Welcome to the
Vale of Glamorgan Council

State of the Area Debate 2008 – Penarth

 

Date: 6 March 2008

Venue: Albert Rd Methodist & Community Centre

Start: 6:00pm

Finish: 8:15pm

Attendance: 60

 

Present:

Councillor Neil Moore

Deputy Leader

Councillor Rob Curtis

Cabinet Member for Visible & Building Services

Councillor Chris Williams

Cabinet Member for Planning & Transportation

Councillor Margaret Randall

Cabinet Member for Human Resources & Equalities

Councillor Nigel Gibbs

Cabinet Member for Education & Lifelong Learning

Councillor Stuart Egan

Cabinet Member for Social & Care Services

Councillor Margaret Wilkinson

Cabinet Member for Housing & Community Safety

Councillor Gwyn John

Cabinet Member for Tourism & Leisure

Councillor S. Egan

Cabinet Member for Social & Care Services

Councillor Val Hartrey

Cabinet Member for Legal and Public Protection.

Councillor Clive Williams

Mayor

 

 

Apologies for Absence –

These were received from Cllr. M. Alexander & Cllr. M. Randall

 

The Mayor welcomed all present and thanked the audience for having attended the State of the Area in Penarth which as an event is in its sixth year. Also stating that we are one of only a few Local Authorities that stage this type of event.  He then introduced the Deputy Leader to speak.

 

The Deputy Leader encouraged the audience to ask questions of the Cabinet on the issues that that are of most concern, and stressed that where questions could not be answered on the night a written answers could be sent out.

The Deputy Leader thanked the Mayor and everyone who had attended on the night then set out the itinerary for the evening based upon the previous consultation exercise and the more recent Public Opinion Survey. The Cabinet had returned to Penarth following a successful debate the previous year and wanted to feedback on previous issues. The Deputy Leader introduced the Cabinet Members and the Officers present then set out the house rules for the evening’s debate.

The following areas were highlighted as the main points of concern:

1.         Roads & Traffic

The main priority of the Vale of Glamorgan Highway and Transport division is to reduce accidents via these assessments; accident data, traffic speed and the proximity to school.  The Deputy Leader noted that we work in partnership with the Safety Camera Partnership (a partnership with the Police and other organisations) to determine the position of fixed and mobile cameras. In relation to the Safe Routes to Schools in this area include; St Cyres scheme which is scheduled for completion by the 31 March 2008 (Pelican Crossing), works in the Sully Rd / Ash Path with the removal of the priority narrowing and improved visibility at the Ash path, Redlands rd zebra crossing at Cowslip Drive, zebra crossing at Mountjoy Lane on Redlands rd, footway widening on Redlands rd at Wordsworth Av and Pelican Crossing on Windsor rd

We have other works proposed in the Safer Routes in the Community Travel Plan which has identified a number of safety concerns in this area and the bid will be submitted to the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) in the 2008 summer funding. The D. Leader spoke of the traffic issues relating to the growth of the Capital City and the inherent traffic problems that have ensued. The Vale of Glamorgan continually try to influence the decisions that are made by Cardiff. We have made numerous representations for the cycle crossing over the river Ely. The Cabinet has consistently supported the Pont y Werin Bridge scheme and the Cabinet Member for Planning and Transportation Chairs the group. It is ultimately a scheme that requires funding from Cardiff given the future developments in the City. The Vale has provided financial support to the bridge totalling £200,000 this year. In relation to Penarth Heights the scheme is being closely monitored regarding transport links, public art and community facilities. Replacement to Dingle Bridge, highway improvements at Barons Court. The Deputy Leader welcomed the audience to comment on these proposals in the open mike session.

 

2.         Waste & Recycling

The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG)have given the Vale targets for recycling and composting 2009 – 2010 which is 40% of municipal solid waste, of which 15% must be compostable.  To meet to these targets the Vale has set itself targets in 2007 – 2008 of 35% with 11% of this percentage for composting which is very close. The Deputy Leader stressed that we are currently on target to reach the total set by WAG but can only attain this figure with the public’s help.

