14 July 2022

Visitors to next week’s Royal Welsh Show are being advised to take care in the heat after the Met Office issued a weather warning.

An Amber Warning is in place for extreme heat covering part of Powys from Sunday 17 July through to at least to Tuesday 19 July where temperatures could reach 32C.

Now the Builth Wells Event Safety Group are urging visitors to the Royal Welsh Show to take care in the heat by following these tips:

• Drink plenty of water and avoid excess alcohol
• Try to keep out of the sun between 11am to 3pm
• Walk in the shade, apply sunscreen regularly and wear a wide-brimmed hat

The safety group are also warning visitors not to try cooling off in nearby rivers as this could be dangerous and fatal.

The group, which was formed in 2017 and led by Powys County Council, is responsible for reducing public risk and improve the safety of those in and around Builth Wells during the period of Royal Welsh Show.

Cllr Richard Church, Powys County Council’s Cabinet Member for a Safer Powys, said: “The main health risks posed by extreme heat are dehydration so it is important that visitors do everything that they can to take care in the heat.

“If visitors follow our tips, it will help the to take care in the sun but they will also be able to enjoy their time at the Royal Welsh Show safely.

“It’s also important that visitors avoid the temptation of cooling down in nearby rivers, this could endanger lives and could be fatal.”

13 July 2022

Children across Powys can look forward to another ‘Summer of Fun’, thanks to Welsh Government funding. 

The scheme provides a range of play, sporting and cultural activities for children and young people aged 0-25 over the summer holidays. 

Activities, run by third-sector organisations will take place across the county from 7 July to 30 September 2022.  

The Deputy Minister for Social Services, Julie Morgan said: “Providing support for children and young people across Wales is a priority for this government. I am thrilled we are able to build on the success of last year’s Summer of Fun and the Winter of Wellbeing by providing a wider range of play, sporting and cultural activities.  I want to make sure all children and young people in Wales have an opportunity to play freely, to have new experiences and to enjoy their summer.”

Powys County Council’s Cabinet Member for Future Generations, Cllr Susan McNicholas adds: “We are delighted that children and young people across Powys have the opportunity to benefit from summer activity sessions again this year.  

We would really encourage parents to find out what’s on in their local area, as children and young people could benefit from fun activities such as arts and crafts, sports, outdoor pursuits, theatre and dance and much more.”  

Find out about activities in your area visit – https://en.powys.gov.uk/holidayactivities

13 July 2022

A new playground on Pendre Field next to Priory Church in Wales school in Brecon is now open and being enjoyed by local children and families. Welsh Government Flying Start and Brecon Town Council funding was secured to support the project.

The playground has an enclosed area for 0-4 year olds, with inclusive equipment to enable children to develop their physical skills and creativity. This area will also act as an extended outdoor space for the new Flying Start setting that is due to open later this year.

The new Flying Start setting will border Pendre Field on the Priory Church in Wales school site. The new modular building also funded by Welsh Government Flying Start will provide high quality, funded Flying Start childcare for two-year-olds and will also be used to run parenting groups and training. In addition, there will be space for 3 and 4 year olds to access Foundation Phase and Childcare Offer provision.

Construction of the new Flying Start modular building on the Priory Church in Wales School site has recently been delayed due to unforeseen issues regarding underground utility services. Excavation work has had to pause whilst utility service providers re-route the services. The new building is scheduled to open for children and families in the autumn term.

The new setting called Enfys Fach Nursery will also have a small multi agency office and a contact room where professionals such as Health Visitors and Speech and Language Therapists can meet families.

Deputy Minister for Social Services, Julie Morgan said: “I am thrilled Welsh Government funding has been able to provide such a fantastic outdoor space for children in Brecon. Being able to play is an essential part of growing up and helping young people socialise with friends, let off steam and be creative.

“We are committed to enhancing provision across Wales and this playground is an example of what we want to achieve. I look forward to seeing how this Flying Start setting progresses.”

Powys County Council’s Deputy Leader and Chair of Priory Pre-School Trustees, Cllr Matthew Dorrance says: “It’s great to see children playing and making the most of the new park – it’s been really busy and well used. The park is phase one of the new Flying Start setting project and will be a fantastic additional outdoor space for our future Flying Start and Foundation phase children.

