DRAFT Minutes of the ordinary meeting of Aberdyfi Community Council held at the Literary Institute on Monday 20th April 2026
Present: Cllr Dewi Owen – Chair
Councillors:
Cllr Mark Dunton
Cllr Anna Grundy
Cllr Ian Hewins
Cllr Brian Kelly
Cllr Catrin O’Neill
Cllr Sadie Porter
Cllr Megan Reynolds
Cllr Dave Williams
Cllr Henry Williams
4 members of public were present
AGENDA ITEM 1 – To receive and accept apologies
CL/207/20.04.26
Apologies received and accepted from Cllr Bradbury-Willis.
AGENDA ITEM 2 – Chair announcements
CL/208/20.04.26
The Chair welcomed everyone and congratulated Dafad Goch Soapbox Racing on such a successful event and thanked them for all their hard work in putting on such a large event without any major problems.
He also congratulated Aberdyfi Recreation Ground on successfully receiving a grant from the National Lottery to refurbish their tennis courts with new a playing surface and drainage.
He noted that the weather for the Soapbox event was warm and sunny, which was the opposite of the wether during the official opening of the playground. Despite a major storm, the event went ahead and many people braved the bad weather to attend. There were a lot more poetry competition entries than anticipated, which was great to see. He thanked everyone for coming out on such a dismal day and noted that the playground has been a great success with a large amount of very positive feedback from adults and children alike. He thanked Cllr Hewins for painting some of the benches, which now look much smarter. Cllr Hewins commented that more benches needed to be done, but he will soon run out of paint. It was agreed for him to purchase more in order to finish the other benches.
Cllr Owen congratulated Nyth Robin on being named one of the top 10 Campsites in Wales and commented that he will be complaining to Parc Eryri about their refusal to grant planning permission for a house to be built for the owners of Nyth Robin on the land and urge them to reconsider.
He commented that these events and accolades show that Aberdyfi does not stand still and we are very fortunate to have people willing to take the time and effort to organise events like these and create quality amenities for residents and visitors alike.
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Cllr Owen informed the council that he had received the resignation of Dr. Sara Bradbury-Willis. He thanked her for all her work on the council and wished her well in the future.
Action: Cllr Hewins to purchase more paint to facilitate painting of benches
Action: Clerk to inform Monitoring Officer of resignation
AGENDA ITEM 3 – Declaration of financial, personal or prejudicial interest
CL/209/20.04.26
None received
AGENDA ITEM 4 – To discuss available grants with Steve Beech, Gwynedd Council
CL/210/20.04.26
Steve was unable to attend the meeting. The clerk presented information about Community Funds grants available from Parc Eryri and the Council agreed to apply for £5,000 from Tier 2 of the available funds to contribute to the digital noticeboard. The Clerk noted that we have been allocated £5,500 from Gwynedd Council and we can also put this towards the noticeboard. Receiving both grants would see the cost to the council drop from £15,000 to £4,500.
It was noted that information on the Parc Eryri grants should be put in Rushlight
Action: Clerk to apply for Parc Eryri Tier 2 funding and to Gwynedd Council
Action: Clerk to add information on Parc Eryri grants to Rushlight
AGENDA ITEM 5 – To receive and confirm minutes of the Ordinary Council meeting on 16thMarch 2026
CL/211/20.04.26
The minutes of the Ordinary Council Meeting on 16th February 2026 were received. It was noted that changes were required: Cllrs Porter and H. Williams had sent apologies and Cllr O’Neill was present. The minutes were unanimously approved with these changes.
Proposed: Cllr Porter Seconded: Cllr Kelly
AGENDA ITEM 6 – To receive and approve the treasurer’s report
CL/212/20.04.26
The treasurer’s report for April was received and approved.
Proposed: Cllr Reynolds Seconded: Cllr D. Williams
AGENDA ITEM 7 – To approve payments not previously approved
CL/213/20.04.26
Aled Evans for vegetation control – £1,145.00
Literary Institute for office rent – £3,205.00
Payments were unanimously approved.
