Diolch Yn Fawr Gan Adele

The Carmarthenshire Communities First Residents Conference has now closed. It was a very successful day providing many opportunities for residents from the different Communities First areas of Carmarthenshire to meet, exchange ideas and provide feedback to the Welsh Assembly on the plans for Communities Next.

The conference was organised by Adele Evans of CAVS, Voluntary Sector Communities First Liaison Officer in association with Carmarthenshire County Council. We asked Adele to sum up her thoughts on the day.

Adele Evans, Voluntary Sector Communities First Liaison Officer, filmed by Laura (Yn Gymraeg)

Adele Evans, Voluntary Sector Communities First Liaison Officer, filmed by Laura (in English)

Rounding Off the Day

To round off the Carmarthenshire Communities First Residents' Conference, we asked some of the delegates what they thought about the day.

John E Jones of Glanymor & Tyisha



David Skivington of Bigyn 4, filmed by Vanessa, also from Bigyn 4



Ann Richards, Development Officer with Pantyffynnon Communities First

Afternoon Sessions

The afternoon saw the opportunity for community groups to show off the good work they've been doing in their communities.

Rhianedd from Pantyffynnon explained their integenerational work in which they try to create bridges between young people and more mature members of the community. She showed the conference their St Davids Day videos in which young people interviewed older people about their memories of St Davids Day.

Charles Watson of Glanymor and Tyisha Community Safety Action Group explained how they bring local people together with service providers such as the police and fire service to help solve problems they experience in their community. Each month the Action Group identifies 3 key issues they want services to work on and report back on at their next meeting. This project has been identified as best practice by the Communities First Support Network.

John E Jones and Gaynor Price reported on another initiative in Glanymor and Tyisha in which the Citizens Advice Bureau in Llanelli have worked with Communities First to train local volunteers to provide debt and benefit advice to local residents.

Feedback from Workshops

We caught up with some residents after the workshops to ask them what they hoped the Welsh Assembly Government will take on board from these workshops. Watch the videos below to hear their answers.

Hubert Hitchman, Chair of Glanymor & Tyisha Communities First Partnership. Filmed by Colette.

Sam, from Pantyffynnon Communities First Partnership.
Filmed by Tracey.

Charles, from Glanymor & Tyisha Communities First Partnership.
Filmed by Meryl.

Cheryl, from Llwynhendy Communities First Partnership.
Filmed by Gillian.

Reactions from Residents

We asked some residents at the conference what opportunities they saw for their community group through the new Communities Next programme. Here's what they said.

Marianne from Felinfoel Senior Citizen' Group filmed by Hilary.

Tracey from Pantyffynnon Action Group, filmed by Daphne

Paul Dear and Chris Johnes Open the Conference

Paul Dear, Head of the Communities First Unit at the Welsh Assembly Government opened the Carmarthenshire Communities First Conference and outlined how the Communities First programme is developing and how local communities can have their say in its future.

Paul Dear, Head of the Communities First Unit opens the conference

He said Communities Next builds on the successes of the Communities First programme: strong local partnerships that involve local people in the regeneration of their communities. Communities Next represents a continuing commitment to the existing Communities First partnerships and will involve a greater focus on outcomes. Paul explained, "I want to be able to walk down any street in a Communities First area, knock on any door and ask what Communities First is doing here - and for the answer to come back clear and unambiguous." Communities Next will also involve a greater focus on local economic development and partnerships forging stronger links with other government projects including defeating child poverty and the promotion of credit unions.

Paul outlined that to achieve this a new Communities First vision framework will be introduced which will pay attention to what communities can actually achieve, but this would not be a top-down approach: "It will be a broad canvas that you can paint your local plans onto."

Paul finished by outlining the process for the next year. The consultation ends next month with its outcomes being announced in June. The new framework and funding criteria will be announced in the summer with everything being on track for the new programmes to begin in April 2009.

Chris Johnes, Communities First Support Network

Chris Johnes, the National Co-Ordinator for the Communities First Support Network followed by describing some key principles he believes underlie the proposed Communities Next programme. It will make stronger links between Communties First and what other agencies and organisations are doing in the community. Local partnerships will still drive the process and there remains a strong emphasis on community involvement. The local Communities First partnerships will remain and the funding and management levels will be largely unchanged.

He also outlined the changes he expects to see: there will be greater incentives for service providers to get involved and local partnerhsips will need to work more closely with other agencies and organisations.

Delegates to the conference now go on to discuss the changes to the Communities First programme in workshops which will feed into the consultation exercise.

Communities First Carmarthenshire Residents' Conference

Residents from across Carmarthenshire’s Community First areas are converging on the Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli to discuss the future of the Communities First programme. The conference includes contributions from Paul Dear (Welsh Assembly Government Communities First Unit) and Chris Johnes from the Communities First Support Network and provides opportunities for residents to discuss the Communities Next proposals. Carmarthenshire Connect is attending the conference and will be blogging live throughout the day.

Ieuan Williams from CAVS explains what today's conference is all about

Sam Hudson, CAVS' Black and Ethnic Minority support worker. Filmed by Liz.

Caroline Nichols and Liz Newbury Davies from the National Public Health Service for Wales. Filmed by Sam.

Dan Snaith from Keep Wales Tidy's Tidy Towns project. Filmed by Rachel.