Communities First Spring 2004 Newsletter

Residents of Ceinws turned out in force at a recent public meeting, to say what they would like to see happen at the Forestry Commission site in the village.

Affordable housing for local people and safe playing space were top of the list.

The meeting was the culmination of a consultation exercise carried out by Rural Resources of Welshpool at the request of ecodyfi and Communities First, supported by the Welsh Development Agency, the Forestry Commission and Glantwymyn Community Council.

It was the first time in years that the former Commission office had been used and those attending reminiscenced about the fomer community hall and play area on the site.

Rural Resources had also carried out interviews and distributed questionnaires to every local household and business.

Consultant Phil Newcombe considered that local priorities had been clearly identified - as the provision of affordable housing, play and recreation space and some form of meeting facility.

"Once these have been fully explored, other secondary uses could be accommodated", he said.

Some of these other uses might contribute to the financial viability of the main elements.

Examples include the provision of office or studio space for businesses, whether craft-based or using video and other "new media".

There was also discussion about whether cyclists could be tempted to use facilities at the site after riding the new trails proposed for the Dyfi Forest nearby.

By appealing to multiple users, it might be viable to run a weekend community cafe.The organisers are looking forward to a second meeting, where they will report the results of the consultation in more detail and help villagers decide how to take things forward.

Communities First Powys Website - Free Training!

Local company "Cyberium" have been appointed to develop and design a website for the Communities First in Powys programme.

Information pages will be available on the programme in Powys as a whole, as well as the three Communities First areas, Oldford, Ystradgynlais and the Dovey Valley.

Cyril Evans, the facilitator said, "this training will give around eight local people, the opportunity to learn a bit more about the different aspects of working on websites, and even though the workshop is only for four hours, the tutor, David Thorpe of Cyberium will be looking at the different aspects of the work".

David explained, "the web has changed the way people work and play and also the way they have access to information.

This workshop, with practical sessions and illustrated with sample Internet web sites, will look at the following topics:

David is enthusiastic that the web should be used properly and promote social inclusion.

The hope is that members of the community will be able to help maintain and add to the Communities First

Bro Ddyfi website in the future, and if you are interested in the free workshop, contact Cyril or Beverly at the Communities First Office.

Machynlleth Broadband Project

Congratulations to the Machynlleth Broadband Project Steering Group on their successful campaign to get the Machynlleth exchange enabled for Broadband.

The hard work that the group put into achieving the trigger level means that people who live within 5-6 kilometres of the Machynlleth exchange now have a date to look forward to with much anticipation, when the availability of high-speed Internet access will become a reality on 1st September 2004.

This will undoubtedly help to make this beautiful area of ours an even better place to work.

rest and play, and will be a huge boost to the Bro Ddyfi area as a whole, and especially the business sector.

Due to a recent announcement by BT, it is also now hoped that other exchanges in the area will be enabled by the summer of 2005.

Housing and Transport Needs Analysis

Communities First, in collaboration with CAMAD, ecodyfi, Powys County Council, and Glantwymyn

Community Council, and with the support of Llanbrynmair and Cadfarch Community Councils and Machynlleth Town Council have recently carried out both an affordable Housing and Transport Needs Analysis.

The completed questionnaires will by now have been returned and are shortly to be analysed in order for reports to be produced.

More on this in our next newsletter, together with details of the cash prize winners in the draw for those returning the questionnaires.

Participatory Appraisal

The Participatory Appraisal carried out by 'Insight Social Research' is now near completion, and it is hoped that the final report will provide us with considerable information on the needs of those people that we had not previously reached, as well as the Bro Ddyfi community as a whole.

Community Directory

As part of the Communities First programme, we are aiming to compile a local directory of all community groups, organisations and associations, to provide a comprehensive picture of what's happening in and around the Communities First Bro Ddyfi area.

We would like to include all groups, organisations and associations who make a contribution to community life, run by or for residents of that community.

If you would like your group, organisation or association to be included in this free directory, please contact the Communities First office on 01654 700315, or e-mail beverlyt@powys.gov.uk as soon as possible.

THE COMMUNITY CHEST - FUNDING SCHEME OF THE QUARTER

Local clubs and community organisations providing sporting opportunities are being encouraged to apply for grants of up to £750.

The 'Community Chest' is Sports Council for Wales funded grant scheme, working in partnership with Powys County Council.

The grants aim to make a difference to sport locally, providing grants for projects, which create new, additional or improved opportunities in sport.

Closing dates for applications in 2004 are April 6th, June 17th, August 24th, October 5th and November 25th.

For further information contact Tricia Jones, Sports Development Officer on 01686 627971.

Additional information on grants can be found on the PAVO website www.pavo.org.uk.

Communities First Trust Fund

The Welsh Assembly Government is continuing with the Communities First Trust Fund.

This is a scheme of small grants aimed at small community led organisations that involve local people, and funds for 2004/05 are now available for applications.

For further information, guidance, or an application form, dial the Communities First helpline on 0800 5878898 or see the Communities First Website at www.communitiesfirst.info

The next three Steering Group meetings will be held on:

Wednesday May 26th at Cwmllinau Village Hall at 1.00pm
Monday June 21st at Machynlleth Care Centre at 6.00pm
Wednesday July 14th at Glantwymyn Community Centre at 1.00pm.

**Note: Anyone is more than welcome to come along and observe Steering Group meetings**