CABINET
Minutes of a meeting held on 4th
January, 2012.
Present: Councillor G.C. Kemp
(Chairman); Councillor T.H. Jarvie (Vice-Chairman); Councillors
Mrs. J.E. Charles, G.A. Cox, A.M. Ernest, A.D. Hampton,
H.J.W. James, R.L. Traherne and Mrs. D.M. Turner.
C1561
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE -
These were received from Councillor P.
Church.
C1562
MINUTES -
RESOLVED - T H A T the minutes of the meeting
held on 13th December, 2011 be approved as a correct
record.
C1563
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST -
The following Members declared an interest in
Agenda Item No. 14, Vale of Glamorgan Local Development Plan:
Deposit Plan, and vacated the room during the consideration
thereof: Councillors G.A. Cox and R.L. Traherne.
C1564
VALE OF GLAMORGAN LOCAL ACCESS FORUM -
The following minutes of a meeting held on
16th November, 2011 were submitted:
Present: Mr. F. Coleman
(Chairman); Mr. G.D. Cubbin, Mr. J.J. Herbert, Mrs. H.
March, Mr. H.S. McMillan, Mr. N. Moss, Mr. R. Pittard,
Mr. R. Simpson, Mrs. L. Stuart, Mr. R. Traherne and Mrs.
V. Warlow.
Mr. J. Wyatt, Mr. B. Guy, Mr. G.W. Teague
and Mrs. S. Thomas (Vale of Glamorgan Council); Mrs. T. Cottnam
(Coastal Access Officer).
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Action
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(a) Apologies for Absence
-
These were received from Councillor A.M.
Ernest, Mrs. V.M. Hartrey, Mr. M. Parry and Ms. A.
Phillips.
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(b) Minutes -
AGREED - T H A T the minutes of the
meeting held on 27th July 2011 be accepted as a
correct record.
The following updates were provided to
members:
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(i) Vale of Glamorgan Local
Development Plan (LDP)
Members were informed that a report on
this matter was likely to be considered by the Vale of Glamorgan
Council in January 2012.
(ii) Current Position Relating to
the Proposed Single Environment Body and the Future of CCW
The Welsh Government was still looking at
functions / costs. Consultation would follow only once this
exercise had been completed. The Chairman had communicated
with J. Rosenfeld, Chair of the Welsh LAF Chairs
group.
Mr. Pittard indicated that he understood a
business case was to be considered by the Steering Group on
22nd November 2011, with a ministerial decision
anticipated in early December.
He understood that consultation was likely
to take place from January to March 2012 and a new body envisaged
by April 2013.
(iii) Walking and Cycling Action
Plan for Wales
It was noted that a report would be
submitted to the next meeting, as opposed to this meeting as
original intended.
(iv) Stone Stiles in Llantwit
Major
Mrs. March indicated that problems still
existed. Mr. Teague stated that safety measures would
continue to be rolled out.
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(c) Presentation by Vinny
Mott, SUSTRANS -
Members received a presentation from Vinny
Mott, Senior Project Manager, SUSTRANS. Her presentation
included giving a general background and an indication of how
SUSTRANS worked. Specific projects alluded to
included:
·
walking / cycling network
·
street redesign
·
volunteer projects
·
outdoor artwork (representing the largest collection in the
United Kingdom)
·
school cycling
·
National Cycle Network - associated health benefits and
zero-carbon activity
·
personalised travel information.
In terms of the Vale of Glamorgan, various
projects had been initiated over the years, including
·
Safe Routes to Stations (2002)
·
National Cycle Network Route 88 feasibility study
(2008)
·
Pont y Werin (Connect2 Steering Group)
Ø cycle
links
Ø Arcott
Street- contra-flow cycle lane
Ø
National Cycle Network - existing / proposed routes (rural
sections).
After a series of questions and answers,
on behalf of the Forum, the Chairman thanked Ms. Mott for her
interesting and informative presentation.
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(d) Rural Footpaths Grants
-
Members were addressed by Mr. M. Cottray,
Rural Regeneration Officer, in respect of the Rural Footpaths Grant
Scheme. The scheme aimed to enhance or provide additional
basic services for the Vale of Glamorgan rural economy and
population. It also sought to address social exclusion by
improving access to a range of services and to develop better links
between communities and remote areas. He indicated that
funding for the scheme was available until 31st December
2013.
The grant scheme could provide new or
improved footpath links:
·
between communities
·
between communities and the coast / coastal path
·
between communities and service centres
·
to encourage community use of footpaths in lieu of other less
sustainable transport methods.
Mr. Cottray outlined the decision-making
process which took place in respect of funding. He also
provided an outline of the Creative Rural Communities Scheme.
He explained to whom assistance was potentially available, the
level of assistance available and how applications needed to be
submitted.
The Chairman, on behalf of the Forum,
thanked Mr. Cottray for attending and providing members with a
summary.
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(e) PROW Condition Survey
-
Mr. Teague updated members on the ongoing
work in respect of the above. The two databases involved had
now been “joined up” and officers were continuing to work through
the data set.
AGREED - T H A T a further report be
submitted to the next meeting.
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(f) Coastal Access Improvement
Programme (CAIP) Update-
Mrs. Cottnam updated members on the
following specific projects:
·
Programme
Ø
Research assessing economic impact of path underway. The
research had been commissioned by CCW and was looking at locations
around Wales, including a number in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Mrs. Cottnam felt that this would add value to the work
already underway utilising people counters.
·
GilestonBeach
Ø Project
to improve furniture on links connecting Summer House Point to
Gileston
Ø Kissing
gates required, to be installed by Heritage Coast Wardens.
