Gwent Police and South Wales Fire Service are jointly launching the ‘Paws on Patrol’ initiative at New Inn Fire Station on 7^th October 11:00 to 15:00.

‘Paws on Patrol’ is aimed at getting dog walkers to be the eyes and ears on the ground for Gwent Police, Torfaen Council and partner agencies. There will be a point of contact where they can report in any suspicious activity of problems in the area, including fly tipping, dog fouling, anti-social behaviour, graffiti, deliberate fire setting, crime etc. This initiative was set up in the South Wales Police Force area and it now has over 45000 members.

Any support for this event you could offer I know would be greatly appreciated.

Pauline Lohfink, a CSO within Gwent Police, has organised this alongside South Wales Fire & Rescue Service. Pauline’s contact email is Pauline.Lohfink@gwent.pnn.police.uk should you require any further information.

Please note the provisional order of events and times have changed slightly to try and spread out events evenly in the Council’s calendar.

Please see the Clerk if Members have any queries on the above. The Members Handbook will be produced shortly which will include the events, plus Committee and Council dates.

Around 70,000 people in their fifties and sixties will miss out entirely on the new state pension between now and 2030, charity Age UK has warned.

Some 50,000 women and 20,000 men do not have the minimum number of qualifying years of National Insurance contributions (NICs), according to the charity's analysis.

Under the new system, coming into effect on April 6, people will need 10 qualifying years to get any new state pension.

This is a change from the existing regime which allows people to receive at least some state pension even with only a few years of NICs.

The full new state pension will be £155.65 per week, and the change applies to women born on or after April 6, 1953 and men born on or after April 6, 1951.

Age UK said it supports the aim of a simpler, fairer state pension, acknowledging it should benefit many people with low lifetime earnings due to low pay and caring responsibilities.

But the charity is concerned that there are many approaching retirement, particularly women, who do not have a full NI record.

Age UK's charity director Caroline Abrahams said: "Big changes are about to come in to simplify the state pension system, yet we know that many people in their fifties and sixties are completely unaware of how they will be affected.

"There is evidence suggesting that some people in this age group are so worried about what their finances will be once they retire that they are reluctant to think about it at all, but our strong advice is to take action now to find out exactly where you stand.

"The reality is that the news will be good for some but disappointing for others, which is why it is so important for everyone approaching retirement to check their state pension age and what they'll receive when they reach it."

A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said: "The new state pension will bring much needed certainty for savers and provide a solid foundation upon which people can build up their retirement savings.

?"People who haven't built up enough National Insurance can apply for Pension Credit, which works by topping up their other income and provides additional security in retirement."

In answer to Cllrs Questions regarding the alleged anti-social behaviour at Fairwater shops the Executive Member gave this response at Council today.

"We have liaised with our Police colleagues and can advise as follow:"

"This is an emerging trend that has been identified as a priority and is being addressed by Gwent Police.  The local Neighbourhood team , assisted by response policing colleagues, have patrolled Fairwater shops every evening during this period and recorded activity in a daily diary.

These patrols are also supported by colleagues from the community tasking team ( community support officers) who focus patrols on the weekends.

The Police inform us that shop keepers and their staff have been spoken to during these patrols. The Police accept that groups of teenagers gather at the shops, especially so during inclement weather sometimes in groups of 30, however, when disorder occurs it is dealt with firmly by the attending officers.

In managing the youths, directions to leave orders and lower level engagement is used. Breaches of these Directions to leave have occurred and these have been dealt with at the youth bureaus, so far this has involved two young people.

Fairwater Progressive Walk

Location:Meet at Threepenny Bit Community Centre

Category:Guided Walk

Date(s):26/01/2016 (10:00-12:00)

Contact:For further information contact Lynne Mattravers on 01495 742483.

A moderate intensity 3-5 mile walk led by a qualified walk leader starting at Threepenny Bit Community Centre . A great way to relieve stress and combine exercise with meeting new people and taking in the local surroundings.

Age Restrictions:  Any age - children under the age of 14 years must be accompanied by an adult.

Torfaen Christmas waste and recycling collections

Message from Torfaen County Borough Council Communications Team, Civic Centre, Pontypool, Torfaen, NP4 6YB

31st October 2015

Stay safe on Bonfire night

For more information please contact:
Lauren Mills, Trainee Communication Officer
Tel: 01495 766417
Email: Lauren.Beavan@torfaen.gov.uk

The nights are drawing in and it’s nearly Halloween, but we’re here to help make sure your finances aren’t scary and that you have more treats!

Lots of members have already started planning their Christmas. This year the first working day in November is Monday the 2^nd – the first day you can access money in your Christmas Saver Account. Christmas savings now total over £125,000 which is a lot of presents. If you are wishing you had saved this year, why not pop in and open an account for 2016? You won’t be alone.

We’re lending for Christmas too, issuing loans for Christmas anytime between now and Christmas Eve (though we don’t promise to turn around loans for Christmas received after the 15^th December). So if you need a little extra come and see us, or apply online at www.gatewaycu.co.uk.

Prepaid Cards

Our first prepaid Debit Cards are due to expire in November, so if you have one please make sure we have your current address.  The cards will be sent out automatically by our card provider.  In fact anytime you change your mobile, email or move house do please let us know.   

Membership Fee

Our Annual membership fee of £2 was debited to all adult members (other than those who had been a member for less than a year) at the end of September, as notified earlier in the year. We know this has not been a popular move, but it has enabled us to maintain the Life Insurance for members and continue to pay a dividend to our savers. The fee helps us to continue to support our members who need extra help and running savings clubs in schools- all the things that make your Credit Union a better choice than a bank, but are no longer supported by grant aid.  

 Gateway Savings top £2 Million!

Members total savings topped £2,000,000 in October for the first time, and are continuing to grow.  This means we have the  cash to lend out to other members so if you have borrowings elsewhere and would like to bring them home to your Credit Union (and get a better rate) give us a call or apply online.

 Online Services 24-7

More members than ever before are accessing our online services or emailing us. If you haven’t yet registered for online access to your account, why not give it a try? Though we know that lots of members prefer a more personal face to face service and it’s great when you come to see us too. Although your account is visible 24/7 we don’t offer online banking. All withdrawal and loan requests are dealt with on the next working day, by the same team you see when you come in.

 Come and see us in the Library

Our Cwmbran members are starting to find us now that we have moved across the square to Cwmbran Library. After a couple of desk moves we’re now in the reference library on the first floor. We’re open Mondays, Tuesdays Thursdays and Fridays.  The Torfaen Customer Care team have also moved so you can get bin bags, change your library books and pay into savings all at the same time. As always we greatly appreciate the support of Torfaen Council in ensuring we can still have a presence in the Town Centre. In a similar move, our Caldicot service has moved into Caldicot Library on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, alongside the Monmouthshire One Stop Shop team.  

 Welcome to Celtic Manor staff

We now offer payroll savings and loans to staff at Celtic Manor Resort, working in partnership with Newport Credit Union. We’ve also been working to make more local employers aware of the benefits of payroll saving for their staff. If you would like us to approach your employer let us know. 

 Thank-Yous and Farewells 

Gateway Credit Union recently celebrated 18 years of operation-in fact it’s around 20 years since the founder members started working towards opening a Credit Union in Pontypool. It was great to see so many of our founder members and retired volunteers at the birthday party, and to have the good wishes of so many members. Many people have made their contribution over the years, but this summer we have said goodbye to two familiar faces, our Loans Officer Megan York and Credit Controller Liuda Atkins who have moved on to new employment after 5 and 7 years respectively.

 While we only occasionally have vacancies on the staff team (which are advertised on our website) we’re always looking for new volunteers. Whether you’re looking for an admin role or customer service experience, or just want to get out of the house and meet new people, we have a job for you.  We’re also looking for people who can be ‘Champions’ for the Credit Union in your area or your workplace – encouraging colleagues to save or putting up posters. If this would appeal to you, give us a call.

ow u T         Follow us on Twitter (@GatewayCU_Wales) and Facebook (Gateway Credit Union Wales).       

 Contact us on 01495  742500 (Pontypool)

 01873 858938 (Abergavenny) or 01291 409582 (Chepstow) or email info@gatewaycu.co.uk .

 Thank you for choosing Gateway Credit Union.   

Gateway Credit Union Ltd 21 Commercial St., Pontypool Torfaen.

                                           
                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Rosemarie Seabourne

VOTE 27th Oct

X

• Cwmbran Centre for Young People  provides drop-in facilities and much more besides to young people from the whole Cwmbran area.

7th May 2015

ELECTION DAY !  PLEASE USE YOUR VOTE TODAY

for

NICK THOMAS-SYMONDS

Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Torfaen

Nick's pledges to you:

• Stand up for a properly funded NHS true to the principles of Nye Bevan
• Vote to Scrap the Bedroom Tax
• Back an energy price freeze to help with the cost of living
• Work to bring more and better jobs
• A rise in the minimum wage
• An end to Zero hours contracts.
• Fight to end the need for Foodbanks
  

Nick who is a Barrister with a Law firm in Cardiff was born in Blaenavon and lives with his wife Rebecca and their two children in Abersychan - so he cares about our area and wants to work hard for you as our MP.

With Your Support he will stand up for local people!

Only a VOTE for LABOUR can prevent a Tory Government

If you have already voted Labour with your Postal Vote THANKYOU

If you have forgotten to post your postal vote you can take it to the Polling Station to post

29th October 2014

Telephone: 01495 766417 / 01495 742152

Fax: 01495 766059

www.torfaen.gov.uk

Don't forget to Check out the Christmas Activities at Co-Star

Christmas Lunch and Festive Quiz taking place on the 10th and 17th December get your booking in now to reserve your place!  ONLY £7.50

03 October 2014

CHANGES TO THE WAY YOU REGISTER TO VOTE

As you may well know, the way electors register has changed from 10 June 2014.  Now each elector is responsible for registering individually. 

For this year, the majority of residents in Torfaen were automatically passed over onto the “new” electoral register.  In other words they did not have to complete any forms to stay on the register.  Those people would have received a confirmation letter and will only need to re-register if they move properties. The easiest way to re-register if needed is by visiting www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Electors who could not be passported automatically were sent an Invitation to Register form. They could respond on the paper form or register themselves at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote   

For the properties where we had no electors registered (e.g. empty houses) a Household Enquiry Form (HEF) had to be sent. A HEF is similar to the old annual canvass form. Electors receiving a HEF need to insert the names of all eligible residents and then the HEF must be returned in paper format.  Residents can then either go on-line and register individually or wait until we forward them a personal Invitation to Register form.   

Whilst the majority of electors we have handled so far and registered through the web go through without any problem, a few electors have needed to give us extra evidence (e.g. copies of driving licences or passports) to support their registration.  As you will understand this may cause a delay in electors registering and may cause them a problem in their ability to vote if they are trying to register just before any election.  This is the reason why we must get the message to electors of the importance of registering immediately whenever they move property – or get themselves registered now if they haven’t registered in the past.   

If you send out newsletters to your electorate, could you remind them of the importance of registering and inform them of how easy it is to register, especially if they go on the web?  We have timed this and it takes under 2 min.  to complete.

We are trying this message to encourage electors to register:

Knock knock ….. Who’s there?  If you are not on the register you may be refused a mortgage, you may struggle to get a loan or mobile phone contract and you will not be able to vote.  DON’T BE A NOBODY. Register at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

29 July 2014

 CoStar Open Day at The Three Penny Bit

Deerbrook, Greenmeadow

 Saturday 16 August 2014

11.00 am – 3.00 pm

Café Open

3.30- 4.30pm

Award winning Elvis tribute artist Dean Mack

Competitions, Raffles, Prizes, Home Made Cakes,

Craft Stalls, Spinners and Weavers, Farm Animals,

Peppa Pig, White Elephant Stall, All Our Histories, Music Workshop, On the spot Portraits, 

23rd May 2014

FLOODING

29th April 2014

CONSULTATION REPORT

The consultation report is now available on the Torfaen County Borough Council website by following the link:

http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/SecondarySchoolConsultation

Alternatively, a hard copy can be provided by telephoning 01495 766910 or emailing: mark.horton@torfaen.gov.uk

15th April 2014

CABINET DECISION 6th May 2014

Torfaen Cabinet will be taking the report on closing Fairwater High School and Llantarnam Comprehensive School and re-opening a new school on the Fairwater Site at their meeting on 6th May 2014.

