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No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive
any apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillors
Stephen Churchman, Catrin Wager and Gethin Glyn Williams |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest Additional documents: Minutes: None to note |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any
items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for
consideration. Additional documents: Minutes: None to note |
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The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this Committee, held on 10.10.17 be signed as a true record. Additional documents: Minutes: The minutes
of the previous meeting of this committee, held on 10.10.2017, were accepted as a true record of the meeting. |
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REVIEW OF RIGHTS OF WAY IMPROVEMENT PLAN PDF 385 KB Cabinet Member:
Councillor Dafydd Meurig Consider the Cabinet Members Report Additional documents:
Minutes: a)
Submitted
- a report by the Cabinet Member, providing an update on the progress made with
the work of preparing a review of the Rights of Way Improvement Plan. It was
reported that the work of preparing the Improvement Plan had been divided into
two parts, namely to review and prepare an Action Statement. When reviewing, it was
considered to evaluate to what extent the objectives had been achieved in the
previous plan, assess the network's current condition and discover to what
extent the rights of way would satisfy the public's requirements. In order to
establish a picture of the current situation in terms of the network’s
condition and to seek the public's opinion, a public consultation had been held
by preparing a digital questionnaire. It was added that 1,386 valid responses
had been received, which was very encouraging. It was explained that the draft action statement (which was included
with the report) attempted to identify the main work themes and the actions for
the Rights of Way Improvement Plan, and that this would be the basis for
preparing a detailed work programme. It was hoped to establish a realistic and
attainable work programme in addition to avoiding some of the weaknesses of the
previous plan. b)
During the discussion the following observations
were noted: ·
The
programme was challenging, given the Council's savings plan ·
There
was a lack of information about the access available to the public ·
Did
the budget respond to the priorities of the questionnaire's respondents? ·
It
was difficult to believe that no maps of the paths were available on the
Council's website ·
Has
consideration been given to further plans for the future should the precept of the Community Councils reduce
or come to an end? In response to a question regarding the contribution of the National
Park and the Coast Path to the network, it was emphasised that Natural
Resources Wales contributed £80k per year but there were no detailed figures on
the National Park's expenditure. In response to an observation regarding the work programme themes'
priorities, it was emphasised that aspects of each theme would receive
attention, but that this would depend on the available resources. In response to an observation regarding the path categories and whether
priority should be given to category 1 and what would happen to category 4, the
Cabinet Member emphasised that it would be difficult to keep a balance between
the categories and there was no intention of ignoring category 4. It was added
that the Unit would continue to investigate, collaborate and attempt to keep
access open. In response to an observation should there be obstructions on the
lowest categories, it was emphasised that the information needed to be shared
in order to attempt to resolve the obstructions. It was added that it would be
the landowner's responsibility to restore gates and stiles. In response to an observation regarding developing maps on the website, it was highlighted that discussions had been held and that the support of the Council's ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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SUPPLEMENTARY PLANNING GUIDANCE PDF 620 KB Cabinet Member: Councillor Dafydd Meurig a)
Background and purpose b)
Present a scoping
summary for a scrutiny investigation c)
Nomination of members to serve on the investigation Additional documents:
Minutes: a) Submitted - for information, the report of
the Cabinet Member, setting the background and purpose of the Supplementary Planning
Guidance (SPG) in addition to information based on the policies for SPG:
Maintaining and Creating Unique and Sustainable Communities. It was explained
that the SPG gave detailed and clear guidance on how the policies of the Local
Development Plan, which had been adopted by Gwynedd Council and Anglesey
Council in July 2017, were being used. It was added that the Plan's various
policies had an important role to play when supporting, maintaining and
creating unique and sustainable urban and rural communities, by ensuring that
Councils would meet their statutory duties to promote sustainable development. The Full Council's decision on 28 July
2017 was to prioritise SPG Maintaining and Creating Unique and
Sustainable Communities when preparing the Development Plan guidelines.
Attention was drawn to the elements considered to be essential for unique and
sustainable communities, and the Development Plan's strategic objective
involved well-being and the Welsh language and culture - it was added that
including Policy PS1 set a local policy framework when considering these
aspects. Submitted
- the draft timetable that had been set to prepare the SPG, outlining the
importance of having the opportunity to scrutinise beforehand, in accordance
with the Committee's wishes (it was noted that the timetable had been adapted
to address this). In
response to an observation regarding the use of NCT20, it was noted that there
was more detail in the Local Development Plan and the guidance, once they had been
developed, would have a much stronger basis than what was in NCT20, which was
limited on some requirements. If an Inspector sided with the NCT20 viewpoint,
the Senior Planning Manager noted that he would be confident to support the
stance on the guidance and not on NCT20, because the decision would be based on
recent evidence. It was suggested that there was a need to ensure that
applicants were aware of this. The information was accepted. b) The Head of Democratic Services submitted a draft brief of the Planning and
the Welsh Language Scrutiny Investigation in response to the Committee's desire
to scrutinise that the consultation process on the SPG - Planning and the Welsh
Language, had been inclusive. He added that the Scrutiny Forum had agreed to prioritise
to the investigation and that a resource had been identified to support the
investigation. It was added that initial discussions had been held on the brief
with the relevant officers. It
was highlighted that the investigation would report back to the Communities
Scrutiny Committee and to the Joint Planning Policy Committee. It was reported
that an application had been submitted for Anglesey Council to jointly
scrutinise with Gwynedd, but no response had been received. It was noted that
up to five members were needed to participate in the investigation, including
one member of the Language Committee. A request was made for the Joint Planning Committee's roles, and whether they had a statutory role of scrutinisation ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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PLANNING SCRUTINY INVESTIGATION UPDATE PDF 243 KB Cabinet Member: Councillor Dafydd Meurig To receive a
report back from the Cabinet Member on the implementation of the Scrutiny
Investigation’s recommendations Additional documents: Minutes: A progress report was
received by the Cabinet Member following a scrutiny investigation into the
field of planning. The main findings of the investigation were highlighted and
an update was given on the recommendations submitted in March 2017. In response to an
observation regarding the recommendation to modify the thresholds of the
Gwynedd Delegation Plan, it was reported that the work had now received the
support of the Committee Members, with the intention of proceeding to formalise
the modifications through the appropriate procedure. It was added that there
was an intention for the delegation plan to be submitted to the Full Council in
March 2018. The report was accepted. |