Meeting held  in Resolven Welfare Hall on Friday the 13^th of July

The meeting was attended by about 20 residents who were welcomed by South West Wales AM Mrs Suzy Davies.  She said that she had been involved with the original fight to save the Resolven surgery from closure but that fight was over and it was now a question of trying to improve access to the new health centre at Glynneath when it opens in the spring by ensuring that bus services are adequate.

N PT County Borough Councillor Des Davies said he had met with NPT Council transport officers who liaise with bus company chiefs. He has joined forces with all other councillors representing the Neath valley.

Des told the meeting that he was told First Cymru would be introducing a new time table from September but there is only one change proposed for local services and that was to move one bus time by 11 minutes. He will check to see if any further changes are proposed but because of the registration regulations, a certain period of notice must be given to the council before any changes come in and nothing has been proposed yet.

He said that after the bus company changed from a half hourly to an hourly service for Resolven in January, he had been in touch with Alex Davies who is the practice manager at the present Glynneath surgery and he will be running the new centre.

The practice wrote to First Cymru in February protesting about the cuts but the reply stated that there was not enough patronage to justify the half hourly service.

The practice will get back in touch when the new health centre is due to open to see if there could be an increased frequency of buses to match surgery times.

Des said that ABMu is behind schedule in drawing up its Transport Plan for the new health centre. When the new health centre at Briton Ferry was opened, extra buses were laid on for patients to get to it. Why not Resolven?

Des said that all they could do was push ABMu to produce the transport plan. He said they need to pull their finger out. People living in Abergarwed were also affected and there was a need to co-ordinate the bus services..

Des said that he had had talks with DANSA (Community bus service) but there was a danger that if they ran bus services in competition with First Cymru, FC will pull all service. At least there is still an hourly bus. The risk was that Dansa or a rival bus company would not be able to sustain an alternative service leaving people with nothing.

Local, Mrs Susan Elias, said that the existing service does not meet all the needs of villagers. People attending Neath Port Talbot hospital had a problem with getting buses once they are only hourly. Also, she said that the early service is so full that it is passing people in Tonna because there is not enough room. People with prams are also prevented from getting on because of space issues.

Des said that the police have stopped some of the buses in Tonna to check if they are too full. but they complied with the regulations

A gentleman who uses the buses wrote to the company and he had a reply saying that they will not revert back to having a half hourly service.

It was also stated that buses were not going up to Pont Walby and Ponthneathvaughan because the company says that there is no time for a turn around. Yet buses stop at Tonna for up to 5 minutes and also wait in Glynneath.

Susan also pointed out that First Cymru are operating buses along the main Neath to Port Talbot route every 15 minutes and they are often running empty.

Suzy said that with Dansa there would be a risk that if they operate too many commercial trips, they could affect their licence as they are a community bus service. She said that while they can plug gaps in services on commercial routes, they have to be careful of crossing a line and becoming a fully commercial service which would affect their registration.

Susan Elias  also pointed out that the Dansa buses travel into the estate where she lives but to catch a First bus, people had to get down to the main road. This would be a problem for some patients as they try to get to the new health centre.

Des said that nothing much could be done at present until ABMu produced their transport plan when people would be able to see exactly what is being proposed. Also, they need a firm date for the opening of the new health centre to try and co-ordinate bus services.

He said that once the centre is due to open, they can again make the case for a half hourly service because there would be a guaranteed additional patronage of the service.  While it was stated that someone had been told by the bus company that most of the users were using bus passes, Suzy pointed out that bus companies get paid for every journey made using a bus pass so they do get income from those journeys.

One lady pointed out that there was also a knock-on effect on people using the buses to get to work.  She said some people were getting to their place of work an hour before time because if they wait for the next bus, they would be late.  Coming home, some people are having to wait 45 minutes or more for the bus home as a result of the loss of the half hourly service.

Des said that all five councillors locally were working together to gather evidence to put before the bus companies.  Suzy told everyone to write in letters – she said a petition often counts as only one objection. She said that the more case studies of how people are affected, the stronger the arguments would be.

Des said that to date, the bus companies were only interested in profit. He said that NPT Council were carrying out some work on this themselves especially as some councils run their own bus services. He said if Briton Ferry could have extra services to take people to their new health centre, why couldn’t this happen for Resolven?

