Good Neighbours

Last week, Betsan Powys drew attention to attempts by Daniel Kawczynski, Conservative MP for Shrewsbury to change the electoral arrangements to the National Assembly for Wales. He proposed removing the proportional element of the voting system and creating 60 constituencies to elect AMs. It has virtually no chance of becoming law

Apart from the embarrassment this will cause is Welsh Conservative colleagues in the Assembly, 8 of whom are there thanks to the proportional system, there is an element of concern over what he is trying to do. A quick look on the web, reveals Mr Kawczynski’s interest in Welsh Affairs.

He objects to Welsh patients being treated in hospitals in Shrewsbury, claiming that it costs local hospitals £2m a year. He is also upset that Welsh patients are entitled to some treatments that are not available to his constituents. If he sat back to think for a minute, he should actually be grateful that Welsh patients are treated in Shrewsbury. They add to the throughput of the hospitals and contribute to their income, allowing them to retain specialist staff and make some services viable for Shrewsbury residents. Rather than attacking the Welsh government for paying for treatments that aren’t available on the NHS to his constituents, perhaps he should be lobbying the government in Westminster to provide them. After all, health policy in England is the responsibility of Westminster, not Cardiff Bay.
He is concerned that Welsh Government grants to businesses make them locate in Wales rather than Shropshire. On my visits to Shrewsbury (on trains full of people from Wales going to spend money there) it doesn’t look like a place on its knees because of underhand tactics to destroy its business base from Cardiff Bay. Once again, his complaint seems to be that the Welsh Government is doing a better job of economic development than is Westminster. My advice is similar to that above.
Mr Kawczynski’s other great concern is that Wales is causing flooding in Shrewsbury. He objects to flood defences in Welsh towns along the Severn. His solution to Shrewsbury’s problems is to flood large areas of mid Wales. He’s obviously not much of a student of history or he might have noticed that flooding areas of Wales for the benefit of towns and cities in England has been a bit out of fashion for the last 50 or so years, ever since the people of Wales made their objections clear during the construction of Llyn Celyn.

It seems that the hapless MP has rather missed the point of devolution. I’m not sure if  Daniel Kawczynski is a supporter of David Cameron’s call for English votes on English laws, but I hope he sees the irony of trying to alter the way that Wales runs is limited devolved functions while at the same time asking for Welsh and Scottish MPs not to vote on England only issues.
For centuries the English border towns have done well out of Wales, but over the last 10 years the relationship has become a bit more balanced. Shrewsbury still benefits from facilities that rely on use from Wales, it has plentiful water supplied from Welsh valleys, the Welsh Government pays for improvements to Shrewsbury station and handsomely subsidises train services to the town. It seems to me that  Daniel Kawczynski ought to be spending a bit more time working to improve life for his constituents rather than complaining about their neighbours in Powys. Surely that’s what they actually want him to do.

JANUARY 2010 TOWN COUNCIL NEWS

Last Thursday was the Town Council’s monthly meeting. As there was no meeting in December, there was alot of business to go through. Here are some of the highlights.
NO-ALCOHOL ZONE – Not much to report this month but the paper should be ready to go before the county council cabinet at their next meeting. We hope that they will approve it so that things can move forward and still have time for the zone to be inplace before the summer.
MAYOR AND DEPUTY MAYOR – The council decided to ask me to be Mayor and Hag Harris to be Deputy Mayor for 2010-2011. It’s a great honour and I’m looking forward to the year. The next step is for the clerk to write to us both and ask us to formally accept the positions in writing.