·
Cwm Colhuw
Ø
Dedication of paths as Public Right of Way sought from
landowner. Practical works required to improve path behind
surf lifesavers club
Ø No
response from landowner. Considering options to create by
order.
Ø
Practical works funding to be diverted into compensation
payments for dedication agreements.
·
Cwm Nash - Dunraven Improvements
Ø Various
stile, gate and stonework improvements along the Heritage
Coast
Ø
Materials ordered for new gates near Dunraven Park
Ø Stone
work completed near Nash Point.
·
Signage
Ø
WalesCoastPath branding and waymarkers
required across route
Ø Mapping
exercise identifying signage locations complete
Ø Waymark
and branding in stock
Ø Waymark
posts to be ordered based on mapping exercise.
·
Cwm Mawr
Ø Scheme
to improve access down valley sides at Cwm Mawr including steps
where necessary
Ø
Conservation authorities acquired (SSSI etc.)
Ø Access
negotiations complete
Ø
Progressing with costs
Ø Work
dependent upon dedication agreement being signed. Dedication
agreed in principle, lawyers discussing particular
clauses.
·
AtlanticCollege
Ø Project
to roll back path away from cliff edge
Ø Useful
discussions with Atlantic College had continued, with approval now
obtained from the Principal and the Trustees
Ø Work
would include provision of a path, fencing (as one off compensation
arrangement) and provision of signage.
·
St. Mary’s Well Bay
Ø
Provision of paths around caravan site
Ø Welsh
Government legal officers awaiting advice from clients
Ø CCW
contacted to request assistance be provided internally through the
Welsh Government to move this issue on.
Penarth
·
Agreement had been reached with the Penarth Tourism Association
for the route preferred by the Local Access Forum as the most
appropriate / aesthetic within the Coast Path.
Events
An official Wales Coast Path launch would
take place on 5th May 2012. One event would
be held in the Roald Dahl Plass (the former Oval Basin) in Cardiff,
one in Aberystwyth and one at Flint Castle. Officers were
endeavouring to maintain momentum and six potential locations in
the Vale had been identified for events intended for
25th May. Mrs. Cottnam also referred to the fact
that a group of several hundred walkers from Holland would be
walking the Coastal Path on 25th August 2012. She
also alluded to the fact that the Wales Coast Path website was
intended to be fully in place by February 2012 and that she would
update members at the next meeting. She was pleased to inform
members that the Wales Coast and Coast Path had been nominated as
the No. 1 place to visit in Wales in 2012 in the latest edition of
the Lonely Planet Guide.
Mrs. Warlow indicated that, subject to
funding being obtained, it was intended to again hold a Vale of
Glamorgan Walking Festival, to take place on 12th May
2012.
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(g) Public Rights of Way
(PROW) Orders Update and Definitive Map Modification Order Tracking
-
The regular update report in respect of
the above was submitted, referring to a composite map displayed
which would be updated and made available at each LAF
meeting.
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(h) Rights of Way Improvement
Plan (ROWIP) Funding Programme Update -
Members received an update on the three
projects covered within the ROWIP funding programme for
2011/12.
(i) Employment of an officer
to complete quality assurance of the Definitive Map to facilitate
its republication and to provide analysis of condition survey
results.
The final stages of quality assurance of
the Definitive Map were underway. A number of cross-border
issues had been identified that were likely to require
rectification by Order. As a result of the work so far, the
Public Rights of Way Network had been published on the Vale of
Glamorgan website via My Maps and could be found at: http://myvale.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/myGlamorgan.aspx
The layer shown was a direct copy of the
electronic mapping maintained by the Rights of Way team and would
be updated weekly. It included a disclaimer indicating that
it was not the Definitive Map itself and that work to correct
certain minor anomalies was still continuing. CAMS data had
been provided in full. Training to enable analysis of the
data and use of software as a resource for managing the network was
being undertaken throughout November.
(ii) Match funding of Rural
Development Plan Community and Cycle Ways Links Project
ROWIP money had been allocated to match
the first scheme to be agreed in association with delivering a
Rural Development Plan project for the improvement of links between
communities.
(iii) Biodiversity
The biodiversity element of the grant
would be met through the procurement of otter halts and owl boxes,
to be installed near public rights of way.
During the ensuing general discussion on
this item, Mr. Pittard referred to the targeted element of Glas Tir
(scheduled for 2013). His understanding was that, should LAFs
suggest rights of way improvements they considered appropriate, the
Welsh Government would consider including in the process. The
Chairman referred to a meeting held with Tir Gofal officers to
discuss whether any existing permissive footpaths / bridleways
should be included as criteria for the new Glas Tir scheme.
He understood that each Local Authority would soon be provided with
maps to facilitate an update of the issues. In essence, he
felt this to be largely a rerun of the earlier exercise
undertaken.
AGREED - T H A T a further report on this
matter be submitted to a future meeting.
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(i) Synopsis of Notes of
the LAF Conference, 7th June 2011 -
With regard to item 8 regarding ROWIP
funding, the Chairman indicated that this item had arisen due to
the fact that certain LAFs did not seem to enjoy good relationships
with their respective local authorities. This was not the
case within the Vale of Glamorgan.
In terms of funding, Mr. Pittard indicated
that, having been at the National Local Access Forum meeting, he
was hopeful (based on the Minister’s statement) that funding would
continue on the same basis as for the current year.
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(j) LAF Chairs’ Meeting,
13th October 2011 -
The Chairman referred to the
following:
(i) Glas Tir
He indicated that some 973 expressions of
interest had been submitted in respect of Level II Glas Tir, with
500 applicants having qualified and some 300 in reserve. Mr.
