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APOLOGIES To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Councillor
R. H. Wyn Williams, Arfon
Hughes (Nefyn Town Council), William I. Hughes
(Farmers’ Union of Wales) and John Eric Williams (Cyfeillion
Llŷn).
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: No
declarations of personal interest were received from any members present. |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration. |
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The Chairman shall
propose that the minutes of this committee, held on 24 June, 2015, be signed as
a true record (copy enclosed). Minutes: The
Chairman signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this Committee held on
24 June 2015, as a true record. |
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VISITORS CONTRIBUTING To receive a presentation from Alun Fôn Williams, Senior Tourism Development Officer. Minutes: A presentation was given by the
Senior Tourism Development Officer on potential schemes to receive financial
contributions from tourists in order to invest that in a specific area. He
noted there were two types of potential schemes, namely a Visitor Tax Scheme
and a Visitor Donation Scheme. As it was not compulsory to
contribute to a Visitor Donation Scheme, he noted that it was more attractive
than the Visitor Tax Scheme. He reported that there were 25 similar schemes in
operation in the United Kingdom which included a number of possible ways for
visitors to contribute, such as: ·
hotel bills; ·
restaurant bills;
·
car park tickets; ·
attraction
tickets; ·
via i-beacons. He noted that a visitor
donation pilot scheme would commence in Llanberis in December 2015 for a period
of a year and it was intended to disseminate the scheme across Gwynedd if it
was successful. Members were given an
opportunity to ask questions and the Senior Tourism Development Officer
responded as follows: ·
Schemes of this
type had potential but a human resource would be required to contact companies
as well as a basic budget in order to ensure success; ·
A pilot scheme
would have to be undertaken due to LEADER grant scheme rules; ·
The contribution
would be voluntary with an option to opt-in or opt-out; ·
Such a scheme
would include the promotion of the Welsh language and culture; ·
There were
different examples of administrating such schemes such as through a social
initiative, volunteers etc.; ·
He was more than
willing to contact Menter Môn which was conducting the pilot in Llanberis in
relation to establishing a scheme in the AONB. The
Senior Tourism Development Officer was thanked for his presentation. |
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LATEST PROJECTS FROM THE LLŶN AONB UNIT PDF 234 KB To consider the report of the Llŷn AONB Projects Officer. Minutes: Submitted
– a report by the Llŷn AONB Projects Officer on
the work of the AONB Unit. She gave a presentation on recent successful
projects that had been partially funded by the Sustainable Development Fund. It
was noted that over £400,000 in grants had been allocated to over 100 projects
since 2010. In response to an observation
from a member regarding a scheme to install electricity cables underground in
the AONB, the AONB Projects Officer noted that photographs/maps were available
from the unit. RESOLVED to accept the report. |
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PLANNING RELATED MATTERS PDF 342 KB To consider the report of the Llŷn AONB Service Manager. Minutes: Submitted
– the report of the Llŷn AONB Service Manager
providing an update on relevant planning matters to the Llŷn
area and the AONB. The Chairman noted that he was
eager to discuss the Joint Committee’s viewpoint on solar farms considering the
increasing number of applications, in order to reach a consensus on whether or
not a statement on applications of this type should be adopted, as it had been
done with planning applications for wind turbines. During the ensuing discussion
the following main points were noted: ·
There was a need
to consider the cumulative impact of applications of this type on the
landscape; ·
It would be
valuable for the Joint Committee to provide observations on planning
applications; ·
As there was a
possibility that the feed-in tariff would be abolished next year, perhaps there
would not be so many planning applications; ·
Most of the
already approved applications had been sufficiently screened; ·
It was not
possible to screen solar developments during the Winter months; ·
There was a need
to impose a limit on the size of solar panel schemes; ·
There was no
Supplementary Planning Guidance to protect the AONB from overdevelopments of
this type and none would be in place for some time after the Council would
adopt the Anglesey and Gwynedd Joint Local Development Plan 2011-2026; ·
A system should
be put in place to be able to call a special meeting of the Joint Committee to
specifically address individual planning applications that would harm the AONB; ·
The situation in
other areas of natural beauty should be explored; ·
Gwynedd
Archaeological Service had undertaken a basic study assessment for Wales in
terms of capacity for developments of this type and the report would be sent to
the AONB Unit. The Llŷn
AONB Service Manager noted that he would formulate a comprehensive report in
relation to solar developments for the next meeting of the Joint Committee. RESOLVED: (i) to accept
the report; (ii) to establish
a system where the Chairman, in consultation with the Llŷn
AONB Service Manager, can call a special meeting of the Joint Committee to specifically
address individual planning applications that would harm the AONB; (iii) the Llŷn AONB Service Manager will submit a report in
relation to solar developments for the next meeting of the Joint Committee. |
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AONB MANAGEMENT PLAN PDF 402 KB To consider the report of the Llŷn AONB Service Manager. Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted
– the report of the Llŷn AONB Service Manager
providing an update on the work of updating and reviewing the AONB Management
Plan. Members were guided through Part 1
of the management plan which had been attached to the report. It was noted that
it was aimed to bring Part 2 of the revised plan before the Joint Committee
during Spring 2016. Members were given an
opportunity to provide observations, the Llŷn
AONB Service Manager responded to the observations as follows: ·
In terms of the
impact of developments on the landscape, a specific reference would be made to
developments such as wind turbines and solar panels in Part 2; ·
National policies
along with the Gwynedd Unitary Development Plan (GUDP) would deal with planning
matters but there would be a reference in Part 2 to new trends and policies
that affected the AONB; ·
A Landscape Conservation
Area designation would create a type of buffer to protect the setting of the
AONB together with the views into and out of the AONB. He added that the GUDP
took the designation into account; ·
There would be an
emphasis in the plan on creating a living landscape and sustaining a society.
