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Meeting on 9 June 2008
City Councillor Lane insisted that there had been a lack of adequate consultation
[about Ger-y-Parc]

MINUTES OF MEETING OF

LANGSTONE COMMUNITY COUNCIL

HELD AT LANGSTONE VILLAGE HUT MONDAY 9 JUNE 2008

Present:

Cllr W Woods (in the Chair)

Cllr Mrs Y Edwards

Cllr K Lowndes

Cllr Mrs S Mogford

Cllr J Kennett

Cllr Mrs C Bryant

Cllr R Jones

Cllr A Haycock

In Attendance:

Cllr S Lane.

Part of meeting- Village Questionnaire Group: Mrs Julie Hopkins, Mrs Shan Jones, Mrs Margaret McKeand, and Stuart Baker.

1.Apologies:

Cllr G Hancock ;Cllr D Atwell; Cllr Alan Henderson

2. Status of Councillors and change of Chairman

The Clerk asked if all Councillors were clear that they had been temporarily elected by the returning officer for Newport CC as detailed in the recent letter issued to each Councillor. It was also agreed that because the existing Chairman was not present and because of the temporary nature of the appointment of Councillors it would not be appropriate to have the AGM at this meeting. Therefore the Chair and Vice Chair positions remain the same.

The meeting was introduced to Cllrs Mrs Ynys Ann Edwards who was nominated as a Councillor at the May 1st election and was subsequently elected by the Returning Officer. Cllr Mrs Edwards lives in Ger-Y-Parc.

3. Police Report

It was disappointing that there was no representative from the police, especially when there had been a commitment to make a power point presentation at the May meeting, which they also failed to attend.

4. Previous minutes

Because the May meeting was not an official meeting, due to the election problems, it was necessary to approve the April minutes. This was done and the April minutes were signed by the Vice Chairman as a true record. Those Councillors who attended the May meeting confirmed that the record of that meeting was correct. The Vice Chair therefore signed the May minutes.

5. Village Questionnaire follow-up

The Village Questionnaire group were welcomed to the meeting. There was then a general discussion on how to proceed. It was agreed that progress should be made towards preparing an exhibition to present the results of the responses to the public. It was agreed that since some substantial time has elapsed since the questionnaire was distributed that this should take place as soon as practical. It was agreed that several Councillors should be involved in this process. It was agreed that the first meeting of the group to discuss details would be the following Thursday 12 June in the hut at 7pm and that Cllrs Jones, Cllr Mrs Edwards, Cllr Mrs Chris Bryant would attend. Cllr Woods agreed to attend to Chair the group. It was also felt by the Group that City Councillors Atwell and Lane should be kept informed since they may need to advise or assist with any approaches to the City Council.

6. Planning

Conex 08/0068 Land to west of and forming part of Martindale Pencoed Lane Llanmartin. Erection of detached dwelling (outline) – no objection.

Conex 08/0405 Ridgeside Old Langstone Court Rd Langstone – demolition of existing dwelling and erection of 5 no. detached dwellings (revised scheme following approval 06/1433). This is yet another submission with minor changes which have not been made clear. However this is for more dwellings than in the 2006 approval, therefore object on the same grounds as before.

Conex/08/0646 16 Park End Langstone- single storey side extension to form hall, cloaks and utility. Object on the same basis as objections to other recent similar applications. Extension will spoil street scene and is too close to neighbouring boundary fence.

Conex 08/0633 Gables Chepstow Rd Langstone- first floor rear extension containing en suite and dressing room and replacement of rear flat roof with pitched roof. No drawings or any other information provided.

Conex 08/0664 24 Rosecroft Drive Langstone-conversion of garage to music room and extension of drive. No objection

Conex 08/0679 Treclover Cottage Coed-Y-Caerau Lane Kemeys Inferior- Restoration of agricultural building for use as workshop/studios and provision of driveway and parking area (resubmission following refusal of 05/1168). Object on the same grounds as in 2005. The building is now in an even more derelict condition.

7. Matters arising previous meeting

Mike Williams – some form of recognition for his long service as a Councillor has to be decided. Cllr Hancock was to contact Newport CC about nomination for MBE or invitation to Queens Garden Party via Jessica Morden. Other ideas should also be considered by Councillors.

