. 19.1691 To discuss Wordsworth Park area.

The Chair outlined viewpoints relating to the grass areas and stream near Wordsworth Avenue.

Resolved: Council agreed to make a recommendation to the Biodiversity & Allotment Committee with a view to undertake a Biodiversity Study of the area.

15. 19.1692 To agree to undertake a survey on trees in Broadlands Wildflower Meadow and surrounding areas.

Resolved:  Council agreed for a survey on the trees in Broadlands Wildflower Meadow and surrounding areas.

16. 19.1693 To receive an update on any refurbishment plans for the 2 bus Stops on B4622 and agree on a way forward.

Resolved: Council agreed to obtain costings for the replacement polycarbonate panes for both bus stops on B4622.

17. 19.1694 To receive and review the final draft report, final design, analysis and planning response for Bryntirion Community Park completed by Whittington Landscape Architecture.

Resolved: Council agreed to defer this item until the next meeting of Council, where the content of the report could be discussed as a pre-meeting briefing prior to Council.  Members requested attendance from Reach Bridgend.

18. 19.1695 To receive an update on the work carried out on the Pound and discuss any possible further works to be undertaken.

Resolved: Members noted the update on the work carried out on the Pound and agreed to add a padlock to the Pound gate.

19. 19.1696 To consider Laleston Community Council’s role in ensuring proper maintenance of hedgerows throughout all ward areas.

Resolved: Specific areas were discussed and it was resolved that Bridgend County Borough Council were already dealing with the issues.

20. 19.1697 To consider draft layouts provided based on the clear findings expressed during consultations relating to the Laleston Well Project.

Resolved: Council agreed with the concept of the draft layouts provided, that were based on the findings during consultations relating to the Laleston Well Project.

21. 19.1698 To receive documentation for Year End 2024/25:

i) To review Internal Audit Report and comment as necessary

Resolved: Council reviewed the Internal Audit Report and made the following comments to the recommendations made:

 

• To evidence transparency, where entries are made on the cash book that are not easily identifiable on the bank statements and vice versa, then comments/references will be made on the cash book against the relevant entries as necessary.
• To ensure no overpayments of mileage expenses are made, extra care will be taken when calculating and reimbursing mileage.

ii) To review and approve the Annual Return 2024/2025

Resolved: Council reviewed and approved the Annual Return presented for 2024/2025 and requested that the information is provided in a timelier manner next year.

iii) To complete the Annual Governance Statement 2024/2025 prior to submission to External Audit.

Resolved: Council completed the Annual Governance Statement 2024/2025 prior to its submission to External Audit.

iv) To review and approve the explanations of variances 2024/2025         

Resolved: Council reviewed and approved the explanations of variances provided for 2024/2025 and requested that further explanatory detail is provided in the document next year.

22. 19.1699 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 – 3 June 2025

b) HR & Personnel Committee – None

c) Biodiversity & Allotment Committee – None

23. 19.1700 To receive correspondence, if any.

24. 19.1701 To consider Planning Applications. None. 

There being no further business, the meeting ended at 8.43 pm.

 The next meeting will be held on Thursday 17 July 2025 and will commence at 7.00pm.