Publication of audited accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021
Regulation 15(5) of the Accounts and Audit (Wales) Regulations 2014 (as amended) requires that by 30 September 2021, Ilston Community Council publish its accounting statements for the year ended 31 March 2021 together with any certificate, opinion, or report issued, given or made by the Auditor General.
The accounting statements in the form of an annual return have been published on the Council’s website. However, the accounts are published before the conclusion of the audit. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the Auditor General has not yet issued an audit opinion.
Cyhoeddi cyfrifon archwiliedig ar gyfer y flwyddyn a ddaeth i ben 31 Mawrth 2021
Mae rheoliad 15 (5) o Reoliadau Cyfrifon ac archwilio (Cymru) 2014 (fel y’i diwygiwyd) yn ei gwneud yn ofynnol, erbyn 30 Medi 2021, i Ilston Community Council gyhoeddi ei ddatganiadau cyfrifyddu ar gyfer y flwyddyn a ddaeth i ben 31 Mawrth 2021 ynghyd ag unrhyw dystysgrif, barn neu adroddiad a gyhoeddwyd, a roddwyd neu a wnaed gan yr Archwilydd Cyffredinol.
Mae’r datganiadau cyfrifyddu ar ffurf ffurflen flynyddol wedi’u cyhoeddi ar wefan y Cyngor. Fodd bynnag, cyhoeddir y cyfrifon cyn i’r archwiliad ddod i ben. Oherwydd effaith COVID-19, nid yw’r Archwilydd Cyffredinol wedi cyhoeddi barn archwilio eto.
Treatment of Japanese Knotweed – Parkmill, Pennard Valley and Ilston Valley
The community council has met with Swansea Council in regard to the the problem with Japanese Knotweed invading areas of adjacent to Maes Yr Haf, going down the valley towards Three Cliffs Bay, Ilston Valley and Parkmill from the Heritage Centre to Parc le Breos. The council have completed a surveyed and identified these areas for treatment. They have successfully applied for funding and have instructed a local company to carry out the work.
Spraying of the knotweed weed commence on 4th October, weather permitting for a week or two.
Please see below a detailed synopsis, written by the Community Botanical Officer, of the problems caused by Japanese Knotweed and the most effective and efficient method of dealing with the issue:
Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) is an invasive non-native species of plant introduced into the UK in 1825 as an ornamental plant for gardens. By 1886 it was established in the wild and now it is very widely distributed. Since it is not native to the UK it is not subject to any natural controls that would limit its vigour, abundance or spread. In the UK, the plant is not fertile (i.e. does not produce seed) and instead spreads through extension of its rhizomes (an underground root-like structures). Rhizomes can extend laterally up to 7 m from the above-ground shoots and underground to depths of 2 – 3 m. New above-ground shoots emerge from the spreading rhizomes. Japanese knotweed is able to outcompete most of the native vegetation in the UK and along with providing negligible benefits for native wildlife, causes loss of biodiversity.
Much of the Japanese knotweed within Ilston and Parkmill is located within Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and a Special Area on Conservation (SAC). To halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity in these sensitive and important areas caused by the infestations of Japanese knotweed it is necessary to implement control measures.
Excavation of extensive areas of Japanese knotweed would cause damage and destruction to the surrounding vegetation through the act of digging and by also accessing the infested areas with large tracked/wheeled machinery. Furthermore, excavation and disposal of the waste material is complex and often prohibitively expensive – huge amounts of contaminated soil is generated, which if cannot be sifted in-situ would need to be disposed of in landfill thereby removing the capacity of the area to naturally regenerate with native flora. Instead, the most effective method of control is herbicide treatment – it is cost effective, can be carried out without risk of spreading the plant further, is straightforward to undertake by trained and certified individuals, and allows the native flora to regenerate (i.e. the herbicide used is non-residual).
Herbicide treatment will be undertaken by trained and certified individuals using a combination of foliar application using a knapsack sprayer and by stem injection. The herbicide is diluted to the recommended concentration for each type of application, and very small amounts are applied to the leaves or injected into the stems. To limit ‘collateral damage’ to neighbouring vegetation, spraying is undertaken during still weather and not before or after rain, in these unsuitable weather conditions stem injection will be undertaken to allow the treatment programme to continue. Permission to undertake treatment is required from the landowners. Consents are required from NRW to allow works to be undertaken in the designated sites (SSSIs and SAC) and next to/near water. All of the permissions and consents have been granted.
Herbicide treatment is undertaken just before the plant goes into dormancy. As the plant enters dormancy it draws in all the nutrients from the leaves into the underground parts (crown and rhizomes) so it can remain alive but dormant over the winter period. Once treated with herbicide it draws this down too killing the underground crown and rhizomes. The treatment takes a number of applications (typically three) before it is considered successful (i.e. once there is no regrowth of the above ground shoots for two consecutive years following the final treatment). It is expected that there will be some regrowth in the year following the first and sometimes second treatment, although typically it is much reduced in vigour.
To make sure that the crowns and rhizomes are dead and not just dormant it is important to treat with herbicide only once per year during the period late-September – early October and not to trample, pull, cut etc. the plant during the growing season. If the plants do not have any leaves then it cannot be treated and will continue to regrow the following year. Furthermore, the act of trampling, pulling, cutting etc. can cause the crowns and rhizomes become stronger and therefore more difficult to kill (i.e. it takes longer to successfully treat with herbicide).
Please click on the link attached to view the Notice of appointment of the date for the exercise of electors’ rights Audit Notice 2021
