Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Simon Glyn and Linda Morgan.

To receive any declaration of personal interest

No declarations of personal interest were received from any members present.

To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration.

None to note.

The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this Committee, held on 5^th December 2019 be signed as a true record. 

The Chairman signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 5 December 2019, as a true record.

Cabinet Member: Councillor Catrin Wager

To consider the progress report

The progress report of the Cabinet Member for Highways and Municipal Services was submitted on the following:-

·         Use of cameras by maritime staff;

·         The impact of changes to recycling arrangements;

·         Collaboration with other neighbouring counties to improve provision;  

·         Reconsider current staffing levels in the Street Enforcement Unit;

·         Expand the interdepartmental collaboration where other Council staff receive delegated enforcement powers on the street.

The Cabinet Member set out the context noting that:-

·         The changes to the recycling arrangements in Dwyfor had been very positive, with a reduction in missed collections.  It had been more problematic in Arfon due to a number of factors, including inclement weather, vehicles breaking down and a great deal more waste being produced over the Christmas period.   She wished to apologise to those communities that had been affected and noted that she was confident that the service was much better by now.  As a result of the difficulties in Arfon, the changes in Meirionnydd had been postponed until after Easter. 

·         In terms of collaboration with other neighbouring counties to improve provision, it appeared that every county was addressing the work in different ways, consequently there was more demand on this Council to develop its own way of operating.   

·         She had recently had an opportunity to go and see the new CCTV system.   She noted that it was a particularly good quality system, and there was an opportunity to use this type of provision much more in the future.   In addition, the workers who ran the system had been asked to attend the area forums to explain more about the provision.

·         It was extremely important for the county's communities to be clean and tidy and to be a pleasing place to live. There were three parts to this, namely to ensure that the collection arrangements were good, that the Council worked with volunteers and communities to maximise the area's appearance, and also the enforcement element.

Officers elaborated on the content of the report, and members were invited to ask questions and offer observations.

During the discussion, the following observations were submitted by members:

·         It was noted that materials continued to fall out of the recycling vehicles, as they were driven off with the doors still open.   It was accepted that it was inevitable in urban areas as it was not practical to close the doors between every property, however, drivers should be reminded to close the doors in rural areas, where houses are scattered. 

·         Satisfaction was expressed regarding the new collection service in Dwyfor and it was noted that matters had been tidied up considerably following these changes.

·         It was noted that dog faeces continued to be a contentious issue and it was suggested that the only way to deal with this was to install temporary cameras on some of the paths where the problem was worst.

·         It was noted that street bins should be emptied twice a day during school holidays.

·         Attention was drawn to the fact that the county's road signs were dirty.

·         It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Cabinet Member: Councillor Catrin Wager

To receive a report back from the Cabinet Member on the implementation of the Scrutiny Investigation’s recommendations

The progress report of the Cabinet Member for Highways and Municipal Services was submitted on the implementation of the Scrutiny Investigation on Waste Enforcement in the following categories:- 

·         Immediate implementation;

·         Collaboration in the medium term with other services / partners to implement the recommendations.

The Cabinet Member set out the context noting that:-

·         She wished to thank the Street Services Manager for all his work in this area.

·         The work will highlight the fact that ensuring good collection arrangements, collaboration with communities and enforcement will maximise the county's appearance for everyone's benefit.

·         As a result of introducing the new collection system in Dwyfor and Arfon, implementation of enforcement powers was postponed because of the importance of providing a proper service first, prior to looking at enforcement.

·         The report gave a great deal of attention to Bangor. Collaboration had commenced with different partners and a Bangor Focus Group was established, working with the Students' Union and the University, and the police were also part of the first meeting.  The Department was also part of the Bangor Image Group, a wider group looking at the city's appearance. 

·         It was proposed to trial QR code stickers in the Upper Bangor student areas, and possibly Hirael as well, and it was hoped that there would be an update regarding this time-schedule soon. 

·         A great deal of work could be done in promoting services offered and to change behaviour.  

·         The Council needed to reach a recycling target of 64% by March this year, with the target then increasing to 70%.  

·         She was eager to develop an engagement and communication programme with the Communication Unit in order to go out into the communities to speak with people and raise awareness and understanding of waste issues.

The officers elaborated on the content of the report, and members were invited to ask questions and offer observations.

During the discussion, the following observations were submitted by members:-

·         The Scrutiny Investigation's recommendations were welcomed.  It was noted that officers had taken notice of the investigation members' opinion and it was deemed that implementing those recommendations would make a difference to the service and the environment for residents.  

·         It was noted that there was a tendency to deviate towards Bangor, however, this was where the most profound problems where due to the student population and the city's geography.

·         It was emphasised that Gwynedd needed to be recycling champions.  This would require further investment, but there was no other option.   The Council undertook very good work in the field, however, it was necessary to do a little bit more again. 

·         Concern was expressed that fines could lead to an increase in fly tipping, especially in rural wards.

·         The good work of the recycling centre at Ffridd Rasus was praised and the head officer was asked to convey this message to the workers.

·         The emergency department who deal with fly tipping and overflowing street bins, was thanked.

In response to the above observations and questions from members, it was noted:- 

·         That the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Cabinet Member: Councillor Gareth Griffith

To consider the report

The Cabinet Member's monitoring report on the implementation of the new Delegation Scheme for planning applications was submitted.

The Cabinet Member set out the context noting that this was a matter that was live and changing, and the report gave members a picture of what was happening, what had changed and what the procedure was.

Officers elaborated on the content of the report, and then members were invited to ask questions and offer observations.

During the discussion, the following observations were submitted by members:-

·         Concern was expressed regarding the consultation arrangements with the AONB on the grounds that it would be more democratic if the observations on planning applications came from the Llŷn AONB Advisory Joint Committee, rather than the AONB Officer.  It was further noted that there had been some conflict between officers and joint committee members regarding several contentious applications. 

·         Concern was expressed regarding the number of planning applications determined via the delegation scheme, compared with the number submitted to the Planning Committee e.g. in October 2019, a 107 applications were determined by officers compared to 3 by the committee. It was understood that the local member had the right to call in any application to a committee, but often the member missed the application and therefore missed an opportunity to call it in.  It was also noted, due to Gwynedd's geography, that the type of applications received here were different to those received in populated areas such as Cardiff, Swansea and the south Wales valleys. There was also mention that presenting fewer application to the committee reduced the members' workload, however, the members were paid for undertaking this work.

·         It was noted that what was important was that applications that come before the Planning Committee were applications that merited discussion, and the reduction in the number of meetings and applications that came before the committee was welcomed. 

·         It was noted that it was more difficult by now for the members to see the weekly list of planning applications due to IT changes, and it was emphasised that members had to be aware of the applications to hand in order to be pro-active and to convey the local feeling on those applications.

·         It was noted that members should also receive a list of the applications determined via the delegation procedure.

·         It was noted that Anglesey had made a profit of 5.9% last year on planning fees (a net expenditure of £767,000 and income of £812,000), however, Gwynedd had made a loss of 51.9% (net expenditure of £1.097,000 and income of £528,000).

·         It was emphasised that any application to vary a condition/conditions on a planning permission granted by the Planning Committee should be referred back to the committee automatically, especially if the variation may be contentious.

·         Concern was expressed regarding the inability of the public and Members to contact planning officers over the telephone.

In response to the above observations and questions from members, it was noted:- 

·         In terms of the AONB, that a service level  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.