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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 Kim Jones and Elwyn Edwards. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest Additional documents: Minutes: No declarations of
personal interest were received. Councillors Elin Hywel, Stephen Churchman,
Gruffydd Williams and Rhys Tudur declared, in relation to Item 5, that they
were members of the Planning Policy Working Group. The Working Group had
already provided their observations on the Delivery Agreement. They did not participate in the discussion and
did not vote on the item. |
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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 13.07.2023 be signed as a true record.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair signed the
minutes of the previous committee meeting held on 13 July 2023 as a true
record. |
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DRAFT DELIVERY AGREEMENT - LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN PDF 339 KB To present
the draft Delivery Agreement. Additional documents: Decision: Minutes: The Vice-chair chaired the discussion on this item. The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for the Environment, the
Assistant Head of Environment and the Planning
Manager. Attention was drawn briefly to the following principal points: It was explained that a new Local Development Plan was being prepared
following a recent review. It was further noted that the development process
was technical with several statutory steps to be followed. It was confirmed that the first step was to adopt the Delivery
Agreement. It was explained that the process of developing the Local
Development Plan was split into seven steps with an outline timetable and key
consultation periods noted for each aspect. It was noted that the observations of the Communities Scrutiny Committee
would be taken into consideration when the Delivery Agreement was submitted to
the Cabinet on 10 October 2023. The matter would be submitted to the Planning
Policy Working Group in January before returning to Cabinet and submitted to
the Full Council in due course. Consideration was given to the possibility of adding 'consultation' as a
risk within Appendix 5 of the Plan (Potential Risks and Response Methods). It
was noted that it was evident from the document that consultation was an
important part of the delivery agreement but had not been noted as a risk.
Namely, the risk of not consulting was sufficient. It was further explained
that as it was such an important element, it would be beneficial to include it
as a risk to ensure that it received regular attention. It was accepted that
the timetable to complete the Plan was challenging, and a discussion took place
regarding the possibility that it would be difficult to consult effectively
within this timescale with a high number of responses reaching officers,
requiring time for their analysis. A question was asked on what was had been
learnt from the previous consultation, and whether those lessons had been
learnt to feed into the forthcoming consultation. The fact that the list of intended consultation
bodies included under-represented groups and that the consultation was open for
everyone was welcomed. Reference was made to the consultation methods, and
concern was noted that they were the usual consultation methods. A question was
asked on how to ensure responses from under-represented groups, to identify any
gaps in the responses early and take action. It was
noted that there was a role for councillors to support the work. In response to these considerations, the Cabinet Member for Environment
noted that it was extremely important for the Council to take ownership of this
plan, by ensuring that Members encouraged anyone who was suitable to complete
any consultations and participate in any discussions on the Plan when
appropriate. It was explained that the
Department had revised its consultation methods following past feedback, with
the hope that it would lead to a higher number of responses this time. Attention was drawn to the fact that the Plan would be submitted to the Full Council on four separate ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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INTRODUCING PUBLIC CHARGING POINTS FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES PDF 564 KB To update Members
of the Scrutiny Committee on the progress and plans for the introduction of
public charging points. Additional documents: Decision: Minutes: The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for the Environment, the
Assistant Head of Environment and the Traffic and Projects Service Manager.
Attention was drawn briefly to the following main points: It was explained that the Council was involved in a challenging and
technical project to install over 100 charging points in 25 sites across
Gwynedd, with 16 of those including rapid charging points. It was explained
that the Department was offering its staff new training opportunities to
install charging points themselves, rather than contracting the work to an
external company. It was reported that this project was split into five parts, and the
installation of the charging points was the first step. It was noted that this
was the only step that the Council could deliver independently and that it was
dependent upon other bodies to collaborate on the other steps to complete the
project. It was explained that this had caused a significant delay with the
project to date, as a number of charging points had
been installed but had not yet been connected to the network. Assurance was
given that the Department had learnt from these challenges and was confident
that the difficulties would not arise with the future implementation of the
project. It was noted that the Council had received positive responses to a
recent letter regarding the availability of community charging points. It was
acknowledged that it was impossible for everyone to charge their cars at home
as some houses did not have a convenient parking space, or when the location of
the parking space was difficult to connect. It was reported that there were
plans for community charging points in the future. Disappointment was expressed that the Government had changed its target
date for banning petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035. It was confirmed that consultation was an important part of the process,
as gathering feedback from the users of charging points was crucial. It was
explained that the feedback already received from charging point users was
positive. Feedback was gathered when users finished using a charging point, and
their responses were sent to an internal system under the Council's control. In response to a question regarding the Council's consultations with
housing associations on charging points, the Assistant Head of Environment
confirmed that the main emphasis was currently on the existing 25 locations.
