Trowbridge & St. Mellons Branch Labour Party

FutureTrowbridge

2007-02-13T13:56:00.000Z

With work about to begin on the shopping centre,
traffic calming, plans for two play areas, a new
community centre, new residential builds and
improvements to existing public sector homes and flats
being undertaken, a lot is happening in Trowbridge at
the moment.

We would be interested to hear your views about what
Trowbridge needs and what improvements you would
like to see beyond the completion of these other
projects.

As readers are aware it can take years to get new
projects agreed and started, we’d like to begin working
on shaping the future of Trowbridge today.

If you have any comments or ideas you can e-mail us at

ralph.cook@trowbridgeandstmellonslabour.org.uk

or write to

Cllr Ralph Cook
1, Cemaes Crescent,
Trowbridge,
Cardiff
CF3 1TA

Abergele Road Children’s Home

2007-02-13T13:55:00.001Z

This small children’s home run by Cardiff County
Council is to be closed largely on economic grounds.

A few years ago your Councillors supported the
closure of the former childrens home in Gwbert Close
and opposed proposals to transfer it to other social
services uses.

We believed then that the most suitable use for the
building was to pass it to the Council’s Housing
Department to help with the need for larger
accommodation that exists among some families on the
Council’s Housing Waiting List. Eventually this was
agreed and the property is now home to a family and
as far as we are aware this has proved acceptable to
the other residents of the Close who had previously
suffered many difficulties with children at the home.

With this in mind, we have made a similar suggestion
when we were consulted about the closure of the
Abergele Road Home in early January and we are
awaiting the Council’s decision on our suggestion.

Councillor Ralph Cook

Children’s Play Areas

2007-02-13T13:51:00.000Z

Late last year Councillors were told equipment at 3
children’s play areas in St. Mellons would be removed
because it had “failed” Health and Safety inspections.
“Orchard Park play area” the nearest to Trowbridge
was one of them. Trowbridge has lacked a play area
for years.

The redevelopment of Trowbridge Shopping Centre
includes a £39,000 contribution for a play area at
the ABC park and becomes available when the first of
the new homes is occupied. The constant delays to the
shopping centre has meant that there will be further
delay in building the homes and then providing the
play area.

The Wales & West Housing Association development at
Hendre Isaf (bottom of Hendre Road) includes a
contribution of about £20,000 which we ear-marked
for a play area at Cemaes Crescent. Although not
enough to provide a good play area we are looking
for additional funds.

Councillor Ralph Cook

DOLGOCH CLOSE

2007-02-13T13:50:00.000Z

After years of being told the Council could not justify
parking controls in Dolgoch Close (near Coleg Glan
Hafren), residents can finally look forward to relief
from student parking. We are supporting proposals to
introduce “no waiting” regulations between 8.00am
and 6.30pm Monday to Friday which your Labour
Councillors suggested years ago.

Councillor Monica Walsh

Wheelie Bins and Recycling

2007-02-13T13:48:00.000Z

You should by now have received your Wheelie Bins
and explanatory leaflets which detail how your
household waste will be collected in future.

First introduced in “pilot schemes” (including one
collection round in St. Mellons) by the former Labour
Administration, the Liberal Democrats have made
changes which will affect residents used to being able
to dispose of unlimited quantities of waste in black bin
bags.

Within a few weeks the Council will no longer collect
“side waste” (i.e. waste in black bags left beside the
bins). Anything that cannot be fitted in a black bin and
is unsuitable for green bins or the green recycling
bags must be responsibly disposed of by residents.
Waste dumped illegally will attract the interest of the
Council’s enforcement team and result in prosecution.

Many people in those parts of St. Mellons who have
had bins for two years, welcomed their arrival,
especially gardeners and people who are keen on
recycling - but others hate them. The end of “side
waste” collection has not been welcomed by many,
however.
By properly sorting your domestic waste into green
bags and black bins and putting green bags out on the
correct day (see the Council’s leaflets for dates), most
households will avoid “side waste”. A nuisance at first,
it becomes second nature and you can console yourself
with the thought that you are helping to conserve
earth’s limited resources and reduce pollution!

Your Councillors criticised the small size of the writing
and the lack of clarity in the leaflets and have been
promised that these will be improvedwhen they are
reprinted. We have also dealt with problems for
several residents, especially elderly residents and
those living in so-called “back-to-front” houses.

We will be monitoring the management of the scheme
in Trowbridge - if you have any problems give us a
call.

Councillor David English

PACT Meetings: What Are They?

2007-02-13T13:47:00.000Z

PACT or “Partnership and Communities Together” is
an initiative started in 2006 by the South Wales
Police with the intention of “introducing a far more
effective community based policing style and
delivering a quality of service that will see (the) force
as one of the leads in community policing”. The
emphasis is on “community engagement” via regular
meetings where the public can “identify any problems
or issues of concern within” the community.

A panel of local residents, community representatives
and police officers, known as “The PACT Panel” then
identify three priorities for the community which are
then targeted by the appropriate organisation - often
the police themselves but sometimes the Council or
other body.
Sadly South Wales Police introduced the idea with
little consultation with external agencies such as
housing associations or local councils and local
Councillors were involved very late in the development
of the idea. As a result the idea was born amidst
controversy and confusion.

Nevertheless, your Councillors have engaged with the
idea and worked with the local police and the PACT
Panel to try to make it as effective as possible. So far
there have been three PACT meetings in Trowbridge,
each attended by fewer than thirty local residents. It
has recently been agreed to hold future meetings at
three month intervals.

The next PACT meeting will be on 7th March at
Cardiff Community Housing Association Community
Centre, Heol Newydd (on the Bro Athro Estate at the
bottom of Trowbridge Road opposite Coleg Glan
Hafren) at 7pm.

All residents of the Trowbridge area are invited to
attend.

Councillor Ralph Cook

Trowbridge Shopping Centre

2007-02-13T13:46:00.000Z

A source of much frustration and anger amongst
residents of the Trowbridge Estate, the continued
delay to the redevelopment of the shops and
Community Centre seems set to finally end. But not
without yet more compromises.
After years of being told the project was more or less
affordable, in mid-January, a fairly junior Council
officer informed us that there was a funding shortfall
of over half a million pounds. The solution we were
told was to reduce the size of the new Community
Centre! Instead of two floors, Trowbridge will get a
single storey centre about the same size as the
previous building.

This is a blow. Given the financial chaos the Liberal
Democrats have created in the Council there will be no
assistance with costs so we have to accept it or risk
delaying the project further.

Examining the figures I noticed the cost of traffic
calming on the roads around the site (which I had been
led to believe would be funded by the Council) will be
met by the redevelopment. My request for an
explanation received a technical, written reply,
concluding “I hope this clarifies the position and that
you no longer feel that you have been mislead” - well,
I still do!
The enabling works (moving sewers etc.), are complete
and building would begin on the 5th February we
have been told - from the photograph below, taken on
the 6th, we are unsure whether it has. Under Labour
the project was due to be completed by the end of this
year!

Councillor Ralph Cook

Tories and Lib Dems fail to support Assembly’s Budget for Children!

2007-01-13T06:58:00.000Z

Lorraine Barrett AM

Season Greetings

2006-12-18T22:45:00.000Z

The Officers and Members of Trowbridge and St. Mellons Branch Labour Party would like to thank all the people of Trowbridge and St. Mellons for there help and support and wish them a
Merry Christmas
And A
Happy New Year
And if there is any one who would like information on joining Trowbridge and
St. Mellons Branch Labour Party, please call or e-mail,
David Mawn on
(029) 2040 4422.
membership@trowbridgeandstmellonslabour.org.uk

Melrose Park “youth facility”

2006-11-23T03:44:00.000Z

Consultation with over 1,000 households in south-east St. Mellons has shown there is little support for a youth facility at Melrose Park.

The facility was proposed by a local resident and a committee set up to campaign for it. We supported the idea in principle, but disagreed with the committee about where to put it. N our view Melrose Park is difficult to Police and an earlier facility had to be removed years ago when it became a focus for serious anti-social behaviour.

The consultation was delayed by a serious complaint from a resident about Councillor Ralph Cook’s conduct. After the Local Government Ombudsman found Councillor Cook had done nothing wrong, the consultation took place in March 2006.

The result suggests our aim to locate these facilities in the centre of St. Mellons and along Willowbrook Drive is supported by residents.

Councillors David English

Improvements to Crumlin Drive Open Space

2006-11-20T02:19:00.000Z

Following complaints about motorbikes and stray horses Ralph Cook wrote a bid for funds to make this area more secure. The bid was successful and earlier this year the Council replaced the rotten wood fencing with steel and provided disabled persons access to the park.

Further improvements to the ground are expected in the coming months.

Councillor Monica Walsh

Motorbikes

2006-11-07T03:47:00.000Z

In January a joint operation between the Council and Police netted 21 motorbikes and further operations were carried out during the summer.

Councillor Ralph Cook and a journalist from the South Wales Echo accompanied the January operation which involved the Council’s motor-bike team and concentrated on the Trowbridge and St. Mellons area.

Ralph Cook said:

“Most of the bikers we stopped knew riding their motorbikes on the road without the proper documents was illegal. They also knew they were not allowed to use their motorbikes on open land in the area but they took the risk anyway. After being caught some youngsters promised they wouldn’t repeat the offence.

Parents need to think before they purchase these bikes as they cannot be driven legally in the area. Because the noise made by these vehicles causes extreme annoyance and distress for the residents living in the area we will push for more Police and Council action against illegal bikes”.

Councillor Monica Walsh

Meet the Police

2006-10-30T23:49:00.000Z

Meeting of the St. Mellons PACT (Police and partners) will be held at Meadowlane School at 7.00pm on Wednesday 8th November and Monday 11th December, All Welcome

“Stray” Horses

2006-10-15T01:30:00.000Z

The large herds of horses that roamed St. Mellons in 2002-4 have gone but a small hers lives on undeveloped ground in south St. Mellons. Sadly, they frequently trespass into residential areas and cause problems. There has been a lot of media interest and a TV company visited St. Mellons in the summer to make a film about the proposed solution of giving Anti-Social Behaviour Orders to irresponsible horse owners.

Your local Councillors have continued to press for action and have become such a nuisance that the Liberal Democrat Executive Member responsible for dealing with the problem foolishly tried to prevent us getting involved with horse-catch operation.

As a result the Council’s horse capture operation on the 15th of March failed to find any horses. In May we “got wind” of another planned operation and provided information that led to the capture of three horses!

Your Councillors are asking when the horses will be completely removed from Council-owned land.

Councillor Ralph Cook

St. Mellons Link Road “on hold”.

2006-10-03T02:26:00.000Z

The Council has shelved plans to construct the St. Mellons Link Road which many residents of east St. Mellons believe would have made their lives a misery. With a predicted flow of at least 1,000 HGVs every day as well as and vans the road will, if built, dramatically change the local environment.

Local Councillor Ralph Cook has been providing objective advice to local residents concerned about the road. In recent month he asked the Environment Scrutiny Committee to look at the proposal and they agreed.

