Old Colwyn (East) Residents’ Association
Minutes of the Open Meeting Wednesday 14th October 2009
Item 1. Those present signed the register (30 persons)
Item 2. Apologies – CBM Mike Williams, Tony and Marcia Beardmore, Roger Parry, David Jones MP.
Item 3 Minutes of last meeting on Wednesday 12th September 2009 were read to the meeting by the secretary. Unanimously agreed as a true record.
Item 4 Matters arising from last month’s minutes~
1. Councillor Cossey reported that he and Councillor Carlisle had with met the Highways Engineer who had agreed to put a yellow line around the corner of Wynnstay Road and Heenan Road.
2. Councillor Bob Squire updated the meeting as he had reported last month that he would be in Cardiff as part of team from North Wales pursuing a grant of £1m for CCTV. He reported that the bid for a grant for CCTV had been very successful. Out of over 100 bids in Wales, the Conwy bid had been the top bid. It is all systems go now.
3. A report was read by Councillor Carlisle at the last open meeting from herself and Councillor Cossey about issues they had dealt with the previous month.
Councillor Carlisle wishes to clarify the following statement which she gave
“We have been working on Regeneration of Colwyn Bay, looking at regeneration of the Town Centre.
Also we have been involved with Old Colwyn Regeneration putting the final touches to the plans for a funding bid. We are hoping to, if everyone is in consensus, redo the Victorian shop fronts and upgrade the shops to attract more investment”.
The fact that the plans for Old Colwyn were so advanced elicited some surprise last month from residents and this was commented on by Darren Millar AM in his talk.
Cllr Carlisle contacted the secretary after circulation of the minutes to clear up a slight misunderstanding that she felt had arisen about the plans for regeneration of Old Colwyn.
She and Councillor Cossey give the following account of the facts.
The ideas for regeneration of Old Colwyn come from 4 public meetings earlier in the year, with business people and residents of the whole of Old Colwyn. You will recall that this association contributed to the first meeting by letter because the secretary could not attend. After the final public meeting on 9th March, a group of residents and business people was asked to come up with a list of ideas of how Old Colwyn can be improved. The plan is make a bid for money on offer for the Strategic Regeneration area from Mochdre to St Asaph: Old Colwyn is entitled to a share.
The committee is chaired by Paul Marl, a resident of Old Colwyn, and it has regular meetings. It has met with the Deputy Chief Exec of the Council to consult on what might successfully go into the bid and it regularly reports to local councillors.
There is no input by the Local Authority, and the plans drawn up by the committee are nearly ready to be presented.
When finalised, before submission, the report will then be discussed with residents associations and other constituted groups, schools etc in Old Colwyn.
Update
The Councillors stated that they had brought the finalised proposals to this meeting to hand out later.
Item 5 Standing items~
Policing/Local Crime / Nuisance
Reminder ~ there is a new non emergency number for the police -
On street drinking and purchasing for underage people is still an issue in Old Colwyn.
Monty Slocombe stated that there were often youngsters carrying boxes of drink away
with them from the Co-
The Chair asked for cooperation if people see where people are drinking if they tell the committee, we can pass the information on to the police who seem to be having difficulty finding them.
The secretary added that it is worth saying on the subject that unless they are drinking from an open vessel, unless they are underage, they are not committing an offence. We understand however that there is new legislation that Councils can apply to ban people from drinking in open places. At some stage we will find out if our Council will involve itself in that.
Councillor Squire added that anything like that would be adopted because it came up at the last Licensing Committee that the police are seizing open and closed vessels off them now.
Police have been kept informed of drugs activity during the month. It is important that we keep on top of it. Keep reporting issues to the police.
Refuse wheelie bins stored on the street.
Many bins are wide open and untidy on the street for instance at the side of Bod Difyr and this is most unacceptable as a health issue as well as unsightly. Although they are on private ground they impact on the population of Old Colwyn as a whole and should be dealt with.
It is quite obvious in some known cases of storage on or near the Highway that no thought is given to the appearance of bins for other residents and visitors. This is a visual but also a HEALTH ISSUE.
