Isle of Anglesey County Council

• We had the opportunity to celebrate St David’s Day last week and I would like to thank Menter Môn for arranging various processions to note the occasion. I had the privilege of attending the procession held in Llangefni and it was nice to see so many young local school children celebrating what it is to be Welsh.
• The Schools of Anglesey also celebrated St David’s Day. Ysgol Henblas received a very special message from the Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod, Mererid Hopwood. The children learnt about poetry and raised money for the school. The message on the School’s Twitter account is worth seeing. Well done to all the Island’s school on their celebrations.
• The North Wales Choir Festival was held in Llandudno over the weekend and Anglesey Youth Choir came first in the Show Choir Category and came second in the Young Voices Category. Congratulations to them.
• Congratulations to Mr Tom Bown from Llannerchymedd. Mr Bown has been measuring rainfall every day since 1948 and continues the family tradition which began with his grandfather. He was recently honoured for his services by the Met Office and Natural Resources Wales.
• Congratulations to Peter Jones from Anglesey who has recently been honoured with an MBE following recognition of his services towards the peat land of Wales. Mr Jones is a specialist senior consultant with Natural Resources Wales for peat ecosystems across Wales.
• Good luck to Finney’s Chip Shop in Benllech who have reached the Final of the ‘Takeaway of the Year’ category in the National Federation of Fish Fryers awards. These are the most prestigious awards in the industry. Good luck to this local business!
• Staying with food, I’d like to congratulate Tomos Parry – originally from Anglesey – for gaining his second Michelin Star. He gained his first star back in 2018 for his restaurant ‘Brat’ in London and he has now been successful in gaining his second star with his new restaurant ‘Mountain’ – having been open for only six months. Tomos continues to use Welsh produce in his restaurants and includes the Welsh language on his menus.
• Turning to sport next, congratulations to the young athlete Eli Jones for becoming the indoor 60 meters and 200 meters Welsh Under 20’s Champion.
• Congratulations also to Meinir Thomas from Llangefni who has once again been chosen for the Wales’ Masters Over 55’s Hockey Squad. She will compete in three competitions – the Home Nations Championships in Nottingham, a four country competition in Germany and the World Cup in New Zealand in November.
• On a sad note to finish, as you know, the former Councillor Vaughan Hughes passed away at the beginning of the new year. He was a county councillor for ten years and before that was a well-known broadcaster, presenter and tv producer. He was also the Editor of the magazine ‘Barn’ right up to his death. He spent most of his life in Anglesey and was passionate towards the Island. There will be an annual memorial prize in his name at Eisteddfod Môn.
• Condolences also to the family of Iolo Trefri Owen who recently passed away. He was a farmer and innovative business man. He received the privilege of opening the Anglesey Winter Fair in 2021 as recognition of his significant contribution to agriculture on the Island. He will be missed.
• We were also very sad to hear about the death of Bethan James who was a consultant on behalf of GwE and who attended Council SACRE meetings. She died prematurely at the beginning of the year.

In the same manner, we as a Council send our condolences to any members of staff who have recently suffered a bereavement. I therefore ask those in attendance in the Chamber, and who are able to do so, to stand for a minute’s silence as a mark of respect.

First of all, I would like to thank the Emergency Services for their work of protecting the residents of Anglesey throughout the year and another example of this was seen on Sunday evening with the fire on Glanhwfa Road. It is a shame that such significant damage has been caused to a historical building of the old Borough Council. Having said that, we are thankful that no one was injured.

Congratulations to Paul Woodhouse, Deputy Head Teacher at Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi Secondary School and to Liah Williams, Ysgol Pencarnisiog School for their success at the 2023 north Wales Education Awards. Paul won the Secondary School Teacher of the year award and Liah won the classroom assistant of the year. Congratulations to them both.

Congratulations also to the Police Officer Lisa Thomas and Angharad Jones from the Council’s Social Services team after their work of tackling anti-social behaviour on Anglesey was recognised at the North Wales Police Problem Solving Partnerships awards.

The Anglesey Community Programme also received praise recently at the Safer Communities for Wales Awards for the positive effect that it had on reducing anti-social behaviour in towns across the Island. The project won the “Partnership” category for the inclusive way that it promoted community safety.

Congratulations to Mrs Annwen Morgan who has begun in her role as the new Chair of the Anglesey Welsh Language Forum. As the former Chief Executive of Anglesey Council of course, Annwen is looking forward to supporting and leading the Forum that works to promote and develop the Welsh language on Anglesey. We wish her all the best.

An Age Friendly Conference was held in Cardiff on the 8^th of November. Sioned Young, the Council’s Age Friendly Anglesey Community Development Officer spoke at the Conference as did Brenda Roberts, Chair of the Elderly Council on the Island.

Turning to Sport, it is a pleasure to highlight the achievements of Anglesey’s girls netball team who competed at an Islands tournament in the Isle of Man recently. After fierce competition throughout the day, team Anglesey managed to beat Guernsey in their final game. Well done them!

A member of Council staff has just released his first Christmas single – ‘Amser yr Ŵyl'. Dafydd Jones from the Benefits Section has already performed his new single on ‘Heno’ on S4C and is looking forward to people hearing the new song.

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the Winter Fair in Builth Wells this year. A special congratulations to Tony and Iona Ponsonby who are tenants on one of the Council’s Farms and it was nice to see the Young Farmers of Anglesey succeeding in the Winter Fair.

Congratulations also to the Young Farmers for holding the National Young Farmers Eisteddfod at Mona. It was nice to see a full pavilion.

