(i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

 

Mayor

 

I hope you all enjoyed the Easter holiday with family and friends.

 

It is a particular favourite time of the year for myself where I like to see sunlight and daffodils thriving across all our communities. A timely reminder that summer will soon be upon us.

 

Since our last full Council meeting, I have had the pleasure yet again of meeting some incredible and remarkable people within our County Borough.

 

Some examples included, the birthday celebrations for Mrs Helena Charles BEM who celebrated her 105 birthdays in her home community of Blaengarw. A truly remarkable lady who shared memories of a lifetime in the Garw Valley, Mrs Charles is probably our most senior person in the County Borough, but I am sure I will be corrected if this is not right. 

 

I met the Ogmore Valley Suicide Awareness Group and had the pleasure of awarding its members a Mayors Certificate for their service to the community. The group were nominated for such an award by the Ogmore Valley Community Council.

 

It was a humbling experience to meet members of the group some of which had themselves experienced the collateral trauma of suicide. To listen to their experiences and witness at first hand their incredible focus and positivity to help others suffering from mental health issues was incredible.

 

It was also a particularly proud moment to attend the Declaration Ceremony of our new High Sheriff for Mid Glamorgan, Professor Jean White.

 

This was a very proud moment to witness the Declaration. I am sure the whole Chamber will join me in wishing Professor White the very best in her twelve-month term of office.

 

Could I also take this opportunity to thank the outgoing High Sheriff Maria Thomas for her support to the County Borough during her term of office. It was a pleasure to accompany and work with Maria at many civic events both within the County Borough and beyond.

 

I also had the privilege of welcoming Princess Anne Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal to the Bridgend Carers facility at Park Street Bridgend.

 

The event led by Helen Pitt manager of the Bridgend Carers Centre just demonstrates how vital a service the Bridgend Carers provide to unpaid carers. It was clear that unpaid carers make such a difference to our communities often in very difficult situations. The energy and pride within the centre were palpable.

 

A big thank you to all the team at Bridgend Carers. I am sure the whole chamber will continue to support your vital engagement and service to the most vulnerable.

 

Quite a unique experience and a first for me, was to be a guest of honour for a visit to the Dar-Ui- Isra Mosque at Wyeverne Road in Cardiff to share a Ramadam Meal.

 

This was an incredible experience, especially when I was asked to address the congregation. 

 

I met so many lovely people and enjoyed the various presentations on the meaning of Ramadam which is a sacred time and a key celebration in the Islamic calendar.

 

I would like to personally thank Dr Yasim Khan for her hospitality and her company during our evening meal.

 

Finally, there are still some names missing from the Dragons List. It is a £1 to nominate a name for the Dragon, and all proceeds received will go towards the Mayor’s Charity.

 

As your Mayor and Chair of full Council, I am asking you to please donate if you can.

 

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member – Social Services

 

Members will be aware that Bridgend County Borough Council has a strong record of promoting the importance of foster care, and of our longstanding and ongoing efforts to recruit new foster carers. 

 

We are about to take this to the next level by seeking to become an accredited Fostering Friendly Employer.

 

Created by the UK’s leading fostering charity, Fostering Network, this is a standard which is presented to organisations that can demonstrate their support for both fostering and people who act as foster carers.

 

To support this, they have developed a programme which, upon completion, sees a participating organisation adopt a Fostering Friendly policy.

 

This ensures that staff who also act as foster carers can work flexibly where possible and can receive up to five days leave for foster care issues, such as helping a child settle into their new home, or to attend relevant training that supports them in their fostering role.

 

This is an important step for the Council to take as we need to lead by example and demonstrate to other employers and organisations that it is possible to be both an effective employee and an effective foster carer.

We also want to help break the myth that individuals are not allowed to work if they become a foster carer.

 

This move will support our own efforts in recruiting new foster carers who can offer children vital day-to-day support, love and stability, and act as a positive role model.

 

If members would like to know more, further details are available at the Foster Wales Bridgend website.

