Agenda, decisions and minutes

Councillor C.A. Thomas declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 4 ‘Review of Subsidised Bus Services’ due to her involvement with Cadwyn Clwyd.

Councillor C.A. Thomas declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 4 ‘Review of Subsidised Bus Services’ due to her involvement with Cadwyn Clwyd.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 26 June 2013.

That, subject to one amendment, the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 June 2013 had been circulated with the agenda.

Accuracy

Councillor C.A. Thomas asked that it be noted that she had been in attendance in the public gallery at the meeting.

Matters Arising

Copies of the action sheet from the meeting were circulated to those present.

Councillor C.J. Dolphin said that despite the Head of Streetscene having stated that contractors were not cleaning gullies, he was aware of cases in his ward where strong jet cleaners were being used to do this.  The Director of Environment would check with the Head of Streetscene and provide a response on locations and frequency of cleaning.

RESOLVED:

That, subject to one amendment, the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

That the comments made by the Committee on the draft proposals be considered as part of the consultation.

The Transportation Manager introduced a report to outline draft proposals of the County’s subsidised bus and related services and introduced Ceri Lloyd who had been appointed as the new Rural Transport Project Officer on a 12 month fixed-term basis.

A full list of bus services in Flintshire was attached to the report indicating Red, Amber and Green status to show levels of cost, demand and sustainability.  In correcting an error in the report, it was noted that the review had highlighted 8 Red services, 10 Amber services and 13 Green services.  Changes to the management of bus services following the reduction in funding across Wales were reported, along with details on the full consultation process.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment stressed that this would involve a meaningful consultation process providing the opportunity for relevant stakeholders such as Overview & Scrutiny, Town and Community Councils and all Council Members to feedback their views prior to reaching a decision at Cabinet in December 2013.  In echoing these comments, the Director of Environment reminded Members that a further report would be brought back to the Committee on 13 November 2013.

Councillor A.I. Dunbar expressed concern about notice given to withdraw commercial bus services 9 and X9 whose route included a steep hill and which many elderly people were reliant upon to access essential services.  The Director said it was important to distinguish between the services provided and to bear in mind that the Council had no influence over those run commercially by bus operators and also could not run subsidised services in competition with them.  In addition, operators were within their rights to give 56 days’ notice to the Traffic Commissioner to withdraw services.  The Transportation Manager explained a tendering process was due to commence for replacement bus services to start on 8 September 2013 although these may not be at the same level.  Information would be shared with Members.  Councillor D. Evans had previously raised concerns about the same issue and welcomed the response.

Councillor W.P. Shotton highlighted the importance of detailed consultation with Town and Community Councils, in view of the cuts to bus grant funding across Wales and the Regional Transport Consortia, and suggested that the newly appointed Rural Transport Project Officer could undertake visits to discuss fully.  He also commented on the importance of concessionary bus passes to those in rural and deprived areas of the county.

In response to queries raised by Councillor C.A. Thomas, the Transportation Manager confirmed that Iwan Prys-Jones could present the TAITH Regional Bus Network Strategy to Overview & Scrutiny and that TAITH had taken over the management of the budget for community transport from 1 April 2013 and community transport operators appeared to be satisfied with the funding received.  Following Councillor Thomas’ comments on the D42 ‘on demand’ service to rural communities which helped to transport evening workers, it was explained that this currently operated as part of the Deeside Shuttle and was to be re-tendered.  The Transportation Manager said that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

That the further analysis of the Planning Service’s performance for 2012/13 and update on Quarter 1 for 2013/14 be noted, acknowledging the improvements that had begun to take hold in Quarter 4 and those planned for 2013/14.

The Head of Planning introduced a report to further analyse the performance of the Planning Service, particularly in Quarters 2 and 3 of 2012/13, which had been reported to Cabinet in March 2013.  Copies of updated information on performance indicators for Quarter 1 of 2013/14 were circulated to compare to 2012/13 year outturns.  An update was also provided on the role of the Conservation Officer, enforcement of planning conditions and inter-departmental consultations.

Councillor A.I. Dunbar welcomed the report which showed excellent progress in all aspects of planning applications.  Responding to queries on applications with Section 106 Agreements, the Head of Planning acknowledged the time needed by the Planning Committee to clear the backlog and said that the majority of planning applications with Section 106 Agreements must be considered by the Committee.

With respect to enforcement issues and the time taken to take formal action, it was recognised that some applicants were exploiting the system through the submission of retrospective applications which would need to be determined prior to Formal notices being served..  When asked about direct action, he gave an example of the outcome of the unauthorised gypsy encampment in Essex.

The Chairman asked about the effectiveness of liaison between Legal and Planning in dealing with problems.  The Head of Planning felt that there was a good relationship between the two sections with advice efficiently given but suggested that there may be issues with the availability of resources on more complex cases.  He added that officers were endeavouring to simplify the process on Section 106 Agreements to speed up the process.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment was aware of issues on Section 106 Agreements and gave assurance that he received regular updates on cases.  He felt that the situation had improved and agreed that there were issues about resources on complex cases which was being addressed corporately.

