Onllwyn Community Council

Notices

Memorial inspections

As part of the Community Council work to ensure that our cemetery is maintained in line with Health and Safety guidance and best practice from the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management you will see that we are now conducting regular checks.

It may be that you see a sign as detailed below affixed to a memorial headstone. This is to advise all persons that this is no longer safe and action is required to be carried out by the owner.

Please be aware of this and take care near these.

As always if you have any questions make contact with myself via email.

I thank you for your understanding.

Simon.

Working with nature

The community council is working with a number of partners surrounding the area of the pond. A number of visits have been made to the area and from these we are working to improve the biodiversity of our land to encourage a number of different animals and plant life to thrive.

It may seem at the moment that we are not managing the grass but this is a strategic element to see what life there is out there.

We are hoping to have a survey of the land completed that will give us a management plan for the next three years.

I have today taken a few photographs to show how it is looking at the moment.

Maesgwyn Windfarm grant.

The application window for applying for a grant from the above fund commences on Monday 30 June 2025 and end on Friday 8th August 2025.

The application form and supporting documents can be located in the policies/procedures of the website where these can be downloaded for your use.

Applications received after the closing date may not be accepted in this round, all applications received in time will be considered at the Windfarm panel meeting in September.

 

Cemetery

Onllwyn Cemetery managed by the Community Council have agreed that all Memorial work is to be conducted to the standard displayed by BRAMM.

Please ensure that if you wish to place or alter any memorials at the cemetery that they comply with notice and that permission must be sought before anything is carried out.

Please also note that with effect from Tuesday 1st April 2025 the rules surrounding the use of and placing of any memorials with the cemetery area has been amended.  These are displayed in the policy section of the website for all to see.

If you require any further information or assistance please make contact with the Clerk.

Remembrance

Members from both the Onllwyn Community Council and Onllwyn Male Voice Choir and family gathered together at the Dove centre in Banwen on 22 March 2025 to bid a fond farewell to Lynn Parfitt.

Lynn had been the Clerk for the Community Council for a number of years not only here in Onllwyn but also in Seven Sisters and also a member of the choir.

He dedicated his time and effort to making sure things were always running smoothly.

Councillor Dean Cawsey gave a moving speech to all those present, giving examples of Lynn’s work and dedication and how he made ‘things happen’ to support all those around.

The choir sang wonderfully and it is hoped this tribute was appreciated by all and family that attended.

Thanks go to the Dove for providing food and refreshments afterwards.

Co-option vacancy

A vacancy has arisen for a councillor within Onllwyn Community Council and this can be filled by a process of Co-option.

Please see attached notice and if you wish to apply make contact with the Clerk who will forward all necessary information via email.

Thank you.

Notice of Co-option – Template Bi-Lingual (Single)

Critical control bleed kits.

The ward has four Bleed Control kits along the valley.

These are situated within our defibrillator cabinets at Banwen Rugby Club, The Dyffryn, Onllwyn Welfare and Nite Lite.

If you unfortunately have to use one of these please inform the clerk.

Banwen Nature Walk

Last night a nature walk was held around the Pond area in Banwen with a great success.

As can be seen by James’s post below many things were seen to entertain and educate us all.

One thing that was really relevant was the Phospate and Nitrate testing done on the pond water and found that our pond is in a great condition which was evident by the amount of pond life we also found.  This is attributable also to the hard work completed by the Angling Club who were in the area clearing reeds.  Elenor mentioned that the pond was in a great condition with lily leaves for the likes of frogs, a nice open patch for all other pond users and the reeds to help clean the pond and provide needed oxygen to it.

We had a lovely (and pretty warm!) walk around Banwen Pond. We used our nets to dip into the water to find out what was on the bottom. We also sampled the water to measure sulphates and nitrates in the water – both of which we are delighted to say showed appropriately good water quality.

***Please keep an eye out for the next event around October***

We identified a range of flora and fauna using our knowledge and the apps including:

We saw and recorded:

  • Southern hawker
  • White beam
  • Treecreepers
  • Damsel nymph
  • Dragon fly
  • Leech
  • Water boatman
  • Comma butterfly

We talked about the heritage of the site. We enjoyed our walk back and debrief

The photos from today and information about future Working With Nature events can be found athttps://www.facebook.com/WorkingWithNatureNPT and more information about the Local Nature Partnership can be found at https://www.naturenpt.cymru/whats-on

Best wishes

James Moore (MSc, FCIPD)

Lecturer – MBA, MA (Leadership, People, Organisational Development, Wellbeing, Diversity, Relationships)

Institute of Management and Health

Carmarthen and Swansea

E-bost | E-mail: j.moore@uwtsd.ac.uk