He also mentioned that the Council are considering recycling kitchen waste as a separate collection in a pilot scheme in 2008 2009.

The collections of garden materials also need to be increased at the kerbside which is due to commence on the 17 March 2008 and fortnightly.

A new recycling centre will be build in the Atlantic Trading, Barry during 2008 costing roughly 1 million pounds to replace the existing facility in Hayes road, Barry which is inadequate.

 

3.         Crime & Community Safety

The Deputy Leader made the point that the Vale of Glamorgan is still a safe place to live in but we are working in Partnership with the Police to reduce crime levels.

The Deputy Leader mentioned the PACT meetings and the prospect of introducing Youth PACTS in Dinas Powys, Llantwit and Barry to help the Youth with their problems. He also encouraged the setting up of Neighbourhood Watch Scheme for residents to help eliminate or reduce local crime.

We have invested £5000 in a youth room in Penarth and Llantwit major which local youths helped design and provide them with a place to go.. The Pulse team; which are a detached team of youth workers who work on the streets to help encourage sporting opportunities, education and divert youngsters away from trouble. There are early indications that the scheme has so far proved very successful. The Pulse project is currently working in Dinas Powys.

The Deputy Leader then spoke about the new initiative called; ‘Breaking the Cycle’ which is related to under age drinking. We are trying to discourage shops to sell alcohol to young people by proxy sales where we send in young people to try and buy alcohol in the shop. We have also purchased some headcams to help us carry out surveillance in the area.

We have carried out a feasibility study in the Vale on CCTV which looks at existing cameras in the Vale. We are also looking at car crime and have introduced a scheme called ‘Clip your Wings’ where we encourage car owners not to leave anything on display in the vehicle..

 

4.         Other Issues

The Deputy Leader spoke of the St Cyres School development within the School Investment Strategy which we are still looking at starting in the following order; Cowbridge first followed by St Cyres and then Llantwit.

 

The recent Public Opinion Survey showed that there was an overall increase in satisfaction levels throughout the Vale and increase in satisfaction levels of the services provided by the Council. However, the Deputy Leader stressed that we appreciate that there are still areas for improvement and we want to hear about them from you this evening.

There were also areas for improvement that came out of the study;

  • The perception and fear or crime;
  • The ability to influence decisions, which can be addressed at meeting like this;
  • Communicate information. (A new Website has been developed and improved considerably from a very low position previously to one of the best in the country. The website is still being developed and improved upon.

 

The open mike session followed which allowed the audience to pose questions to the Cabinet.

 

Question

Answer

Heavy lorries parked on double yellow lines opposite the Library in Penarth. Victoria road is also terrible. Can the Traffic Wardens do something?

You are right, the traffic wardens can enforce, I will also look into this matter. We can also prosecute in these matters.

Cllr Curtis. The roads throughout the Vale are in a fairly high standard and we are in the top quarter in Wales. If you have any instances regarding road / pavement surfaces please contact us. We have a programme to repair.

The properties on the seafront are in an awful state of disrepair. Ref: to an article in the National Newspaper titles ‘paint your house or face action’. The Town & Country Planning Act is being used to coerce people into improving the condition of their properties. Can the properties on the seafront be improved similarly?

Cllr. Moore. It isn’t a good advert for the Vale and they are in private ownership.

Rob Thomas. Very recently Councils have been using the 215 Act to take action against buildings which is something we can look at. There are numerous excellent properties that are falling into disrepair. If the building were listed that law is very supportive, when not the law isn’t that helpful. We do have a way in using the 215 Act.

Cllr. Moore. If the building becomes unsafe, we can also take action.

Have any grants been made to the beach cliff building?. Was one made in 2005 or earlier grants prior to the purchase of the former baths.

Cllr. Moore. I believe the simple answer is no. The funding for grants made in previous year have dried up a number of years ago.  The baths were renovated by a private company. I will follow this up.

Related question.- 2 years ago a planning application was turned down to modernise the building.

Rob Thomas. There are 2 matters to consider - when you are looking at replacement buildings or refurbished building. Refurbishing buildings are fairly straightforward. Rebuilds have to be very sensitive to the design. In this case the design was not of high enough standard for Penarth.