If the proposals go ahead both schools will close in July/August 2015 and the new school will re-open with a refurbished building on the site at Ty-gwyn Way,  Fairwater, Cwmbran. in September 2015.

There is a great deal of work to be done getting both communities to come together starting with the appointment of a shadow Governing Body who have to start by appointing the Head Teacher and Senior Leadership Team, followed by curriculum planning, staffing appointments etc.

21st February 2014

Have your say

Fairwater High School and cluster feeder schools should not be complacent and should be campaigning to retain the Secondary School provision in Fairwater.  Llantarnam will have the most impact if proposals go through.  But if you believe it is a done deal you may be wrong and if the Llantarnam site supporters shout loudest Fairwater could lose their Secondary School provision so please have your say in the consultation process we have one month to let the Council hear our views.

https://mysay.torfaen.gov.uk/consult.ti/SecSchoolConsult/consultationHome

Dear Parents/Carers,

I am writing to you to highlight the proposals in the consultation document regarding the removal of surplus secondary school places in Torfaen.

It is important that you are aware that the proposal to locate the new school on the Fairwater site will understandably, have more of an impact on the Llantarnam area and if there are a significant amount of appeals from the community specifically parents of Llantarnam pupils the council may well turn the proposal around and suggest building the new school on the Llantarnam site.

I am encouraging you to support the current proposal for the following reasons as highlighted in the consultation document your sons/daughters brought home from school:

- Fairwater School site is at the centre of the learner population.  The majority of pupils live nearer the Fairwater site.

- Fairwater High School is fully Disability Discrimination Act compliant and already successfully accommodates a number of wheelchair users.

- The school has previously catered for 1,400 pupils in the current buildings so easily has capacity for the estimated numbers of pupils in Sept 15 without any further building work or portable classrooms needed.

- Educational standards have made phenomenal improvements at Fairwater over the last couple of years and in November 2013 Estyn said; Fairwater was a "very good school with outstanding features"

-  Fairwater has moved up from band 5 to 3 and should be in Band 1 by the end of the year and also has inspirational teachers delivering high quality teaching and learning in the classrooms.

In an ideal world we would all love a new build but we have to realistic as well as aspirational The best teaching and learning should be the aspiration and the right for all our children wherever they live.

I am asking you to support your son/daughters future educational provision in Fairwater by doing the following:

- attending the consultation event at Fairwater High School on Wednesday 19th March at 6pm in Upper School Hall.

- respond to the proposals by using the response proforma in the back of the consultation document and sending to Head of Education Services FAO Mark Horton C/o Torfaen County Borough Council Civic Centre Pontypool Torfaen NP4 6YB. Or by email to secondaryreview@torfaen.gov.uk  Or by giving your views online at https://mysay.torfaen.gov.uk/consult.ti/SecSchoolConsult/consultationHome (English or Welsh)

Along with the review on the catchment areas, the Council are also considering increasing the mileage allowance from the generous two miles to the statutory three miles allowance, which means transport allowance will no longer be available to a large number of students who are entitled at present.

Even if you are happy with the proposals if you do not make sure your views are heard it may be interpreted as you do not mind what happens.

Please support the Council proposal for the new school on the Fairwater High School site for your child's future in education!

29th January 2014

EDUCATION UPDATE

Secondary School Consultation

Following the Cabinet decision to begin  on the proposal to remove secondary school places in the south of the borough a consultation document is being developed with the intention of running a six week consultation period before the end of the Spring Term. Before moving ahead with the proposals the views of all stakeholders will be sought to ensure that these views are taken into account before decisions are made.  Dates are currently  being finalised for public events to be held at Croesyceiliog, Fairwater and Llantarnam Secondary Schools. The consultation events will be advertised widely and the consultation period will begin with the issue of the  document. Information will also be available on the council website.

If you require any further information please contact Mark Horton or Steve Tong on 01495 766910 or 01495 766945.

Torfaen Recovery Board

As you are aware since the Local Authority was placed in Special Measures back in March 2013 the Minister has been considering establishing a Recovery Board to provide support and challenge to the LA. However, the LA has been given time to progress a number of actions and to prepare its post inspection action plan (PIAP) and it is only now that the Recovery Board has been established by the Minister. The membership of the Recovery Board is as follows;

·         Steve Dalton – Managing Director of Sony UK Technology Centre, Pencoed

·         Mel Ainscow – Professor of Education & co-Director of the Centre for Equity in Education at Manchester

·         Associate Professor Sue Davies – Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Wales Trinity St David

·         Councillor Huw David – Cabinet Member for Children & Young People, Bridgend County Borough Council

·         Eifion Evans – Director of Education & Community Services, Ceredigion County Council

·         Joyce Redfearn – Former Chief Executive of Wigan Council and Monmouthshire Council

The Recovery Board will support the LA in addressing each of the recommendations made by Estyn which are the focus of our PIAP. The first meeting of the Recovery Board is set to take place next week.

Headteacher changes

Gill Ellis is currently Acting Headteacher at Blenheim Road Primary School and at Coed Eva Primary School Clare Moses is Acting Headteacher. Many of you will have met the Acting Headteacher at Penygarn Primary School; Louisa Sellars. Louisa popped in to say hello to Pearl House staff last week.

Forthcoming school inspections

In case staff are intending to visit the following schools please be aware that Two Locks Nursery will be having an ESTYN monitoring visit on 30 January. Similarly George Street Primary school will be inspected week commencing 3 February and Blaenavon Heritage VC Primary School week commencing 3 March 2014. Please be mindful of this when arranging visits.

29th January 2014

Williams Commission on Public Service Governance and Delivery

The Commission on Public Service Governance and Delivery has this week published its much anticipated report commonly referred to as the ‘Williams Report’. The headlines in the report suggest that Councils in Wales should merge into larger units by merging existing local authorities and not redrawing boundaries from scratch. The suggestion is for the existing 22 Councils to be reduced to either 10, 11 or 12 newly merged local authorities. The suggestion is that Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly should merge as one of the newly formed local authorities. It is a significant report and it will take some time to go through it in detail and absorb all its findings and recommendations. Obviously the report will impact on the delivery of LA services in the future and will have an impact on how we work and we will use future news briefs to keep you all updated of developments. The report can be found on the Welsh Government website.

02 January 2014

Happy New Year to All

We would like to wish all our readers a very Healthy Happy New Year.

Please look out for the start of the consultation process and leave your views.

26 November 2013

Cabinet Decision to Close Fairwater High School & Llantarnam Comprehensive School

Torfaen County Borough Council Cabinet took the decision this morning to go out to consultation to close both Fairwater High School and Llantarnam Comprehensive School the consulatation is to start in January 2014.  The recommendation to go out to consult and to then reopen a re-furbished new school on the Fairwater High School site with a £6 million investment to the new school.

Anyone with concerns are welcome to contact me or the Head teacher Mrs Coulson to share their views.

Cabinet Decision to Close Fairwater High School – 26/11/13

FHS PRESS RELEASE

Closure of any school is always a difficult and emotive subject.  However, with a declining pupil population, the issue of surplus places has to be addressed within Torfaen LA and difficult decisions will have to be made.

Whatever the outcome the key priority in this is to ensure the best quality education is provided for all pupils in the borough.

Here at Fairwater High School, we will continue to improve standards and build on our excellent GCSE results from August 2013.  We will ensure we have put our pupils in the best possible position to move forward, whatever the outcome may be.

Pupils, parents / carers, staff and governors will need to be consulted with, informed and reassured every step of the way to make sure we all move forward collectively.

Mrs H Coulson

HEADTEACHER

26 November 2013

£20 charge for replacement bins

Torfaen residents will now be charged £20 for replacement black wheelie bins and housing developers charged £55 per property for all waste and recycling 
receptacles.  The council collects more than one million black bins a year, or 20,000 every week.

Last year residents requested about 2,700 replacement black bins that were either lost, damaged or stolen.
Reducing these requests and charging property developers is expected to save the council £60,000.
Bin wear and tear is the most common request for replacement and there will be no charge for replacing bins damaged and removed during collection.

Bins damaged during collection will be recorded by the crew pushing a button in the vehicle and an automatic request for a replacement will be generated and a 
card posted.

For further information please contact: Rhodri Guest on 01495 742153

Missed black bin collections to stop next week

From next week, Torfaen council will no longer return to collect black bins reported as missed and is urging residents to put bins out in the right place at 
the right time.

This means bins need to be out before 7am on their collection day and where their property meets the pavement or other designated area.
The council collects more than 20,000 black bins a week.

Returning for missed black bins costs the council about £77,000 a year, with between 50 and 75 requests per week.

The council will no longer return to collect waste from properties whose bins were not out on time, not in the right place, had the wrong materials in it or 
had waste lodged in the bin.

The council will return within 48hours for a missed collection only if there was:
* Access issues due to roadworks, major incidents or adverse weather such as snow
* A record that a bin was damaged and couldn't be collected
* A missed assisted collection.

The council will not return until the next scheduled collection for any other reason. Residents can dispose of their general waste at the 
Household Waste Recycling Centre in New Inn.

For further information please contact: Rhodri Guest on 01495 742153

25 November 2013

New vehicles help council prepare for winter weather

Torfaen council has bought three new gritters to help it deal with the cold winter weather and any problems it causes.
 
The new gritting vehicles have replaced older vehicles that were ten years old and had become unreliable and expensive to maintain. The council has seven large 
gritters and two smaller ones, plus a standby workforce available to react to conditions at any time.
 
The council also has three new snow blades, which can be fitted to the ride-on mowers to help snow clearing in pedestrianised areas and other busy high 
priority footways.
 
The executive member for neighbourhood services, councillor John Cunningham, said: “These new vehicles will help us keep Torfaen moving regardless of the 
weather. Our winter maintenance teams are extremely dedicated and are once again preparing for what could be another difficult winter.  “There has already been seven gritting actions
in the last two weeks, with many more predicted over the next few months. However, we are fully prepared. We have 4,000 tonnes of salt in our barns, plus a reserve stock of 2,000 tonnes in a 
shared regional barn in Ebbw Vale.”
 
In an average winter, the gritters are called out 60 to 70 times; however, last year’s prolonged winter saw 82 full gritting actions.  An average gritting action uses about 35 tonnes, 
although a lot more is used in periods of snow. The council treats 52 per cent of the highway network, the national average is about 35 per cent.
 All 700 salt bins have now been checked and filled. Residents are reminded to use the salt sparingly, clearing snow first to get the best results.
 
Councillor Cunningham added: “The salt only needs to be spread thinly to be effective; putting some in a bucket and spreading with a small scoop or gloved 
hand is the most effective method. Lying snow should be cleared first if possible before applying the salt.
 “I would like to take this opportunity to remind residents to exercise caution while driving in winter. Even though we constantly monitor conditions and crews 
are on standby 24hrs a day to treat the roads as required, we cannot guarantee to keep them free from snow or ice at all times.”
 
Should Torfaen experience heavy snow again this winter, visit www.torfaen.gov.uk, like facecook.com/torfaen and follow @torfaencouncil on 
Twitter for up-to-date information on roads, refuse collections, school closures and more.

