Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd. LL55 1SH
Contact: Lowri Haf Evans 01286 679878
No. | Item |
---|---|
APOLOGIES To receive
any apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies had been received from
Councillors Peter Garlick, Keith Jones,
Linda Morgan and Gethin Glyn Williams |
|
DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest Additional documents: Minutes: The following members declared a personal interest
in the following items for the reasons noted: ·
Councillors
Owain Williams and Berwyn Parry Jones in items 6 and 7 on the agenda as they
were members of the Joint Planning Policy Committee. The Members were of the opinion that they
were prejudicial interests, and withdrew from the Chamber during the discussion
on the items noted. |
|
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 |
|
The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this Committee, held
on the 7th of February 2019 be signed as a true record. Additional documents: Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting of this committee, held on 07.02.2019
were accepted as a true record of the meeting, subject to noting that
Councillor Stephen Churchman was present. |
|
PUBLIC SERVICE BOARD PDF 103 KB Cabinet Member: Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn To submit a progress
report on the work of Gwynedd and Anglesey’s Public Services Board. Additional documents: Minutes: A report was
submitted by the Cabinet Member on the progress on the work of Gwynedd and
Anglesey Public Services Board. Members were reminded that the Board had agreed
on priority areas that would improve the economic, environmental and cultural
well-being of both counties. A brief
update was provided on the developments within the six priority fields. It was
reported that the Public Services Board was being scrutinised by the designated
Scrutiny Committees of Gwynedd and Anglesey local authorities. When the Board was established, it was agreed
that a joint scrutiny panel would be developed between both counties to
undertake the scrutiny work. It was
noted that scrutiny officers from Gwynedd Council and Isle of Anglesey Council
would address the key actions in relation to establishing a joint panel during
the coming months . During the ensuing discussion, the following points were highlighted by
individual Members: ·
Despite agreeing with the
concept, a culture of words / talking shop could be created ·
That major companies needed
to be convinced to develop bilingual information ·
Cynllun Iaith a Thaith for children - accepted the
purpose of the plan, however, on the other hand, Language Centres were being
reviewed ·
Homes for Local People -
sites needed to be identified in the right places and the homes needed to
respond to the need ·
Health
and Care Aims - needed to develop effective collaboration between the Health
Board and Social Services. Needed to
ensure that the service could offer and achieve what was being sought. ·
It was suggested that the
Sub-group leaders should be invited to give individual presentations on the
progress of the projects. In response to the
concern expressed that the Board meetings could turn into a 'talking shop', the
Cabinet Member noted that he was eager to see the projects that were
accountable to the Board, having an impact on the citizens of Gwynedd and
Anglesey. Although he agreed that the
legislation was the ideal, he expressed that specific efforts were being made
to work innovatively by collaborating to improve the service. In response to a question regarding the joint scrutiny panel, the Cabinet
Member noted that it was likely that a similar representation from both
Counties would serve as members of the panel.
He reiterated that Scrutiny Members were meeting to discuss the
development. A further comment was made
that establishing a panel could lead to creating another talking shop and that
this needed to be avoided. In response to a comment regarding the economic element, he noted that
this particular field had not been identified as one of the Board's work fields
as the North Wales Ambition Board would be doing this across the North. Having said that, it was noted that the
economy had a direct impact on poverty, which was one of the Board's work
fields. In response to a question regarding how the projects would be funded, it was noted that the work of the sub-groups, when identifying their projects, was to present and identify financial sources for ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
|
OVER-DEVELOPMENT OF TOURING CARAVAN SITES PDF 460 KB Cabinet
Member: Councillor Dafydd Meurig To consider the report of the Head of Environment Additional documents:
Minutes: A report was
submitted by the Senior Planning and Public Protection Manager, giving the
Committee an opportunity to scrutinise the Supplementary Planning
Guidance: Facilities and Attractions for
Tourists (final draft), following the public consultations, and offering
feedback before it was considered by the Joint Planning Policy Committee. During the ensuing discussion, the following points were highlighted by
individual Members: ·
That
the guidance did not clearly highlight the accumulative impact ·
That
there was no objection to the sites, but efforts should be made to protect the
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) ·
That
the use of hardstandings needed to be managed - were resources available to
manage this? ·
TWR 2 -
concerns that buildings could be demolished and that holiday units could be
built in their place rather than a house(s) for local people ·
Airbnb -
extreme problem in our communities as people converted their houses into
holiday accommodation ·
Was it
possible to restrict the number by introducing a quota? The Cabinet Member noted that the observations would be fed into the
discussions of the Joint Planning Policy Committee. The Senior Planning and Public Protection Manager highlighted the fact
that draft guidance had been submitted, which sought clear and consistent
guidance in terms of policy implementation.
