PhilWynn
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Andrew…more than happy to sit down and talk through the options with you, especially if you have the ear of the Welsh Labour Government Ministers.
There has to be a compromise that can keep everyone happy but then again that may well be wishful thinking on my part.
Phil
Bitterly disappointed that the SOH lead campaigners are unwilling to share their new evidence, which was used to support Mark Drakeford’s decision to relist the Groves, even though they have stated it will stand up to Scrutiny and will ultimately defeat any repeat legal challenge.
That being the case why don’t they spare the Wrexham tax-payer the bill of a failed legal challenge? Maybe their loyalty isn’t to the Wrexham tax-payer but to the political elite in Cardiff Bay.
All we can now do is wait and see what the legal beagles recommend.
Cllr Phil Wynn
Found out today that the iPad replacements will cost £310 each with the other £290 being spent on software and security licences over 5 years ie £120 pa.
The alternative is paper copies, which 5 years ago was costing the ratepayer £700 plus per elected member each and every year.
To reduce the cost of democracy maybe paper reports ought to be stopped.
As we are still facing huge financial cuts maybe elected members ought to consider making this sacrifice, even if it is easier to speed read a report in paper format.Cllr Phil Wynn
I was pleased for the staff, volunteers and users of Splash Magic that WCBC’s Executive Board members were able to support a further cash injection of £50k.
I appreciate SM’s Board needs to recruit new blood to improve their governance arrangements and having spoken with two of their Directors I wish them well.
Hopefully the Welsh Government can now quickly confirm how their £500k capital grant will be provided and if needs be will allow the money to be spent in 2017/18 so as to take the pressure off the Directors, as an end of March deadline seems unrealistic.Cllr Phil Wynn
Bubble much has happened since the Rhosddu residents meeting, which is surely better late than never ie police have increased their presence in Rhosddu and at the Bus Station, the Police Commissioner has listened to representations made by those attending his road show promoting his consultation on his policing priorities for North Wales.
I believe Cllr Hugh Jones will be making a statement this week on how we will deal with unsafely discarded needles and drugs paraphernalia found on our streets and private land whilst we await an announcement off those bodies that issue 250,000 needles each year on how they will deal with the issue.
Further announcements will be made in the following weeks as to the actions WCBC and various support agencies are carrying out to deal with the symptoms of drug fuelled ASB but solutions for the underlying causes will take longer to deliver and will require a radical rethink by those in positions of influence.
I agree petitions don’t alway deliver their desired outcomes but if nothing else they give residents a legitimate opportunity to voice their disquiet.
My past experience of running a petition with Neal Tunnah to save the Turf from demolition did deliver the desired outcome so please show some faith.
Cllr Phil Wynn
Interesting morning spent in town with Cllr David Bithell of Stansty talking with fellow Wrexham folk about our petition ( http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/support-rhosddu-residents ).
Talked to a couple of individuals who are in remission having been users of Class A drugs, so it’s nice to learn that there is life after addiction. They too share our concerns about the ASB displayed by a small cohort in our town centre and out in Wrexham’s neighbourhoods.
Happy to be judged on my actions not my words but please give it some time for those holding the strings to deliver some measurable improvements, Bearing in mind this ASB issue have been around for some time.
Cllr Phil Wynn
Petitions are one of many tools which help focus the minds of those in positions of power and influence and the Rhosddu petition is no different.
I and Cllr Steve Wilson have a meeting diarised next week to discuss issues surrounding the Elms and Ty Croseo.
Happy to use this forum as a method of keeping people informed of developments.
Cllr Phil Wynn
Sheefag…I hope you are at least prepared to acknowledge that there is currently lots going on behind the scenes which I’ve thought helpful to share with you. I accept the proof is in the eating so I would be bitterly disappointed if noticeable changes aren’t delivered very soon.
In the meantime please consider signing the petition set up in recognition of the sentiment expressed by Rhosddu residents this time last week.
Link to petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/support-rhosddu-residents
Cllr P. Wynn
Dear Cllr X you are quite right that I did float the idea of a Wetroom a few years back as a possible solution for encoraging street drinkers to move off our town centre streets. It was a solution which was rubbished by one of the Leader columnists at the time. Such ideas are always contenious and for that reason I was unable to gather political support to explore the idea further. Times have changed so who knows what may happen to solve the problems of ASB in our town-centre.
As for getting my finger out, well Rob who runs wrexham.com asked me the same question, be it in a polite manner. Copied beow is the response sent, amended for a number of typos. I hope this demonstrates mine and other’s commitment to finding solutions to reduce the levels of ASB residents in town-centre wards are enduring on too regular a basis.
Regards
Cllr Phil WynnDear Rob
In my capacity as a WCBC town centre ward member I have over the last two years had the pleasure of working with numerous volunteers in promoting our town centre by way of the Street Festivals, the Town-centre Forum , volunteer led street clean up events and Wrexham Matters newsletters. This work will I am sure continue to grow and play its part in making our town a place which Wrexham folk will continue to appreciate for leisure and retail, as well as being a pleasant place to live and work in.
