STATE OF THE AREA DEBATE
REPORT of the State of the Area Debate held on
21st June, 2007 at The Llantonian Hall, Llantwit
Major.
Present:
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Councillor Ms. M.E. Alexander
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(Leader) - Vale of Glamorgan Council
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Councillor N. Moore
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(Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member Finance, ICT
and Property) - Vale of Glamorgan Council
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Councillor R.F. Curtis
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(Cabinet Member Visible and Building
Services)
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Councillor S.C. Egan
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(Cabinet Member Social and Care Services)
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Councillor N.J. Gibbs
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(Cabinet Member Education and Lifelong
Learning)
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Councillor G. John
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(Cabinet Member Leisure and Tourism)
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Councillor Mrs. V. M. Hartrey
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(Cabinet Member Legal and Public
Protection)
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Councillor Mrs. M. Randall
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(Cabinet Member Human Resources)
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Councillor C.J. Williams
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Councillors Mrs. S.M. Bagstaff and J.W.
Thomas
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Councillor Moore welcomed all present and
thanked the audience for having attending albeit on such a “wet
evening”. He informed the meeting that it was the last of the
six State of the Area debates that had been held around the Vale.
He advised that it had been decided to adopt a fresh approach to
the conduct of the State of the Area debates with local residents
being instrumental in drawing up the agenda. A period of 30
minutes would be devoted to each of the three topics which had
evoked the greatest interest resulting from a questionnaire that
had been sent to residents. A general question and answer
session would then be held and should there be insufficient time
for all questions to be answered members of the audience were
requested to complete proformas available in the hall and
deposit them in the box at the rear of the hall whereupon written
answers would be provided in due course. Of the responses
that had been received to submit items for discussion, 24% had
opted for waste and recycling, 22% road traffic and 20% crime and
community safety and as such these would be the three topics that
would be discussed at the debate.
Waste and Recycling
Councillor R.F. Curtis stated that the results
of the survey conducted by the Council had indicated that the
issues of most concern to the residents of Llantwit Major were:
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promoting recycling
·
litter
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composting.
The audience was informed that the Council
currently recycled just over 30% of its waste which and had been
given a ranking of 4th best out of the 22 councils in
Wales for recycling. As a result of European direction, all
councils throughout the UK would have to reach recycling targets
and the Vale of Glamorgan Council was trying consistently to
improve its standards and Councillor Curtis reiterated that
education had a strong part to play in promoting recycling and
relaying the message to the community. The audience was
advised that in relation to the waste site at Llandow the Council
was considering resiting to the local dredging site further up the
road and with the possibility of providing an undercover
facility. It was explained that the current collection
arrangements for recycling were based on an existing contract, a
new contract would run from April 2008 and negotiations would take
place on the terms of that contract which would include discussions
on the introduction of mixed kerbside recycling from that
date. The Council had also recently adopted a fortnightly
green waste kerbside collection and had projected that some 700
tonnes of green waste would be collected in the current
year.
The following question and answer session then
ensured:
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Questions
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Answers
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The Council currently provided green boxes and
items should be placed in them without the plastic bags. It
was hoped that in the future supermarkets would relook at all their
packaging products with the hope that this could be sorted at
source.
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Councillor Anne Matthews, Llantwit Town
Community Council - at the moment I am placing recycling items in
different plastic bags. Is that still the policy from the
Council?
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Yes, at the moment this currently helped the
kerbside collection but if plastic bags from supermarkets no longer
became available new instructions would be issued. However if
it was difficult for the public to obtain plastic bags from the
supermarkets the Council could provide extra containers.
Currently as members of the public only have one container, the
Council asked that different elements of recycling are placed in
different plastic bags however it was hoped that in the
future the new contract wouldl be able to disseminate the
recycling products itself, but at this moment in time the Council
still required that the householder separate their paper and
bottles as previously instructed. The reason for splitting
the products was because if cardboard / paper becomes contaminated
with bottles their value is reduced.
