You may download a PDF copy of this newsletter here to print or read offline.
Welcome to the first newsletter of 2022. Our aim is to provide you with details on what has been happening in Tircoed since our last newsletter and there is a lot to update you on!
If you would like to read previous editions of this newsletter, they are available in the News section. This newsletter is available to view at the village hall, in audio format on the website, and paper copies distributed to every house within the village.
If you have any queries, or would like to discuss a particular issue, please contact us via the website. Thank you!
As you are no doubt aware, since our last update, the Trust has organised several successful events within the village. Last August we saw the return of the summer fete and are sure you will agree it
was an enormous success. It was lovely to see so many people enjoying themselves in the sunshine and all feedback received indicated everyone who attended thought this was the best Tircoed fete yet! A lot of hard work went into organising it and trustees would like to thank all those who kindly volunteered to help on the day and in the lead up to the event.
In response to interest in our local pond and habitat, we were pleased to hold an open day with our consultant ecologist where everyone was welcome to visit and find out more about our responsibilities, the challenges we face, and plans for the future of the pond. It was a terrific opportunity for those with concerns to understand more about the plan to encourage wildlife and improve the area with many questions answered.
In October, we were proud to hold an event for a local animal sanctuary and have alpacas and llamas visit our village. We would like to give a big thank you to all those who bought tickets and items on
the day which raised vital funds for animals in need of help. We are sure everyone who attended enjoyed meeting these wonderful animals!
October half term saw children (and parents) active in the village enjoying Tircoed’s first Halloween trail! Unfortunately, the weather was against us throughout the week, but the trail was still well attended and enjoyed by many.
The Christmas fayre returned in December and what an evening it was! The fayre was the most well attended one yet and it was lovely to see so many families enjoying the festivities. It was also lovely
to see the return of the alpacas and llamas in their festive outfits! Thank you to everyone who contributed to the fayre and helped make it the memorable evening it was.
The most recent event we have organised was the Easter Egg hunt in April. We hope all the children enjoyed following the clues and receiving an Easter Egg at the end of it!
You may have already seen posters advertising Picnic in Pontlliw Park which will be held to celebrate the platinum jubilee on Sunday, 5th June between noon and 6pm. The event is for residents of
Pontlliw and Tircoed and is being organised by the community council with help from Tircoed Trust and other local organisations in the area. There will be live music, bouncy castles, stalls, and children’s
activities hosted by Radio Tircoed and promises to be a fantastic day for everyone who attends.
In addition to this, many Tircoed residents are holding their own street parties to celebrate the jubilee.
You will be pleased to know we are already well into planning this year’s summer fete. It will be on Saturday 27th August (summer bank holiday weekend) so keep the date free! Once again, we will be asking residents to help and will appreciate any support given. Please contact us via the website if
you would like to help.
We have many more ideas for the future within the village… we will keep you posted on these! If you have any ideas of events or activities you would like to help organise in the village, please get in touch.
We are pleased to announce, since our last update, we now have two new trustees. Simon Fisher and Jane Davies joined the team in September and have already helped immensely. The list of currently serving volunteer trustees is always available on the tircoed.org website.
The Trust is aware of issues experienced by some persons purchasing or remortgaging properties within the village (this is not unique to Tircoed and has caused issues across the country). This has
been caused by a tightening of lending policy by some banks who have recently started taking exception to a clause in a law created almost one hundred years ago, long before the village was built,
and the Trust formed.
The Trust has collaborated with legal professionals to provide a solution to these deed of variation requests from any lender requiring it. Anyone considering selling or refinancing their property should
be aware of this solution in place for anyone requiring it from their lender.
It is important to note that due to the various parties involved, the process may take anywhere between four to eight weeks to complete. We therefore urge you to discuss with your own
professional adviser at the earliest opportunity to ensure any sale or remortgage can be completed within your required timescale and to contact our management company CLC Chartered Surveyors to proceed if this is required.
We applied for a grant last year to improve the children’s play equipment in the village which was declined. We are applying again this year and will update you if successful. We are pleased to advise we were successful in securing two small grants to help with our family events and improve our sports facilities. You may have noticed this work has started and new basketball hoops and refurbished football goals will be in place within the next month. Basketball hoops were replaced last year but were damaged beyond repair within weeks. Please could residents ask their children to advise of any behaviour seen that may damage play equipment as we wish to see it enjoyed for years and do not have funds to replace equipment again.
Our expert arborist will shortly be undertaking a full survey of all areas within and around the village the Trust is responsible for. As in previous years, all trees will be examined to determine any that are unhealthy, and work prioritised for any that may require attention.
As mentioned in an addendum in the last newsletter, all roads in Tircoed Forest Village are now adopted by Swansea Council. You can view the adopted roads by visiting the Council Highway Viewer linked to from here. There is a small number of shared drives within the village not owned by the Trust that have not been adopted by the Council.
Over the next month you may see torchlight activity in the evenings and early mornings around our village pond. You may also find reflective canes on the banks, bottle traps, and equipment bobbing in the water! This is to help determine if our pond is home to the Great Crested Newt. Great Crested Newts have full legal protection under UK law making it an offence to damage or destroy their habitat (even if only a suspected presence). This survey will confirm if any activity adversely affects any protected species and determine what work can take place.
Letters for this year’s rentcharge demands have recently been posted to all houses required to pay. If you have not received yours, please contact CLC Chartered Surveyors. A credit control team has been instructed to recover debts from those within the village who have habitually chosen not to pay. Some of these cases are now settled, with remaining cases being escalated.
As we approach summer, cases of anti-social behaviour in the village are likely to increase. We would like to remind residents that CLC and the Trust do not have responsibility to deal with anti-social behaviour. The correct channel is the local neighbourhood policing team and local PCSO details are provided in the Contact section of this website to obtain help and advice. If there is an ongoing immediate concern at any time, please contact the police on 101, and 999 only if it is an emergency. Calling 101 enables the local police to log all issues and build a picture to determine if this is a problem area that needs additional support. If anti-social behaviour, or a crime, is reported to the police, the Trust will support investigating officers only with any request to review CCTV footage.
We are happy to report the local community council are providing hanging baskets for the village again this year and we will also see the introduction of wildflower areas which, in addition to the grounds maintenance we already manage, will contribute to Tircoed continuing to be an incredibly attractive area.
The Radio Tircoed Management Team is looking to recruit new members. If you, or someone you know, would like to become a radio presenter (full training provided) or work behind the scenes on fundraising or administration, for example, please email rtpresenters@hotmail.com or call 01792 229050.
We would like to thank everyone in our village for supporting each other over the last year. The trustees have volunteered to serve our community and will always appreciate any help offered. If you have any suggestions to make our village a better place to live, please contact the Trust, as we always welcome enquiries and suggestions!
