Community Transport
Flintshire have consulted on community transport plans and Penyffordd is part of a new trial to run two services, a regular minibus service to connect with the 'hub' in Buckley and a dial-on-demand taxi service to allow access to medical services etc.
One of the unintended consequences of the trial was the building of new bus shelters. There was no need for a planning application because Streetscene (Flintshire County Council) are allowed to build anything (up to 4 metres high) on the streets without going through planning. So there was the bizarre situation where a bus shelter was being built at the end of Wellhouse Drive next to the site of the new noticeboard (not yet erected) which had to have planning permission.
The site of the bus shelter on Wellhouse made no sense to anyone and the residents affects were particularly unhappy - they complained to Cllr Cindy Hinds, this group did the same and to be fair to Cindy and Streetscene, common sense prevailed. The work was suspended. A site meeting held, everyone involved walked the village and agreed a new, less disruptive plan. The site on Wellhouse has now been returned to pavement, albeit with a bus stop shaped piece of new tarmac.
Bus Services
The other part of the community transport consultation involved the Arriva bus services. Apparently too many of these services run empty and it is not economic. Consequently, from April there will be a service reduction from 30 min to hourly services. This will have a negative impact on a number of villagers, particularly commuters. We suggest writing to Flintshire and Arriva if you are affected. We have published the new timetable already on this site.
Hanson Cement
A preliminary application has been made for the replacement of some of the mills at the cement factory. The application details are in this document, the content of which is very technical. The intention is to increase capacity and the implication is that the newer technology will make the process more environmentally friendly. There is also the proposal to use the existing railhead to ship finished or milled product out of the factory - at the moment it is only used for occasional deliveries of coal. There is not indication of the frequency of these services.
We have written to the Plant Manager and he has agreed to meet the group in April to explain the plans in more detail. Once we have that meeting in the diary we will provide updates.
Noticeboards
One of the things that came out of the Questionnaire was the need for more information, accessible to all. The noticeboard attached to Jemoleys was out of commission for some time because the key was lost when the Post Office closed. That has been sorted out now and planning approval has been given for a new community noticeboard to be sited next to the post box at the end of Wellhouse Drive. The community council and community group will be posting updates in there once it is erected.
Community Development Plan
A huge amount of work is going on in the background to write and prepare plan for the community - this is not just about house building, it is about trying to consider all the things that we can do to protect and enhance our community in the next 10 - 15 years including transport, environment, community facilities, economy and development. We are using the data and comments from the questionnaire as the basis of the document, researching the history and context of the facilities and clubs we have in the village and aiming to create something that the community can be proud of.
We will be asking the village to consult on the document in the coming months. If you are active in any groups, clubs or societies in the village in the meantime, please get in touch and tell us how you would improve the community.
Public Consultations
There are two public consultations ongoing at the moment that you may like to comment on:
Wellbeing of Flintshire
http://www.flintshire.gov.uk/en/Resident/Council-and-Democracy/Flintshire-Public-Services-Board.aspx
This is a genuinely well written and interesting assessment of living in Flintshire today - it draws together data and information from many sources to represent a view of the county now. It is to do with the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act.
The section on housing is of particular interest because it describes exactly what is happening to us right now, with speculative housing developments - please go online and let them know that you agree with the description of the housing situation and the harm that is being caused to the wellbeing of the community through overdevelopment.
Deadline is Friday 31st March 2017.
A494 Consultation
If you use the roads in the area, then you may want to comment on the options to either widen the road on Aston Hill or connect the Flint bridge with the A55. The document is available online and the deadline is the 5th June 2017.