Proposed: Cllr O’Neill Seconded: Cllr Hewins
AGENDA ITEM 8 – To receive a report from the Gwynedd Council representative
CL/214/20.04.26
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Cllr Owen reported that no meetings have taken place due to the upcoming Senedd elections.
He informed the Council that he had several complaints from residents about the road closure in Pennal last week, as people did not see the signs and were surprised when they could not get through Pennal. Residents in Pennal had received abuse from angry motorists, despite signs being in place on the road both sides of the village.
He commented that the new boards on the jetty look good, though he noted that only about two-thirds have been replaced as they were not able to re-use most of the planks as they had hoped as their condition was not good enough. Gwynedd Council are now seeking further funding to replace the other boards.
He informed the Council that the rail line will be closed to Pwllheli from 13th-22nd May.
Action: Clerk to add the rail closure dates to Rushlight
AGENDA ITEM 9 – To receive and approve a report from the Clerk
CL/215/20.04.26
The Clerk reported on the following:
* Green & Blue survey
The Clerk has arranged to meet Jack Walmsley on 29th April at 12.00 at the Neuadd Dyfi to walk round the area we hope to plant trees etc. to discuss options. She invited any interested councillors to join them.
Action: Councillors to attend meeting 29th April 12.00 at Neuadd Dyfi if wished
* Speeding concerns in Aberdyfi
Gwynedd Council have informed the clerk that the Welsh Government is preparing a revised ‘Setting Local Speed Limits in Wales Guidance’ in 2026 and they are not able to undertake a review of the speed limits in Aberdyfi until after this guidance is published. They will contact us again once this is done.
Clerk has contacted GoSafe on several occasions, requesting an update about the broken speed lines in the village but has had no reply.
Action: Clerk to continue trying to contact GoSafe
* Food Festival
Stalls have been allocated and the clerk has started receiving payments and relevant documents from the attendees
It was suggested that the information about Parc Eryri grants be passed onto the organisers of the Food Festival
The clerk has not researched parasols yet
* Action: Clerk to research cost of parasols
* Action: Clerk to pass on grant information
* Pheasant problems
Clerk has not had time to do anything about this yet
* Action: Clerk to contact pheasant breeders
* Allotment wall
Work has now finished though the scaffolding is still in place
* Mobile kitchen
Clerk has not had time to research selling / hiring of kitchen
* Action: Clerk to research selling / hiring out of kitchen
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* Lights in Neuadd Dyfi car park
Clerk has not had time to research cost of solar lights for the Neuadd Dyfi car park
* Action: Clerk to research cost of lights
* Yellow salt bins
The clerk has not had time to look into this yet
Action: Cllr Hewins and Clerk to research suitable sites for new bins
* Bin compound
Work has finished and is secured with a coded padlock. Contractor use un-planed pressure-treated wood and this came in at the same price as the original budget. Cllr Hewins informed the council that the wood will need to be treated in 2 or 3 year’s time and it was agreed to do this.
* Playing field fence
Aled Evans informed the clerk that the hedge between the playing field and the Neuadd Dyfi car park could be made a lot thicker by better management, removing the need for a fence along that edge of the field. The Council agreed this was a better solution to replacing the fence. Cllr Hewins noted that the hedge cannot be cut now until after the breeding season so will not thicken for at least a year or two and offered to do a temporary repair to the 12 damaged posts, to last two or three years until the hedge has thickened. He costed it at approximately £700-£800. The Council agreed to this solution.
Proposed: Cllr Hewins Seconded: Cllr Reynolds
* Kite festival
To be held on 27 & 28 June
The clerk met with Red Dragon Kites last week and everything is on track for the festival and the Land Use Agreement application has been submitted.
The clerk reminded the Council that they had agreed to purchase matting at a cost of approximately £100 for 10m, banners at a cost of approximately £40 each and pay for the hire of the hall – approximately £80-£100. The council unanimously agreed to these purchases and agreed to buy 5 banners, without a date on them to allow for future use.
