Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Delyn Committee Room, County Hall, Mold CH7 6NA

Contact: Maureen Potter / Sharon Thomas / 01352 702322 / 702324 

Items
No. Item

35.

Declarations of Interest (Including Whipping Declarations)

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

Decision:

None were received.

Minutes:

            None were received.

36.

Draft Interim Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Developer Advice Note pdf icon PDF 79 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

That the Committee endorses the Cabinet’s decision to approve the content of the Draft Interim HMO Developer Advice Note attached to this report, and for it to be published for public consultation at the earliest possible opportunity.

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Public Protection informed Members that following changes to the guidance issued by Welsh Government (WG) developments of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) applications were now required to go to Planning Committee.  There had been a significant increase in this type of property leading to complaints by local residents and Councillors.  Previously properties like this were found in university towns but because of the shortage of housing more were being developed. He outlined what the Developer Advice Note would entail as the current policies were not sufficient to cover this  The Planning Committee had found it difficult when dealing with these types of Planning Applications as there was no specific policy covering HMOs under the Urban Development Plan (UDP).  The policy was being developed for inclusion within the Local Development Plan and this Developer Advice Notice provided guidance in the interim to developers.  The Advice Note required approval prior to being released for consultation and adopted by Cabinet and this Committee had been asked for its comments.

 

The Chief Officer (Planning Environment and Economy) reported that Planning Strategy Group had been consulted on this and the draft Interim Developer Advice Note was attached to the report as Appendix 1.  Once the Committee endorsed the Cabinet’s decision to approve the content it would then be published for public consultation.   Following the consultation it would be adopted by Cabinet and then an all Member Workshop would be held.

 

Councillor Joe Johnson sought clarification regarding the definition of HMO and asked if it meant 3 people who were not members of the same family.  The Chief Officer confirmed that was the case.

 

Councillor Owen Thomas referred to the (UDP) saying previously policies were able to be put in place prior to its adoption and asked if the policy could be formalised in the same way.   In response the Chief Officer said the UDP was different to Local Development Plan (LDP) in that the plan was already adopted.

 

Councillor Mike Peers confirmed Planning Strategy Group had made comments on this.  The report stated Cabinet received the report on the 9th October but on the agenda for Cabinet it was presented on the 23rd October and sought clarification.  He felt that the Committee should have had sight of the draft document prior to consideration at Cabinet.  He then referred to Outlook and Privacy point 4.12 “The LPA considers that a reasonable outlook comprises a minimum distance of 12 metres” and felt it should be changed to “aim for a minimum distance of 12 metres”.  At 4.15 Councillor Peers suggested that when referring to the basement window minimum distances be included.   He added that the plans and diagrams were clear but advised concerns were raised at Planning Strategy Group regarding fire escapes and he suggested a reference to Building Control was inserted and what was covered by them.

 

In response the Chief Officer (Planning Environment and Economy) confirmed the date of the Cabinet meeting was the 23rd October.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

37.

6 Month Review of the Revised Car Parking Charges pdf icon PDF 103 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

(a)     That the Committee notes the content of the 6 month review of the new car park charging regime introduced in May 2018; and

 

(b)     That the Committee recommends Cabinet approve the associated changes to the charging arrangements, as highlighted in this report, which are considered to be within the boundaries and limitations of the overall strategy.

Minutes:

            The Chief Officer (Streetscene & Transportation) introduced Chris Taylor and Ruth Cartwright who had been working on the programmes for car parking.

 

            The Chief Officer advised the Strategy was approved in March 2017 by Cabinet with the new Strategy and Charges introduced in May 2018 and that this report was a 6 month review following its introduction.

 

            He referred Members to the two limitations at 1.09 and the changes within the report at 1.10. The requests for change by Town & Community Councils were listed at 1.10 and at point 1.11 were listed the suggestions which were unable to be put forward. 

 

Buckley Town Council’s request for an extended period of free parking if the town council were providing the costs was shown at 1.11 (point 9). This unfortunately did not meet the limitations but it had been agreed to bring this to committee for their consideration of the effect of the recommendation, which could result in no enforcement and free access to parking.  This may result in car parks being used by shop workers and business owners leaving in a limited amount of available parking for shoppers and visitors. 

 

The Strategy and the Income Projections were listed at Appendix 1, with suggested changes to the Strategy listed in Appendix 2 and guidelines to assist Town & Community Councils at Appendix 4.  Any comments made on the report would be taken back to Cabinet in January.

 

            The Chair referred to the handout which had been circulated at the meeting from Buckley Town Council and suggested Members had some time to read this before continuing with the meeting.  It was confirmed this had only been received by Officers the previous day and that a lot of information had been requested in the handout which had to be completed by Officers prior to the meeting.

