Held at 6.30pm on Wednesday 4th May, 2005 At Oakdale Community Centre

Chairman’s Opening Remarks

Chairman Roger Evans welcomed all those present.

Apologies

Jan Bennett, Deb Tucker, Don Touhig MP, Cllr. John Evans, Cllr. Allan Pritchard, Irene James AM, Doreen Brown, Cllr. Tudor Davies.

Minutes of the Last Meeting

The minutes of the last meeting had been recorded in full so as to have a complete and detailed record in regard to Rhiw Syr Dafydd School. The information will form part of the presentation to be made to CCBC at a later date.

The minutes were recorded as a true record.

Matters Arising

Ray Moore had also been nominated and seconded onto the Executive Committee at the last meeting. A meeting of the Executive Committee will be held before the next meeting.

4. Correspondence

None.

5. Projects

Jerusalem Chapel

Bryn Griffiths and Sue Cole were invited to speak regarding this project.

Bryn thanked the partnership for the opportunity to speak to the members present. The Chapel is situated in Woodfieldside near Blackwood Garden Centre. The building was sold off privately some time ago (1985) but the Churchyard remains in the hands of the Synod.

The Chapel lies on the banks of the Sirhowy River opposite Blackwood Rugby Club. The building is now a private residence for disadvantaged young people but the Churchyard was never sold and has since become an area for concern. The area has become very overgrown with vegetation. Over the last few years several attempts have been made to address this. In the last 5 years it has been cleared 3 times.

A number of photographs were passed around those present in order to illustrate the problem.

Last October they received a communication from the Health and Safety Executive / CCBC drawing their attention to the dilapidated state of the Churchyard. Synod representatives therefore decided that the solution had to be to close off the Churchyard in order to assess the situation and look at a strategy for its future clearance and long term maintenance. Within a week of closing they received a large number of calls from people unhappy that they were no longer able to visit the graves at the Churchyard. However, accessing some of the graves had become very difficult. The Churchyard needs extensive clearing and work carried out on the infrastructure. It is therefore hoped that the community can become involved. There are obviously a number of people interested in its future and therefore it was decided to contact this Partnership for help.

An example of a similar project elsewhere was then also discussed. There the Church had a similar problem and therefore set up a project working with a number of partners in the area to raise local interest. A committee was set up to raise awareness and funding applied for. It is therefore hoped that a similar project could start here. The community group would encourage volunteers to clear the site and take responsibility for its future maintenance. A community group like this would unlike the United Reform Church be able to access funding opportunities. Unfortunately the Church does not have the funds available in order to cover the cost of maintaining this site. Over the last four years they have been able to access the support of agencies such as New Deal but unfortunately the problem with the vegetation is an ongoing concern. The area therefore needs some long term commitment.

It was discussed by those present that there was no reason why this project could not be considered by the Partnership as Woodfieldside lies within the Penmaen ward. This project is also very similar to a project currently being dealt with by one of the Oakdale Partnership subgroups (Penmaen Chapel). As Paul Taylor is soon to leave the area it was discussed that the GreenGro subgroup could look to take on the Churchyard projects.

At Penmaen Chapel there are a number of Health and Safety issues. The Chapel is privately owned and therefore the Local Authority cannot inspect it. South Wales Memorials could inspect the Church yard for a fee. If the Church yard could be given health and safety clearance the probation and New Deal teams could restart their work. The land registry has confirmed that the maintenance of Penmaen Churchyard is the responsibility of the trustees of Mynyddislwyn Male Voice Choir. The Partnership could work together with the Choir to assist them with the project. The Choir are members of the Partnership but unfortunately find that the meetings clash with their own Choir meetings. The Choir could therefore be contacted to ascertain their views on the long term maintenance of the Churchyard.

A further problem with the Churchyard near the garden centre is the land on which it lies is steeply sloping. There is also the problem of an increased flow of water crossing the land which has begun to remove some of the topsoil. It was also for this reason that the Synod was alerted to the health and safety issues.

The details of the people who have contacted the Church regarding closure of the Churchyard have been recorded. They could be contacted regarding the establishment of a community group to see if they are willing to come on board. The Church yard is a community asset where local people have been buried for many years. The Synod has a legal responsibility for the site but is trying to work with others to ensure the facility becomes a real amenity to the community.

It is possible that funding could be sought to carry out the health and safety checks. Without these checks none of the aforementioned agencies can carry out any work. In principle the Partnership decided that they were in favour of both Churchyard projects. The South Wales Memorials could carry out both H & S checks at the same time.

Bridleway

The project has now been given the go ahead with an approximate finish time of October. The lease papers will shortly be passed to Granville for signing. The Partnership has had to lease the land for one year until the project is completed at which time it will then be handed back to the Local Authority to maintain. The Partnership will also need to have public liability insurance cover for that period. Richard Jones has a contact number in order to arrange this. If the project comes in under budget any money will have to be returned. The funding will be paid into the Partnership’s account and invoices paid out. This will help to show the strength of the Partnership to other funders.

There is an issue with the amount of storm water that would pass over certain areas. The Rights Of Way Officer June Piper is to speak to the person in charge of waterways regarding this issue. It would be very dangerous for large amounts of water to be flowing over the wooden bridges. The project will be carried out in phases. At present the funding does not cover signposts. June will be looking into the possibility of installing a crossing at a later date. The funding will help to create a 5 mile section of pathway but eventually it is hoped that the total route will be 24 miles in length. There are also plans to link the routes to the Argoed ward.