At the beginning of this journey I was fully aware of the anti-social behaviour of a small number of individuals frequenting our town-centre was proving off-putting for everyone else. Their behaviour included the use of foul language, drinking alcohol in public spaces, begging and generally hanging around in groups which many found intimidating.
The police at the time used their powers to ban offending individuals from the town-centre for up to 48 hours. This had the impact of delivering a temporary solution but the banned individuals always returned.
In absolute frustration with the problem a number of the town-centre ward elected members challenged Cllr Hugh Jones, the Lead Member for Community Safety and our WCBC’s Strategic Director Lee Robinson to come up with a plan of action to tackle the problem head on.
Coincidentally soon after a Task and Finish Group was formed by WCBC’s Safeguarding, Communities and Well-being Scrutiny Committee to review the issue of Unsafely Discarded Needles and Drugs Paraphernalia. Cllr Steve Wilson and I served on the Group along with fellow Cllrs Carole O’Toole, Bill Baldwin and Colin Powell.
After gathering evidence from numerous individuals a series of recommendations were made on how we felt the ever increasing presence of discarded needles on view along with illegal rough sleeper encampments could be better managed so as to minimise the impact on our communities. There is now an expectation for the Committee to receive a briefing off Cllr Hugh Jones in February 2017 once he has received feed-back off various public bodies including the Welsh Governmnet. Link to report, agenda item 4: http://moderngov.wrexham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=174&MId=3512&Ver=4&LLL=undefined
The ward I represent has over the last few years been adversely affected by illegal rough sleeper encampments, located at the Dunelm Mill underpass, behind the retail units on the Central Retail Park, on Island Green Retail Park, behind Morrisons Store, in undergrowth next to the Morrisons cycle way, Bryn Offa playing field, Little Varnog meadows as well as under the Bradley Road bridge archways. The closure of these sites whilst delivering no immediate solutions to the causes of homelessness has at least brought peace of mind for residents and businesses affected.
I am currently liaising with Officers to have the Dunelm Mill underpass closed on the grounds of health and public safety. as It wasn’t that long ago that rough sleepers closed the main railway line by lighting a fire in the underpass which resulted in smoke billowing across the rail track.
A recent rough sleeper count has highlighted there are getting on for fifty individuals who are sleeping rough in Wrexham, or are using the town’s night shelter Ty Nos. Numbers are up on last year so the problem is not going away.
I have supported the action taken by Cllr Hugh Jones by way of introducing a Public Open Space Protection Order in August, which covers our town-centre. At my request the area was extended to include the Central Retail Park and parts of Maesgwyn.
National legislation brought into being earlier this year, outlawing the supply of new psychoactive substances “legal highs” has done nothing to outlaw the taking of said substances. For this reason the Police have no legislation to call on, other than to issue a PSPO fixed penalty notice to those individuals who are under the influence of NPS [invariably in full view of everyone on Lord Street, this being a popular place for them to congregate].
The use of NPS is a major concern for officers and elected members as these drugs are already having a measurable effect on the demeanour of users. For me the drug being cheap and legal has led to youths being targeted by dealers. Constituents are regularly highlighting that they are finding plastic bags [usually labelled with an emblem such as a bulldog which are used to hold NPS], in locations frequented by teenagers.
Led by Cllr Hugh Jones, various agencies are meeting weekly to review the homeless issue, with a view to ensuring a holistic approach is delivered to tackle the issues of ASB in our town-centre. This group have compiled a lengthy “Town-centre Action Plan” to work through.
As town-centre ward members Steve Wilson and I along with others have attended meetings convened to update us on what work has been carried out to-date by this Group. Whilst early days I have every confidence results will be delivered, be it not at the pace everyone expects.
Since the meeting convened in October by Andrew Atkinson to address the concerns of traders in Pen y Bryn, I have supported Offa Community Council’s decision to locate one of their portable CCTV cameras to Pen y Bryn.
Also with the agreement of fellow Cllrs Steve Wilson and IDavid Bithell, I have meet with the following service bodies, so as to gain a better understanding of the issues surrounding how drug and alcohol support agencies operate in Wrexham:
CAIS – visited Champions House, their Soup Dragon setup on King Street and the My Hafan Wen drug recovery centre. CAIS volunteers who are in remission kindly ran a clean up a rough sleepers encampment on Morrisons cycle way. My discussions with these volunteers highlighted their commitment to put something back into their community and to make something of their second chance. Through talking it was apparent to me that the system is not designed to ensure work experiences and reasonable housing are made readily available for those individuals in remission, thereby making it difficult for them to move on in their lives.
Wallich – meet with the operational manager for Ty Croseo and their regional manager – received a guided tour of Ty Croseo and Richmond House., which are based on Grosvenor Rd
Elms – meet with the site manager and the regional commissioning officer for Betsicadwalader Health Board, to go through their redevelopment plans for the Elms and to gain an understanding of the work carried out there.
Evidence has also been gathered from:
Grosvenor Road businesses – entered into dialogue with two of the businesses which are located close to Ty Croseo, to gain a better understanding of their concerns relating to gangs of adults congregating on the highway near to their offices and said individuals using their land for ASB activities.