Traherne was aware that take up had been reasonable in upland
areas. However, he considered that it would be interesting to
see the position once the level of interest in areas such as the
Vale of Glamorgan had been ascertained.
AGREED - T H A T a further report be
submitted to a future meeting.
(ii) Highways
Bill
The Chairman referred to the current
drafting by the Welsh Government of a new Highways Bill. This
would include placing a duty on local authorities to designate
traffic free routes. If the Bill evolved as anticipated,
consultation would take place in the Spring of 2012.
(iii) Countryside
Code
The Chairman alluded to the issuing by CCW
of a revised Countryside Code. It would be different in
format in that it would comprise a series of Codes for specific
activities, covered by one overarching Code.
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(k) Annual Report
-
The Secretary reminded members that hard
copies had been circulated to them in advance of the meeting in
order that any comments could be submitted and
considered.
AGREED - T H A T the Annual Report 2010/11
be endorsed.
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(l) Reappointment
of the Local Access Forum-
Prior to outlining the reappointment
process, the Secretary took the opportunity of thanking members for
their contribution to the work of the Forum during its current
three year tenure. In particular, he expressed his
appreciation to Mrs. H. March, Ms. A Phillips and Mrs. V.
Warlow, all of whom had indicated that they would not be reapplying
to remain a member of the Forum. Mrs. March had served on the
Forum since its original inception nine years ago. Both Ms.
Phillips and Mrs. Warlow had been members for six years. At
this point, Mrs. Stuart indicated that she would also not be
reapplying for membership. The retiring members each
indicated that they had enjoyed, and learned from, their time on
the Forum.
The Chairman added his own sentiments,
reiterating those of the Secretary.
With regard to the reappointment process,
the following had taken place,
·
all existing members had been notified of the process for
reapplying
·
notices had been displayed at the Civic Offices and Dock
Office
·
notices had been forwarded for display at Cosmeston Lakes and
Country Park, Dyffryn House, the Glamorgan Heritage Coast Centre,
Vale of Glamorgan Leisure Centres, libraries and to all Town and
Community Councils
·
notices had been published in the Western Mail and
Gems
·
a notice had been published on the Council’s website and
internal StaffNet
·
letters had been forwarded to “interested parties”.
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(m) Feedback from Forum
Members -
(i) Mrs. Warlow
updated members on the position with regard to the funding / future
existence of Valeways. She pointed out that the Vale of
Glamorgan Council had, traditionally, been the main funder of
Valeways. However, a number of funding streams, including
that from the Council and CCW, were coming to an end. As a
result, one employee had been given notice of redundancy and
cutbacks had already taken place in terms of the Project Manager’s
hours. Trustees were working on a new business plan. However,
she pointed out that the existing five day week volunteer workforce
would no longer be available. She thanked members of the
Forum for their support and ongoing interest and hoped that
Valeways would, in some form, continue.
Mr. Guy pointed out that the core funding
provided from the Council had come, not from the Rights of Way
budget, but from the Finance Department (i.e. as charity
funding). He felt it important to inform the Forum that no
application had been received for that type of funding from
Valeways for 2012. Whilst reiterating his comments from a
previous meeting that he could not support funding from a Rights of
Way perspective, an application could still have been submitted for
core funding under the element described above. He also
reminded members that, whilst funding had been provided by the
Council to Valeways for 2011/12, the organisation had been unable
to deliver the intended services through to the end of the
financial year.
(ii) Ogmore
River
Mr. Cubbin referred to an issue he had
raised at an earlier meeting regarding illegal vehicular
access. He indicated that the problem had not been alleviated
by Dunraven Estates, albeit he was aware that action had been taken
at a location further along the river. He also mentioned the
fact that a “clean-up” had taken place during September of the sea
bed and along the river bank, which had considerably improved
matters.
(iii) Wales Environment
Link
Mr. Pittard, having attended a recent
meeting of the above, informed members that the whole of the
Glamorgan Heritage Coast had been designated as “good” under the
Water Directive.
(iv) Mr. Teague indicated that
Mr. Russ Church, a long serving member of the Council’s Rights of
Way team, would be retiring in December.
AGREED - T H A T the Forum’s appreciation
of Mr. Church’s contribution be conveyed to him.
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RESOLVED - T H A T the minutes be noted.
Reason for decision
To have regard to the views expressed.
C1565
E-BUSINESS SUITE SYSTEM UPGRADE (L) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE
RESOURCES) -
Cabinet were advised of the outcomes of
upgrading the Oracle E-Business Suite.
Following a quotation and assessment process,
Mokum were identified as the supplier to provide the upgrade
support on the project. Their best and final offer of
£135,624 was inclusive of the complete upgrade of the E-Business
Suite and the database, knowledge transfer, training, 50 days
towards the rebuild of any customisations necessary and post go
live support.
The project was managed in line with the
Council’s project management methodology. The Council
successfully went live on 20th October as planned and
has upgraded the full suite of modules currently used, i.e.:
·
customer relationship management
·
human resources and payroll
·
general ledger
·
procurement and accounts payable
·
accounts receivable and advanced collections.
During the project there were two areas where
additional support was required from Mokum, i.e.
·
more work than anticipated to ensure that no functionality was lost
as a result of the upgrade
·
consultant advice on how to reapply certain customised
functionality in the upgraded version that no longer worked as it
had previously.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the final cost and outcomes
of the project be noted and approved.
Reason for decision
Where the original contract sum was exceeded
by 10%, approval of the Cabinet was required in line with Financial
Regulation 21.5.