One of the suggestions made was that extra buses be put on at peak times when people are going to and from work and also perhaps to co-ordinate with surgery opening hours. The rest of the time, an hourly service would probably be adequate.

Des said that they need to see the ABMu transport plan asap so that they can make suggestions. But this required three to four months and then the bus company needed time to register new services. There may also be a consultation period for the new plan.

One man pointed out that bus services were needed to promote tourism, He said that the Neath Valley had many places of interest from the falls at Pontneathvaughan to the canal, the Aberdualis Falls and many walking and mountain biking routes.  Suzy said that this was a good point and that different budgets within Welsh Government could be sourced to provide funding for these services. The tourism minister may provide some funding with perhaps the health minister and local government minister providing more.

Des said that NPT officers had put the suggestion of peak hours services to the bus comany. They have suggested having a half hourly service between 8.30am to 11am and then later in the day for people coming home. He said that pressure needed to be put on bus companies.

Asked about subsidies from NPT council for bus services, Des said that they are used to provide services to communities that have no services at all.

Suzy said she would help by putting pressure on the bus companies especially as there are issues with overcrowding on some

THIS REPORT IS COMPILED FROM MINUTES TAKEN AT MEETING BY JAYNE ISAAC

 

SUZY

 

DES

 

 

 

Suzy’s P.A.  Jayne Isaac taking notes

And this is an update on how the new Vale of Neath Health Centre is progressing

Image by RDN photographer Mike Davies

 

 

 

The Resolven Hanging Basket Competition in 2018 was a bloomin’…. success once again. The wonderful sunny weather of recent weeks ensured that the entries were many and varied, although the dry conditions proved to be a challenge for some entrants.

The judging was done by Mr Mark Cunningham of Neath Port Talbot College Horticultural Department, whom we are pleased to say, is no stranger to the Competition as he has been coming to Resolven for many years now.

In his write-up to RDN he explains fully how he views his visit to Resolven:-

Another year and what fantastic weather we have had and did have on the day.  Once again judging was tight and the standards of the baskets very high and exceptional.  Especially in light of our very warm summer.  Keeping baskets looking good and in their prime is very much hard work and the people who entered had done a fantastic job in doing this.   The competition was close across the board as was first, second and third place. 

 I do hope the community carry on with this competition.  It is such a fantastic competition to have in the community, bringing the community together.  I would like to thank the community for giving of their time and allowing me to see the hanging baskets.

 I enjoy seeing you all at this annual event. 

Hopefully I will see you all next year for the hanging basket competition.

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The competition was kindly sponsored by Resolven Community Council and Cllr. Aylwin Jones, Chairman presented the prizes to the worthy winners.

1st Prize – £50

 

2nd Prize – £30

 

3rd Prize – £20

Our thanks to all who made this competition so successful.

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Presentation by

Hugh & Lorna Lewis (RDN Team)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gwenda North of Cory Street Resolven was 90 on the 21st of June. But congratulations  went on for days after that and on Wednesday the 27^th of June, it was the turn of her friends in Resolven Ladies Bowls Club to raise a glass in her honour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gwenda is a non-playing member of the club now.  But she was an invaluable team player for many years-one of the club’s finest bowlers and current team players were delighted to share a birthday meal with her in the Lamb and Flag. Glynneath.

 

 

 

 

 

The following text is supplied by:

 

Work has started on a new purpose-built £3.3m centre on a regeneration site in Vale of Neath, which will relocate the Vale of Neath Practice, D.R. Cecil Jones Pharmacy and Health Board Services.

 

The development of this impressive and innovative 1,664 sq m scheme, developed by The Healthcare Property Company Wales (HPC Wales), is aimed at improving the quality of the patient’s experience and treatment. It will provide 56 parking spaces for staff and patients including 6 disabled spaces.

Bringing all of these services together under one roof will substantially improve the primary care offering to the local communities of Glynneath, Cwmgwrach, Pontneddfechan, Ystradfellte, Rhigos, Resolven, Melincourt, Clyne and Abergarwed. The centre will have the flexibility to adapt for future health service requirements.

The centre, which is being built on the former Washery Site at Aberpergwm is supported by the Welsh Government and is being developed in partnership with the Vale of Neath Practice and Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board. The project also has the full backing of ABM Community Health Council.

“This development will significantly enhance the health offering for the Vale of Neath. Our team has carefully considered the requirements of the surgeries, pharmacy and health board to ensure that we build a facility that is sustainable and flexible for future use. We are delighted that work has started on-site to see this much-needed centre come to fruition,” said Paul Stacey, HPC Wales Managing Director.

