Dear resident,
The National Assembly for Wales has been in recess during August so I have enjoyed spending more time attending local events. I have visited a number of community shows, such as Berriew show where I was able to discuss issues with members of Powys Community Health council. I am also pictured below taking part at a ‘Ready Steady Cook’ event at Dolfor show, where I was pleased to be the successful winner!
I have focused this month’s e-news on four main issues – recycling update on new opening times, health services, the Newtown Bypass and rail safety, but please don't hesitate to contact me if you want any further information or if I can help on any other matter by email at [email protected] or on 01686 610887.
Best regards,
Russell George
Assembly Member for Montgomeryshire
Recycling
I'm pleased that the Potters waste and recycling sites in Newtown and Welshpool have now reopened for five days a week. This follows an overwhelming response to my recent recycling survey which showed that Powys County Council's previous plans to reduce opening times to three days a week didn't have the support of the public.
I'm pleased that the Council's new cabinet has listened to concerns and reversed the decision - a victory for common sense!
Of course, there are other areas of concern with regards to recycling services which need to be addressed. These issues remain a high priority for me.
The new opening times are as follows:-
Newtown
Monday - 9am to 5pm
Tuesday - 9am to 5pm
Wednesday - 9am to 5pm
Saturday - 10am to 4pm
Sunday - 10am to 4pm
Welshpool
Wednesday - 9am to 5pm
Thursday - 9am to 5pm
Friday - 9am to 5pm
Saturday - 10am to 4pm
Sunday - 10am to 4pm
Health Service Improvements in Montgomeryshire
I was delighted to visit Newtown's new Birth Centre recently to meet up with Rosie, who was the first baby to be born at the new centre at Newtown Hospital.
The Birth Centre, which has a brand new waterbirth pool as well as a Day Assessment Unit is just one of the improvements which has occurred at Newtown Hospital in recent months.
Indeed, the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Vaughan Gething AM, has also recently visited Newtown to see service improvements first hand, meeting with staff from the Dementia Home Treatment team and Community Neuro Services as well as inspecting new x-ray and ultrasound facilities which were made possible through donations from the Newtown Hospital League of Friends.
In Machynlleth, Powys Teaching Health Board have said that they are looking at reshaping the way which community health and wellbeing services are delivered. The project will involve the refurbishment of the front of the hospital to provide a multi-disciplined service for the Machynlleth area. However, the project is dependent on capital funding from the Welsh Government and they are awaiting their response.
And in Llanidloes, the Health Board has established the concept of delivering palliative care suites as one of its priorities. The suites will provide choice and additional "home from home" support for patients nearing the end of life and their families. The Llanidloes League of Friends are heavily involved in the project and will support the scheme financially.
Finally, another development over the summer was the decision taken by health leaders on 10th August, which will now see a move towards public consultation on the future provision of hospital services for the people of Montgomeryshire.
When launched, the consultation will ask members of the public on their views on the preferred option of the Emergency Care site at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Planned Care site at the Princess Royal Hospital.
Both Glyn Davies MP and I have always maintained that it is common-sense that emergency care serving Shropshire and Mid Wales should be located in the centre of the region in Shrewsbury and it is now satisfying to learn that this is the preferred option which will be put to the public in the not too distant future.
However, this outcome is not a foregone conclusion and it will be vitally important that the people of Mid Wales get involved and make their voices heard when the formal consultation starts later this year.
Newtown Bypass
It is pleasing to see that good progress is being made on the Newtown Bypass and it is positive news that construction work appears to be on time for completion by the end of 2018. It is now time for work to begin on putting things in place to take full advantage of the construction, and I was therefore also pleased that the Welsh Government has confirmed that £200,000 of in-year funding will be provided to Powys County Council to support Newtown's Active Travel Network.
This funding will now allow Powys County Council to make a start on putting active travel such as walking and cycling at the heart of planning decisions for residents and visitors to Newtown, allowing it to take advantage of the opportunities which the new bypass will ultimately provide to regenerate the town.
I'm also hoping that the opening of the Newtown bypass will be an opportunity to raise money for charity through a charity run or another type of event. The Welsh Government and contractor seem to be amenable to such a suggestion which will be a good opportunity to eventually mark the completion of the project and declare it open while raising money for local good causes.
Rail Safety
I was pleased to join Councillors Diane Jones-Poston and Les George on a visit to see how Network Rail's £7.5 million Railway upgrade scheme in Mid Wales intends to improve rail safety.
The project includes the construction of two kilometres of new highway and two new road-over-rail bridges at Ystrad Fawr and Rallt, enabling the closure of eight rural railway crossings.
I was particularly impressed by the way Network Rail and Powys County Council are working collaboratively to deliver this major infrastructure project, without disrupting rail passengers travelling through the area.
The level crossing closures in Talerddig will help reduce risk, improve safety and support the local economy. Once complete, it will be much safer and easier for local people to cross the railway and it will also produce massive benefits for the local agri-business economy allowing farmers to further invest in more modern and efficient equipment.
I regularly meet with Network Rail, and if there are issues you believe I should raise with them, please let me know.
Advice Surgeries
I will be in the following areas on these dates.
Please call my office on 01686 610887 if you would like to meet.
Newtown - Monday 18 September
Llanbrynmair - Saturday 23 September
Machynlleth - Monday 25 September
Llanidloes - Friday 29 September
Montgomery - Friday 29 September
Welshpool - Monday 2 October