(i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

 

Mayor

 

The Mayor announced that he has had a busy month and a lot of events had been held outdoors.

 

Earlier in the month he attended the South Wales Police headquarters and was honoured to be presented to His Royal Highness Prince Charles.   Prince Charles was in attendance to unveil a plaque marking the 50th Anniversary of the formation of the South Wales Police. The force came into being on 1st June 1969 and has grown to become one of the best performing forces in the country.

 

Porthcawl recently hosted its inaugural 10k run. More than 3,000 runners attended and Welsh sprint legend Iwan Thomas warmed up the competitors. Hundreds of spectators came out in force to support the event, which he attended along with the Mayor of Porthcawl.  There was even a surprise fly-past by the Red Arrows marking what it is hoped to be the beginning of distance running in the town.

 

July seemed to be the month of agricultural shows and he was pleased to attend the Bridgend County Show in Pencoed and on a larger scale the Royal Welsh Show.  The Bridgend County Show started in 1946 as a welcome home to those who had been serving this country in WW2.  It remained a great demonstration of community cohesion as well as a place to celebrate our agricultural heritage he added.

 

The Mayor advised that he had also had the pleasure of officially opening the Bryncethin Centre following a Community Asset Transfer agreement taking place. This involved attendance by local school children singing, with Bryncethin RFC representatives also being present.

 

Last weekend he was pleased to be asked to attend the Classic Car Show in Bridgend Town Centre which is presented by the Glamorgan Classic Car Club. This yearly event also included music, food and entertainment and it was great to see the event so well received.

 

The Mayor congratulated Councillor Bridie Sedgebeer and Chris Elmore MP who had got married last weekend. He wished them a very happy future together.

 

Lastly, the Mayor thanked those that contributed to the food bank collection at last month’s Council and in respect of this, he confirmed that the food bank on Nolton Street were very grateful for such a collection.

 

Cabinet Member – Communities

 

The Cabinet Member – Communities advised that Members may recall, that back in 2015, there were fears for the future of Kenfig National Nature Reserve’s super-rare Fen Orchid after its numbers dropped to around 200. As the Fen Orchid only grows at Kenfig, the site hosts the entire UK population of this small, pretty flower.

 

He was pleased to inform Members that thanks to a special landscape management scheme which involves cutting back grass and scraping the surface of dune slacks to encourage and stimulate growth, the Fen Orchids have now increased to more than 1,000.

 

In fact, a recent Council check on these and other orchids at the 1,300 acre reserve, had to stop when wardens and volunteers found there were too many to count in a single day.

 

They estimate that orchid numbers at the 1,300 acre reserve have increased to more than 4,000, and that the site features as many as 15 different species including Twayblades, Autumn Lady’s Tresses, Bee Orchids and more.

 

He was delighted that the Council had been able to play a central role in protecting the site’s many habitats and ensuring that Kenfig’s orchids can thrive.

 

The Council were currently preparing for the handover of the management of the site when the lease expires in 2020, and together with Natural Resources Wales, are continuing to support the Kenfig Corporation Trust as they seek to appoint a new organisation capable of continuing with this work.

 

As part of further good news, nine of the County Borough’s most beautiful sites have bagged themselves prestigious Green Flag awards from Keep Wales Tidy.

 

Three of the sites are maintained by the Council, Wilderness Lake in Porthcawl, Maesteg Welfare Park and Coychurch Crematorium and they join Bryngarw Country Park, Glanrhyd Hospital, the Caerau Market Garden, Spirit of Llynfi Woodlands, the Wilderness Allotment Association and the Badgers Brook Allotment.

 

In the case of Coychurch Crematorium, this was the tenth year in a row that they have achieved Green Flag status. He was sure that Members would join him in congratulating the workers and volunteers whose dedication and hard work had resulted in this success.

 

Finally, the Cabinet – Member Communities was delighted to confirm that funding of £3.6m has been provided by Welsh Government for the construction of new local transport and active travel improvements.

 

These included safe routes for pedestrians and cyclists, new active travel routes, accessibility improvements at a number of bus stops, road safety and cycling training for school children, and Pass Plus courses for new drivers.

 

Some of the funding will support feasibility studies into traffic flows on the Penprysg Road bridge, as we look at whether it is possible to introduce an all-new bridge that would enable the closure of the level crossing, and improve capacity on the main railway line.

 

Among the planned active travel improvements, were shared pedestrian and cycling routes between Brackla and Bridgend town centre, Pencoed and the Pencoed Technology Park, Coychurch and both the Waterton Industrial Estate and Waterton Retail Park, and numerous ongoing improvements around Coity.

 

The initial phase of a ‘Safe Routes to School’ scheme around Newton Primary will also be completed, with the active travel route extended along the Eastern Promenade and New Road to the school, and the introduction of new cycle and scooter storage.  

 

All of these improvements have been made possible thanks to Welsh Government, and he was very grateful for their continued support.

 

He also welcomed the new pedestrian and cycling route that the housing developers Persimmon are currently creating between the Heol West Plas roundabout and the hospital along the A4061.

 

Cabinet Member – Social Services and Early Help

 

The Cabinet Member – Social Services and Early Help, was sure that Members will have welcomed the recent news that Cwm Taf Morgannwg Regional Partnership Board will receive £22.7m from Welsh Government’s Wales Transformation Fund.

