Minutes of the ordinary meeting of Aberdyfi Community Council held virtually via teleconferencing on Monday, 19th April 2021
Present were: Cllr Dewi Owen – Chair
Councillors:
Cllr James Bradbury-Willis
Cllr Sara Bradbury-Willis
Cllr Gareth Jones
Cllr Brian Kelly
Cllr Catrin O’Neill
Cllr Dai Owens
Cllr Megan Reynolds
Cllr Bob Tyrrell
Cllr Dave Williams
Cllr Simon Worman
Public: Pat Hellen
Patrick Hollis
AGENDA ITEM 1- Apologies
CL/172/19.04.21
No apologies – full attendance
AGENDA ITEM 2- Chairman’s Announcements
CL/173/19.04.21
The Chairman welcomed everyone and remarked how lucky we are in Aberdyfi as many communities in Gwynedd don’t have the same quality of internet access that we do and many councils are struggling to hold meetings. He also remarked how nice it is to see visitors back in the village, which is good for all the businesses but he is concerned about the amount of litter that is being left behind.
AGENDA ITEM 3 – Receive & confirm minutes of meeting 15th March 2021
CL/174/19.04.21
Proposed: Cllr B Tyrrell Seconded: Cllr B Kelly
Unanimously approved.
AGENDA ITEM 4 – Matters arising
CL/175/19.04.21
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M/51/(15.06.20) Request for drinking water fountain
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Chair has tried to phone Edward Jones several times but there is no answer and he feels it is very inconsiderate that there has been no reply or acknowledgement to any emails or phones calls that have been sent over the last four months.
Action: Clerk to email the Chair of Snowdonia National Park.
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M/81/(21.09.20) EV charging points
Will be discussed under Item 9
M/106/(16.11.20) Playground
New seating is ready, all except for the back boards. As soon as they arrive, the seasting will be installed.
M/107/(16.11.20) Subway Improvements
Clerk reported that still nothing has been received from Adrian Williams at Gwynedd Council Highways or Sean Wilkes. Cllr Jones suggested going higher up Gwynedd Council.
Action: Clerk to keep trying to contact both as well as emailing someone higher up the organisation.
M/139/(18.01.21)
Penhelig Toilets development
Cllr Reynolds informed the Council that the area of garden that has been removed by the builders is actually a pet cemetery. Cllr Tyrrell believes that there was a meeting with Snowdonia National Park recently and a retaining wall has now been built and the bank will be put back. Cllr Tyrrell spoke to the workers there and asked if top soil will be put on top or if the bank will solely consist of slate. He was assured there would be top soil to allow planting. It was agreed it is the owners responsibility to rectify the damage. Cllr Williams suggested the council wait to see how the damage is repaired, as it is not the responsibility of the Community Council, but could contact the owners if it is not repaired satisfactorily.
Cllr J Bradbury-Willis expressed concern about the lack of parking in front of the development, as there are vans parked there and also fencing around the building works. This has removed all public parking there and will do until the development is finished. Cllr Owen informed the council that there were temporary traffic lights there last week as there was an issue with vehicles coming from different directions not giving way to each other and he believes that traffic lights are going to be installed for the duration of the work, but he hasn’t had any official information yet.
Action: Chair to contact Gwynedd Council to find out if traffic lights will be installed.
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Crack in sea wall
Cllr Jones asked what was being done about the crack in the sea wall by the shelter at Terrace Road .The Chair reported that he had spoken to the harbourmaster and Gwynedd Consultancy will be repairing the wall and other areas in the village fairly soon, including the crack in the pavement reported by Cllr J. Bradbury-Willis recently.
M/150/(15.02.21) Installing CCTV
Update will be given under item 8
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M/164/15.03.21 Community Needs Survey
It was agreed that questions need to be very open-ended to allow residents to give their views freely. Cllr O’Neill informed the council that the survey needs to go out within the next two months, so questions need to be agreed within the next two weeks to be included in the survey and urged councillors to send questions to the Clerk as soon as possible.
Action: All councillors to send ideas for questions to the clerk ASAP.
Cllr Reynolds asked if the road sign at Bryn Gwylan has been put back up. The chair informed her that he reported it to Gwynedd Council and will contact them again.
Action: Chair to contact Gwynedd Council
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M/166/15.03.21 Buying football goalposts
These have been ordered by the clerk and will be delivered towards the end of May, after which the councillors will need to come together to install them.
AGENDA ITEM 5 – Treasurer’s Report
CL/176/19.04.21
The Clerk informed the Council that Siemens have refunded the payment they took in error. Cllr Tyrrell congratulated Cllr O’Neill on getting the grant for the new seating in the playground.
