UPPER-KILLAY-COMMUNITY-COUNCIL-2nd-November-2020

UPPER K ILLAY COMMUNITY COUNCIL MONTHLY MINUTES Monday 2nd November 2020 7.30pm Present Councillor B Oliver (Chairman) Councillor P Hood-Williams Councillor J Rudd Councillor S Mehmood Councillor K Hanson Clerk to the Council – Miss C Bagley Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the meeting was held via Zoom Members of the Community were invited to submit any questions/queries that they would like to be discussed prior to the meeting Apologies for absence (received from) Councillor M Ward To be actioned by: Declaration of Interests In accordance with the provision of the Code of Conduct, Council members must declare an interest at the commencement of such matter being discussed, or when the interest becomes apparent Members disclosing an interest must enter the Agenda number of the item, together with their interest, onto the relevant form supplied by the Clerk during each meeting Due to the meeting being held remotely it was not possible to disclose an interest on the usual form However, members of the meeting were asked if they had anything to declare and a record was taken All Councillors Councillor Hood-Williams declared an interest in all matters pertaining to Swansea City Council Minutes from Meeting held on 5th October 2020 To be actioned by: th Minutes from the meeting held on October 2020 were agreed and accepted as being a true and accountable record with the following amendment:  An interest was declared by Councillor Hood-Williams concerning all matters pertaining to Swansea City Council Proposed by Cllr P Hood-Williams and seconded by Councillor K Hanson Swansea Council Matters To be actioned by: Members of the Community had the opportunity to submit any queries prior to the meeting to any member of the Community Council Actions from meeting:  Safety of pedestrians due to road speeds and parking near Cila School Councillor Hood-Williams confirmed that he has attempted to speak to Mr Alan Ferris from Swansea City Council Highways Department to organise a site visit but unfortunately Mr Ferris is on sick leave A site visit does need to be carried out before any recommendations can be actioned but this will need to wait until Mr Ferris returns to work 2nd November 2020 Page Mr Squires (Cila School Headmaster) has agreed to accompany Councillor Hood-Williams on the site visit when a date is confirmed Councillor Hood-Williams advised members of the meeting that it is unlikely a public meeting will be viable due to the pressure of work in Swansea Council However the date of the site visit will be published so members of the Community can be available to attend if they wish to so Questions from the Community:  Members of the Community have asked if they can attend the remote meeting Previous discussions have left the Council undecided on the decision to permit this due to efficiency and control of the meeting The Clerk advised on other Community Council’s that have meetings closed to members of the public due to the unprecedented situation The Clerk suggested that future meetings be recorded and uploaded to the UKCC website for members of the public to view after completion of the meeting It was agreed by all to apply virtual backgrounds at the next meeting and record the meeting  A request was put forward for double yellow lines to be placed between Hen Parc Lane and Gower Road Councillor Hood-Williams agreed to take this forward as above  Concern over a high level of parking outside Gower Vets It was acknowledged that parking is increasing and difficult around the Vets surgery The Community Council has recognised this and made the overflow car park at the Recreational Hall available for staff and customers Councillor Hood-Williams agreed to investigate further to understand if anything else can be done with the City Council  Parking in Edgemoor Close is still an issue, can parking bays / spaces be added Councillor Hood-Williams agreed to investigate further to identify any action that can be undertaken It was confirmed that the recommended course of action if access is blocked is the call the police It was also agreed that the Clerk would write to the contractors of the two housing developments currently being undertaken in the village to request that they enforce sensible parking with their staff and visitors  Further concern in relation to traffic speed on Gower Road Councillor Rudd queried whether/suggested that the speed indication sign at the bottom of Gower Road could be changed for a speed camera Councillor Hood-Williams stated that this was not a Council decision as it sits within the remit of the organisation Go Safe Wales, but he agreed to ask the question with the City Council Councillor Rudd also agreed to take this forward directly with the organisation and suggested that the link be placed in the minutes should members of the Community also wish to express their support: https://gosafe.org/contact-us/community-concern Miss Catherine Bagley Councillor HoodWilliams Councillor HoodWilliams Councillor HoodWilliams Miss Catherine Bagley Councillor HoodWilliams Councillor Rudd During discussions around road safety, the Go Safe Watch initiative was re-visited Councillor Hood-Williams stated that he did not have any interest from members of the Community to volunteer previously but agreed that if we can demonstrate through community based monitoring that there is a need for further action then this may entice volunteers from the Village to assist with data collection It was agreed that re-visiting the Go Safe Watch scheme was a sensible suggestion but with the current social distancing restrictions and the training requirements, it would not be viable to start this process at the moment Councillor Oliver closed this topic of conversation by stating that the Community Council, together 2nd November 2020 Page with the Police, the Community and the City Council have been wresting for thirty plus years in relation to traffic and speeding in Upper Killay All the issues raised of late have been raised previously and considered impossible to resolve but it does not stop the Community Council from continuing to try Planning To be actioned by: As there were no planning applications to discuss, it was not necessary for Councillor HoodWilliams to leave the meeting Councillor Oliver provided an update in relation to all ongoing requests Ref No: 2020/2138/FUL - 584 Gower Road, Upper Killay, Swansea, SA2 7DR Still under consideration Ref No: 2020/0785/FUL - 667A Gower