Some bins have to be stored on or in full sight of the highway; we are told that for some there is no choice. If that is the case then they should always be tidy and closed as a minimum requirement.
The secretary added that the Council did have some success in Princess Road but they have started to creep back now.
On a similar issue if we relate open bins to vermin, Mrs Williams has reported that she has found three dead rats in the back alley of Princess Road.
There was advice that the Rat Catcher had visited and had some success in Old Colwyn. Also that people could ring the Environment Department of the Council and they will remove them.
Our Association Website -
September unique visitors 396
October up to the 14th 167
Cliff Road parking. The installation of yellow lines will happen, we are told but progress seems to have slowed.
Councillor Cossey updated the meeting that the objection had been removed so will go ahead.
Councillor Squire added that with yellow lines they tend to do them all in one go.
Item 6. Any other business.
St John's garden insurance incident.
In May there was an incident which caused damage to two borders in St John’s. An insurance company agreed to make a payment to the association for the damage. Parks and Gardens Dept provided plants to fill the damaged borders and the committee asked to donate the money to Parks and Gardens Dept for them to use on another project in our residents area.
In this way it can be directly shown that there has been partnership by the association in the new project for Green Flag and Britain in Bloom purposes. It also accords with our constitution ~
To represent all residents in the area covered by the Association
To act on behalf of all residents to improve the amenities and the environment.
To promote and encourage facilities for recreation, amenities and social activities which will be open to all members.
9th Member of the Committee ~ As members will possibly remember at the AGM a volunteer was requested to join the committee which needs one more member. Not having a full committee can cause problems on occasions. Please consider whether you can spare an hour on the first Tuesday in the month to assist with the smooth running of your association.
Christmas tree in Old Colwyn ~ Councillor Cossey informed the committee meeting that a decision has been taken to have a tree in the village at Christmas.
Fence along the railway line ~ Councillor Cossey reported that David Jones MP is to meet with Network Rail about the state of the fence along the embankment of the Old Colwyn promenade.
Pier issues ~ Councillor Cossey reported that Conwy County now have permission from the Receiver to engage marine structural engineers to examine the pier. We will then know about the condition of the pier. There is someone interested in taking it on. The Minister has said that money is available from the Welsh Assembly Government but they will not deal with a person who has been bankrupt. A Charitable Trust is perhaps the way forward.
Report on the “Gardening for Wildlife Open Day” at St John’s Church
On Saturday 19th September, St John’s Church and garden in Old Colwyn was the venue for a successful “Gardening for Wildlife” open day.
Over 120 adults and children attended during the day and there was interest for all.
There were photographic displays to educate people about the care of wildlife provided by Anna Williams, Wildlife Gardening Officer of North Wales Wildlife Trust. Anna also arranged activities for the many young people who attended such as making insect homes and identification of species. These were very popular activities.
Anna Williams organises the Snowdonia Wildlife Gardening Competition and St John's Garden has previously won the Community Garden section. Details of the competition can be found on the Snowdonia National Park website at http://www.gardenforwildlife.co.uk/
There were also photos and slides of the construction of a wildlife garden and creatures photographed in St John’s gardens.
Mark Earp a local chainsaw carver was present to demonstrate his craft. The introduction of wood into a garden is important for creatures and Mark was able to give advice on this.
Mark also runs a website called “Working Together Old Colwyn” http://hebsta.webs.com which is a broad and excellent showcase for Old Colwyn projects.
The garden open day had been the first to be run by winners of Snowdonia Wildlife Garden competition. On 29th September the secretary and his wife were invited to Plas Tan y Bwlch in Penrhyndeudraeth to give a slide show and discuss their experience with 19 other volunteers who were likely to run similar open days. This had been a success.
Report from Councillors Cossey, Carlisle and Jones on their work in the area in the month. This was welcomed by the secretary, he said that it is good that they do this as it is nice for people to know what their Councillors are doing.
Over 50 individual residents requiring help with a huge variety of matters.
Daily inspections of the area, and following up any problems found, bins, dog fouling, litter, parking problems etc
Aldi have now agreed to move their fridges, because of noise nuisance to local householders.� Huge thanks to David Jones M.P. who liaised with Aldi.
