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Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 3rd March 2022 at 7:00pm on Zoom.
Draft minutes are published in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, and are subject to approval at the next ordinary meeting of the Community Council.
Present:
Councillors: Eirwen James (Chair), Caryl Jones (vice chair), Emmanuel Kincaid, Lynet Pugh, Dafydd Lloyd Jones, Rhodri Evans, Pat Parry, Enfys Hatcher Davies, Beth Anthony, John Lloyd Griffiths.
Also in attendance: James Grey, Senior Development Officer, Belltown Power UK (BPUK), Bristol based Renewable Energy Company; Robert Fellows, Director of Quattro (assisting BPUK with the community consultation); Paul Hewitt, CEO Belltown Power UK.
1. Apologies
Ben Lake MP.
2. Declarations of interest
None
3. Belltown Power – proposal for the Waun Maenllwyd Wind Farm
Paul Hewitt introduced Belltown Power UK – the company behind the Waun Maenllwyd Wind Energy Hub. Powerpoint presentation is available. The project involves land South East of Llanddewi Brefi. Whereas BPUK has been responsible for constructing subsidised wind hubs in the UK and USA it now concentrates on unsubsidised wind hubs.
BPUK is responsible for 200 megawatts in Wales, England and Scotland. The presentation included Community, Development Values, the Environment and Education including front-loaded community benefits with reference to the Tir Gwynt Project template
• Community benefits – owning part of the project. Giving away 1% of the project to the community as an incentive.
• Shares in the windfarm. Reference made to selling 4% of the windfarm at cost – with the possibility of selling up to 15%.
• Net gain
• Education – using the assets to create educational materials for local schools. Site visits. Inspiring the next generation to take up STEM subjects.
James Grey introduced the Waun Maenllwyd Wind Energy Hub project. The accompanying Powerpoint presentation will be made available. The site, 3km southeast of Llanddewi Brefi, is intended to generate up to 25.2 MW; a 33kV grid connection has already been secured into Lampeter substation.
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The proposal is for 5-7 turbines at 200m tall, possibly 7 x 3.5 MW, or 5-6 x 5 MW
Dependent on the outcome of surveys. Bird, Forestry, Visual impact, and Aviation Surveys need to be explored.
Part of the site is within an area pre-assessed in 2014 by Welsh Government as being suitable for large scale onshore development
Orange line on the presentation map defines the possible access options from the South through Pumsaint, using a mix of new and existing forestry tracks. Some underground cabling is intended down towards the South West.
Infrastructure projects are decided by the Planning Inspectorate but Ceredigion County Council has an important role to play as a statutory consultee (Belltown Power UK were due to make a presentation to Ben Lake, MP for Ceredigion and Elin Jones, MS the next day).
The first stage would be to apply for planning permission to erect a meteorological
mast to assess the generation potential of the site. This would be followed by a pre-application consultation. The company hope for a decision by the end of 2024.
The final page of the presentation gave a brief background of the BPUK Key Leadership Team in Wales. The Llanddewi Brefi Community Council was invited to keep in touch. Regular scheduled calls were offered in order to receive comments and queries and to hear reports of progress.
Questions and comments.
• Visual impact – only indicative crude drawings available at the moment. Nothing available to share at this point. The present tallest wind turbines in Wales to date are 149.9m. Scoping in South Wales for turbines to the height of 250m.
• Area of benefit – divided between affected areas. Reference was made to the 6km area of benefit in the Brechfa Wind Hub. Views are welcome. No answer to share to date.
• Proposed access – Pumsaint. Keyholing.
• Mention was made of the proposed clearing and felling licence relating to the neighbouring forestry to the North West. Discussion as to whether or not a buffer would be left. JH BPUK was not aware of the felling licence nor the new forestry roads for wider access to facilitate felling and clearing. Comment was made by JH that wind flow should not be affected.
• Concern for transportation. Traffic management assessment needed. Considered plan of limited number of turbines. Narrow roads to be considered but access intended through roads to the South and the A roads.
