You can read and comment on the consultation on the WAG Website.  See http://www.wales.gov.uk/consultations or http://www.cymru.gov.uk/ymgynghoriadau.

The County Council constantly pleads lack of resources but the final budget for the last year shows large underspends in a number of areas. The Audit Committee had only a couple of hours to scrutinise the budget and made numerous criticisms.  Many of us will follow up with further questions.

Policing

Gwent police has now organised Community Policing in a more sensible way and we have PC Malwyn John and PSSO Georginna Care. Both are experienced officers who also cover Llanelly Hill and Gilwern. Many of you will have met them already and will know that they are very approachable and helpful.  They are keen to hear your ideas about what needs to be done.

You can contact them on 01495 233917 or malwyn.john@gwentppn.police.uk / georgina.care@gwentppn.police.uk.

Next PACT meeting 6th August at 12.00 am in the Village Stores.

Planning – Market

The redevelopment of Abergaveny drags on interminably and meanwhile the town is blighted by the uncertainty. Meanwhile on 14th July the Planning Committee will consider the controversial application for a new livestock market and ancilliary works including alterations to the Highway at High House Farm, Bryngwyn near Raglan.

I mentioned this in the last Newsletter and it has now started. As you know the child population has reduced over the years and there is a view that some schools may become too small to be educationally viable. All the Primary Schools in the Bryn y Cwm area (including ours) are now under review to consider what if anything needs to be done about large numbers of vacant places and educational viability.

Schools need to be of a size which is sufficient to deliver the whole curriculum properly. At the same time we must be mindful of a child’s social needs. Travel time to and from school for young children must not be too long; a child needs to be able to socialise with school friends after school; parents need to be able to easily maintain contact with school and participate in school based activities; and teachers need to have knowledge of the community the child comes from.

We also need to be mindful of traffic congestion and pollution if we have too few schools and too many people travelling; I have asked for a cost/benefit analysis of the environmental aspect of transporting increasing numbers of children to school and have been assured that this will be investigated as part of the Review.

It is also important that children feel a part of their own community as so much of their social development takes place outside school. The view of the Council is that these reviews should be carried out initially on a confidential basis until the Council has decided what options should be consulted upon. My concern about this approach is that it prevents me and other Councillors from sharing information openly. I believe that confidentiality can go too far and I have challenged the approach on the basis that it is widely known that a review is taking place and why. If my view is upheld I can share more detailed information with you about the process. In any event I will keep our school Governors and Staff well informed and there will at a later stage be public consultation by the Council.

Affordable Housing:

There is a County Council Task & Finish Group on this which is looking at getting more “affordable housing” into the County. If you look at the Brecon Beacons National Park Development Plans which affect us (see www.breconbeacons.org.uk) you can see what possibilities there might be in our area

Waste Disposal:

MCC is part of a consortium with other Councils which is looking at options for disposing of rubbish which is not recyclable and will not in future be able to go to landfill. I have asked several questions of the Cabinet member responsible and have taken expert advice. My concern at the moment is that the process is leading to a large incinerator in the Cardiff area although I have been assured that other technologies will be looked at. I would appreciate comments from anyone with knowledge and expertise on this subject

Safeguarding Children:

As a former Director of Social services this issue is close to my heart and I have asked several questions in Council about the safety of our own services following the “Baby P” case. I am also leading a Select Committee review on the effectiveness of safeguarding children and young people in Monmouthshire.

County Council Budget:

The difficult process of setting the budget and the Council Tax has now started and I will keep you informed as it progresses.

Meanwhile, those interested might like to know that the Bryn y Cwm Forum are making representations about the scheme to Abergavenny Town Council meeting on 29th January at 6.30pm.

Henry Boot the Developers will in coming weeks submit a planning application and then following various consultation processes the matter will eventually come to MCC Planning Committee for a decision (no date yet fixed but probably in a couple of months time); this will present another opportunity to make your voice heard so if you are interested lookout for Notices in the press.

Meanwhile work on the development of a cattle market near Raglan continues

The Monmouthshire Children and Young People’s Partnership involves all local authority services such as education, social services, youth and community services, leisure, sport, road safety and anything which involves or affects children and young people. This Partnership has recently produced a Children and Young People’s Plan which was agreed by the County Council in July. This sets out what the County Council intends to achieve for children and young people between 2008 and 2011 and, most importantly, who is responsible for making things happen!

If you want to see the plan it is available on the County Council website www.monmouthshire.gov.uk and in Libraries. Also I have a copy and a copy will be available to see in the One Stop Shop.

This is one of 7 Plans or Strategies which the Council must produce in partnership with other major organisations Like the Health & Police services and the Voluntary Sector. It should give a clear direction to the development of all services. Most importantly the Council must work closely with other services to try and make sure that the services work together. We know this doesn’t always happen so please let me know about any problems or gaps in services or where you think there could be better working together.

The 7 County Council Plans or Strategies are:

Health Social Care & Well Being Strategy
Environment Strategy
Local Development Plan
Community Safety Strategy
Older People’s Strategy
Community Strategy
Children and Young People’s Plan

As well as the various plans and strategies there is also a Local Safeguarding Children Board which monitors local services to ensure that they take proper account of the need to safeguard children and young people as far as reasonably possible.

Review of Primary School Places:

I am very pleased to have been appointed to the Govilon School Governors. This is going to be an important time for our school because as some of you know there are too many primary school places in the North of the County. In the Autumn the County Council will be reviewing the need for primary school places and it seems certain that some smaller schools may close because it will not be economical to keep them all open.

I will be working hard together with staff, parents and other community supporters to argue the case effectively for a school in our community and I am very hopeful that we have a strong case for the continuation of our excellent school. We will keep you informed of progress.

The Cattle Market redevelopment scheme has progressed beyond the public consultation stage and a design has been selected (Option 2 for those who attended consultation events or viewed the designs in the One Stop Shop). The design was selected by a Panel although the Bryn y Cwm Forum representative rejected all the proposals. Councillors have been informed that there will be a further opportunity for comment on the final design. I have only heard negative comments about these plans and personally found them disappointing. However I have not received any comments from Govilon people.

So please, if you do have views or concerns, let me know what you think and/or write direct to the Chief Executive, Councillor Peter Fox, Leader of the Council, or County Councillor Bob Greenland who is responsible for the project.

What happens in Abergavenny has a wider effect upon tourism, commerce and other aspects of the quality of life in the North of the County. So please make your voice heard

I have had several discussions with the Police about this and they have done some monitoring of traffic speeds. So far, there have not been large numbers of examples of exceeding the existing speed limits. However, as we all know if you are walking on a narrow pavement or where there is no pavement, or if you are trying to get out of your driveway where you can’t see very much even 30 mph can feel dangerous. It may be that some of the speed restrictions need revising and it is clear that some drivers are not driving with consideration for other road users.

This issue is still under active discussion by the Police and we are also looking at what the Police and the County Council can do together to improve road safety. We hope to have a joint meeting soon to look together at what else might be done to make our local roads safer.