The annual general meeting of Pennar and Bufferland Community Association was held recently.

The chairman thanked the members for attending, then proceeded to read from the minutes of the 2011 annual general meeting. Clr. Tony Wilcox proposed that the minutes of the 2011 AGM should be accepted as they were read, and Clr. Maureen Colgan seconded his proposal.

Election of officers to serve the P&BCA to February 2013: chairman - Clr. Maureen Colgan; vice-chairman - Christine John; treasurer - Clr. Maureen Colgan; secretary - Ron Selby.

An address was given by Emily Sheen, PCC customer relations - tenant participation. Emily described the guidelines set out by PCC housing department to apportion the amounts of money granted to formal and informal tenant groups or community associations to cover their running costs. Formal groups, such as the P&BCA, will receive a £200 p.a. grant on the receipt of their audited accounts of running costs over the year to April 30. Should the running costs of a CA be in excess of £200, then extra funding can be provided, but a breakdown of these extra costs must be submitted to the community liaison officer.

Any CA can also apply for Community Chest funding for special projects that are intended to benefit the local residents as a whole. The maximum amount available for any one project is £500, and up to four applications per year for different projects can be made, up to a total of £1,500.

Treasurer's report: Clr. Maureen Colgan reported that the P&BCA funds presently had a credit balance of £131.55.

Christine John, the retiring chairman, closed the annual general meeting.

Clr. Maureen Colgan, the newly-elected chairman, then opened the monthly meeting of the association.

She thanked the members for their support over the past year, but regretted that membership had declined of late.

Possibility of future 'dry' P&BCA meetings - in St Patrick's Community Hall!: Clr. Maureen Colgan commented that while she was pleased to see people enjoying themselves and socialising in The Alma Inn, the general noise level did create some difficulties when holding the P&BCA monthly meetings. She proposed that future meetings should be held in the much quieter ambience of St. Patrick's Community Hall. When put to a show of hands, five members voted in favour of the move to the community hall, one was against, with three abstentions.

Arrangements for a street party to celebrate HM The Queen's diamond jubilee: Clr. Maureen Colgan said she had previously proposed arranging a street party for the residents of the nearby streets in the courtyard area just off Castle Street, but should the members feel that the grounds surrounding St. Patrick's Community Hall could cater for the all the Pennar residents likely to attend, then she would give her support to the idea. To make the party a success, she would have to call upon the help of the P&BCA committee and members. The diamond jubilee holiday has been declared to be Tuesday, June 5.

Re-opening the Minor Injuries Unit at South Pembs. Hospital: It had been announced that the Minor Injuries Unit at the South Pembrokeshire Hospital was due to be re-opened on Monday, April 2, and Pennar residents were most thankful!

Pennar residents get closer to regaining access to their long-time recreation area: Clr. Tony Wilcox reported on the findings of the inquiry into Pembroke Dock Town Council's application to have land at the western end of Military Road declared to be a town or village green. The planning inspector had recommended that the land should be registered as a village green, but the PCC head of legal services was waiting for specialist advice on certain aspects of the report before the final decision was made.

Dog fouling of Pennar streets, pathways and open spaces: At previous meetings, it had been suggested that the community association should ask the Pennar Community School and St. Mary's RC Junior School to have their pupils design a set of suitably sized posters exhorting dog owners to clean up after their pets. The posters would be attached to lampposts, telegraph posts, gate posts etc. around Pennar and Bufferland. Clrs. Maureen Colgan and Tony Wilcox would approach the two schools with this initiative in the hope of it making Pennar a healthier place to live and play.