Councillor Caroline Utting and the Town Clerk, Mrs Denise Mason, met with Welsh Water representatives last Thursday in their efforts to establish who owns the railings at Smallbrook Garden. Welsh Water have established they own the land behind the railings.

Cllr Utting is keen to get permission from the owners of the railings for the Town Council to control what is displayed upon them. As reported in the Gazette two weeks ago, this follows a number of complaints from residents about the crowded look and use of the area by local businesses for advertising.Mike Thomas, Senior Estates Manager, and Geraint Michael, Area Operations Supervisor, of Welsh Water agreed it was likely that they would be responsible for the railings but wanted to pass it by their legal department before they issued a statement of permission to the Town Council. He said Welsh Water was keen to support the Town Council in any way that they could.

Denise Mason explained to Mr Thomas and Mr Michael that the Town Council would like to operate a booking system for local organisations and charities to display information about forthcoming events on the railings. The Town Council could then ensure the banners were kept looking smart and removed quickly once the event was over.

Taking advantage of the meeting about the railings Mrs Mason asked Mr Thomas and Mr Michael to also look at the flood alleviation works on the Morrison's site. A part of a retaining wall by Rudhall Brook had collapsed and was a potential danger to the public. After a quick phone call to the regional office Mr Michael was able to establish that it didn't fall under the responsibility of Welsh Water but was more likely to be Morrisons. Mrs Mason said she would contact them to ask for it to be repaired.

For more stories in full please see this week's Ross Gazette.