Taxi rank move to Aldi is being progressed.
Problems with the cashpoint at Somerfield have been reported to HSBC, and we have emphasised to them how much our village relies on it, and how detrimental it is tom local businesses if it is not working.
Ongoing meetings with Council and David Jones M.P. re the Waterfront project, and the Sea Defence project for Old Colwyn Promenade.
Ongoing meetings with Council and David Jones about the Colwyn Bay Pier, still no resolution.
Meetings with Network Rail about the state of the safety fencing in Old Colwyn. David Jones MP is meeting with Network Rail tomorrow on our behalf.
We had a walkabout with Byron Davies, the new Chief Executive of Conwy County Borough Council to study the night time economy.
Consultation document has bow been drafted for regeneration ideas, which is the result of 12 months of meetings with the business community and residents. This is being circulated tonight.
Met with Inspector Ahari 2 weeks ago, to complain about the withdrawal of our PCSO.� We were told this cannot be reversed, due to staff shortages.
We are progressing on the Cliff Prout Walk.
Attended a very successful Open Day at St. Johns Church.
Reported empty shop with broken window on corner of Princess Road.
Had several gardens cleared of fly tipping.
Addressing parking problems on the corner of Heenan Road and Wynnstay Road.
Had a lot of issues with stone throwing on Mill Lane and Fairy Glen, and also in Tan Lan. Have again asked for more police presence.
Meeting with Cabinet Member for Highways next week, to discuss the terrible state of some of our roads, as this is becoming urgent with winter approaching.
Met with officials of Colwyn Bay Football Club to view their plans for upgrading, which will bring financial and trade benefits to our village.
Councillor Squire was with the other Councillors when they met Inspector Ahari and also at the meeting with the Chief Executive.
Remembrance Day is on Sunday 8th November at 10am in Old Colwyn.
Item 7 Police report ~ CBM Mike Williams gave his apology.
He reported that he is dealing with stone throwing in Mill Lane and he is also investigating two bin fires down towards Tan Lan.
The secretary asked that if there is any suspicious activity seen around bins please pass the information on. Any information that you hear could be the link that Mike needs. It is a serious issue.
Mike also reported that because of the cold weather and dark nights things are starting to calm down a bit.
Item 8 the Chair welcomed the speaker – Shane Wetton of the Bay Life Initiative to speak about regeneration of Colwyn Bay and how residents can give their views and make a contribution. He gave an informative talk and answered questions. The Chair thanked Shane for taking the time to attend and there was a round of applause. Click here to read
Item 9.
Councillor Carlisle asked if there would be any benefit for the “Benefits Bus” to come to Old Colwyn to help people who wanted grants and anything like that and if there were any ideas of a parking place as ALDI had originally said that it could be there but that had changed.
The secretary asked if the Church House car park might be suitable with permission.
The Councillors handed out copies of 14 ideas for improvement and regeneration of Old Colwyn and said that a committee of business people and residents had been working on it for twelve months.
Councillor Cossey asked that people take the letter away. It will be circulated to all sorts of other people and wondered if the next residents’ meeting could be used as a meeting to discuss what is wanted for Old Colwyn, agree all the schemes and all the projects and that could be passed on to Shane at the Bay Life Initiative.
Mark Chatham asked who has the final decision on proposals.
Councillor Cossey replied that it is the Minister who is the Chair of the SRA committee.
Shane Wetton added that when bids come in they go to the Assembly with the Local Authority. There is a panel of people known as the SRA panel who make the decisions of bids to go forward.
There is a Partnership Board above that where people like the Chief Executives of Conwy, Cartrefi Conwy and other leaders sit; that is chaired by the Deputy Minister for Regeneration Leighton Andrews they have the end say on bids.
Councillor Cossey continued that he felt that they were ahead of the game at this point but they do want to get their projects in for consideration of funding this year. People should add to the list or delete as they see fit, and at the next meeting we can invite everybody and thrash the details out of a final version to go forward as a plan. Copies will be taken around the Business community.
