BCBC

For information on decisions taken and proposals being made, by me and the rest of Cabinet, go to the link below.

Cabinet Reports, Agendas and Minutes

*****************************
Important new link for visitors officially opened in Porthcawl

A £216,000 new shared footpath and cycleway across Locks Common in Porthcawl has been officially opened by the Deputy Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council Cllr David Sage and the Mayor of Porthcawl Town Council Cllr Barbara Stubbs.
Designed to provide a safe, convenient link between Porthcawl’s promenade and Rest Bay, the 1.3km path forms an important link in the Wales Coast Path – an ambitious project that aims to create a continuous 1,370km route around the entire coastline of Wales – and has been installed in time for this year’s tourist season.
The new path is suitable for visitors of all ages and abilities, and has been designed so it can be used by cyclists, parents with prams and buggies, wheelchair users and people with limited mobility.
The project is the result of a partnership between the Labour County Borough Council, the Labour Welsh Government, Welsh European Funding Office, European Regional Development Fund, the Countryside Council for Wales, Porthcawl Town Council and contractors Raymond Brown Construction Ltd.
The opening of the new shared footpath and cycleway follows the recent announcement of plans to extend the 300 metre boardwalk in Rest Bay opened by the Council in 2010 by a further 800 metres.
Deputy Leader Cllr David Sage said: “The new shared footpath and cycleway is proving to be very popular with visitors and residents alike, and is another step forward in Labour’s regeneration of the town.
“Previously, people could only walk between Rest Bay and the promenade area by making their way across the open ground of Lock’s Common. This was obviously not suitable for everyone, so by working in partnership, Bridgend County Borough Council and Porthcawl Town Council have been able to provide a safe alternative route. I am sure that the shared cycleway and footpath will offer great benefits to the town while also enhancing the overall experience for visitors

*****************************

Polling District & Polling Station Review

The Council has a duty to undertake a review of polling districts and polling stations every four years. The last review was completed in December 2007.

We want to make sure we have suitable polling district boundaries which take into account the increases in population in certain areas following new development. We also need to make sure we are offering the best location and suitable premises with good access.
The consultation period starts on 8 August 2011 and will finish on 30 September 2011. We would welcome any suggestions for alternative buildings that may be used as polling stations. Details of the current arrangements are below. Any changes to polling district boundaries or polling places will take effect from 1 December 2011 when the next electoral register is published.

The review requires the Council to:

· seek to ensure that all the electors in each Parliamentary constituency have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances

· seek to ensure that so far as is reasonable and practicable, the polling places they are responsible for are accessible to all electors, and when considering the designation of a polling place, must have regard to the accessibility needs of disabled persons.

If you have any questions, please contact Electoral Services on 01656 643116 but please note that any submissions must be made in writing - you can fill in a questionnaire (available from Cllr Alana Davies) and submit to the Electoral Services by 30 September 2011 at the latest.

Electoral Division	Polling District	Town or Community Council	Polling Station	Electorate
Newton	BL1	Porthcawl Newton	Newton Institute Newton Nottage Road	1530
Newton	BL2	Porthcawl Newton	School Room Newton Green	1209
Newton	BL3	Porthcawl Newton	Newton Institute Newton Nottage Road	127
Nottage	BM1	Porthcawl Nottage	St David's Church Hall Florence Street	1291
Nottage	BM2	Porthcawl Nottage	St David's Church Hall Florence Street	1443
Porthcawl East Central	BQ1	Porthcawl East Central	Griffin Park Pavilion Porthcawl	1230
Porthcawl East Central	BQ2	Porthcawl East Central	Woodland Scouts Hall Woodland Avenue	1319
Porthcawl West Central	BR1	Porthcawl West Central	Trinity Church John Street	1257
Porthcawl West Central	BR2	Porthcawl West Central	All Saints Church Hall Victoria Avenue	1465
Rest Bay	BT1	Porthcawl Rest Bay	First Nottage Scout HQ Nottage	1229
Rest Bay	BT2	Porthcawl Rest Bay	All Saints Church Hall Victoria Avenue	701

Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places 2011

QUESTIONNAIRE

Please complete the questionnaire for your current polling district and polling place and include any comments on alternative polling district and polling places in the last section.

Name ( please print)

Organisation (if applicable)

Address (for correspondence)

Postcode

Please give the reference of the Polling District
Please give the name of the Polling Place
This polling place is	a Suitable b Adequate c Unsuitable
If unsuitable please state why

Alternative Polling Places

I do not know of an alternative

polling place

I know of an alternative polling place (please provide details below)

If you think that there are other premises within the same polling district that could be used for polling purposes, please give the address below and your reasons for suggesting this.