However, it was confirmed that the Council had a close relationship with
housing associations and that charging points were included as part of the
Council's Housing Action Plan. In response to a question regarding payment methods for the charging
point service, the Traffic and Projects Service Manager confirmed that there
were three payment methods. It was detailed that a specific card could be used
for the charging points, through a mobile app, and in future it was hoped that
there would be provision to pay with a normal bank card. Concerns were shared that there were insufficient metals to produce batteries for more electric cars and concerns that ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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To present
an update on the Public Toilets Service and to receive comments and feedback on
the contents. Additional documents:
Decision: Minutes: The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Highways, Engineering
and YGC, Head of Highways, Engineering and YGC and the Senior Engineer.
Reference was made to the following main points: It was reported that there were 61 public
toilets located across the county. It was recognised that the contribution of
Town and Community Councils was crucial in keeping them open. It was added that
there were 29 public toilets managed by communities, increasing the total
number available to residents to 90 public toilets. It was confirmed that a new Public Toilets
Strategy would be introduced by November 2024 and therefore the Department was
re-examining the need to charge a fee to use the public toilets. It was
explained that there was a fee of 20 pence to use specific public toilets in
Caernarfon, Dolgellau, Porthmadog and Pwllheli. A member presented an analysis and information about public toilets and
community toilets in the areas of Arfon, Dwyfor and Meirionnydd. The member was of the view that
fees should not be charged until it was possible to pay by a contactless
method. A question was asked about how many businesses were on the waiting list
for the Community Grant Scheme. It was noted that improvements in the public
toilets provision would be welcomed. In response to the member’s observations, the
Head of Highways, Engineering and YGC noted his appreciation of the analysis of
the information presented: He explained that he would fully respond to the
member following the receipt of the information via e-mail. He noted that there
was a waiting list for the Community Grant Scheme. He explained that the
funding was received annually from the Welsh Government, it did not increase,
and therefore this limited the number that could participate in the scheme. Concerns were shared about the system of charging a fee for using public
toilets. It was noted that if the fee was currently 20 pence it would have to
be increased to 50 pence as it was a single coin payment. In response to the
observations, the Head of Highways, Engineering and YGC noted that
investigations were being undertaken to introducing machines that would accept
card payments (in addition to the existing cash payment machines). This would
reduce the frequency of cash collections by officers and would assist with the
process of considering future fees. It was also reported that consideration was
being given to whether any increase was necessary in the fees, making the
service free, and installing a contributions box instead of a fee. It was highlighted that the service was considering the three following
options for the future, in conjunction with the consideration of charging a fee
for the use of public toilets: 1.
Abolish the charging provision altogether from
the existing five toilets 2.
Continue with the payment doors in the five
existing public toilets, and replace the payment doors
with machines that accept contactless and cash payments. 3.
Extend the provision of payment access doors. It was noted that the ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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COMMUNITIES SCRUTINY COMMITTEE FORWARD PROGRAMME 2023/24 PDF 323 KB To adopt an
amended work programme. Additional documents: Decision: To adopt an amended work programme for 2023/24. Minutes: The report was
presented by the Scrutiny Adviser noting the following main points: Members were reminded
that the Communities Committee's Forward Programme for 2023/24 had been adopted
at the Committee's meeting on 13 July 2023. It was explained that
the forward programme needed to be revised for 2023/24. It was noted that the 'Governance Structure
and Delivery Arrangements of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board'
item had been scheduled for this meeting, but a request had been received to
re-arrange it as it was premature for scrutiny. It was noted that the Board's
Programme Manager had confirmed that it would be timely to submit the report as
part of the Committee's meeting on 30 November 2023. It was confirmed that the Highways, Engineering and YGC Department would
submit one report to the Committee's meeting on 30 November 2023 under the
title 'Local Floods Strategy' It was ensured that this report would also
address the matters in question when the 'Coastal Management' item was
prioritised in the Committee's annual workshop. It was explained that the
decision to merge both items allowed sufficient time to effectively scrutinise
these items. |