Councillor demands Oldford answers after claim kids clean up syringes

A Welshpool councillor has blown her top after her plea for a can of paint to help Oldford kids spruce up a play area sparked an angry debate over recreation facilities at the town’s largest housing estate.

Cllr Kelly Meredith said she was not surprised that “nothing gets done” after her simple request for assistance was not as straight forward as she had hoped.

The self-titled clean-up minion has done astonishing work across the town in recent years but after joining the council in April she said that she had become frustrated with the issues at Oldford.

“I don’t even know where to begin,” she said at this week's Operations & Development Committee meeting. “I am trying to find the words without sounding angry but the biggest hurdle I have faced in my ward is that Oldford is a mess of boundaries.”

The estate has become entangled in a “who is responsible for what” mess in recent years after it became clear that the play facilities were no longer fit for purpose.

But Cllr Meredith was requesting the council’s help to provide her with paint to cover graffiti and “vulgarities” at the all-weather football pitch.

However, she was told it is ClwydAlyn, the housing association, who should take care of it, as the Town Council did not have any budget for the Oldford play facilities, and was not legally responsible for them.

“I have come here tonight to ask for help after kids have been working their rear ends off clearing up night after night after night,” she said. “They are finding old mattresses, TVs, syringes, cleaning up on their nights off and they don’t have to. Using materials that they have financed themselves.

“And, the answer again is ClwydAlyn and to be honest I am fed up of ClwydAlyn. Every single time it’s been questioned its either ClwydAlyn blames us or we blame ClwydAlyn. No wonder nothing gets done.

“I am not asking for a million dollars I am asking for a can of paint just so these kids can help me. I have spent countless nights on my own time, whilst going through chemo by the way, doing this.

“If I can do this at 41 going through chemo and these kids can do it and they can find money to buy paint and chalk then I think it’s OK to give them a can of paint.

“Carpenters have said they will fix the goals on their own time and expense but this has been shot down when bringing it up.

“So how are we supposed to fix things if every single suggestion or every person that comes forward is always put two steps back because the answer is “I’m not interested”.

She also said that a recent residents meeting with ClwydAlyn and the Town Council was a disaster after “not a single resident showed up because they didn’t know about it”.

Even the Mayor, Cllr Bill Rowell, described that as a “shambles”.

Committee Chair, Cllr Phil Pritchard, said that he too has “had a belly-full of it now” but reiterated that it shouldn’t be up to the Town Council to do the work when it isn’t their responsibility.

The Operations team said they would be happy to sort the paint for Cllr Meredith, but the committee dug their heels in and said the Town Clerk should liaise with ClwydAlyn to gain permissions first.

Cllr Rowell said the committee should ensure there is money in the budget for next year should they decide to take care of the facility, but that is a topic of ongoing discussions between the two parties.