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Local resident, Richard Vidler - I have had
great difficulty in obtaining compost bins. I have contacted the
Devon number and have had great difficulty in being able to obtain
one from them. Could you please have a word with your
suppliers to ensure their telephones are manned properly.
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Councillor Curtis apologised for the
inconvenience,noted the concerns and would endeavour to discuss the
matter with the supplier. He also reiterated that the whole purpose
of the evening was to speak to residents and to discuss matters
together and for any concerns to be addressed accordingly.
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Roads and Traffic
Survey responses had indicated the following
topics that were of particular interest to the people of Llantwit
Major -
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the need to clean road signs and ensure they are bilingual
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traffic calming measures in Llanmaes
·
how the new proposals at St. Athan would affect traffic in
general
·
standard of lane and road repairs
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the condition of pathways
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heavy vehicles using minor roads
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street cleaning
·
routes for cyclists.
Members of the public were requested to
provide for officers details of any specific examples where sites
required cleaning and were informed that in respect of bilingual
road signs, these signs were amended whenever the sign had to be
replaced. In respect of traffic calming measures, the minimum
criteria had to be met before any measures could be put in
place. In respect of the base at St. Athan the Council would
make sure that all the necessary arrangements were in place before
the proposal went ahead. Access arrangements were deemed
essential requirements and in particular the railway station and
other forms of access had to be considered e.g. how to link
the site to the M4. The audience was assured that a traffic
impact assessment would be undertaken in respect of the new
development. Under the standard of lane and road repairs
Councillor Curtis informed the audience that the Vale of Glamorgan
had been judged one of the best in Wales and that £430k had
been spent on lane and road repairs in 2006/7. In respect of
heavy vehicles using minor roads the Council could generally deal
with width and height restrictions but it had difficulty in placing
weight restrictions on the road and in order to do so would have to
provide alternative routes for vehicles. If the public
had any instances that they were aware that required investigation
they were requested to inform the local department as
appropriate. In terms of street cleaning, the Council was
doing its utmost to educate the public to address the matter e.g.
in the centre of Llantwit Major duly noted as Zone 1, this area was
cleaned regularly but the Council was trying to concentrate on
enforcement and if the public had any specific areas they had
problems with they should inform the Council immediately.
Throughout the year 126 fixed notices in respect of litter had been
issued, and 1,000 warning notices for littering and dog fouling
issued. A person could be fined £75 on the spot for being
caught dropping litter.
Routes for Cyclists
The Council was committed to the national cycle network and
worked closely with Sustrans in promoting alternative forms of
transport. This was also done via Safe Routes to Schools and
Safe Routes to Stations. Resources were limited but the
Council was trying to identify all the ways it could in order to
promote the message.
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Questions
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Answers
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Speed bumps have a place but careful
consideration needs to be made when agreeing to install them.
Different methods will be looked at in the future.
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Councillor Anne Matthews - Why can’t the speed
limit be changed at Beach Road. We have a problem with boy
racers and she hoped it would not take a death before something was
done there.
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The Council could put tapes down to see if the
perception was the same as actually what happened and the officer
also agreed to advise the police about the local community’s
concerns.
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Councillor R Downe – Llantwit Major Town
Council - Could we please have a pedestrian crossing put on
Llanmaes Road. I am aware that it is down to budget but I
would like you to reconsider.
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We will look into the matter and do an up to
date survey and assess the criteria.
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Local resident - please ensure the
infrastructure is in place for the St. Athan development.
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The infrastructure was one of the major issues
of the Metrix bid, it had to be in place before the development
could go ahead. A grant had also been provided for a
feasibility study on Five Mile Lane.
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Local resident - I am informing you that over
recent weeks there have been JCBs on the St. Athan site digging up
the fields and I am aware that no planning permission has been
agreed.
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We will pursue your concerns and report back
to you.