In response to the observations, in relation to the accumulative impact,
he noted that the matter had been discussed in the guidance, but he accepted
and noted the need to highlight this clearer, as well as the comment about
TWR2. In the context of enforcement, he highlighted that enforcement was a
challenging field across the service and a request was made for Councillors to
report on any case where the law had been breached. He reiterated that there were clear
conditions on the use of sites and the use of accommodation and that they
should be complied with. The Chair expressed that the comments had already been conveyed at
previous meetings, and although they 'had been noted', they had not been
included in the guidance. He suggested
that there was conflict between officers and councillors and that the
observations were not being accepted / included. In response to a question regarding the lack of response to the
consultation, it was noted that substantial consultation had been undertaken
and it was accepted that the response had been disappointing. It was confirmed that
the unit had gone above and beyond to raise awareness and seek responses and
that the Rural Wales Service and the AONB had been included on the consultation
list. In response to the observation regarding introducing a quota, the Senior Planning Manager noted, despite accepting the comment, that the advantages of tourism had to be considered. He also noted that the officers accepted the observations of Councillors, responded to them constructively and he gave assurance that the observations would be submitted to the Policy Committee. The Head of Environment Department reiterated that he did not wish for the perception of 'not listening' to be disregarded and that the comment made regarding conflict was concerning. ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
|
SPG SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES PDF 602 KB Cabinet Member: Dafydd Meurig To consider the report of the Head of Environment Additional documents:
Minutes: A report was
submitted by the Senior Planning Manager, raising awareness of the development
of the above guidance before the Joint Planning Policy Committee made a
decision on the suitability of adopting it on 23.5.19. A request was made for the Scrutiny Committee
to submit observations on the guidance to the Policy Committee. The members were
reminded that the scrutiny working group, which was investigating the
consultation process on the draft Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) on behalf of the Scrutiny Committee, had
submitted observations and recommendations to the Committee, which, in turn,
had been submitted to the Policy Committee for consideration before the
Guidance was published for public consultation. The Chair of the
Scrutiny Working Group highlighted his wish to refuse the report as the
suggestions of the working group had been disregarded. He also noted, following the 10th Edition of
the Planning Policy, that the changes affecting the SPG needed to be
considered. He suggested that the
current SPG should continue to be used until 2020 and for experts to be
appointed to seek to evidence the impact of the guidance and for adaptations to
be drawn up by August 2020. He expressed
that the discussions had been difficult and had been prevented, and that the
working group had not been given a fair hearing. Councillor Aled Evans (a member of the scrutiny working group) reiterated
that the guidance needed to be strong and valuable and he questioned its worth
in its current form. In response to the comments, the Monitoring Officer noted that the report
included observations following the public consultation, with a request for further
comments from the Committee. Refusing
the report would lead to resubmitting previous comments, and this would be
inappropriate. He noted that what was
being requested was difficult to achieve as it would mean a change in
policy. He emphasised that the
Guidance could not change the policy, and that the purpose of the Guidance was
to offer a further explanation and guidance in relation to the implementation
of the policy. He highlighted that the
thresholds in terms of when it was required to ask for a linguistic