It was noted that attention was given to matters such as the local community's
needs, traditional industries, community well-being and sustainable
developments. RESOLVED to accept the report. |
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To consider the report of the Llŷn AONB Service Manager. Minutes: Submitted – the report of the Llŷn AONB Service Manager detailing the Council’s
arrangements in relation to a consultation on service cuts. It was noted that
abolishing the AONB Unit had been included as a potential cut. It was added that abolishing the unit would
save £39,150 for the Council. It was noted that
correspondence had been sent to members of the Joint Committee and working
partners of the AONB Unit to draw their attention to the threat facing the
unit. Members were encouraged to complete the Gwynedd Challenge questionnaire
and it was noted that the public consultation period had been extended to 30
November 2015. The Cabinet Member - Regulatory
noted that responses to the consultation were assessed on the totality of
information rather than on the number of individuals who had chosen whichever
option. He encouraged members to complete the questionnaire either online or by
completing the hard copy questionnaire. He added that the cuts were
being enforced on the Council and there would be implications for a number of
services. He noted that approximately 65 Councillors had assessed the number of
options in workshops before the Cabinet would decide on the list of cuts which
was the subject of the consultation. It was noted that further workshops would
be held with all councillors at the beginning of 2016 to discuss the responses
before the Cabinet would consider the proposals, and then the Full Council
would decide on the budget for 2015-16 on 3 March 2016. During the ensuing discussion,
members noted the following main points: ·
The questionnaire
was not positive; ·
No alternative
proposals could be submitted; ·
The Review of
Designated Landscapes supported the designation of the AONB and its national
importance; ·
The review noted
that the AONB administration would continue to be part of the Council; ·
There was a
statutory requirement in terms of protecting the area of beauty; ·
The questionnaire
was difficult to complete and too complicated; ·
An approximate
number of 1,500 had completed the questionnaire thus far and that this was
disappointing bearing in mind that Gwynedd’s population was approximately
120,000; ·
The amount had to
be saved in full to be able to submit a response online, and therefore,
individuals did not continue with the questionnaire which meant that good ideas
from a cross-section of the community could not be submitted in the last box of
the questionnaire where it was asked for any other comments; ·
More discussions
should be held with Community Councils and relevant groups; ·
The unit
administrated the Sustainable Development Fund,
therefore, what would be the implications in terms of allocating grants? The Cabinet Member - Regulatory
was thanked for attending the meeting. It was suggested that the
Chairman should send a letter in response to the consultation noting the need
to save the AONB Unit in order to protect the designation. RESOLVED: (i) to accept
the report; (ii) that the Chairman should send a letter in response to the consultation noting the need to save the AONB Unit in order ... view the full minutes text for item 9. |
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REVIEW OF WELSH DESIGNATED LANDSCAPES PDF 389 KB To consider the report of the Llŷn AONB Service Manager. Additional documents:
Minutes: Submitted – the report of the Llŷn AONB Service Manager setting the context of the
Review of Welsh Designated Landscapes. It was noted that the final report that
had been submitted to the Welsh Government included 69 recommendations. It was reported that Carl Sargeant, the Minister for Natural Resources had published
a statement on 29 October 2015 noting that he was establishing a working group,
under the leadership of Lord Dafydd Ellis-Thomas, to
consider the recommendations and submit their findings in a report next year. It was noted that the Chairman
and the Llŷn AONB Service Manager would attend
the initial meeting of the working group on 20 November. Members were guided through a
summary of the final report and attention was drawn to specific
recommendations. During the ensuing discussion
the following main observations were noted: ·
Retaining the
names of National Parks and AONB designations, with the main designation to be
known as National Landscapes Wales, was to be supported as it would help to
raise the status of the AONB; ·
An act would have
to be changed in order for the National Park and the AONB to be equal
designations and that could take approximately four or five years; ·
The report was
supportive of the AONB designation and gave it authority and prominence; ·
Establishing a
working group would mean a delay in terms of implementing the recommendations; ·
Caution was
needed in terms of losing the Welsh element. RESOLVED
to accept the report. |