23 November 2013

Cabinet to consider Cwmbran secondary school closures

The Council’s cabinet is due to consider a report next week on proposals that could see the closure of Llantarnam secondary school and Fairwater High school and a new secondary school redeveloped in Cwmbran. The new school would be redeveloped on the current Fairwater High school site with a £6m investment from Torfaen’s 21^st Century Schools programme, and could open in September 2015. The council’s cabinet will be asked to approve consultation on the proposals which form a key part of the council’s 21st Century Schools programme. The closure of the schools would be accompanied by a review of the Fairwater, Llantarnam and Croesyceiliog catchment areas. The council’s 21st Century Schools programme highlighted that closing Fairwater and Llantarnam and creating a single secondary school would help to tackle the issue of surplus places for both schools. The Welsh Government has set a target of having no more than 15% surplus places in all schools in Wales by 2015. Fairwater is being proposed as the most suitable site because of its more central location – having the right sized schools in the right place is a key principle of the 21st Century Schools programme. The report can be accessed from this link : http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/en/CouncillorsAndCommittees/Meetings/Cabinet/2013/11/26/Agenda/Agenda-26-11-2013.pdf

If you want any more information please contact Forward Planning on 01495 766910.  If you have concerns and need to contact me you can do so by emailing phil.seabourne@torfaen.gov.uk

25 October 2013

CWMBRAN FIRE SERVICES AT RISK

One of Cllr Seabourne's job as a Councillor is representing Torfaen on the South Wales Fire & Rescue Service.  There is currently a consultation taking place on services within South Wales and residents are being urged to take part in the consultation process. We need as many people as possible to respond to the consultation by the closing date on November 15. If you have any comments please answer the consultation alternatively, contact Cllr Phil Seabourne who will make your views known to SWFR.  Our Labour representatives have some serious concerns about the proposal and below is the report from the Free Press about a recently held meeting.

Cwmbran Fire Service at risk of losing one of the two Fire Tenders and Retained Crew

A MEETING has been held over plans to axe the fire engine at Cwmbran Fire Station.

The meeting was called by Torfaen’s Assembly Member, Lynne Neagle, and MP, Paul Murphy, with Chief Fire Officer, Huw Jakeway, after it emerged that the future of the engine, and the jobs of its 17 retained crew, were threatened as part of a Fire Cover Review currently being consulted on by the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service.

The review could also see the closure of Blaina Fire Station.

The Save our Sirens campaign has been set up to save the engine and has attracted widespread public support locally, with many expressing fears over the ability of the fire service to cope in the event of major incidents, given that Cwmbran will effectively see its local fire cover reduced by half, with only one appliance remaining.

A final decision on the Fire Cover Review is expected to be taken at a full meeting of members of the Fire Authority in December.

Speaking following the meeting last week, Ms Neagle said: “I’ve been working closely with firefighters at Cwmbran ever since the threat to the second engine emerged, so this was an important opportunity to express the concerns of the community directly to the Chief Fire Officer.

“I also intend to keep up the pressure at Assembly level. Having already questioned the First Minister directly about these proposals.”

Mr Murphy added: “Although it was a constructive meeting, we made it quite clear that many of our constituents are deeply worried about the impact of removing the second engine at Cwmbran, and that we will do everything we can to support the Save our Sirens campaign in the weeks ahead.

“I’ve been contacted by a number of constituents worried about these plans. We need as many people as possible to respond to the consultation by the closing date on November 15.”

Lynne Neagle, AM for Torfaen, told the Senedd today that she was unconvinced that the data analysis underpinning proposals at Cwmbran fire station gives sufficient weight to the critical role of the second engine which the service plans to cut.

Local government minister Lesley Griffiths replied chief fire office Huw Jakeway had confirmed to her that he had undertaken a “very robust risk assessment” regarding the consultation proposals.

She urged everyone to take part in the consultation if they have concerns.

20 October 2013

Welsh Language in Torfaen

TORFAEN council’s investment in the Welsh language comes with a price tag of £37,000 per year.

A report highlighting the Welsh language services in the council will be presented to the resources overview and scrutiny committee today.

The aim of the report it to move the council towards the equal production of documentation in English and Welsh across its public services.

But it will need to invest £37,000 initially to put this in place.

Currently the council does not provide access to all council business and services in Welsh and has resulted in 20 complaints in 2012/13.

The cost includes a full bilingual equivalence of services, including the maintenance of the council’s Welsh-language website, Welsh minutes and agendas of all council meeting, and Welsh-language customer support.

It also includes two officers from customer services undertaking a six-week immersion course.

Welsh-language training in 2014 at a cost of £900, and that one additional full-time translator is recruited on an 18-month contract.

The proposal also suggests to add the requirement to be able to speak Welsh for all future customer service vacancies until sufficient capacity is developed and that eight fluent-Welsh-speaking officers should be identified.

Torfaen council is currently subject to a statutory investigation by the Welsh Language Commissioner in relation to the recent implementation of its automated telephone system.

This investigation was triggered by a public complaint that the council did not introduce the automated telephone system bilingually, but instead introduced the English system in advance of the Welsh system.

Further to this, the Wales Audit Office stated in the council’s Annual Improvement Report for 2011/12 that the council’s progress in improving Welsh-language services has been slow.

Currently, the council employs one full-time Welsh-language officer and one Welsh-language translator.

As a result of increased demand for translation a significant amount of translation is outsourced to external translators, with 2012/13 expenditure amounting to £10,000.

The total expenditure for corporate Welsh-language services in 2012/13 was £114,000.

Keeping our Young People Safe

Cyber Safety Lessons

Children in Gwent are being educated about staying safe online as part of the All-Wales cyber safety lessons.

The All-Wales School Liaison Core Programme run cyber-safety lessons to teach children about potential online dangers. For 14-16 year- old's they offer lessons in 'Dangerous Deception' for those who may be at risk of sexual exploitation and warn them about those who put pressure on them to send sexualised images.

The NSPCC conducted a study into young people, children and 'sexting' in 2012, which showed a range of between 15 and 40 per cent of young people were involved in sexting. This is defined as sexual messages or images shared through mobile phones and on the Internet.

The joint report by NSPCC and Childline has found that the majority of sexting came from peers and that girls were the most affected. A recent BBC Newsnight report found that six out of ten teenagers had been asked for sexual images or videos.

The All-Wales cyber safety lessons also run for 11-14 -year-old's about the dangers of talking to people online with a video of Bethan, a secondary school pupil who is tricked into an online relationship which is not what it appears to be.

Legal Highs

The Police and parents are seriously concerned for our young people who are getting their kicks from  drugs known as Legal High.  This is a concoxtion of chemicals used to burn as an incense but some people are smoking it.  It has certain chemicals in it that gives a "high effect" on young people but has a different effect on people not in their teens, making them ill.  These drugs are being sold locally and are clearly labelled "NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION" but unfortunately some younsters are buying these drugs specifically to smoke and it is only a matter of time before we have a death in the area.

06 July 2013

More Arson Attacks at Greenmeadow Community Farm

POPULAR Greenmeadow community farm in Cwmbran has been the subject of arson attacks, staff say.

The attacks started five weeks ago, with fires set after opening hours in outlying areas of the farm site. Staff say they have seen young firesetters running away.

But as the weeks have gone on the fires have become more frequent and more brazen, with fires being lit while the attraction is open to the public and in stables where animals can be kept.

Kate Holly, the farm’s commercial manager, said: “Last Sunday we had three fires, two of which were while the farm was open. Wewere dealing with one then we had a call from the fire service saying we had another out where the tractor ride goes.

“ We are worried if they set light to the main buildings obviously the animals could be in danger. It’s terrible really.

They just run when anyone comes out, although they did throw stones at the dog trainer recently.”

  The fires started several weeks ago and are becoming more frequent and brazen. Hay bales have been set alight and perimeter fences have been damaged which is costing the farm money to replace. With the attacks escalating we are concerned for the welfare of the animals and worried the farm buildings will be next.

03 July 2013

Colleagues at Greenmeadow Community Farm the Police and Fire service are appealing for the public to be vigilant following a spate of arson attacks and damage at the farm.

Fires started at the farm several weeks ago and are becoming more frequent including two fires during opening hours on Sunday. Hay bales have been set alight and perimeter fences have been damaged or removed which is costing the farm money to replace.

Thanks to your shares and support, an appeal about vandalism at the boating lake reached over 100,000 people on this page in a matter of days and provided valuable information which has led to two arrests.

Please share this appeal and if you have information please contact the police on 101.

23 June 2013

Government Green Deal

The Government has a scheme to replace old boilers to save on their annual emmissions tax.  It is cheaper to replace old boilers than pay the excessive tax bill.  However people in the area are receiving telephone calls offering the Green Deal but are being told that there is an administration fee to pay.  This is an offence and should be reported to trading standards immediately.  The deal is completely free to people on certain benefits as long as their bolier is over eight years old.  

04 June 2013

Major Boost For Specialist Critical Care Centre for Cwmbran

23 May 2013

Health Plans for Consultation South Wales Programme

Letter from Lynne Neagle AM

Dear colleague,

 As some of you may already be aware, the formal consultation on plans to reorganise hospital services across South Wales was launched this morning.

 I thought it would be helpful to share a briefing that was delivered to AMs in the Assembly yesterday, as well as the consultation documents which give you a chance to have your say, before the consultation closes on July 19^th.

 The ‘South Wales Programme’ is a joint plan developed by the all five health boards covering the South Wales and South Powys area, and is the result of an 18 month process involving hundreds of clinicians from across the region, coming together to discuss how best to shape hospital services in the future to ensure that they are both safe and sustainable.

 With the Specialist and Critical Care Centre planned for Cwmbran featuring at the heart of all four proposed options put out for consultation, this represents really good news for Torfaen.

 The £270 million, 480 bed, state of the art facility will transform the delivery of healthcare in Torfaen and represents the most significant investment in the NHS locally for generations.

 Having fought tooth and nail for the Critical Care Centre over many years, I know how much it means, to people in Torfaen more widely. Today’s news means that the first class hospital facility residents in Torfaen and the wider Gwent area so badly need has moved a significant step closer.

 I think it’s really important that we demonstrate the widespread support for the new hospital amongst communities in Torfaen so I would encourage as many people as possible to respond to the consultation.

 Please do get in touch if you have any questions.

 Lynne Neagle AM

30th April 2013

Fairwater High School

MATHS GCSE RESULTS TARGET SMASHED!

A massive congratulations to our Year 11 students who received their Maths GCSE results last week. The school target was to achieve 53% A* - C. They have already achieved 56% A* - C and a number of students are going to resit their exam in June to further improve their grade. This should take us to 60% A* - C or more, which will be one of the best results in Torfaen. Well done Year 11 and well done to the Maths Department.

Thank you to those who volunteered for the Parent Governor vacancies

Keep in touch with what is happening at the School check out their website on our useful contacts link:

26th February 2013

PARENT GOVERNORS

Fairwater High School Cwmbran are looking to appoint Parent Governors.  If you have a child or children in the school and would like to contribute to raising educational attainment  and take an interest in your local school Please let us know.

25th February 2013

Consultation has taken place on the Single Integrated Plan for the Statutory Services within Torfaen.

BELOW IS THE EASY READ SINGLE PLAN: DRAFT ONLY: Version 1.2

21 February

Torfaen Together – a ten year plan for your public services

    All the organisations that provide services for people in Torfaen have come together to create a plan that aims to improve the lives of everyone who lives         and works here.

   It’s called ‘Torfaen Together’ because no organisation can achieve these aims on their own – everyone has to work together to tackle the big issues facing           communities today.

   This brief guide sets out what we want to achieve and how we want to achieve it. If you’d like to know more contact the Public Service Support Unit on            01495 762200 or email pssu@torfaen.gov.uk

Our vision

·    Torfaen has a healthy population with a good quality of life

·    People in Torfaen are safe

·    People in Torfaen are educated for life

·    People in Torfaen enjoy a prosperous economy

·    People in Torfaen live in quality affordable homes

·    People in Torfaen live in clean, green, sustainable communities

·    Frail people in Torfaen are happily independent

How did we create the plan?