Jenny and Keith Williams – Jenny is currently running an equestrian business in the Manmoel area. Jenny explained more about the work she is undertaking and thought that the bridleway was an excellent project and would help to divert riders away from the roads and village centre. Equestrian sports are becoming very popular in the area and it is hoped that there can be a trekking centre developed. In order to do this there is the need for safe paths for riders to use so that horses can be taken away from the roads. Granville has visited the centre run by Jenny which offers opportunities for young people and community members to get involved in riding. The routes will also be open to cyclists and walkers. Jenny and Keith were thanked for coming to the Partnership and would be welcome members at any future meeting.

The equestrian centre is an important development in the regeneration of the valley. It could also be linked to the proposed developments at Penyfan pond to build a visitor centre.

It was reported that riders were still passing in threes outside Maesygarn. Eventually a route map will be produced which could include a code of practice. This could then be handed out to all riders. The project is a very positive development for tourism and healthy living. Road safety courses for young riders could also be provided.

GreenGRO

The group are still pursuing final site locations for the planters as there is an issue with health and safety and public liability insurance. A cabinet report must be prepared and submitted. This could take up to 6 weeks. Costains will be kept informed as they have offered to deliver concrete planters to the Partnership.

The group have also identified 10 to 12 Rights Of Way outside Oakdale that do not have signs. The Rights Of Way Officer has reported that they will be signed with finger post way-markers within the current financial year. A map will be produced indicating local Rights Of Way in order to help people access the countryside.

Oakdale Square

The planters have been a great success. They will be planted at the end of May and all funders will be acknowledged with plaques. The plants have also been renewed around the cenotaph and public toilets. Feedback and public consultation will be sought regarding the area around the toilets via the questionnaire to go out with the next newsletter. The group will wait for feedback through this questionnaire before progressing further.

Woodfieldside Roundabout

David, Geoff and Granville have met with Costains. The design as outlined in the last minutes has been agreed in principle. Funding had been sought from Braces Bakery but unfortunately this proved unsuccessful. The capstones from the old bridge will now be used at the next roundabout near the suspension bridge. Sponsors signs will also be included on the roundabouts.

The next public meeting regarding the new road developments will be held next Wednesday 7.00pm at the Comprehensive School.

Recreation Ground

The application has been completed for the skate park. The Local Authority are contributing £12,000 towards the base and an application has been made to the Community Planning Keyfund for £29,500. An application will also be made to the Safer Caerphilly grant scheme for lighting. Consultation will be carried out by way of the planning application.

Homefront

A great deal of preparation work has been carried out. All three schools will be involved along with local choirs and bands. There will be four concerts on the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Comprehensive School will be combining their annual fete with a community Roll In Roll Out event. The project is to raise awareness of World War Two, particularly with local children. Spam have offered sponsorship towards a wartime meal for schoolchildren. The project is involving many people, including our MP but more help is needed from the Partnership. The sewing club are making bunting and banners to decorate buildings throughout Oakdale and Penmaen. There will also be school parties and street parties. The deadline for the Homefront Lottery funding application is the 31st of May.

The Sunday will be a day of remembrance and commemoration with services at the Churches involving the British Legion. It is hoped that representatives from the Bevin Boys will also be in attendance. The events will be promoted through the newsletter, website, local press and the notice board.

6. ASBOs

There have been a couple of incidents in recent weeks of anti-social behaviour. Youths have been throwing dirt and climbing on the toilet building in the square. There is no policing in the square when these incidents are occurring. Video cameras are also failing to record them.

Maria Martin from the Caerphilly Safety Partnership advised that members need to keep records of specific times and dates. The CCTV issue could also be looked at. It is unfortunately impossible to police the area at all times so residents need to be able to provide names and information on the young people involved. Residents need to come forward to report these incidents.

There was some discussion regarding the fear many people have in coming forward to report incidents. The Police Schools Liaison Officers can also become involved. More Ward Officers and P.C.S.O.s are in the pipeline but they will need assistance from the general public in identifying those involved and in the reporting of all incidents.

Anti-social behaviour and policing are major issues for every Partnership. A police sub-group could be set up as in Graig-Y-Rhacca, where there is an extreme anti-social behaviour problem. This would allow the confidential reporting of incidents. The sub-group then feed this information onto the Police. This system has worked very well in Graig-Y-Rhacca where there has been a considerable reduction in the amount of anti-social behaviour.

The successes can also be advertised in the newsletter. The Partnership needs to get across their efforts to set up youth projects such as the skate park. A youth forum could also be established in the area to feed their views into the Partnership. This could be raised with the Headmaster of the Comprehensive School. At present there are no young people involved in the Partnership but this could be addressed through setting up a Youth Partnership to discuss their own issues. Their minutes can then feed into this Partnership.

7. Rhiw-Syr-Dafydd Junior School

Tina apologised but expressed the need to leave the Partnership while the school project was discussed.

There has been little progress since the last meeting. A letter has been sent to the Local Authority’s Scrutiny Committee. As yet there has been no reply. The Partnership has been granted some additional time to prepare a proposal. There is the need to develop a business plan containing ideas for the school buildings. A development trust was discussed that would include the Partnership and other organisations operating in the area. Another possibility is to have a mixed asset building (some community use / some business use). At present the chances of saving the school are 80 / 20 against the Partnership. A number of meetings will be arranged with potential users of the building over the coming weeks.

Unfortunately the arts organisation discussed at the last meeting have not come back to the Partnership. The Partnership must consider how the building would be sustainably maintained in terms of running costs and repairs. The Partnership will therefore need to prepare a cash-flow forecast. If any members have ideas for using the buildings could they please pass them to Granville as soon as possible.

Unfortunately on looking at the Community Strategy there is very little that is not already catered for in the County Borough.

An announcement was recently made declaring that there is £35 million available for education in the County Borough. As a result it is unclear as to why they still require the £0.5 million from the sale of Rhiw Syr Dafydd.

The project is still therefore continuing.

8. Any Other Business