Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Elwyn Edwards, Elin Hywel and Delyth Lloyd Griffiths.

To receive any declaration of personal interest

There were no declarations of personal interest.

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 16 May 2024 be signed as a true record. 

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 16 May 2024, as a true record.

To scrutinise developments within the Parking Service.

To recommend to the Cabinet:

·       Increasing parking fees on an annual or biennial basis should be considered with consideration to the inflation position;

·       Enforcement in the short-stay car parks should not be modified due to the impact on the local economy.

·       Further increase of fees should be considered in car parks in specific tourist areas such as Pen y Gwryd.

·       Consideration should be given to increasing Arosfan site fees annually.

The report was submitted by the Cabinet Member for the Environment, the Head of Environment Department, the Assistant Head of Environment Department (Transport) and the Parking and Street Works Manager.

It was explained that the Report included revisions to parking fee arrangements to comply with the Council's savings schemes and address the overspend within the parking services. Members were reminded that two of the projects featured in the report (Increasing Pen y Gwryd parking fees and Increasing the price of an Annual Parking Permit and Local Parking Permit by £5 per annum) had already been approved by the Cabinet.

They drew attention to a scheme to Extend Parking Enforcement Hours at the Council's Short Stay Car Parks, highlighting that the current enforcement hours are between 10:00am and 4:30pm. It was planned to extend the enforcement hours to between 09:00am and 05:00pm. Members were reminded that this had been the Communities Scrutiny Committee's original recommendation in 2021.

It was noted that the fourth scheme in the report was an Adjustment to the Band 2 Long-Stay Fees Structure. The officers explained that this scheme was being introduced to address the inflation increase. They highlighted the challenge in addressing inflation increase, which was to ensure that suitable fees were introduced for anyone who wished to pay with cash without having to find lots of loose change. It was confirmed that the normal arrangement was to wait a few years before revising parking fees in line with inflation, so as to ensure that parking fees were practical for users. It was acknowledged that this led to quite a hike, but that the revisions to the pricing was implemented less frequently. It was confirmed that the revisions introduced in the report constituted an increase of around 30-40%, which ensured that they would not need to be revised further until 2028/29.

During the discussion, the following observations were noted:- 

Agreed with the plans to increase parking fees in Pen y Gwryd and encouraged the department to invest in similar locations as it was being used regularly. Further information was requested about Band 1 - 3 Parking Fees for long stays.

Disagreed with the schemes to adjust car parks' enforcement hours. The member considered that this would have too much of a negative impact on local residents and business, leading to fines. It was noted that increasing the price of an annual parking permit to £145 likely meant that individuals would no longer buy it.

Attention was drawn to the fact that the permitted time within parking fees was changing in some cases. They discussed the example that £2 for 1 hour of parking would adjust to £2.50 for four hours. They wondered whether this would deter people from paying to park because they would not be using the car park for a large proportion of that time. However, the Head of Department agreed that this increase in the time for long-stay car parks had been one of the recommendations of the Communities Scrutiny Committee's task and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To provide an update on the developments in the field of public transport.

(i)             To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.

(ii)            Recommend to the Environment Department:

·       that Local Members should be included as soon as possible when considering changes to bus services;

·       that consultation with communities needs to be strengthened.

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for the Environment, the Head of Environment Department, the Assistant Head of Environment Department (Transport) and the Integrated Transport and Road Safety Manager.

It was explained that there had been constant change in the field of public transport for many years due to legislative changes and the evolving priorities of the Council, Transport for Wales and the Welsh Government. ⁠It was elaborated that the Department had been commended by the Welsh Government for the work completed in the field. Officers were pleased that a high standard of work had been achieved and that residents saw the benefits of using public transport.

They drew attention to the complex nature of the County's landscape, explaining that there were seven different types of public transport services available here with different funding processes. They explained that the Council's management of these projects varied according to the contracts with partners. It was recognised that the reliance on funding beyond the Council's control was a risk for the service.

It was emphasised that a 'Public transport network that meets the various needs of the communities of Gwynedd' had been identified as a 'Green Gwynedd' priority as part of the Council Plan 2023-28. It was noted that the department was continually working to revise internal procedures to fulfil this priority. It was explained that public transport services contracts had been updated in every area over the past few years, with new services in place. Services for Caernarfon and Dyffryn Nantlle had been updated in July 2023, Meirionnydd had been updated in February 2024 and the services for Bangor and Dyffryn Ogwen had been updated in early June 2024.

During the discussion, the following observations were noted:-

Members welcomed the opportunity to engage with the Department as they considered the network and arrangements in Dwyfor for the future. In response to an enquiry as to how the Department monitored use when considering changing services, the Integrated Transport and Road Safety Manager⁠ confirmed that there was a machine on every bus that monitored the number of people using the specific services, and to where they travelled. She elaborated that Officers were able to use this information when considering any change to the service's routes.

The Department was thanked for a convenient and reliable service in the Dyffryn Nantlle area. In response to an enquiry about card payments using the 'Tap On/Tap Off' technology, the Integrated Transport and Road Safety Manager⁠ confirmed that this was possible. She elaborated that the minimum cost for using this technology was £2.20 up to a maximum of £6.50 a day if the service has been used.

In response to an example of a situation where the service timetable was inconvenient to some users, the Cabinet Member for the Environment acknowledged that these challenges did come up in some circumstances but that the service worked for a high percentage of service users.

