1.Chairman’s Opening Remarks

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting especially a group of youngsters who had attended to discuss a skate park project. Roger also announced a meeting regarding the building of the bypass that was due to take place at 7.00 that evening in Oakdale Comprehensive School.

2.Skateboard Park Hanger 81 - Mr Mervyn Wood, Manager H 81

Roger introduced Mr Wood who had been invited to inform the meeting about skateboarding at Hanger 81.

Hanger 81 is a former indoor sports hall covering approximately 500 sq metres and containing a number of different ramps. There are 1300 members annually, of which 90% are male and 10% female. As a result the Sports Council for Wales has introduced an initiative to increase female participation by providing introductory free sessions. With the development of Hanger 81 there has been a 58% reduction in anti-social disorder calls to the police. The feedback from the young people has been extremely positive.

The centre also caters for Inline Skates and BMX users. A number of youth clubs have visited the facility including groups from Powys, Talgarth, Torfaen, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Cardiff and Swansea. Youth clubs from Caerphilly have also been up to the centre.

Mr Wood then went through a list of the most frequently asked questions and answers about Hanger 81.

Annual membership costs £2.

The cost of a 2-hour skate is £2.

Everyone who uses the centre needs to be a member (details are held on a database
in case of accidents and emergencies).

Safety equipment is available, although it is limited
(£5 deposit required, £1 to hire equipment).

Workshops for beginners and under 8’s are held on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Expert boarders give tuition.

Everyone must wear a safety helmet (Health and Safety Policy of CCBC)

Everyone working at Hanger 81 is first aid trained.

Lockers (male and female) are available for secure storage.

Mixed sessions are limited (only 6 BMX bikes permitted at any one time).

Due to the wear and tear on the equipment a 20-inch wheel is the maximum permitted.

A balcony area with food and a video player is also available.

There were concerns raised that if an outdoor facility is provided there will not be the same health and safety precautions. Any site would have to have clear signs installed. It was also suggested that the Partnership could help to supervise the area and check that it is clean.

A number of entries on the Oakdale website forum were then read out, all of which were asking for a skate park to be provided locally (there have been at least 12 entries). A number of possible locations for a skate park were then discussed.

Councillor Pritchard then discussed that consultation had taken place regarding a skate park facility in Oakdale two and a half years ago. Funding had been secured but a location could not be agreed upon, therefore the project did not go ahead. Consultation is also underway regarding a facility for the Kendon Hill area. If a suitable site was however identified in Oakdale then this could be pushed forward.

Granville asked the youngsters to think of potential sites and feed back. A number of free skate vouchers, donated by Hanger 81, were then distributed to those present. A list of their names and addresses was also made.

The 11 youngsters that attended the meeting were then given a round of applause and excused from the rest of the meeting.

3. Apologies

The Chairman congratulated the local Councillors who had been re-elected in the recent elections.

Apologies were received from Don Touhig MP, Irene James AM, Cllr. Tudor Davies, Cllr. John Evans, Rev. Jefford, P.C. Pearce, Insp. Brown, Mrs Robinson, Clair Higgins, Peter Gomer, Steve Carter, John Isgrove, Neil Baldwin, David Davies, and Mr Summers.

On behalf of the Police, Karen informed the meeting that Gwent Police were to receive 66 new Officers throughout Gwent. These new Officers will be high visibility Officers, on the beat. One of these new Officers will be specifically for the Oakdale and Penmaen ward and would probably work from the Oakdale station. It is hoped that the Officer will be in post by the wintertime. Part of their remit will be to set up locally based surgeries etc.

It was also reported by Jan Bennett that Councillor Tudor Davies was the new Cabinet Member for Regeneration. Jan also introduced Tina McMahon, the new Co-ordinator for Non-Communities First areas.

Tina was welcomed by all present.