1.  All the organisations involved work together as the Torfaen Local Service Board

2.  They shared their own plans and looked at what they are trying to achieve, individually and working together

3.  Lots of useful information was gathered to create a detailed picture of what needed to be done

4.  A draft plan was created and everyone in Torfaen was invited to say what they thought of it

5.  Some changes were made, but lots of people liked it

6.  A final version was produced that all the organisations agreed with

·         Less people will be overweight or suffering from long illnesses because they’re doing more exercise and eating healthier food

·         People won’t become ill or die younger just because they live in poorer parts of Torfaen. They’ll have more information and services to help them live               healthier lives

People in Torfaen are safe

·         People will tell the police if someone is racist or abuses them because they are disabled or different in some way

People in Torfaen are educated for life

People in Torfaen enjoy a prosperous economy

People in Torfaen live in quality affordable homes

People in Torfaen live in clean, green, sustainable communities

Frail people in Torfaen are happily independent

         There are also three big issues that need special attention. They are:

·             People are living longer which is a good thing, but we need to make sure everyone is getting the care and support they need to help them stay living                  in their communities

Empowering families with complex needs to achieve their potential

·         Some families need lots of support in their lives for many different reasons. It’s important that all different organisations work together so these families            can tackle the problems they are facing.

·    Enabling people to manage the impact of welfare reform

     The government’s Welfare Reforms will leave some of the poorest families with less money, making it harder for them to make ends meet. That means             people will need more support and advice from different organisations who will need to work together to meet this new challenge. 

 How we will do this?

    When the plan is up and running, we’ll be gathering lots of information and data to tell us if we’re on the right track.

     We’ll ask people what they think and act on what they say and will be regularly checking our progress. We’ll make sure that people in Torfaen are told             whether we are achieving our aims and if we’re not, what we intend to do about it.

 What is the Torfaen Local Service Board?

     There are lots of organisations providing services for people in Torfaen. The police, health board, council, voluntary organisations, housing associations all         help and support people every day of the year.

      As members of the Torfaen Local Service Board, these organisations can ensure they are working together to tackle the big issues facing communities across        the borough and help make Torfaen a better place to live and work for everyone.

Ends

14th January 2013

http://www.yourbenefitsarechanging.co.uk/aboutus.htm

29 JANUARY 2013

FAIRWATER HIGH SCHOOL APPOINTS NEW HEADTEACHER

Mrs Helen Coulson was appointed as the new Head Teacher of Fairwater High School after a rigourous two day assessment centre process.

Mrs Coulson has worked at the school for two years as a Deputy Head.  The previous Head Teacher Dave Marshall retired earlier in the year and Governors appointed an Interim Head Mrs John Barnbrook for eight weeks, to take the school up to the Estyn monitoring visit allowing the school time to advertise for the position of a permanent Head Teacher.

Mrs Coulson and the relatively new Senior Leadership Team have already made a noticable difference in the school with improved behaviour and a tightening up of the school uniform policy, all pupils aware of the targets grades and what they have to do to improve.

This year is the 40th Anniversary of the school and pupils staff and Governors are working together on how to celebrate this momentous milestone in the history of the school after achieving the "Best Results" in the history of the school last year.

At the time of writing the Governors are seeking replacement of parent Governors whose terms of office have come to an end, any parent with children at the school is eligible to stand as a parent Governor if you are interested contact Mrs Rosemarie Seabourne Chair of Governors for more information. 

09 January 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL READERS OF ilovefairwater.com

08th Oct 2012

FREE SCHOOL MEALS DATA IS USED AS AN INDICATOR FOR A NUMBER OF GRANTS

THIS INFORMATION IS TAKEN FROM THE WELSH GOVERNMENT WEBSITE (Last updated 06 April 2012)

01st October 2012

What Is The Single Integrated Plan?

Consultation starts today on the ten year service plan that provides your services from Torfaen County Borough Council, Aneurin Bevan Health Board, Gwent Police and Torfaen Voluntary Alliance.  The consultation runs until Christmas Eve 24th December. A taste of the consultation is below but the full survey can be accessed via  http://www.mysay.torfaen.gov.uk/ and clicking the Torfaen Together consultation.

Sharing a vision for Torfaen public services

Torfaen Local Service Board (LSB) is where the leaders of public and third sector organisations come together to improve services and the quality of lives for citizens.

The LSB organisations deliver all the services that you and your family rely on every day – from policing and health to schools, social care and housing.

 This makes it essential that they are working in partnership to make sure the services you receive are efficient and effective.

 Torfaen LSB partners works together to achieve the following:

 • Torfaen has a healthy population with a good quality of life

• People in Torfaen are safe

• People in Torfaen are educated for life

• People in Torfaen enjoy a prosperous economy

• People in Torfaen live in quality affordable homes

• People in Torfaen live in clean, green, sustainable communities

• Frail people in Torfaen are happily independent

 A new Single Plan is being created setting out how this will be delivered over the next ten years.

The plan contains detailed information on how the organisations will address the key challenges and issues that facing Torfaen communities.

 The LSB wants to know what you think about the priorities and the activities that your local public services intend to take. With public sector budgets under huge pressure, the LSB must make sure that the plan is shaped by citizens. The draft plan can be viewed at www.mysay.torfaen.gov.uk

Torfaen Single Integrated Plan question set

There are many public  sector and private sector organisations that deliver services for you, your family, the people who live and work in your communities such as health services, education, policing, social services and housing.  These organisations have been working together to develop a single plan for the way these services are provided for you in the future.

 Across Wales Local Service Boards have been established .  The Local Service Board partnership between Torfaen County Borough Council, Aneurin Bevan Health Board, Gwent Police, Welsh Government and Torfaen Voluntary Alliance gives us a new way to develop our single plan and deliver joint services. 

The new single plan replaces what was previously our Community Strategy which contained the Health, Social Care and Well-being strategy, Corporate plan and Children and Young People’s Partnership plan.  This single plan is different from all those other plans because it contains a single set of shared priorities and ambitions for how we can improve services and deliver better outcomes for you, your family, the people who live and work in your communities. 

 In developing our previous plans we have collected your views and available data to describe what life looks like in Torfaen and the challenges and issues you face. This  ‘evidence’ has helped us develop the shared outcomes and priorities contained in our single plan - Torfaen Together.

 We need your help again at this crucial stage to make sure that this plan reflects the real needs of people living and working in Torfaen.  We want to know if you think we’ve got it right and how you think we could improve it. 

 Torfaen Together  has a vision and seven key outcomes and within the outcomes we have developed a range of shared priorities. 

I hope you take the time to take part in this survey it is the plan for our services for the next 10 years help us get it right.

6th September 2012

Commission Information Day
The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales is an independent champion for older people across Wales.
We want to hear from you Find out more about how we can help you, tell us what is important to you and learn about our work.

10 September 2012 | 10am to 12pm Community Council Chambers Commercial Street Pontypool

Diwrnod Gwybodaeth Comisiwn Mae’r Comisiynydd Pobl Hŷn Cymru yn bencampwr annibynnol i bobl hŷn ar draws Cymru
Rydym ni eisiau clywed oddi wrthoch chi Dewch o hyd i fwy o wybodaeth am sut rydyn ni medru helpu chi, dwedwch wrthym
ni beth sydd yn bwysig i chi a dysgu am ein gwaith

10 Medi 2012 | 10yb to 12yp Ystafell Cyngor Cymunedol Stryd Masnachol Pont-y-pwl
The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales Comisiynydd Pobl Hŷn Cymru

03 June 2012

DIAMOND JUBILEE WEEKEND ARRIVES                    

Street Parties and celebrations are taking place all around the Country this weekend and Fairwater is no exception.  The weather could be better and it is hoped that it will brighten up and the rain holds off for sometime but I am sure all plans cater for the good British weather.

Costar are holding celebrations at the Threepenny Bit.  Tickets £1.50 so if you fancy partying and no party arranged down your street why not join in.

Windsor Road and Rolls Close have applied for street closures so we assume something is organised for those areas.  If you are not in the mood for a wet street party, why not enjoy the telly where a Thames spectacular celebration is planned with boats of every size and structure joining the Royal Family for their day of celebration.

If you are celebrating we would love to here about it and maybe have some of your photographs to share on the website.

19th May 2012

AROUND WALES BIKE RIDE

We would like to thank Kevin Weaver for his amazing gift offering to cycle around Wales for the Mayor of Torfaen's Charity TENOVUS.

We would also like to thank all the people in the Civic Centres that met Kevin supplied him with food and hospitality as well as giving to the appeal.  To the Mayors and Chairs of Council who have supported us during our year in office and gave so kindly of there time hospitality and money.  Thank you also for Kevin's family allowing him to take on this challenge.

Thank you to all who have donated through the Kevin Weaver just giving website Please take a look and click on the link above and keep it coming in and make it all worthwhile Thank You.

06th May 2012

Torfaen Customer Care Centres

The Cwmbran Customer Care Centre will close at 4.30pm on Friday 4 May (cash offices close at 4.15pm) and will re-open on Tuesday 8 May at 9.30am. 

The Pontypool Customer Care Centre will close at 4.30pm on Friday 4 May (cash offices close at 4.15pm) and will re-open on Tuesday 8 May at 9.00am. 

The Blaenavon Customer Care Centre will close at 2.30pm on Friday 4 May (cash offices close at 2.15pm) and will re-open on Tuesday 8 May at 9.30am. 

Call Torfaen will close at 6.00pm on Friday 4 May and will re-open on Tuesday 8 May at 8.00am.

Refuse and Recycling Collections

Please ensure that your wheelie bin and recycling box are put out for collection by 7.30am on the morning of your collection. 

Waste Disposal Arrangements

The Civic Amenity bays at the Household Waste Recycling Centre, New Inn will be open throughout the holiday period for the disposal of household waste. 

Times of opening are: 

Monday to Saturday - 7.30am - 6.00pm
Sunday - 9.00am - 6.00pm 

Recycling Facilities 

Please use the recycling facilities available throughout the County Borough of Torfaen. Remember that bottle banks fill very quickly.  

Libraries 

All Libraries will be closed on Monday 7 May 2012.

Leisure Centres

All Leisure Centres will be closed on Monday 7 May 2012. 

Pontypool Indoor Market 

Pontypool Indoor Market will be closed on Monday 7 May 2012.

04th May 2012

Welsh Nationalists Increase their grip on Fairwater & Ty-Canol with Cwmbran Community Council Seats

Jeff Rees and Fiona Cross the Welsh Nationalist Councillors retained their seats in Fairwater and Coed Eva, David Standing winning the Welsh Nationalist a Cwmbran Community Council seat for Coed Eva polling more votes than Fiona did for the County Borough Election, with Jeff Rees retiring from Henllys Community Council seat, changing to Fairwater, his fellow candidate Natalie Selkheld failed in her attempt at the County Borough but succeeded in the Cwmbran Community Council for the Fairwater Ward, beating sitting Labour Councillor and Community Midwife, Janet King who served Fairwater well for twelve years.  Congratulations to Michelle Day who retained her Welsh Labour seat but in the new ward of Ty-Canol.  First time candidates for Welsh Labour in the Coed Eva and Ty-Canol Ward had respectable votes of 299 missing out on their selection.

THANK YOU TO ALL THAT VOTED

After a long very night, we wake this morning to see great changes in the Political landscape across the country.  The Councillors for the next five years for Fairwater Ward are unchanged with Jeff Rees the Welsh Nationalist, Plaid Cymru and Phil SeabourneWelsh Labour see results below, unfortunately we do not have the Labour Team we were hoping for with Rose Seabourne coming in with a respectable third place.