Cllr. Moore. Unfortunately these grants are not available to us in contributing to these schemes. 

The Welsh Assembly Government made a commitment to Coastal Paths in Wales. What steps have the Vale taken to implement this scheme? Particularly St Mary’s Well Bay. And Nash Point and Southerndown?

Chris Fray.  This is the first of the Coastal Access Scheme. All coastal local authorities have to contribute to an all Wales coastal path. The Vale will receive the second highest funding for this scheme from WAG of all the bids put forward, amounting to about £140,000. The money this year has been spent on 3 things. 1. Improving stretches of footpath along the coast including the path from Penarth to Lavernock.

2. Investigation of future schemes.

3. Other areas to improvement coastal access

We have a permissive path (agreement with land owner) between Nash Point and Southerndown. We are looking at improving Public Rights of way and also where we have permissive paths.

We are currently in negotiation with the land owners at St Mary’s Well Bay to replace the coastal path.

Cllr. G. John. This is an ongoing programme being reviewed over the next 5 years.

A dedicated lane from Windsor Rd through the roundabout to Cardiff would improve traffic matters.

Alternative light traffic route underneath Cogan Spur and the railway line to come out at the Porche garage. There is a Candidate site alongside the river and if agreed a road would have to be put there anyway.

Cllr. Moore. I am unsure of the technicalities regarding the topography regarding this issue. We would need transport grant money to achieve improvement to highways.  If the Candidate site was applicable – the developer would need to bear in mind the transport links.

 

Pont y Werin bridge. How much pressure can the Vale put on Cardiff to get this bridge built.

Cllr. Moore. It really does depend on Cardiff. It is their scheme, Sustrans ask Cardiff to lead the scheme.

Cllr. C. Williams

We are doing our best to put pressure on them baring in mind the overspend from the previous administration. We are not that far off. A planning application will be submitted in January of next year. Maybe an officer led meeting could be set up between ourselves and Cardiff.

Are we having a Cinema in Penarth?

It may be from a commercial developer.

Part of the bid for the Pavillion project was a cinema in the pier pavilion (P. Clarke)

 

Traffic lights at the bottom of Plassey Street would be awful with further delays

Cllr. Moore. I agree lights have to be well placed to assist the traffic and not hinder the traffic.

 

No School transport available for my son in Wenvoe . Walking route is not safe.

We have to work within the legislation and can be a problem in certain areas. Write this particular issue down and we will get back to you.

Can we have a heritage centre in the Church in Wales School Penarth.

Cllr. Moore.

A point well made.

Cogan Spur – people walk and cycle along this route, can we remove the sign. People will continue to use this route.

Cllr. C. Williams.  We need to look at this with the Police. Let us not forget, however that it is in Cardiff.

Cllr. Moore. The bridge wasn’t designed for pedestrians.

Scaffolding and mess at St Lukes Flats.

Cllr. Moore. The police may help with this matter. The work carried out here is our problem. We will look at this matter.

PC. Taylor – Good point. Youth annoyance is in the mind of most people. We work with the PACT meetings and would encourage the local residents to attend them, we have had a lot of success. If you have a specific issue please speak to me later or write your comments down.

Cllr. M. Wilkinson. I will look into this matter.

Traffic problems at the Merry harriers and very expensive traffic calming measures. What of the problems in Llandough, there are points that are potentially dangerous?

Cllr. C. Williams. I will have the sequencing of these traffic lights looked at.

Many housing estates, more cars what about a car park in Penarth town centre.

Cllr. Moore.

There aren’t ant plans for a car park in Penarth. As an authority we are not land rich so we consequently do not have that option. Time limits may be an option however.

Cllr. Gibbs. This was first muted about 20 years ago. It was never financially viable. Perhaps it could be looked at again.

