Huw Onllwyn Jones: April report

H O Jones: Councillor report for full Council meeting

• I continue to work to develop the Lunch Club. Our lunch organiser, Hashumati Patel, is doing an excellent job - bringing great enthusiasm to the task. The challenge for 2019 will be to attract between 10 and 20 extra attendees to each lunch. We have agreed our contract with Hash.
• I chaired a meeting of the OCR Hall Management Committee on 20 March. I have also been working with OCR HMC members to bring forward projects relating to the leaking roof, the Garth Room floor and a retaining wall at the rear of the building. The roof contract has been awarded - and a contractor chosen to replace the Garth Room carpet. The tender for the retaining wall is ready to issue. We arranged for a RWCMD student to test the OCR piano - and it was agreed that the sustain pedal was malfunctioning - and that the piano sounded muffled. A replacement piano will need to be purchased. The Hallmaster hall-booking system is now ready to be used - and bookings for using the hall from September onwards will be logged on the Hallmaster system.
• I continue to work with Cardiff Council, Redrow, the Clos Parc Radur Management Committee and R&MCC to secure a funding package to improve and restore the children's playground at Drover's Way. £30k has been secured (£5k R&MCC, £15k from Cardiff Council, £5k from the Committee and £5k from a WG fund). Jamie Grundie, a local resident, also intends to set up a crowdfunding campaign. Redrow are currently developing proposals to deal with mud and water flooding onto the playground. A meeting is expected soon to discuss progress.
• I have continued work developing our new website, which is available to view at www.radyrandmorganstown.org. We met with RMA representatives on 3 April to discuss the future of the community website. I prepared a paper about these issues for the council to consider.
• I attended Mark Drakeford's first surgery in Radyr on 5 April - and arranged for. Mr Drakeford to launch our new website: https://www.radyrandmorganstown.org/our-news
• I wrote to Natural Resources Wales about the plastic bag pollution affecting the River Taff as it passes through Radyr and Morganstown. A site meeting will be held with NRW staff during a litter pick arranged by them for 3 May.
• I met our new vicar on 25 March. We discussed working with the elderly and with young people. We also discussed website issues - and celebrating diversity in R&M.
• I made contact with staff at Cardiff Council dealing with cycling issues - with a view to meeting them to discuss making cycling safer and more enjoyable in R&M.

H O Jones