I am Pamela Drake and have been an elected Councillor for the Castleland Ward on the Vale of Glamorgan Council since 2008 and have been an elected Barry Town Councillor since 1995 and had the privilege of representing the town as Mayor in 2000/2001 which was a very worthwhile experience.  I represent the Labour Party which I feel fully meets the values of social democracy, fairness and equality.

I was born and brought up in Barry, however, did live for period in the Rhymney Valley before moving back to Barry.  I am a strong trade unionist, having worked in the movement all my working life, firstly in the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers and then due to an amalgamation the General and Municipal Workers Union until my retirement.

I have always found being a councillor very rewarding, obviously there are ups and downs like in all walks of life, but trying to help and assist wherever possible residents with their problems and issues is paramount, especially in our every-changing society.  There are always the everyday issues such as fly-tipping, potholes and road surfaces, uneven pavements and something which has increased graffiti on public buildings and spaces and all these are issues that as a councillor you need to address as quickly as possible for the benefit of the residents.

The ward of Castleland is one of the oldest areas in Barry which developed when Barry became the biggest coal exporting docks in the world.  There are several iconic buildings in the area which were built originally as hotels when Barry Docks were built.  I am so pleased that three of the buildings have now been saved and are being converted to much needed residential accommodation by Newydd Housing Association and the structure and facades of the buildings are being refurbished so their history is retained, these include the Castle Hotel, what was the Sea View Labour Club with its distinctive turret and the Windsor Hotel which was the first community building to have electricity installed a few months after it was built in 1896, 26 years before the rest of the Hotel Road properties were converted. I am grateful to have had some involvement with these developments which I have fully supported. The ward of Castleland has and is changing with many new residential properties on what was once the working dockside, but we do have an on-going issue with the construction of the Biomass No 2 gasification plant with I have always raised concerns and voted against the planning applications for this development, although built on industrial land feel it has been constructed too close to residential and business properties and there are outstanding issues that need to be addressed, the plant is not operational as yet so the fight goes on.

We are in everchanging times and have gone through a pandemic which has affected everyone, none of us have experienced or had to deal with something like this before and there are areas that will take time to recover such as our High Streets, these areas will need help to return to deliver their services to residents.

As a Labour led Vale Council we have done so much, especially in these difficult times, but we have a lot more to do and retain what we have achieved and I will continue to work for the residents of Castleland and the rest of the Vale of Glamorgan to endeavour to keep this on course with the support of my colleagues both on the Vale Council and Barry Town Council.