4. Minutes of the Last Meeting

Item No 8. ‘Fun Day’. Sue Gladwin wanted to emphasise that the event was a Christian event (Children’s Holiday Club) to be held over 3 days. If anyone would like to drop in and see what is going on everyone is welcome. The event is taking place over the 26^th/27^th and 28^th of August in the Church.

5. Matters Arising

Bridle Way - It was reported that horse riders were now riding through the village in threes. This is very dangerous. Richard and Mike are progressing this project with the other Partnerships.

Website - It was mentioned that some of the comments on the website were quite negative about the village and there was some concern that the area was being undersold. The Forum part of the website is open to everyone so unfortunately this cannot be avoided.

Also as part of the website item, Karen from GAVO raised the issue of funding. At the last meeting those present had discussed using the STEPS grant to support the cost of the website forum. This however would not be possible as the STEPS grant was very specific as to what the grant should be spent on (£250.00 for administration, £200.00 for letter headed paper, £150.00 on telephone calls and £300.00 to produce 4 newsletters). If the group would like to look into other sources of funding then GAVO would assist with this.

6. Correspondence

Access to All - Correspondence had been received regarding funding available to improve access. If anyone knows of any groups who would benefit from this funding it was advised that they contact either Granville or Karen. With new Disability Discrimination Act regulations coming into force in October this funding would be very appropriate.

Annual Funding Day (Oasis Christian Centre, Blackwood) - A funding day is to be held on July the 13^th. Presentations will be made by a number of different funders. Two people volunteered to attend.

7. Focus on 50+ Gwent

Jeanette had attended the event and thought that it had been very useful. Another one is to be held in October. Carol Smith is the Older Persons Officer based at CCBC. Granville will write a short appraisal of the event and circulate.

In terms of these events it is important that members complete the talent bank form so people with specific interests get the opportunity to attend.

8. Digital Storytelling

Roger reported back from the Digital Storytelling Show Case at Blackwood Institute. A number of community members told their stories through a short film of 2-3 minutes. There is also a project team to assist groups with creating their own stories. Tina is also trained in the production of digital films and would be able to assist the Partnership. It is hoped that Kate Strudwick would be invited to a future meeting to talk to everyone about digital storytelling. It is a very useful way of preserving local memories. A volunteer is therefore needed to make contact with the project team.

A digital story could be made regarding the possible closure of one of the local schools. Many local people have a lot of memories connected with the school. A story could therefore be made of the closure of the existing school and the move to a new one.

A similar digital story is being made at a school in New Tredegar. A team has gathered stories from children’s grandparents. Tina also mentioned that a similar project had taken place in the Aber Valley.

It was agreed that Jan Bennett would invite Kate Strudwick to the September meeting. It is hoped to produce a newsletter over the next couple of months so Kate’s presentation could be advertised in that.

Some residents have already written stories about their childhood memories, which will hopefully encourage others to do the same.

9. Project Groups

Village Centre - Rob Onions who is leading on the project would like to encourage more volunteers to join the sub-group. Some flowers have now been planted and shrubs removed from near the public toilets. Larger towns are looking much more colourful and have plenty of flowers but this is largely due to contributions from the Town Councils.

Green Areas - The sub-group is named GreenGRO (Greening Greater Oakdale). The four members of the sub-group have walked around the village in order to list existing green areas. The group will be looking at ways of improving these sites. Over 30 locations have been listed and the group will now be talking to both Groundwork Caerphilly and CCBC to determine land ownership etc. The group will also be contacting GAVO to look into potential funders. The group intend to consult with residents on any ideas. Maintenance issues will also need to be considered. A possibility might also be to seek out members of the community willing to sponsor an area.

St David’s Church Hall - The group are currently waiting to hear from an application to Technical Assistance. GAVO have met with the group on several occasions to discuss funding options and the options appraisal. Karen has also spoken to the Lottery regarding the project and explained that an audit needs to be carried out on every community facility to prevent any duplication of services.

