What Next for Trowbridge?

Your Councillors have concentrated their attention over the past six years on the major work that is slowly transforming the Trowbridge Estate:

Shopping centre redevelopment,

Trowbridge Green improvements,

Improving the Council flats,

Parking near schools,

Motorbike prevention,

Trefaser Park fencing,

Traffic speed control,

All these are underway and will continue this year.
By any standards the list is impressive and we are ourselves pretty surprised at how much has been achieved. However, problems change over time and so do people’s expectations and we do not want to lose touch with changing needs in Trowbridge.
We want to hear from you about your ambitions for Trowbridge. We know that many residents point to the lack of a childrens play area in Trowbridge (which we are working on) but what other concerns do people have.

If you’d like to tell us please write to me at:

Cllr. Ralph Cook,
Members Services,
Cardiff County Council,County Hall,
Atlantic Wharf,
Cardiff,
CF10 4UW.

or by e-mail at rcook@cardiff.gov.uk
or telephone 20793809

Harrison Drive & Matthysens Way

A dispute between residents and Wimpey Homes has delayed the Council’s adoption of the estate. I have recently been told the dispute is close to being resolved.
Potholes have remained unfilled, street lights have failed and for several years the estate did not receive street cleansing at all. Residents complained but I’m not sure my attempts to explain were always believed!
Two years ago I negotiated unofficial arrangements with the Council’s Street Cleansing Manager but he has retired. I hope to persuade his replacement to continue these arrangements until adoption is secured.
For several years, wanting to avoid unnecessarily arousing fears amongst residents, we worked "behind the scenes" with Council officers, putting pressure on Wimpey Homes to reach agreement with the residents.
Over a year ago I invited residents to a meeting and explained the problem verbally. A residents’ association was set up last autumn. The involvement of residents has helped highlight it and speed things up.
All being well, the Council will begin the adoption process very soon.

Next Meeting: Wednesday 20th April, 7.00pm at Meadowlane School.

What next for St. Mellons

Your Councillors have won major improvements for St. Mellons. Work on the Council housing estates, completion of Hendre Lake Park and improvements to other play, park and sports areas will continue through this year.
Residents put "quality of life issues" - "stray" horses, motorbike nuisance, speeding, litter and fly-tipping - at the top of their list of priorities and we are dealing with those issues as best we can, often under difficult circumstances.
Unfortunately, progress can be slow and brings conflict with a few other residents, motorbike enthusiasts, for instance!
Your Councillors can’t prevent illegal behaviour on their own. We work with the Police, Council and other agencies through the St. Mellons Forum and other means.Naturally there are complaints from residents when there is a problem but few residents realise we are all stronger when a united community stands alongside its Councillors. This may mean filling in petitions, writing letters and occasionally standing with placards in the rain!
St. Mellons has very few active Residents Associations or groups. Most are small and fragile, the biggest being SMAC, the group opposing the St. Mellons Link Road.
Increasingly the voice of St. Mellons needs to be heard. School closures, the Community Education Centre, horses, motorbikes and other problems are still present. If the people of St. Mellons do not work together we risk losing the hard-won gains and a return to the neglect we suffered a few years ago.We will not win every time but success, when it occurs, is more fun shared

Council U-Turn on “Stray” Horses: A Victory for Common-Sense

Our 8 month campaign for Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) to be used against irresponsible horse owners seems to have been successful. In a policy U-Turn Cardiff Council’s Executive has ruled out renting grazing land for horses and agreed to use ASBOs.

We put this down to our resolve to ensure ASBOs are used, if necessary. We also want to thank residents of St. Mellons for their support and encouragement during these difficult months.

We have maintained all along that ASBOs, if used properly offered the cheapest, quickest and most effective solution to the “stray” horse problem as they have proved to be with irresponsible farmers in other parts of the UK. We also argued that if the Council wanted to lease land for grazing the land should be available to any horse owner, not just those who have caused many residents of St. Mellons misery for over two-and-a-half years.

We wait to see if ASBOs are used properly!