THE latest community news from Harlech

Community Council

CLLR Thomas Mort said that the entrance into the allotments needs tidying.

It was agreed that this would be looked into.

Llyn y Felin Playing Field: It was agreed that a letter of thanks should be sent to Julie Thomas, part of the Harlech Community Parks Group, to thank them for the work they have done in getting Llyn y Felin open once again.

Llyn y Felin was officially reopened on 25 August, which was a huge success.

It was reported that a young boy injured his leg after jumping from the tyre frame, striking his leg on a bolt.

The clerk has received an email from Julie Thomas requesting that warning signs are erected in the park.

During an external audit, it was found that the community council website was not up to standard, as some information was missing.

The clerk contacted Cllr Elfyn Anwyl who has brought the website up to date, and the auditors are now satisfied with the content of the website.

The clerk has received an email from Darren Coleman asking if he could have a chat regarding the piece of land next to the football field, Cllr Judith Strevens has agreed to contact Mr Coleman for more details.

The clerk confirmed that she had received an invoice from Harlech & Ardudwy Leisure for the second payment from the precept, and it was agreed to pay next month along with other requests.

It was also agreed that we should make clear to the board members that the precept agreement was only for one year, and that they would need to go through the process again if they want to extend the payment for a second year.

The community council agreed that a public meeting would be held prior to making any further decisions should they be asked again.

The community council has received a letter from this department to thank them for agreeing to the partnership to keep Lower Bron-y-Grai, Min-y-Don and lower Harlech public toilets open for the coming year, and confirming that the arrangements would continue into 2018/19, and the community council’s contribution sum would be unchanged.

Also the community council was made aware that the next steps for this department is to hold discussions with those communities who have expressed an interest in taking on more responsibilities for public toilet maintenance in the future.

It was agreed that this needed to be considered and £8,000 would be earmarked in next year’s budget.

An email has been received from Rosy Berry to advise that she had received a complaint from a local businesswoman regarding the lack of bilingual service from the community council.

Cllr Elfyn Anwyl has written to ask if the community council could write to Gwynedd Council to raise concerns that no one is assisting with crossing Ysgol Ardudwy school children from the train station, following Bedwyr Williams’ resignation and that this role should be filled to safeguard the schoolchildren

Historical Society

THE intriguing title of the talk at next meeting of the Society on Tuesday, 10 October is ‘Selling the Seaside – the Cambrian Coast in the 19th Century’.

An article in the North Wales Chronicle in the 1870s referred to new towns springing up ‘as if by magic’.

In fact resort development was highly complex involving local politicians and entrepreneurs, increasing municipalisation, new transport networks, not to mention social changes arising from industrialisation in Britain as a whole.

The Cambrian coast resorts were in a very competitive market with the north Wales resorts - especially Rhyl and Llandudno close by - and long established resorts such as Brighton and Eastbourne all seeking to attract visitors.

The way the resorts along the coast were marketed during the 19th century was thus of vital importance to the development of tourism as the retreat of agriculture and maritime industries increased the need to promote the area as a holiday destination.

The talk will focus on how the Cambrian coastal towns sought to develop a distinctive image for the region as a whole, how they tried to adapt and provide what would now be called visitor attractions, how they used new developments in publishing and advertising to promote the region and how local politicians worked with journalists and others across Britain to raise the profile of the area.

Early package holidays, glossy brochures, press campaigns, holiday developments all had a part to play.

Most important of all was how they tried to do this without compromising their own values and culture.

Sabbath observance and temperance for example were part of the image projected.

The speaker, John Hirst, is a long-standing member of the Historical Society and a regular and popular contributor to its activities. As part of his interest in history, he has carried out research into resort development along the Cambrian coast of Meirionnydd and Caernarfon and recently completed a PhD on the subject.

The meeting will be held at Neuadd Goffa, the Memorial Hall, on Twtil just opposite the Castle and will commence at 7.30pm.

Non-members are welcome and refreshments will be served.

If you’re a member of a club, society or group, send your news to [email protected]