The Committee has had a quiet month during December, but plans are taking place for future events at the Hall during 2003.

At the moment we have a Race Night planned for February, also a tabletop sale in the hall. We haven't arranged specific dates as yet, but will hopefully be able to give a list of dates next month for events during the whole year so that you can book them into your diaries.

We will be arranging a variety of different activities so that we have something to suit all age groups in the community. We do struggle with putting on events that we think the older residents would enjoy, so if you can think of something that would be popular, please let me know.

We have had a couple of complaints recently regarding emptying the bins on the field. You may not be aware that the Council will not empty bins located on the field (they will not cross the field and will only empty the wheely bin on the car park) therefore they have to be emptied by a volunteer.
The situation is that we have been quite successful in asking people to pick up their dog's droppings and putting it in the bins - but this has led to the committee members not particularly wanting to empty the bins by hand. As you can imagine, this is an unpleasant job.
We have contacted Monmouthshire County Council to ask if they provide a special collection for dog litter and have been told that this service is not provided. At the moment we have the following options

• Carry on as we are and hope that someone will volunteer to empty the bins.
  (Brian will empty them this weekend, so that the problem is solved temporarily).

• Ask all dog owners to take their dog litter home with them

• Ban dogs from the field altogether.

We don't particularly want to ban dogs from using the field as this can cause more problems than it solves, with neighbours reporting each other, falling out and constant complaints over an issue that is very difficult to police.
So, we are asking for a volunteer, if there is one out there, to empty the bins on a regular basis. We would also remind people of their responsibilities and ask them to bag their dog litter and take it home with them. The playing field is a public area where sporting activities and play must be able to take place in safety, we must all take steps to reduce health hazards as far as possible, it is the responsibility of all users of the field to keep it clean and free from any type of litter.

Now on to the good news:

We have contacted Monmouthshire County Council about the trees overhanging the field - particularly the play equipment, as there has been some concern locally about their safety and the Council has agreed to inspect all the trees surrounding the field and take steps to cut them back/make them safe. They will start this work during early April.

We are looking at updating the format of the Newsletter. This will not mean a change to the current arrangements - all articles will still go to Mrs Lawrence for editing and typing, but it will mean that we need to collect them in earlier in the month.

Please note that all articles will need to be in by the 20th of the month in future to ensure that they are included in the following month's newsletter.

I would like to pass on the Committee's good wishes for the new year to all our readers.

Please note: Playing Fields Committee meetings are held on the THIRD MONDAY OF EACH MONTH from now on, at 7:30pm in the hall

Yours sincerely,

Hilary Counsell

CPFA Secretary