NOW that the council elections are over and the dust is starting to settle, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the residents of the Penmaen/Oakdale Ward for the faith and confidence you placed in us as your local councillors over a combined period of 45 years.

It was very disappointing that we were both unsuccessful at the recent elections and were not returned to continue the dedicated service we had provided to our constituents over the years. However, that is the way of politics and democracy at work.

We were there during the blackest hours when Oakdale colliery was closed overnight in 1989 and more than a thousand men lost their jobs. We have also been there during the restoration and regeneration of the Oakdale Business Park, which now employs more people than the colliery at the time of its closure. To the people of Oakdale, Penmaen and Woodfieldside, we say a huge thank-you for the privilege of being your councillors for so very long and to have had the opportunity to make a difference. Best wishes to you all

Allan Pritchard and John Evans, (former councillors for the Penmaen Ward)