He added, do not think small. Anything that Old Colwyn needs put it down. In making a judgement that we should buy the Old Church House in Cliff Road and even though it is a listed building, a survey has been done, nobody in Old Colwyn wants it, demolish it even though that will be a fight, The ground is a valuable asset as a 21st Century Community Centre. We have been really bold and are of the view that other community centres such as Church Walks and the Red Cross Centre should close and be sold off, concentrating on the one centre.
A resident asked about the Churches Together panel opposite Coed Coch Road. She said that she had not realised that it was there.
Councillor Cossey explained that the panel was one of Cliff Prout’s last projects and he had wanted to erect it before he died.
Monty Slocombe added that the PCSO had been taken away and is not likely to be replaced soon. He had been at Bangor University recently only to find front line officers and civilian staff spending duty time there learning Welsh. He wondered if this was a priority of the rate paying public. It seemed incongruous to see officers there learning Welsh on duty when we are having officers taken away from our area because of shortages whilst the precept rises regularly.
The secretary commented that everyone is supposed to be able to do their business in the medium of Welsh if they want and it is part of the whole process. It does seem to be a waste of duty time.
A resident spoke of a group of between three and six people who regularly meet quite regularly on the concrete steps in the mornings under the Old Colwyn arches to drink alcoholic beverages. Some of them have been seen to be drunk. It is unacceptable he added, people are walking past and they look intimidating to people walking past.
Various people added that they have also seen the group. The secretary will take it forward and report it to the police.
Item 10 The next meeting is November 11th 2009 at 7pm.
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Below ~ The list of possible projects that the councillors circulated for our members to contemplate before the next meeting.
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Conwy
COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL CYNGOR BWRDEISTREF SIROL.
Cllr. Brian Cossey, Cllr Cheryl Carlisle, Cllr Glyn Jones.
FfonlTel: (01492) 518908
(01492)514755
(01492)516488
Residents of Old Colwyn
E-
cllr.cheryl.carlisle @conwy.gov.uk
cllr.glyn jones@conwy.gov.uk
Dyddiad/Date: 14'h October 2009
Dear Resident,
As you will know Colwyn Bay, of which Old Colwyn is a part, has been designated a Special Regeneration Area by the Welsh Assembly. We have met together and with members of the community both residents and business to come up with some ideas as to how Old Colwyn could benefit. The list, so far, is attached, please feel free to contact any of us to add, delete or amend any of these suggestions as soon as possible.
Regeneration ideas for Old Colwyn Village -
1. Community Hub -
2. CCTV upgrade for Old Colwyn, with additional cameras, especially at Marine roundabout, Cefn Road and Penmaenhead.
3. Distinctive gateways to village, with wrought iron signs and signposts at Marine and Penmaenhead.
4. 100% grants for all shops to upgrade and restore shop windows to Victorian theme, and option to replace or renovate canopies.
5. Uniform street furniture throughout Abergele Road and Conservation area (Beach
Road/Llawr Pentre etc) -
6. Berthes Road Car Park, upgrade all railings, barriers, bus shelter, and provide concrete base for recycling pods.
7. Resurface Cefn Road, and provide seating areas and planters.
8. Linking Promenade path with Tan y Coed Gardens, Llawr Pentre, and Fairy Glen. Illuminated Heritage maps and history boards. Restore any features to original design if possible.
9. Relocate Taxi Ranks and Offices, maybe to old M&K building? Or make the site a public car park.
10. Support Mark Earp's (Parks and Gardens) project to improve the Old Colwyn to Colwyn Bay paths and walkways along the promenade and through Eirias Park.
11. Approach Colwyn Bay Football Club to put their expansion programme forward for consideration.
12. Signage off the A55 and beach, directing people to the village.
13. Heritage railings around Marine roundabout, and cobble the centre island, and signage boards to direct visitors.
14. Golden hellos to attract small new businesses.
These ideas have come from the public meetings of the business community; and local residents of Old Colwyn. These ideas are to be considered by all sections of the community for approval, and do not preclude any other ideas being put forward in the future. Any agreed proposals will then go forward for funding consideration as soon as possible.
Brian Cossey Cheryl Carlisle Glyn Jones
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