Kidwelly Town Full Council Meeting 7th November 2023

We attended the full council meeting of Kidwelly Town Council on Tuesday (Nov 7).

Cllr Lewis was an attendee, and was able to advise on progress, or otherwise, on some of the following matters of most importance to the town.

The old Town Hall – works by Carms County Council due to commence in March 24. However the exact nature of these is to be determined by the working group, the last meeting of which was poorly attended and so those members of the public with ideas and opinions are urged to join and attend and give input. The reports and plans have been done, but have not yet been made available to the group or councillors.

The Town Square – works are to start in January 24, and whilst the public have mixed views on this, the fact that after some 15 years or so of planning and designing this revamp, that there is now an actual start date comes as some relief for those of us involved from the outset.

The Tin Works Museum (Kidwelly’s Industrial Museum) drags along – the surveys and reports commission by Carms County Council having been done but not summarised. The site was vandalised over the summer, which has added urgency. More Trustees are sought and more pressure form the group will be needed to secure proper engagement with Carms County Council.

The recent repeat flooding of the properties at Ferry Road was discussed – the section 19 flood investigation report was done in 2019 and the findings re improvements in drainage are still outstanding, requiring the engagement and assistance from the Llys Gwenllian housing association Pobl, as well as the owner of the adjoining field, and Cllr Lewis advised this had been difficult for him to obtain thus far, neither parties seemingly appreciating the urgency.

The bridge in Bridge Street is to be inspected on Sunday 26th Nov 23, which may mean partial closure and traffic diversion for 3 – 4 hours.

The reduction of the X11 bus service to hourly from half-hourly was discussed in a recent meeting with Cllr Lewis. The reductions are a direct result of cuts in subsidies but also a drop in passenger numbers. The bus service 198, a slower bus with a longer route but consistently reliable, is under no threat at present.

The Youth Hut has been condemned for demolition following a structural inspection. However a motivated new Youth Council of 14 to include Kidwelly, Ferryside and St Ishmael has been started.

C.Cllr Lewis advised he and C.Cllr Davies are to hold a street surgery – leaflets to be distributed.