Update on Grants & Progress

By now everyone should have received their Grant Offer letter from The Welsh Government with the exception of a few where there are some minor queries which Phillip Middleton is managing.

IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO, PLEASE READ AND SIGN THE COPY RETURNING IT TO THE WELSH GOVERNMENT ASAP. You can scan the form and return by email to broadband@gov.wales if you prefer ?

 The Welsh Government will keep us informed of the received forms.

If you are unable for whatever reason to return your grant form within the next week please email philip.middleton@myfi.wales who will advise Welsh Government that there will be a delay in  returning your application. 

Sub-Groups

Wayleaves
Wayleaves are ongoing. Additional Wayleaves have been received from Landowners, a big thank you to them and their efficient solicitors.

Route
The Route that has been trenched ha reached the entrance to Druidstone House.

Wales and West Utilities (Gas) will utilise Direct Drilling to put in a gas pipe to a property on Coal Pit Lane at the same time as we are trenching for ducting.

Road Crossings and Services
We will see Gary and Daryl of Directional Drilling again this week for some work at the Village Hall and also in May/June to carry out the river crossings. If you get the chance to go along and watch this happen, you should, it is an amazing process. Highly efficient and incredibly accurate.

Shipping Container Conversion

During the past week volunteers, Jim Dunk and Glynn Williams have completely fitted out the area of the container that will house the hub of our internet. With Recticel (50mm Urethane Insulation), Ply, a rodent proof vent, and an extractor fan. They have even included a drop down desk to make it easier for the administration work to be carried out comfortably. A fantastic job done Jim and Glynn, thank you both. Jim has applied Flame Retardant coating over the weekend which just leaves the electrician to come in and fit a Distribution Board, Plug Sockets, Lighting and Emergency Lighting and connect us to a power supply. Chris Walford has very kindly said he will come along and weld a hasp and clasp type fitting so that the container can be secured. Mark Sainsbury and Lawrence Russell are working on the layout and placement of plugs etc. before the installation of racking can begin.

Chris Boltons’company will be carrying out the electrical work this week.

 Druidstone Road Spur Update

Trenching has been completed up to the entrance of Druidstone House as previously stated. There have been some minor issues coming along by Maes y Crochan, due to the sheer volume of water in the ground. It is much waterlogged and this has meant that trenching has been deeper than previous; a bed of gravel put in the bottom of the trench and on the top of the duct will be a covering to protect it from the very stony ground that will backfill the trench. Thomas Bros are highly efficient and are working on the basis of preventative actions rather than us having to deal with reactive solutions if a problem arises. Many thanks guys for thinking ahead.

Volunteers.

Chambers

Chamber installations are taking a little longer to do. Thomas Bros are going to dig the Druidstone House Chamber using mechanical diggers.

Router installations

Phil Barry who has very recently retired and is now keen to volunteer his services wherever he can, he is going to look into the programming and software for the routers. HNS will as part of their contract allocate a block of static IP addresses. Provided their grant s approved the Village Hall will get the first router installation and at the same time will enable real time training for the volunteers who will be carrying this out over the coming months.

Duct installations

The installation of duct is ongoing, as the trenches are dug, the duct is being incorporated.

Materials
The remainder of the Duct, Fibre and Chambers along with associated parts were delivered last week. The first 100 routers have also been received and safely stored until they are installed.
Information Day

Carina Dunk and Brin Richards are in the process of planning an “Information Day” to be held in the Village Hall (date to be confirmed) This will be an excellent opportunity to showcase the activities that have taken place to date along with samples, videos, 100 + photos, FAQ’s, A record of the history of the project to date, Project Timeline and much more, along with much appreciated tea, coffee and cake provided by some WI ladies and myself. MORE INFORMATION TO FOLLOW.

Fibre Blowing
We have a generous commitment from Tony at Condux who is very kindly coming along on the 18^th / 19^th April to demo and carry out our first fibre blowing.

Container IT

Mark Sainsbury, Lawrence Russell, Phil Barry and Duncan Law will meet and discuss the requirements for the Hub in terms of design and equipment (UPS, Patch Leads, Tower, etc.

B4RN Visit

Jim Dunk, Dave Schofield and Gareth Davies made the trip to visit B4RN on Wednesday 28^th April leaving at 4.25am ! ! A great programme of events were lined up by B4RN who to date have completed 3,500 + FTTP connections. All in all it was an extremely informative day with various demos, talks, information and a field visit to see activities being carried out. We have been given the links to You Tube videos that show all the processes from start to connection. Phil from Emtelle has also passed on access to their Information Training Manual which will prove very useful in the coming days and months. Representatives from The Welsh Government attended long with a number of other visitors from villages cross Wales who are keen to take up these projects in their own areas. As yet, we are the first village in Wales to embark on the installation of 1Gbs FTTP Broadband. A very long day for Jim, Dave and Gareth, sustained by the Egg and Bacon sandwiches, Ham rolls and copious amounts of coffee supplied by Carina and Niki for which they were hugely grateful.

 Follow this link to hear the interview between Chris Conder MBE of B4RN and Dafydd Roberts of Menter Mon

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeRtFCS0bKY&feature=youtu.be

SEIS
As a business we are fully aware how important it will be to obtain SEIS status for our Investors. The application went into HMRC last Friday ~fulfilling the criteria of trading for a minimum of 4 months. We hope to hear the outcome within the next 4 weeks or so. If (not to be presumptuous)   we get the “green light”, Russell Cope will set about issuing Share Certificates to the Investors enabling them to add to their tax return and obtain a 50% (of their investment) tax relief.

AOB
The Cefn Mably Park connection is being reviewed with a number of options available. We are keen for a resident to take on the responsibilities that this will involve. The options being, to use the BT duct and pole sharing agreement (a reciprocal arrangement) or utilising the intercom ducting if this is viable. If you feel that this is a task that you can take on, please contact Dave Schofield for further information ~ david.scholfield@myfi.wales

Mark Graveston has arranged a date for the splice and fusion, test and measurement demo and training in the Village Hall ~ All of the 12 volunteers for this task will be emailed individually with the details

Date for next Meeting
Due to The Village Hall Talent Show, the next meeting will be on Thursday 19^th April 2018 in the Village Hall at 7.30pm. Everyone is welcome to attend.