We had a great day at Garnant with Tanya Richards of Mountain View Feeds and county councillor Kevin Madge and Cllr Emyr Rees talking about the impact of the cost of living crisis on the area.
Tanya started the business from scratch and has built it up into something very special in the village. She takes in local produce from local people and sells it for them.
Tanya has other plans including a community garden for growing vegetables and giving vulnerable people a chance to spend time gardening.
Both Tanya and Kecvin Madge have concerns over the cost of living crisis and the impact it is having locally.
Cllr Madge is frustrated that the council run day centre only opens two days per week.
He says that elderly people risk suffering from hypothermia and may end up hospitalised and bed blocking as a result.
Cllr Madge says he is going to launch a campaign to get the centre open on a daily basis.
Tanya Richards claims that her plans to use waste land to the side of her industrial unit have not sat well with the county council and that red tape is preventing her from creating a valuable community resource in an area in desperate need of some care.
Business owner Simon Card spoke about his frustration of not being given help, funding or support by the county council or the Welsh Government for what he says is the UK’s first zero carbon eco village, which ha seen a £1.2m spend.
Mr Card says that no one from the council or Welsh government has been out to see what he, his partners and investors have created despite the politicians ‘banging on’ about climate change.
Welsh Govvernment and Carmarthenshire County Council have been contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for Carmarthenshire County Council said that they had not been approached by the businesses owner at Mountain Feeds about the use of land.
Cllr. Jane Tremlett, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Services said “At present, Cwmaman Day Centre is open for two days a week as the demand from pre-pandemic users has not yet returned. This will continue to extend, in September, to three days a week as we identify service users who want and need to access the provision that is available from the site. The site is available for community use, and we will continue to do all we can to use the centre to support community activity should the need be identified. We welcome any ideas that the community have for use of the site.
“Carmarthenshire County Council, as part of its “Ten Towns” programme, has been working with key community stakeholders to develop an Economic Growth Plan for Cwmaman. The plan sets out the ambitions of the community and has identified a series of projects and actions to take forward. The county council has set aside £100,000 to support the plan and is working with the community to bring forward various elements.”
Copy of the report https://www.10towns.co.uk/cwmaman-english
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