“The new Flying Start centre is an exciting development and we are working to resolve the delay in groundworks so that children and families can get the full benefits of the significant investment.”

The new zip wire for children aged over five was funded by Brecon Town Council and has proved very popular with young and also the not so young!

Cllr David Meredith, Mayor of Brecon Town Council said: “Brecon Town Council is pleased to have been able to support the new Flying Start project by working with Powys County Council to provide an additional piece of equipment for this exciting new facility.  A zip line has been included in the park development thanks to Brecon Town Council’s funding and we very much hope that this will provide an enjoyable and fun element for the park users.”

11 July 2022

Powys County Council looks forward to welcoming visitors at its building at the 2022 Royal Welsh Show.

The Council has a wide variety of information and stalls across the four-day event (18-21 July) in Llanelwedd.

Visitors can find out more about becoming a foster carer, support the climate agenda with advice and information about recycling, pick up tourist information, and hear more about exciting plans for the area with Growing Mid Wales.

The Council will also be showing it’s support to the White Ribbon Campaign. As well as information about supporting vulnerable children in the county.

In addition, partner organisation will be in attendance including Ceredigion County Council, Powys Teaching Health Board, Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, Canal and Rivers Trust, Severn Valley Wye Energy and PACE.

Cllr James Gibson-Watt, Leader of Powys County Council, said: “We are delighted to see the return of the event in our county and we extend a warm welcome to all those attending.”

Powys County Council will be located in Tŵr Brycheiniog on Avenue E, next to the main ring.

11 July 2022

Cartons, often referred to as TetraPaks, can now be recycled through your weekly recycling collections by adding them to your red recycling box.

“Although it has been possible to recycle food and drink cartons at the Household Waste Recycling Centres for a while, we know it isn’t always practical for everyone to use the facilities for these every-day items.” Explains Cllr Jackie Charlton, Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys.

“Following your requests and feedback, we have been working hard behind the scenes to find a feasible way to include these cartons within the weekly recycling collections and are now delighted to be able to add them to the list of items which can now be recycled in your red box.”

The types of cartons we can now accept in the kerbside red recycling boxes are drink cartons such as juices, smoothies and milk, and food cartons, such as soup, tomatoes and pulses. Just give them a quick rinse, squash, and add to your red recycling box.

After your recycling has been collected and delivered to the county’s waste transfer station, the cartons are separated from the plastics and cans and baled together. These bales are then collected by the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) UK, who process them at their dedicated reprocessing facility.

Commenting on the council’s decision, Richard Hands, Chief Executive of ACE UK said. “It is great news that Powys County Council has decided to send the cartons they collect to our dedicated recycling facility. As well as having a low carbon footprint, the high-quality wood fibres found in food and drink cartons can be recycled up to six times, making them a valuable raw material for new paper products.”

Cllr Charlton added: “Powys households have already proven to be dedicated recyclers, and we know you are keen for us to develop ways to help increase recycling opportunities wherever possible. The introduction of cartons to the red box will help us keep up the county’s recycling momentum to meet the next Welsh Government target to recycle, reuse or compost 70% of our waste by 2025.”

As a reminder, in the red boxes we can now collect:

• Clean and empty plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays
• Clean and empty tins, cans, kitchen and bathroom aerosols, foil and metal lids
• Clean and empty food and drink cartons

8 July 2022

A Head of Service at Powys County Council is set to leave the authority for a new post in West-Wales, the council has confirmed.

Jan Coles, Head of Children’s Services will leave the council to take up a similar role at Carmarthenshire County Council later this summer.

Jan joined Powys County Council in October in 2018 and led the improvement journey for the service following the Care Inspectorate Wales report the previous year. Improvements focused on Early Help services for families, a strengths-based approach and children’s rights.

Jan drew on her previous role as operational Manager for Cardiff Council, where she was responsible for developing Child Sexual Exploitation prevention services.

Chief Executive, Dr Caroline Turner said: “We wish Jan well for the future, she has a wealth of experience having worked as a Children’s Services Social Worker for the last 20 years and will be missed by colleagues.”