This Council was elected in may last year and in January we
met to discuss our first budget.
Most of us were elected on a programme of improving the
services right across the Community. We listened to the residents who were
telling us that we needed more and better benches, better bins more services,
and not only in the centre of Pontyclun but across our whole community area.
We want to deliver on those promises and our plans for
2023-24 are our first step on this journey.
In the second half of 2022 we spent £9000 replacing the last
of the 1920s fencing around the park as this was dangerous. We arranged for 3
new dog poo bins in the area. We used
reserves which now need to be topped up, especially as the Multi use games area
(MUGA) will need some of its fencing replacing in next couple of years at what
will be about £30k.
In the coming months you will see at least 3 new benches and
2 more dog bins going up and we have plans for more later.
The fence around the Riverside walk is falling down so will
be replaced. The lines in the MUGA have worn out so we will repaint them. The
last of our existing floral planters will be refurbished so it will last
another 20 years. We will be extending our floral displays and Christmas
decorations over the coming years – ideally into areas like Brynsadler, Cefn y
Hendy and Ynysddu.
Our budget for next year includes £5k for each of our wards
specifically allocated to improve facilities which you the local residents are
asking for. So, if you want something please ask your Councillor and we will
see if it can be done.
Unfortunately, when you have assets worth about £330k the
rise in inflation makes the replacement costs increase significantly. To make
sure that we have the funds available to repair and replace our existing assets
we have increased what we set aside for this by about £10k. Previous Councils
used their reserves to help fund new and replacement items, however these are
now at a level where to meet Welsh government recommendations, they need a bit
of topping up. Inflation has also increased all our other running costs quite
significantly.
A Community is not just judged by what it has and how shiny
it all is; the sense of Community is equally important and the Community of
Pontyclun has a great spirit. We want to help foster and grow this over time.
Working with local businesses we wish to make Pontyclun a
better place to visit and shop; we want to work with local groups on a variety
of projects and we want to deliver Community events which we all want to enjoy
and which attract people to come here.
Our Picnic in the Park and Christmas fayres are already some
of the best in South Wales, we will carry on improving them and also work on
additional events. We aim in 2024 to deliver a Food and Drink festival on the
August Bank holiday and to support as many local Coronation parties as we can
in May.
As many of you will know the Community Shop in Pontyclun
closes in January. They have been raising funds for the community since 1985
and have provided hundreds of local groups with funds. We thank them for this
work. We want to be able to support those groups who might miss out most, and
to do so have doubled our Community grants budget for next year.
This all costs money and to do so we have had to increase
the budget. This means that our precept will increase next year. On average a
Band D property will pay about £21 more a year taking the total to around £59,
which we believe is fair for what the Community Council delivers.
Wayne Owen
Chair, Pontyclun Community Council