I would like to thank all residents who voted for us and promise to represent you and all reseidents of the Fairwater Ward.  Thank You

Fairwater & Greenmeadow Ward

ELECTION RESULTS

	Votes
Steven Robert Bonera	Independent	130
David Charles Brown	Independent	174
Anthony Michael Devlin	Independent	294
Jeff Rees - Winner	Plaid Cymru	530
Natalie Salkeld	Plaid Cymru	382
Phil Seabourne - Winner	Labour	474
Rose Seabourne	Labour	392

Greenmeadow

Candidate	Party	Votes
Polly Cunnington	Independent	172
Catherine Lewis	Independent	364
Mandy Owen - Winner	Labour	365
Bob Wellington - Winner	Labour	424
Keith Richard Williams	Independent	231

2nd May 2012

FACTS YOU MAY NOT KNOW

•           Steven Bonera & Cllr Catherine Lewis (Greenmeadow Ward are Married & live in Old Cwmbran

•         Independent Cllrs Catherine Lewis & her sister  Cllr Elizabeth Haynes St Dials Ward were Censured for paying Small Schemes money into a business that Cllr Lewis  was a Director. (Wecan) never traded

•         Cllr Lewis (also known as) Mrs Bonera was suspended for one month for failing to update the public register and declare a personal interest(Steven Bonera is quick enough to blame others to cover up their discretion’s)

•         Steven Bonera, family & friends  cost the public purse at least £10,548.10 (Freedom Of Information) reporting other Councillors to the Ombudsman

•         Genuine Independents do not share Election leaflets or Vote 21 times with the Tories
•         Fairwater High School has received a much improved Estyn Inspection(March 2012)

• Jeff Rees Plaid does not live in Fairwater he lives in Pontnewydd (How is he a local champion?)
  
• Jeff Rees has resigned from Fairwater High School Governors
  
• Rose & Phil Seabourne are still supporting the school and have fought the LEA against removing the Governors and therefore your voice
  
• Jeff Rees has stood in other Elections (e.g.Welsh Assembly) in an attempt to further his political career.  Does he really care about Fairwater?
• Phil & Rose help deliver the road safety initiatives on Fairhill & Henllys Way to stop boy racers racing around the estate in the early hours of the morning disturbing residents and possibly injuring themselves (Jeff Rees could not hear them in Pontnewydd!)
• The Growing Team of Plaid Councillors at the moment total 2 on the Council it is a two horse race.
• Bron Afon already has a Community Caretaker who checks on the area.
• Cardboard recycling was always planned by Labour to be introduced next followed by plastics see Recycling Targets. 
• Cllr Phil Seabourne supports the Oaksford and Neerings residents with their safe access to the shops and Doctors surgery.
  

20th April 2012

POSTAL VOTES

The Postal Votes are being received by residents.  Can we, Phil and Rose Seabourne respectfully ask you to consider putting your trust in us and give us your Vote for Fairwater Please

IMPORTANT FOR SECURITY REASONS

Please remember to sign and give your Date of Birth to verify your vote.

08 April 2010

MAY 3rd Election Time is here again!  Please Use Your 2 Votes

Torfaen County Borough Council Fairwater Ward Election

May 3rd 2012 is the date of the Local Council Elections this is your opportunity to vote for your local County Borough and Community Councillors.  This time around Labour has selected the sitting and a former councillor, Cllr Phil Seabourne and Mrs Rose Seabourne as Candidates for the Fairwater Ward at Torfaen County Borough Council Elections.

Please use you two votes for our Labour Team to stand up for you and speak out for you in Fairwater.

Check out our Election Manifesto at this link:  Fairwater.pdf,

Independent Cllr Catherine Lewis's Husband Stephen Bonera Candidate for Fairwater Ward has no shame.

The manifesto of Independent Candidate Stephen Bonera I am led to believe is nothing less than a slating of sitting Councillors and candidates.  He needs to change his record now because it is becoming an embarrassment to him and his wife.

Please find below the statement that Cllr Philip Seabourne read out to Council unforunately many Independent Councillors absented themselves from that meeting so here it is for the residents of Fairwater to read.

Statement by Cllr Philip Seabourne for Council

It gives me no pleasure at all to stand and read this today.  The amount of pressure on my family and I has been immense, affecting us financially, and affecting our both health.  Indeed, one set of answers had to be provided during the Ombudsman’s investigation whilst I was in hospital.

Since October 2009 I have received six complaints regarding Declarations of Interest from the relatives or friends of Cllr Catherine Lewis.  Two of these complaints were sent to the Ethics & Standards Committee where a Censure was imposed on 10 March 2011.  I have never denied I made mistakes when I filled in two Small Schemes Forms for donations to the Torfaen Access Coalition and Fairwater High School.   I apologised unreservedly to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, the Ethics & Standards Committee and to the Adjudication Panel for Wales and I apologise to you today.  However, I would point out that there has never been any suggestion that I acted dishonestly or for personal gain. 

Councillors’ small schemes money is there to be used for the benefit of the community, and it did not help that the small schemes donation forms were unclear.  For the Torfaen Access Coalition donation I used an old form which was not fit for the new two-stage personal and prejudicial interest test. The other form for the Fairwater High School donation was a newly adapted form which was a little ambiguous: nevertheless I filled it in and signed incorrectly. I am pleased that at my request the relevant forms have been clarified.

I appealed the decision of the Ethics & Standards Committee as all material facts were not placed before it when the decision of 10 March 2011 was made.  I had updated my Declaration of Interests on 14 October 2009 but the relevant form was missing from the file of documents available to the Ethics & Standards Committee.

The Adjudication Panel also for Wales accepted that I had updated my Declaration of Interests on 14 October 2009 but that this had not been included in the documents before the Ethics & Standards Committee. 

As I have said, I apologise unreservedly for errors made by myself.

However I feel, there are still questions to be answered by others involved in the process.

Firstly, I ask why the Ethics & Standards Committee failed in their duty to read through all evidence and realise such an important piece of evidence was not included.  It was obviously missing, and it was even referred to in a letter sent by the Monitoring Officer to the Ombudsman.

Secondly, I ask why the Monitoring Officer did not notice the omission, particularly as she had referred to the document herself.

Thirdly, my understanding is that there is a duty as stated in the role of the Monitoring Officer under “Omissions” to report all omissions to Council.  There has been no such report to my knowledge.

I also feel that the Ethics & Standards process is being used for political purposes and public money is being wasted on unnecessary complaints. Remarkably, after my appeal had been lodged, Mr Steve Bonera, the husband of Councillor Catherine Lewis, lodged yet another complaint against me alleging that I had misled the Ethics & Standards Committee.  This was a very serious allegation, and I am pleased that it has been totally quashed by the Adjudication Panel for Wales.  I quote from the Appeal Tribunal’s written decision dated 3 January 2012:

“With regard to the additional complaint that Cllr Seabourne had misled the Ethics and Standards Committee, the Tribunal was satisfied, on the balance of evidence given by Cllr Seabourne, that he had not misled the committee…”

It is also essential that in any hearing before Ethics & Standards, all relevant evidence is presented and considered before a decision is made. I do ask what action can be taken to ensure that a situation like this does not arise again.

Cwmbran Community Council Fairwater & Ty-Canol Ward

At Community Council Elections things are slightly different as you have an opportunity to vote for two Community Councillors if you are eligible to vote and registered on the Electoral register and live in the Ty-Canol part of the Fairwater Ward and one Community Councillor for the lower half of the Ward.  The Boundary Commission made the decision on the number of electorate within the ward and they have placed the new boundary as Ty-Gwyn Way.  The residents on the Fairwater High School side of Ty-Gwyn Way and below are entitled to vote for one Cwmbran Community Councillor and the Labour Candidate is sitting community Cllr Janet King The other side of the road is the boundary for Ty-Canol and you are entitled to vote for two Community Councillors, the Labour Candidates selected are sitting community Cllr Michelle Day and joining her is Labour Candidate Mrs Melanie King.

Please also use your Cwmbran Community Council two votes for Ty-Canol (upper Fairwater) or your one vote for Fairwater (lower).

20 March 2012

Estyn Inspectors Post Inspection Visit by Rose Seabourne Chair of Governors

Fairwater High School was pleased to received the Estyn Post Inspection during the week March 6th to 8th as Chair of Governors I was interviewed twice during the week.  Firstly at the beginning of the week in line with the Inspection guidelines and secondly at the request of the Minister's Office to ask specific questions on the Leadership and Management of the School in relation to the application made by the Chief Education Officer for an Interim Executive Board.

I was delighted to hear of the improvement Estyn Inspectors found in the school and the recognition of the hard work of the staff and SLT in getting us to that position.  Obviously we all realise this is just the beginning of expected continous improvement.

To date we have received no decision from the Welsh Government Ministers regarding the application for the IEB and Governors still remain in the school committed to raising attainment and aspiration of our pupils, parents and staff.

It was agreed to write to all parents informing them of the situation at the school and to publicise the Estyn Inspection Feedback. The judgements that the Estyn Inpectors were to make were categorised as Fully Addressed, Largely Addressed, Partly Addressed and Not Met.  It was going to be difficult to come completely come out of the measure because we have not received the outcome of exam results which will be available after the summer.

Letter reads as follows:

As you are aware, a team of inspectors, led by Nigel Vaughan HMI, carried out a re-inspection of the school during 6 to 8 March 2012 to inspect progress since the section 28 inspection of the school in January 2011.

During the visit, my colleagues inspected the work in a number of classes, examined samples of pupils' work and scrutinised school documentation.  In particular, they concentrated on aspects of leadership and management and other areas identified with important shortcomings.  My colleagues also held discussions with the headteacher, other members of staff and representatives of the Governing Body.  At the end of the visit, they reported their findings to the headteacher, to you, as chair of the governing body and to representatives of from the local authority.

Outcome of inspection

While Fairwater High is judged to have made progress in respect of many of the key issues for action from the inspection of January 2011, many of the improvements are at an early stage of development.  As a result, the school will remain on the list of schools in need of sidnificant improvement and Estyn will re-visit the school in about six months' time to inspect progress.

In order that further progress can be made, it may be useful to you and other members of the governing body to have a written summary of the team's findings.

Progress since the last inspection

Recommendation 1: implement actions to raise standards in all subjects, particularly in English, matematics and Welsh, and to raise the attainment of boys;

This recommendation has been partly addressed.

The school has implemented all the actions outlined in its post-inspection action plan.  These actions are starting to have a positive impact on provision, which has improved since the time of the Section 28 inspection.  At present, these actions have influenced performance at key stage 3 and standards of literacy across the curriculum.

There have been improvements in the outcomes at Key stage 3 where there was a sharp increase in performance against the core subject indicator in 2011 by camparison with previous years.  Performance in English and matematics are now close to the family average.

Standards of literacy across the school have risen so that the majority of pupils now make good progress in written tasks.  A minority of pupils, from across the whole ability range, still make basic errors in punctuation and especially spelling. but a majority have improved since the time of the Section 28 inspection.  Although the standard of presentation is improving, for a minority of pupils, it is still not good enough.

The actions implemented as a result of the post inspection action plan have not yet had the intended impact on performance at key stage 4.  In 2011 performance fell, against nearly all the main indicators.  Since September 2011 the school has improved further its provision for English and matematics at key stage 4 and this has been supported by the introduction of challenging end-of-key stage targets based on FFT D and of a well-organised pupil tracking system.  Indications from current Year 11 pupils' acievements in GCSE units already taken in English and mathematics indicate that outcomes have improved compared with the situation at the same stage last year and that targets, especially those for English, are likely to be met.

In Welsh second language at key stage 3, there have been some further improvements, but performance is still in the bottom quarter when compared with that of similar schools.  At key stage 4, only 12% of pupils achieved the level 2 qualification in Welsh.