• Reference to the open land and moorland surrounded by the forestry. 1 or 2 turbines may be located on the moorland.
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• Expansion – would need further planning permission. Always a chance of expansion. Lack of infrastructure and limited grid capacity may make it less likely to expand. BPUK have acquired the last 25 megawatts of the capacity. New infrastructure would be needed before expansion could be considered.
• Life expectation of the Wind Hub 30-35 years. Area of Community benefit – No answer yet. Community Energy Wales help panel set up. Between 5% and 12% returns are known. The at-cost template could offer greater returns. As a marker, attention was drawn to considering Llanddewi Brefi as the most influential stakeholder on any future Benefit Decision Panel, as the community most affected.
• Make-up of panel – Robert Fellows reported that the membership of the Benefit Decision Panel varies.
Some have a BPUK right to veto in order to ensure that the decisions integrate with company guidelines. James Grey added that of late, Welsh Government’s focus has taken a more corporate aspect and concentrates more on the post windfarm legacy and supporting climate change issues on a wider level. In the past this was less so.
• Aviation survey – includes the MoD.
• After the 30-35 years. Decommissioning bond in place. Applying for new planning is a possibility, otherwise the planning authority requires decommissioning and returning the area to its original state.
• Contingency plan – Special Purpose Vehicle is put in place if the company comes to a halt. This is highly unlikely as once the turbines are up, they run and generate electricity, but if the company ceased, the decommissioning bond will be put in place. The project is a stand-alone Wind Hub and should not be influenced by other ventures. However, planning restrictions would require removal of the turbines if for any reason the company ceased.
• Forestry to the North West – Stellar Asset Management Ltd used to own the land to the North West. May now be owned by Foresight UK.
• Ownership of Waun Maenllwyd.
It was established that the project belongs to Belltown Power UK/ UK Wind Ltd.
The land however is in 3 parcels.
i) Commercial Forestry – Gresham House Forestry on behalf of their own trusts and private landowners.
ii) 2 private landowners managed by Gresham House.
iii) 2 local landowners.
Names are available on the land registry.
• The project is a joint venture, with the Foresight Group as a funding partner of Belltown Power UK.
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4. Review and approve submission of the CAVO Small Grants application.
Cllr Rhodri Evans has been in contact with CAVO and they are still willing to accept applications for the Ceredigion Small Grants. Some progress has been made with the application, and costs have been established for a keyboard/piano/organ for use in the Hall. It was agreed that Cllrs Rhodri Evans, Eirwen James and Enfys Hatcher-Davies should complete and submit the application as soon as possible. The grant award is for a maximum of £2,000, without any requirement for match funding, but it was decided to limit the scope of the application to the items scheduled.
It was considered whether or not the piano/keyboard should be made available for hire. If not, it was suggested that maybe another group would be better suited to make the application. Since the application needs to be made by a constituted group with 2 signatories it was decided that the Community Council should make the application. The hiring conditions for community use to be considered by the next hall meeting in April, including liability and insurance.
5. Internal Auditor – terms of engagement and responsibilities.
The template letter with terms of engagement and audit plan considered at the last meeting was revised on the basis of the good practice guidance published by the Wales Audit Office (Internal Audit Arrangements at Town and Community Councils in Wales – January 2019), and shared with councillors prior to the meeting.
As Cllr Emmanuel Kincaid had been appointed as RFO, it was decided to approach Gareth Jones to ask if he would consider the role of Internal Auditor, and to forward the letter of appointment. The proposed remuneration is an annual fixed sum of £100, and the appointment will continue subject to annual confirmation at a meeting of the Council.
6. Financial report
a. The bank reconciliation report for the period ending 28 February 2022 was presented by the RFO, approved by members, and signed by the Chair.