The building has been designed by architects Austin-Smith:Lord and is being constructed by John Weaver Contractors to achieve a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating and an ‘Excellent’ rating for energy.

 

Senior partner Dr Paul Westwood said: “All the GP partners and staff at the Vale of Neath Practice are delighted to witness the commencement of work on the new health centre, which will undoubtedly be a vast improvement to the facilities that we are currently utilising to provide primary care services.

“Our registered patients in the various surrounding local communities have patiently waited more than 13 years for the development to reach this stage but there is a buzz of excitement within the locality as the  new  health centre ‘dream’ develops into a structural reality which will hopefully be open to our patients in early 2019.”

ABMU’s Director of Primary and Community Services Hilary Dover added: “We are delighted that work is now starting on the site which will provide first class modern facilities for GP and community healthcare services to meet the needs of residents. 

“As healthcare conditions change and develop we need the space and facilities to provide appropriate treatment and services, which could not always be possible from the existing practice premises. I would like to thank all those involved with the project who have worked tirelessly over a number of years to progress this development for a truly integrated new primary care centre.”

Superintendent Pharmacy Director Niki Watts said: “All the pharmacy team and myself are looking forward to the completion of the health centre and the new opportunities it will bring to serve the community. 

“Up-to-date robotic technology will create more time to take up the welcomed widening role of community pharmacy.  With three consultation rooms we will be able to continue, develop and improve our health services. Working under one roof with our health colleagues, this will enable us to offer a seamless, efficient and effective holistic service. 

“It will be sad to leave the old shop but unfortunately, it could not physically meet the needs of the pharmacy’s changing role. Whilst the building and location of the pharmacy maybe changing, our ethos and values of being a community pharmacy remain the same and will be at the heart of the health centre.”

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HPC Wales is a joint venture between The Healthcare Property Company Ltd and Gaufron Healthcare Ltd of Llandrindod Wells. The development was financed by MedicX Fund.

About The Healthcare Property Company

The Healthcare Property Company develops healthcare real estate partnering clinical service providers in the UK to deliver bespoke and cost-effective care facilities. It has extensive experience in delivering all aspects of the process, including financing, site finding, construction and relocation, project management and design.

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The above text kindly supplied by

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Photographs & Graphics kindly supplied by

Austin-Smith:Lord

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Compiled by Hugh Lewis (RDN Team)

 

Sardis Community Hall (the old Apostolic Church) will be officially opened on Tuesday the 19^th of June.

As a matter of interest, this is the same date 50 years ago that this building was first opened for Christian worship at 7p.m on the 19^th.

Kevin John, well known celebrity, will be opening the Hall.

 The Hall will be available for hire:

 Contact 01639  711398 for enquiries

On Friday 4^th May 2018, Building Blocks Family Centre held it’s  official launch of the Families Together 2 project funded by the Big Lottery Fund.  The new project will be a family led, supportive service which will enable families to get the best start in life. It will help families to build vital skills such as parenting, employability, confidence, self-esteem, advocacy, plus provide childcare support including support to families with disabled children in a way that meets their unique needs.

Ceri Pritchard, Centre Manager at Building Blocks said “Our partner launch was a huge success with so many key partners attending the celebrations with us.  Our Assembly Member, Jeremy Miles officially launched the service and it was lovely to have support from Mayor Dennis Keogh and Mayoress Christina Keogh, MP Christina Rees, Councillor Des Davies and Rebecca Blanche from the Big Lottery Fund.  We are now looking forward to our community launch in the near future”

The event celebrated the amazing four year grant support of £433,543 from the National Lottery players’ which will help Building Blocks Family Centre support families across Neath Port Talbot to improve their life chances.

Amanda Casey, Family Development Officer of the Families Together 2 Project said “The project will work with families who are facing a disadvantage and in need of help, advice and support. When working with families we will be helping them to achieve their goals, and supporting them to do this. These goals might be very small from being able to leave the house, to going back to work or studying. We are keen to build on our relationships with existing partners and new partners so we can provide an all-round support to families. So we are happy to get referrals from organisations, and we will be looking to refer parents to organisation that will be able to support them. Our priority is enhancing each family’s quality of life, improving their relationships and giving them increased opportunity”.

REPORT by CERI PRITCHARD