Council Meeting - New Mayor, Dog Poo, Paths and Signs

It was time for the AGM again, so Fiona Howard stepped down as mayor, and Rob Golesworthy returned to the post, with Gareth Ratcliffe as his deputy. Gareth was asked to be mayor, but declined, partly because he's just been promoted in his job at the Co-op.
The next thing to do was make sure there were enough people on all the sub-committees. The new councillor, Richard, was ill so couldn't attend, but he had sent an email saying what his interests were. He was appointed to two or three committees, with the comment "We'll tell him what his interests are tomorrow!"
There was also the matter of councillors declaring their interests - there are forms to fill in, and the information will be made public. This is one of the reasons they need the website to be up and running - Giles is still being very slow, with excuses about his brother's broadband connection. The councillors, though, are getting impatient.

The new fence around the picnic area has reduced dog mess on the grass considerably, even though there are no gates. This will be monitored to see if gates need to be added, or if they can leave it as it is. They also intend to put up signs telling people to clear up after their dogs.
The pink paint sprayed on dog mess has also worked - leading to a 50% reduction in poo! There are thoughts of extending the practice to the streets of Hay - the paint is bio-degradable and washes away safely in the rain. They even have a volunteer sprayer, though they would like more people to come forward.

The Woodland Group are going to put steps in where the fence has been broken down and people have been making their own path to get to the railway path, to make it safer. They'll even put a sign up showing that it's a way to the Warren. This is mainly to stop people with gardens backing onto the path from making their own steps down.

The B&R are planning an article about the new Railway Walk (I've seen the little engine shaped signs already, showing the route) and have asked if any councillors will be available to have their pictures taken for the article.

The new charges for fishing licences along the Town riverbank have been set at £5 for a day, £15 for a week and £35 for the year, with under 16s going free. This is about half the amount the Warren is charging, "and it's really good coarse fishing". There was some sadness that there are fewer fishermen (or women) using the river now. There used to be people using the fishing platforms or wading in the river every weekend, but now they're a rare sight.

Plans for the new fingerposts (there was a grant) are well advanced. They are going to be black with gold writing, with Welsh above and English below. There are several Welsh speakers around who can check the correctness of the Welsh text. The National Park has said that advertising consent is needed to erect the signs, but this doesn't seem to be the case, and the permission is given by the Welsh Assembly.

A member of the public has reported a broken drain down at the Gliss, which may have happened when a contractor was working on the canoe landing stage - though they say they didn't hit the pipes. The original laying of the pipes may be at fault because they should have pea gravel round them as a shock absorber. So it will be attended to in due course.