Bank balances at 18/02/2022:
Current A/c £100.00
Reserve A/c £1,611.69
Reserve A/c £10,616.41
b. The following payments were authorised:
i. Purchase of fire alarms and signage for the Community Centre; Safelincs. Ltd. (Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 s.19) – £293.08. A pro-forma invoice was authorised to be paid by bank transfer.
ii. Burials – Beddfeini Hafod (Local Authorities Cemetery Order 1977) – £640.00
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c. Recurring payments noted:
i. BT – Hall telephone & broadband (Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 s.19) – £47.94
ii. Bank charges (for the period 13/12/2021 – 12/01/2022) – £10.95
d. Payments received:
i. Bank loyalty payment – £0.45
Charges for burial fees and remuneration for the burial clerk will be reviewed in the next meeting.
7. Correspondence
a. A letter of thanks for the donation to Cylch Meithrin Tregaron had been received in August. A copy was shared.
b. Ceredigion County Council – Nomination Papers for the Town and Community Council Elections.
Cllr Emmanuel Kincaid will share the presentation of the meeting held on Wednesday, March 2nd by Zoom relating to the nomination papers for the Council Election. All Councillors wishing to stand for re-election must submit nomination forms.
Election timetable
• The Notice of election will be published on 18/03/2022
• Nominations will be accepted from 21/03/2022 until 4pm 05/04/2022
• Publication of Statement of persons nominated 6/04/2022
• Election date 5/05/2022
• Existing Cllrs retire 9/05/2022
• Newly elected Cllrs take office 9/05/2022
• Annual Meeting must be held by 23/05/2022
Nomination forms for Community Councillors can be downloaded (https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-02/Nomination%20pack%20communities_1.doc )and submitted online or an appointment can be made, to submit in person and have forms verified, by phoning 01545 570881 or by e-mail to returningofficer@ceredigion.gov.uk
There is no longer a requirement to have a proposer and a seconder, candidates will only require a witness.
c. Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales Annual Report – February 2022
The contents of the report referring to Community Councils were noted.
IRPW Determination 44 (2022-2023):
Community and town councils must make available a payment to each of their members of £150 per year as a contribution to costs and expenses, with the exception of those councils in Group 5 (size of electorate under 1000) where the payment is optional.
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Councillors were reminded that in accordance with para 13.8 of the Independent Remuneration Panel Wales annual report 2021/2022, they would need to give notice in writing to the clerk/ RFO if they did not wish to receive the mandatory basic payment of £150 to members of the Community Council for the financial year 2021/2022.
In accordance with determination 44 above, the basic payment will be optional for Llanddewi Brefi Community Council in 2022-2023.
8. AOB.
a. The Hall electrical system tripped on Wednesday evening during use of the cooker. A full inspection of the hall and community centre electrical installation is due.
b. The Broadband hub should not be moved. Leaving it face down won’t allow remote access to the heating system. If the broadband connection fails, the heating can be advanced for 2 hours if the button on the programmer is held down for 3 seconds. The same applies for the hot water button, but this will only operate for 1 hour when pressed for 3 seconds.
c. Cllr Rhodri Evans had attended the opening of the new Cylch Meithrin building on the Ysgol Henry Richard site. It was mentioned that the library might benefit from a Welsh Books Council donation if asked.
d. It was suggested to hold a combined clean-up of the cemetery and Memorial Inspection on 28 March at 7pm following a complaint about broken glass and broken glass covered wreaths. The wording for the poster to draw attention to the above has been agreed and should be displayed over Palm Sunday when families visit the graves.
e. The posts either end of the Pynfarch path (leat) linking Ash Street and the main road need repair. This matter to be considered at the next meeting.
f. The hall is due a fire extinguisher inspection. An extra fire extinguisher will be purchased on the day.
g. An enquiry has been received regarding hire of the hall for a party needing a licenced bar in August. More information to be requested. Hire guidelines and agreement are in place and available online.
h. A card was received from Maureen, former Clerk, thanking the Councillors for the evening and gift received on her retirement and thanking everyone for their support over the years.
9. Date of next meeting.
A special meeting will be held at the cemetery on 28th March 2022, followed by a meeting at the community centre.
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