C1566
GRANTS TO COMMUNITY / VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS 2011/12 - VALE OF
GLAMORGAN ARTISTS (L) (SCRUTINY - CORPORATE RESOURCES)
-
Approval was sought on the award of further
funding to Vale of Glamorgan Artists (VOGA).
Funding for VOGA was previously considered by
Cabinet and, as in previous years, £750 was approved towards their
ongoing activities at Art Central, Dyffryn Gardens, and Travellers
in Mind at Barry railway station.
The organisation had now submitted an
additional application to that above in respect of its intended
exhibition at next year’s “National Eisteddfod” at Llandow.
Applications for funding submitted by the
organisation to the Arts Council for Wales and also to the
Eisteddfod Committee had to date proved unsuccessful.
VOGA’s exhibition at the Eisteddfod, to be
based around the poem “Y Lliaws Sy’n Llosgi” (The Multitude That is
Burning) by the famous Welsh poet Menna Elfyn, will showcase the
work of 17 highly regarded professional artists based in the
Council’s area.
The exhibition proposed by VOGA would be in
the main Eisteddfod marquee and the project also aimed to provide
young people with opportunity to exhibit alongside the professional
artists at the Eisteddfod.
VOGA estimated the costs for the stand and
associated items to be £4,500, of which they were able to
contribute £2,000 and were requesting a grant for the balance of
£2,500.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T grant funding to the Vale
of Glamorgan Artists in the sum of £2,500 in respect of their
exhibition at this year’s National Eisteddfod at Llandow and
engagement in this respect with Llantwit Major Comprehensive School
be approved.
Reason for decision
To contribute towards the organisation’s
exhibition at the Eisteddfod.
C1567
CABINET FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME JANUARY TO APRIL 2012 (L) (SCRUTINY
- CORPORATE RESOURCES) -
Cabinet were informed of the Forward Work
Programme for the Cabinet / Council for the period January to April
2012 and were advised of those reports still to be received from
the previous Forward Work Programme covering September to December
2011.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the Forward Work Programme for the period January to April 2012
be noted.
(2) T H A
T the reasons supplied by officers for the non-submission of the
items from the previous Programme (September to December 2011) be
noted.
Reason for decisions
(1&2) To comply with the
requirements of the Local Government Act 2000, subordinate
legislation and the Council’s Constitution.
C1568
VALE OF GLAMORGAN LOCAL ACCESS FORUM (L) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND
ENVIRONMENT) -
Cabinet considered the appointment of a
Council Member to sit on the Vale of Glamorgan Local Access
Forum.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the Cabinet Member for
Tourism and Leisure be appointed as the Council’s representative on
the Vale of Glamorgan Local Access Forum.
Reason for decision
To comply with the provisions of Regulation
6(1) of the Countryside Access (Local Access Forums) (Wales)
Regulations 2001.
C1569
SCHEME TO CLAWBACK SURPLUS SCHOOL BALANCES (ELL) (SCRUTINY -
LIFELONG LEARNING) -
Approval was sought for a Scheme to Clawback
Surplus School Balances.
The School Funding (Wales) Regulations 2010,
implemented in September 2010, empowered authorities to direct or
clawback surplus balances in full or in part.
The Council’s Fair Funding Scheme for
Financing Schools had, following consultation with the Schools
Budget Forum, been updated to include provision of the new funding
regulations.
Schedule 4, Paragraph 20 of the Funding
Regulations states that:
·
The Authority may direct the governing body as to how to spend a
surplus in the school balance for a funding period, if:-
-
In the case of a primary school the surplus is £50,000 or more;
-
In the case of a secondary or a special school the surplus is
£100,000 or more;
·
The Authority may, if the governing body do not comply with such a
direction, require the governing body to pay all or part of that
surplus to the Authority to be applied as part of the Council’s
schools’ budget for the funding period in question.
The Scheme to Clawback Surplus School Balances
was attached at Appendix A to the report. The clawback option
would only be used if schools failed to use their surplus balance,
or failed to adhere to any directions from the authority to
spend.
The Scheme set out the challenges the
authority would make and the requirement for schools to submit
details of their plans with documentary evidence.
The Scheme also outlined how any funding
clawed back could be used, and the timescales involved.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the Scheme to Clawback Surplus School Balances be approved, and
implemented with effect from 1st April 2012.
(2) T H A
T the document be issued to the Headteachers and the Chairs of
Governors, the latter by post to their home addresses, with a
request that the document be placed on the agenda of their next
Governing Body.
Reason for decisions
(1&2) To ensure the Council has an
approved Scheme.
C1570
STRATEGIC EQUALITY PLAN AND EQUALITY OBJECTIVES (HRE) (SCRUTINY -
CORPORATE RESOURCES) -
Approval was sought to commence consultation
on the draft Strategic Equality Plan, attached at Appendix A to the
report, and the equality objectives contained within it.
The Equality Act 2010 included a new public
sector equality duty (“the general duty”) which came into force on
5th April. The general duty required the Council
to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful
discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good
relations.
In addition to this, the Council must comply
with the specific duties in Wales, designed to help performance of
the general duty and to aid transparency.
The specific duties in Wales covered a range
of requirements, including the requirement to draw up and publish a
strategic equality plan by 2nd April 2012 and include in
it equality objectives (including pay objectives).
A Strategic Equality Plan was the device used
to detail information that demonstrated that the Council was
meeting the general duty. It must include information on a
number of prescribed issues, such as its arrangements to identify
and collect relevant equality and employment information,
arrangements for assessing the likely impact on protected groups of
any policies and practices, and how the Authority would promote
knowledge and understanding of the general and specific duties
amongst employees.
