The Leader announced that the UK has been beset by some truly woeful weather recently, and he commended council staff who have worked tirelessly, day and night, throughout the recent storms and heavy rainfall.

As always, they have made a maximum effort to protect people and property, and to help keep the county borough moving.

Bridgend County Borough luckily escaped most of the widespread damage that was experienced by our near neighbours the Leader added.

He believed that a large part of this was again down to the professionalism, experience and commitment of BCBC staff.

All around the county borough, culverts and drains were checked and cleared well in advance of the incoming storms, and floodgates were put in place along the Angel Gateway.

Thousands of sandbags were filled and made ready, and crews prepared for the worst with equipment ranging from water-based jets and chainsaws to JCBs and hoists.

When the storms hit, crews were out in the thick of it, clearing debris from drains, distributing sand bags, removing fallen trees and damaged signs, replacing broken fencing, making street lighting columns safe, and much more besides.

Sadly, the Leader added that we did see rainwater flood several properties in the Ogmore Valley, and our staff attended to help householders. Investigations to establish the cause of the flooding is ongoing by officers from our flood management team

At the height of the rainfall, several roads were flooded with some being closed until the water subsided and storm debris could be cleared, and crews had to unblock culverts in Pencoed after they became clogged by debris which was washing downstream.

A fallen tree temporarily blocked the road between Bridgend and Maesteg, while on the Bwlch, water was discharging with such force that it overtopped walls and drains, and pushed rocks and stones down onto the road.

In the wake of the storms, council staff had also been carrying out further precautionary checks to ensure that forty-one former coal mining sites remain safe in the Ogmore, Garw and Llynfi valleys.

In the spirit of mutual aid, our staff also offered support and equipment for colleagues in Rhondda Cynon Taf, where several hundred homes and properties have been devastated by the flooding where a major emergency was declared. The Leader took the opportunity to pay tribute to colleagues in the emergency services especially South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, that alongside South Wales Police, NHS and Council staff sometimes at risk to their own lives have been there in their hour of need.   

As all the evidence and forecasts are that more extreme weather conditions will be experienced more frequently in the future, BCBC will carefully consider in the coming months how it can increase the resources to reduce the risk of flooding in the future. The Authority will also consider how it can bolster capacity to respond to flooding when it does take place.

The Leader announced that he was pleased that the Authority were developing plans for a new £600,000 apprenticeship programme which will ensure that specialist skills can be retained and grown within the organisation.

The proposals will enable staff to undertake formal training alongside the development of practical skills, and will target specialist areas such as highways, engineering, planning, surveying, IT, building control, transportation and more.

Since 2013, the council has supported 51 apprenticeships, with many going on to work full time for the local authority.

But not dislike other large organisations, the Council also had an ageing workforce and many people that we rely on are approaching retirement age, so this is an excellent way of ensuring that those invaluable skills are not lost, but are passed on to the next generation of employees.