£10,000 BEQUEST – After much discussion, we decided on a project to allocate the bequest left to the town in 2005. The money will be used to renovate a building for the youth club in town. Other options whicj were discussed and rejected were Victoria Hall, renovation of the Scout Hall and a bursay scheme for yong people who are chosen to represent their country or study abroad.
CITIZENS’ ADVICE – Cllr. Elsie Dafis was appointed as the council’s representative on the board of Aberystwyth Citizens’ Advice Bureau.
ROOKERY CAR PARK – The saga of the entrance to the bus and lorry park as been ongoing for a while now. The location of the entrances make it difficult for coaches and lorries to park and the town is lising business as a result. Finally, after a site meeting the county council are willing to look again at the entrance layout to ease access.
NOTICEBOARD– The Town Council noticeboard has been repaired. It is now locked at a key help by the clerk.
RECYCLING BINS – The long awaited bins have arrived at the  County Council’s depot, and should be installed in Parc yr Orsedd and Market Street in the next few weeks. After 2 years I’ll wait until I see them there before I crack open the champaigne…
SWIMMING POOL – Even though I represent the Town Council on the Swimming Pool Board of Trustees, I had to leave the meeting when the subject of a donation to the pool came up. The Council normally gives £1,000 towards the pool’s running costs but this year decided to increase that amount to £2,000. This is a large amount of money, but the pool is a vital facility for the town and running costs are significant. The pool has been fortunate to receive grant aid for the repair work, but the 3 week closure resulted in a loss of income. This grant is a welcome boost.

NEWYDDION CYNGOR TREF IONAWR 2010

Nos Iau diwethaf oedd cyfarfod misol y cyngor. Nid oedd cyfarfod ym Mis Rhagfyr, felly roedd yr agenda yn hir. Dyma’r uchafbwyntiau.
PARTH DI-ALCOHOL – Dim llawer o gynydd ar y parth di-alcohol y mis ‘ma, ond gobeithio bydd cabinet y Cyngor Sir yn trafod y cynyllun a rhoi sel bendith yn ei gyfarfod nesaf. Mae dal yn bosib bydd y parth yn ei lle erbyn yr haf.
MAER A DIRPRWY – Penderfynodd y cyngor i ofyn i fi fod yn Faer a Hag Harris i fod yn Ddirprwy Maer yn 2010-2011. Y cam nesaf yw i’r clerk ysgrifennu atom yn gofyn inni dderbyn y swyddi yn swyddogol.
CYMARODD £10,000 – Ar ol drafodaeth, penderfynnodd y cyngor i roi’r arian tuag at gynllun i adnewyddu adeilad ar gyfer y clwb ieuenctid. Trafodwyd 3 syniad arall sef Neuadd Buddug, Cynllun grantiau i bobl ifanc i astudio neu cynrychio’r ardal tramor ac adnewyddu Neuadd y Sgowtiaid. Gadawodd yr arian i bobl Llambed mewn ewyllys yn 2005, ond roedd y cyngor yn awyddus i ddefnyddio’r arian ar gyfer rhywbeth arbennig a fyddai’n para am y tymor hir.
CYNGOR AR BOPETH – Penodwyd Cyng. Elsie Dafis yn gynrychiolydd y cyngor ar Fwrdd Cyngor ar Bopeth Aberystwyth.
MAES PARCIO’R ROOKERY – Mae’r saga hon wedi bod yn mynd ymlaen ers blynydoedd, ond wedi cyfarfod ar y safle, mae’n edrych fel bod y cyngor sir yn deall y problemau mae’r drefn bresennol yn achosi. Mae’n anodd i coetsys a loriau barcio aherwydd y mynedfa ac mae’r dref yn colli busnes o ganlyniad. Erbyn hyn mae’r cyngor sir yn fodlon ail-edrych ar y cynllun er mwyn hwyluso mynediad i goestys a loriau.
HYSBYSFWRDD – Mae’r hysybyfwrdd wedi gorffen. Mae cabinet newydd wedi cael ei osod ac mae’r allweddi gyda’r clerc.
BINIAU AIL-GYLCHU – Mae’r biniau wedi cyrraedd depo’r cyngor sir. Gobeithio bydden nhw’n cael eu gosod yn Stryd y Farchnad a Parc yr Orsedd yn yr wythnosau nesaf. Ar ol 2 flynedd, dwi’n aros nes bod y biniau yno cyn dathlu….
PWLL NOFIO – er ‘mod i’n cynrychioli’r cyngor ar Fwrdd ymddiredolwyr y Pwll Nofio, roedd yn rhaid i mi adael yr ystafell tra’r oedd y cyngor yn trafod cymorthdal i’r pwll. Penderfynnodd y cyngor i roi £2,000 eleni tuag at y costau rhedeg. Er bod hyn y swm sylweddol, mae’r pwll yn adnodd hanfodol i’r dref ac mae ein costau rhedeg yn codi. Rydym wedi colli incwm dros y Nadolig gan for y pwll ar gau am 3 wythnos ar gyfer y gwaith adnewydu.

