The Council is currently working to review the delivery of all of its services in light of the Prime Minister’s briefing on 16 March 2020. The Council has been coordinating a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in recent weeks and has arrangements in place to prioritise those services which the support the most vulnerable.
The Council urges all residents to keep up to date with the most recent advice and guidance available on the Public Health Wales website.
As further decisions are taken, these will be communicated via our website and social media feeds.
UPDATES
Friday 3rd April 2020
Help for voluntary Sector
The Vale of Glamorgan Council has made £2000 available for a small grants scheme to help voluntary groups in the Vale of Glamorgan who are actively working in response to the COVID 19 outbreak.
Small grants are available up to a maximum of £50 for new groups that are not constituted and up to £100 for constituted groups. The grant can be used to purchase equipment for your group, to go towards printing leaflets and flyers or for any activity relating to benefit or support your community during this crisis.
To be eligible you must satisfy the following brief criteria:
- Be based in the Vale of Glamorgan
- Working in direct response to the COVID 19 outbreak
- Working for the benefit of your local community
Applications from businesses, groups outside the Vale of Glamorgan or individuals will not be considered. There is a short application form to complete. Vale Council hope to get a decision to you within a week of receiving your application. Application forms can be requested by emailing [email protected]
Crisis Support Team
For vulnerable residents in crisis as a result of Covid-19. For those unable to access shopping essentials, obtain crucial medication or are in need of urgent temporary support as a result of Covid-19. The Council can make sure that you get the help you need during this period by putting you in touch community groups in your area, connecting you with online support and voluntary organisations, provide advice and guidance as well as providing practical support if needed.
So if you need help with accessing food and medication or if you are isolated and feeling alone or anxious – give the Council a call.
This service is specifically aimed at supporting vulnerable citizens. Please DO NOT use the service unless you are in crisis as your call will be redirected to Contact OneVale on 01446 700111.
The telephone number for the Crisis Support Team is 01446 729592 and this line will be staffed from Friday 0800-1700 Monday to Friday and outside of these times calls will be diverted to the emergency out of hours line.
Shielding Letters
The Welsh Government are in the process of writing to approximately 150,000 people across Wales who have significant underlying health conditions and are being advised to shield themselves for 12 weeks.
This letter suggests that wherever possible, family, friends or neighbours should be asked to provide support in the form of food supplies, medication collection and general well-being.
However, should people not have these mechanisms in place, they are advised to contact their Local Authority.
In response, the Council have setup a Crisis Support Team who will be making contact with all of these residents to ask what arrangements they have in place.
Where people do not have support in place, the Crisis Support Team will offer to arrange for a basic free weekly food parcel to be delivered, as currently planned by Welsh Government.
Alternatively, if people would prefer for shopping to be done for them (paid for by themselves), or require befriending support, the Crisis Support Team will make a referral for this to be put in place. The Council are working with Age Connects and GVS (who will coordinate a local group) to do this.
Welsh Government are currently advising people to contact their community pharmacy if they need medication to be delivered and have no other means of getting this to them.
Additional information will be provided to all residents on other services available to them.
The Council continues to liaise with Welsh Government to provide supermarkets with information about our most vulnerable, shielding, residents who could be given access to preferential online shopping arrangements but at this time, this is not available in Wales.
Volunteering
Do you want to help your community during the COVID -19 episode.
If you are in need of support, or wish to volunteer to help others in your community, you can search the database of voluntary groups on this page and use the details provided to get in touch. If you are a business providing services that could support residents in our community, please let the council know.
To make it as easy as possible for you to become a hero the council has listed which of the groups are currently looking for volunteers. You can register an interesting in volunteering by getting in touch using the contact details provided. https://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/en/working/Volunteering/Vale-Heroes…
Thursday 2nd April 2020
Food Waste Bags
Due to the current situation, food waste bags are unavailable for collection.
If you are about to run out, you can tie one to the handle of your kerbside caddy and crews will leave a roll.
Please only request if essential so the Council can ensure delivery to those who need them.
Renewing Library books
If you’ve got an item on loan from Library at the moment, you don’t need to worry about it going overdue. The Council are automatically renewing all loans until we are able to reopen
Garden Waste
♻️ Garden waste collections will start again the week commencing Monday 13 April 2020.
If possible, please store any garden waste in your garden until collections begin
Free School Meals
As a result of national measures around the repurposing of schools to support key workers and social distancing, the Vale of Glamorgan Council is changing the way it provides meals for those children eligible for free school meals.
