In my third year as the Chair of Llanrhian Community Council, I’m pleased to write a short report highlighting some of our activities over the past municipal year.
Town and Community Councils are set up by statute and form the most local tier of democratic representation. Run by local residents who are either elected or co-opted onto the council, and acting on behalf of its area, Community Councils are comprised of people who care about their community and want to make it a better place to live.
As well as representing the community to the local authority, Community Councils can facilitate a wide range of activities which promote the well-being of their communities. They can bring local people together to help make things happen, and they can advise, petition, influence and advocate numerous causes and cases of concern on behalf of local communities.
Llanrhian Community Council is one of the smaller councils in Pembrokeshire, but I think that once again our combined efforts mean that we have had a positive impact on the communities that we represent, which this year have included the following:
Public Toilets
Due to the severe state of public sector funding, Pembrokeshire County Council, in attempting to make savings, has looked to local communities to take on the running of public toilets across the county. The provision of public toilets is not a statutory function (i.e. there is no legal requirement for councils to provide them), but we recognise their importance to the local community. As such, Llanrhian Community Council has taken on the running of Porthgain public toilets, and now operates and manages this facility as well as the public toilet in Trefin. This also provides a level of employment for local people who are paid to manage these facilities. Abereiddi public toilet continues to be managed by Pembrokeshire County Council whilst a long-term solution is found.
Llanrhian Connected Community project.
Predominately funded by Pembrokeshire County Council’s ‘Enhancing Pembrokeshire’ grant fund, Llanrhian Community Council has also contributed financially to this project working to create a stronger and more resilient local community across the Llanrhian ward. In 2023-24 our two part-time ‘Community Link Officers’ continued the work to help support local community groups and help people feel more connected to our area. The highlights of this activity include the incredibly popular community unches, which have now been held in Mathry, St Nicholas, Porthgain and Llanrhian, the ‘Widow’s United’ group which is growing in numbers and providing real friendship and fellowship to those who attend, and our communications including the popular community magazine Llais Rhian and the monthly e-bulletin. The team have also helped set up and support the neighbouring Pencaer Connected Community project.
Ynni Bro Rhian
As a statutory organisation, the Community Council is able to help others in acting as a ‘host’ organisation. This means that we can support other community initiatives by providing a level of governance, assurance and credibility to help get ideas off the ground. In this case, working with a small group of local people, we were able to support a community renewable energy initiative which has now evolved into the formation of a Community Benefit Society named Ynni Bro Rhian. It’s early days, but this society, with the support of the Community Council, will look to progress the renewable energy ideas for our area and provide a mechanism for other initiatives that benefit our communities.
Communications
We are active on social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram, regularly getting good engagement and reach by sharing local stories and snippets, and we also use notice boards for those who might not be on-line and who prefer more traditional methods of keeping up to speed. The Connected Community e-bulletin is growing with nearly 200 subscribers getting a monthly direct email informing them of what’s on, as well as part funding Llais Rhian.
Finance
The Community Council is funded through a precept, which has historically been very low, and has limited our financial ability to fund local causes. This year we have raised the precept from £10,000 to £18,000 and have started a ‘reserve’ account to provide a buffer if needed. With our existing activities and ambitions, and recognition of wider challenges (such as managing the public toilets at Porthgain), we need to make sure that we have sufficient funds to spend locally. We also act as the financial guardians and administrators of the funding streams for the Llanrhian Connected Community and Ynni Bro Rhian.
The playpark in Trefin.
We initiated this project just before the first national lockdown with a community engagement day in March 2020, and in collaboration with Gwelliant Trefin Improvement (GTI) in 2021-22, we saw phase one commence which included landscaping of the old bowls section, as well as a volunteer day to garden, paint and tidy the area.
In the following year the work continued with a number of further volunteer days organised by Llanrhian Community Council; hedge and shrub planting with Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority; the venue being made available for community events; and we were successful in applying for grant funding of around £25,000 to enable the Pavilion to have essential repairs carried out, including a new roof, windows and doors. This work was scheduled to commence in October 2023 but due to various issues the work has stalled and so we are actively reviewing how we move this work forward. We expect it to be completed this year.
Other activities
This year we’ve also participated in the Electoral Commission’s Boundary review, where they are looking at the appropriate number of Town and Community Councils in Pembrokeshire (there are currently 77) and we have made representation to them saying that we think our current area is appropriate. The Commission will produce draft plans later this year, with any changes coming into effect in May 2027. It’s possible that we might merge with another area but we don’t yet know the outcome of the Commission’s review.
We also review all planning applications for the area as a statutory consultee of both Pembrokeshire County Council and Pembrokeshire Coast national Park Authority; we manage the defibrillators across our area (located in Square & Compass, Trefin, Porthgain, Croesgoch and Llanrhian) and have arranged defibrillator training; we provide an opportunity for members of the public to attend and speak at our monthly meetings; we make representation to Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and are actively engaged with them trying to address sewerage issues; and we’ve made small donations to local causes including Wales Air Ambulance and Young Farmers.
For a small council I think we are active and engaged, and the voluntary contribution that our councillors make does not go unnoticed. I’d like to thank them for supporting me in my role as Chair, underpinned by the consistently excellent work of our Clerk, Vanessa Walker.
Diolch,
Cllr Neil Prior
County Councillor Neil Prior 