 

Adjournment          

 

            Councillor Joe Johnson asked if it was possible to have two designated parking spaces for the Police in Holywell and the Cabinet Member for Streetscene and Countryside agreed to look into this request.

 

Councillor Vicky Perfect reported that parking charges were working well in Flint and has improved available parking spaces near the town.

 

            Councillor Richard Jones referred to the income information contained in the report and believed the Parking Strategy should be tailored for each specific area. He referred to the MRUK (Assessing the Impact of Car Parking Charges on Town Centre Footfall) report prepared for WG and referred to the recommendations within that report which emphasised the need for local authorities to develop parking strategies which factor in local nuances in town centre layouts and retail offerings.  He added that the proposals put forward by Welsh Government on NNDR would help but local authorities must do their part also.  He continued saying car parking charges did not increase footfall in towns especially when Broughton car parks were free and there was more choice in Mold.  He felt it should be left to local towns to decide not local authorities.  Councillor Jones said the second limitation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

38.

The Review of Garden Waste Charges in Flintshire pdf icon PDF 111 KB

Decision:

(a)          That the Committee support the continuation of the charging policy for the Garden Waste Service for 2019 and in subsequent years;

 

(b)          That the Committee recommends Cabinet approves the continuation of the flat rate charging mechanism, without concessions and that the charge of £30 will continue to apply for each bin collection made during the 2019 season;

 

(c)          That the Committee recommends Cabinet approve that from 2019, the annual review of the Garden Waste charge should be included in the annual portfolio review of fees and charges; and

 

(d)       That the Committee recommends Cabinet approves the request to   Cabinet for the service to explore an alternative, technology based           system to monitor payments and notify the waste collectors of a paid   subscription, in readiness for the 2020 season and that £30k of the funds             raised in the 2018-19 financial year are set aside to fund the new    arrangement.

Minutes:

The Chief Officer (Streetscene & Transportation) introduced the Recycling and Compliance Officer to Committee.  He presented the report which aligned the Council’s waste and recycling model with the Welsh Government Collections Blueprint.  This was approved by Cabinet in January and the take up for this service was better than expected at 40% and it was proposed to keep the charge the same for next year. He advised that 30% of those who took up the service were on benefits.

 

            Councillor Chris Dolphin referred to the size of the bins which he felt were not big enough and that a second bin should be free and proposed that be put forward as Option 6 (£30 first bin second bin free).  He added that other authorities use bigger bins and suggested postponing the use of technology for registering a bin to a property until further consideration had been given to providing bigger bins.  He then referred to an email he had sent requesting Concessions be given to charities but this had not been progressed.

 

The Programme Manager Ancillary & Waste Services responded saying the 140 litre was a standard size across Wales.  The 240 litre and 140 litre bins were trialled in 2003 but there had been operational problems together with a number of breakages and weight issues with the lift equipment and it was deemed that the 140 litre bin was the most suitable.

 

The Chief Officer Streetscene & Transportation acknowledged Councillor Dolphin’s comments that the second bin should be free.

 

Councillor Mike Peers noted the comments regarding larger bins and referred to the Environment meeting on the 16th January 2018 when the Chief Officer advised the provision of larger bins would be looked at and asked what was the outcome had been.

 

Councillor Peers was pleased the Council had met the cost of recovery for this service of £166.000 but suggested this could be seen as the Council making a profit and questioned whether streamlining payments should be undertaken earlier than 2020.  If the cost for the Chip and pin technology was £30,000 why not use the excess from current year.  At 1.16 the potential for offering reduced rates for the elderly and vulnerable was considered during the first year of production and an undertaking was given that a review would take place and asked regarding the outcome.  He agreed with Councillor Dolphin’s comment that the bin was not big enough

 

The Cabinet Member for Streetscene and Countryside stated the larger bins were too heavy for the machines to pick up.  The second bin reduction charge could impact on the budget which could mean charging more for the first bin.  As regards Concessions – An audit of people on the Council tax Reduction Scheme indicated 30% subscribed to the scheme.  These were the reasons for not reducing or increasing the rates this year. She also commended the small team who managed to send out 30,000 stickers and deal with telephone queries which was impressive.  Councillor Paul Shotton said this was a controversial  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

39.

North East Wales Metro pdf icon PDF 95 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

The Committee agreed for this item to be deferred to the next meeting.

Minutes:

The Chief Officer (Streetscene & Transportation) introduced Ian Bushell Project Manager for North East Wales Metro to committee but because of time constraints it was proposed to defer this report until the New Year.

 

RESOLVED:

 

The Committee agreed for this item to be deferred to the next meeting.

40.

Members of the Press and Public in Attendance

Minutes:

            There was one member of the press and no members of the public in attendance.