From Wednesday 01 April 2020, families with children who are eligible for free school meals will be receiving a voucher from the Local Authority, which can be redeemed at local supermarkets for the provision of food for children. Unfortunately, schools will no longer be able to accommodate deliveries or onsite meals to those eligible, unless they meet Welsh Government’s criteria for childcare in a school setting.
Families will shortly start to receive vouchers via email or post (if email is not available) on a fortnightly basis worth £39. This equates to a value of £3.90 a day, 5 days a week, for 2 weeks.
These vouchers will be redeemable at Asda or Tesco depending on availability and your location. The vouchers are non-transferrable and must be used to purchase food items for your children’s meals. Specific details on redeeming vouchers will be included when they are dispatched.
Should you have any urgent issues, please contact:
Friday 27th March 2020
***Registrars Service***
The Vale of Glamorgan Registration Service aims to treat the bereaved with care and compassion, ensuring dignity and respect for the deceased.
To assist with the continuation of the Death Registration process and in line with Emergency legislation the Death and Still Birth Registration process will take priority over all other registration services.
Bereaved families are being advised that the Emergency legislation will enable Death notifications to be sent directly from the certifying General Practitioner, Hospital Medical Practitioner and / or Coroner to the Registration Service who will contact the next of kin or appointed informant to carry out the registration by telephone. As there will be no face to face registrations, the Burial/ Cremation form will be sent direct from the Registrars Service to the Funeral Director appointed to carry out the funeral.
No Death Certificates will be issued at this time. These will be available to purchase at a later date. The Registrars will advise next of kin or the informant during the telephone registration process when this will be.
Customers are therefore being requested to only contact the Registration Service if it relates to a Death Registration, Still Birth Registration or a Registrar General Licence until further notice.
All other Registration Services have been suspended until further notice. There will be no Birth / Birth Re-registration, Notice of Marriage/Civil Partnership, Civil Marriage Ceremonies, Civil Partnership Registrations, Citizenship Ceremonies, EU Settlement verification appointments available.
Please note that where an appointment has been postponed during this emergency period by the Registration Service customers are advised that they will still be required to make a further appointment e.g.to register a birth. Customers are therefore asked to monitor the Registrars web page which will inform you when you will be able to re- book an appointment. This is because we are unable to re-schedule appointments until we know when the Civic Offices re-opens.
We would also ask you to be aware that it is likely that there will be a backlog of registrations that have built up during the emergency period.
Customers are also advised that they can now make a claim for Child Benefit or Universal Credit prior to the birth being registered, where customers have not been able to do so because of the emergency measures put in place by the UK Government.
No applications for copy certificates will be accepted during this period of emergency unless related to court proceedings/ orders and Social Services matters.
Advise on Government Guidelines - Vale Council
In line with Government guidance you can leave the house for one form of exercise a day, when exercising outdoors you should:
Stay local
Follow social distancing measures
Minimise time spent outside of the home
Wash your hands as soon as you get home
We would like to remind users of public footpaths to follow the countryside code, please remember to:
Always keep dogs on the lead when walking them in rural areas where livestock are kept and don’t let dogs loose in gardens adjoining livestock fields.
Do not approach or touch farm animals.
Leave gates and property as you find them and follow paths
Leave no trace of your visit and take your litter home
Respect the needs of local people and visitors alike – for example, don’t block gateways, driveways or other paths with your vehicle.
When riding a bike or driving a vehicle, slow down or stop for horses, walkers and farm animals and give them plenty of room.
12pm - Planning update
Due to the impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s Planning department has adapted the way they work.
Most staff are working from home and contactable by their normal contact details.
For general enquiries please email:
[email protected]
or phone the duty planning officer:
01446 704681
Please note that it may take longer than normal to respond to enquiries during this time and we thank you for your patience.
The Council will continue to accept new planning applications and requests for pre-application advice, and determine these applications where possible. However, they will not offer face-to-face meetings at this time.
They would also urge our customers to use email or submit information via their planning portal at this time to manage workload efficiently.
They will continue to undertake enforcement work, monitoring compliance with planning conditions and taking action against breaches of planning control.
Like many others, the Council’s Planning Committee will not meet for the foreseeable future. However, most applications can be determined with officer’s delegated powers.
If you have a specific enquiry about a case, please contact the case officer.
Thursday 26th March 2020
10AM - COVID 19: COUNCIL TAX SUPPORT
Requests will be assessed on a case by case basis, and those who can pay as normal are still expected to.