During the summer this committee issued a scathing statement questioning the value of the building the road. As a result the Council has put the proposal “on hold”.

Residents have now written to all Party Leaders in the Council asking them to support a resolution to abandon the proposal altogether.

Councillor David English

Trouble in the Triangle

2006-09-15T03:05:00.000Z

St.Mellons received unwelcome attention on the front page of the South Wales Echo in February after Lovells Builders downed tools and left the St. Mellons Regeneration Project site in Crumlin Drive and Rogerstone Close.

Lovells had suffered theft of equipment, “children running amok” and physical assaults on their employees with missiles, including bricks!

Councillor Ralph Cook had already started organising a meeting between the Police, Lovells and Council’s housing, anti-social behaviour and truancy service.

Ralph Cook said:
“The meeting was very positive; everyone gave assurances that they would do their part to clamp down on the dangerous and illegal activities of the minority of local youths involved”.

Lovells returned to site on the 13th of February and tell us behaviour has since improved.

Editor

Message from Editor

2006-09-10T00:34:00.000Z

All your Councillors have suffered set-backs this year. Ralph had an operation last October which affected his work in spring and has had two bad car accidents – not his fault! Both Monica and David have suffered the bereavement of close family members.

To make things even worse we have been afflicted with major computer problems and our trusty photocopier finally died in the spring. We have had to buy a new photocopier for over £1,000.

Your Councillors have done their best to provide an acceptable service this year and apologise for any shortfalls in our performance. Sadly, we were unable to produce and deliver the usual spring/summer Rose.

Your Councillors want to improve communication with residents and now provide a website. Another idea is to send regular updates to residents via e-mail newsletter. If you would like to receive regular updates please send an e-mail to the following e-mail address: ralph.cook@trowbridgeandstmellonslabour.org.uk .

The Urban Fringe gets a Hair Cut

2006-09-08T01:35:00.000Z

May Bank Holiday saw a first for St. Mellons and a victory for commonsense, when the Council carried out a proper cut of all the road-side verges and embankments in the St. Mellons. Missed areas have been reported and should be included next time.

St Mellons residents have been concerned about brambles and shrubs reducing visibility along some stretches of Willowbrook Drive. Inadequate verge maintenance along Crickhowell Drive may have played a part in the tragic road-death of a child almost two years ago and explain why a few years ago a resident failed to see an Adder (rare, venomous but native snake) on an overgrown path near Meadowlane School before she was bitten.

The problem was caused in my view by unnecessarily complicated land maintenance programmes and limited budget. We asked the Council to combine all land maintenance under one service area and supported the idea of running a three-year “pilot study” in St. Mellons to see how it would operate before extending the programme to the whole of Cardiff.

This was agreed in 2003 but when Labour lost the local elections the idea was quietly dropped.

Following the tragic death of a child, I finally ran out of patience last year and asked the Labour Group to support a “notice of motion” from Monica Walsh and myself, that would ensure a single department to maintain Council land, road-side verges and parks etc, would be established within three years. This was supported by most Councillors and is now Council policy.

Councillor Ralph Cook

The Respect Agenda

2006-08-23T01:03:00.000Z

January marked the launch of the new Respect Action Plan. Police and local authorities will have tough new powers to deal with families who blight communities with unacceptable behaviour. Like Assembly Member Lorraine Barrett and myself, our Councillors know exactly why action is needed.

It is in everyone’s interest that we broaden the clampdown on anti-social behaviour by tackling causes in the home, classroom and local community and addressing a wider culture of disrespect in society. From the paperwork in my own office, it is clear that concern about disrespectful and anti social behaviour is widespread. There is a broad consensus about what constitutes disrespectful behaviour and recognition that anti social behaviour can make others’ lives a misery.

Providing help and support for families is central to the agenda, but those who don't improve or take responsibility for their children’s behaviour could be subject to new powers including: a new house closure order temporarily sealing properties that are the constant focus of anti-social behaviour; schools able to apply for parenting orders where a child’s behaviour requires it and local authorities being able to designate housing or community safety officers to do the same.

We are not starting from scratch. Already, 6,500 Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have been issued, as have 400 dispersal orders and 513 crack house closure orders. As the ‘inventor’ of the ASBO and the Minister responsible for the Clean Neighbourhoods Act I am proud of what we have achieved but convinced that there is more to be done.

Alun Micheal MP

Playing Fields

2006-08-16T03:01:00.000Z

The Council has at last engaged contractors to install a new drainage system on the St. Mellons Playing Fields. The work is being paid for from the proceeds of a land sale agreed with your Councillors. The work will cost £160,000 and will begin in September.

Once the drainage scheme is complete, new fencing will be erected around the field. We were offered a cheap “patch and mend” scheme to repair existing fencing. We rejected this arguing that these fields are the principle outdoor sporting facility in the area and “made-do” is not good enough. We also rejected the idea of using £100,000 from another development to subsidize the project.

We are insisting that the Council fulfils its promises on the budget agreed three years ago - £250,000.

Councillor Ralph Cook

New Skateboard Park

2006-07-23T00:39:00.000Z

Three years ago the council agreed to build skateboard parks across the City. Despite being a priority area St. Melons is the last to get one. In February we were told if the skate –park was not completed before 31st of March we would lose it and we were offered only one location – the piece of land next to the bowls pavilion. Although complete your Councillors have requested some improvements to the prevent motorcycles using it!

Councillor David English

MEET THE POLICE & COUNCILLORS

2006-06-06T12:32:00.000Z

The Police will be holding regular monthly meetings with residents of Trowbridge and Councillors will also attend. The first meeting is on 28th June at Trowbridge Infants School from 7.00pm to 8.30pm. Residents will be able to chose issues they want the police to deal with! All welcome.

20 mph speed restrictions on the way

2006-06-06T12:28:00.000Z

As part of the Trowbridge Shopping Centre improvements the Council proposed introducing a 20 miles per hour speed restriction zone on Aberdaron, Abergele, Borth, Glan-y-Mor Roads and Caernarvon Way. Your Councillors have received many complaints about excessive speeds on these roads and suggested the Council consult residents on the proposals.

A recent consultation with 165 homes on these roads resulted in 91% of the replies being in favour and just 9% opposed to the idea.

The Council will now undertake a detailed design process and implement the proposals as soon as funding becomes available.

Trowbridge Shopping Centre

2006-06-06T12:26:00.000Z

Everyone in Trowbridge asks us when the redevelopment of the shopping centre will begin. Our honest answer is, soon - we hope.!

Your Councillors have been making noises at County Hall and the delays have been featured in the South Wales Echo. Privately we have been told the project has been delayed because Trowbridge is not a priority with the Council’s Liberal Democrat administration.

We have now been promised work will begin in July but the final contracts have not yet been signed and costs have escalated beyond original estimates. If work begins in July the project could still be completed by the end of 2007.

The Community Centre closed in April and its regular users have been transfered to the Cardiff Community Housing Association centre in Valley View and the Trowbridge Scouts Hut.

Construction of the new Community Centre was to form the last phase of the project but it will now be built together with the new shop units, with the housing being left until last. This is better for the community in our view.

Trowbridge residents have had to put up with this mess for two years and we commend your patience. However, endless delay is unacceptable. If work is not begun in July we will launch a campaign demanding immediate action.

Councillor Ralph Cook

Trowbridge - The forgotten estate?

2006-06-06T12:24:00.000Z

This has been suggested to us several times and until 2004 it was far from true.

Information recently obtained shows the Liberal Democrats have done little for Trowbridge since they won power in Cardiff Council two years ago.

Between 2002 and 2004 the Council installed security doors on 58 out of 72 blocks of flats in Trowbridge - only 5 blocks have been done since. 32 blocks of flats had railings erected under Labour but none since the 2004 elections.

The Labour Council began the £1 million Trowbridge Green regeneration work and insulated blocks of flats and houses on the estate. Your Councillors are still fighting to get this project completed.

The Liberal Democrats have not progressed the Trowbridge garage sites plans, work on the shopping centre has fallen behind, also delaying the long-awaited children’s play area.

Yet the Liberal Democrats are busy selling our assets. In the last two years the Liberal Democrats have sold £11 million of land in St. Mellons and to sell £14 million worth of land in the Ward over the next two years.

Last year the Liberal Democrats arranged to sell the land allocated for a High School between Trowbridge and St. Mellons without even telling your Councillors first!

The Liberal Democrats also proposed closing Rumney High School and selling the land in their ill-considered school reorganisation plan.

Finally, Liberal Democrats are helping a campaign in St. Mellons for another new youth facility in a park against the advice of your Councillors. A previous facility in the park became a focus for serious anti-social behaviour and had to be removed due to vandalism. What a waste of money which could have been used at Cemaes Crescent Open Space!

Councillor Monica Walsh

Trefaser Crescent

2006-06-06T12:23:00.000Z

The long-running dispute between residents, supported by your Councillors, and the Council’s Liberal Democrat Executive over Trefaser Crescent is slowly being resolved. The Council is now developing proposals to provide off-street parking and generally improve the appearance of the street and the security of its residents.

Police Update

2006-06-05T12:29:00.000Z

Regular meetings between Councillors and the police have been taking place since Inspector Dave Offside took over the running of the Rumney Sector (includes Llanrumney, Rumney, Trowbridge, St. Mellons and Pontprennau).

We have been keen to monitor police activity in the area, to assist them where we can and be kept informed about crime levels in the sector. The Inspector recently supplied the following figures:

Calls to the police during March: 1,650 of which 523 were reports of anti-social behaviour. Police arrested 119 people and charged 34. Of the rest 27 people have deferred bail (allowing time to gather evidence), 19 were innocent, 13 are to attend court by warrant, 4 received cautions, 10 received fixed penalties, 4 were reprimanded and 3 received final warnings.

A third of all reports are about anti-social behaviour. Last year the police in our part of Cardiff issued 161 first stage ASBO letters, 32 second stage and 7 third stage letters. 6 Behavioural contracts and 3 full ASBOs were imposed.

The police tell us that, in theory from November the sector will be getting extra staff, police officers and more Police Community Support Officers will be introduced.

Finally you are invited to meet the police and councillors at monthly Partnership and Community Team (PACT) meetings. The first meeting will be on 28th June from 7pm to 8.30pm at Trowbridge Infants School.

PACT meetings will be held each month and residents will be able to vote on up to three issues they think the police should deal with and then at the next meeting question them on their performance! Should be interesting.

Councillor Monica Walsh

STOP PRESS

2006-05-31T11:43:00.000Z

Three horses were captured on 31st May in Hendre, I “got wind” of the roundup and reported three horses - they were captured.

Councillor Ralph Cook

2006-05-28T12:30:00.000Z

Ralph has been the Deputy Leader of the Council’s Labour Group for the last two years. He has found it a demanding role that diverted his time and energy from local to Cardiff-wide issues. Ralph decided not to seek re-election as Deputy Leader at this year’s Labour Group Annual meeting so that he can concentrate on his work as a local Councillor for Trowbridge & St. Mellons.