A key element of the Strategic Equality Plan
was the equality objectives. The Council was required to
publish objectives for each of the protected characteristics or to
publish reasons why not. It must also set out the steps it
intended to take to meet each objectives and how it intended to
monitor progress. At meetings with the Equality and Human
Rights Commission and the Welsh Local Government Association, the
advice had been to have a smaller number of equality objectives and
achieve them, rather than one for every characteristic and not make
any significant progress in achieving real improvements.
There was also a requirement to publish an
equality objective to address any gender pay gap identified or else
publish reasons why it has not done so. It must have due
regard to the need to have objectives to address the causes of any
pay differences that seem reasonably likely to be related to any of
the protected characteristics.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the draft Strategic Equality Plan and equality objectives be
approved for consultation.
(2) T H A
T a further report detailing the costs of Plan preparation and
implementation be reported back to Cabinet following the
consultation.
Reason for decisions
(1&2) The Council needs to have in
place a Plan to meet its statutory responsibilities.
C1571
PAYMENTS TO COMMERCIAL UNDERTAKINGS WHO ACCEPT HOUSEHOLD RECYCLING
WASTE (VBS) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
Approval was sought to pay Commercial
Undertakings who accepted household waste for recycling.
Tesco was the first major retailer within the
Vale of Glamorgan to manage former Council bring sties on its own
land. Tesco used their “Clubcard” rewards scheme to promote
the use of their new sites, which had been installed at their three
major stores (Penarth, Barry and Culverhouse Cross).
Currently the weight of material recycled by these Tesco stores was
“lost” to the Vale of Glamorgan, and this was having a detrimental
impact on the Council’s recycling performance. Similarly, a
household waste “Save and Sort Rewards” scheme, introduced by Site
Serv in Llandow had also resulted in a loss of household
recycling. In this case, mostly from Schools in the area.
In addition to these particular companies, it
was likely that other similar initiatives could be introduced,
either by major retailers or private waste management
businesses. This was mostly due to the current high value for
recyclable material. Unless action was taken to “capture” the
weights of the materials these companies were recycling, it was
likely to be more and more difficult to achieve the Council’s
targets in the future. Incidents had even been reported
recently of recycling being “stolen” from the kerbside overnight,
and Officers believed that this was due to the rewards currently
being offered by various private companies for recyclable
material.
Cabinet, on 20th January 2010,
had
Resolved:
(1) That
the introduction of a fixed payment of £10 per tonne to registered
charities that provide full auditable records of any household
waste collected within the Vale of Glamorgan that it subsequently
recycled be supported.
(2) That a
report be submitted to Cabinet on the operation of the scheme after
12 months.
In respect of resolution (2) above, no further
report had yet been taken to Cabinet on the success or otherwise of
the scheme. The reason for this was that none of the
charities involved had been able to satisfy the Council’s audit
requirement. No payments had therefore been made to date,
though officers were still hopeful that suitable processes would be
able to be introduced in the near future that would satisfy the
Council’s audit conditions.
In principle, any household waste that failed
to be collected by the collection Authority under Section 45 of the
Environmental Protection Act 1990 could be subject to these
payments. However, payments would only be made where the
household waste was recycled or where it could be reused.
Officers had recently obtained indicative
projections of the recycling figures (by weight) from Ty Hafan,
Site Serv and Tesco, for 2011/12.
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Organisation
|
Weight in
Tonnes
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Ty Hafan
|
317
|
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Site Serv
|
281
|
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Tesco
|
271
|
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Total (Tonnes)
|
869
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Assuming these figures were correct, they
represented 10.25% of the total amount of dry recycling collected
in 2010/11 and would increase the Council’s overall dry recycling
performance by approximately 1.5% for this current financial
year.
As with the previously agreed Charity
donations, the following controls would need to be in place to
ensure there was no error or potential for impropriety within the
payment process:
·
Full written details of the tonnage claimed including copies of
weighbridge tickets must be provided
·
The waste must not have been previously presented to the same or
another authority for payment
·
The waste must originate from the non chargeable household waste
stream
·
The waste must originate from the Vale of Glamorgan
·
The waste must be removed from the Authority’s collection system
before, rather than after, collection by the Council
·
Waste on which payments were claimed must be recycled and evidence
of this would be required.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the payment of up to £10 per tonne to Commercial Undertakings who
are able to provide full auditable records of any household waste
they recycle be supported.
(2) T H A
T Officers be permitted to enter into formal Agreements with
relevant Commercial Undertakings in this regard.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
obtain authority to make relevant payments in pursuance of the
Council’s National Recycling and Landfill Diversion Targets.
(2) To
ensure that the Council’s interests are appropriately protected and
that, in particular, all evidence of recycling is capable of
withstanding a robust audit process.
C1572
CARBON MANAGEMENT PLAN - PROGRESS REPORT (VBS) (SCRUTINY -
CORPORATE RESOURCES) -
Cabinet were provided with an update on the
work being undertaken to reduce carbon emissions.
The Carbon Management Strategy and
Implementation Plan, approved by Cabinet in April 2008, included a
target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2016.
A Carbon Management Group, chaired by the
Director of Environmental and Economic Regeneration, met every two
months to oversee the delivery of the Plan.
The action plan which supported the strategy
had recently been reviewed by the Carbon Management Group, and
progress had been noted. A revised Plan had been drafted
(Appendix B to the report) with actions amended and new actions
added to help achieve the 20% reduction target by 2016.