Please note that there are many considerations when selecting a polling place for the electorate to go and vote:

Is it big enough to accommodate the number of electors allocated?

Is it in a central location for the polling district it serves?

Will there be long term guaranteed use of the polling place?

Will it, as far as practicable, be accessible to people with disabilities?

Your submission

If you have any comments relating to the polling district, please state below

Thank you for taking the time to complete this submission

Please be aware that under regulations that govern the review of polling districts and polling places, all submissions and related correspondence will be published on completion of the review

Please send to Electoral Registration Officer, Civic Offices, Angel Street, Bridgend CF31 4WB

Email – electoral@bridgend.gov.uk

***********************

Whose Pipes are they anyway?
Our Welsh Government has changed the ownership of drains and sewers. This may not sound like the most exciting piece of news - by it will impact on many residents in Porthcawl. As from October 1st, the pipes that go beyond the boundary of a property - called 'private sewers and lateral drains' - will become the responsibility of Dwr Cymru Welsh Water.

It's good to know that it was Labour's own Huw Irranca-Davies MP who got this particular ball rolling. Commenting on this initiative, Huw said 'I am delighted to have been the UK Minister who put the legislation in place for England, and the enabling legislation for Wales. By implementing this, our Welsh Government will be saving residents on private sewers bills which could run into the thousands & tens of thousands of pounds in future years.'

CLICK HERE to find out more about the transfer of pipes & sewers

*****************************

Information for Pensioners

Bridgend County Borough Council is inviting local pensioners to apply for a special council tax discount. The council has been allocated money by the Welsh Assembly Government to help local pensioners with their payments. Successful applicants will have their council tax for 2010/11 reduced and will benefit from lower instalments. The actual amount of the reduction will depend on the total number of applicants; however no one will receive more than £75 in total.

To qualify, pensioners must be living in the borough, liable for council tax and be at least 65. Anyone receiving a discount because they live alone is still eligible to apply if they meet the criteria.

Anyone interested in applying should send a short letter with their full name, address and contact details and stating they would like to apply for the Pensioner Discount 2010 to:

The Taxation Section, Pensioner Discount 2010, Level 1, Civic Offices, Angel Street, Bridgend CF31 4WB.

Proof of age must be supplied, but applicants should send copies and not original documents. All applications must be received by 31 August 2011.

Next step forward for world class new school for the valleys
The contractor to build an iconic new multi-million pound Gateway to the Valleys secondary school and community campus at Tondu has been announced.

Following a tendering process, Leadbitter has been chosen to construct Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen. It will replace Ogmore and Ynysawdre comprehensives and will be a world-class facility.
Bridgend County Borough Council’s Cabinet has given the green light to Leadbitter’s appointment to undertake the initial work.

Leadbitter will now work closely with the project team of architects, design consultants, engineers and BCBC to finalise design details and establish accurate costings for the construction, which have to be within the allocated budget. The final contract is expected to be formally awarded following this process.

Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen will accommodate 1570 pupils aged 11 – 18 on the site currently occupied by Ynysawdre Comprehensive and Archbishop McGrath Roman Catholic Comprehensive. It will also incorporate extensive community facilities for use both within and outside of school hours.

It’s being funded by Bridgend County Borough Council’s ambitious Schools Modernisation Programme and £26m awarded by the Labour Welsh Government as part of its £144 million investment in schools across Wales.

To receive Welsh Government funding all new school buildings must achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’ to support the agenda of reducing carbon emissions and being as environmentally efficient and sustainable as possible. The Council is planning to achieve the BREEAM rating of ‘Outstanding’ (88.13%) which would make Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen the first education building in the UK to reach this gold standard of sustainability.

The key innovative and low-impact design features of the building include:
- the installation of a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) source which is very energy efficient and gives the opportunity to heat both the school and Ynysawdre swimming pool and produce surplus electricity to feed into the grid;
- the use of natural daylight and ventilation which maximises light and air to enhance the learning environment and reduce running costs;
- sharing of facilities by the community and school with security and flexibility to open up and access areas for the community simply and safely during and out of school hours;
- flexibility in design and use of teaching and learning spaces to enable students to learn in different and innovative ways. The building is ‘future-proof’ and can be easily adapted as technologies and methods of learning change;
- a ‘Civic Street’ as the spine of the college, informed by ‘Secure by Design’ principles;
- virtual elimination of corridors, reusing space for informal learning. This approach makes supervision by staff much easier and has been shown to improve behaviour;
- a high quality landscape to encourage outside learning opportunities;
- an easily accessible facility for all, complying fully with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act.

