At a recent meeting of Whitland Town Council, the council was delighted to welcome three new councillors, Richard Davies, Mathew McDowall and Ffion Scourfield, who made their declaration of office. The following items were then discussed.

Initial feedback from the use of the Wifi in the town showed that usage was growing, with Tuesday being a popular day. The defibrillator had been received, the cabinet was imminent, and it would be installed on the outside of RedKite as soon as possible. There was disappointment that the advertising for a suitable electrician had resulted in no application, and it was hoped that the planned electrician tender would provide a more effective and efficient way of managing future situations. It also was agreed that there ought to be a publicly available listing of defibrillators in the community, and the clerk was requested to organise this.

The official launch of Whitland Town of Culture was to happen a few days after the meeting. It was agreed that the Town Council should play a leading part in the co-ordination of the year. The council also discussed and agreed their new representative for school governor. The council noted Pembrokeshire’s Local Development Plan, and after further information had been provided on the local detail of the one for Carmarthenshire, and a discussion held, it was agreed that all comments on should be passed to the clerk to send on.

The draft tenders for grass cutting and arboreal work and electrical work were discussed and agreed. The clerk would co-ordinate the distribution of the tenders, deal with any queries, and bring all submitted tenders to the next normal council meeting for council decision.

The council had received a request for financial assistance for a bridge over the river Gronw. It was agreed more information was needed before council could make decisions on it. There were also two written complaints regarding the location of the December 1 Christmas event, which were read out and noted. Nasareth Chapel had approached the council regarding taking over management of the cemetery in 2018, and it was agreed to look into the necessary steps for this.

The council had been successful in obtaining funding for a centrally located map of Whitland, highlighting informal play areas. The membership of a working party to co-ordinate work on this was agreed. Funding was also being provided for a feasibility study for a neighbourhood plan, which the council hoped would result ultimately in some much needed extra parking space.

The budget and precept discussion started, but the meeting ran out of time, so it was agreed to postpone this to a special meeting later in the month.

One planning application was discussed: W/38208 -change of use of ground and first floor storage to two flats. 16 St. John Street, Whitland.