Proposed: Cllr. Williams Seconded: Cllr O’Neill
Unanimously approved
AGENDA ITEM 6 – Gwynedd Council Report
CL/177/19.04.21
The Chair reported that Dilwyn Williams is retiring from Gwynedd Council at the end of the month and they are interviewing this week for a new chief Executive. He has been a big asset to the Council, being very accessible to Gwynedd Councillors and will be a big loss.
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He reported that he has been told that the limited time parking along the front of the village is going to be changed from 1 hour to 45 minutes, though has had no official notification. The council felt that this, together with the increase in parking charges is not fair to Aberdyfi, as the charges are not going up by the same amount in other towns in Gwynedd and will adversely affect businesses in the village. Cllr S Bradbury-Willis expressed concern that the changes in the parking times and charges will push people to park in other areas of the village.
The Chair reported that he has been inundated with letters and emails from people unhappy with Gwynedd Council’s increase in Council Tax, two of whom are going to put their houses on the market at the end of the summer.
Action: Clerk to email Gwynedd Council to express concern that the Community Council weren’t even consulted on the changes to the times of parking and asking to change them all to one hour.
Cllr Reynolds reported that a resident asked her if it would be possible to put up a bus shelter, but it is not clear where one could go, as there is very little room. It was agreed to come back to this item next month.
Action: Clerk to put on agenda for next month
Cllr J. Bradbury-Willis asked if there was any further information about the tree opposite Parc-yr-Ysgol. The clerk reported that the damaged branches were removed last week and the debris has now been cleared. Cllr Jones asked who is responsible for repairing the fence and it was agreed that it is Gwynedd Council’s responsibility.
Action: Clerk to contact Gwynedd Council and ask for a timetable of repairs
AGENDA ITEM 7 – Planning
CL/178/19.04.21
NP5/50/L262A 8 Seaview Terrace, Aberdyfi
Change of use from gift shop & café to bar
Concerns were raised about where the waste will be stored, but no planning objections were raised
NP5/50/LB179C 8 New Street, Aberdyfi
Listed building consent for internal alterations
No objections were raised.
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AGENDA ITEM 8 – To consider and adopt a Privacy & CCTV Policy
CL/179/19.04.21
It was agreed to adopt the Privacy and CCTV policy
Proposed: Cllr Kelly Seconded: Cllr J. Bradbury-Willis
Cllr Kelly reported that the CCTV system at the Neuadd Dyfi is installed and working, though the cameras have not yet been installed outside. He also reported that he has spoken to the postmistress and she is happy for one of the cameras to show the forecourt of the Post Office, though it was agreed it will not show the shop front itself. Cllr Kelly confirmed that he and the Clerk are the only ones with access to the CCTV footage.
AGENDA ITEM 9 – To discuss installing EV chargers
CL/180/19.04.21
The Chair reported the he had spoken to Gwynedd Council and was given a non-committal answer as to whether they will be installing chargers in Aberdyfi. They are currently conducting a survey on this subject. Cllr Williams reported that the Neuadd Dyfi car park may be a better venue for situating chargers, due to the proximity of the sub-station and is concerned that Gwynedd Council may think that chargers can only be situated in the main car park, as the Neuadd Dyfi car park is not under their control.
Action: Chair to talk again with Gwynedd Council and to offer to work with them if they want to explore putting chargers in the Neuadd Dyfi car park.
AGENDA ITEM 10 – Tree sculpture project update and to consider quotes to prepare trees
CL/181/19.04.21
The clerk presented 2 quotes for the felling of two trees in the playing field – one to ground level and the other to a height suitable for carving. It was unanimously agreed to go with the lower quote.
Proposed: Cllr Jones Seconded: Cllr Williams
Action: Clerk to accept the lower quote.
The Clerk informed the Council that she has requested quotes from 3 sculptors for doing the carving work but hasn’t had them all back yet, so they will be considered at a later meeting.
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AGENDA ITEM 11 – To discuss parking at the Neuadd Dyfi car park 3rd – 6th June
CL/182/19.04.21
The Yacht Club have asked for permission to park motorhomes in the Neuadd Dyfi car park for these dates. It was agreed to allow it but it is to be made clear that it is a one-off occurrence and details will be discussed next month.
Proposed: Cllr Jones Seconded: Cllr S. Bradbury-Willis
Action: Clerk to liaise with the yacht club about numbers attending and details.
AGENDA ITEM 12 – Correspondence
CL/183/19.04.21
- A resident has done some work on clearing and planting the area by the toilets at the Neuadd Dyfi, after consultation with the clerk.
The Council felt it is a great improvement and wish to thank the resident.
Action: Clerk to write to resident
- Tree planting update
It was agreed to support the proposal by the wildlife and biodiversity group to plant trees in the area of the running track and golf club, assuming they receive the right permission from the appropriate agencies.
Action: Clerk to inform the group of the Council’s support
- Anonymous traffic problem.