In response to an enquiry regarding consideration of students' use of the public transport services,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To receive an update on the work programme and the matters requiring attention in the Waste and Recycling services.

To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.

The report was submitted by the Cabinet Member for the Environment, the Head of Environment Department and the Assistant Head.

The members were reminded that this service had transferred from the Highways, Engineering and YGC Department back in October 2022 and that major changes had been implemented to improve the running of the service within the Environment Department. It was acknowledged that several challenges had arisen during the transfer period, which had led to difficulties with collection on routes, but they believed that the service had now stabilised.

They referred to the Welsh Government targets of ensuring that Local Authorities recycled 70% of all waste by March 2025. They emphasised that this was an incredibly challenging target and that work was being carried out to try to reach this target. They explained that the Council was managing to reach the Government's current target of recycling 64% of waste and were confident that the Department's frameworks would lead to increasing this percentage. They highlighted the fact that discussions with the Welsh Government had suggested that Local Authorities could be penalised financially if they failed to reach the 70% target.

It was explained that two factors had led to overspending within the service recently. It was detailed that these included the workforce sickness levels as well as overtime. They explained that a combination of short-term and long-term sickness had led to this, and they ensured that the service worked with the Byw'n Iach company to promote employees' well-being. The workforce was thanked for their positive response to the call for change in the way of working to ensure that services were delivered within the budget. All service staff were also thanked for their positive attitude and their readiness to undertake work to a high standard for the benefit of the County's residents.

During the discussion, the following observations were noted:- 

In response to concerns surrounding the fines by the Welsh Government should we fail to recycle 70% of waste, the Assistant Head of Department assured the members that no Local Authority had been fined to date, despite some having failed to reach the targets. They stressed that no definite confirmation of this fine had been announced and believed that the Government would be looking at Local Authorities' targets over the years to see whether an effort had been made to reach the requested targets. It was pointed out that Gwynedd had consistently reached the Government's targets over the years and worked closely with officers, therefore they did not anticipate that Gwynedd would be fined if it failed to hit the 70% recycling target.

A member enquired about the Department's plans to charge for disposing of some waste items such as tyres, rubble and asbestos and whether this was likely to lead to more instances of fly-tipping. In response, the Assistant Head explained that around 80 tonnes of tyres reached the recycling centres annually, which costs around £20,000 to process. He emphasised that there were procedures in place within the Highways, Municipal and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To receive an update on the Public Spaces Protection Order (Dog Control).

·       To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.

·       To recommend that the Highways, Engineering and YGC Department contact Councillors to offer a supply of the dog waste bag kits to use in their communities.

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Highways, Engineering and YGC, the Head of Highways, Engineering and YGC Department and the Street Services Manager.

It was explained that a dog control order had been in force since 2013 and that it had now been extended until August 2027. They elaborated that the order related to a failure to clear or pick up dog waste, allowing a dog to enter land where dogs are prohibited, and not controlling and keeping a dog on a lead when a person is asked to do so by an authorised officer.

It was confirmed that the Department was aware that these issues were important to the residents of Gwynedd, stating that a public consultation had been carried out recently, in accordance with the statutory requirement to renew the order every three years. It was emphasised that 1,100 responses had been received to this consultation, compared with 75 responses to the Department's consultation on a flooding strategy recently.

It was explained that enforcement within this service had been challenging in recent years, following the sudden death of a key member of staff. The committee sympathised with the workers on their loss. It was explained that staffing issues had now improved and that the number of penalties was increasing, and the team's presence was more visible as they dealt with several enforcement aspects such as graffiti and dog fouling.

The members were reminded that the Department had combined three services to establish a Streetscene Service. These included the enforcement, street cleaning and Ardal Ni tidying up teams. It was noted that the teams worked closely and effectively together to educate residents, install dog mess bins, signs and to tidy the streets. They elaborated that educating and running campaigns was a consistent feature of dog control work and referred to several projects such as the red signs seen in communities in recent years. It was reported that the focus of the services changed every season – they had worked with the maritime services over the summer to ensure that visitors were aware of the dog regulations, and were preparing to shift the emphasis to streets and parking over the winter.

It was reported that the Department would look at the dog control situation more widely in the future to determine how they could work together across departments, regionally and nationally to tackle the matter. Reference was made to new plans currently being developed by the Welsh Government which would provide guidance to the Local Authorities soon.

During the discussion, the following observations were noted:-

In response to a query, the Street Services Manager confirmed that the service was working with vets. It was noted that the service provides information packs and posters for them and that it was an important element of sharing information with dog owners about the regulations that were in force. The vets were thanked for their willingness to work alongside the service.

The Street Services Manager explained that small packs of dog  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To adopt an amended work programme for 2024/25.

To adopt the Communities Scrutiny Committee’s Work Programme for 2024/25.

The report was presented by the Scrutiny Advisor.

The advisor provided an update on the matters to be scrutinised. She noted that after receiving a request for the Committee to scrutinise 'Parking Fees' at this meeting, the relevant departments had been contacted to identify an item to re-schedule. She explained that the Chair was consulted after receiving responses from the departments.

It was suggested that the item on 'Introducing public charging points for electric vehicles' should be rescheduled to the 20 March 2025 meeting. She noted that re-scheduling the item to the March meeting would provide an opportunity for this workstream to develop further, giving more scope for scrutiny to add value.

RESOLVED to adopt the Communities Scrutiny Committee's revised work programme for 2024/25.