Councillor Alana Davies, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “This is another significant milestone for the Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen project which forms such an important part of this administration’s ambitions.

“Not only will this new school offer young people from our valley areas a first-class learning environment, it will provide a multi-purpose hub for so many sections of the surrounding community. I’ve heard Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen described as a ‘super school’ and certainly all the designs and plans suggest it will be like nothing we have seen before in the borough. It will be an outstanding, world-class facility and will undoubtedly be a model for others in Wales and the UK. I’m thrilled that we will be able to deliver it for our young people and their families.”

Councillor Huw David, Labour Cabinet Member for Resources, said: “An essential next step if for the contractor to show us how it will deliver the work within the specified budget. Although projects of this kind will always require some flexibility, we need to be reassured of costs. We have an outstanding team working on the plans for Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen and I know they will now work closely with Leadbitter to reach the important next stage which will allow building work to begin.”

Cllr David added: ““Our administration is determined to revitalise our valleys communities and building a world-class secondary school for the children and young people of the Ogmore, Garw and valley ‘gateway’ communities is crucial to delivering that. The scale of the project is unprecedented; thanks to £26 million of funding from the Welsh Government and a £13million commitment from our own capital programme it is the largest ever single investment in the County Borough of Bridgend and it is being made in the young people of our valleys. This flagship project is only possible because our Labour Council and our Labour Welsh Government are working together to realise a shared vision.”

Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen opens this September using the two current school sites in Bryncethin and Tondu. The new campus will open in September 2013.

Who are the Cabinet? Bridgend County Borough Council has a Leader and Cabinet style of leadership known as the ‘executive’. Every year the Council elects a Leader and appoints the members of the Cabinet who each have responsibility for a particular portfolio. The Cabinet members are:
	Name	Portfolio
	Cllr. M E J Nott	(Leader)
	Cllr. D Sage	(Deputy Leader) Cross Cutting
	Cllr H J David	Resources
	Cllr. A E Davies	Children and Young People
	Cllr. L C Morgan	Wellbeing
	Cllr. J C Spanswick	Communities
	What does the Cabinet do? The Cabinet is responsible for taking most of the Council’s day to day decisions which are in line with the Council’s overall policies and budget. If it wishes to make a decision which is outside the budget or policy framework, this must be referred to the Council as a whole to decide. Decisions taken by Cabinet are subject to call-in by Scrutiny.
	When do Cabinet meet? Meetings of Cabinet are held every four weeks. Meeting dates are listed below and can also be found in the Calendar of meetings.
	Are Cabinet meetings open to members of the public? The meeting is open to members of the public whilst non confidential matters are being discussed. The minutes of Cabinet meetings are published on our website.

Councillor Alana E. Davies Cabinet Member - Children and Young People
Ward:	Porthcawl East Central
Political Party:	Labour
Address:	30 Esplanade Avenue, Porthcawl, CF36 3YU
Telephone:	Home: 01656 771594 Office: 01656 643616
E-mail:	Cllr.Alana.Davies@bridgend.gov.uk

Membership to Committees and Panels Full Council Cabinet Equalities Committee Corporate Parenting Cabinet Committee Bridgend Fostering Panel Margam Crematorium Joint Committee
Membership to External Bodies Bridgend College ESIS Learning Skills Network Four Counties Youth Music Steering Group Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (S.A.C.R.E) University of Swansea –Court of Governors WJEC

Councillor Alana E. Davies Cabinet Member - Children and Young People

Membership to Committees and PanelsFull CouncilCabinetEqualities CommitteeCorporate Parenting Cabinet CommitteeBridgend Fostering PanelMargam Crematorium Joint Committee

Membership to External BodiesBridgend CollegeESISLearning Skills NetworkFour Counties Youth Music Steering GroupStanding Advisory Council for Religious Education (S.A.C.R.E)University of Swansea –Court of GovernorsWJEC

Membership to Committees and Panels
Full Council
Cabinet
Equalities Committee
Corporate Parenting Cabinet Committee
Bridgend Fostering Panel
Margam Crematorium Joint Committee

Membership to External Bodies
Bridgend College
ESIS
Learning Skills Network
Four Counties Youth Music Steering Group
Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (S.A.C.R.E)
University of Swansea –Court of Governors
WJEC