It was agreed that this is only an occasional problem during bank holidays but not at any other time of year and it is the responsibility of Gwynedd Council to deal with any parking issues at this area, as the Community Council has no jurisdiction for this. It was noted that this issue was discussed at length when the new development at Parc yr Ysgol was proposed, as it moves from 40mph to 30mph at this point and the Community Council welcome the proposals to reduce the speed limit to 20mph in the near future. It was suggested that a more dangerous situation currently exists in the centre of the village outside the shops with people queuing on the pavements and having to walk in the road to get round the queues. It was agreed to put the 20mph speed limit proposals on the agenda for next month.
Action: Clerk to add 20mph speed limit proposals to agenda for next month.
- Boat storage area
The Chair reported that the container that arrived there a couple of months ago has now been taken down to ground level and will be there permanently to provide storage for the fishermen’s pots over the winter instead of on the wharf and an area for them to work on the pots under cover. The Chair has asked if the container could be painted a dark colour so that it’s not so conspicuous and asked other councillors to do the same. It was noted that this area is necessary for people earn a living.
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It was agreed to put a piece in Rushlight to inform people what this storage area is for.
Action: Clerk to put into Rushlight
- Nyth Robin request for attendance at planning meeting
The Chair attended the meeting and reported that the application for a rural dwelling had been turned down yet again and he was extremely saddened that the planning committee were discussing issues that were not relevant to planning issues, eg. income and querying why campsite owners need to live on site. He understands that the owners of Nyth Robin will be appealing against the decision. It was agreed that the Community Council will support them in this.
- Litter and rubbish problem
There have been various reports of littering on the beach and remnants of fires, which are leaving nails and other debris, which poses a very serious danger to the public. Cllr Jones informed the council that it was local young people causing these problems and the police have been involved. It was noted that beach wardens will be employed during the summer and they will hopefully be able to monitor this situation closely. It was noted that the bins are so full at the moment because everyone has to get takeaways and when cafes etc. open again this situation will hopefully ease and we are lucky not to have the major problems that they have had in Cardiff and Sheffield. It was suggested that more signs around the village would be helpful.
Cllr Tyrrell has been asked by various residents if it is possible to have a dog poo bin at Trefeddian Terrace. It was agreed to check if there is a bin there and to discuss at the next meeting. Residents had also asked about one at Ffordd parc y Llethrau but it was felt that there is more need for bins by the beach.
Action: Clerk to put something in Rushlight to thank people for keeping the village clean and reminding them to take their litter home with them. Clerk to discuss possible solutions with the harbourmaster and investigate signage.
Clerk to add dog poo bins to agenda for next meeting.
The Clerk reported that residents have reported litter at Pen y Bryn and that the seating has been broken and removed. It was agreed to get quotes to repair the seating in the shelter.
Action: Clerk to get quotes and put on agenda for next month
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- Cycle-path project update
The aerial photography has been done for the cycle path between the cemetery and the village and it is hoped that planning consent will be granted. Mr. Storkey is currently in talks with Network Rail about the route of the cycle-path with a view to agreeing that the cycle path route is not too close to the railway line.
AGENDA ITEM 13 – Items for consideration at future meetings / urgent business
CL/184/19.04.21
- Cllr O’Neill reported that the railings and gate above the shelter at Penhelig Gardens is in a state of disrepair and need to be repaired urgently as it is easy for children to run onto the road. Cllr Reynolds reported that a company has already been appointed to repair the railings as soon as possible.
Action: Clerk to talk to Bryn Lloyd about including the gate in the repairs.
- Cllr Tyrrell expressed concern that fencing has disappeared from the side of the path from the Penhelig towards Hillside village.
Action: Cllr Tyrrell to send a phot to the clerk and Clerk to forward this onto Gwynedd Council
- Cllr Reynolds reported that residents had complained to her that Tywyn Health Centre are not answering the phone and the Chair reported it took him over 45 minutes to get through and Cllr S Bradbury-Willis reported that an elderly neighbour of hers was very distressed that they were not able to access healthcare when she needed to
Action: Clerk to email Tywyn Health Centre practice manager to ask the reason for this situation
- Cllr Jones enquired how long the traffic lights at top of Dyffryn Hill are going to be there. The Chair reported that he has spoken to highways and the crack that has been there for years has got worse over the winter. Negotiations are ongoing between Gwynedd Council and Network Rail as the railway line is directly below. The chair hoped that the traffic lights will be gone by the summer.
Action: Chair to contact Gwynedd Council again and report next month.
AGENDA ITEM 14 – Items for Rushlight / Website / Facebook
CL/185/19.04.21
- Door stickers
- Recreation ground will open 1st May
- Community Needs Survey
- Covid restrictions when voting
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- Boat storage area
- Litter
AGENDA ITEM 15 – Date of next meeting
CL/186/19.04.21
Monday 17th May 2021, 7pm
There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.25pm
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