On a Christmas note, I would like to praise the contribution of Anglesey residents who have come together to hold community events during December. Thank you to all volunteers for spreading the Christmas spirit across the Island and for their work with those less fortunate in our society. Thank you also to all the school staff and young people who have prepared and taken part in different Christmas shows across the Island. I would also like to thank those Council staff who will be working over the Christmas period to provide key services.

Finally, the Christmas period can be very difficult for some families who face challenging circumstances, illness or bereavement. We as a Council send our condolences to any Members or Officers who have recently suffered bereavement. I therefore ask those in attendance in the Chamber, and who are able to do so, to stand for a minute’s silence as a mark of respect.

Firstly, I would like to congratulate everyone who competed in the Anglesey Young Farmers’ Eisteddfod last weekend at Mona Showground. I understand it was very successful and entertaining.

Congratulations to the Rapper Ren Gill who has overcome a long period of illness to top the UK charts with his second album. Ren is originally from Dwyran and is a former pupil of Ysgol David Hughes.

Good luck to Ioan Rhun Jones from Llanfairpwll who will be climbing part of Everest in March in memory of his father and to raise money for the charity ‘Shout’. We wish Ioan all the best.

Congratulations to the Anglesey Fostering Team on winning an award in recognition of their excellent contribution to foster care. The support given by the team to the Island’s foster carers was praised along with the close relationship with the Anglesey Foster Care Association.

Congratulations to the broadcaster Hywel Gwynfryn on receiving a Special Contribution Award at BAFTA Cymru Wales awards recently for his contribution to broadcasting. Originally from Llangefni, he has been a very proud ambassador for Anglesey throughout his career.

Congratulations to George North for creating history by becoming the first Welshman to appear in the Rugby World Cup quarter finals on four separate occasions.

Congratulations to Amlwch Town Football Club on winning the Wales Over 50’s Walking Football championships; and good luck to the Anglesey netball team who will be competing against other island teams in the Isle of Man next month.

Good luck also to all individuals and teams nominated for an award in the Môn Active awards ceremony for 2023. The ceremony takes place tonight at Beaumaris Leisure Centre.

Thank you to Haydn Edwards for his work as Chair of the Anglesey Welsh Language Forum over a period of six year. Under his leadership the Forum developed to be the voice of authority on Welsh Language matters on the Island and over 30 organisations are now involved in the work.

I would also like to thank the Reverand Dr Dafydd Wyn Williams for his tireless work as the Minister at Noddfa Chapel in Holyhead over a period of 30 years and for his work as a local historian which has seen him publish over 40 books and numerous articles.

Finally, increasing conflict has been witnessed in the Middle East over the past few days. We have seen and heard news reports of how critical the situation is and our thoughts are with the children and ordinary people who are suffering as a result of the fighting.

On another sad note, I wish to express our sympathies to the family of Reverand Emlyn Richards who passed away in August. He had served as a minister in the Cemaes area since 1964 and published numerous books on the history of Anglesey. I also wish to extend our sympathies to Cllr. Robert Llewelyn Jones, following the death of his sister in law.

As a Council we also send our condolences to any member of staff who has recently suffered a bereavement. I therefore ask those present in the Chamber, and who are able to do so, to stand for a minute’s silence as a mark of respect.

Meeting of Isle of Anglesey County Council - Hybrid Meeting - Council Chamber, Council Offices, Llangefni & virtually via ZOOM, Isle of Anglesey County Council, Tuesday, 12th September, 2023 2.00 pm (Item 3.)

Minutes:

The Chair made the following announcements:-

• Congratulations extended to all the Young Farmers Members of Anglesey who competed at the Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells.
• Congratulations was also extended to those who exhibited their stock and produce at the Royal Welsh Show and to Mr Richard Roberts from Emyr Evans Agricultural machinery company for receiving a prize for long service to the company.
• Congratulations extended to everyone from the Island who took part in the National Eisteddfod at Pen Llyn in August and especially to Côr Ieuenctid Môn Youth Choir, led by Mrs Mari Pritchard, who won 3 of the Eisteddfod’s Choir competitions.
• Congratulations extended to those with links to Anglesey who were honoured to the ‘Gorsedd y Beirdd’ (Bards) this year.
• Congratulations extended to Ms Alison Cairns from Llannerch-y-medd who won the Welsh Learner of the Year at the Eisteddfod.
• The Chair referred to the successful Anglesey Show held yet again this year. She thanked the organisers of the Agricultural Society and everyone who supported the show. The Chair also thanked everyone who were part of the arrangements of the County Council’s pavilion at the Show.
• The Chair referred that Anglesey has recently been accepted as an official member of the Worldwide Age Friendly Community Network of the World Health Organisation. As a new member of the network, the Island is part of a world-wide movement which tries to create communities where everyone can look forward to ageing well in them. She wished to thank the Welsh Government and the Wales’ Older People’s Commissioner Team for the support during the journey; Anglesey Older People’s Forum; Councillor Gwilym Jones the Council’s Age Friendly Champion and the Council Staff and Partners for their hard work.
• Congratulations extended to the Anglesey Fostering Team who have won two awards from the British Fostering Network. Two of Authority’s foster carers won the Kinship Carers prize whiles the Fostering Team won the prize for the Social Workers Team.
• Congratulations extended to Mrs Mary Davies, from Brynsiecyn who has been awarded the MBE for her services as a ‘call-taker’ with British Telecom and the Emergency Services (999).
• Congratulations extended to the Archives Services staff, under the leadership of Ms Kelly Parry, on their recent success. The team have worked extremely hard for a recent assessment and have ensured that they keep their status as Accredited Archives.
• Congratulations extended to all the young people who have been successful in their examinations this year. The Chair wished to thank the teachers and staff in the schools for supporting the young people on their educational journey.