The clerk has agreed with the harbourmaster for the use of Cllr Owen’s quad bike on the beach, to help with moving stakes and kites and she informed the council that they agreed to clear the board walk of sand before the festival and she will need help doing this.
She informed the council that she is trying to contact Tywyn cadets to see if they might be able to help move kites to and from the beach but as yet has been unable to contact them.
Action: Clerk to purchase matting and banners.
Action: Clerk to continue trying to contact Tywyn cadets.
Action: Clerk and councillors to clear board walk of sand prior to event
* Social media training
The clerk reported that she attended some training provided by One Voice Wales last week on using social media for events. She is planning on trying to use Instagram as well as Facebook to promote the kite festival and noted that the Council may need to thinking about having its own Instagram account.
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* Audit Wales
Audit report still not received and the clerk has started preparing the documents for this year’s audit.
* Sauna enquiry
The clerk had another enquiry about setting up a sauna in Aberdyfi and told them no suitable location could be found last time this was investigated.
* Garage and car repairs in Post Office building
Wyn Humphreys has moved back into the building at the Post Office and has asked for 2 parking permits for the Neuadd Dyfi car park. The clerk asked what the agreement was last time he was there but it was unclear what the exact agreement was. It was agreed to monitor the situation as last time more cars were parked there than permitted.
* Check facts
The clerk reminded the councillors to fact check what they plan to say when speaking to members of the public as there have been a few instances recently when people have got their facts wrong.
Action: Councillors to check facts before speaking to members of the public.
AGENDA ITEM 10 – To receive and consider planning applications
CL/216/20.04.26
NP5/50/L212D 5 Nantiesyn, Aberdyfi LL35 0NB
Extensions and alterations
No objections raised
NP5/50/L435B Flat 1, Bryntegwel, Balkan Hill, Aberdyfi LL35 0NH
Replacement window
No objections raised
Premises licence application 4-5 Seaview Terrace, Aberdyfi LL35 0EE
No objections raised
AGENDA ITEM 11 – To discuss digital health report and recommendations from One Voice Wales
CL/217/20.04.26
The clerk reported that she had filled in a questionnaire recently from One voice Wales and this is the result of that questionnaire. The council agreed it did not need to move to a .gov web address as it felt the .wales one was sufficient to give public confidence. She informed the council that the web developer has increased the spam filters on all council email addresses and so she will be moving to using only council email addresses in the near future. She has also set up a page on the website solely for meeting documents. Supporting documents will be uploaded here prior to the meeting and a link included in the agenda, so that members of the public will be able to access the documents as well as councillors. The documents will then be removed after the meeting. This removes the need for using Microsoft Teams or Google workspace. Cllr Kelly noted that if the Council were to use Teams, it would probably have to pay for add-ons in order to get the functionality required for sharing documents and live-streaming meetings.
The clerk intends to attend the digital training that One Voice Wales plan to run in the future.
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AGENDA ITEM 12 – To consider and approve moving to a different provider for online meetings
CL/218/20.04.26
The clerk presented a proposal to move to using Zoom for meetings, which will allow online meetings to be streamed to Youtube from the one device, as she is currently unable to do this. It was unanimously agreed to the move.