assessment/statement had been set out in the wording of the policy In response to the observations, the Senior Planning and Public Protection Manager noted that the working group opposed to the policy and that the guidance was an attempt to say how to uphold and interpret the policy. He reiterated that the allegation of 'preventing a discussion' and not listening was unfair. He noted that the process of collaborating with the Scrutiny Committee, the Scrutiny Working Group and Anglesey Scrutiny Committee had been long and open and that the observations of the Working Group or Scrutiny Committee had not been disregarded. He highlighted that no evidence had been received to prove that the policy did not work and he said that it was being monitored annually. He expressed that the contribution of the working group had been valuable and that some changes had been made ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
|
PLANNING MATTERS AND THE DELEGATION SCHEME PDF 557 KB Cabinet Member: Councillor Dafydd Meurig To consider the Head of Environment and Head of Legal Services Report Additional documents:
Minutes: Submitted - a report
that had been prepared jointly by the Head of Environment Department and the
Head of Legal Department addressing a decision made at the previous meeting
(7.2.19) · that an informal
meeting is held between the Chair, Councillor Simon Glyn, Councillor Aled Wyn
Jones, Councillor Gruffydd Williams, Councillor Dafydd Meurig (Cabinet Member -
Environment) and the relevant officers to agree on the matters that need
addressing in the report that will be submitted to the meeting on 4 April 2019. It was highlighted
that the report addressed matters discussed at the informal meeting held on
20.02.19, and explain the requirements with a planning application to change
the conditions and implementation of the Delegation Scheme. In response to the report,
Councillor Gruffydd Williams highlighted that he had continued concerns about
the judgement call of officers in the
context of the Plas Pistyll planning application and he expressed his
disappointment at the impact of these decisions on the planning
application. He asked about the process
used by Officers in making the decision. In response to the
comment, the Chair noted that the concerns had already been noted at the
previous meeting. The Chair suggested, as an addition to point 7 in the Delegation Scheme,
that 'planning applications that the Head of Environment Department considers
should be referred to Committee,' also included the Chair of the Planning
Committee. This would empower the role
of the Chair. He suggested that the Chair could convey the concerns of local
members. In response to the suggestion, it was highlighted that every Councillor
was entitled to refer an application to Committee if a proposed development was
located in his/her ward. It was
considered that the suggestion would place additional unnecessary pressure on
the Chair, considering the number of applications. The Monitoring Officer noted that a review of
the Delegation Scheme was in the pipeline and that it would be no problem to
consider the suggestion. In response to a question regarding the arrangements / guidance for
calling applications to Committee, it was noted that Snowdonia National Park
had different arrangements / guidance to those of Gwynedd Council. It was proposed and seconded to
accept the report. RESOLVED to accept the report |
|
THE SERVICE PROVIDED BY THE TRADING STANDARDS UNIT (PUBLIC PROTECTION) PDF 111 KB Cabinet Member: Councillor Dafydd Meurig To raise
awareness of the duties and responsibilities of the
Trading Standards Unit and
the outputs and challenges. Additional documents:
Minutes: Following the Committee's decision (meeting
of October 2018), a further report was submitted by the Head of Environment
Department, summarising the main matters and work fields of the Trading
Standards Unit, along with further details regarding the Unit's performance. Despite their praise to the report, the Committee was of the opinion
that this item was 'for information; and that in future it should be considered
that matters for information should be reserved as
items for the Area Forums. The Head of Department noted,
although he accepted the comment, that awareness needed to be
raised in order to give Members an opportunity to scrutinise some of the
service's functions. In response to a question about the intention to collaborate with other
authorities across North Wales, the Public Protection Manager (Commercial)
expressed that a regional plan already existed in order to share
expertise. It was
reiterated that an analyst considered the problems and prioritised as
needed. It was proposed and seconded to accept the report, with a suggestion
for the matter to be discussed further at the Area
Forums. RESOLVED to accept the report,
and for the matter to be discussed further at the Area Forums. |