Road, Upper Killay, Swansea, SA2 7HE Still under consideration Ref No: 2020/1853/DOC – Blackhills Nursery, Blackhills Lane, Fairwood, Swansea, SA2 7JN Still under consideration Ref No: 2020/1294/FUL - Hen Parc Cottage Hen Parc Lane Upper Killay Swansea SA2 7JL Still under consideration Hall Management To be actioned by: A: Matters Arising There were no existing matters to be discussed B New Matters  The Caretaker has reported that individuals are having difficulty making hall bookings on-line The Clerk agreed to investigate further Questions from the Community:  The Community Hall looks like it needs to be brightened up, re-decorated outside It was agreed that this be considered as an action when setting the 2021/2022 budget in January, provided there is sufficient community engagement with volunteers to support this  A number of questions or suggestions were raised in relation to the playground, implementation of a nature space or community orchard o Councillor Oliver explained to members of the meeting that similar suggestions were made in the past but were unsupported by previous members of Council and/or the Community o Councillors’s Rudd and Hanson confirmed their interest but agreed that it would need an organiser from the Community to put forward a viable plan o Provided there is sufficient support a budget could be allocated to allow the organiser to take this forward o Councillor Rudd suggested that should anyone be interested in leading this initiative, that they contact ‘Renew Wales’ first who may be able to support Miss Catherine Bagley Budget Meeting Actions for Climate Change: Councillor Rudd presented the following options for consideration:  Use current funding available from the Welsh Government to change the hall heating from gas to a heat pump o This would lower the Carbon Footprint, but not necessarily the bills o The cost would be £10,000 to £20,000 but part of this would be reimbursed quarterly o Councillor Hood-Williams suggested that there may be another tranche of grants coming from the RDP (Regional Development Plan) that could support with this  External Wall Installation 2nd November 2020 Page Councillor Oliver states that a survey was completed for this approximately 18 months ago o The contractor advised that the main hall currently had inches of installation and another 12 inches could be placed over this o No action could be undertaken in relation to the changing rooms and flat roof areas without removing the complete roof and re-installation Underfloor Heating o This could emit 25% less CO2e than radiators Solar Panels and battery storage Community Swapping o This has already been happening across the village and appears to working ‘Library of things’ o Councillor Rudd suggested that a library of available items from the Community be made available to hire o It was agreed that the Community Council not have the space to physically hold any items, but a simple mechanism could be created on the Facebook site Electric Charging points o Councillor Rudd has investigated this further and has been asked to provide an image of the current supply and distribution board o Councillor Oliver agreed to discuss this with the Caretaker o      For clarity, the Clerk confirmed that the budget for reducing the carbon footprint in 2020/2021 is £10,000, some of which has been used to replace lighting in the hall It was suggested that the residual budget be used to carry out feasibility studies, small pieces of work in and around the hall before committing any further action Councillor Rudd Councillor Rudd agreed to commission a feasibility study and to provide a report on what actions could be taken, along with the costs thereof Grounds / Playground To be actioned by: A: Matters Arising  Councillor Oliver confirmed that all meadows have been cut as planned  The weather has been too bad to bale the hay but this action will be completed as soon as it is dry enough  Councillor Oliver has completed the annual Japanese Knotweed treatment  Councillor Oliver confirmed that he had not received any uptake from Swansea University in relation to assistance with the Pond Scheme o Should anyone in the Village wish to support with the Pond Scheme, please let Councillor Oliver know B: New Matters  Playground Quotation (as part of the £1 million Swansea City Grant) o quotation has been received to install a rubber flooring in replace of bark chip and complete bonding o The current playground flooring is wood chip which was previously provided for free by Swansea City Council After the standard of wood chip required for a play area changed, the Council were no longer able to provide for free Current wood chip required replacing and de-weeding on a weekly basis o The quotation was for £34,000 o The quotation does not include the removal of the old wood chip, the intention is to make this available to the Community 2nd November 2020 Page o o o o Councillor Hood-Williams confirmed that the grant application is in process but there are concerns that the land belongs to a trust as opposed to Swansea City Council Councillor Hood-Williams will be meeting with colleagues in the Council and will report back at the next meeting Two other quotations are required should the grant be successful, it was suggested that firms are well aware that a capital spend is in place and as such the market is very competitive Councillor Oliver and Councillor Hood-Williams agreed to exchange potential contractor details to enable further quotes to be obtained Cllr Oliver & Cllr Hood-Williams To be actioned by: Community A: Matters Arising  Following a request placed on Facebook, no further interest or content for the newsletter have been received o Councillor Oliver requested that a further request be placed on Facebook stating that plans for another newsletter have been delayed due to a lack of content, but if individuals/organisations would like to request any content then please let us know Councillor Hanson B New Matters No new matters to be discussed To be actioned by: Governance and Finance A: Matters Arising  Income and Expenditure reports were distributed prior to the meeting B: New Matters  Queries have been raised from the external auditor in relation to the 2019/2020 annual return The Clerk confirmed that these have been responded to and an outcome has not yet been determined Any Other Business There was no further business The meeting was closed at 9.20pm DATES OF NEXT MEETING: Monday 7th December 2020 SIGNED …………………………………………… 2nd November 2020 Page