Maria Lester, Editor

School Reorganisation Plan

2006-05-06T12:20:00.000Z

The “Big Bang” Liberal Democrat School Reorganisation Plan, announced in April was rejected by Councillors at the April Council meeting. Plagued by controversies, especially about consulting parents, the plan fell at the first fence, when the Labour Group of Councillors decided they could not support the proposals.

The Plan - the Liberal Democrat answer to the over-supply of school places in the City - proposed closing 22 schools and changes to catchment areas across Cardiff but met stiff opposition from parents, especially in north Cardiff.

Locally, the proposals included closing Rumney High School, forcing Trowbridge children to travel to Llanrumney. Less controversially it proposed amalgamating Trowbridge Infants and Junior Schools on a single site. St. John Lloyds would have become a Roman Catholic and Welsh Medium School. St. Illtyds, on Newport Road would have been closed as a Roman Catholic School and re-opened as a Welsh Medium High School. Local children who prefered to be educated at a Roman Catholic High School would have had to travel each day to attend one of two RC schools both located in north Cardiff.

The Council still has to deal with about 8,000 surplus school places (costing about £3 million a year) or it will be criticised by the Wales Audit Office. Your Councillors will, if allowed, participate fully in the development of any future proposals and have pledged to be vigilent in ensuring that the Liberal Democrats do not take the easy option of closing schools in East Cardiff.

Councillor Ralph Cook

Caernarvon Way Community Centre

2006-04-30T11:35:00.000Z

In April the Trowbridge Community Association surrendered the remainder of its lease to make way for the redevelopment of the shopping centre. The Council intends to begin demolition of the buildings as soon as possible.

The centre will be replaced by a modern community facility in the first phase of the redevelopment which we have been promised will begin at the end of July - we’re not holding our breath!

We are now looking for community spirited residents who would like to join a management group to run the new centre when it is built. Your Councillors are prepared to lend the new management group any help it requires to get off the ground.

Horse Update

2006-03-31T11:41:00.000Z

Although the number of horses in the Trowbridge, St. Mellons and Rumney area are fairly low, at around 14 compared with 80-100 a few years ago, they continue to cause problems in south Trowbridge.

Your local Councillors have been stopped from involvement in the horse catches by Liberal Democrat Executive Member Councillor Judith Woodman. She claims this is for our safety. Quite frankly her position on this is looking increasingly ridiculous.

A round-up was organised by the Council on the 15th March, the police were informed so late they were unable to provide cover and as we were deliberately not told we could not provide information on the whereabouts of 14 horses in the area at the time. No horses were caught!

The Labour administration regarded Councillors as allies in dealing with problems and our knowledge was crucial to the success of the horse strategy in the past.

Councillor Ralph Cook

Cleaner Trowbridge?

2006-02-27T11:32:00.000Z

We’ve never considered street cleansing in Trowbridge to be very good. There were signs of improvement from 2001 but from autumn last year, standards fell way below acceptability. Your Councillors toured the estate with the Head of Street Cleansing several times during the winter and showed him our concerns about flytipping and rubbish were valid.

In February, residents told us that Roath and Cyncoed were being cleaned every day. We asked the Council for details of the street cleansing schedules in those areas. We never got them but there may have been some embarrassment because Trowbridge and St. Mellons suddenly began receiving a better service, fly-tipping was removed in Trowbridge Green and the garage site at Menai Way.

Councillor David English

Trowbridge Green:

2006-01-03T12:22:00.000Z

The Trowbridge Green Environmental Improvements are more or less complete. Everyone we have spoken to in the area thinks the improvement was worth the two years of mess and inconvenience.

We are pressing the Council to carry out improvement work on Trefaser Crescent and to the fronts of a few homes on that road but the original plan to stop up the road has been abandoned.

Councillor David English

Season Greetings

2005-12-23T01:50:00.000Z

The Officers and Members of Trowbridge and St. Mellons Branch Labour Party would like to thank all the people of Trowbridge and St. Mellons for there help and support and wish them a

Merry Christmas

And A

Happy New Year

And if there is any one who would like information on joining Trowbridge and

St. Mellons Branch Labour Party, please call or e-mail,

David Mawn on

(029) 2040 4422.

membership@trowbridgeandstmellonslabour.org.uk

Cathcob Playing Fields

2005-12-10T12:19:00.000Z

Confusion amongst Council Officers has been blamed for the delayed start to the work on upgrading the Cathcob Playing Fields near Tescos. Apparently Council Officers were unsure how the cost (over a quarter of a million pounds) was to be met.

Instead of asking the local Councillors, who had been working on the project for years, weeks were wasted passing memos from one officer to another. We have been told that the work will now start in late Autumn instead of July as expected and the fields will not be useable until 2007/8. I’m not holding my breath, however, as Councillors tell me the Council, never known for haste, is grinding slowly to a complete halt since the Liberal Democrats won the 2004 Council elections.

Editor, Maria Lester.

Trowbridge Shopping Centre & Post Office

2005-12-10T12:16:00.000Z

Your Councillors are, of course, aware of the great concern Trowbridge residents have about the redevelopment of the shopping centre.

Planning permission has been granted but it was only after the permission was obtained that the Council could begin the nine month legal process of “stopping up” the current public rights of way which is necessary before building can begin. This should be completed over the next few months. The last block of garages at the rear of the existing shops will soon be demolished as these are causing problems for residents and shopkeepers.

The Council recently appointed the building firm Lovells to carry out the work following a detailed tender process, although, for some reason your local Councillors were not invited to participate in the process as has always been the case in the past. Lovells have vast experience of regeneration schemes and are also working with the Council in St. Mellons. They will employing architects White Young Green who have worked with us on this scheme up to planning stage. Legal discussions between the Council and Cardiff Community Housing Association (CCHA) have begun in order to progress the sale of the site and agreements required to carry out the re-generation. In order to keep local residents and the remaining shop keepers informed the Council will be distributing a newsletter and a site sign board will be erected on the site showing the plans for the re-generation. The bad news is the closing of the post office. It is important to understand that this is nothing to do with the Council.
Fourboys owned the Post Office franchise and for commercial reasons (nothing to do with the redevelopment) have left the area. The company has reviewed all its outlets and decided that its Trowbridge shop was not viable. Therefore, they are selling their post office franchise. The Post Office itself has very strict rules about who can become a sub-postmaster and a protracted process is undertaken before appointing new franchisees. I have spoken with Fourboys and the Post Office and it is clear that tranferring the franchise will take time and the post office will be closed. Your Councillors are hoping Spar will want to take on the franchise but this is something we cannot get involved with unfortunately.

Councillor Ralph Cook

Bid for funds successful

2005-12-10T12:15:00.000Z

Councillor Ralph Cook has won funding for another project under the Council’s annual “Neighbourhood Renewal Scheme”.

The project involves installing anti-motorbike fencing and gates at Crumlin Drive Park and improvements to the informal football pitch. The need arises from the physical changes in the area resulting from the regeneration of Crumlin Drive and the building of new homes at “Willowbrook Gardens”.

Local residents will be consulted on the proposals and, if they are supported, the work will be carried out next year. A previous grant paid for the multi-use games area in the park.

Editor, Maria Lester.

Cathcob Playing Fields

2005-12-10T12:12:00.000Z

After local residents expressed concerns about the condition of this park, Councillors agreed plans to upgrade Coleford Drive Park with new metal fencing to deter motor-bikes (and “stray” horses”) and improvements to the access points and worn out paths. The work has now begun.

Editor, Maria Lester.

Councillor’s Call to “crush” illegally used motor-bikes:

2005-12-10T12:08:00.000Z

A small minority of children, youths and supposedly grown-up men have spent the summer driving residents up the wall with their noisy motor-bikes. Clearly there are a small number of people who are knowingly breaking the law and this includes those parents who buy the bikes and allow their children to use them in St. Mellons. Most offenders know they are causing misery for thousands of local residents - especially the elderly and parents of infant children. It seems they simply do not care; indeed some seem to enjoy challenging the authorities and annoying other people.

The facts are that it is against the law to drive any motorised vehicle (including “gopeds”) on the highway without valid insurance, road-tax and MOT and Council by-laws do not permit anyone to drive a motorised vehicle on its park land in St. Mellons.

We have tried various ways to stop the illegal use of motor-bikes in the area. Our newsletters have informed residents that the activity is illegal - this has generally been ignored but we know some parents have stopped their children using motor-bikes and we thank them for this. At great cost to tax-payers, we are slowly erecting metal-fencing around local parkland using money that we would rather spend on facilities. We have used boulders to block access points. We have enlisted help from the Police who have mounted operations to seize bikes. Unfortunately when returned to their owners, for a fee of £105, the bikes return to the streets again almost immediately. Anti-social behaviour orders are being used but take time to work.

We believe this dangerous and anti-social behaviour should not be tolerated and have had further discussions with the Police and the Council to see what else can be done. The Government has passed legislation that allows the police to seize and crush illegally used motor-vehicles and we are now asking South Wales Police to do this rather than return bikes to their owners.

Some residents say we will never stop illegal motor-bike use in the area. We disagree: in 2003 people said that about “stray” horses but we were determined to succeed and have made progress. With the help of residents we persuaded the Police and Council to act on horses and with your help we are doing the same with motor-bike nuisance. But we need your help!

How Can You Help? The local police need more resources to tackle motor-bikes effectively so we want South Wales Police Headquarters to recognise how big a problem we have in St. Mellons and provide the money and equipment necessary to effectively combat motor-vehicle nuisance.

a) Telephone the police on 20222111 every time motor-bikes are causing a nuisance.
Provide full details and ask for an incident number every time you make a report. This will ensure that the true extent of the problem is recorded by police Head Quarters.

b) Send a letter to Chief Constable, Barbara Wilding, South Wales Police, Cowbridge Road, Brigend CF31 3SU. Tell her the effect motor-bike nuisance has on your life and ask her to organise more anti-motorbike operations. Ask her to use the new powers that allow the destruction of illegally used motor-vehicles. We need a copy of your letters and any reply.

c) We are investigating the possibility of the Council taking legal action against offenders - especially adults. This will require photographic and video evidence that clearly identifies individuals in the act of breaking the law. If you can obtain such material we would like to hear from you.

Councillors Ralph Cook, David English and Monica Walsh

“Stray” Horses Impounded

2005-12-10T12:05:00.000Z

Earlier this year a notice of motion urging tough action against irresponsible horse owners was put to Councillors by Ralph Cook and the Labour Councillor for Whitchurch, Sophie Howe. This was supported by Councillors of all political parties and from all areas of the City.

The three-year campaign lead by St. Mellons Councillors has obliged the Council to accept it has to deal with the problem and horse owners are now in no doubt that action will be taken against them if horses are deliberately released in our streets and parks. However, we must continue to be vigilent as some horse-owners have threatened to retaliate.