Appendix C to the report provided details of the financial spend
and carbon dioxide savings associated with the Salix fund which was
currently the main delivery method for the Carbon Management
Plan. There was a considerable amount of activity across the
Council to reduce energy use and carbon emissions and there had
been a reduction of 2.4% in building related carbon emissions for
2010/11 compared to 2009/10.
The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) was a
mandatory scheme for large public and private sector organisations
in the UK, and commenced in 2010. The scheme was part of a
package of measures within the Climate Change Act, which aimed to
save over 4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2020. As a
participant, the Council was required to accurately measure carbon
emissions and provide an annual footprint report. The
footprint report was for just under 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide
created, whilst the annual report which contained the figure on
which a carbon tax would be applied in 2012 was for just under
18,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. The first tax for CRC was
expected to cost the Council about £160,000 which compared with
other local authorities who were expecting costs of £220,000.
Under CRC, estimated readings incurred a 10%
uplift, so it was vital that actual readings were provided to
suppliers regularly. Over the past year, the Council had been
organising the installation of Automatic Meter Reading
facilities. This made it easier to compile the CRC reports
and provided information that building managers could use to
identify energy waste.
Salix was an independent company funded by the
Carbon Trust to work with the public sector to reduce carbon
emissions through investment in energy efficiency. The
Council had been provided with £225,000 funding by Salix as part of
a match funded ring fenced rolling fund to assist in the
implementation of the Carbon Management Plan. The funding had
been provided in tranches with the final tranche of £45,000 being
received in 2011.
39 projects to reduce carbon emissions had
been implemented or were being explored utilising Salix
funding. Projects were evaluated on a carbon reduction per
pound spend criteria and the initial focus had been on insulation
projects as they generally passed the evaluation criteria.
The Council was making good progress in
spending the Salix funding and compared well with the other five
authorities in the South Wales region with Salix funds. To
date the Vale of Glamorgan Council spend was £358,000 with a
further £226,000 of projects agreed and awaiting installation and a
further £95,000 worth of projects considered viable and awaiting
agreement from budget holders.
To date 53 energy efficiency improvement
installations had been installed. These included 30
insulation installations, building lighting improvements, street
lighting improvements, voltage optimization, pool cover
installation and power switch timers. Major projects being
taken forward included lighting upgrades to Penarth Leisure Centre
and the installation of dimmable ballasts to certain street
lamps. It was predicted that the lighting upgrade at the
Leisure Centre would save approximately £13,000 per annum and save
about 35 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
Between 1st January 2010 and
31st March 2011, various street lighting initiatives had
been resulted in an annul carbon dioxide reduction of approximately
79 tonnes. In the 2011/12 financial year, approximately 49
tonnes of carbon dioxide had been saved to date and it was expected
that there would be savings of £8,000. LED and lower wattage
white lighting units were now being used on street lighting
maintenance replacement works and were specified for new Section
38/278 developments. A minimum of 40 existing street lighting
units would be replaced with an LED type before the end of the
current financial year. A rolling programme to fit dimmable
electronic ballasts to existing street lighting was underway and
this would reduce annual energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions
by 25% per unit.
All Belisha Beacons and School Crossing Patrol
Flasher Units had been converted to a lower wattage LED type and
solar-powered bollards were used in the replacement of conventional
electrically-supplied types. Non-illuminated bollards were
also used where legally authorised to do so. All traffic
signal wait lamps had also been replaced with lower wattage LED
lamps.
Pool covers had been installed at Barry and
Penarth Leisure Centres and these projects had the benefit of a
higher public profile and, if used daily, would achieve significant
savings.
Some of the monies earned from the Salix fund
had been used to commission an audit of the IT server rooms in the
Civic Offices. The results of this audit had been used to
draft plans to amalgamate these rooms which could potentially halve
the energy consumption associated with them.
General energy audits of the Civic Offices and
Barry Town Hall and Library had been undertaken and reports of the
findings had been drafted and were being discussed with officers
before being finalised. The reports and recommendations would
help identify ways to improve energy performance.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T progress with a number of projects in the Carbon Management
Action Plan be noted.
(2) T H A
T the revised Carbon Management Action Plan be approved.
(3) T H A
T the work undertaken with the Local Service Board partners and the
Carbon Trust to improve energy performance be noted.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
ensure that Members are aware of progress with carbon management
across the Council.
(2) In
order that the Carbon Management Group is able to proceed in
delivering schemes to reduce carbon emissions.
(3) To
ensure that Members are aware of partnership work being undertaken
to reduce energy use and costs.
C1573
NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD 2012 - VALE OF GLAMORGAN (EDR) (SCRUTINY -
ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
Cabinet was updated on progress in relation to
the organisation of the above event, which would be held in Llandow
in August 2012.
Since last reported, specific progress had
been made on the following issues:
·
Proclamation Ceremony - this was held in June in Barry, and was
considered to be a successful event. It was at this event
that the official announcement was made that the 2012 Eisteddfod
was to be held in the Vale of Glamorgan and the Ceremony involved a
procession along Holton Road from King Square and a
Ceremony and events at Gladstone Gardens.
·
The Council had a presence at the 2011 Wrexham Eisteddfod. A
Council display area was set up, the main purpose being to give
information in advance of next year’s event in the Vale of
Glamorgan. The Stand was well received and a large number of
people visited, with information being given on local attractions,
accommodation, etc.
·
The Council had also agreed to sponsor and procure the Eisteddfod
Crown.
A revised Action Plan had now been agreed for
next year’s Eisteddfod, and a copy was attached at Appendix A to
the report. Also attached at Appendix B to the report was a
plan showing the location of the Maes.
