Robs Weekly Round Up 

14 July 2023

Dear colleagues,

Can I start this week by thanking Debbie for her end of week message last week.  I am grateful to her for this as I was on leave.  Diolch Debbie.

I’m delighted to be able to start this week’s message with some breaking news. The Cardiff & Vale Adult Learning in the Community Partnership, of which our Culture and Community Learning team, is a lead partner, has received an excellent report from Estyn.

The inspector’s report was published yesterday and its content should make colleagues working in the service incredibly proud. The report says: “This is a highly effective partnership with a clear and well-articulated vision for its purpose, direction and provision. The vision is rooted in the partnership’s commitment to improving the life chances for adult learners in its diverse communities. The four partners share and understand the partnership’s vision and work effectively, collaboratively and innovatively. Strategic leaders are active in shaping and contributing to the national discussion about the future of adult learning in the community.”

The Community Learning team provide a service that really does cater for all, and which can have a huge impact on people’s lives. Vocational courses give many adults the opportunity to learn new skills to enhance their employment prospects. Art and craft courses give residents of all ages the chance to create something and are great spaces for making new friends. Health and fitness classes help many, especially older, residents stay fit and healthy. And the service’s English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and family classes help support those in great need.

Diolch yn fawr iawn to every member of the team. Your work makes a very real difference to people’s lives and I am delighted the high standard of service you offer has the official recognition it deserves.

Working in partnership is often central to our success in the Vale and another great collaborative project has launched this week. The Restore the Thaw project is a three-year programme of work to improve biodiversity along the River Thaw, its tributaries and surrounding landscapes.

Restore the Thaw is being led by Mel Stewart in our Countryside Services team. The Vale Local Nature Partnership will also play an important role. The project will cultivate new habitats for local wildlife, as well as helping landowners and the community do more to support the natural environment. Mel has done amazing work in recent years to support natural habitats across the Vale.

With the nature emergency becoming more apparent every day work like this is now more important than ever. The project has been partly funded by our Project Zero reserve as well as receiving grants from the Waterloo Foundation and Nature Networks on behalf of Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales. There will many opportunities for volunteers and community groups to get involved in conservation work. Anyone interested should contact Mel.

In declaring the nature emergency in 2021 the Council’s Leader Cllr Lis Burnett said “more needs to be done, with particular attention paid to the threat to biodiversity. Protecting biodiversity is as important as tackling climate change.”

I am proud of how so many teams have risen to that challenge in the years since and in particular of how varied our biodiversity work now is.

Another great example of this, and of colleagues using nature to support the wider work of the Council, is the new Flying Start wellbeing garden which opened in Barry recently. The garden was the vision of Childcare Manager Joanne Flaherty. Jo wanted show what a difference playing in nature can make to children and help families learn together through outdoor play. Thanks to her hard work, and again support from the Vale Local Nature Partnership, children who attend the Flying Start family centre will now be able to learn about nature by exploring flowers, herbs and plants. They will also grow fruit, salad and vegetables to pick and the garden is open to parents and carers who can take fresh produce to take home and cook with their children.

I’d like to thank the whole Flying Start team for the constantly innovative work to support families in the Vale and Jo in particular for her determination to bring her vision to life. This is a great example to colleagues of what can be achieved when we think differently.

Rewilding certain green spaces in the Vale and cultivating foliage and fauna is one part of our strategy to take the nature emergency in the Vale. This can sometimes bring with it some debate and so it was wonderful to see positive comments on the wildflowers at Penarth cliff top go viral this week after Welsh naturalist BBC Springwatch presenter Iolo Williams praised the scheme.

“Top work” were Iolo’s words in response to a post describing the wildflowers next to the new shelter as “a haven for bees, butterflies and insects and lovely to see!”. I fully agree with both and would like to thank all those colleagues involved in establishing and maintaining new biodiversity spaces across the Vale.

Improvements to the public realm are one of the most visible areas of our work. It is work that is seen by and impacts upon all of our residents. This work can also have a big bearing on how residents judge the work of the Council overall. For these reasons I want this week to highlight the work of two colleagues, Matt Buckley and Colin Chorley, who in recent months have steered a number of high-profile street lighting schemes to completion.

At the Mount in Dinas Powys new LED Bollards are improving visibility for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, while staying perfectly in keeping with historical charm and County Treasures award-winning status of the surrounding buildings. Similarly, the refurbishment of the cast iron Victorian lamps in Penarth has preserved the identity and charm of the town while integrating modern technology. While the installation of modern LED Road Lighting in Penarth Marina has used the latest technology to improve public spaces for residents while keeping maintenance and support costs to the Council low.  Each scheme is innovative in its own way and all will help reduce the Vale’s energy usage and contribute to our Project Zero goals. Great work Matt and Colin.

This week we have also been focusing on the climate emergency and Project Zero. On Tuesday evening the Youth Council discussed what concerns them about climate change and are helping to plan an event in the Autumn to engage with more young people. Thanks to Alex Thomas in the youth team for helping facilitate these discussions and more generally for her great work to support school councils and give a voice to young people. 

On Thursday it was the turn of the Vale 50+ Strategy Forum who hosted an event in Llantwit Major to encourage discussion on climate change over a cup of tea and a Welsh cake. Thanks to colleagues in transport, property, leisure and waste management who helped make the event a success and facilitated the workshop discussions alongside members of the Strategy and Partnership team. The feedback from the workshop will now be considered by the Forum and will inform future activity and service delivery.

Another team whose work has a big impact on how we are viewed by our residents is that of Customer Relations. The Council’s online services are constantly improving but some residents will always want to pick up the phone. This means the C1V team are always at the forefront of service changes. With some significant changes to how we deal with waste and recycling being rolled out this month (more on that next week) our Customer Service Representatives have been even busier than usual.

The team has taken more than 23,000 calls in the last month, while also processing 800 emails a week. This has meant team members starting work early, finishing late, and some even cancelling annual leave in order to be there to support their colleagues and our residents. Those CSRs taking calls have remained positive and smiling throughout. Alongside them our Telecare Operators and Wellbeing Officers have continued to support vulnerable residents. Receptions have also been busier than usual with residents coming in to ask questions in person. 

To say work in C1V is fast paced does not do it justice and I want to say a massive thank you to the team who work tirelessly to ensure all of our services are accessible to those that need them. Diolch yn fawr pawb.

I am closing this week’s message with the same theme that opened it, our Culture and Community Learning team receiving acclaim. This time it is the offer at Penarth Pier Pavilion that has attracted plaudits. Last week’s Pavilion Festival was described as “delightful” in a four-star review of the chamber music production staged at the Pavilion. It’s always great to see our work receiving national attention and this piece in particular serves to highlight just what a wide range of services the Council offers. Thanks to the excellent team at the Pavilion for their work in bringing such cultural delights to the Vale.

Thanks as always to you all for your efforts this week. Diolch yn fawr.

Rob.