You will have seen news reports about an illegal gathering over the Easter bank holiday weekend, at Kenfig Industrial Estate in Margam, which borders with the Bridgend County Borough. South Wales Police made a public order to direct people to leave the area.

For safety reasons, urgent road closures were put in place with people advised not to attend the gathering on foot or in vehicles.

Responding to an illegal gathering of this size and nature takes its toll on our emergency services, highways teams and clean-up crews, who were unexpectedly called out on Easter Sunday.

I would like to thank the local community for their patience and support along with colleagues at South Wales Police, Neath Port Talbot Council and other partner agencies who worked together to deal with the situation and ensure people left the site safely.

We were also notified over the weekend that a number of caravans had parked illegally at the Rest Bay playing fields in Porthcawl. We took swift action and in conjunction with South Wales Police, a notice was served requiring the caravans to leave the site. Under law, councils must follow a set process and are required to carry out social services assessments and confirm that there are no welfare issues before a notice can be served. As a result of this response, the caravans left the site on Monday.

New legislation from Welsh Government means that from 17 September 2023, the national speed limit will fall from 30mph to 20mph on restricted roads.

Members will know from the briefing that they received that the move aims to reduce road injuries, offer a safer environment to encourage cycling or walking, as well as lower noise pollution.

An online public engagement exercise is currently underway on local exemptions to the reduction from 30mph to 20mph and will remain open until 24 April.

I received a letter of comfort from the Deputy Minister for Climate Change at Welsh Government, Lee Waters, about funding for the implementation of the lower speed limit. 

I also received confirmation that a planned consultation over the difficult issue of ‘pavement parking’ has been postponed until next year.

This follows feedback from Council Leaders advising that greater focus needs to firstly be placed upon the implementation of the new national speed limit requirements, and I am pleased to see that the deputy minister has listened to our concerns.

While parking on pavements is not currently illegal in Wales unless a vehicle is causing an obstruction, Scotland is in the process of banning the practice, and it is already illegal in London.

Charities such as Living Streets Cymru and the Royal National institute for the Blind have long argued that keeping pavements clear of vehicles is essential for blind and partially sighted people, and also for with mobility issues who may be forced out into the road to get around a vehicle.

We will bring you further details when the consultation is relaunched later in 2024.

In his letter the Minister also confirmed a short extension of the Bus Emergency Scheme to the end of the summer term. The meeting convened a meeting involving the WLGA, representatives of the bus industry, and Transport for Wales. It was agreed that the current Bus Emergency Scheme (BES) has run its course and is committed to working in partnership to find the best possible way forward.

Finally, the coronation of King Charles III is set to take place on Saturday 6 May, and a bank holiday has been declared to help mark the occasion on Monday 8 May.

Residents coming together to organise street parties marking royal or other national events has long been a British tradition, and the coronation will offer communities throughout Bridgend County Borough a great chance to get together and hold a celebration with neighbours.

To support residents who wish to do this, the Council has produced a step-by-step webpage offering practical advice designed to ensure that people can celebrate safely while also enabling key routes to remain open.

The webpage includes top tips that range from the benefits of planning early or making sure that first aid is available to applying for alcohol and entertainment licences or requesting a road closure.

While there is no charge for applying for a temporary road closure, members may want to remind residents that all applications must be submitted 10 working days before the date of the planned event.

Full details are available at the Council website.