Council Meeting - Festival Traffic, Painting the Bridge and De-fibrillators

Gareth Ratcliffe reported back on a meeting he'd been to with the police, the organisers of Hay Festival and the people from the Globe. He implied that everyone was helpful except one party there....
To assist with parking problems, the Hay Festival people said that next year they would be selling tickets for events along with parking tickets, so there would be a space for the visitors when they arrived.
The Globe claimed that they had provided 80 parking places in a field just over the border in Cusop, and that they had had no parking issues over the Festival. Gareth, who works for the Co-op now, pointed out that Festival goers had been using the Co-op car park.
The problem seems to be a loophole in the licensing system - as the Globe didn't have a traffic management plan in place, it couldn't be judged as part of the license to hold the event, whereas the Festival does have a traffic management plan, so it is part of their license. The Festival are understandably reluctant to take on the parking problems caused by the Globe - the main problem apart from lack of parking provision was the blockages caused on Heol-y-dwr corner by delivery trucks and so on, with a lack of supervision by members of staff from the Globe. The police were called several times to sort out the traffic snarl-ups. This had caused problems for the shuttle bus - the route goes along Broad Street, up Heol-y-dwr and round to the top of the car park before going back to the Festival site. The Festival said that they would rather re-route the shuttle buses away from Heol-y-dwr next year, if nothing could be worked out. The Globe said that next year they would use the layby in front of the bungalow just behind the Globe for deliveries, but it's not very big.
The councillors are going to invite the management of the Globe to a Council meeting so they can talk to them in person.

The bridge desperately needs re-painting - it gives quite a bad first impression of Hay if a car is approaching from that direction. The best bit of it is the section which was demolished in an accident a while ago, and re-painted. Contractors for the County Council have quoted £40 - £50,000 for the painting job, which apparently would involve taking the metal work apart, painting it and re-attaching it to the bridge. Which seems rather a lot. Powys has an approved list of contractors it can use, who work across Wales, so they don't use local traders for jobs like this. It was almost tempting the councillors to get out there with their paint brushes themselves! In fact, I'd be tempted to get out there with a paintbrush, too - I've got some odd half tins of paint, and between the local residents we could have a rainbow bridge! A chap on Black Lion Green has painted the little bridge down there, and it looks quite nice.

Meanwhile there is a movement nationally to provide de-fibrillators in public places so that people who have heart attacks can be treated more quickly, while they are waiting for the ambulance or first responders to arrive. Apparently the equipment is practically fool proof, and if it is used incorrectly it won't work. Talgarth and Brecon are both getting one, and Gareth was keen to use the traditional walk to Clyro near Christmas time as a fund raising fancy dress sponsored walk. £1500 is needed to get one, and the Lions Club are interested in doing something towards it. It could be kept at the Clock Tower or the Market Square - somewhere central - and I think they said that BT would give a grant if it was placed in one of the phone boxes.