Amazing Grace Spaces , Newport based charity – have engaged with the person behind a Newport based charity which is exploring the possibility of delivering alternative self-contained accommodation at a cost of less than £20k per unit, as an alternative to the homeless being housed in HMO’s. Discussions are on going about the possibility of a joint project being promoted to HM Berwyn.
Since the Rhosddu Residents meeting Steve Wilson, IDavid Bithell and I have requested:
Fellow ruling coalition elected members to support our request for sharp bins to be made available free of charge to private land owners whose land has been littered with discarded needles. WCBC currently charge £20 per sharps box, which the Task & Finish Group recommended should be borne by the Welsh Government, as they ought not to leave it to chance how the 250,000 needles issued every year in Wrexham are collected and disposed of safely. Their response is being sought so our request is a temporary fix whilst we await an announcement.
WCBC Lead Members with Strategic Housing and Planning portfolios review the impact HMO’s are having on the lives of those who live in those wards which circulate the town-centre ie Rhosddu, Bradley Rd, Victoria Rd, Ruabon Rd, Sailsbury Rd, Smithfield.
We have also asked for assurances off Cllr Hugh Jones as to how WCBC in partnership with others will address the despair expressed by Rhosddu residents, with regards to the blatant drug dealing which is taking place on their residential streets. This problem is as prevalent in any of the wards that circle the town-centre, along with others.
We are aware that Cllr Hugh Jones will be pursuing a more robust policing of the Bus Station by staff employed by WCBC.
Cllr’s Steve Wilson and IDavid Bithll ans wel as myseld have started an electronic/paper petition for town-centre residents to use to register their desire to see Bodies of Authority deliver solutions which will fight back against the onslaught town-cntre ward communities are enduring on a daily basis.
Further research which I need to carry out includes:
A visit to WCBC’s new CCTV room to gauge its effectiveness as a tool to monitor drug dealing and individuals injecting in public space within the town-centre.
To meet with DSS officials to ascertain the benefit entitlement street sleepers and long term unemployed are entitled to claim. I am aware for instance from one rough sleeper that he claims invalidity benefits whilst sleeping on the street. These payments to me seem to be supporting this individual’s drug addiction rather than catering for his disability.
Visit Amazing Grace Spaces in Newport and to link up with HM Berwyn.
To meet with WCBC officers later this month to address the proliferation of commercial bins on the highway in our town-centre, which are regularly rummaged through by rough sleepers searching for discarded food and residual bottled beer.
Engage with fellow elected members to see if a Task and Finish Group ought to be setup to look at the workings of the Pharmacy led needle dispensaries and their impact on the localities from which they operate.I hope I have demonstrated that those Councillors whose wards are affected by the issues outlined are taking this matter seriously and will not rest until measurable progress is delivered.
Regards
Cllr Phil WynnIMHO how ironic my iPad, which has proven an invaluable tool, has in the last week decided to stop taking a charge properly. Assuming it behaves itself then I’m happy to carry on using it till I’m told otherwise.
On a working day (ie non Councillor day) I have used my lunch hour and a few hours this evening to:
Read and deal with over twenty incoming emails.
Send nine emails.
Chase officers for an update on the travellers encampment which arrived Friday on the Morrisons cycleway.
Speak with the mangaer of the Aldi new build about noise nuisance, removal of the ambulance warning lights on Ruthin Rd and to gain clarification on when they propose to carry out road resurfacing work on Ruthin Rd, near the ambulance exit junction.
Spoke with a fellow Councillor about the removal of double yellow lines in the Mold Rd locality so as to reduce the pressure for on-street parking created by postal workers. Our request has then been relayed by email to a Highway’s officer.
Notify the manager of a local toddler group that they can continue to use a local Community Centre as the builders have agreed to instal a new kitchen in the Centre working around the Toddler Group’s needs.
Spoke with a ward resident about a neighbourly dispute.
Request a meeting with the Leader of the Council to walk Bellevue Park in relation to the Dog Control Order consultation.
Acknowledge an officers update on two worthy building projects proposed within the ward.
Set up a phone call with a Planning Officer for tomorrow to discuss a planning application which affects ten or so householders in the ward.
Update a fellow Councillor on a meeting I have arranged with a Betsicadwalder officer in relation to the treatment delivery for alcoholics and drug users and the impact this is having for the residents of Wrexham town-centre wards.
Chased an officer for an update on a proposed cycleway jointing Croesnewydd Rd and the Morrisons cycleway.
Start to read up on CAIS a North Wales charity which provides treatment for alcoholics and drug addicts, as part of my research into how Wrexham deals with this issue.
As the booking officer for the Maesgwyn Community Centre I have liaised with a traders an to replace the Centre’s faulty guttering, informed the caretaker of the timing of this work whilst passing on the details of a new booking. Spoke with a fellow committee member about opening the Centre for the tradesman.I hope I’ve provided a flavour of what a County Councillor can be called upon to deal with to ensure the best is done for the constituents they serve. Without an iPad and my personal mobile phone then my capacity to do the role would be somewhat deminished.
Cllr Phil Wynn