Why do you consider alternatives to cars. Vast number of more houses on old Victorian roads. We have high class public transport, we should make cycling less dangerous,

Cllr. C. Williams. I think many more people are coming around to your way of thinking. We all know that traffic and parking is a universal problem around the Vale. We can all do are little bit to alleviate the traffic in the area. I saw a recent initiative in Marlow where all parents in the school were asked to refrain from driving their children to school for a week. It will take the will of us 27 Councillors to push this forward.

 

Cllr. G. John. Very good comments made. I promote healthy lifestyles as my portfolio. More cars are grid locking the Vale and I encourage more people to walk.

Can we promote this scheme in Marlow, here?

Cllr. Moore. We actually try this through the council with our car sharing scheme initiative. We have a good transport system in the Vale that should be used more often.

Rob Thomas. We are looking at linkages and innovative ways to go people out of their cars, to encourage lower car ownership to begin with.  We will have improvements to facilitate walking or ride from the Penarth Heights development to town. We are trying to promote schemes like this.

Cllr. Gibbs. In Llandough Primary School it is very difficult to park because people from then hospital are also parking there. We need to look at ourselves and supporting the walking buses to schools.

Alley gates in Cogan?

Is Cogan junction being improved?

 

 

 

I have seen plans for doubling of the line.

I concur with Alwyn. This has been discussed at a Scrutiny Committee. It is a pinch point, 8 per hour out of Penarth, 8 per hour from Barry plus others. It has been problem for many years.

Cllr. C. Williams. I have also seen a presentation on this issue. I will come back to you on this issue. I am on the S.E Wales Transport Alliance and the type of thing we can push.

Rob Thomas. Queen street is priority No 1 for them at the moment as it is a major bottle neck on the network. We can clarify where it is in the pecking order of things.

Cycling in Penarth is a problem, road surfaces are damaged throughout Penarth. It is disgraceful.

Cllr. R. Curtis. It is a culture we have in this Country and we have to change this attitude and take our addiction to the car and lower it. We are up in the fourth quarter (top quarter) in Wales for our roads.

What is the Council view on the Severn Barrage?

Does WAG own a lot of land at Lavernock Point?

Cllr. C. Williams. Listening to the tv you would think that it was agreed. This is not the case.  All the scientific material seems to be against this. It really need comprehensive consultation before the barrage could be built. We will monitor this very closely.

Why have roundabout sponsored sign posts too small to read.  The Council logo is on some of them.

Cllr. R. Curtis. We didn’t particularly want this. But it does generate income for the council.

Cllr. Moore. Roundabout maintenance will be looked at, we need to review this.

The publicising of water quality has stopped in Penarth.

Cllr. V. Hartrey. I will look into this for you.

Congratulations to the Education Dept for Cogan Primary School it is outstanding.

Cllr. Moore.

Our schools are exceptional in the Vale.

Can we have a bus service from Penarth Town Centre to Llandough Hospital? Can we ask Cardiff bus to lay on a reliable bus service

Cllr. Moore. Buses are private companies and run on the routes they want. We do subsidise some routes however.

Cllr. C. Williams. Can you leave your details and I will get back to you.

I have been coming to the Debates for many years and the comments are always articulate and promising. We never appear to get an awlful lot done. We lost the headland link, lost the refurbishment of the town centre, cycle lanes only 100m long and not linked up. Why can’t you decide on something and do it well.

Mayor. I do believe that Penarth is a fantastic play to live.

Cllr. Moore. We try to ensure that any scheme we enter into, we do it to the best of our ability.

Llandough Hospital from Penarth. ¾ hour by car. No bus route. The Car park is full by 9:00am. This can’t be all outpatients. People must be parking there and then travelling to Cardiff.

Cllr. Moore. We will look at this.

Cllr. C. Williams. Can you make a note of your comments and submit. I will get back to you.

 

 

The Mayor thanked everyone for coming and asked the Deputy Leader to close the evening.

 

The Deputy Leader ended the night by thanking the Mayor for chairing the meeting and all the people who attended the meeting and stressed that if anybody was dissatisfied or had any problems with this administration they should contact us by email, letter or telephone.

 

 

Vale of Glamorgan Council, Civic Offices, Holton Road, Barry CF63 4RU, Tel: (01446) 700111