 

The money is to be used to expand successful pilot projects across the Cwm Taf area, which of course now includes Bridgend County Borough, to provide greater choice and independence for individuals while reducing pressure on social care, GP surgeries and hospitals.

 

It should also improve people’s experience of care, and support the ambition to provide greater care closer to home.

 

This forms part of an ambitious proposal to transform health and social care across the Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil and Bridgend County Borough areas. It reflects the needs of current and future generations, and marks the culmination of many months of hard work.

 

Much of what the proposal seeks to achieve will be delivered by boosting the role of social value organisations which already have a huge impact upon people’s lives.

 

This was excellent news for Bridgend County Borough he felt.

 

Members may also want to remind their constituents that households which make use of the purple bag recycling collections for absorbent hygiene products need to reapply on an annual basis in order to remain part of the scheme.

 

If a household does not put out any bags on three consecutive occasions over a six week period, it will also be assumed that they no longer require a collection.

 

With 10,200 homes currently signed up to the scheme, it is proving to be extremely popular, and resulted in 1,161 tonnes of AHP waste being recycled instead of ending up in landfill. This is the equivalent in weight of 92 double decker buses.

 

As disposable nappies can take up to 500 years to fully break down, this is a fantastic result and he was pleased that this important service is helping residents while reducing the amount that we send to landfill.

 

Cabinet Member – Wellbeing and Future Generations

 

The Cabinet Member – Wellbeing and Future Generations announced that our popular ‘Schools Out’ initiative is now live and is offering an action-packed programme of free summer activities for local children.

 

Organised by the Council in partnership with Awen, Halo, the Urdd, Menter Bro Ogwr and local town and community councils, in addition to the wide range of activities that were on offer last summer, this year, sports camps and academies have been arranged to help children aged 3 to 15 develop important agility, balance, co-ordination and fundamental movement skills.

 

The Urdd are also running a number of Welsh sports camps, while Menter Bro Ogwr are hosting Welsh language play schemes in various locations throughout the County.

 

Awen are staging outdoor theatre at Bryngarw Country Park with performances such as Alice in Wonderland and Wuthering Heights, and this year’s Summer Reading Challenge has a ‘Space Chase’ theme, which ties in well with it being 50 years since the moon landing.

 

Halo are holding FREE swimming crash courses which includes a range of Disney-inspired family fun swim sessions to help children to be safe and confident in the water.

 

All activities must be booked in advance and have limited availability, you can find out more at the school’s out page on our council website.

 

Members may also want to help promote the Employability Bridgend initiative within their wards. This is a scheme which supports local people in finding work by increasing their employment prospects.

 

The Council recently highlighted the case of a Brackla resident whose career as a plumber came to an end for medical reasons. Deciding to retrain, the resident met with advisors, mentors and trainers from Employability Bridgend, and they helped him to achieve his dream job as a fully qualified football coach.  His hard work has resulted in a new job with a professional football club.

 

This is just one example of how the Employability Bridgend initiative is helping local people find work and improve their lives. It is funded by Welsh Government and the European Social Fund.

 

More information was available from the Employability Bridgend page on the Council website.

 

Cabinet Member – Education and Regeneration

 

The Cabinet Member – Education and Regeneration had three updates for Members. Firstly, he was sure that all present would agree that Porthcawl looked fantastic in the media coverage of the recent Healthspan Porthcawl 10k.

 

The event was hugely popular, and really helped to showcase the town to the wider world. He extended his thanks to everyone who helped make it such a big success.

 

Events such as this, the Elvis Festival, the Seniors Open golf tournament or the AquaX power boat championship all demonstrate Porthcawl’s potential as a 21st century resort, and improvements such as the new town beach sea defences, the marina and the Jennings Building play a major part of this.

 

He had been advised that there had been entrants this year from overseas, many of whom had not visited Porthcawl before. The 10k event would take place again next year he added, in June or July.

 

Secondly, Members may want to inform their constituents that online applications can now be made for secondary school bus passes.

 

With passes available for around 1,000 children who will be eligible when they start year seven this September, applications should be made by Friday 9 August.

 

It’s the first time that the Council has provided the application process online, and forms part of our efforts to offer residents more efficient, convenient ways of accessing services.

 

We have contacted the families of eligible pupils and have advised how they can make an application via the My Account function at the Council website. As well as speeding up the process, this move saves money by cutting down on the amount of paper involved, and replacement passes can also be applied for online, too.

 

Finally, congratulations are due to business-savvy pupils from Garth Primary School. This is one of the few schools he was yet to visit (with Ward Member(s)). He would arrange for such a visit to take place in September coming

 

After their school bee hive was vandalised, an idea based around bee conservation has helped Garth pupils to win first place in the Welsh Government’s annual Enterprise Troopers competition.

 

The children impressed judges with their ‘Bee-Spoke T-shirts’ which they designed to promote conservation and raise money to provide extra security for the school’s beehive.

 

As those present were aware, bees are under threat from pesticides etc, so this business idea was very timely and ethical.

 

Enterprise Troopers challenges teams of primary school children to run their own businesses, and sell merchandise and services of their choosing in the local community.

 

The competition aims to help pupils apply their creativity and enterprise skills in a very practical way, and gives them an opportunity to develop business, budgeting and marketing skills.

 

Being named the best in Wales for the above, is a considerable achievement, he concluded.