Councillor C.A. Thomas said that pre-planning discussion was required to provide guidance to applicants and would pursue this with the Head of Planning outside the meeting.  The Chairman said that the Committee had previously stressed the importance of pre-planning discussion to avoid problems further down the line.  On a further query, the Head of Planning said that officers were working with Town and Community Councils to provide information on key applications with Section 106 Agreements within their areas and that further information could be sought from Claire Leaney.

On the downturn in the determination of minor planning applications within 8 weeks, Councillor G.H. Bateman sought clarity on the ‘increased emphasis on negotiating quality’.  The Head of Planning explained that this was about finding solutions before submission of the application thus avoiding delays arising from negotiations later in the process.  Following a further query, he advised that the statement made by Carl Sargeant AM had reflected changes to extend permitted development rights leading to greater flexibility on planning permissions and the potential for a reduction in householder planning applications.  He added that guidance and criteria had been issued by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

That the content of the report be noted.

The Director of Environment introduced a report to update Members on the procurement process of the North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Project (NWRWTP) and progress on the Sub-Regional Food Waste Project.

On the NWRWTP, discussions had been ongoing with Wheelabrator Technologies Inc (WTI) following Sita’s withdrawal from the procurement process earlier in the year and the outcome of finalising commercial aspects of the solution was due to be considered by the Joint Committee (made up of the five partner Authorities) in early Autumn 2013.

On the Sub-Regional Food Waste Project, positive feedback had been received on the ‘interim’ service and construction had begun on the treatment facility.  The Cabinet Member for Public Protection, Waste & Recycling reported that there had been a slight delay to construction due to the repositioning of a transformer, which it was hoped would soon be resolved by Scottish Power.  Approval had been granted to a planning application submitted by WG to develop the western portion of the site as a strategic contingency salt store.

In response to a query raised by Councillor A.I. Dunbar on the NWRWTP, the Cabinet Member for Public Protection, Waste & Recycling explained that fines from the Welsh Government (WG) would apply to Flintshire and the other partner Authorities upon failure to meet statutory waste targets whereas potential knock-on costs would apply to any Authority withdrawing from the project.

Councillor G.H. Bateman sought clarity on the withdrawal of Sita from the process.  The Director said that the involvement of Sita for so long in the process had enabled benchmarking to take place with the proposals from WTI.  Although Sita had cited commercial reasons for its withdrawal, further explanation had not been divulged to the partnership.

Responding to a question from the Chairman, the Director advised that WTL was an American company whose business plan had been based on creating facilities to further develop opportunities in the UK.

RESOLVED:

That the content of the report be noted.

(a)       That the progress report be noted;

(b)       That the Chairman liaise with the Leader of the Council on a localised approach; and

(c)        That the progress report on Deeside Enterprise Zone be received by the Committee on a six-monthly basis.

Prior to the item, the Chairman stated that he understood the Leader of the Council would be assuming responsibility for regeneration which had previously been under the remit of the late Councillor Peter Macfarlane.

The Head of Regeneration introduced a report to inform Members of progress on the Deeside Enterprise Zone (DEZ) which had been officially launched as Wales’ designated area for Manufacturing and Advanced Manufacturing.  He detailed the background and consideration of the report including key points within the response from the Welsh Government (WG) to the business plan.  It was noted that progress in Year 1 had resulted in the creation of 431 new jobs and 1,300 existing jobs safeguarded, despite physical work on DEZ not yet having started.

The Leader of the Council stressed that the DEZ was a WG led initiative and was one of seven across Wales.  He said that the achievement in economic development in Flintshire was recognised and despite previous concern around submission of the business case, subsequent meetings had been held with the Minister and the business case approved.  He referred to concerns about competition with two Enterprise Zones in England within a 20 mile radius of Deeside in terms of attracting investment and growing businesses.  In providing an update on the North Wales Economic Ambition Board (NWEAB), he highlighted work in enabling access across the region, a key strand of which would be the electrification of the North Wales Coast lines.  He remarked that there appeared to be a clear drive for North Wales Authorities to focus on tourism and energy and called on support from Overview & Scrutiny to ensure that views were heard on manufacturing.  He welcomed the skills agenda in North Wales which would benefit the region and hoped that links would be developed with China following the visit by the Chinese delegation, to benefit the whole of Flintshire.

Councillor W.P. Shotton welcomed the approval given to commence the Flood Alleviation Scheme and the exciting concept of the North Wales Advanced Manufacturing Skills and Technology Centre to sustain the manufacturing base and safeguard skills.  Whilst being mindful of the WG led initiative on the DEZ, he said that more would be expected.

Councillor D. Butler said that the WG should note that Flintshire worked under a certain demographic and spoke of the need for close working between the six Local Authorities and the NWEAB.  The interest expressed by the Chinese delegation had been generated through work internally and would benefit people in Flintshire and across North Wales.

Councillor A.I. Dunbar spoke in support of progress made which was starting to come to fruition and of the need to work together to achieve fundamental changes.

The Director thanked the Leader for his comments and spoke of positive progress in approval of the business case, increasing confidence in investment opportunities and benefits for the whole of North Wales.  He referred to the six Local Authorities working together and the need to prioritise manufacturing jobs.

The Chairman said that it should be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

There was one member of the press in attendance.