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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 Elwyn Edwards, Berwyn Parry, Jones Keith Jones and Gethin Glyn Williams Condolences were extended to Councillor Seimon Glyn following the recent death of his father |
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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 7.12.17 be signed as a true record. Additional documents: Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting of this
committee, held on 07.12 2017, were accepted as a true record of the meeting. |
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PUBLIC SERVICE BOARD PDF 248 KB Cabinet Member: Councillor
Dyfrig Siencyn To consider the report of the Cabinet Member Additional documents: Minutes: The Council Leader presented a report, requesting that Committee
Members scrutinise the content of the Gwynedd and Anglesey (Draft) Well-being
Plan and submit any observations. It was explained that the Public Services
Board had succeeded the Local Services Board, and that there was a desire and
resolve to operate in a different manner to the previous Board to ensure its
distinctness. The first step of the process was to publish a well-being plan
that outlined how it was intended to improve the well-being of both County's
residents. It was noted that there was a three-month statutory consultation
period on the plan that broadly outlined the principles (that would end at the
end of March), and that the Board would subsequently consider the responses
before producing the final Well-being Plan. The Leader, as a member of the Public Services Board, added that he
looked forward to the creation of new partnerships that would be developing
projects. It was accepted that there sometimes appeared to be a 'word creation'
industry, but there was a will to see the outcomes by responding to the
challenge of working by different methods. With the advent of these well-being
areas, it would be possible to focus on specific areas - to identify the needs
of different areas - and target work to the areas that required attention. It was emphasised that Gwynedd Council was one of the partners, and
that the content of the final plan would be the decision of the Public Services
Board. It was emphasised that there was an effort to create a readable
document that would establish a conversation with communities by attempting to
define well-being. Members were requested to encourage people to submit
observations on the consultation document. During the ensuing discussion, the following
points were highlighted by individual Members: ·
The
document should be welcomed, as it identified understandable issues and
ambitions. ·
Difficult to address and implement. Although the
matters raised should be praised, there was no resource to deliver. ·
A
failure that no solutions had been included e.g., elements of encouraging
collaboration. A good start, but need to set targets and engage effectively. ·
Need to
provide reasons for people to remain in Gwynedd ·
The document provided a firm foundation, but was
of no value unless steps were taken. ·
The need
for a culture change in order to act effectively ·
Welcomed
the good background research which set a foundation for moving forward ·
Accepted
that there was a need to set priorities, such as the Welsh Language, Health and
Poverty, but empowering communities needed to have a central focus, and
consider projects that would make savings. ·
Steps
taken following the Welsh Government's acts, but no resource to deliver. ·
High
quality jobs were crucial, but no suggestions on how to achieve this. Anglesey's median salary was higher than the
figure for the whole of Wales - why was Anglesey, a neighbouring Council, so
much higher than Gwynedd? Detailed information was requested from the Corporate
Support Senior Manager. ·
The
economy was crucially important. · Funding ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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SUSTAINABILITY BALANCE PDF 267 KB Cabinet Member: Councillor
Dafydd Meurig Consider the report of The Head of Environment Additional documents: Minutes: A report by the Head of the Environment
Department had been submitted following a request from the Scrutiny Committee
for further information on the Dark Sky Status. A background report was
provided that highlighted the benefits of a designated dark sky status. During the ensuing discussion, the following
points were highlighted by individual Members: ·
There were obvious advantages to the status,
especially its impact on the environment and nature ·
The changes to street lighting had had a positive
impact ·
It must be ensured that the status would be
balanced against health and safety ·
Consideration had to be given to the local
community's concerns. ·
The context must be set out when considering a dark
sky designation for Llŷn ·
Policies should not be used to refuse applications
in the context of safety ·
There
was a need for a management plan to measure the impact - a suggestion to set a
baseline and to measure the impact of any changes on the environment, for
example. The observation on the provision of a management plan was welcomed. In
response to the observations about balancing the status against health and
