11 June, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

I hope this message finds you well at the end of another busy week in the Vale of Glamorgan. After the half term break this feels like a week where things have kicked back into gear. 

The work of the Council is now firmly focused on looking to the future and on how we can realise our ambition of building strong communities with a bright future. On Monday, Cabinet approved an outline of a £20million investment bid to the UK’s Levelling Up fund to continue the regeneration of Barry’s Waterfront. Over the last 20 years, the Waterfront has seen the development of shops and restaurants as well as substantial housing investment, with more investment to follow in education facilities. As a Council we now want to take the area to the next level by better linking it with the other communities of Barry and unlocking the potential of employment land and leisure. The bid will now be developed and worked up further with a view to submitting a strong bid for funding. 

Also approved at the meeting were proposals for a new mixed-use development at the west end of Barry town centre. The Gladstone Bridge Compound Site could become home to a new medical centre, replacing the existing Broad Street Clinic, as well as apartments reserved for older people similar to the nearby Golau Caredig extra care facility. The current Broad Street Clinic will then be redeveloped into a block of affordable apartments that will have no age criteria but will provide new homes for local families. Both elements of the scheme are subject to planning permission and project funding. We're working closely with Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and with Welsh Government to progress these proposals to the next stage.

In last week’s message I mentioned that we would be marking Carers’ Week, which is celebrated annually in June to recognise the often-unsung work of unpaid carers. Yesterday, we partnered with Cardiff Council and the YMCA to launch a Young Carers ID Card scheme in the region. The aim of the scheme is to help identify young carers to professionals so they can easily access essential items, such as medicine, for family members. There are more than 350 young carers in Cardiff and the Vale who are supported by these organisations, but it is estimated that up to 1 in 5 school aged children and young people provide care for family members. I’m pleased that we were able to support this scheme in the Vale of Glamorgan and hope that it means accessing certain services will be easier for young carers in the future. 

This month is also international Pride Month and this week our LGBT+ Colleagues and Allies network, GLAM, have shared a guide on celebrating Pride 2021, as events continue to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. There are a number of ways to show your support to the LGBT+ community this month, including supporting local LGBT+ businesses, by watching a film or TV series that positively portrays the LGBT+ community and raises awareness, by donating to a charity organisation or by sharing resources online to raise awareness of Pride Month and why it’s celebrated world-wide. Please see GLAM’s guide on Staffnet+ for more information. 

Finally, I would like to wish the Wales football team the best of luck at Euro 2020, which is starting – after a year’s delay - this weekend. Let’s hope the team can repeat that fantastic journey to the semi-finals in 2016 and possibly even go a step further!  And also for all colleagues who may be following or supporting other teams – good luck!

I hope you all have a good weekend; however you spend it.

Take care, diolch,

Rob.