8 Correspondence

Cheques – signed for Clerks May salary.

Ombudsman – copy of 2007-8 annual report received.

Countryside Council for Wales- leaflet received explaining how CCW and Newport CC are working together in partnership.

NCC- annual play inspection report and invoice. Cllr Lane suggested not paying the invoice until issue of ownership and responsibility for maintenance is resolved.

WAG – Request for return of details of all fixed penalties issued April 2007-March 2008. A nil return will be issued together with request for further information relating to fixed penalties, which can be issued by Community Councils.

Best Kept Village Competition – letter confirming entry to competition together with rules and posters. Judging from 2-26 June.

Newport CC – consultation on behalf of BT regarding proposal to remove BT telephone boxes in Langstone area. 2 in Langstone, 1 in Llandevaud and 1 in Catsash.

Clerk will respond.

Newport CC –notice relating to next Liaison meeting 26 June.

One Voice Wales –letter requesting volunteers to help at Eisteddfod of Wales 2-9 August in Cardiff.

Newport CC –list of dates for future Neighbourhood Committees. Next for Langstone is 20 November at 700pm at St Johns Hall.

Western Power Distribution- stakeholder consultation document received.

Email from Mike Cornick- related to reduction of bus services. It was agreed that Clerk should write to Brian Kemp for confirmation of current position.

Newport CC-notice of Local Plan Community Consultation event 16 June 2008.

One Voice Wales- notice of AGM 11 October. No Councillors wished to attend.

WAG- notice of new Local Government Member Code of Conduct. This document will be on the agenda for the July meeting. Formal acceptance of model code required.

9. Ger-Y-Parc

Cllr Mrs Mogford reported that no further progress had been made by Cllr Atwell. She also indicated that due to lots of adverse comments that had been made to her she was inclined to no longer support this proposed development. She now felt that funding should be directed to improving the ancient woodland at Coed-Y-Caerau, which is owned by Newport CC. City Councillor Lane insisted that there had been a lack of adequate consultation and felt the planned public meeting should not have been cancelled and that a new date for a meeting should be fixed and adequately advertised via Community First. Cllr Mrs Ynys Edwards felt that car parking would be an issue and create dangers.

10. 2007-8 unaudited accounts

The unaudited accounts for 2007-8 had been prepared for the May meeting. Since the May meeting could not take place this item was brought forward to June. The accounts were accepted. The Clerk confirmed that these would now be subject to internal audit and upon completion then submitted for full audit. The formal 4-page audit document will be presented to a future meeting and signed off prior to submission to the external auditors.

11. Park End Play Area

Cllr Lowndes reported on the condition of the play area. NCC had cut the grass but there was a lot of uncleared litter. Graffiti has appeared on the slide and tarmac surface of the ball area and there was broken glass around. There were defects to the enclosure but none were considered dangerous. Clerk repeated that various meeting had been held and sought since but no progress has been made on the topic of ownership and maintenance responsibility. Cllr Lane would try to get a meeting with s senior officer and the Clerk would attend. Clerk has prepared file relating to the ownership issue.

12. AOB

· Clerk asked to contact Mr Steve Davidson at NCC regarding the increasing occurrence of Japanese Knotweed along the verges of the A48, in particular between Hendrew Lane and Penhow.

· Llandevaud Common is in need of cutting. Cllr Woods had previously tried to get a consensus among residents about whether it should be cut. It was agreed that Cllr Woods would arrange for cutting.

· Cllr Woods asked if NCC could be asked to cut roadside hedges higher than at present. Higher sided vehicles are being obstructed by over grown hedges.

· Cllr Lowndes asked if NCC could be asked to demolish the old bus shelter opposite Park End. It is considered in a dangerous position and is one of only a few not replaced by the modern steel and glass design shelters several years ago. Clerk to write to Brian Kemp.

· Cllr Haycock reported that several minor repairs had been carried out recently and asked if any Councillors would volunteer for minor handyman type work on an as and when basis.

· Cllr Lane requested that a date be fixed for the Ger-Y-Parc public meeting and it should be advertised in Community First. He also asked for some changes to the wording on the web site relating to the village questionnaire report.

Meeting ended 9.20 pm