Oakdale and Penmaen Community Partnership Meeting
Held at 6.30pm on Wednesday 4th January, at Oakdale Community Centre

1. Chairman's Opening Remarks

Chairman Roger Evans welcomed all those present .

Apologies: Karen Richards (GAVO), Dean Tucker, Margaret Solerno, Irene James, Don Touhig, Rob Onions, Richard Jones

2. Minutes of Last Meeting

Past as a true record. with the exception of:- Peter Gomer expressed his concern that CCBC was stated as being slow- Re: Skateboard park. The council should not be criticised as there are processes that need to be adhered to and this can be time consuming. Roger replied that it was a statement of fact not apportioning blame. Peter explained further and there was a clearer understanding. We should know the result of the tender within 10 days. If there is a problem concerning anything, Peter should be contacted and he will do his best to sort things out.

It was suggested we put a newsletter in the notice board on the library wall to keep the youngsters up to date on the progress being made.

More feedback is required on the Bridleway

Expansion of youth facilities. It is proposed to refurbish the demountable building in the school grounds. There should be no problem with regards to funds.

Items not actioned from previous meeting · What is the £680 for for festive lights? · Jerusalem Chapel- no action brought forward · Library service- no response · Unilever Community Fund - no response

3. Correspondence Received

(i) GAVO- Comprehensive training programs available for the Partnership. The training brochure covers a wide variety of courses during 2006 and is available from the Secretary. (ii) Letter received by the Partnership from the Bevan Boys Assoc. They will attend next meeting. It was stressed that a good attendance is essential. Could everyone bring along two people if possible. A question and answer session will follow.

4. Treasurers Report

No update on bank balance. Cheques have been signed for commemoration celebrations. The surplus of money from the lottery fund will be sent back. There is a dire need for us to raise funds. Fundraising is brought up every meeting and yet there is still no progress.

5. Project progress- Keith Knott

Operation dereliction : Covers property that would not normally be covered by routine inspection and maintenance. The scheme is still running. There does not appear to be anything in the area that requires this service. However if there are any problems, please bring it to the attention of Keith or Peter. Roger has compiled a list which he will pass on. Note: Trinant lanes are clogged with rubbish

Extra Street Lighting: All 3 sites are not on the schedule at the moment. They need to be looked at urgently. The Partnership put the original application in on the 31st March, 2005 to the Community Safety dept., Due to the safety implications this is something that will need to be taken up by our local representatives.

Community Centre: Doreen the Community Centre asked whether the lights in the car park could be linked to the street lighting circuit and not to the community centre- as they electric bill can sometimes be up to £1000 per quarter. When the building was originally built the lights at the top end of the car park were to be left on when the building was in use.

Rights of way/Signage: The project is in progress. The signs are presently in storage whilst further work is being carried out and plans are reviewed for where signs are to be placed.

A question was put to Keith that the Ivy bush pathway is unsafe and will it be improved - Pathway 68A - Keith will investigate further.

Jerusalem Site/Penmaen graveyards: New Deal have reduced their task force so cannot help us out. However the Youth Offending Team may be able to help. Keith will approach them about undertaking these projects.

The Square: Keith has discussed the lowering of the hedges, pruning of trees etc., with the Partnership. The Partnership are willing to listen to any ideas that the residents may have.

Recreation ground: This needs to be revisited. Over £70,000 has been spent in this area. No scheme will go ahead with the consultation of residents. We can seek funding from other sources if required.

The new Primary School should be completed by December 2006 and the transfer will take place January 2007.

Community Centre: Upgrading of kitchen facilities will be undertaken before the end of the financial year. There is a grant available- with a limit of £3000 - contact Steve Hawkins. Keith will look at maximising usage of the Community building floor area.

6. Anti-social behaviour

Anti-social behaviour came to ahead last week. The chemist and the Chinese take away had windows smashed. There are cars in the village playing loud music. The CCTV cameras have been used to zoom in on number plates to see if the culprits can be identified. There has been extensive damage to the toilet blocks, locks have been broken the ceiling cavity has been broken into. This building cost over £3,000 to repair last year and it was only open for 8 months. A vote was taken to have the toilets demolished. We must now speak to Tony White and a consultation must be held with the residents to see if they also agree with demolishing the building.

Allan Pritchard has been in contact with Inspector Flemming due to the situation becoming out of control. He was informed not to approach these individuals himself. If there are any anti-social behaviour problems please contact the Police station immediately and register your complaint. Blackwood police station telephone number is 01495 223673. Only use 999 in an emergency.

Jeanette stated that there was a dramatic cut in bad behaviour in November- but the last ten days have been exceptionally bad. There was even one instance where someone was climbing all over the police car.

We will monitor the anti-social behaviour in the grand stand after the skateboard park has been built to see if there is an improvement in this area.

A letter will be sent to the Police stating that we will not tolerate this behaviour in our village and we need the Police to be more vigilant. We will also encourage residents to air their grievances towards anti-social behaviour on the Oakdale Village website.

7. Executive Committee meeting

23rd January @ 6.30 pm in the Cross Oaks

8. Village Centenary

A meeting was held last week and another will be held on Tuesday 10th January at 4.30 pm in the Community Centre. A lot of work has been carried out already. We will need to increase the momentum of this.

9. Date Of Next Meeting :