Proposed: Cllr O’Neill Seconded: Cllr Hewins
Action: Clerk to move provider
AGENDA ITEM 13 – To consider and approve purchase of stickers / signs showing where nearest defibrillator is located
CL/219/20.04.26
It was agreed to purchase 10 stickers at a cost of £24.98 and put up
Proposed: Cllr Kelly Seconded: Cllr O’Neill
Action: Clerk to purchase stickers and put up
AGENDA ITEM 14 – To consider parking problems at Neuadd Dyfi car park and installing bollards to enable blocking off an area outside the hall entrance
CL/220/20.04.26
Desmond George has been having some problems recently with parking at the Neuadd Dyfi. One example was an 80th birthday party and he put the large green bins across the section of the parking area closest to the disabled parking bays, to enable elderly people attending the event to park close to the entrance. Other people not involved in the event moved the bins and parked in both the normal and disabled spaces and were abusive when challenged about moving the bins. Mr George is therefore seeking a better way to secure a few parking spaces when required for events. The clerk noted that the Council have some bollards that were purchase but never installed, so suggested these could be installed and a chain strung between them, when required. It was noted signs and fluorescent tape would need to be incorporate as well. The council agreed this would be a good solution and asked the clerk to establish costs.
Action: Clerk to cost installing bollards and chain.
AGENDA ITEM 15 – To consider grant request from Llangollen National Eisteddfod
CL/221/20.04.26
It was agreed not to approve a grant as it is not local.
All councillors declared an interest in the following item
AGENDA ITEM 16 – To consider increasing rent for storage cupboard
CL/222/20.04.26
The clerk informed the council that the rent charged for storage space in the cupboard for the AA&I has not been increased for several years. It was agreed to increase the rent by current inflation of 3% to £429.20.
Proposed: Cllr Kelly Seconded: Cllr Porter
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AGENDA ITEM 17– Correspondence which requires a response from the Council
CL/223/20.04.26
* Trefeddian Hotel regarding recent problems with water supply
It was noted that there have been burst water mains at least five times in the last 12 months and it is not just the inconvenience of not water, it is the noise when they pump the water from the tankers and also the environmental impact of the tankers driving to and from the site.
It was agreed to write to the Trefeddian giving the council’s full support and to find out who represents our area at Welsh water and ask them to attend a council meeting.
Action: Clerk to contact Trefeddian
Action: Clerk to contact Dwr Cymru to establish area representative and request they attend a meeting
* Dafad Goch Soapbox Racing
The Council congratulated the organisers and thanked them for organising such a successful event and recognised the huge amount of work and effort that had gone into it. The councillors have all had feedback from members of the public saying what a wonderful event it was and how much everyone enjoyed it, the only request is for it not to be on Easter Sunday next year, maybe a different Sunday or week-day during the Easter holidays, or perhaps the first bank holiday in May. Dafad Goch informed the council that the first bank holiday in May is Machynlleth Comedy Festival, so is not appropriate for that weekend. It was noted that no councillors or members of the AA&I had volunteered to help on the day, which the council acknowledged was a fair comment and resolved to do better next year.
* Cambrian Coast Railway liaison meeting May 22nd request for issues
* Dovey Inn
A letter was received regarding the dilapidated state of the exterior of the Dovey Inn requesting the Council write to Marstons to urge them to do something about it
Action: Clerk to write to Marstons
AGENDA ITEM 18 – To note correspondence not requiring a decision from the Community Council which has already been circulated to Councillors
CL/224/20.04.26
* Ambition North Wales – quarterly newsletter
* One Voice Wales – free training places for councillors 2026-27
* Email from Carys Fowles regarding the Dafad Goch Soapbox Racing event
* One Voice Wales – placement opportunities with Rural Wales Advisory Board
* Menter Mon – notice of Shared Prosperity Fund closure
* One Voice Wales – Section 7 species and habitat priority lists
* Llais Cymru – invite to official launch of National Eisteddfod 2027
AGENDA ITEM 19 – Items for consideration at future meetings
CL/225/20.04.26
* Offer to council of woodland above Penhelig
* Rhoslan residents concerns regarding bank below Rhoslan
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AGENDA ITEM 20 – Items for release / Rushlight / Website / Facebook
CL/226/20.04.26
* Dafad Goch event
* Parc Eryri grants
* Nyth Robin
* Rail closure dates
AGENDA ITEM 21 – Date of next meeting
CL/227/20.04.26
Monday 18th May – Annual Meeting
There being no further business, the Chair closed the meeting at 8.50pm
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