At key stage 3, the gap between the performance of boys and girls has closed to the point where it is similar to the famil and Wales averages.  At key stage 4, the gap between the performance of boys and girls has also closed.

Recommendation 2: implement strategies to improve attendance and behaviour;

This recommendation has been largely addressed;

Attendance improved significantly in 2011.  It is now in the top half of similar school based on free school meal benchmarks and it is above modelled expectations.

The school established suitable arrangements to improve, including the appointment of an attendance officer,  The officer monitors pupil attendance closely, identifies specific issues and undertakes any follow-up actions, such as contacting parents and working with the education welfare officer.  There are suitable arrangements for reporting this work to senior leaders and pastoral managers.  Form Tutors set targets for attendance for all pupils and monitor progress towards them.

Expectations about behaviour have been clarified and there is regular monitoring of any incidences of unacceptable behaviour.  The school has organise useful professional developmental activities based on behaviour management.  The new strategies are starting to have a positive impact on the behaviour of most pupils, particularly on those who are most disruptive.  Behaviour in classes and around the school is generally good.  There are still too many instances of low level distruption but they are fewer than at the time of the Section 28 inspection.

Recommendation 3: strengthen provision to develop pupils' skills, particularly in literacy and numeracy;

This recommendation has been largely addressed.

The school has a suitable strategy for pupils to develop their literacy and numeracy skills.  The additional learning needs co-ordinator identifies pupils who have significant difficulties in developing their literacy and numeracy skills and provides personalised programmes to address them.  Pupils who have moderate difficulties are identified by the English and Mathmatics departments and support is provided through specific programmes such as Read, Write, Inc and Springboard.  Targeted pupils in Key stage 4 receive additional teaching time to develop and improve their skills.  Other pupil skills are developed through the provision across the curriculum.

There has been significant improvement in the provision to develop pupils skills in literacy.  The provision to develop pupils numeracy skills has also improved, bbut it is not as advanced as that for literacy.  The school has appointed co-ordintaors for literacy and numeracy and they carry out their roles effectively.  Following consultation with all teachers, the school has updated its literacy and numeracy policies.  There are in service taraining events and support to help identify and implement strategies to develop pupil skills across the curriculum.  A literacy group, representing staff from all curriculum areas and a governor, meets regularly to agree on consistent strategies and to share and disseminate good practise to all departments.  Teachers in a few subject areas have received training from the "Tactical Teaching Programme" with a specific focus on developing reading skills and there are suitable plans to extend this provision.

Recommendation 4: futher develop the curriculum at key stage 4 and the 6th form by extending collaboration with other schools and the further education college;

This recommendation has been largely addressed.

Before the section 28 inspection in 2011, the school had broadened the curriculum at key stage 4 and post 16 to meet the learning skills (Wales) Measure with an appropriate range of vocational and general courses.  Since then, in key stage 4, the school has made good progress in extending the range and number of vocational courses to better suit the needs of pupils.  In particular, it has made further improvements in the range of provision at level 1 in "work skills" and "Information and communication".  The school now provides a wider and more appropriate range of level one skills courses at key stage 3 and this forms a good foundation for progression to Key stage 4. In 2011, more pupils achieved the level 1 threshold than in the previous year.

Corses available for pupils through collaboration with other schools and the local further education college are now promoted actively by the school at options events.  A small number of pupils follow courses deleivered by other providers at key stage 4.

Recommendation 5: Improve the quality of teaching and learning to increase the level of challenge for all pupils;

This recommendation has been largely addressed.

The section 28 inspection in 2011 found that teachers had generally good subject knowledge and that the majority planned lessons well and set clear learning objectives using a variety of suitable learning resources.  Since then, the quality of lesson planning has improved and now nearly all teachers plan lessons well.  The section 28 inspection also stated that the majority of lessons progressed at a good pace and had a suitable sequence of activities to engage pupils throughout the lessons.  These strengths have been maintained.

Since the section 28 inspection in 2011, the schools senior leaders have carried out a range of activities to improve the quality of teaching.  They focussed particularly on the weaknesses identified in the report about low teacher expectations and how teachers were not adapting materials and tasks to meet the needs of all Pupils.

Senior leaders have been trained to carry out lesson observations and make consistent judgements.  They have identified areas for improvement in teaching and then monitored progress.  In cases where the standards of teaching were judged to be not good enough, they have used robust procedures, including capability procedures, to support improvement in teachers practices.  The current standards of teaching identified by the schools records of lesson observations match closely those of the inspection team.  The quality of teaching has improved, especially in relation to the pace of learning and degree of challenge to pupils of different abilities.

The standard of teachers marking is consistently good.  Senior leaders carry out regular audits of pupils work to check the standard of marking and this has had a beneficial effect.

Recommendation 6: make sure that all staff fully understand their roles and responsibilities and implement policies consistently;

This recommendation has been largely addressed.

The headteacher has ensured that all staff fully understand their colllective responsibility to improve standards.  Nearly all staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and of the line management arrangements.  The headteacher regularly reviews the work of senior leaders.  Senior leaders meet regulaly with heads of departments and offer a suitable level of challenge and support.   However, the records of these meetings do not always include specific action points and timescales.

The senior leadership team has implemented robust procedures to monitor the quality of teaching and learning.  These procedures include systematic lesson observations and book scrutiny.  Since the section 28 inspection in 2011, nearly all middle managers monitor the work of their teams well.  This has ensured there is greater constistency in the implementation of whole school policies, including the marking of pupils work and the tracking of pupil progress.  The school has taken appropriate action to address the very few instances of unacceptable performance in teaching and management.

Recommendation 7: further develop self evaluation procedures and the rigour of improvement planning;

This recommendation has been largely addressed.

The post inspection action plan is appropriately focussed on the schools key priorities and the school has made good progress in implementing the planned actions by the agreed timescales.  All departments use a common template for implovement planning and most plans include specific actions, timescales and clear lines of accountability.  However, a few plans do not fully explain the actions needed to bring about the necessary improvement.

Since the section 28 inspection in 2011, the school has improved the clarity and rigour of its self evaluation processes.  Leaders at all levels increasingly use data to analyse pupil performance well.  The recently-introduced data management system has ensured that all staff understand pupil targets clearly and monitor progress towards them.  Since the introduction of this system, pupils have a secure understanding of their progress towards meeting their individula subject targets and many know what they need to do to improve.

Pupil and parent questionaires now feature on the calendar of self evaluation activities.  The most recent survey shows an increase in parental satisfaction.  The school has made good progess in addressing recommendations from the section 28 inspection of 2005 that had not been addressed by the time of the 2011 inspection.  Attendance has improved and compares well with similar schools.  There are indications that standards in English and Mathematics at key stage 4 are improving.  However, standards in Welsh remain an area of concern.

Recommendation 8: Meet statutory requirements for teacher assessment at the end of key stage 3, for the daily act of collective worship and for the action plans identified in this report.

This recommendation has been fully addressed.

Statutory requirements for key stage 3 teacher assessment have now been met for all pupils and the assessment data is routinely scrutinised by the senior leadership team.  The daily act of collective worship is delivered through assemblies and the "Through the day programme".  There are approved up to date diability and race equality action plans in place.

Recommendations:

In order to improve, the school should continue to implement the strategies that are designed to address the recommendations from the section 28 inspection from January 2011.

Inspectors will return to the school in approximately six months by that time we should have the results of the exams and have the evidence of sustained improvement.

I would like to place on public record my thanks as Chair of Governors to the staff and pupils of Fairwater High School who have worked contiuously and constructively towards improvement and to the Governing Body of the school who have supported me in what has been a very difficult time for the school.

01 February 2012

Fairwater High School by Rose Seabourne Chair of Governors

Yesterday saw reports on the television from Estyn the School Inspection Service highlight concerns about the Literacy and Numeracy levels of some of our children coming out of our Primary Schools.  Some of whom leave their Primary School with a Reading/Literacy age of below 9 years old.

Today you will see reports on BBC Wales News highlighting that the Chief Education Officer for Torfaen County Borough Council has requested that the Minister for Education Leighton Andrews agrees to his request to remove the Governing Body of the School.

The Governing Body of the school is made up of dedicated local representatives consisting of Local Education reps including the Labour Councillor for the Ward of Fairwater, Parent Governors, elected by the parents of the school, Community reps, people who live and work in the Community and staff reps.

These people in my opinion are dedicated intelligent people who give up their time freely to give a public service to the community and have only the pupils of the school at heart.

Fairwater High School was inspected by Estyn in January 2011 this was the same week the Minister gave his speech about Education in Wales.  The inspection was a totally different inspection to what we have become used to.  The school received the published inspection in March 2011

Governors realised that there was a job of work to be done and decided to set up a sub group consisting of myself the Vice-Chair and the third person with the Senior Leadership Team of the school.  We worked together from March putting the (PIAP) post inspection action plan together.  Meeting first on a fortnightly basis and more recently weekly.

An agreed action plan was accepted by Estyn in June 2011 and not in time to make any changes with pupils GCSE and A level examinations and our English and Maths results had dropped below the 30% marker to 29.6% we were all very disappointed.  However many of the other subjects had excellent results.

We have been working to this PIAP and have reached our agreed set targets, however this whole process of warning letters and applications to the Minister have gone some way in attempting to derail us from our job in hand.

The Local Authority were also notified that they were to be inspected and that report is due to be published on the 14th February 2012.

In Early September Governors received a Warning letter that contained the Chief Education Officers (CEO) concerns and it was clear that this letter contained inaccuracies, which Governors invited the CEO to meet with them, so they could challenge him on the content of the letter, he came to the school and agreed that mistakes had been made.

I as Chair, was later called in to meet with the Chief Education Officer and he suggested I call in an IEB because it would look better for us as Governors.  I took this proposal to Governors who unanimously turned down the recommendation.  We had already been informed that he had arranged a Cabinet meeting to request the Minister to remove the Governing Body.

Governors thought it was premature as we were due for the LEA team to come into school with a planned review.  So the CEO had not even waited for the report from his own officers which incidently reported improvements in November.  We are also due for a Post Inspection, just weeks away now.

The CEO keeps referring to the school profile which was part of the work of the TCBC Scrutiny Committee March 2010, some two years ago, the Headteacher helped with this profile but at no time were Governors parents or pupils consulted.  This profile has a number of inaccuraccies in the report and Governors challenge the LEA and attempted to correct, we were never allowed and the report is nearly two years old and as far as I am aware not been reviewed.

Fairwater High School like all schools have some excellent teachers who keeps producing excellent work for our students.   We know where our weaknesses are, more so now Since September, because we have the benefit of data and set targets for individual students.  We are banded as a band 4 school like all other schools in Torfaen with the exception of the regional Welsh School YGG.

Governors, SLT and staff of FHS are dedicated and committed to giving students the best possible outcomes, we are aware of our shortcomings and are working hard towards improvement.  We are aware like all other schools of the falling numbers of pupils in schools and the surplus places and we are working on a new staffing strategy and financial plan to cope with these issues as responsible committed people.

As far as the comments in the Torfaen Talks newsletter and submission to the Minister. Governors are aware of the low Literacy levels of some pupils coming into the school and have put whole school strategies in place to try and improve the situation.

It is wrong for the CEO to state that there is an attendance problem at Fairwater High School – we have exceeded our target as agreed with the LA (92.1%)  Both Estyn and the LA Review were complimentary about the behaviour of pupils.  Sixth Form class sizes are not an issue.  Several large groups enable us to  run a number of small groups, as is the case in other Torfaen Secondary Schools.

However we are still awaiting the LEA committment to completely fence off the whole school site, identified by Governors and Estyn as something to pursue with the LEA.  I have written half termly letters to the CEO and Cllr Phil Seabourne has requested details of the fence completion on numerous occasions. I can assure you that this Governing Body is a strong challenging body that seeks the best possible outcomes for our children.