Although there have been few complaints about “stray” horses in St. Mellons over the summer, Cllr. Ralph Cook reported a herd in Greenway Park, Rumney to the Council in September and Cllr. Judith Woodman, a member of the Council’s Executive, arranged the largest “swoop” yet which impounded 30 horses.

The owners have reclaimed the animals and incurred almost £2,000 in costs. A repeat offence could result in an anti-social behaviour order against them. The Council is also preparing to impound the horses ranging over Lamby Way landfill tip.

Councillor Monica Walsh

Police Report by P.C. Ian Beacall

2005-12-10T12:01:00.000Z

With crime rates fairly low in the area, most of the complaints we receive from residents are about “quality of life issues” such as the illegal use of motorcycles and youths causing problems in particular neighbourhoods.

I use the word illegal because when motor-vehicles (motorcycles, quadbikes and gopeds) are ridden on a field or footpath or, without a license, on the highway this contraves the Road Traffic Act. Vehicles can be seized and offenders disqualified from driving which may lead to imprisonment if breached. This recently occured in St. Mellons.

The police receive large numbers of calls about youths causing annoyance. Do you know where your child is and what they are doing? Many people claim there is nothing for children to do in the area but a glance at the “St. Mellons Directory”, published by the Healthy Living Project, proves this to be wrong, as it lists the many activities for children available in the area.

Abandoned shopping trolleys are also a problem. If you take a trolley away from the shop you are committing theft and are liable to prosecution.

P.C. Ian Beacall

Tories, Liberals & Plaid turn backs on extra money for health and pensioners

2005-12-07T17:22:00.000Z

Lorraine Barrett AM

Don't drink and drive this Christmas

2005-12-05T17:26:00.000Z

Lorraine Barrett AM

Welsh Labour delivers justice, safety and security for all

2005-11-29T17:31:00.000Z

Lorraine Barrett AM

Verging on the ridiculous?

2005-11-10T11:57:00.000Z

This summer many residents complained to us about long grass and over-grown vegetation and we have also noticed that the grass in local parks has been mown only once a week.

The Council’s failure to properly manage the banks, verges and undeveloped land in St. Mellons lies with the way responsibility for these jobs is spread between different departments.

We want the Council to make one department responsible. Seems a simple concept doesn’t it? If this were done we could expect efficient and regular grass cutting throughout Cardiff, rather than the disjointed approach we have at present.

Three years ago we were told a “working group” would develop proposals to resolve the problem. When I enquired about the group’s progress last year, I was told no such group existed and no-one can remember a decision to set it up!

The problem was highlighted last August when an 11 year-old local boy was killed by a car on Coleford Drive. The child’s mother - rightly in my opinion - laid part of the blame for the tragedy on the Council’s failure to cut back the vegetation, spilling into the road, near the point where her son died. We had been asking for this section of verge to be regularly cut since 2002!
The boy’s mother and I jointly called on the Council to schedule regular verge maintenance in St. Mellons and the Echo carried the story.

Councillor Elgan Morgan, Executive Member for the Environment backed the cut, for which we are grateful and he shares our view that the Council must resolve the problem permanently.

We have prepared a “notice of motion” which if agreed by Councillors, will make one department responsible for maintaining all grass and shrubs on Council land throughout the city.
We expect the motion to be supported by all Councillors because proper management of roadside verges can be a matter of life or death.

Councillor Ralph Cook

St. Mellons Community Education Centre

2005-10-10T11:50:00.000Z

The working group considering the future of the Community Education Centre met in September. The group will not met again because, after less than an hour of discussion, the Council failed to demonstrate clear objectives or that it had any plans to develop the Centre’s role in local sporting activity. It was agreed to leave a few out-standing operational issues to be sorted out by managers and allow the current programmes run by the staff at the centre to continue. Why it was necessary to create concern about the future of the centre earlier this year remains a mystery.

Councillor Ralph Cook

New community centre in St Mellons officially unveiled

2005-09-09T09:54:00.000Z

Lorraine Barrett AM

Make Sure You are Signed Up for the Winter Fuel Payment

2005-09-01T10:06:00.000Z

Alun Michael MP

“Not in My Backyard”:

2005-08-01T02:15:00.000Z

Fly-tipping and general littering remains a problem in Trowbridge and St. Mellons (and throughout Cardiff and South Wales), however, recent inspections have shown marked improvement compared with conditions in 1999.

This is partly because as Local Councillors we have regularly reported rubbish. Also the Council’s previous Labour Administration introduced a new fly-tipping strategy, regular weekly litter-picks, gulley cleansing and just before the elections in 2004, paved the way for “Community Sweepers” (a policy that the Liberal Democrats are now trying to claim the credit for having failed to introduce their own rather grandiose promises).

In March I took the new head of street cleansing on a tour of Trowbridge and St. Mellons to show him the local litter and fly-tipping hotspots. I also asked him to investigate why some parts of the Ward are not regularly cleared. (Incidentally I was the first Councillor in Cardiff to call on his services just two weeks after he was appointed!).

Whilst there wasn’t much to see (except in Hendre Lane and Trowbridge Road two regular “commercial” fly-tipping hotspots), we did find domestic refuse dumped over-night by irresponsible residents. There really is no excuse for this behaviour and I must assume people do it out of sheer laziness. Following the tour most of the problem areas were cleared.

My Colleague, Councillor Monica Walsh has also been active pressing the various parts of the Council to clean the streets, gulleys and local parks of rubbish as it materialises. Recently your three Councillors agreed to take a harder-hitting approach and we are asking the Council’s enforcement team to prioritise our Ward. Bin-bags put out too early, fly-tipping and littering will be the main targets. The Council can impose fines on people fly-tipping, littering or putting bins or bin-bags out too early, frequent offenders could have ASBOs imposed.

The dumping of left-overs following DIY gardening activities is a common cause of fly-tipping. The best time to begin “pruning” trees and shrubs is the autumn, but some residents start in summer (the worst time). A minority then dump the cuttings over their garden boundaries. No-one should prune hedges or trees on public land, highways, paths etc. without first discussing the work with the Council. And why do people wait until the bird nesting season to do this work?

Cllr. Ralph Cook

Melrose Park Youth Facility:

2005-07-27T06:06:00.000Z

Last year a St. Mellons resident approached me about setting up a modest facility for young people in Minsmere Close, St. Mellons. Previously there was a childrens play facility here but vandalism and persistent anti-social behaviour lead to this being removed by the Council several years ago.

Concerns raised by Minsmere Close residents prompted the view that alternative, preferrably more easily policed, sites should be considered before developing the proposal further.

The resident decided not to pursue this approach (which is her right) and instead raised the matter with the Council Leader, Liberal Democrat Councillor Rodney Berman. The Council has been working on this proposal without even bothering to discuss it with local Councillors or residents for over six months.

This is either a sign of Liberal Democrat deviousness or incompetence - both provide reason for concern. I’m told it was an “oversight” on their part. It is certainly unacceptable.

Such behaviour undermines local democracy as well as being very unhelpful. We hope the Executive are not busy dealing with other local matters without consulting us. This incident says a lot about Lib Dem politicians who won last years local elections on the promise that they would be inclusive, open and democratic.

Cllr. Ralph Cook

St. Mellons Community Education Centre:

2005-07-27T06:03:00.000Z

As reported in the last edition of the St. Mellons Rose, the Liberal Democrat run Council intends to review the way in which the St. Mellons Community Education Centre (CEC) is managed.

The review became controversial when a rumour the Centre was closing began circulating. Before 2003 the building was divided between Community Education and Leisure Services (sport). In 2003 the management of the whole building was transferred to the Community Education service.

As reported previously in the St. Mellons Rose your Local Councillors have been campaigning to improve sporting facilities in the Ward (the improvements about to begin at Cathcob playing fields are a result of this work). The Council sees the building as playing a key part in this and the review, we are told, will seek to balance the requirements of the sport and leisure and community education.

In early March the Council said a “working group” would be set up to look at the complex issues involved and local residents would be consulted.

More than three months later the working group has not yet met and the Centre and staff remain in limbo. Cllr. Ralph Cook has written to the Council asking it to begin the consultation immediately. In its reply the Council says it has been doing background work prior to arranging the first meetings.

Cllr. Monica Walsh

Neighbourhood Renewal Scheme:

2005-07-27T06:02:00.000Z

We submitted two bids for money from this annual scheme. Firstly to carry out a consultation and feasibility study on the proposed closure of Trefaser Crescent and secondly to improve access to and provide fencing around Crumlin Drive Open Space. If agreed, there will be an opportunity to reduce motorbike nuisance on this ground, give easier access to people and improve the football pitch. The basket ball facility here was funded by the scheme two years ago.

Wimpey House Building

2005-07-27T06:01:00.000Z

Wimpey have asked the Council whether they can site a temporary compound on land at Cathcob Playing Fields for two years during the building of 52 homes adjacent to Chester Close, St. Mellons. As the local Councillors we have been asked for our views.

We do not have any major objections apart from a few concerns to minimise the impact on local residents and the trees. We are insisting that all fees paid to the Council are added to the money being spent on improving the Playing Fields. We would welcome any views residents may have.

Schools Reorganisation Update:

2005-07-27T05:43:00.000Z

The Council’s ruling Liberal Democrat Executive is still reeling from the verbal battering it received from around 170 parents at the public meeting in Eastern Leisure Centre on May 18th. Your Labour Councillors leafleted parents outside school gates in Trowbridge and St. Mellons to make up for the lack of publicity.

The earlier series of meetings, held in February, were so badly publicised by the Council that few people attended them; only 16 parents turned up for the West Cardiff meeting. The following day over 100 people attended the East Cardiff meeting after we leafleted at school gates.

At the latest public meeting worried parents demanded answers to their questions and complained that they were getting “waffle” in reply.

Having exposed the Councils failure to publicise these meetings properly, the South Wales Echo, has continued to devote space to the issue. The Council’s best kept secret is the talk of the City!

We are asking the Liberal Democrats to tell us when they will honour the promise contained in their June 2004 local election manifesto. Before winning power in Cardiff Council the Lib Dems promised to reduce class sizes to 25 pupils. Yet reducing class sizes is not even mentioned in their consultation paper!

Now they are proposing to close schools whilst presiding over a period when the gap between the average amount spent by Welsh Councils per pupil and the amount spent per pupil in Cardiff is widening. Under Labour between 1999 and 2004 the gap fell from almost £100 per pupil to £9.00!

We accept that something needs to be done to reduce the thousands of surplus places in our schools. However, we oppose plans to increase the size of all primary schools to 420 children because we believe smaller schools are more appropriate for very young children, especially in areas like Trowbridge and St. Mellons where there is significant socio-economic disadvantage.

At the next public meeting, to be held in September the Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Education (Councillor Bill Kelloway, who represents Penylan) will announce which schools he intends to close in East Cardiff.

Remember, even if the school your children attend is not going to be closed, there will be consequences as the children attending schools that are to be closed will have to go somewhere and will increase the size of your child’s school!