The scheme applies to those who pay their council tax in 10 monthly instalments, with the first payment ordinarily due in April.
Those who wish to delay will pay their first payment in June, with the final one due in March 2021, as opposed to January.
To request this change, please email [email protected].
If you have further questions, please let me know, and please do stay safe.
Wednesday 25th March 2020
10.00AM - CARPARKS ARE CLOSED
Barry Island car parks, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park car park, Porthkerry Country Park car park, All Council-owned beach car parks, Paget Road and Friars Road to be closed for parking - Access only.
10.00AM - VALE PARKS ARE CLOSED
Romilly Park – Barry, Central Park – Barry, Victoria Park – Barry , Bassett Park – Barry, Milburn Park – Rhoose, Alexandra Park – Penarth, Belle Vue Park – Penarth, Penarth Head Park – Penarth, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Porthkerry Country Park, All play areas are closed, All Multi Use Games Areas (MUGAs) are closed
Tuesday 24th March 2020
1.15pm - Footpath Closures
The Welsh Government has introduced emergency regulations, (The Health Protection (Coronavirus: Closure of Leisure Businesses, Footpaths and Access Land) (Wales) Regulations 2020), that require local authorities to close footpaths and other rights of way where use poses a high risk to the spread of coronavirus.
A number of footpaths are being closed around Atlantic College, Cosmeston, Dunraven Bay, Ogmore-by-Sea and Porthkerry:
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Bridleway 9, St Donats
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Restricted Byway 10, St Donats
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Footpath 12, Penarth
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Restricted Byway 13, 14, Penarth
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Footpaths 3, 4, Lavernock
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Footpath 2, Sully
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Footpaths 16, 18, St Brides Major
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Foopaths 38, 44, St Brides Major
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Footpaths 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 73, Barry
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Footpaths 7, 8, Porthkerry
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Footpath 17, 20, Penmark
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Restricted Byway 6, Porthkerry
Click the link to see the location maps - https://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/en/our_council/press_and_communicati…
New - 10.30am - Vale of Glamorgan Council
NEW - 10.30AM - Council Buildings
The Civic Offices will close at 1.00pm today. All other Council buildings are now closed to the public.
Recycling Centres - Closed until further notice.
Monday 23 March 2020
New - 2.30pm - Public spaces
To support social distancing the Council is introducing the following measures:
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Barry Island car parks - Closed
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Cosmeston and Porthkerry Country Parks car parks - Closed
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Penarth Pier - Closed
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All Council-owned beach car parks - Closed
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All gated parks - Closed
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Play areas - Closed
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Public toilets - Closed
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Beach Huts - Closed (If you have an annual permit, you will only be charged the pro rata amount)
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Paget Road and Friars Road to be closed for parking - Access only.
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Introduction of a one in/one out system at Recycling Centres.
Sunday 22nd March
2.10pm - School arrangmements for children of key workers
The Vale Council have published some further guidance for parents who are employed in key worker roles.
https://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/en/our_council/press_and_communicati…
Friday 20 March 2020
7.50pm - Leisure Centres
All leisure centres will now close until further notice.
5:30pm - Guidance to businesses on accessing new government grants
We have been told today that non repayable grants for small businesses will be distributed by the Vale of Glamorgan Council. We have produced a flowchart which should indicate whether or not your business is eligible.
Coronavirus: Advice for businesses
2.00pm - Guidance issued to schools in the Vale of Glamorgan
We have provided guidance to all schools in the Vale of Glamorgan on how to operate from Monday 23 March.
In the absence of any information from Welsh Government on how they define key workers we have advised schools to follow the UK Government advice.
All schools in the Vale are today working hard to put arrangements in place to allow the children of key workers and those that are vulnerable to attend on Monday.
Arrangements are also being put in place to make sure those children entitled to a free school meal receive one.
Schools will be contacting all parents directly.
Our schools will be under significant pressure to provide a safe place for the children of key workers so that their parents can work to keep us all safe.
Please do not send your children to school unless you really need to.
13.47pm - Vale Council Leader provides a statement in which he outlines
They have today provided guidance to all schools in the Vale of Glamorgan on how to operate from Monday 23 March and in the absence of any information from Welsh Government on how they define key workers we have advised schools to follow the UK Government advice.
All schools in the Vale are today working hard to put arrangements in place to allow the children of key workers, those that are vulnerable, and those that currently qualify for free school meals to attend on Monday.
Advise from the Council do not send your children to school unless you really need to. Any child eligible for free school meals that is not attending school will be able to collect a free meal during the course of the day, by arrangement with the school.
