Council Meeting - Finance and Trees

The Council got through a lot of business last Monday, quite a lot of it being financial business which involved - for instance - negotiating with the County Council and making sure they didn't pass over the sports pavilion with bills that the local council were expected to pay. There's also a bill from Healthmatic, who did the work on the toilets, which caused some puzzlement and a determination to go back and look at all the paperwork. They also have to find £5,000 from the reserve funds to pay the legal fees for the transfer of assets.
The council were also resolved not to raise their precept (which is part of the Council Tax) this year, as they had to raise it by quite a substantial amount last year. Meanwhile the County Council are still discussing an increase to the Council Tax of 4%.

Meanwhile, down on the riverside, somebody has been vandalising the trees which were planted on the bank below the new Millbank houses. As it's a Site of Special Scientific Interest all along the river there, the police are being involved, and the Woodland Group want to have a meeting with the residents' committee of Millbank, formally, with minutes taken. The National Park recommended the trees to be planted there, which shouldn't grow high enough to obstruct the view - and there's a preservation order on the big trees on the other side of the path.
On Sunday 28th February, the Woodland Group are holding a Community Litter Picking day along the riverbank and railway line. They will be taking "before and after" photos of the rubbish they find, and the cleared up areas afterwards.

The latest news about Gwernyfed School is that Gareth will be speaking against the closure proposals in the next debate on the subject at the County Council.

There's also a rumour that the County Council will be closing all the local youth clubs and just having one in Llandrindod Wells. The councillors recalled the visit of one of the Youth Officers, who said that it was perfectly possible to have a youth club in Hay at the bus stop! And, of course, if Gwernyfed School closes, then all the local sports facilities will close too.