Some parents whose children attend St. John Lloyds (Trowbridge) or Bishop Childs (St. Mellons) mistakenly think this has nothing to do with them. It does. Voluntary Aided schools will have to take some of the pain as well as LEA schools.

Finally, I was recently advised that Councillors who find themselves governors of schools destined to be closed would not be permitted to vote on the final proposals as they would “have an interest”. The Echo published the story and I resigned as a Governor of Willowbrook School. Within days a meeting was held where dispensations were agreed for every Councillor who is also a governor. Thus the chaos that would have followed the resignations of 75 Councillors from school governing bodies was averted.

Councillor Ralph Cook

Trefaser Park Improvements Complete:

2005-07-27T05:42:00.000Z

The perimeter fence at Trefaser Park is complete. Residents have already commented that the fence has made a difference to the amount of motor-bike nuisance in the area. We hope to build a childrens play area in the park within the next two years.

Cllr. Monica Walsh Cardiff’s new Deputy Lord Mayor

2005-07-27T05:40:00.000Z

After just one year as a Councillor, Trowbridge and St. Mellons Councillor, Monica Walsh, who lives in Brookfield Drive St. Mellons has been elected to the post of Deputy Lord Mayor until May 2006. Monica says that she will do everything in her power to promote the area in her travels. We wish her well but the post demands that she does not engage in politics!

Council Committee Supports Horse

2005-07-27T05:28:00.000Z

The Council’s Environment Scrutiny Committee has recently published a report on “stray” horses. It vindicates what we have been saying for three years and sends a clear message to the Council’s Executive that “stray” horses should not be tolerated anywhere in the city. The report found:

a) the Council has returned to their owners all “stray” horses captured in “swoops” without charge!

b) one owner operating “commercial” numbers of horses is claiming most of the captured horses

c) there is confusion between the Council and the Police about their duties and responsibilities

d) the Police and Council do not prioritise “stray” horses despite risks to human life and property

e) only a third of the 2004 “stray” horse budget was spent

The Report supports our call to use Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) on irresponsible horse owners, and says horse owners should be charged the full cost of capturing, accommodating and feeding horses caught with unclaimed animals being sold, or humanely destroyed. Cllr. Ralph Cook was a witness for the committee. In a separate move all 75 Cardiff Councillors supported our motion to use ASBOs in a Council debate in April, despite an unpopular attempt by the Council’s Liberal Democrat Executive to water down the motion.

Cllr. David English

Trefaser Crescent

2005-07-27T05:24:00.000Z

The row between your Councillors and the Council over the stopping-up of Trefaser Crescent is continuing. The intention behind the proposal was to transform Trowbridge Green into two cul de sacs. We believe this would reduce anti-social behaviour, rat-running by motorists and motor-cycle nuisance in the area.

We have now made a bid via the Council’s Neighbourhood Renewal Scheme for funding to carry out a full consultation with Trowbridge Green residents on the proposal and if it proves popular for a feasibility study into the costs and practicability of doing the work.

A Council Executive Member, Cllr. Judith Woodman, has told us that there is opposition to the idea from the local Police and some residents. Local Police officers tell us that in fact they are quite positive about the proposal but want to be formally consulted about it.

Some residents may oppose the idea but if so they have not expressed this view to us.

We believe a formal consultation exercise will establish whether there is support for the scheme amongst residents and enable a general debate on the wider issues. If the idea is not supported by residents we will accept those views but we are not prepared to accept Cllr. Woodman’s unsubstatiated opinions which seem to be more about saving money than improving the area for the residents of Trowbridge Green.

Cllr. Ralph Cook

AM’s reaction to London attacks

2005-07-08T06:34:00.000Z

Lorraine Barrett AM

Terrorists will not destroy what we hold dear - Tony Blair

2005-07-07T02:09:00.000Z

The Prime Minister described the terrorist attacks on London today as 'barbaric'.
In a statement from the G8 summit in Gleneagles Tony Blair said: "It is reasonably clear that there have been a series of terrorist attacks in London. There are obviously casualties, both people who have died and people who are seriously injured, and our thoughts and prayers, of course, are with the victims and their families.
"It is my intention to leave the G8 within the next couple of hours and go down to London and get a report face-to-face with the police and the emergency services and the ministers who have been dealing with this and then to return later this evening. It is the will of all the leaders of the G8, however, that the meeting should continue in my absence, that we should continue to discuss the issues that we were going to discuss and reach the conclusions that we were going to reach.
"Each of the countries round that table have some experience of the effects of terrorism and all the leaders, as they will indicate a little bit later, share our complete resolution to defeat terrorism. It is particularly barbaric that this has happened on a day when people are meeting to try to help the problems of poverty in Africa and the long term problems of climate change and the environment. Just as it is reasonably clear that this is a terrorist attack or a series of terrorist attacks it is also reasonably clear that it is designed and aimed to coincide with the opening of the G8. There will be time to talk later about this.
"It is important, however, that those engaged in terrorism realize that our determination to defend our values and our way of life is greater than their determination to cause death and destruction to innocent people in a desire impose extremism on the world. Whatever they do it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilised nations throughout the world."

Crackdown on off-road bikes

2005-06-12T05:00:00.000Z

Lorraine Barrett AM

First Minister backs calls for ASBOs on stray horse owners

2005-05-01T23:43:00.000Z

Lorraine Barrett AM

Alun Michael Condemns Lib Dems Local Income Tax

2005-04-19T02:10:00.000Z

Trowbridge Estate Tenants & Residents

2005-04-11T10:12:00.000Z

The ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING is on
Wednesday 18th May
At the Scouts Hut on Cemaes Crescent
At 6.00pm to 7.30pm

What Next for Trowbridge?

2005-04-11T10:10:00.000Z

Your Councillors have concentrated their attention over the past six years on the major work that is slowly transforming the Trowbridge Estate:

Shopping centre redevelopment,

Trowbridge Green improvements,

Improving the Council flats,

Parking near schools,

Motorbike prevention,

Trefaser Park fencing,

Traffic speed control,

All these are underway and will continue this year.
By any standards the list is impressive and we are ourselves pretty surprised at how much has been achieved. However, problems change over time and so do people’s expectations and we do not want to lose touch with changing needs in Trowbridge.
We want to hear from you about your ambitions for Trowbridge. We know that many residents point to the lack of a childrens play area in Trowbridge (which we are working on) but what other concerns do people have.

If you’d like to tell us please write to me at:

Cllr. Ralph Cook,
Members Services,
Cardiff County Council,
County Hall,
Atlantic Wharf,
Cardiff,
CF10 4UW.

or by e-mail at rcook@cardiff.gov.uk
or telephone 20793809.

Cllr. Ralph Cook

Coleford Drive Park

2005-04-11T10:09:00.000Z

£40,000 will be spent over the next few months improving Coleford Drive Park by repairing and creating new paths, improving the accesses and the metal fencing.
The money was raised from the small residential developments at Wicken Close and Salvia Close. We agreed the improvements following requests from residents in the area.

Cathcob Playing Fields

2005-04-11T10:08:00.000Z

Believe it or not these fields were intended for sports, especially football and rugby rather than the waterlogged motorcycle track and free grazing for "stray" horses that they look like now.
A botched drainage programme in the 1990s left the fields unsuitable for winter sports and many local teams closed down or went elsewhere to practice and play.
From 1999 your Councillors have been trying to find a way to pay for the necessary improvements. Two years ago we agreed to the sale of Council land next to Chester Close for house building as long as some of the money from the sale was spent improving the sports fields.
The land is being sold at last and the Council will start work this summer. £210,000 will be spent on drainage so the fields can be used throughout the year. £50,000 more is being spent erecting metal fencing around the fields to keep out horses and motor-vehicles.
Its been a long time coming so we hope the work is successful.

Cllr. David English

Trefaser Park Improvements Underway:

2005-04-11T10:07:00.000Z

Trefaser Park Improvements Underway:
A perimeter fence at Trefaser Park is being built. Cllr. Ralph Cook, secured a Council grant for £50,000 to pay for the work in March 04. The Park suffers motorcycle nuisance, burning of cars and grazing by horses. We hope to build a childrens play area in the park within two years.

Harrison Drive & Matthysens Way

2005-04-11T10:06:00.000Z

A dispute between residents and Wimpey Homes has delayed the Council’s adoption of the estate. I have recently been told the dispute is close to being resolved.
Potholes have remained unfilled, street lights have failed and for several years the estate did not receive street cleansing at all. Residents complained but I’m not sure my attempts to explain were always believed!
Two years ago I negotiated unofficial arrangements with the Council’s Street Cleansing Manager but he has retired. I hope to persuade his replacement to continue these arrangements until adoption is secured.
For several years, wanting to avoid unnecessarily arousing fears amongst residents, we worked "behind the scenes" with Council officers, putting pressure on Wimpey Homes to reach agreement with the residents.
Over a year ago I invited residents to a meeting and explained the problem verbally. A residents’ association was set up last autumn. The involvement of residents has helped highlight it and speed things up.
All being well, the Council will begin the adoption process very soon.

Cllr. Ralph Cook

Next Meeting: Wednesday 20th April, 7.00pm at Meadowlane School.

St. Mellons Community Education Centre

2005-04-11T10:05:00.000Z

The rumour circulating the estate that the Community Education Centre (CEC) is closing is untrue. The centre is the probably the best in Cardiff with an effective programme attracting the involvement of about 700 young people each year. There is a problem developing, however, which would need a lot more space than I have to explain in detail.
3 years ago the Council brought the two community buildings (CEC and "community hall") under Lifelong Learning management. Your Councillors agreed this to support Community Education in St. Mellons and because the alternative proposal meant charging the public to use the facilities.
Apparently the Councils’ Executive wants to place the building with Leisure, with the CEC staff working alongside Leisure staff. Luckily we found out about this plan, protested and requested consultation before a decision is made.
As a result there will be no visible change to the use of the building for 6-9 months while the Council consults with residents and Councillors.
The Council argues that the improvements to Cathcob Playing Fields, starting in summer, will mean the return of sport to St. Mellons and, therefore the building should be managed by Leisure. Your Councillors have also been pressing the Council to spend up to £1m on the building to upgrade and extend it which is obviously popular with sports groups in the area.
So we have a choice to make but it is not simply between community education or sport. We think it is possible to have both and improve the facilities and activities provided by the centre.
Even this would require some compromise on both sides and may mean the public paying to use the sports facilities. As the Council can take a decision without your Councillors’ agreement, it is important that residents take the opportunity offered by the consultation to make their views known.

Cllr. Monica Walsh

Motorbikes in St. Mellons

2005-04-11T10:04:00.000Z

This Christmas saw a big increase in complaints about noise from motorbikes being used illegally in St. Mellons and Trowbridge.
Despite repeated warnings in our newsletters a few parents gave their children scrambler-bikes or quadbikes for Christmas. This co-incided with the introduction of a new anti-motorbike strategy involving your Councillors, the Council and St. Mellons Police.
A team of motorbike officers, trained to catch off-road bikers is regularly visiting St. Mellons. They can snatch offenders off a moving bike - literally! They operate seven days a week and the people they catch have to pay over £100 to get their bikes back.
We asked the police to start issuing First Stage Anti-Social Behaviour Letters to anyone caught riding these vehicles illegally on Council land. They have agreed and have started doing it.
We understand the thrill of riding these machines so we are asking the Council if there is any land far from homes that local motorbike enthusiasts could use. When we have the answer we will pass on the news. But there would be big hurdles, financial and legal, on those that took up the idea. It’s probably best not to buy the bikes in the first place.

