Pupils in the village of Bronllys, near Brecon will now be entitled to free school transport following an appeal to Powys County Council by a local mum and her Liberal Democrat County Councillor Clair Powell.

Pupils who live in the village of Bronllys that attend Gwernyfed High School, in Three Cocks have previously had their free school transport applications turned down by Powys County Council due to the three mile rule, which says that pupils are only entitled to free school transport if they live over three miles from the school. Bronllys is just under three miles from Gwernyfed High School. However the ruling from the Welsh Assembly states that pupils should be entitled to free school transport where there is no available, reasonably safe walking route.

Cllr Powell and local resident Mrs Deborah Tame fought against the council decision as they felt that the route from Bronllys to Gwernyfed, along the A438 was not safe.

Cllr Powell said “When challenged it was clear that Powys County Council had not carried out a Risk Assessment of this route, and indeed there are likely to be many others in the County. Parents have had their applications for free school transport turned down without due consideration by the council of the safety of the walking route to their nearest High School”.

“I along with Mrs Tame, other parents and our Liberal Democrat MP Roger Williams have been raising this issue with the council for some time. We have walked and videoed the route which has a large volume of traffic, many heavy good vehicles, little or no footpaths. It has now been deemed that the likelihood of an incident occurring is high and the severity of any injuries would also be high.”

“I am delighted that at last the pupils of Bronllys, and indeed many other areas across Powys, will now have the safety of the routes to their schools assessed properly. This will lead to many more pupils being able to access free school transport. The current cost of sending your child on the school bus by using the vacant seat payment scheme is £105 per pupil and these parents will no longer have to pay this or transport the children to the school themselves.

“This is a historic victory for the community of Bronllys and I understand that many other areas across Powys will be affected by this decision.

“The Welsh Assembly Government can legislate in Cardiff but it doesn’t mean anything unless local authorities are getting this right on the ground. The Welsh Assembly should provide adequate funding to local authorities to enable them to comply with the legislation that it has laid down”.

Roger Williams MP said “Most people go into local government to try and make a difference, but Cllr. Clair Powell’s tenacity on this issue is certainly going to make a difference to the people of Bronllys and other communities across Powys. I must also congratulate Mrs Tame and other parents in the village for their efforts and persistence in getting this change of policy from the county council. The onus is on WAG to ensure that funding is available to the council to enable it to provide free school, transport that meets its guidance”.

This week I attended the Builth Wells Transport Study Exhibition, held at Antur Gwy, Builth Wells.

The aim of the exhibition was to seek the views on the problems and issues that the study should be addressing, and the possible options or solutions.

The goal of ‘One Wales’ is to promote sustainable transport networks taht safeguard the environment while strengthening our economic and social life.

Following the Public exhibition there will be further assessments and a Public Consultation on the identified options during the summer of 2009.

 Further information is available on the Welsh assembly Government website:

http://new.wales.gov.topics/transport/roads/NewRoads3

Then click on: A470 Builth Wells

Please note that a public exhibition on the Builth Wells Transport study will be held at Antur Gwy, Builth Wells on
Thursday 25th September 10am to 8pm and
Friday 26th September 10am to 6pm

Everyone is welcome to attend

Following calls by local residents regarding the safety of the junction of the A470/A438 I am delighted to inform you that the Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency are currently developing a scheme at Marrish to make alterations to the junction. I understand the Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency are chasing approval and additional funding from Welsh Assembly Government to try and get the scheme implemented prior to the end of the financial year.

Let’s hope that the scheme will get the go ahead as soon as possible. I’ll keep you informed.

One of the most common issues that is raised with me via email, letter and when meeting local residents is the safety on our roads.

As a former firefighter I am all too aware of the consequences that road traffic accidents have on everyone involved. I feel it is vitally important that we do all we can to make our road network as safe as possible.

Following a recent successful meeting with the Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency I am pleased to be able to report that it was agreed to provide temporary Speed Indication Devices (SID’s) at two locations within the 30mph speed limit on the A470 in Llyswen. Powys County Council are now working to devise a programme for their use in Llyswen in order to maximise their impact. If this scheme proves successful it will hopefully also be implemented in Erwood.

Concerns have also been raised about the junction of the A438 and A479 (Llyswen to Bronllys - Marrish turn) following a number of recent accidents. I will be contacting the Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency to see if improvements can be made along this section of road and will keep you updated with any progress.

