MINUTES of a meeting held on the 7th of December  2009  at the Recreational Hall

 

PRESENT  Mr. R. Oliver ( Chairman ), Mrs. S.Phillips and J.Williams, Messrs C.Mowbray, and T.Porter , and Mr.K.Evans ( Clerk).

 

APOLOGIES  FOR  ABSENCE Messrs. W.Morris, C.Low, V.Ley and J.Baiss

 

THE MINUTES of the previous month’s meeting having been circulated were approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman

 

MATTERS  ARISING

None

 

HALL  MANAGEMENT

Mrs. Phillips reported upon the latest Management Committee meeting. Installation of the new flooring had been completed. The Plumber had quoted £140 pus VAT for repair of radiators, but the Hall Manager had checked these, and tightened the valves, and so it was decided to request a revised quote. It was noted that dog fouling of the Council’s land remained an issue. The flat roof of the Hall needs anti-algae spray, and the Playground needs weeding and bark scraping. Mr Porter would be retained to prune shrubs and trees. Christmas lighting  for the Hall would not be pursued, in view of the cost of this and of insurance. It was agreed to place access to the Council’s land from Edgemoor  Drive property on the agenda for January. The Clerk advised that he had spoken to Protec, who said that work charged in respect of the new alarm was as a result of damage caused by an electrical storm, and thus properly payable.

 

PLAYGROUND  EQUIPMENT

The Hall Management Committee proposed removal of two pieces of equipment, and replacing these with a new playdome and a tube. It was agreed to proceed with the latter at a cost of £794 plus installation, and although a price was awaited for the playdome, it was believed this would be within the existing budget.

At this point Cllr. P. Hood-Williams joined the meeting.

 

 

 

 

SWANSEA  COUNCIL  MATTERS

Cllr. Hood-Williams said that it was hoped there would be a temporary road speed indicator display for the Village, and that these had been shown to have a measure of success in slowing traffic. There was work to be carried out by the Gas Board in Hen Parc Lane, which would be closed temporarily. The Clerk circulated the Swansea Rural Development Plan newsletter, and it was noted that the Authority were concentrating on marketing local produce, including food.  Also, development of local walks could have an impact upon Upper Killay, and attract people into the Village. The Chairman took for review the Rural Development Implementation Report. Cllr. Hood –Williams would attend the next One Voice Wales regional meeting. A Swansea consultation on youth support services had been received, and this would be referred to Hall Management Committee. Cllr. Hood-Williams said he was involved at City Council level, and would be willing to receive any observations, especially in the social work context. It was also agreed that the consultation was susceptible to individual responses by members, who would be free to send such in if they felt appropriate. The Chairman took for consideration the Welsh Assembly Government consultation upon statutory guidance for strategic community planning by local authorities, and a consultation upon improvement of fire and rescue authorities in Wales was noted.

 

PLANNING

The only application related to Dunvant RFC, and it was resolved to make no comment, as from a practical point of view this did not affect

Upper Killay

 

FINANCES

The following cheques were approved for payment:-

Handprint                                                                 599     04

Gower Website                                                        100     00                           Ricoh                                                                            7   64

Mazars LL.P                                                   155     25

The Flooring Studio                                                4872    00

Pro Tec Alarms                                                           82   80                

The following payments direct from the Bank in October were ratified:-

Welsh Water                                                              28    00

SWALEC                                                                   63    00

EON                                                                          88    53

B.T.                                                                           23    07

The Clerk circulated estimated financial figures for the current year, to enable initial consideration of the next precept. He also advised that the External Auditors had approved the Annual Return for 2008/9, although they had added a qualification recommending that the Internal Auditor should review the Council’s exercise of its responsibilities as Trustee of the Hall charitable trust.

 

GOWERTON SIXTH FORM

A letter had been received requesting that the Council support a campaign for retention of the Gowerton sixth form. Mrs. Phillips advised that as a matter of information Gowerton was part of a consortium of local schools cooperating at sixth form level because of the difficulty in sustaining pupil numbers. It was decided not to consider this issue, as it was a complex one upon which the Council had insufficient technical knowledge. Mrs Phillips declared she would have had a personal and prejudicial interest, as a Swansea College teacher, in the event there had been a discussion.

 

ANY  OTHER  BUSINESS

1.     The Annual Report of the Local Government Ombudsman had been received.

2.     It was noted that Sketty Park Estate had sold land behind the lower part of Gower Road.

3.     It was noted that a new bin had been provided for dog mess.

At this point Mrs. Phillips left the meeting

4.     The Chairman advised that he had again phoned the Police about the activities of off road motor cyclists.

5.     The Chairman took for consideration draft guidance prepared by the Ombudsman for Wales upon the Code of Conduct.

6.     The Clerk reported that the Secretary of the Uplands RFC had spoken to Mr. Don Lewis about installation of rugby posts on the Playing fields.

7.     The Clerk was authorised to respond to any research by the Institute of Employment Studies into provision for disabled elected members and disabled members of the community.

 

 

There being no further business, the meeting was closed.

 The next meeting would be on January 4th  2010.