Cllr. David English

Speeding in St. Mellons

2005-04-11T10:03:00.000Z

Some residents ignore the speed limits on local roads. The limit everywhere in St. Mellons is 30mph except for Newport Road (40 mph).
Children are at risk in St. Mellons. Two youngsters have been tragically killed on St. Mellons roads in two years. Many children seem ignorant of basic road safety rules but as no-one wants the death of a child on their conscience, local childrens’ lack of awareness is a good reason for extra caution.
We support police efforts against car crime in St. Mellons. In a recent operation the Police clamped 32 cars without current tax disks in one day!
Inspt. Alex Chadd invited Cllr. Ralph Cook to see new high-tech cadgetry for detecting car crime, in action on 4th April. A new computer/camera system linked to the Police National Computer was being used on Newport Road to catch stolen vehicles and "tax dodgers. Ralph was impressed.

Cllr. Monica Walsh

What next for St. Mellons

2005-04-11T10:01:00.000Z

Your Councillors have won major improvements for St. Mellons. Work on the Council housing estates, completion of Hendre Lake Park and improvements to other play, park and sports areas will continue through this year.
Residents put "quality of life issues" - "stray" horses, motorbike nuisance, speeding, litter and fly-tipping - at the top of their list of priorities and we are dealing with those issues as best we can, often under difficult circumstances.
Unfortunately, progress can be slow and brings conflict with a few other residents, motorbike enthusiasts, for instance!
Your Councillors can’t prevent illegal behaviour on their own. We work with the Police, Council and other agencies through the St. Mellons Forum and other means.
Naturally there are complaints from residents when there is a problem but few residents realise we are all stronger when a united community stands alongside its Councillors. This may mean filling in petitions, writing letters and occasionally standing with placards in the rain!
St. Mellons has very few active Residents Associations or groups. Most are small and fragile, the biggest being SMAC, the group opposing the St. Mellons Link Road.
Increasingly the voice of St. Mellons needs to be heard. School closures, the Community Education Centre, horses, motorbikes and other problems are still present. If the people of St. Mellons do not work together we risk losing the hard-won gains and a return to the neglect we suffered a few years ago.
We will not win every time but success, when it occurs, is more fun shared.

Cllr. Ralph Cook

School Reorganisation

2005-04-11T09:58:00.000Z

Cardiff Council is reviewing local schools to deal with 8,500 surplus places. This may result in proposals to close or amalgamate some schools.
Our local primary schools perform well, despite problems associated with poverty and high numbers of local children having special educational needs. St. Mellons children benefit from small schools and small class sizes so we will be arguing to keep all our schools open.
Parents and teachers are very concerned about the future of local primary and Rumney and Llanrumney High Schools. We cannot predict what the review will mean for schools in the area but we will do our best to ensure the final proposals bring improvements otherwise we will oppose the plans and involve parents.
The Council has accepted our criticisms of the first series of consultation meetings and agreed to our demands for improved publicity in future. These meetings are important so we ask parents to attend them if possible.

Cllr. Monica Walsh

Council U-Turn on “Stray” Horses: A Victory for Common-Sense

2005-04-07T23:45:00.000Z

Our 8 month campaign for Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) to be used against irresponsible horse owners seems to have been successful. In a policy U-Turn Cardiff Council’s Executive has ruled out renting grazing land for horses and agreed to use ASBOs.

We put this down to our resolve to ensure ASBOs are used, if necessary. We also want to thank residents of St. Mellons for their support and encouragement during these difficult months.

We have maintained all along that ASBOs, if used properly offered the cheapest, quickest and most effective solution to the “stray” horse problem as they have proved to be with irresponsible farmers in other parts of the UK. We also argued that if the Council wanted to lease land for grazing the land should be available to any horse owner, not just those who have caused many residents of St. Mellons misery for over two-and-a-half years.

We wait to see if ASBOs are used properly!

Cllr. Ralph Cook.

RIP Jim Callaghan (1912-2005)

2005-03-31T13:49:00.000Z

Many people more eloquent than ourselves have already paid tribute to Trowbridge and St. Mellons Member of Parliament from 1945 - 1987.

For the benefit of those of us who too young to directly remember the 60's & 70's the 10 Downing Street website offers this brief biography:

The son of a naval chief petty officer, James Callaghan left school at 14. He worked as a tax officer and was later employed by the Inland Revenue Staff Federation.After serving in World War Two he was elected as a Labour MP for Cardiff South in the post-war Labour landslide, and later represented Cardiff South East. He rose steadily through the party in Opposition, and stood for the leadership after Gaitskell's death in 1963, losing with respectable minority support.
As Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1964, Callaghan's decision not to devalue the pound proved disastrous. After devaluation the discredited Callaghan resigned as Chancellor, to become Home Secretary, where he salvaged his reputation.During this time he sent troops to Northern Ireland in 1969 to cope with worsening violence. As a staunch defender of trade unions, he opposed efforts to reform them, earning the title 'keeper of the cloth cap'.
In Opposition Callaghan became Shadow Foreign Secretary, and in government after 1974 it was his job to renegotiate the terms of Britains EC membership. When Harold Wilson resigned unexpectedly, Callaghan was not the favourite to win the leadership, being the oldest candidate at 64. However, he was the least divisive candidate, and won the vote.
As Prime Minister Callaghan presided over a sterling crisis, which led to negotiations with the IMF for a rescue package, but he did keep his Cabinet team together during the controversy over the conditions set. Spending cuts and pay restraint were demanded, but the left wing Labour conference nevertheless voted for more spending.
Things were made more difficult still when Labour's small majority disappeared in 1977, making Labour dependent on the support of the Liberals. However, Callaghan persevered in office even when this pact broke down.
During the 'Winter of Discontent' in 1978, industrial action over pay policy severely damaged the governments authority. The government lost a confidence motion on 28 March 1979 by just one vote a classic piece of high-tension political theatre.Callaghan was obliged to hold a general election, which was won by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party. As Labour's left wing gained strength in the early 1980s, Callaghan's influence waned, and he resigned as leader after 18 months.He retired from the House of Commons in 1987 and was active in the House of Lords as a life peer.
Lord Callaghan passed away at home in East Sussex on 26 March 2005, one day short of his 93rd birthday. He was the longest living former British PM in history.

A more detailed biography is here

His successor as our Member of Parliament, the Rt. Hon. Alun Michael JP, MP said:
"Jim Callaghan personified the link between national leadership and the people. Coming from a poor family, he never forgot his background. He was a trade unionist before he was an MP. And above all his personal roots and loyalty to the people who first elected him in 1945 never wavered – even long after he stood down after 42 years as the MP for Cardiff South & Penarth.
At the heart of our constitution is the relationship between the MP and the constituency – talk of Ministers being "out of touch" ignores the fact that each Minister is also an MP, returning each weekend to family, friends and the people who send us to Parliament. As the only person ever to hold the four Great Offices of State, who better to set the tone for Parliamentary democracy than Jim ?Respected by world leaders for his shrewd insight and sound judgement – the Falklands War could never have happened on his watch - Jim still asked what people were saying in Splott and Llanrumney and Penarth. He held monthly surgeries, took part in the monthly meetings of the Constituency Labour Party and listened to local views passed through a passionately loyal group of supporters - not least his agent Jack (now Lord Brooks of Tremorfa) and his constituency chairman, Gordon Houlston.
This went far beyond public opinion. As Chancellor and Prime Minister, he sought to help the economy of South Wales – the Mint in Llantrisant, Companies House, Fords in Bridgend and many other developments reflected his belief in the need for renewal of our economy. Had the 1979 election not allowed Mrs Thatcher to put a stop to it all, British Rail and Ministry of Defence jobs would have followed to Cardiff.Even in retirement, he continued to be a tower of strength for Cardiff’s future – he knew better than most that the devastating loss of jobs which followed the closure of East Moors required more than incremental change. When the battle raged, he backed the new vision for our capital city which only the Barrage could provide.He also led the search for the right building for the new Welsh Assembly Chamber – and no-one should underestimate Jim’s contribution to the building now under construction in Cardiff Bay – at last.

One commentator said that given a decent majority Jim "could have been" a great Prime Minister. No, Jim was a great prime minister. He gave strong leadership despite having no majority and in the face of overwhelming odds. As a trade unionist, Jim could never have been against the trade unions – but through the tribulations of his final months in office he reminded us that the Labour Movement exists not just to represent its members but also to create a better society and opportunity for all. On that there could be no compromise.Jim’s death, as the longest-living ex-premier, follows close on the death of Audrey who campaigned vigorously for children and on health issues. We salute and remember two wonderful people who gave us so much over the past 60 years.

"The Prime Minister & Leader of the Labour Party pays tribute to his predecessor here.
"He was a patriot, a loyal servant of party and country and a devoted husband and father. His love for Audrey was very special."

Cardiff West AM & Welsh First Minister, the Rt. Hon. Rhodri Morgan AM has also paid tribute.

Other obituaries penned by contemporaries from the Labour governments of the 1960's & 70's include Shirley Williams in the Independent on Sunday, Gerald Kaufman in the Sunday Telegraph and the late Roy Jenkins who penned his obituary for the Sunday Times shortly before his own death.

Representing the younger generation, Tom Watson MP recalls his first meeting with Jim in 1995.

A Book of Condolence has today been opened at City Hall in Cardiff.

Anyone living locally with memories of Jim Callaghan in his days as our MP, or subsequently, is very welcome to post a comment, or email us, and we will pass them onto his children, Margaret, Michael and Julia in due course.

Jim Callaghan was truly representative of the political generation, shaped by the war, whose undogmatic socialist credo, combined with his bluff personality and superb political skills to take him to the Premiership. His tragedy was that his decision to see through his government's programme (including the delivery of devolution for Scotland & Wales), rather than going to the country in 1978, followed by the 'winter of discontent', marked the final phase of the post war social democratic consensus he personified.

A big man in every sense, Jim Callaghan will be warmly remembered and sorely missed.

Lib Dem Cardiff leisure centre cuts slammed

2005-03-18T00:43:00.000Z

Lorraine Barrett AM

January/February 05 Councillor’s Report from Cllr. Ralph Cook

2005-03-18T00:16:00.000Z

Budget & Council Tax: The last month or so has been quite hectic because of the annual budget setting process. In a hung Council the onus falls on each Party Group to work up their own budget proposals but the task was also complicated by the impact of rebanding and revaluation and the threat that Council spending would be capped by the National Assembly if it increased by more than 5.6%.