The main responsibilities for the Council
reflected in the Action Plan were as follows:
·
The development of a Transport Strategy, including signage
(including amended Welcome to the Vale Signs), car parking
arrangements, access to the site, linkages to the railway station,
public transport arrangements.
·
Regulatory and License Issues - this was being dealt with via the
Council’s Events Panel and dealt with all the regulatory issues
that were relevant to the holding of an Eisteddfod, including
health and safety, food standards, environmental health, licensing,
etc. A Major Incident Plan would also be developed as part of
this process.
·
Economic benefits - A “Meet the Buyer” event was held on
29th November 2011 which gave local suppliers the
opportunity to learn more about the Eisteddfod and the business and
sponsorship opportunities that would be occurring. In August
the Eisteddfod was also used as a theme for the Business Breakfast
at the Vale of Glamorgan Show when again local businesses and
relevant organisations had the opportunity to meet and listen to
the Eisteddfod Chief Executive.
·
The Council’s Pavilion - each year, the host authority was offered
the opportunity to establish its own Pavilion and to set up
exhibitions and content which reflected the local authority
area. Discussions were taking place with the Eisteddfod
organisers to identify a site on the Maes and the Working Group was
developing ideas in relation to content for the Pavilion. It
was important not to attempt to accommodate too much information /
exhibition material within this Pavilion but to mainly concentrate
on the aspects of the Vale of Glamorgan which were most likely to
continue to attract visitors for the future. It may also
promote the work of the Council. The Council would also be
responsible for onsite sports events and these were being
co-ordinated through the Council’s Sports Development Team.
The Council Pavilion would give the opportunity for the Council to
host events, and these would be arranged via the Mayor’s and
Leader’s offices.
·
Town and Community Council Involvement - Town and Community
Councils throughout the Vale had been informed that the Eisteddfod
presented opportunities throughout the Vale for events and
activities relating to the Eisteddfod itself. The Eisteddfod
organisers had already briefed several Town and Community Councils
and they had been urged to consider how they would best reflect the
opportunity in August in their own communities. It was particularly
relevant for Llantwit Major and Cowbridge to consider how they
might organise events and decorate their towns to reflect the
number of visitors in the area.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED - T H A T the revised Eisteddfod 2012
Action Plan be noted.
Reason for decision
To inform Members of the issues involved.
C1574
VALE OF GLAMORGAN LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN: DEPOSIT PLAN (PT)
(SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT) -
Cabinet were requested to consider and approve
the Deposit Plan as a basis for a statutory six week public
consultation exercise commencing in February 2012.
Since the Draft Preferred Strategy was
endorsed by the Cabinet in February 2010, there had been a
number of new issues which officers had taken into account when
drafting the Deposit Plan.
Firstly, in October 2010, the UK Government
decided not to progress with the Defence Training College proposal
at St. Athan. Notwithstanding this decision, the UK
Government maintained that St. Athan remained a key location for
military and associated training activity. In addition, in
September 2011, St. Athan was designated as an Enterprise Zone,
with a particular emphasis on the aerospace sector. The
Deposit Plan embraced this new designation with St. Athan
continuing to be identified as a Strategic Opportunity Area
(Strategic Policy 2 refers).
Secondly, the regional role of the Airport in
respect of it being an important transport hub together with it
being an opportunity for inward business investment had been more
fully recognised in the Strategy itself, and also through Strategic
Policy 5. In addition, recent discussion with the Welsh
Government had confirmed that land adjacent to the Airport was
likely to be designated as part of the St. Athan Enterprise
Zone.
Thirdly, there had been extensive developments
in national and regional policies, as well as progressive
initiatives on topics such as climate change, design, sustainable
development and affordable housing. There had also been
additional statistics published in respect of the demographics for
the Vale of Glamorgan, including new data on births, deaths and
migration. The Deposit Plan had taken on board this new
information, with additional objectives and refinement of the
Strategic Policies to ensure compliance with the latest planning
guidance and to reflect the Council’s own aspirations for managing
development during the Plan period. In particular, Cabinet
noted the change to the Housing Requirement Figure (Strategic
Policy 3 refers). The Draft Preferred Strategy (December
2007) identified the need for 7,500 dwellings over the Plan period
which equated to the Regional Housing Requirement Figure.
However, this figure had now increased to 9,950 in the Deposit Plan
and was derived from the latest 2008 Welsh Government Local
Authority projections and the Mid Year Estimates for
2009/10.
The structure of the Deposit Plan largely
reflected the guidance contained within the Welsh Government’s LDP
Manual, and was as follows:
·
Introduction
·
National, Regional and Local Policy Context
·
The Spatial Profile of the Vale of Glamorgan
·
Vision and Objectives
·
LDP Strategy
·
Managing Development in the Vale of Glamorgan
·
Managing Growth in the Vale of Glamorgan
·
Delivery and Implementation
·
Measuring Success
·
Appendices
·
Proposals Map
·
Constraints Map.
A copy of the Deposit Plan had been placed in
the Members’ Room and was also available on the Vale of Glamorgan
Council’s website.
The production of a Local Development Plan was
a matter for Full Council.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the Deposit Plan, the Sustainability Appraisal Report and the
Habitats Regulation Assessment be approved for public consultation
purposes.
(2) T H A
T a six week public consultation on the Deposit Plan, the
Sustainability Appraisal Report and the Habitats Regulation
Assessment takes place during February and March 2012 and that any
representations received after the close of the consultation period
are not accepted and not regarded as duly made.