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Crime and Community Safety
Councillor Margaret Alexander, Leader of the
Council, apologised for there being no Police presence at the
meeting and advised that the Police.had been invited but no
apologies had been received. The concerns that had been
received through the survey under this category were listed as:
·
vandalism in the town centre
·
parking restrictions
·
policing in the town and
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CCTV.
Councillor Moore advised that a Task and
Finish Group of the Scrutiny Committee Community Wellbeing and
Safety had recently been set up to look at CCTV matters
throughout the Vale. If any of the members of the public had
any specific issues in relation to vandalism and police matters, if
they could complete the questionnaires these would be
co-ordinated with the Police. Councillor Gwyn John, also
local Member in Llantwit Major, advised that the issues that had
been raised had been of great concern to local residents for some
time although he stated that he did feel the community was
beginning to move forward in particular in relation to the PACT
working groups. The area that was causing most concern was
the precinct itself, but however this was private ownership and
that had its own problems. In relation to parking issues
within Llantwit Major, the police had recently undertaken “spot
checks“ and people had been fined for illegal parking.
The Community Safety Partnership had also been
involved in working with local youths and outreach workers had been
engaged to work with young people. A local resident was
concerned about the lack of representation from the Vale of
Glamorgan Council on the PACTs and was advised that PACT meetings
had been originally intended for the community and that local
councillors had been requested by the police not to attend in order
that local residents could deal with matters themselves.
Throughout the Vale PACT meetings had different profiles and some
were working well whilst others had really not got off the
ground. A working group had been set up between the Council
and the Police to consider ways that PACTs could be more effective
and that clear understandings as to who should attend and who
should be involved be made. John Lloyd, local resident, and
President of the Llantwit Major Chamber of Trade stated his was
over the fact that crime was serious in Llantwit Major but the
police couldn’t operate at night unless they were
accompanied. The question of CCTV in the precinct was also
raised and although it was deemed a private precinct Members agreed
to look into the concerns ..
Open Mike Session
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Question
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Answer
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The design consultants would hopefully be
appointed by September 2007 with the following proposed schedule of
start timesfor schools -
2010 - Cowbridge
2011 - St. Cyres
2011/12 - Llantwit Major
Councillor Gibbs reiterated his commitment and
the commitment of the Cabinet to fulfil the Schools Investment
Strategy and build Llantwit Major a new school. He however
stated that the Investment Strategy was for the whole of the Vale
and that the phasing had been undertaken in order to ensure that
the Council was not put in financial jeopardy.
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D.L. Thomas, local resident - If you are in
financial deficit, why don’t you reduce your Cabinet and use
the allowances for the Strategy?
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The Cabinet had been set up to ensure that the
relevant portfolios are covered and as such the ten Cabinet Members
have considerable portfolios. Councillor Alexander pointed
out that she had appointed the Cabinet herself, who were
experienced in the various areas and in her opinion “were doing a
good job”. Councillor Curtis responded by saying that
democracy did not come cheap and that gesture politics was not
always the answer.
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Deborah Thomas, local resident and teacher at
Llantwit Major Comp - will you ensure that vending machines
in schools etc have healthy options.
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Councillor Moore responded that at the
previous days Cabinet meeting a report was
received where’ vending machines would be installed in Leisure
Centres and Cabinet requested that healthy options be put in
them.
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Councillor R. Dowe, Llantwit Major Town
Council - Homes4U policies. There are currently anomalies
with the Homes4U policy.
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We, as a Council, are interested to hear your
comments. We will be reviewing the policy shortly and would
be pleased to receive any suggestions for consideration that you
would like to put forward.
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The meeting closed with the Chairman,
Councillor Margaret Alexander, thanking everybody for attending and
hoped they had found it a productive evening and were satisfied
their concerns had been heard. The audience was reminded that
any other matters that they wished to discuss with the Council
could be noted on the proformas available in the Hall and written
responses would be provided in due course.