Agenda item

(a)  That the Committee supports the structure, format and content of the “public” version of the Council (Improvement) Plan for 2017-23.

(b)  That the committee supports the targets and milestones in the Measure and Milestones document (appendix 2) to the Council (Improvement) Plan 2017-23 with the following observation to the Cabinet for their consideration: Page 161 amend the second bullet point of item 5 to remove the phrase ‘especially for residential use’ and replace it with ‘for multi-use of all types’, and noting the Council support for the North Wales Economic Growth Deal Bid outside of the Plan.

(c)  That a briefing should be provided for all Members on the North Wales Economic Growth Deal Bid.

The Chief Executive introduced the Council Plan 2017 – 23 and explained the Council Plan was in two parts. Part 1 was the statement of aims and intentions. Part 2 described the targets and milestones by which the achievements would be measured.  The purpose of today’s report was to enable the  Committee to  consider  the structure, format and content of the Council plan, together with the Measures and Milestones document, and to provide feedback to the Cabinet. The Plan would be submitted for adoption to Council on 27^th September.

            Councillor Richard Jones referred to the section on supporting town centre vitality which he felt could be detrimental to continued retail use. He was concerned that this could influence master plans and local development plans (LDP).  He also referred to the Deeside Plan and had concerns that Flintshire lacked capacity to ensure that other areas within Flintshire would also be considered.

            The Chief Executive commented that these issues were within the remit of the Community & Enterprise Overview & Scrutiny Committee which had considered and supported the Plan at the meeting the previous day. The wording was meant to support wider regeneration of town centres, including housing, but not at the expense of the local retail offer.

            Councillor Jones was concerned developers would identify this in the LDP and that town centres would be lost. The Chief Executive explained that this was not a formal planning policy document and should not pose that risk.

            The Leader agreed and shared concerns on housing encroachment on retail and in his ward there were housing developments where there were once shops but added ‘living over the shop’ could be successful.   He continued, referring Members to the developing regional local transport strategy reference of the Deeside Plan, the Metro Scheme to link towns to employment centres.

            Councillor Haydn Bateman asked for clarification on strengthening regional air quality collaboration to help promote better health and well-being outcomes. The Corporate Business & Communications Executive Officer responded that this was a regional strategic approach to collate air quality data and fell within the remit of the Public Services Board and Natural Resources Wales

            Councillor Patrick Heesom referred to his previously expressed reservations regarding the Plan for stakeholders and partners. He also referred to the Regional Growth Deal Bid for North Wales Growth but had concern at the lack of detail about the west end of the county.

            The Chief Executive commented that all of the Overview & Scrutiny Committees would have seen the Council Plan during the consultation process and that Members were generally supportive, only offering specific comments on matters of detail    The Leader referred to 4 or 5 years ago when improvement plans were not treated as a priority in the way that the Council Plan was now treated – as a plan for the Council as a whole.

            Councillor Richard Jones asked for an assurance that investment in each of Flintshire’s towns would be equitable. In the last ten years, the centre of Buckley had lost 25 businesses. The Chief Executive responded that such equity could not be guaranteed, as many government grants were very specific in their use and Buckley may not qualify. Therefore, it would be unrealistic to make such a commitment in the Council Plan.

            The Leader commented that it was not practical to view all investments needs as equitable – the market had chosen to concentrate employment on Deeside.  It would be helpful to consider a wider discussion with Members about the North Wales Growth – a briefing could be provided - and he emphasised that Flintshire, unlike other local authorities still had an economic development team with ambitions to grow and access these opportunities.

            Councillor Patrick Heesom felt this was a helpful discussion and suggested that the briefing would be of interest to all Members especially as regards infrastructure.

            The Chief Executive commented that the majority of the £50m investment for regional Metro Schemes would be for Flintshire. The Council was a co-leader in developing the North Wales Regional Growth Deal Bid and this was outside of the Plan which was written as a local plan.

Councillor Richard Jones reiterated his concerns.  He understood the need for the transportation links to Deeside and the employment opportunities it could create but felt other town centres and areas of Flintshire would suffer.  He added town centres would die without some sort of support.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the Committee supports the structure, format and content of the “public” version of the Council (Improvement) Plan for 2017-23.

(b)  That the committee supports the targets and milestones in the Measure and Milestones document (appendix 2) to the Council (Improvement) Plan 2017-23 with the following observation to the Cabinet for their consideration: Page 161 amend the second bullet point of item 5 to remove the phrase ‘especially for residential use’ and replace it with ‘for multi-use of all types’, and noting the Council support for the North Wales Economic Growth Deal Bid outside of the Plan.

(c)  That a briefing should be provided for all Members on the North Wales Economic Growth Deal Bid.