The Labour Group’s proposals, which were rejected by the Council achieved the target set by the Assembly without hitting frontline services or causing compulsory redundancies and also improved the Council’s Education budget in comparison with the Lib Dem budget. The Lib Dems succeeded with their proposals thanks to the support they received from the Tories. We think the Tory proposals which the Lib Dems included in their final budget do mean that compulsory redundancies are highly likely.

Either way, thanks to the intervention of the Assembly (although I oppose capping on principle) Cardiff’s Council Tax is actually lower than last years although because of revaluation over 80% of households will face an increase of between 16 and 23% on their Council Tax bills.

Schools Re-organisation Consultation: Despite promising improved
Consultation with Cardiff residents the Lib Dems series of school re-organisation consultation meetings were a disaster. Firstly details of the series of meetings were only announced in a press release issued on the 10th of February. Although all Councillors received a copy at the same time as the press, the release was circulated to us as an attachment to the e-mailed daily media brief. As its description suggests the daily media brief is e-mailed on a daily basis and takes about half an hour to read thoroughly. Few Councillors read this (I do) and fewer still actually notice the attachments which appear in small type. I read the relevant media brief but did not see the attachment. Either way this is not an appropriate method of advising Councillors of important meetings/events.

The South Wales Echo published details of the meetings on the 16th of February only four days prior to the first meeting held in Cardiff West which was attended by only 16 parents. The East Cardiff meeting was held the next day (Tuesday 22nd February) and this attracted over 100 people. The following day Cardiff North was attended by only 30 people.

The reason for the very good attendance at the Cardiff East meeting was that Labour in Trowbridge & St. Mellons, Rumney and Llanrumney joined up to publicise the meetings. We produced special leaflets informing parents of the Lib Dems incompetence and the details of the meeting and distributed 1,300 at schools in Trowbridge/St. Mellons, Llanrumney and Rumney.

At the meeting we got some good points across and I hope our constituents understood that their representatives were on their side (as we are) and that we were appalled by the sloppiness of the organisation with respect to the calling and the publicity given to the meetings (which we are).

The message from the parents is that they didn’t trust the Council, that they were concerned about potential school closures and did want to be involved and kept informed.

After initially defending the consultation process in the Echo, the Lib Dem Executive Member in the Council with responsibility for Education has since admitted that the “Council” got it wrong.

Trefaser Crescent: To my dismay I learnt from a resident that the proposal to block up Trefaser Crescent has been shelved. I asked a question in Council about who, why. when and etc. and I am continuing to pursue the issue with the Council and residents.

Trowbridge Shopping Centre: At long last the planning application has been submitted and will go before the Council’s Planning Committee (of which I am a member) sometime in the next couple of months. I will be abstaining in any vote at the planning committee, although I hope to be able to speak on the application.

Miscellaneous:

A few problems have emerged from the work at Hendre Lake and I have been working with residents to sort them out.

Motorbikes I have been approached by a parent whose son’s motorcycle was seized by the police recently. She wants to lease land for “legal” scrambling. I’ve offered to assist on the proviso that I will not support a site located near homes or where the police oppose.

Rubbish in Trowbridge

2005-03-18T00:14:00.000Z

Residents have, rightly, been complaining about the build up of fly-tipped domestic rubbish on Trefaser Crescent and the Treynewdd Road site. We have been trying to get these two areas cleaned by the Council with little success so far but we have been promised a “clean and clear” for this weekend (12 &13 March).

However, Trowbridge is gradually improving and we have been more successful in getting rubbish cleared from other parts of Trowbridge where development is not taking place. I have also been talking to Tesco about picking up shopping trolleys dumped in Trowbridge.

Cllr. Monica Walsh

The Lib Dems won the June 2004 Cardiff Council elections, how have they done?

2005-03-18T00:10:00.000Z

The Liberal Democrats in Cardiff are a populist party that fought a highly personalised campaign against the former Leader of the Council, Russell Goodway, during the last Labour Administration. One dimensional political campaigning and a lack of experience in exercising power has resulted in an unimaginative Liberal Democrat Council more interested in popularity than decision-making.

As a first step the Liberal Democrats dismantled the Council’s decision-making structures in the expectation of replacing them with a complex committee structure this year, then the National Assembly for Wales stopped their plans because they were undemocratic! Decisions are taken by a seven person Executive but unlike the Labour Administration no one Executive Member is personally responsible for decisions making it difficult to hold the Executive to account for their actions.

In July the Lib Dems denied Labour (with 27 Councillors) seats on the powerful Welsh Local Government Association yet gave the Tories and Plaid Cymru (who between them had only 15 Councillors) three seats.

In autumn the Lib Dems launched a process that will probably lead to school closures. A series of public consultation meetings were held in February but the Council failed to publicise them properly and only 150 people turned up to the three meetings, reducing the value of holding them.

In September Labour Councillors revealed e-mail evidence of an attempt to mislead the residents of Splott. Although cleared of breaching the Councillors Code of Conduct, the Lib Dem Deputy Leader, Cllr. Judith Woodman, agreed the wording of her e-mail to a colleague was “ill-advised”. Then Cllr. Jane Reece left the Lib Dems criticising Council Leader, Rodney Berman and Deputy Leader, Judith Woodman of not dealing with issues she had taken to them.

The Lib Dems tried to blame Labour in the Assembly for increasing Council Tax but their fox was shot when it was realised the Lib Dems were trying to hide unnecessary increases in the Council’s budget behind the smokescreen of revaluation.

News in brief

2005-03-18T00:01:00.000Z

• Your Councillors are investigating why plans to stop-up Trefaser Crescent as part of the Trowbridge Green Environmental Improvement programme have been shelved.

• The Council has submitted its plans for the redevelopment of the Trowbridge Shopping Centre site to the Planning Department. Some concerns, mainly about the positioning of the block of flats at the junction of Aberdaren and Caernarvon Way, have been expressed by residents and Cllrs. English and Walsh are handling these. Cllr. Cook is on the Council’s Planning Committee but will be "declaring an interest" when the plans come before the Committee.

• The Trowbridge & St. Mellons Labour Party extends a warm welcome to Inspector Alex Chadd the new Police Inspector for Trowbridge, based at Rumney Police Station. He recently joined Councillor Ralph Cook on a tour of the Ward to obtain a “Councillor’s eye-view” of the area.

• We support the local police securing an Anti-Social Behaviour Order against a young Trowbridge man with a history of unacceptable activity in the area.

• The final phase of the work on the eastern end of Hendre Park is to be completed this year. 75,000 tons of silt have been dredged from the lake to create deep areas for fish and new paths have been laid. A bridge across the sluicegate, to be built this year, will enable visitors to walk around the lake safely.

News in brief

2005-03-13T23:20:00.000Z

Cllr.Ralph Cook accompanied another horse catch in St. Mellons and Trowbridge on a stormy night at the end of January. Only one horse was captured- the next day Ralph found 17 horses in the area. Ralph also took part in Radio 4's "You and Yours" programme on the subject of stray horse in Frbruary. The Lib-Dems Council Executive Member for the environment has said he needs more evidence to justify anti-social behaviour orders against horse owners!

Inspt. Alex Chadd of St. Mellons Police reports that February 28th is the date when all horses, ponies and donkeys are legally required to have "passports". The passport is required when horse are moved into or out of Britain; at competitions; when it moves to a new keeper; when it is taken to a abattoir; when sold , or when it is used for breeding purposes. Not having a passport may lead to £5,000 fine, or a custodial prison sentence for the owner.

A bid for £800.000 has been made to the Council's Capital Programme to modernise the St. Mellons Community Education Centre. This arose from local Councillors argument that some of the income from the sale of land formerly ear-marked for a High School should be used in St. Mellons.

Councillor Monica Walsh has raised complaints about the condition of local roads ( Willowbrook Drive, Willowdene Way, Cypress Drive, Brookfield Drive and harrisons Drive ) which are deteriorating. We have asked what has happened to the schedule of pothole inspections established when Labour ran the Council.

The Lib-Dems factually inaccurate public consultation on Council Tax, which cost the Council at least£20,000, revealed exactly what we told them it would reveal: Council Tax payers do not want above inflation Council Tax increases!

Liberal Democrats make a mess of public consultation on schools

2005-03-13T20:49:00.000Z

The Liberal Democrats who marginally won control of Cardiff County Council in last June's local elections promised voters a more open and honest and listening Council. Sadly they have fallen at the first major hurdel - consultation with parents and Councillors over thier school re-organisation plan.

First they hid the details of a series of local public meetings from Councillors in ae-mail daily media brief that few Councillors need to check.

Worse still the details fo the meeting were released not to schools but to the South Wales Echo which published them on the 16th of February - in the middle of the half-term holiday. Finally the date for the meeting in east Cardiff (22nd February ), was the first day back at school.

To ensure local parents were aware of the meeting your Councillors produced and distributed leaflets about it outside schools in St. Mellons and Trowbridge. But many parents will have been unable toarrange child-care at short notice and and were, in effect, excluded from discussing thier children's future education. If Labour were still running the Council we would have had to look at reorganising schools but I'm certain we would have got the public consultation exercise right!

On an economic analysis alone, school closures may prove to be necessary. However children in areas of deprivation like St. Melloms and Trowbridge will benefit from attending small schools. Therefore we have a strong case to argue against any school closures in the ward.

Cllr Ralph Cook

Editor's Comments From the "St. Mellons Rose"

2005-03-13T20:04:00.000Z

Your Councillors have been heavily involved in resisting attempts by the Liberal Democrats to unnecessarily increase Council spending (which increases Council Tax). In Council where no one Political Party has overall control the involvement of every Councillor counts. Additionally many of the early successes achieved by your Councillors before last years election have reached crucial stages and since Labour lost power in the Council a close eye is required on the progress of these projects.

As a result of this increased Council related activity, your Councillors have not been able to deliver both newsletters published since the local elections last June to every part of St. Mellons. The three arease affected will receive back copies of missed newsletters with this edition.

Schools ae very high on the Councillors list of priorities. Some school closures are the likely result of the Lib Dems school re-organisation plan. Your Councllors have already agreed that as children in deprived Wards benefit from attending small school they will be fighting any proposels to close primary schools in St.Mellons and to support Llanrumney and Rumney Councillors in thier effort to protect Rumney and Llanrumney High School.

I hope you enjoy this issue of St. Mellons Labour Rose, comments are welcome.

Maria Lester, Editor of the St. Mellons Labour Rose.

Does your Child's Education Matter?

2005-02-19T17:14:00.000Z

If your answer is yes, you need to know about the Council,s proposals to reorganise Cardiff's schools and try to attend the meeting detailed at the bottom of this posting.

Cardiff County Council's proposals may include closing Primary Schools in Trowbridge & St. Mellons and will affect Rumney and Llanrumney High Schools.

The Council must by Law Consult parents. Sadly the Council has called its puplic consultation meeting for East Cardiff just after half-term for Tuesday 22nd of February and given less than one weeks notice (in the South Wales Echo last Wednesday).