 

I would also like to repeat the offer to Members who attended the training in relation to Foster Care, so you can all have a t-shirt to wear to the gym etc, as this will promote and advertise Foster Care Wales. Foster Caring is such a rewarding experience and I would also encourage any member of the public to explore such an opportunity. I have found it extraordinarily rewarding 35 years on after taking on such a role.

 

Cabinet Member - Regeneration

 

Members will have noted the recent news coverage regarding the purchase by Welsh Government of key pieces of land in Porthcawl that are vital for the Council’s regeneration of the waterfront area.

 

The sale has included the freehold interest in the Coney Beach Amusement Park site and the leasehold interest in an adjoining section of land known locally as the ‘monster park’ as it was previously used to exhibit sculptures of dinosaurs.

 

The significance of this, of course, is that it has freed up Council time and resources and has enabled us to focus more of our resources upon maximising the benefits of the regeneration.

 

As a result, we are seeking to increase the amount of affordable housing that will become available as part of this project.

 

The acquisition of the two sites means that the whole of the 20 hectare zone required for this phase of the regeneration has now been unlocked.

 

This is a major sign of confidence from Welsh Government, both in Porthcawl as a location and a community, and in the Council’s plans for regeneration.

 

We will now be seeking to work in partnership with Welsh Government to regenerate the area in line with both the Local Development Plan and the Placemaking Strategy for Porthcawl.

 

I will bring you more news as this develops further.

 

Cabinet Member – Education

 

Members may be interested to know that a number of local schools have recently been assessed by inspectors from Estyn and praised for supporting local learners.

 

Afon y Felin, Brynmenyn and Corneli primary schools have all been inspected, and have all been deemed successful for demonstrating sufficient progress with no follow-up actions required.

 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, all schools were exempt from Estyn inspections for a two-year period which extended from March 2020 to February 2022.

 

While that was in effect, Estyn developed new inspection procedures which focus upon how well providers are supporting a child to learn, rather than using summative gradings used previously.

 

The current reporting format now uses one of four categories when inspecting a school, ie no follow up, Estyn review, significant improvement required, and special measures required.

 

I am sure that members will want to join me in congratulating the three schools on their inspection success.

 

I also want to congratulate nine year old Harri Evans from Plasnewydd Primary School for his successful poster design which is being used as the focal point of the Love It, Don’t Trash It campaign in Maesteg.

 

Harri’s design is being featured on posters, bin and lamppost signage throughout the Llynfi Valley to support the anti-littering campaign.

His poster features the Grade II listed Maesteg Town Hall and the Llynfi River with a clear message not to discard litter irresponsibly, but to place it in one of the town’s bins.

 

As part of the campaign, pupils have taken part in interactive workshops delivered by ADA Recycling as well as litter picks and science-based workshops facilitated by NatureQuest.

 

The ‘Love It, Don’t Trash It!’ campaign has already proven to be a big success in areas such as Porthcawl, Brackla, the Ogmore Valley, the Garw Valley and Pyle, Kenfig Hill and Cefn Cribbwr.

 

I am sure that this will be just as successful in the Maesteg area, especially with Harri’s poster to represent it.

 

Cabinet Member – Communities

 

We recently completed a clean-up of a 10-mile section of the A48 to remove litter that has been thrown from passing cars, and which has accumulated along the verge, in trees and roadside shrubbery.

 

Our staff collected more than 550 bags within the first two days collections alone.

 

By the end of the week, a total of 1,200 bags had been filled with discarded litter, the equivalent of 120 bags for every mile of road covered.

 

Our staff also removed almost three and a half tonnes of fly tipping from the route. This included sofas, chairs and other items of furniture to worn tyres, wooden pallets and builders’ waste.

 

Because of the need to create a safe working environment, slow-moving impact protection vehicles had to be used and rolling sections of the route had to be shut down to a single lane, which meant that the cost of the clean-up was more than £6,000 pounds.

 

This money could have been better spent on providing other services if only people had chosen to take their litter home and dispose of it in a responsible manner.

