A year in the life of RCT Council
IT HAS been another busy year of local government in the Valleys.
As pressure on council budgets continues to increase it’s important that scrutiny of their decisions also continues to increase.
From schools to day centres, hospitals to council tax, the decisions made by your local council have been important ones again this year for your local areas.
As we start 2020 we take a look at some of the main stories, plans, and decisions made at Rhondda Cynon Taf Council during 2019 and the impact of them on the area’s residents.
The year started on a positive note for parents of children with additional learning needs at one RCT school.
Parents and governors had voiced their fears that a learning support class known as “Dosbarth Coch” would be moved from Hafod Primary School to Porth Community School.
But after campaigning against the move including a petition signed by thousands, they got good news as the council’s cabinet decided against that particular proposal.
Parent Claire Evans said that everyone who campaigned was “overwhelmed with happiness” with the decision.
In February councillors debated plans to close all but one of RCT’s remaining day centres for the elderly. The low usage and ongoing cost were the main reasons given for the proposals to close day centres in Gelli, Maerdy and Williamstown but keep the Gilfach Goch one open, with the Porth day centre having already been moved to the new community hub in the town.
Councillor Mike Forey said during a scrutiny committee that “the time for change has arrived”.
March is always a busy time for councils as they set their budget for the next financial year.
For 2019-20 RCT councillors agreed a 3.6% council tax rise which was the lowest increase in Wales at the time.
The budget included a £5.2m increase for the schools budget and a 2.9% increase to fees and charges apart from for school meals, parking, cinema entrance, Rhondda Heritage Park, summer and winter playing fees and the Pontypridd Lido.
Council leader Andrew Morgan said austerity was not over but the average council tax paid by RCT residents was the fourthlowest in Wales.
April saw councillors decide not to refer controversial Pontypridd schoolshake up plans back to cabinet.
Cabinet had approved the £37m plans despite widespread opposition from parents and governors.
The plans were to create two new all through 3-16 school sites where Pontypridd High School and Hawthorn High School are while shutting the current schools and Ysgol Pont Sion Norton, Heol y Celyn Primary School, Cilfynydd Primary School and Hawthorn Primary School.
The plans also involved closing the sixth forms at Pontypridd High, Hawthorn High and Cardinal Newman RC Comprehensive School with new sixth form “centres of excellence” at Bryncelynnog Comprehensive in Beddau and Coleg y Cymoedd in Nantgarw.
Councillors raised their concerns about the consultation process and pupils having to travel further to access Welsh language education but the overview and scrutiny committee rejected the proposal to send it back to cabinet.
In May we heard from Aberdare East councillor Steve Bradwick on his horrendous experience at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil following a heart attack.
He told us that he had to eat off a bin and was left on a trolley for hours after being admitted following a second heart attack in a week.
He also mentioned how he was moved between different rooms and that there was confusion over the paperwork allowing him to be transferred to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
The health board couldn’t comment on the individual case but said they were investigating the matters raised.
June saw the first council-run community hub officially its doors in Mountain Ash.
Canolfan Pennar in Oxford Street is one of 10 planned facilities for RCT as part of plans to bring a variety of services under one roof and provide more modern services than traditional day centres.
It houses a modern library, a cafe, computer suite and several meeting rooms as well as tributes to local legends including television writer and feminist icon Elaine Morgan and Nos Galan Road Races founder Bernard Baldwin.
The council leader, cabinet members, councillors, residents, local schoolchildren and television and radio broadcaster Roy Noble all attended the opening.
In July one resident raised his concerns about the length of time work was taking on a bridge in the Rhondda.
Ken Emmanuel said the closure of Pontrhondda Bridge in Llwynypia said the works which should have taken months have taken over a year and is causing traffic chaos in the area at rush hour.
He said he hadn’t seen workers on the site either and was worried about what might happen if emergency vehicles can’t get through.
The project was hit by Dawnus going into administration, which pushed the completion date back. The council said work had been taking place in an area not easily visible from street level.
There was good news in August for people campaigning to save a Rhondda church from being turned into flats.
Plans for St Anne’s Church in Ynyshir were dropped by Newydd Housing Association to al
low residents to come up with a community facility for the site.
The housing association said it wouldn’t appeal the decision to refuse the plans and the then Ynyshir councillor Darren Macey who was part of the campaign to save the church said that this was “absolutely fantastic”.
In September we learned which care homes the council was planning to close in RCT.
The council announced it was looking at closing four of its 11 care homes as it wanted to keep a presence in the local care home market.
These four would include Bronllwyn Residential Care Home in Gelli, Ystradfechan Residential Care Home in Treorchy, Dan y Mynydd Residential Care Home in Porth,and Garth Olwg Residential Care Home in Church Village.
The council said the move would give people greater choice and modernise the services it provides older people with the extra care developments it is working on in Aberaman, Mountain Ash, Pontypridd, Porth and Treorchy.
But campaigners against the closures urged the council not to “jump the gun” saying the closures were about saving money and called for a moratorium on cuts to care homes until a Wales wide discussion about the future of social care had taken place.
October brought outrage from residents about the potential for houses to be built right next to a popular country park in the Cynon Valley.
There were widespread objections to a pre-application consultation by developers for a possible 100-house development on Cwm Farm next to Dare Valley Country Park in Aberdare.
Carla Jackles said residents were afraid the development would ruin the country park because of the extra traffic it would bring and that it would turn the country park into a housing estate.
A petition was launched against the proposal which hadn’t been officially submitted to the council but local councillor and cabinet member Ann Crimmings also voiced her opposition saying the development would be “completely inappropriate”.
In November one councillor decided to leave his party and become an independent.
Councillor Mike Powell decided to leave the Liberal Democrats and become an independent over the “remain alliance” electoral pact for the December general election.
This involved the Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Plaid Cymru standing aside for each other in certain seats to give a remain supporting candidate a better chance of winning.
This included Pontypridd where Cllr Powell was standing for the Lib Dems but he eventually stood as an independent candidate and will now serve as an independent councillor for Trallwn.
There was great news for residents in the village of Efail Isaf near Llantwit Fardre in December.
RCT’s planning committee voted to reject plans for 350 houses on Cwm Isaf Farm.
The application had been met with 187 letters of objection and two petitions against the plan signed by 274 people and 108 people respectively.
Their reasons for being against the plans were related to planning policy, sustainability, flooding issues, social and physical infrastructure, highways and transport, the physical and natural environment and other issues.