There is other underlying issues that are at work, such as the LEA being told to get tough with schools and the imminent publication of there own Estyn Inspection.  The 21st Century plans to close one Seconday School in Cwmbran either Fairwater High or Llantarnam with refurbishment of a one school on either site to be decided and even the proposals for a Regional Education Service and possibly a top job on offer we can just surmise whether it is any or all of these issues.

The thing we know is, in this whole debarcle, unfortunately it is our children and our Community that is affected by this request to the Minister. 

Governors are committed to fight for the children, parents and staff of Fairwater High School in an attempt to protect their rights to a good eduacation in their community with Excellent Teachers.  We all have a committment to raise standards as Governors, as Staff and as Pupils and Parents, with the support of the LEA and with everyone pulling together in partnership we can achieve the excellence we seek.

I have submitted a complaint to the Council for it's report in the Council Newsletter of Torfaen Talks and have received an apology for the heading from the Chief Executive Alison Ward. The report still contains inaccurate statements.

We also have an issue with some local Independent Councillors writing complete inaccuracies in their newsletters, easy when they do not even give their time to local school governing Bodies.

If you are a parent, student or a resident of the area you can be certain of the fact that Fairwater High School Governors and School staff will fight for what is the right of ours and your children.

10 January 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Cllr Phil & Mrs Rosemarie Seabourne would like to wish all residents a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year 

We kick off the new year with news today of the Boundary Commission Report published this morning.  Check out the Newsletter page.

Boundary Commission Recommendations

The report from the Boundary Commission has published the proposals today and consultation on the new proposed boundary for Torfaen is as follows:

The existing Torfaen CC consists of the electoral divisions of the County Borough of Torfaen of Abersychan (5,286), Blaenavon (4,479), Brynwern

(1,368), Coed Eva (1,695), Cwmyniscoy (1,064), Fairwater (4,051), Greenmeadow (2,925), Llantarnam (4,088), New Inn (4,881), Panteg (5,663),

Pontnewydd (4,818), Pontnewynydd (1,163), Pontypool (1,449), St. Cadocs and Penygarn (1,129), St. Dials (2,777), Snatchwood (1,581), Trevethin

(2,518), Two Locks (4,729), Upper Cwmbran (4,077) and Wainfelin (1,903) with a total of 61,644 electors which is 20% below the UKEQ of 76,641

electors per constituency and 15% below the minimum of the statutory electoral range of 72,810 electors per constituency.

6.104 It is proposed that a county constituency is created from:

1. the existing Torfaen CC;

2. the City of Newport electoral division of Caerleon (6,889); and,

3. the County Borough of Torfaen electoral divisions of Croesyceiliog North

(2,762), Croesyceiliog South (1,487), Llanyrafon North (1,621) and

Llanyrafon South (2,236).

This constituency would have 76,639 electors which is 2 electors below the UKEQ of 76,641 electors per constituency. The suggested name for the

constituency is Torfaen.

2013 REVIEW INITIAL PROPOSALS can be found on Page. 38 of the publication at 6.105

The Commission proposes to create a constituency which includes all of the electoral divisions of the Unitary Authority of Torfaen. However, these

divisions are insufficient in themselves to create a constituency within the statutory electorate range. The Commission considers that the most

appropriate course is for the electoral division of Caerleon to be included in this constituency.

01 December 2011

DEVELOPMENTS AROUND TORFAEN

Torfaen County Borough Council is consulting on 4 draft Development Frameworks that have been produced to support developments included within the Deposit Torfaen Local Development Plan. The sites and corresponding allocation references are:

• Llantarnam Strategic Action Area (SAA3)
• Mamhilad Strategic Action Area (SAA4)
• County Hall and Police HQ Strategic Housing Site (H1/1)
• Former Police College and adjacent land Strategic Housing Site (H1/2)

The Development Frameworks are intended to establish the broad form and structure of how development will be delivered at the sites whilst integrating with the existing communities and environment. 

Individual letters are being despatched to nearby residents (within 100m of sites) and site notices are to be posted in the relevant areas. Further details in relation to the consultation are included on the attached site notice and the development frameworks will be available from the the 23^rd November on the Forward Planning webpages http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/EnvironmentAndPlanning/Planning/ForwardPlanning/Home.aspx

Representations in respect of the Development Frameworks, should be made on-line or in writing to arrive by 4:30pm on 6^th January 2012.

Following the consultation period a report of all responses received will be prepared and will be utilised in assessing and amending the development frameworks. The finalised development frameworks along with the report of consultation will subsequently be presented for formal approval by Full Council.

If you have any comments or suggested amendments to the Development Frameworks please can you send these to me by 6^th January 2012. If you have any queries, suggestions for people to consult or wish to speak to me about the proposals please come to the Forward Planning office on the 3^rd floor, County Hall or give me a call.

Robert Murray

PRINCIPAL PLANNER - FORWARD PLANNING

Tel: 01633 648805 (Internal 8805)

Fax: 01633 648062 (Internal 8062)

Ext E-Mail robert.murray@torfaen.gov.uk

www.torfaen.gov.uk/EnvironmentAndPlanning/Planning/ForwardPlanning/Home.aspx

01 December 2011

LIGHT UP A LIFE

We were pleased to accept the kind invitation from the St David's Foundation to one of their Light up a Life Services held at Llanyrafon Methodist Church.  The very moving service was conducted by the Revd. Cathy Gale and I was pleased to join others with a reading from Luke 2 v 8-14.

Members of the congregation were then offered a candle to light in memory of lost loved ones whilst names of who they wished to be remembered were read from a list.  Readings of poetry and beautiful singing from the choir followed by a warming cuppa and a mince pie made for a very pleasant evening.

09 November 2011

Children Keep Giving

Garnteg Primary School pupils, parents, teachers and staff gave genorously over a number of fundraising activities.  We were invited as Mayor & Mayoress to the events that presented much needed money to the Help the Heroes fund and the Mayor invited pupils into the Parlour where they presented a cheque to a local serviceman.

Once again this morning Cllr Phil & Mrs Rosemarie Seabourne, the Mayor & Mayoress of Torfaen were invited to the school assembly where we were delighted to see children receiving their Good Conduct Awards and were very pleased to accept a cheque for £350.00 towards the Mayors Charities which this year is:

The British Heart Foundation Cymru, Tenovus Mobile Support Unit and the MS Society Torfaen.

We would like to thank very much all those pupils and parents who gave so generously THANK YOU.

29th October 2011

It Will Soon Be Christmas

I find it hard to believe that we are approaching Christmas and another year has passed.  However, there is still lots to think about and plenty to do before we even consider the Yuletide festivities.  After that we will be on the home stretch to Local Government Elections in Wales and here in Torfaen we must apply ourselves to the task and make absolutely certain that our victory at the polls in May 2012 is decisive. 

This month I want to look at Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday which I think is very special this year because TCBC have made a supreme effort to identify funding in order to refurbish all of our outside War Memorials across the County Borough.  We have also updated inscriptions on cenotaphs to recall the names of those who have given their lives in conflicts since 1945.

I attach details of the various parades and church services across Torfaen which will take place on Sunday13th November.  There is little departure from tradition and I think that this is actually the point about “Remembrance”, which should be entirely predictable in its general solemnity.  As I mentioned in my introduction, we have made great efforts to refurbish our Cenotaphs and War Memorials across the borough and from the Mayors Parlour window, I can see the Stonemasons putting the finishing touches to Pontypool Park Memorial Gates.

The Cenotaph in Cwmbran Park has been cleansed and a new plaque installed to commemorate all conflicts since World War II.  Pontnewydd Cenotaph has been similarly cleaned and – particularly moving – a new inscription now appears in beautiful and sympathetic lettering on the west-facing upright to commemorate three names, G Edwards (Cyprus 1956), Kyle Adams and James Prosser, both killed in action in Helmand Province in August and September 2009.  Both sets of parents will be present when the Cenotaph is rededicated and I am certain that this will be a most moving occasion.

Blaenavon War Memorial Clock has been revealed in all its Portland Stone original splendour and the clock face enamelled and painted to Cadw standards.

Panteg Cemetery boasts a fine War Memorial in Forest of Dean stone and this too has been cleansed and repaired to the highest standard.

With the bronze plaques at Pontymoile suitably refurbished this completes the project.  It is hard in these difficult times to allocate resources correctly and we as a Council make no apology for funding a project which sends a clear message that the Council holds dear the memory of all those who made the ultimate sacrifice.  As the Kohima says

When you go home, tell them of us and say:

“For your tomorrow we gave our today”

It will be my great honour as Mayor to lay wreaths at both Cwmbran, Pontypool and Henllys I am certain that many of you will want to join with  us at any of the venues for the Service of Remembrance across the Borough.

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY – 13^th NOVEMBER 2011

The arrangements for Remembrance Sunday Parades and Services in Torfaen are as follows: -

                            CWMBRAN

                    10.15am       Parade assembles at Clomendy Road

 11.15am    Parade moves off via Henllys Way, Cocker Avenue and Wesley Street to St Gabriel’s Church.  The Mayor of                              Torfaen (Councillor Phil Seabourne);  the Rt Hon Paul Murphy MA MP; Ms Lynne Neagle AM Member of Assembly for                  Wales (Torfaen); the Leader of Torfaen County Borough Council; the Vice-Chair of Cwmbran Community Council;                      the Leader of Croesyceiliog/Llanyrafon and the Chairs of Henllys and Ponthir Community Councils will be                                   present and will lay wreaths

                        Contact Ian McGill (Lead Officer Member Development and Civic Responsibility, Torfaen) 01495 742775

 PONTNEWYDD

10.15am           Parade assembles

10.30am          Parade from Pontnewydd Royal British Legion Club, Station Road, Pontnewydd for wreath laying ceremony and                           service at the Cenotaph.  A two-minute silence will be observed at 11.00am

                     Torfaen Councillors representing the Pontnewydd and Upper Cwmbran Wards and representatives of Cwmbran                        Community Council will be present and will lay wreaths

                        Contact Martin Davies (Royal British Legion, Pontnewydd) 07887 947177

                    PANTEG

10.30am          Service at St Hilda’s Church conducted by Reverend Anne Golledge (Vicar of Griffithstown)

11.45am          Wreath laying at Panteg Cemetery (Reverend Anne Golledge will officiate)

                        Torfaen Councillors representing the Panteg and New Inn Wards, together with Councillors of Pontypool                                 Community Council, will be present and will lay wreaths

                        Contact Reverend Anne Golledge; 01495 763641

                    PONTYPOOL

10.30am          Service at Crane Street Baptist Church

                                            Contact the Reverend Alvan Richards-Clarke 01495 764553

11.00am          Mass at St Albans RC Church, George Street, Pontypool

                        Contact Father David Hayman 01495 762280

11.45am          Parade assembles next to the Riverside Car Park, Pontypool.

12.00noon      Parade from assembly point to Memorial Gates, Pontypool for service and wreath laying ceremony; return via                             Clarence Roundabout

                        The Mayor of Torfaen, Cllr Phil Seabourne, the Rt Hon Paul Murphy MA MP, Lynne Neagle AM and the Chair of                        Pontypool Community Council will be present and will lay wreaths.  At a particular point in the Service of                           Remembrance, the Chair of Pontypool Community Council, accompanied by the Mayor of Torfaen, will lay                             wreaths at the Civil Defence Memorial opposite Pontypool Park Memorial Gates

                        Contact Ian McGill 01495 742775

1.00pm       The Mayor of Torfaen Cllr Phil Seabourne will lay a wreath at the Pontymoile Gates entrance to Pontypool Park                           (at the junction of Rockhill Road and Usk Road); Torfaen Councillors and Pontypool Community Councillors from                         the New Inn Ward will be present. - All welcome

                        Contact Ian McGill 01495 742775

PONTNEWYNYDD

10.45am      Service and wreath laying at St Cadoc’s Church, Trevethin Torfaen Councillors representing the Trevethin                                  Ward, together with Councillors of Pontypool Community Council, will be present and will lay wreaths.