Money for Maesyderi Field

It was announced in last night’s meeting of the Maesyderi Field Sub Committee that the  Community Cashback Fund of Dyfed Powys Criminal Justice Board has awarded us a grant towards the cost of making the field a good community facility. We’ve been awarded £15,000 to make up pitches, repair fences, put in seats, put down paths and so on. Ryan Jones, Lampeter’s PCSO made the application for the grant and deserves a great deal of praise for his efforts.

This means that funds are available to do the work much more quickly than we’d anticipated. We’d expected to depend on volunteer effort to do alot of the work but we can now get it done professionally. However, we have to spend the money by the end of the financial year – meaning a little over 2 months to finish planning, let contracts and undertake the work. It will be a challenge, but one that the committee were more than happy to take on.

Arian ar gyfer Cae Maesyderi

Mewn cyfarfod o is-bwyllgor Cae Maesyderi neithiwr, cyhoeddwyd bod cais i Gronfa Community Cashback Bwrdd Cyfiawnder Troseddol Dyfed Powys am arian ar gyfer adnewyddu’r cae wedi bod yn llwyddiannus. Mae nhw wedi cynnig £15,000 ar gyfer trwsio ffensys, creu caeau chwarae, llwybrau, gosod meinciau ac yn y blaen. Gwnaeth Ryan Jones, PCSO Llambed y cais am yr arian, ac mae’n haeddu tipyn o glod am ei waith.

Mae hyn yn olygu fod arian ar gael i wneud y gwaith hyn yn llawer gynt nag roeddwn ni’n meddwl, ond rhaid gwario’r arian erbyn diwedd y flwyddyn ariannol. Mae hyn yn olygu fod ychydig dros 2 fis gyda ni i orffen cynlluniau, gwahodd tendrau a gwneud y gwaith i gyd. Mae’n dipyn o her, ond un roedd y pwyllgor yn fodlon iawn i’w derbyn!

Andrew

As some of you may know already, my godson, Andrew, died on Christmas day. He was the son of Iain, a close friend of mine for 20 years and his wife Sarah-Jane. He was only 23 months old.

The cause of his death hasn’t yet been confirmed but he was buried last Saturday at the church where Iain and Sarah-Jane married in 2007.  The last 4 weeks have been a very difficult time for all those who were fortunate enough to know Andrew during his short life but the service was a fitting celebration of the life of a happy boy.

Andrew was taken to Bristol Children’s Hospital on Christmas day, and Iain and Sarah are raising money for the hospital in Andrew’s memory. If you feel that you’d like to make a contribution, you can do so by follwing the link below.

http://www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Arie-McCall

Andrew

Fel mae rhai ohonch yn gwybod eisoes, bu farw fy mab bedydd, Andrew ar ddydd Nadolig. Roedd yn fab i, Iain, sydd wedi bod yn ffrind agos i fi ers 20 mlynedd. Roedd e’n 23 mis oed.

Nid yw achos ei farwolaeth yn hysbys yn swyddogol eto, ond fe gafodd ei gladdu wythnos yn ol yn yr un eglwys lle briododd Iain a Sarah-Jane yn 2007.  Mae’r 4 wythnos diwethaf wedi bod yn gyfnod anodd iawn i bawb oedd yn ddigon ffodus i nabod Andrew yn ystod ei fywyd byr ond mae Andrew a Sarah yn awyddus i rywbeth bositif ddod allan o’r brofedigaeth. Mae’n nhw’n codi arian trwy Just Giving ar gyfer Ysbyty Plant Bryste lle aeth Andrew ar ddydd Nadolig.

Os hoffech gyfrannu’r i’r apel yn enw Andrew, gallwch wneud drwy’r ddolen isod.

http://www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Arie-McCall

2010-2011 Budget

Last night the town council held its annual budget meeting at Shiloah Vestry. The only item on the agenda was to discuss and decide on the financial report produced by the town clerk.