The Welsh Assembly Government have announced a grant that will be available to County Councils to assist local business, in the form of a rate relief, if they agree to make their toilet facilities available for use by the general public.
However I strongly believe that this grant, which will only amount to some £18,000 per local authority, would be better spent in upgrading and maintaining the existing facilities. This grant should not be used to provide alternative facilities to those that are already in place, such as the toilets in Erwood.
In particular the facilities that are available in Erwood are situated on the A470, the main road linking North and South Wales, they are open 24 hours a day and are easily accessible. If these facilities were to close and local business were to make their facilities available they would most definitely not be open 24 hours a day. Local business have also expressed concern that the money that could be available would be no where near enough to cover the costs they would incur in water bills, cleaning and sanitation products.
I feel that the Welsh Assembly Government and the Trunk Road Agency MUST take responsibility for the toilets that are situated on the trunk road network. I have already written to the Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones AM, to ask that the Welsh Assembly Government take control of this situation before we see further closures.

Photo: Local residents were joined by County Councillor Clair Powell and Brecon and Radnorshire AM, Kirsty Williams to raise awareness of the importance of retaining the public toilets in Erwood.

Last week I was joined by Roger Williams MP, parents and pupils of Gwernyfed High School on the walk from Bronllys to Gwernyfed High School.

This followed being contacted by parents who have been told they will need to pay £105 per pupil for school transport in the new term because they live under the three mile current limit. (2.917 miles away)

You may recall that I mentioned earlier that the guidance actually actually states that the LEA must provide free transport for pupils, regardless of the distance they live from the school, if there is no safe route.

 Well, that was what we were setting out to prove, that the route, along the main road, is not safe. In places there is no verge, there are blind bends and dips in the road that cause traffic serious vision problems. Not only that but if children would be forced to walk they would be faced with doing so, in the dark during the winter months as there are no street lights.

I would not care to walk this route again. The speed and amount of traffic, not forgetting the size of some of the vehicles, passing us at 60mph was an extremely dangerous one.

We have a video of our journey and I hope to get it posted on here shortly. 

 Please let me know if your children are experiencing the same problem. It would be great to hear your views.

I have had a number of calls from residents and discussions with other councillors recently regarding the legislation governing free school transport. The limit by which pupils can get free school transport is if they live over three miles from their school. All families living under three miles from their school have to pay a fee of £105 per term, per pupil. There is not even a lower price for families with more than one child.

I have a situation now where two pupils in my ward are expected to walk to Gwernyfed High School because they do not qualify for free school transport. They live 2.917 miles from the school and have no other access to transport.

I understand the need to have limits in place, however I will be questioning the council on this issue as I understand the legislation reads “Measurement of the statutory walking distance is not necessarily the shortest distance by road. It is measured by the shortest route along which a child, accompanied as necessary, can walk with reasonable safety. As such the route measured may include footpaths, bridleways and other pathways, as well as recognised roads. If there is no such route, the LEA must provide free transport no matter what distance you live from the school”

So what constitutes reasonable safety? In this case I certainly question if the route along the main road from Bronllys to Gwernyfed is within “reasonable safety”. With ever increasing traffic and heavy goods vehicles using our road infastructure I as a parent would not allow my children to walk this journey.

 The meeting with representatives of the Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency (MWTRA) and a representative of Powys County Council was quite successful. On Wednesday I met with Dean Williams (MWTRA), Richard Hobbs (PCC), Kirsty Williams AM and local residents to discuss road safety issues in LLyswen and Erwood.

Hopefully we will see improvements put in place over the next few months which will hopefully raise greater awareness of the speed limits in these villages and serve as a reminder to motorists not to exceed these limits.

Pictured: County Cllr Clair Powell, Kirsty Williams AM, Cllr Peter Lloyd and Cllr Terry Hurford (Bronllys Community Council) and Dean Williams (Mid Wales Trunck Road Agency)

The meeting which I have arranged with Kirsty Williams AM and representatives of the Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency will go ahead tomorrow.

We will be meeting in Llyswen at 3pm to discuss a number of issues, moving on to Erwood later that afternoon.

I will keep you updated of any news or developments following the meeting.

County Councillor for Bronllys Ward, Clair Powell, has called for further road safety improvements to the village of Llyswen.

“I welcome the work that has been carried out to implement more road markings in a bid to slow traffic down however drivers are still speeding through the village. I have raised this issue with Kirsty Williams AM and we are hoping to meet with officers from the Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency shortly. I have asked them to look into the possibility of placing 30mph flash warning signs that will alert drivers who are breaking the speed limit. Being a former fire fighter I have seen the consequences of speeding vehicles and It is important that we do all we can to ensure the safety of pedestrians and other road users”.