                Contact the Rev’d Canon Brian R Pippen (Rector of Pontypool and Chaplain to the Royal British Legion                                 (Pontypool Branch)) 01495 762228

BLAENAVON

10.50am       Parade from the Top Car Park, marching via Broad Street and Ivor Street to the Cenotaph. 

11.00am     Wreath laying and service at the Cenotaph, followed by a service in St Peter’s Church.  The Deputy Mayor of                             Torfaen, Members of Torfaen County Borough Councillor together with the Mayor of Blaenavon Cllr Stuart Evans                          and Members of Blaenavon Town Council will also attend and will lay wreaths

                      Contact Susan Price (Clerk to Blaenavon Community Council) 01495 790643

                    NEW INN

10.00am       Parade assembles at St Mary’s Church Hall, The Highway, New Inn

10.10am       Parade moves off to St Mary’s Church

10.30am       Church Service at St Mary’s

11.20am       Parade returns to St Mary’s Church Hall.  Torfaen Councillors representing the New Inn Ward, together with                               Councillors    representing Pontypool Community Council will be present and will lay wreaths.

                                        Contact the Reverend Canon Jennifer Mole 01495 763724

                ABERSYCHAN (GARN WEN MOUNTAIN)

                11.00am

                                    A short service of Remembrance will take place at the stone commemorating the Blenheim Bomber crash in 1940 on                                        Garn Wen above Abersychan. 

                                            A wreath will be laid and a two minute silence will be observed.

                                            All are warmly welcomed to meet at the stone for the Service of Remembrance.

                                            Contact Judy Cox 01495 773495

                             HENLLYS (COMMUNITY HALL)

A SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE WILL BE HELD ON ARMISTICE DAY (Friday 11 November 2011) AT 11AM AT PONTYPOOL PARK MEMORIAL GATES.  CANON BRIAN R PIPPEN (THE RECTOR OF PONTYPOOL) WILL OFFICIATE

12th October 2011

BUS SHELTER

As you pass the Ty-Canol Housing Complex you will no doubt have noticed the new long awaited Bus Shelter.  I am pleased to have been instrumental in achieving this and hopefully residents will have some shelter, whilst waiting for the bus during the winter months.

12 October 2011

OLD TIME MUSIC HALL

The Mayor will be holding an Old Time Music Hall Event at the Millenium Hall Garndiffaith on 3rd December 2011.  This has been genorously organised by Cllr Gwyneira Clark and members of her Community of which I am most grateful I am aslo grateful that  Rev. Harald Thomas has agreed to compere the event.  This event is on behalf of his Charity Appeal which he is hoping to raise much needed funds.  The Bristish Heart Foundation Cymru: Tenovus Cancer Support Unit and the MS Society (Torfaen Branch) Tickets are on sale from Chris Slade MAYORAL SUPPORT OFFICER at the Civic Centre Pontypool 01495 762200 Cost £5.00  to include a delicious portion of Faggots & Peas. The audience are invited to attend in period costumes if they wish, (optional) Tickets are selling fast so if you fancy a night out and a good old sing song get your tickets now.

28th September 2011

NIGHT OUT / NOSON ALLAN

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 TUNES

with

THE CARNIVAL BAND

MOUNT PLEASANT HALL PONTNEWYDD CWMBRAN

DATE: 14TH OCTOBER 2011

TIME: 19:30

TICKETS £4.00/£3.00 AVAILABLE FROM THE COSTAR PARTNERSHIP FAIRWATER CWMBRAN

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ARTS COUNCIL FOR WALES & TORFAEN COUNCTY BOROUGH COUNCIL

Come along and support the community charity at the same time enjoy the Big Night Out with The Carnival Band organised by The Costar Partnership based in Fairwater Cwmbran. Further detail can be obtained from Costar 01633 869227

20th August 2011

Copied from report in The South Wales Argus

TORFAEN A LEVEL RESULTS  WELL DONE!

‘A* made my year’

THE A*- E pass rate in Torfaen fell slightly on 2010, with 96.5 per cent of 5,044 pupils taking part achieving the grade – down from 96.6 per cent.

Pupils who attended Fairwater High School in Cwmbran were celebrating as 97 per cent of them passed their A-levels and 80 per cent of pupils achieved between two A*-C grades.

Coming top of their year group were Rhys Poulton and David Banwell-Clode, who both achieved one A*and three A grades, and Eleanor Mosely, who achieved one A* and two A grades.

Rhys Poulton said: “I will now go on to study mathematics at Cardiff University. I was aiming for all A grades, but that A*has made my year.”

At Croesyceiliog Comprehensive, the A*-E pass rate for the 116 pupils sitting their exams was 98 per cent.

A total of 75 per cent of pupils achieved an A*-C grade.

Llantarnam Comprehensive School, St Albans RC High School and Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw could not be reached yesterday.

16th July 2011

Cwmbran Big Event Finale

We attended the Cwmbran Big Event on Saturday where the Mayor was delighted to be invited to present awards to some of the event Winners.

Around 7000 people turned out on Saturday to join in the Big Event finale celebrations at Cwmbran Boating Lake.

The finale marked the culmination of a packed week of events and activities which saw local clubs opening the doors for people, young and old, to come along and try out a huge range of new activities.

The Big Event was billed as the biggest celebration of physical and cultural activity ever in Torfaen and didn’t disappoint with everything from tug-o-war to dodgeball, zumba to angling and a full programme of music and dancing to offer something for everyone.

There was a host of players from the Newport Gwent Dragons joining in the fun and crowds of people cheering on the raft racing and football tournaments and enjoying taekwondo and street dancing exhibitions.

Cllr Bob Wellington, leader of Torfaen Council, said:

"I was delighted to see so many families out enjoying the Big Event Finale and we were treated to some superb shows by so many talented performers while the Boating Lake looked stunning and was a perfect venue for the event. Most of all I would like to say a huge thank you to all the clubs, organisations, performers, council officers and everyone who played their part in making it such a resounding success – even the weather played its part!"

The Cwmbran Big Event is the new addition to the council’s summer events programme which includes the World Heritage Day in Blaenavon and Pontypool Carnival. The event was funded by the Valleys Regional Park and Cwmbran Operational Group in partnership with Torfaen Council.

Cllr Wellington added:

"This was the first year for the Big Event and we can look forward to building on this for next year and it can takes its place as part of a diverse and fun packed summer events programme that spans the length of Torfaen."

11th July 2011

CIVIC SERVICE SUNDAY 3rd July 2011

We were honoured on Sunday 3th July to hold our Mayoral Civic Service at Fairhill Methodist Church on Fairhill in Fairwater.  Reverend Superintendant Minister of Gwent Hills and Vales Methodist Circuit Cathy Gale who has kindly agreed to be the Mayors Chaplain for this year, officiated and was ably accompanied by Fr Brian Pippen the Torfaen Council Chaplain and a Welsh speaking, Jamaican born Minister Reverend Alvan Richards-Clark.

We were very grateful to our friend Paul Murphy MP who read the first lesson.  The second lesson was read in Welsh by Rev Alvan Richards-Clark.  We were then honoured by members of the Senior school choir from Fairwater High School who performed a Musical Interlude.

We owe our sincere thanks to the Members and Church Wardens of Fairhill Methodist who gave up their time and helped tremendously with the organisation of our service.  We were so pleased to welcome so many of our fellow Councillors, our colleague of the "Chain Gang" Lord Mayors and Mayors of neighbouring South Wales Authorities, our family friends and our local organisations that do so much good work within our community, as well as representatives from our nominated charities.

Our Charities for this year are the British Heart Foundation Cymru, The MS Society Torfaen & District and The Tenovus Mobile Support Unit we hope to raise funds to donate to these organisations. At the end of our year we will total the amount raised and share between these organisations at the same time supporting all other charities and events along our way.

We followed the Church Service with a reception at the Greenmeadow Golf Club Croesyceiliog where we were welcomed by Blaenafon Town Brass Band and were treated to a medley of songs by a Member of Boys Aloud Scott Howells.

Without the dedicated hard work of our Mayoral Support Team of Hywel, Chris and Ian this event would not have been such a success and we thank everyone for their contribution.

We have hit the road running and have already attended over seventy events ranging from visiting a playscheme, school awards events, schools performances, Civic Services of other Mayors across Wales.  The opening of the Welsh Government term at the Senydd in the presence of The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. Charity Events by the Mick Morris Trust, The Welsh Charitables, The McMillan Nurses and many more.  A list of our activities is on the TCBC website where the Mayors webpage is now up and running.  We would not be able to cover all engagements and are extremely grateful for the assistance of the Deputy Mayor Cllr. Wayne Tomlinson and the Deputy Mayoress Mrs Erika Tomlinson who cover for us when we have double appointments for the same time.

25th May 2011

MAYOR OF TORFAEN

Torfaen County Borough Council held their Annual Council Meeting in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre Pontypool last night 24th May 2011.  I was very honoured and proud to be nominated for the position of Mayor of Torfaen and even more so to receive the support of many of of my fellow councillors in the majority vote for selection.  This is an accolade that I accept with great humility and with a sincere determination to do my very best for Torfaen, for its residents and the Members and Officers of the Council.  It is also a very proud time for my family and friends.

I look forward to the year.  Another plus for Fairwater is that the Reverend Cathy Gale, Minister for Fairhill Methodist Church who has agreed to be my chaplain and spiritual support.  With my wife Rosemarie who now takes up the position by my side as the Mayoress.

I am working with staff in the Mayor's office to produce a programme that will support the Council's Corporate Values.  I am taking as my theme for this year what strikes me as the underlying principle throughout the Corporate Plan, namely the protection of the Vulnerable in our Society.  It is this particular feature that I want to emphasise in my approach and I am certain that the constituents of Torfaen and of our Ward of Fairwater will want to support me in this work for the year ahead.

My Civic Service on 3rd July at Fairhill Methodist Church will be structured around vulnerability in our choice of hymns and lessons and I am pleased that I can share this celebration within the Community that I represent.

The beneficiaries under the Mayor's Charity Appeal for 2011 - 2012 continue the theme of vulnerability and I have chosen:

The British Heart Foundation Cymru, The Torfaen & District Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Tenovus Mobile Cancer Support Unit.

Here again, I will be working up a programme of events and look forward to your support in raising funds for charity in these difficult times in recession and ever increasing competition for the pound in the pockect.  Along with the budget cuts the Council has had to make, the Mayors Office has not been immune, taking a reduction in its budget.

I will make myself available for events and functions, if you feel the Mayor can help, assist or promote your project in any way, please contact the Mayoral support Officer Mr Chris Slade in the Civic Centre.

More than anything I would like to serve the people of the Borough and to act as an Ambassador for Torfaen.

18th May 2011

Small Schemes

I have had the pleasure of donating my small schemes to a number of Groups within the Ward and hope that this goes a little way in helping our community groups to continue their excellent work.  If you are a member of a Community Group and operating out of Fairwater to benefit the residents of Torfaen and would like your club or group to be considered please contact me with some details of the work you are involved in.

Fairwater Talking Hearts and Friends of the Threepenny Bit Arts & Craft group receiving their Small Schemes donations from Cllr Phil Seabourne

Donations were also made to the following groups: Ty-Canol Court residents group, Silver Birches Residents Association, Torfaen Swim Squad, Gwent Dolphins Swimming Club, Coed Eva AFC, Fairhil Methodist Church, Fairhill Children's Fun Club

TORFAEN BOUNDARY REVIEW

Consultation is taking place on the Ward Boundaries and numbers of Councillors Have Your Say. Submissions to be made no later than July 1st 2011