 

As a result, the Council has used the exercise as an opportunity to publicise the utter futility of dropping litter, as people who do this, are ultimately hitting themselves and other taxpayers in the pocket.

 

At a time when budgets are being squeezed and the cost of living crisis is hitting hard, our message is for people to take responsibility for their own rubbish and recycling and not to let taxpayers pick up the bill for dealing with their mess.

 

This is an issue that we will be seeking to publicise further in future, and I will bring you more details soon.

 

Cabinet Member – Wellbeing and Future Generations

 

Recent media coverage has highlighted work that is taking place to improve local communities by brightening up hotspots for vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

 

This is being achieved by commissioning professional graffiti artists to paint uplifting scenes and images at each location, all designed to raise spirits and encourage a greater sense of community pride.

 

So far it has improved the look of subways located in areas such as Merthyr Mawr, Brackla and Broadlands, and while the media coverage to date has focused mainly upon this aspect, I think Members may be interested to know that there is a more significant reason behind the work.

 

It all forms part of the Positive Messages campaign, a project which is seeking to combat hateful vandalism and divisive sloganeering by turning it into stunning art that all the community can enjoy.

 

Organised by our own Community Safety Partnership and the Western Bay Community Cohesion team, the project has involved working with Council staff to identify problem hotspots.

 

Suitable counter narratives have been developed in partnership with local groups such as the Bridgend Writers Circle, and replacement artwork has been designed by graffiti artists such as Another Day, Another Spray and THEW Creative.

 

For example, a central message of ‘Hope’ was chosen for the Merthyr Mawr subway, while ‘nature’ was selected for a subway in Brackla.

 

Both have made a massive difference to the local community and have drawn huge amounts of praise and attention for the positive, transformative impact that they are having.

 

Hate and division has no place in Bridgend County Borough, nor anywhere else.

 

I would like to thank everyone who has helped to make this inspirational project a success and urge any Member who has not already done so to take a closer look.

 

Cabinet Member – Resources

 

I would once more ask Members to urge their constituents to remain vigilant for the latest scams seeking to convince householders to part with cash or hand over confidential information.

 

The pandemic lockdown saw the criminals behind these scams become increasingly creative and I regret to report that we are continuing to receive complaints and reports from concerned residents.

 

The most common scam continues to involve a fake phone call advising householders that they are owed a refund on their council tax payments.

 

The scammers ask for confidential bank account details in order to arrange for a rebate to be paid, but victims of this scam subsequently find that their bank accounts have been raided.

 

We also receive complaints from people who have been offered fake refunds on their water, electricity or gas bills.

 

Bridgend County Borough Council will never phone a householder to ask them to provide bank account details over the telephone.

 

Anyone who feels like they may have fallen victim to such a scam should contact their bank immediately and report it to the Police by calling 101.

 

As always, more advice on how people can protect themselves against scams is available at the Shared Regulatory Services website.

 

Chief Executive

 

Members will recall that at the last meeting of full Council, you approved the new Corporate Plan for the period 2023 to 2028.

 

Following this, we took the plan away for further design and translation work, and to prepare it for a public launch.

 

I’m pleased to inform you that this has now been completed, and that we are preparing to publicly launch the new corporate plan next week.

 

Called ‘Delivering Together’, the plan showcases a fresh new approach for outlining how we intend to provide essential services, work alongside local people and partners, and carry out business over the next five years.

 

Specifically designed to be more accessible and easier for people to engage with, it has been produced using feedback from residents of all ages and backgrounds, users and providers of council services, elected members, partner organisations, other local authorities and more.

 

The new Corporate Plan for 2023-28 provides us with a clear, well-informed and relevant basis for ensuring that we can continue to provide essential services while meeting the numerous challenges that stand before us.

 

Over the next few weeks, we will be carrying out further publicity to highlight different aspects of the plan, including a social media campaign, and members will receive an email featuring more information and a hyperlink to the plan itself.

 

I hope that members will lend their support to this publicity campaign, and that you will encourage your constituents to access and read the plan, and to consider how they too can offer feedback and help shape how we deliver our services in future.