Yet the Council's Newspaper "Capilal Times ", which is delivered to every home in Cardiff, could have provided over a month's notice.

Your local Councillor Ralph Cook.

Concerned about your Child's future Education?

School Reorganisation Public Consultation

Meeting

Tues 22nd February, 7.00pm

Eastern Leisure Centre

Llanrumney

Cardiff

Councillors and Residents response to Public Consiltation

2005-02-19T14:46:00.000Z

Councillors David English and Monica Walsh who were not told about the meeting have agreed the the following statement:

"We are unhappy with the short notice of the meeting given by the Council and the manner of commnication used. We also think holding the meeting just after half term means that parents are unable to hear about meetings from school staff or each other.

We are alerting parents about this meeting and stessing how important it is that they try to attend if they are available and can arrange child care at such short notice."

Resident grandmother Cathy Froggatt Said:

"How Can the Council expect to hear people's opinion if we are not told about meetings early enough to make arrangements for their Children."

Lib Dems dishonest on rebanding

2005-01-30T02:16:00.000Z

Lorraine Barrett AM

Tackling Knife Crime

2005-01-20T13:59:00.000Z

Alun Michael MP

"Don't axe funding for Women's workshop" demands Barrett

2005-01-20T13:56:00.000Z

Lorraine Barrett AM

Press Release: Councillor Condemns decision on land sale

2005-01-07T13:47:00.000Z

Ralph Cook, Cardiff County Councillor for Trowbridge & St. Mellons and Deputy Leader of the Opposition Labour Group, has condemned a "decision" to prepare for sale a thirteen-acre plot of land in St. Mellons, ear-marked since the 1970's for a High School".
Ralph Cook has a number of concerns about the proposal, including:
· Failure to consult local Councillors before submitting a planning application for residential housing on the land
· Premature release of the land before the review of school places is completed
· The loss of a facility that has been promised to the new community of St. Mellons and neighbouring Trowbridge for over 30 years
· Rejection of a request from local Councillors for the community to be granted a fraction of the proceeds of the sale to be re-invested in existing local facilities in desperate need of up-grading
Councillor Cook said:
"I am appalled at the Council's failure to consult my colleagues and I before submitting the planning application, we found out about the proposal in the same way as I would learn of a proposal to build an extension on a house. Why the sudden haste to proceed? Considering the amount of land already available for sale for housing development in Trowbridge & St. Mellons I think it is unacceptable to rush this proposal through - in fact I think I smell a rat!"

"My chief concern is that a High School has been promised for decades and, if it had been built, would have represented a significant resource to the local community as well as a school. I immediately requested a proportion of the proceeds of the sale be spent upgrading the St. Mellons Community Education Centre which requires about £400,000 to be spent on it to bring it up to modern health and safety standards. This idea has been rejected so I have been told by Cllr. Mark Stephens, a Member of the Council's Liberal Democrat Executive.
Councillor Cook said he is intending to gauge feeling among his constituents before deciding how to proceed.

Season Greetings

2004-12-24T06:48:00.000Z

The Officers and Members of Trowbridge and St. Mellons Branch Labour Party would like to thank all the people of Trowbridge and St. Mellons for there help and support and wish them a

Merry Christmas
And A
Happy New Year

Land for Trowbridge & St. Mellons High School to be sold

2004-12-22T09:52:00.000Z

Recently the Council submitted a planning application for residential development on land ear-marked for the long-awaited and now never to be built Trowbridge & St. Mellons High School. The number of surplus pupil places at Rumney and Llanrumney High Schools have destroyed hopes that the Ward would one day have its own high school. Indeed, the Council may conclude that the two existing high schools in East Cardiff are unnecessary, leading to the closure of one or the amalgamation of the two.

The school land planning application raised the concerns of local Councillors about whether the community should be compensated with a percentage of the Capital Receipt from the sale which could be invested in the improvements required at the Community Education Centre. On Tuesday 21/12/04 Councillors Ralph Cook and David English met with the Liberal Democrat Executive Member Cllr. Mark Stephens and senior Council Officers to discuss this possibility.

Unfortunately, it seems the Council will not consider this option. However, Cllr. Stephens did sympathise with the points made by your local Councillors and promised to consider other options with regard to the Community Education Centre improvements.

Cllr. Ralph Cook

111 New Homes coming

2004-12-22T09:51:00.000Z

As reported previously, 111 new homes (including 20 "affordable homes") are to be built between the Water Treatment Works and Crickhowell Road. The decision on the planning application was deferred until November after Committee members supported the Police and Councillor Ralph Cook, a Committee member, on the inclusion of a public footpath in the plans.
Planning Officers say that cycling and walking policies require the footpath. However, Planning Committee members agreed with St. Mellons Police and Ralph about anti-social behaviour, crime and future maintenance of the proposed path. Ralph is currently trying to get similar paths elsewhere in St. Mellons closed following complaints from local residents. He said "I have in the past accepted Council Officers’ wisdom on paths through housing developments. Now these paths are creating problems. I am grateful for the support given by the police and fellow committee members".

Take your own advice on council tax, Labour warns Liberal Democrats

2004-12-19T18:00:00.000Z

Lorraine Barrett AM

Cardiff South & Penarth is working. Don't let the Tories wreck it again

2004-12-03T17:02:00.000Z

Britain is working with two million more jobs and unemployment at its lowest level since 1975.

With a record number of people in work we’ve reached a major milestone in our journey as a Labour government to deliver full employment in every part of Britain.

Britain now has the highest employment and lowest unemployment of any of the major (G8) world economies.

Since 1997 unemployment has fallen by 1,832 in Cardiff South & Penarth. In Wales 132 new businesses have started up on average every week.

Today’s families face competing pressures as they strive to balance work and family life. Labour understands that flexible and affordable childcare is essential for working parents trying to achieve that balance.

7,000 people have benefited from the Labour’s Tax Credits in Cardiff South & Penarth. In Wales at least 90,000 people benefited from the most recent rise in the National Minimum wage helping families in Cardiff South & Penarth.

Britain has come too far and worked too hard for us to allow the Conservatives to wreck it again. When Michael Howard was a Minister in the Conservative Government, he introduced the poll tax, interest rates were at 15 per cent for a whole year, 1.5 million households suffered negative equity and over 150,000 families lost their homes.

Alun Michael MP

The Lib Dem plans to introduce a local income tax hit hard-working

2004-11-27T09:44:00.000Z

Just like their plans to abolish the Child Tax Credit, scrap the New Deal,
and abolish the Pension Credit their local income tax plans would hit
hard-working families in the pocket.

Local 2004-05 Band D Lib Dem Local Annual Monthly
Authority Council Tax Rate Income Tax Rate Change Change

Cardiff £872 £1,377 £505 £42

*Figures based on results of the Lib Dem Local Income Tax Calculator.
Figures calculate the rate of tax of two working people earning the gross
median average wage in Wales.

Labour slam Lib Dem hypocrisy
Cardiff Lib Dems claim credit for tough action they opposed

Labour have attacked Cardiff Lib Dems for "sheer rank hypocrisy", for
claiming credit for tough action which they have consistently opposed.

New police curfew powers in the Bayside Estate in Splott recently saw the
Liberal Democrat Cardiff Council quick to claim the credit. Yet both at
Westminster and at a Cardiff Council level they have opposed all Labour's
efforts to tackle the misery caused by gangs of youths.
In Westminster they voted against the Anti Social Behaviour Bill and
against measures to disperse gangs of yobs, while in Cardiff they voted
against a resolution calling for tough action to tackle anti-social
behaviour, with new leader Rodney Berman specifically opposing dispersal
powers.

Cardiff South and Penarth AM Lorraine Barrett said: "The sheer rank
hypocrisy of the Lib Dems is breathtaking. This is a typical Lib Dem
tactic to claim the credit for things which go well while disowning
anything unpopular.

"Curfews do not come about quickly and the Lib Dems would have more
credibility if they acknowledged the work of those who achieved this.
Local residents groups fought for this, working closely with Splott Labour
councillor Clarissa Holland, the police and the Cardiff Community Safety
Partnership to tackle youth annoyance."

Lorraine Barrett AM

Lib Dem local tax plans would hurt hard-working families

2004-11-27T09:21:00.000Z

Liberal Democrat plans to replace Council Tax would hit hard-working
families

According to the Liberals' own local income tax calculator an average
earning two parent family in Cardiff would have to pay an extra £42 per
month an extra £505 a year.

Cardiff South and Penarth AM LORRAINE BARRETT said: "The Lib Dems make
grand claims about the benefits of their local income tax but like so many
of their promises, they turn out to be made of sand. The plain reality is
that working families would be worse off. In Cardiff an average family
would be forced to pay more than £500 a year extra.

"When your study Lib Dem policy it is very quickly apparent that, far from
standing for more fairness in society, a Lib Dem Government would result
in huge social injustices. They are committed to abolishing Child Tax
Credits, scrapping the New Deal and abolishing the Pension Credit. Liberal
Democrats oppose tough measures to deal with thugs and anti-social
behaviour.

"The Liberal Democrats love to spread scare stories on local taxation in
their leaflets. But they would be far better off using their energy to
encourage the 30 per cent of pensioners entitled to council tax benefit
but who currently do not claim it."

Lorraine Barrett AM

Funding Frozen for Vital Vocational Training Service - MP attacks Lib Dem Council for deserting youngsters in need

2004-11-12T15:23:00.000Z

Alun Michael MP

Bonfire Night

2004-11-05T19:28:00.000Z

Bonfire Night is an occasion enjoyed by adults and children alike, but it can be ruined by the inconsiderate, irresponsible and anti-social use of fireworks. The good news is that such abuse is now not only inconsiderate, irresponsible and anti-social – it‘s criminal!

I’m backing Labour’s tough new offences to tackle fireworks. Last year, as your MP I voted for the passage of the Fireworks Act 2003. We have created new powers to fine yobs who threw fireworks in public and imposed a maximum noise level on fireworks. Now:

yobs misusing fireworks will face £80 on the spot fines as new police powers come into force.
police can now fine under 18’s for possession of an adult firework (any firework except for sparklers, party poppers and similar) in a public place;
police can now fine yobs for possession of a professional level firework.

Those causing a disturbance with fireworks can now be fined for letting off a firework between 11 pm and 7 am. Larger fines and Prison sentences are available for the most serious offences.

The tough new rules build on measures put in place in previous laws on Fireworks abuses:

these include the imposition of a maximum decibel limit - 120 decibels - on all consumer level fireworks;
it is illegal for anyone to sell fireworks to under 18’s under any circumstances;
there is also a ban on selling aerial shells, mini-rockets and fireworks of erratic flight (e.g. squibs, ) to the public;
there is now a licensing scheme in place to stop the year-round selling of fireworks from unlicensed premises and shops.
the offence of letting fireworks off in the street is punishable by a penalty notice for disorder (PND) with an £80 fine.

I hope that you and your family and friends enjoy a safe November 5th – for more information on firework safety see www.dti.gov.uk/fireworks.

Alun Michael MP