Information of our next meeting of Caerleon Civic Society can be found on our Facebook page
December 2022
The next meeting of the Caerleon Civic Society will be held on Monday,
December 12th at 7.00pm in Caerleon Town Hall. Please come along and
hear a presentation by Laura Smith, Newport City Council's Conservation
Officer, who will be talking about her work on conservation with special
reference to Caerleon. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and
discuss the issues arising.
Photo Credit - Caerleon Community Calendar
November 2022
The OCTOBER MEETING of the Caerleon Civic Society was held on Monday the 10th. There was a good turnout of members and the discussions ranged far and wide on environmental issues which face Caerleon now and in the future.
Some time was spent on concluding our views on the Welsh Government’s National Transport Delivery Plan 2022-2027, which is out for consultation. Based on previous discussion at the Society’s meetings, it was considered that our response to the Government’s proposals should be one of conditional acceptance. It was accepted that there was a need to move away from a reliance on the private car towards other ways of getting about, especially if the carbon zero target of 2050 (or sooner!) was to be achieved. However, it was considered that there was insufficient substance in the Plan relating o the actual provision of new public transport facilities in the Newport and Caerleon areas. Members were concerned about the lack of urgency in making proposals to ease the high levels of air pollution in areas like central Caerleon. Members were also concerned that opportunities had been missed to ensure that the financial resources generated by the many large scale new housing developments around the City had not been sufficiently targeted to improvements in active travel facilities.
Finally, our response highlighted the lack of innovative ways in which the general public, transport users and groups like the Civic Society, could be involved in the development of transport policy in Wales.
The next steps for the Replacement Local Development Plan for Newport over the next 10 years were also discussed. It was evident from local press coverage that other areas of SE Wales were already responding to the longer term plans for their areas – Torfaen residents have objected to proposals for a large-scale new development in the Llanfrechfa area ; Monmouthshire is considering a proposal to stop any further growth of new housing in the Monmouth town area due to the inability to tackle pollution of the River Wye ; and proposed housing growth on the English side of the border has been criticised by Chepstow Councillors as there are no agreed proposals to improve the transport infrastructure in their own area.
All this public discussion has a relevance to Caerleon, as the City Council will be consulting in early 2023 on ‘Growth Options’ for the city, including Caerleon. Members reflected on whether or not a ‘no growth’ option was desirable or feasible for Caerleon.
It will be important that the widest possible range of interests provide their views to the City Council on the next 10 year plan for our area – the Civic Society will certainly want to be fully involved in the consultation
October 2022
An update of our first meeting of the Civic Society after the summer break - Monday, September 12th. More members attended than in some previous months and some ‘first timers’ paid their subs for 2022 – still a bargain at £5 and joined the Society.
A wide range of issues were covered in the course of 2 hours. We not only dealt with our usual items such as the Treasurer’s report and current planning applications, but also we were able to give more time to considering wider issues affecting Caerleon such as future national transport policy, including road charging and 20mph zones. It was decided to look at this complex issue again at our October meeting before finalising any comments that we may wish to make in response to the Welsh Government consultation document on the National Transport Delivery Plan up to 2027. By the time of our next meeting we will also have the benefit of the discussions at the Caerleon Air Quality Group on October 4th.
September 2022
An article in the Argus in mid-August with the apparently clear headline ‘Council NO to road charging’ refers to a statement from the City Council about its initial response to Welsh Government proposals for bringing in road charging schemes. Newport said it would not support tolls being introduced on the M4 in the city and has no plans to introduce a congestion charge in Newport. The Welsh Government proposals are set out in its National Transport Delivery Plan which can be read on-line. Of great interest to Caerleon residents is the statement in the plan that charging drivers in clean air zones ‘would be the most effective means of tacking our pollution problems’. As central Caerleon has an existing clean air zone, the option of charging should at least be discussed locally and I hope that the Civic Society will debate this proposal at a future meeting and respond to the Welsh Government with its conclusions..
August 2022
In our August meeting it was considered that other projects, of a more immediate and practical nature, could be progressed, if there was support from the wider membership. One example was an inventory of all those aspects of Caerleon’s streets, in public view, which might need urgent maintenance and repair. Members listed the old telephone boxes, street signage, railings, walls, pavements, bollards and other small-scale, but important, sometimes historic, features of the way in which Caerleon looks to both residents and visitors. The up-keep, and maybe replacement, where this was necessary, of these features should then be bought to the attention of those bodies, not only the Council, who were responsible for them. The up-keep of public footpaths (Rights of Way) were another good example of this type of project for the Society to pursue with other interested parties..
July 2022
The June meeting of Caerleon Civic Society was also the occasion of the long-delayed Annual General Meeting with all the existing officers of the Society being re-elected.
Patrick Williams from Sustrans Cymru gave a presentation about Active Travel in Caerleon , an overview of the current issues from his experience working with Welsh Government and local projects in Wales, and from being a local resident.
An update from Caerleon Air Quality was also given , depressing to note that the readings for central Caerleon are ranked in the 97th national percentile for the UK as a whole – that means that only 3% of addresses in the UK have worse air quality! This is a spur to action for all of us.
Any individual can now find out more about the air quality around their home by using their postcode in conjunction with the website www.addresspollution.org.
June 2022
The Society’s Annual General Meeting is to be held on Monday, June 13th, at Caerleon Town Hall. Please come along, get involved, and help improve Caerleon for everybody.
It is hoped that arrangements can be finalised for a presentation to be made to the AGM about the issue of flood prevention in Caerleon. Details of the meeting will be posted on local social media
A full account of issues covered can be found on our Facebook page.
May 2022
AN INVITATION
Caerleon Civic Society hope that existing members, and those who would like to join, will come to the next CCS meeting on Monday May 9th, the Town Hall at7.00pm.
It will be the first formal meeting for over 2 years and it is proposed that the June meeting will be the ‘Annual General Meeting when it is hoped many new members will join us.
April 2022
We welcomed more than a dozen CSS members and potential new members to the meeting in the Town Hall
One of many issues discussed was the traffic survey of Mill Street and High Street carried out by volunteers through February and March. The results of the survey were presented to the meeting provoking considerable discussion .
A full account of issues covered can be found on our Facebook page.
March 2022
This month members discussed a range of current issues affecting Caerleon.
One issue raised concered the current state of Goldcroft Common. There was a lively discussion about car parking problems in this area and what could be done about it.
A full account of issues covered can be found on our Facebook page.
February 2022
'A new website has been launched to commemorate the Caerleon men who
died in the two World Wars. You can view it at
The project has been researched and written by our Chair, Chris Thomas.
Sincere thanks are due to the many people who have contributed memories
and photographs of their relatives. Any further contributions will be
gratefully received.'
January 2022
PLEASE NOTE: NO HEN GALAN/ MARI LWYD!!!
Despite speculation to the contrary, we regret to announce there will be NO Hen Galan/ Mari Lwyd celebrations in Caerleon at this time.
The decision has been taken after careful consideration of the problems posed by Covid and the need to minimise risk to the community.