(3) T H A
T the Cabinet Member for Planning and Transportation, in
consultation with the Director of Economic and Environmental
Regeneration, be authorised to agree the arrangements for the
public consultation exercise.
(4) T H A
T the Cabinet Member for Planning and Transportation be authorised,
in consultation with the Director for Economic and Environmental
Regeneration, to agree the final format of any necessary minor
typographical changes and associated amendments to the Deposit Plan
proposals and constraints maps.
(5) T H A
T, following the close of the consultation on the Deposit Plan, the
Sustainability Appraisal report and the Habitats Regulation
Assessment, the Director of Economic and Environmental Regeneration
be authorised to undertake a six week public consultation in
respect of the Alternative Sites promoted for development through
the Deposit period.
(6) T H A
T a further report be presented to Cabinet later in 2012 on the
representations received to the Deposit Plan, the Sustainability
Appraisal Report, the Habitats Regulation Assessment and the
alternative sites promoted through the Deposit period.
(7) T H A
T the Planning Committee and the Scrutiny Committee (Economy and
Environment) be consulted on the Deposit Plan.
Reasons for decisions
(1&2) To ensure that the LDP is prepared in accordance with
the LDP Delivery Agreement (June 2011) and to satisfy the
requirements of the LDP Regulations.
(3&4) To facilitate the preparation
of the Vale of Glamorgan LDP.
(5) To
ensure that the LDP is prepared in accordance with the LDP Delivery
Agreement (June 2011) and to satisfy the requirements of the LDP
Regulations.
(6) To
ensure that Cabinet are kept informed of progress on this
matter.
(7) To
ensure Members of the Planning Committee and Scrutiny Committee
(Economy and Environment) are properly consulted.
C1575
WELSH GOVERNMENT (WG) CONSULTATION REGARDING A STRATEGIC MONITORING
FRAMEWORK FOR THE PLANNING SYSTEM (PT) (SCRUTINY - ECONOMY AND
ENVIRONMENT) -
Cabinet was requested to consider and approve
the Council’s response to a consultation by the Welsh Government
(WG) on the introduction of a new strategic monitoring framework
for the Planning System.
In 2009, the then Welsh Assembly Government
(WAG), published the sustainable Development Scheme One Wales: One
Planet which set out its vision of a sustainable Wales. It
identified the planning system as one of the four key elements that
underpinned the delivery of sustainable development in Wales.
In this document the WAG advised that it would:
“initiate, in consultation with local
government, a strategic monitoring framework to measure key
sustainable development outcomes delivered by the planning
system”.
The WG had now commissioned research to help
decide how this strategic monitoring framework could be
implemented. The research had been completed and the WG was
now consulting on a strategic monitoring framework to measure the
contribution the planning system made to their vision of a
sustainable Wales.
The WG was seeking the views of Local Planning
Authorities on:
·
their approach to measuring the contribution of the planning system
to the vision of a sustainable Wales
·
each of the proposed indicators
·
the phasing and reporting levels of the new framework
·
the consolidation of existing measures
·
the impacts on Local Planning Authorities
·
the reporting arrangements for the framework.
Appendix A to the report set out a proposed
substantive response from the Council.
The response advised that in general terms,
the extremely onerous additional recording, surveying and
statistical analysis proposed in the consultation was ill advised
given the likely staffing and financial implications, at this time
of competing priorities and financial restraint.
Moreover, it was recommended that the vast
majority of the information being sought could be obtained from
slight amendments to existing returns, rather than seeking whole
scale new tranches of statistics to be provided as part of a
completely new statistical return.
In some cases, the information was not and
could not be recorded by the Council and in other cases, it
appeared that WG was expecting the Council to assume the
responsibility for reporting information that was previously
undertaken by other agencies.
Overall, the consultation response advised
that the proposals appeared an unfair and unnecessary burden on
Local Councils and would generate significantly higher work load at
a time when Local Planning Authorities were faced with competing
priorities and meeting existing targets with reduced budgets.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the content of the report be noted, and the response attached at
Appendix A to the report be approved, and that the response be
forwarded to the Welsh Government in response to the consultation
exercise.
(2) T H A
T a copy of the report be forwarded to the Planning Committee for
information purposes.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
enable the Council to respond to the consultation exercise.
(2) To
keep Planning Committee informed of the response to the
consultation.
C1576
EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC -
RESOLVED - T H A T under Section 100A(4) of
the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded
from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds
that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as
defined in Part 4 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Act, the
relevant paragraphs of the Schedule being referred to in brackets
after the minute heading.
C1577
FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT FOR INSTALLATION OF STAIRLIFTS (2012-2015):
TENDER ACCEPTANCE (L) (EXEMPT INFORMATION - PARAGRAPH 14) (SCRUTINY
- HOUSING AND PUBLIC PROTECTION) -
Cabinet were requested to accept the most
economically advantageous tender, and received advice on related
financial issues.
This was a matter for Executive decision.
RESOLVED -
(1) T H A
T the most economically advantageous tender, as submitted by
Handicare Accessibility Limited, be accepted.
(2) T H A
T it be noted that, subject to funding being made available in
future years, the final cost of the works over the life of the
framework agreement was expected to exceed the initial contract
sum.
(3) T H A
T an exemption from the requirements of Contract Standing Order 2.3
be approved, thus negating the requirement for separate reports to
Cabinet should the contract sum be exceeded in future years.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To
permit execution of a formal contract.
(2) To
advise Cabinet that, subject to suitable funding, the final cost
over the three / four year duration of contract was anticipated to
exceed the tender sum.
(3) To
avoid further use of Member and officer resources at a later date
in connection with an eventuality that is designed to occur
(subject to available funding).