Tim Peppin explained that under new guidelines it is now necessary to bring any applications to Technical Assistance to the relevant Partnership for discussion. It has been recommended by John Thomas of Property Services that the options appraisal is carried out before hand. Karen explained that this had been discussed with the group and they were now contacting groups interested in using a new hall, local education providers etc. A questionnaire survey had also been suggested.

Due to the recent elections there had been a delay in looking at the applications. It is necessary to feed back the opinions of the Partnership regarding this application. The issue of extending the Community Centre was also raised and that it would be important to consider the two projects. John Thomas has visited St David’s Church Hall but needs to look at the Community Centre. It was therefore agreed that a study be carried out by Property Services into both buildings. The provision of community facilities was however seen as the top priority for the Partnership.

Cllr. Pritchard explained that during the run up to the elections he had spoken to a great number of people, most of which had expressed concern at the lack of youth facilities e.g. the Guides and Brownies who had met at the Church Hall but could no longer meet there. At present the Hall is unusable and with the Community Centre having a full timetable there is nowhere for a number of local groups to meet.

Penmaen Chapel Graveyard - Paul Taylor had spoken to Gavin Thomas and he had been to look at the Chapel yard to see what can be done. The knotweed can be chemically treated around September time. There will be a need to look into various grants to carry out the work.

Skateboard Progress - This item had already been dealt with earlier.

10. Youth Forum

It has been considered that a couple of young people could be invited to the Officers meetings to feed back on what leisure activities are needed in Oakdale. A youth forum could also be set up to deal with youth issues. There is a Caerphilly Borough wide Youth Forum but at present there are no young people from Oakdale involved with it.

11. Appraisal of Bevin Boys Get Together

A written appraisal of the event had been circulated with the minutes of the last meeting. The event has helped to cement links between the village and the Bevin Boys. Cllr. Pritchard also reported that there is archive footage on the Bevin Boys available. A documentary was produced some years ago by Tyne Tees Television.

12. Telephone Masts

Richard updated the Partnership on the progress made with the telephone masts. He has spoken to Vodafone and met with the surveyors. Vodafone explained that if part of the network has been removed, the company have a legal obligation to replace it. A number of other sites were suggested to Vodafone, including the golf course, but these all proved unacceptable. The reason it has been placed in its current location is because another mast is also sited there. As long as the mast remains on this contour then there is no problem with moving it along. As the contour arcs, it moves further away from current housing. Vodafone are happy with this even it is more expensive. The surveyor was going to go back to Vodafone following the site meeting. This was three weeks ago and Richard has heard nothing since.

At the site meeting Richard had also enquired about the possibility of Vodafone donating some money to the community for a project. The surveyor agreed to look into this.

Richard has also contacted an organisation called Mast Sanity, who following a £10 enrolment fee would carry out a free safety check. There is a lot of conflicting information regarding the safety of telephone masts with many health cases not proven either way.

Cllr. Pritchard reported that the local members had objected to the proposal at the time. However, the siting of the masts does not require planning permission. CCBC had recommended it be sited at Oakdale Business Park but this was refused.

13. Logo Competition

The presentation of certificates to the winners will take place tomorrow at 2.15pm in Oakdale Comprehensive School. Certificates and prizes (gift vouchers) will be presented to 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd places for each of the three schools. There will also be a certificate presented for a ‘Highly Commended’ entry. Invitations have been sent to everyone at the Partnership. The project has been very successful in bringing the young people of Oakdale and the Partnership closer together.

10. Any Other Business

It is hoped that a newsletter will be produced next month in order to let the wider community know of the progress made. The Partnership already has a list of volunteers to distribute the newsletter. It would be a good idea to set up a sub-group to prepare, write and edit the newsletter.

Arts Consultation - The Partnership was invited to attend a meeting to discuss arts development in the Caerphilly County Borough. Roger’s son had attended this on behalf of the Partnership.

There was a concern about a footpath being included on a development plan for housing in the area. However, it was determined that the footpath had in fact been excluded from the plans.

Date of next meeting.

4^th August, 6.30pm Oakdale Community Centre.