The council raises £43,220 via a precept on the council tax on dwellings in Lampeter. The town council’s precept is a very small percentage, around 4.5% of the total, with the rest going to the county council and the police. The town council also receives grant funding for specific projects but there is no certainty that these will continue. Grants to help with the costs of Christmas lights have already been stopped. It is also likely, that in the current economic climate that the county council will have to cut certain services to concentrate on its statutory obligations. The town council may need to step in in some circumstances.

Last year, the town council spend less money than it took in through the precept. I was unhappy then that for a number of years as an authority we had raised more tax than we actually needed, while at the same time having good reserves. This surplus came about as a result of negotiaing a better deal on the transmission of CCTV data – a significant part of the town council’s ongoing running costs. By the end of the financial year 2009-1o the council will have spend more than it’s income – taking £11,035 from reserves to fund this.

But studying the councils expenditure reveals that running costs were still lower than income. If one off capital project are taken out, the council will still be £4,500 under budget. The council will still have reserves of £152,000 and this is substantially more than suggested in local government guidelines but with some major projects on the horizon and the thread to county council services, this is no longer the anomaly  it was.

In these circumstances, it would not have been acceptable to increase the council’s precept, so we voted unanimously to hold the same level of precept for the year 2010-11. It has been at the same level since 2006/7.

Cyllideb 2010-11

Neithiwr oedd cyfarfod cyllid blynyddol y cyngor tref yn Festri Shiloah. Yr unig pwnc ar yr agenda oedd astudio a phenderfynnu ar adroddiad y clerc ar gyllideb y cyngor am y flwyddyn i ddod.

Mae’r cyngor yn codi  £43,220 trwy praesept ar dreth y cyngor i’r rhai sy’n byw yn Llambed. Mae’n ganran fach iawn (tua 4.5% o dreth y cyngor). Mae’r gweddill yn mynd i’r Cyngor Sir a’r heddlu. Wrth gwrs, rydym yn derbyn grantiau am brosiectau penodol ond nid oes sicrwydd bydd y grantiau hyn ar gael yn y dyfodol. Yn ogystal a hyn, rydym yn disgwl i’r cyngor sir dileu rhai gwasnaethau yn sgil y sefyllfa ariannol presennol. Ma’r grantiau ar gyfer golau Nadolig wedi mynd yn barod. Llynedd, roedd gwariant y cyngor tipyn yn is na’r incwm, ac roeddwn i’n anhapus ein bod ni fel awdurdod wedi codi mwy o drethi nad oedd angen am nifer o flynyddoedd. Roedd cwymp yn gwariant y cyngor yn deillio o gael bargen gwell ar gostau trosglwyddo data teledu cynlch cyfyng ond am y flwyddyn 2009-10, mae’n debygol fydd y cyngor wedi gwario £54,255 – £11,035 yn fwy na’r incwm.

Wrth edrych ar wariant y cyngor, mae’n bwysig nodi fod nifer o broseictau cyfalafol wedi gwireddu yn ystod y flwyddyn. Mae ein gwariant rhedeg y cyngor dal £4,500 yn llai na’r praesrpt ac mae’r cyngor yn cadw tua £152,000 wrth gefn. Mae hon yn fwy na’r hyn a awgrynir gan ganllawiau llywodraeth leol ond rydym wedi gwario rhywfaint ar prosiectau penodol yn ystod y flwyddyn ac mae nifer o brosiectau eraill ar y gorwel. Wrth gwrs, gyda’r cyngor unwaith eto yn gwario llai ar gostau rhedeg na’r incwm roedd yn hollol annerbyniol i godi treth y cyngor. Felly, penderfynnodd y cyngor i gadw lefel y praesept ar yr un lefel am y flwyddyn nesaf. Mae wedi aros yr un peth ers 2006/7.

Blowing in the Wind

You have laugh at what happened to David Cameron’s poster in Cardiff promising to cut the deficit, nod the NHS budget. You wouldn’t expect everyone to understand the finer points of the ridiculously complex devolution settlement to Wales, but you would hope that a man who hopes to be Prime Minster (or one of his staff) to know that health is devolved to Cardiff. Do the Conservatives know what they will be responsible for if they win the election?

I hope that a bit more care goes into drawing up their policies than went into putting up this poster!