Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

A neglected piece of Carway land which has been blighted by fly-tipping and abandoned cars is being transformed with the help of local young people. Carmarthenshire County Council’s housing division has teamed up with the Gwendraeth Youth Forum to breathe new life in to the disused land at Maesywern. It is one of the projects being undertaken by the Environmental Works Project, part of the council’s £203million Carmarthenshire Homes Standard – a major improvement programme to update council homes and benefit communities. Working with the Welsh Assembly’s Tidy Towns project and Keep Wales Tidy, the youths and EWP project staff cleared the land and designed a landscaped community area for local residents to enjoy. As well as planting with shrubs and plants, creating raised beds and rockery features and creating seating areas and pathways, a large part of the scheme has been designed to discourage further abuse of the land. A consultation exercise undertaken by members of the youth forum ...

Gwendraeth Youth Forum has received a grant of £5,200 from Tidy Towns to support a subway clean up project. The Youth Forum are giving up their free time to work on Cross Hands Subway after it was identified by young people that the Subway was untidy and vandalised. They hope to start on revamping the subway in July and any young people from the Gwendreath area wanting to take part in the project are welcome to attend. Young people from the Youth Forum have been working with Carmarthenshire County Council and graffiti Artist Lloyd Roberts to design and eye-catching mural that will replace the existing graffiti and vandalism at the Subway. Co-op Crosshands will be providing refreshments to the young people during the project. Charlene Dvaies, Chairperson of the Gwendreath Youth Forum said:“With the support of the County Council, Tidy Towns, Llannon Town Council and the South Wales Trunk Road Agency we have been able to develop this much needed project and I can’t wait to see our hard wo...

Gwendraeth Youth Forum teamed up with CAVS and Keep Wales Tidy to do the biggest ever clean up of the streets of Carway. Everyone taking part was provided with equipment to help clear litter hotspots in the village and surrounding areas. Youth link worker, Rhys Morris said:“It was great to see the community working as a team and taking such pride in their village. By encouraging children and young people to participate in clean-up activities at an early age it is hoped they will develop and interest in the environment and take responsibility of their own surroundings.” Executive Board Member for Education and Children’s Services, Councillor Gwynne Wooldridge added:“Seeing young people giving up their time to do something positive for their communities is very inspiring. Young people tend to get blamed for littering but we all have a responsibility to keep our streets clean. We should all learn from these young people and work together to maintain cleaner villages.”

Gwendraeth Youth Forum has teamed up with CAVS and Keep Wales Tidy to do the biggest ever clean-up of the streets of Carway. The community litter-pick hopes to encourage all members of the community, young and old, to get involved and clean up their streets. The group will be targeting litter hotspots in the village. Youth link worker, Rhys Morris said:“It is hoped that children and young people will also support the project; by encouraging them to participate in these activities at an early age they will develop and interest in the environment and take responsibility of their own surroundings.” Gwendraeth Youth Forum Chairperson, Charlene Davies added:“The Youth Forum is annoyed with the amount of rubbish on the roads and outside houses so this is a chance for the whole community to get together to make Carway a cleaner village. I would like to encourage everyone from the village to join in with the clean up.” The group will meet at Carway Hall on Monday May 17 at 4:45pm. All equipmen...

Following recent complaints about the state of Cross Hands subway, Gwendraeth Youth Forum have taken on the challenge of sprucing up the area. The subway, now dated and run down, will soon become a burst of colour thanks to the efforts of young people. Graffiti and creative writing workshops have taken place in the Gwendraeth area to prepare youth forum members for design work on the subway in June. Gwendraeth Youth Forum will work on the project in partnership with Llannon Town Council and Carmarthenshire Council’s Tidy Towns department. Gwendraeth Youth Forum members, Shannon Davies said “When we found out that residents were unhappy with the current state of Cross Hands subway we decided to take action and make the area more appealing. “We have organised several workshops run by professional artists and I’m confident that with all the efforts from various organizations the area will look fantastic.” Youth Link Worker, Rhys Morris added:“It’s really refreshing to see young people goi...

Gwendraeth Youth Forum has been hard at work to ensure they can carry out community projects within the Gwendraeth Valley. As part of their fund-raising the young people held a duck race event on Saturday April 24 at Pontyates. The Gwendraeth Youth Forum is a group of young people between the ages of 11-25 working together to bring about positive change in their community. Rhys Morris, Gwendraeth Youth Forum Leader said: “The young people are working really hard to develop worthwhile community projects and their aim is to encourage more young people to do something positive in their community. “I hope these events will raise significant funds for the Forum in order to create and provide opportunities for young people and the community as a whole.” Youth Forums are held across the county and are open to all young people 11-25 years. The Forums give young people the opportunity to have their voices heard and issues raised are reported back to the Carmarthenshire Youth Council. To get inv...