The first opinion column from Carmarthenshire county council leader Emlyn Dole appeared in the Guardian this week.

I’m glad rumours over the closure of the town hall and former library have been put to bed.

Whilst last week’s Guardian said this was a u-turn, a u-turn suggests we have reversed a decision. This isn’t the case - closure of these buildings has never been part of formal considerations for executive board, and I fear the speculation must have been hugely unsettling for staff. I hope they now have peace of mind.

At Monday’s executive board we had our first opportunity to consider the agile working report that proposes to save £2.5million by freeing rationalising office space. Whilst this report does affect our offices at Parc Amanwy, we would like staff based there relocated in town.

Talking of our staff, just over a year ago I established the Ammanford Task Force and I committed to bring more footfall into the town by establishing a Hwb, similar to that in Llanelli. I’m pleased to say we’re almost ready to deliver on this promise. It will be a base for several staff, and people will be able to get support on issues ranging from housing benefit and council tax claims to licensing and Blue Badges. I hope it can play a part generating the footfall the town needs.

On a different note, work is progressing on the construction of a new premises for Ammanford’s Coaltown Coffee, set up by Gordon James in his garage, with his son Scott. They are speciality coffee roasters who focus on sustainable trade with small farms from across the world’s coffee growing regions and aim to uphold quality at every stage of production. As someone who is fond of good coffee I can vouch for the fact that they produce a delicious brew.

So with everything that’s going on, and to those who complain about the town, it may be appropriate to suggest they ‘wake up and smell the coffee’.