To London last Saturday, to further my education in the ways of local government by attending a series of seminars arranged by the Liberal Democrat members of the Local Government Association. It was strange to be roaming the modern facilities of the refurbished Local Government House in Smith Square, remembering that in my youth it […]

Praise to Leighton Andrews, who has swiftly followed the lead of the coalition government in Westminster, to reduce the grip of central government on educational policy. As reported on BBC News, “in future, Leighton Andrews says local authorities in Wales should have more freedom to make decisions without being overruled by ministers. He claims the […]

On Monday morning, those of us who are on the county council’s audit and economic scrutiny committees attended a seminar on treasury management (TM) in local authorities. The speakers were two consultants from Sector, the council’s TM advisors. It was very illuminating, though restricted in time as a result of members’ other commitments that afternoon. […]

Neath Port Talbot council has scheduled the extension of double yellow lines up Bryn Catwg (an overdue safety measure) and carriageway resurfacing in Stanley Place & Beaconsfield Road for this financial year. The priority request for speed reduction measures for Cwmbach Road has been ignored once again. No reason has been given, but I have […]

Last Thursday, we on Neath Port Talbot planning and development committee resolved not to make an immediate recommendation on the proposed Abernedd power station, which would sit alongside the GE plant on the Baglan Energy Park. It should be noted that we cannot actually decide on planning applications for power stations rated at above 50 […]

The staff and members car parks at the three council centres – Port Talbot, Neath and The Quays – will no longer be free. The forward plan approved by the council last month envisaged car park charges as one measure of cost-saving in these difficult times, and a scheme has now been proposed. Subject to […]

Blaenhonddan CC members have had this message from the chairman, Dick Matthews: It is regret that I have have heard today [Monday] of the death of Joan Palmer who as you know was a Blaenhonddan Community Councillor for many years.

The head of Economic Development has helpfully put together statistics on unemployment in the county borough. The percentages of claimants are tabulated by ward. Unsurprisingly, Cadoxton scores well on this measure. At 2.6%, it is only just pipped by Rhos at 2.5%. The comparable figure for Neath parliamentary constituency as a whole is 4.3%, and […]

The headline news from yesterday’s meeting of Neath Port Talbot council will no doubt be our decision to forgo the increase in allowances recommended by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales. We cannot ask our staff to accept a zero settlement this year while pocketing an increase ourselves. I could not resist reminding council in […]

There was a triumphal note to the official report of the “Yes” vote (quoted here by Labour’s Anthony Taylor). My feeling was one of relief that the council was not going to be penalised by the Welsh Assembly Government for having the tenants make the “wrong” choice. If the housing stock were left with the […]