APOLOGIES
Councillor John Richards, Margaret Roberts, Sian Mai Ephraim.
PRESENT
Councillor Lisa Birks (Chair), Dewi Tudur Lewis (Vice-Chair), Eluned Williams, Ffion Williams, Ann Jones, Eifion Williams, Owen Lloyd Roberts, and Councillors Annwen Hughes and Gwynfor Owen (Gwynedd Council).
DECLARATION OF INTEREST
No one declared an interest in any matter.
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting on May 20, 2024, were accepted as accurate.
MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
No matters arose from the minutes.
MATTERS ARISING
Budget Plan
It was reported that £2,731.07 (which included bank charges) had been spent since the start of the new financial year, and this was £8,335.93 less than what had been allocated in the budget for the year.
Land near Bron Trefor
There was discussion about the above, and it was agreed that the first step would be to try to purchase the piece of land, with Councillor Lisa Birks agreeing to speak with Mr. Harri Pugh regarding this and to get details from his lawyer.
Council Website
The Clerk reported that this item was placed on the agenda because Audit Wales and the Internal Auditors had pointed out that the Council did not have an adequate website and that sharing a website with another entity was unacceptable. It was agreed that the Clerk would contact Mr. Owen Brown regarding this and ask him to create a website for the Council similar to that of Llanfair Community Council.
Cemetery Meeting – 17.6.24
It was agreed that the minutes of the above meeting were correct. The Clerk further reported that she had asked Mr. John Evans, Eithin Fynydd, Talybont, to look at the gates to see what work needed to be done on them.
MATTERS FROM GWYNEDD COUNCIL
The following report was received from Councillor Annwen Hughes – she had received an email from the Highways Department informing her of their intention to carry out temporary work on the road near the Stabl Mail on Wednesday, the 19th of last month, so that they could take down the traffic lights over the summer and also to have an opportunity to monitor the situation on the road surface. They would return to the site after the summer to carry out permanent work, which would include improvements to the security fence on site. Councillor Hughes reported that she had forwarded this email to all Members. After receiving a response from the Highways Department, they had placed a Section 81 notice on Dŵr Cymru, as their equipment is the manhole located on the road near the Ship Aground. She had been informed by the Police that they would be visiting the village to monitor driver speed at the beginning of next month.
Councillor Gwynfor Owen reported that he had attended a meeting with the National Grid, that he had received complaints regarding the lights near the Stabl Mail, and that he had contacted Gwynedd Council about this. He had received a complaint from a member of the public about an issue in the village, and after discussion with the Members, it was agreed that he would contact the Highways Department regarding this matter.
PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Retrospective application for a separate garage/store – Bron Y Garth, Llandecwyn (NP5/77/179A)
Support for this application.
Conversion of chapel to house with associated changes, Capel Soar, Soar, Talsarnau (NP5/77/LB65A)
As this application had just been received, it was agreed that the Clerk would forward it to all Members tomorrow.
Listed Building Consent to convert chapel to house and associated changes, Capel Soar, Soar, Talsarnau (NP5/77/LB65D)
As this application had just been received, it was agreed that the Clerk would forward it to all Members tomorrow.
TREASURER’S REPORT
The Treasurer reported that there was £16,474.04 in the current account and £7,575.69 in the savings account.
Payments during the month
HM Revenue and Customs – £115.40 – Clerk’s salary tax
Audit Wales – £754.00 – external audit 2022/23
Mr. Meirion Griffiths – £450.00 – cutting grass at Llanfihangel y Traethau cemetery x 2
Mr. Meirion Griffiths – £205.00 – cutting grass on public paths in the area
It was agreed to transfer £10,000 from the current account to the savings account.
The above payments were processed by Councillor Ffion Williams, and Councillor Ann Jones approved the payments, authorizing the Clerk/Treasurer to pay them online or by cheque at the end of the meeting.
Receipts during the month
Mr. K. Beale – £25.00 – rent for Capel y Graig garage (June)
HM Revenue and Customs – £143.60 – VAT refund
Mr. K. Beale – £25.00 – rent for Capel y Graig garage (July)
Gwynedd Council – Environment Department
Received a response from the above regarding matters raised in the last Council meeting, stating that the complaint regarding the steps along the coastal path had been forwarded to the coastal path officer. Regarding the red path, which is public footpath number 39, it stated that water was accumulating in this part of the path, and because it had been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSI), there would need to be consultation and permission from Natural Resources Wales before they could carry out any maintenance work to address water on this path.
Gwynedd Council – Environment Department
Received a letter from the above informing the Council that they are carrying out the work of installing a gate in place of a step and cutting back growth on public footpath number 4 during this month.
Gwynedd Council – Legal Department
Received an email from the above department regarding a consultation on a single voting system, stating that there is a link to the consultation for the Council to complete. It was agreed to forward this email to all Members and ask them to send their comments to the Clerk by the beginning of September, as the consultation would close before the next Council meeting.
Transport Wales
Received an email from Gail Jones on behalf of Transport Wales regarding an update with the Cambrian Line, stating that they had received just over 500 responses. Although they are still reviewing feedback from their stakeholders regarding other parts of the network, they are in a position to update us on the changes they have been able to make to the Cambrian Railway timetable following this review process, and the details of these are below.
The proposal to run additional trains to increase the frequency to Aberystwyth to one full train per hour in the summer only (March-September) will continue, i.e., this will not be introduced in winter. However, they will add a 16:30 train from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth throughout the year. This is due to higher numbers of passengers on the 17:30 train from Shrewsbury to Machynlleth. They aim to introduce this additional service in May 2025, but it is subject to agreements with other operators and Network Rail. The one train per hour service will come into effect from March 2026.
It is intended to move the 08:52 service from Machynlleth to Pwllheli and return from Pwllheli at 11:37 during winter. There was significant response to this proposal. After much consideration, they have chosen to keep the 08:52 and 11:37 services throughout the year; however, passenger numbers and revenue will be closely monitored over the next winter period and reviewed when planning the December 2025 timetable.
The last late evening services in the summer (March to December) will run at the same times as they currently run between Pwllheli and Machynlleth (around 20:26 Pwllheli to the south and 21:47 Machynlleth to the north).
They will double the capacity of four key Cambrian Coast services from summer 2025 from two carriages to four carriages to support local people, tourists, and key local tourism businesses. This will mean 560 more seats on Cambrian Coast services during the summer compared to Summer 2022.
The Clerk also reported that she had received a response from Gethin Jones, Public Affairs Manager on behalf of Mr. James Price, Chief Executive, thanking the Community Council for their email regarding the proposed changes that would occur on the Cambrian Line, stating that the information provided to them was extremely valuable and gave them a much richer understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing communities in Gwynedd that regularly use Transport Wales services.
Creative Play
Received an email from the above stating that it has been 12 months since the installation of the play equipment, and they would like to provide some information regarding the maintenance packages available to ensure the safety of the equipment. Councillor Lisa Birks agreed to contact them.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
It was noted that the bench had never been installed in Ynys
Councillor Eifion Williams reported that he intended to put more notices on the noticeboard in Llandecwyn, and it was agreed that the Clerk would check the price of a single-piece noticeboard like the one by the primary school.
An update was received regarding what was happening with the bypass at Llanbedr.
A request was made to know the update regarding the pharmacy in Penrhyndeudraeth.
English (UK) 
Cymraeg