Letters have been sent to residential care service users, their families and a host of others for which the Council have a social care responsibility reassuring them that their service needs are being prioritised.
The Council’s Corporate Management team is working around the clock with their staff to take actions which will ensure provision in such crucial areas continues despite other pressures.
Further services that have also been deemed critical and will receive similar prioritisation include: Sheltered Housing, Complex Needs assessments, Child Protection and work to tackle homelessness.
They are in the process of allocating additional resources to high priority services by training and redeploying staff from other areas of the organisation and have been heartened by the offers of help from business and our community.
To continue collecting recycling, food and black bag waste as normal, they are temporarily suspending the collection of green waste. They are encourage residents to continue to recycle as much as possible, but will allow up to four black bags per household each fortnight.
They are also suspending any action in relation to the non-payment of Council Tax and waving the normal £60 charge for the installation of telecare, a 24-hour alarm and monitoring service for the elderly and vulnerable.
Work is under way to offer up to date advice and support for businesses.
Council is urging people to access services online wherever possible.
10.56am - Vale Homes Tenants
The Council knows that this will be a stressful time for their tenants as the situation with the Coronavirus Covid-19 continues to develop. The Vale of Glamorgan Council is committed to supporting it tenants during this difficult time. They are working very hard to ensure they will still be able to deliver our most important services.
Rent is still due to the Council if you have a council tenancy. However, if your income has stopped please get in touch with their Money Advice Team who can talk you through the support available.
Their Money Advisors can be contacted during office hours on the following numbers:
- Mark: 07739194963
- Lisa: 07739194956
- Charlotte: 07739194962
10.50am - Care Homes
Closed for all but essential visits from family and friends.
10.00am - Leisure Centres
For updates on leisure centres and exercise classes, please visit the Leisure Centre website.
Thursday 19 March 2020
8.36pm - Coronavirus Scams
The Vale of Glamorgan Council has been made aware of a number of scams relating to the Coronavirus. There have been reports of testing kits for the virus being offered by door-to-door salesman.
Residents should be aware that that there are no commercially available tests for Coronavirus and all testing is being carried out by Healthcare professionals.
5.00pm - Free Telecare Installation
Telecare offers a range of services and devices which use technology to enable vulnerable people to live with greater independence and safety in their own home.
TeleV devices are linked to a 24hr monitoring Centre in Barry. Whatever the reason, if you hear a sound in the middle of the night, if you have an accident or incident in the home or suffer from a medical emergency, the operator will arrange help as quickly as possible.
2.56pm - Greenlinks Community Transport
Due to volunteer shortages a number of Greenlinks Community Transport Services are temporarily being suspended from Monday 23 March 2020.
Still running - The G1 service (St Athans, Cowbridge and Bridgend and its surrounding villages).
The following services are suspended until further notice:
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G4 service (Llantwit Major and Coastal villages to Culverhouse Cross and Cardiff) - Suspended
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Door to door service - Suspended
- 2.40pm - Black bag collections
They are asking residents to try and stick to the two black bag limit where possible by continuing to recycle.
If you are struggling with the two black bag limit, we are temporarily increasing the limit to four.
Unsure if something can be recycled, use their handy A to Z recycling search.
2.40pm - Wood chippings
They are suspending our free wood chippings service until further notice. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.
2.40pm - Libraries
Barry Library will be closed from Friday 20 March until further notice.
Cowbridge Library, Llantwit Major Library and Penarth Library will be closed from Monday onwards.
If you are a library member you will still be able to access a number of library services online.
9.00am - Waste and Recycling
Recycling and waste collections as normal. .
Wednesday 18 March 2020:
4.40pm - Business Support
The UK Government has set out a package of measures to protect businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19. Businesses in Wales could benefit from the following UK Government schemes:
- Support for SMEs who are paying sick pay to employees
- Support for businesses through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
- Support for businesses paying tax
Coronavirus: Advice for Businesses
- 4.35pm - Vale Courses
Vale Courses will be closed until further notice and all classes have been cancelled.
- 3.00pm - Garden Waste Collections:
Garden Waste Collections will be temporarily suspended from Monday 23 March 2020 due to staff shortages. Where possible, please home compost your garden waste or take to one of our recycling centres.
- 08:30 am - Youth Service
All Youth Service provisions are cancelled until further notice. These include:
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Youth Clubs
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Youth Participation Groups
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After School Clubs
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Duke of Edinburgh
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V-Pod
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Vale Rights Ambassadors