Tag: Community

A Connected Community

On December 12th, a ‘Hub in the Pub’ meeting was held at The Artramont, Croesgoch, organised with local residents to discuss with people who either take a lead in working on behalf of the community, or have ideas on how we can make our place better. The summary that follows explains more:

What is the Connected Community?

The Llanrhian Ward comprises the communities and surrounding areas of Llanrhian, Mathry, Trefin, Croesgoch, Penparc, Castlemorris, Porthgain, Abereiddi, Abercastle, Llandeloy and Square & Compass. Within this area are a number of active community groups which include, but are not limited to:

  • Llanrhian Community Council
  • Mathry Community Council
  • Croesgoch Heritage Group
  • GTI
  • Cor Y Felin
  • Croesgoch WI
  • Mathry WI
  • Llanrhian Social Club
  • Camomile Club
  • Llanrhian Church Hall
  • Cyfefllion Croesgoch
  • Llanrhian Cricket Club
  • Mathry Forum
  • Trefin Arts & Crafts
  • Llais Rhian

Across venues and industries which include:

  • Trefin Village Hall
  • Llanrhian Church Hall
  • Mathry Community Hall
  • 6 pubs
  • 1 school
  • A number of churches and chapels
  • The shop / garage
  • A number of small businesses
  • A large farming community
  • The fishing and tourism industries

We have some isolated communities and people, an increasingly elderly population, a large number of second homes, but a very active community exists with some real community leaders.

We also have an opportunity to use funding from the Enhancing Pembrokeshire Grant (around 25k), and we can use this provided we are supported by 20% match funding in time / expertise / financial contribution.

Thanks also to Llanrhian Community Council who have committed £700 to the Connected Community idea.

In dialogue with a number of people, the thinking is that we can create a more connected community if we work more closely together.

Details of progress to date

Prompted by a well-attended community meeting last year, an Enhancing Pembrokeshire bid was submitted earlier this year by Neil Prior (under the constitutional organisation of Llanrhian Community Council) and approved in principle. The bid was to carry out some minor building works to Ysgol Croesgoch, to safeguard the school so that the school hall can be used as community venue more regularly.

The initial Enhancing Pembrokeshire Grant meeting, held at Ysgol Croesgoch

However, over the course of this year, the school’s needs have taken priority with the possibilities of a Cylch being established there, but we are now in a position to press ahead with a resubmitted bid to get the building works done.

Why the school hall? Despite there being a number of community venues in existence, this is not to compete with them, but does offer a bigger space, Audio Visual equipment, a stage, parking, and to potentially fill a gap in Croesgoch that can open up to further afield. It also helps to promote our school.

The Enhancing Pembrokeshire grant looks to mitigate the impact of second homes, of which there are 83 out of 502 in the Llanrhian Community Council area. Very simply, it’s about promoting cohesive, self-sustained and vibrant communities.

Ideas that have been previously discussed include: Business network and mentoring, fitness and wellbeing (e.g. yoga), intergenerational classes for IT or learning Welsh, that draws in the whole community including our second home owners who may want to contribute.

The Discussion and Ideas:

With a wide-ranging discussion and plenty of contributors, the bullet points below capture our conversation to create a more connected community.

  • Garden show
  • A Social Media page
  • Flyers – for marketing
  • Community hub website
  • Revenue generating events
  • Cinema evenings
  • Musical events
  • Kayleigh dancing
  • Amateur dramatics (invite the Solva group to Croesgoch)
  • A re-run of the Abereiddi show
  • Poetry & Pints
  • Food and drink provision
  • A general catch up option, like the ‘tea & chat’
  • Also making the most of the existing facilities (like Trefin)
  • Fitness classes
  • Remove the barriers – e.g. pubs or churches can put people off
  • Facebook community groups
  • Llais Rhian as the central hub – the communication engine
  • Age group issue – youth club – young farmers
  • Youth leader in Trefin who’d be willing to start a youth club
  • The role of the community council
  • Feeling that the CC could help local causes
  • Bursary idea
  • Welfare committee
  • Barn dance
  • A community consultation / questionnaire
  • Needs to be sustainable, the structure is there (LCC)
  • Reinforce what already exists, but tap into many across the area.
  • Llanrhian Cricket Club – the world cup
  • Something for the people who aren’t here, e.g. PATCH approach
  • First Aid
  • Zumba / Keep Fit
  • Business network
  • The Park in Trefin – this needs sorting (and advertising)
  • Rural issues – Llanrhian – the mini Citizen’s Advice in the community
  • A list of people living on their own – the Solva care model?
  • Lift sharing
  • A baby group in Llanrhian exisits
  • To consider a central co-ordinator

In Summary

The Connected Community is not about the buildings, but the people. The overwhelming feeling was that we could be more connected across our area, and there seemed a genuine appetite from many to get involved.

The notes from the meeting were to be distributed, the Enhanching Pembrokeshire bid is to be re-submitted, and anybody in the community who is interested is invited to get further involved.

Next Steps

The next meeting will be on Thursday 13th February 2020 at The Artramont to progress the ideas discussed in December, but in the meantime, thoughts are invited on some practical actions to move things forward:

· A co-ordinator: it’s suggested that there is an overall co-ordinator for the Connected Community project. Subject to discussion, agreement and funding, this position could attract a small remuneration and would require overseeing the community project, from liaising with community members to schedule events, source the relevant resources, assign tasks to volunteers, help prepare budgets and act as a point of contact to all community members. Do you know anyone who might be interested?

