Council Meeting - Cuts and Planning Issues

Plans for the new school seem to have become bogged down again at the County Council level. However, there was an interesting bit of history mentioned as they untangle who originally owned what. The community centre was originally owned by Breconshire Council, and the Council Chambers, which was also the Library, was owned by Hay UDC (Urban District Council). Breconshire Council built the present library in the 1970s.
There was a sense of regret that the old Hay council hadn't hung on to the car park - because if they had, the town would get all the revenue from it, rather than the County Council!

The County Council are also failing to reply to Hay Council about the public toilets - Nigel the town clerk sent a letter on 19th Sept and hasn't had an answer yet. He has, however, had to declare an interest on the part of Hay council in taking over the toilets and running them. If he hadn't done that, they would be closed now. As it is, they will remain open until 31st December. The County Council say it costs £26,000 a year to keep a toilet block open (but somehow it could be done for £10,000, which makes one wonder why they aren't doing it for less). Gareth has been talking to Talgarth Council, to see it Hay and Talgarth could combine forces and have a cleaning contract for the toilets between them. It would be cheaper if done for more toilet blocks - (but isn't that what a County Council is for - doing the things that town councils can't do well on their own?).
The Craft Centre was built by the Welsh Development Agency, and the toilets there could be said to be part of the car park provision, so there is an argument there for keeping them open.
Nigel Birch suggested a protest against the closures in which a group of old ladies would drop their knickers in the car park! And at the end of the meeting Ellie Spencer suggested a new campaign - Save Hay's Important Toilets!
The County Councillor responsible for all this, by the way, is Barry Thomas.
Gareth pointed out that the furore over the toilets is only the tip of the iceberg. Closing them will save the County Council only 1% of the amount they need to cut.

On to planning matters, and as part of the G4 mobile phone network being rolled out across Wales a mobile phone mast has been applied for along the A470. Councillors weren't optimistic about objecting to it - after all, it didn't make any difference last time.
Hay Council has also been contacted by Clyro and Painscastle councils about the application for a wind turbine on Cold Blow, (a very apt name!). Again, the Hay councillors didn't want to get involved, especially as the wind turbine will not be visible from Hay. (I've seen the planning application map, and the turbine is tucked away just about as far from anything as it can possibly be). There is already a Facebook page for a group called Say No to Clyro Turbine.
At the new houses in de Breos Court, the softwood frames of the windows are already rotting, and there has been an application from one of the houses to replace them with PVC frames. Alan Powell said it would make no visual difference to the properties (he would know, as a carpenter).
Work on the Cheesemarket will be going on until February, but the scaffolding will be coming down for the Food Fair at the end of this month.

And finally, something far more enjoyable! Someone wants to donate a vintage fire appliance to Hay, as it originally came from Hay Fire Station! It was the hand pumped, horse drawn one, and needs restoration. Alan Powell is going to have a look at it, and it was thought it would be a great addition to the town's resources, and possibly the local Vintage Society would be interested in becoming involved.