safety, it was noted that there were a number of considerations in relation to
securing dark sky status. As each case was unique, it was reiterated that the
evidence would be balanced and interpreted on a case by case basis. Resolved: The
information was accepted |
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PLANNING DELEGATION PLAN PDF 480 KB Cabinet Member: Councillor
Dafydd Meurig Consider the report of The Head of Environment Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - a report by the Head of the Environment Department about
the new (draft) planning delegation scheme that contained the amendments that
had been approved by the Scrutiny Committee. Members were reminded that Members
of the Scrutiny Committee had conducted a planning scrutiny investigation, and
that the delegation scheme was one of the fields that was scrutinised. One of
the recommendations of that scrutiny investigation was amending the thresholds
of the delegation plan. Reference was made to the proposed delegation plan that
was included with the report, and the evident and extensive benefits that would
be delivered by implementing the changes. It was emphasised that one of those benefits was that fewer
applications would be referred to the Planning Committee. Based on the high
percentage of applications that were currently referred, it was noted that the
changes would ensure that the Committee focused on dealing solely with the
matters that were of material interest. This would ensure that the best use was
made of the time and expertise of the Committee members and relevant officers. The right of the Local Member, or two other
members, to call an application to committee under specific circumstances, was
acknowledged and supported; this would continue as per the current situation,
and was considered to be acceptable. The Committee was requested to confirm and
support the draft proposed delegation scheme prior to its submission to the
Full Council on the recommendation of the Monitoring Officer as it was a
constitutional matter. During the ensuing discussion, the following
points were highlighted by individual Members: ·
The number of applications that went before the
Planning Committee were not excessive. The Planning Committee's purpose was to
make decisions. ·
Happy with the current system – need to adhere to a
democratic process ·
Accept
that the changes would save resources and time, but would this mean that
applications not referred to committee would receive less attention? ·
Need to consider the nature of the objections
rather than the numbers ·
Consideration should be given to presenting an
application to a 'would be of interest' committee - that a certain amount of
correspondence would equate to 'creating an interest' even if there was only
one reason for refusal / approval. ·
Accept
that the Local Member had the right to refer an application to Committee - this
was beneficial and ensured that the local views were heard. However this could
place the Local Member in a vulnerable position and open to allegations about
their views. ·
In order
to consider the situation to date, a request was made for information from the Senior
Planning Manager on the number of applications referred to the Planning
Committee, how many of those applications went to an appeal, and how many of
those appeals were successful. In response to the observations, the Senior Solicitor noted that striking a balance was essential, and that the changes did not question how the Planning Committee made decisions. It was also noted that the Members had a key role in referring the applications ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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PLANNING AND THE WELSH LANGUAGE SCRUTINY INVESTIGATION UPDATE PDF 357 KB Cabinet Member:
Councillor Dafydd Meurig To receive an update on the investigation Additional documents: Minutes: (This item was chaired by the Vice-chair of
the Committee, Councillor Mike Stevens, as the Chair, Councillor Seimon Glyn was a member of the investigation). Councillor Aled Evans, a member of the investigation, (representing the
Language Committee), was welcomed to the meeting An update was given on the
scrutiny investigation into planning and the Welsh Language by the chair of the
Investigation, Councillor Gruffydd Williams. Attention was drawn to the main
findings, and he noted that the findings, and the Committee's observations,
would be included in a report that would be submitted to the Joint Planning
Policy Panel on 9.3.18. During the ensuing discussion, the following
points were highlighted by individual Members: ·
The number of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd was
declining and something needed to be done to maintain the numbers ·
A language assessment must be independent and
transparent. This should be welcomed as a definite step forward ·
It was suggested that three dwellings in a windfall
development should be considered, rather than five ·
There was a need to consider the cumulative effect ·
Information was needed about the impact of the
developments The work to date and the next steps were
supported. It was reiterated that the information should be robust and that
language was an integral part of the planning system here in Gwynedd. |