· A name for the community venture.

· Volunteering. A few people have put themselves forward for volunteer positions. In order for this venture to work, we asked that people give of their time not only to attend events, but to help run them as well so are asking people to think about which skills they have and how much time they can spare.

. Considering a published list of all those involved in the community venture. This might include contact details, location and skills.

Do you have an idea? Would you like to get involved? If so, please do get in touch.

Llais Rhian Column, Oct 2019

This is my fifth column for Llais Rhian, and incredibly, means that I am half way through this electoral term (2 ½ years gone, 2 ½ left)! Looking back over the last few years I realise what a steep learning curve it has been and I’m constantly balancing my time between helping those in the community, fulfilling my internal Cabinet responsibilities, and working nationally to help improve local government. I’ll touch upon all of these in the following paragraphs.

Starting locally, there’s been a lot going on. This has included from some improvement works being completed in Heol Rhian in Llanrhian, which included the removal of the old phonebox, replacement signs and a new timber fence to replace the rusty old railings. I also spent a fair amount of time researching and preparing to represent local residents at the Council’s Planning Committee a few months ago regarding the proposed ‘nutrient store’ (slurry lagoon) at Llwyndyrys farm in Square & Compass. This is not something that I am against at all, but there were concerns raised over the lack of an odour management plan. This is something that I continue to work with the planning department on to make sure that residents concerns are heard.

The old rusty railings have been replaced

During the last two years I’ve learned that things don’t happen quickly in local government – especially true when there is little money to spare. It can seem like a battle to make progress, but there are some plans for our community in place, including new road signage and markings in Square & Compass to remind motorists that there is a speed limit there. I’ve also got agreement from Council staff to complete a feasibility study on building a footpath linking Croesgoch to Pen-Y-Groes Villas. Before anyone gets too excited about this, the idea is to scope out the works, including costs and land issues, and then to explore how we might be able to fund this. I’ll keep you posted.

Another thing that is making slow but steady progress is the Croesgoch Community Hub. As a reminder, this idea came about through the Enhancing Pembrokeshire grant, and will see the school hall being made more widely available for community use after school hours. Some building works are needed to make this a reality, but the good news is that the funding has been approved in principle, is supported by Llanrhian Community Council, and we should be in a position to proceed later this year / early next. On a similar note, I was happy to support the Mathry Forum & Mathry Community Council bid for improvements to Mathry Village Hall and the installation of a defibrillator in Abercastle.

Ysgol Croesgoch

Abereiddi has been a constant feature during my time to date as a Councillor, and at the time of writing, I have just returned from attending a public inquiry on the matter where the Welsh Government’s Planning Inspectorate have heard the views of both the National Park and the Operator (appellant). My understanding is that the Inspectorate are intending to make a decision relatively quickly, which will give a clear directive of what can and can’t go on, and hopefully will help us move forward and come up with the right long term solution, which has always been the ambition.

It’s a busy and demanding role, but it really is a privilege to serve and I’ve just highlighted a small selection of issues above. Whether it’s a housing query or planning issue, I’ve lost count of the people I’ve met or helped over the 2 ½ years so far, and whilst I won’t get everything right, I always try to do my best for our community.

Turning to what’s going on inside the Council, I’ll mention a few things that might be of interest. As a cabinet member I have political responsibility for delivering the council’s change programme, which is picking up speed. In trying to create a more modern, efficient and cost effective council that spends its money on the services that really matter to people, at a time when local government funding is in sharp decline, you realise that change can be hard for many people. Despite this, our ‘smarter working programme’ that has seen the biggest change to the council’s working practices in over 20 years, will soon result in us being able to vacate the Cherry Grove building in Haverfordwest (amongst others), saving us a small fortune in ongoing maintenance and running costs.

Another change that is coming soon are the changes to waste collection. There is a lot of information on the Council’s website about this, but in essence we are trying to increase recycling rates whilst reducing the amount that gets sent to landfill. There can be polarised views on this but with Welsh Government targets and ambitions for a zero waste economy, we all need to play a part. There may be teething issues in the early days of the changes, but I’m sure it will settle down over the next few months once people can establish new routines. To help remind people of when their next bin day is, it is well worth subscribing to the council’s free text message reminder system which can be accessed at this link: https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/online-service/notify

New recycling lorries operating across the County

Linked to the above, and with climate change being such a critical issue, the Council has committed to become a carbon net zero council by 2030, and so I was pleased to be nominated to be part of a working group to help us achieve this. Please get in touch if you’d like to find out more.

Those of you that know me well will know that I’ve worked with local government in my previous career, and so I’m delighted to have been appointed as Vice Chair to the Improvement & Innovation board at the Local Government Association (LGA) with responsibility to lead on ‘productivity’. The LGA represents local government in England and Wales and means that I am exposed to best practice and innovation in Councils across the UK, which in turn helps contribute to the change agenda closer to home. I’ve been able to bring a few ideas back so far, and there will be more to report in the next column.

I’m always happy to help where I can, so please do feel free to get in touch via email at neilprior@outlook.com, you can call me on 07834 093181, or for those who are more inclined to use social media, I’m on Facebook at @CllrNeilPrior or on Twitter @PriorNeil. I’ve also started doing an e-mail update for interested residents, so if you’d like to be added just let me know.

Thanks for reading, Neil. October 2019