Venue: Cyfarfod Rhithiol / Virtual Meeting. View directions
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive
any apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies
were received from:- ·
Dafydd
Wyn Williams (Cyngor Gwynedd) with Gerwyn Jones deputising ·
Darren
Williams (Wrexham County Borough Council) with Gwen Thomas deputising) ·
Iwan
Evans (Monitoring Officer) ·
Dewi
Morgan (Finance Officer) |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive
any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: There were
no declarations of personal interest. |
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URGENT BUSINESS To note any
items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chair for consideration. Minutes: No urgent
matters were raised. |
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MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING The Chair
shall propose that the minutes of the meeting held on 16 December 2024 be
signed as a true record. Minutes: The Chair
signed the minutes of the previous meeting held on 16 December 2024 as a true
record. |
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THE STRATEGIC TRANSPORT SUB-COMMITTEE QUARTERLY REPORT Alwen
Williams (CJC Interim Chief Executive) and David Hole (Corporate Joint Committee
Implementation Programme Manager) to present the report. Decision: To
approve the Quarterly Report by: 1.
Recommending that the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee enters into
discussions with the Welsh Government to receive an update on the arrangements
to fund the Bus Reform and Franchising project. 2.
Expressing concern about continuity of service as the Bus Reform and
Franchising project is further developed. 3.
Requesting a further discussion to fund a bus (coach) service from east
to west Wales and also a bus service from North to South Wales, to complement
cross-border rail services, without disruption to local services. Minutes: The report was
presented by the Acting Chief Executive of the North Wales CJC and the CJC
Implementation Programme Lead. RESOLVED To approve the Quarterly
Report and: 1. Recommend that the North Wales Corporate Joint
Committee entered into discussions with the Welsh
Government to receive an update on the arrangements to fund the Bus Reform and
Franchising project. 2. Express concern about service continuity as the Bus
Reform and Franchising project was further developed. 3.
Request a further discussion for funding a
bus (coach) service from east to west Wales and also a
north to south Wales bus service, to complement cross-border rail services,
without disruption to local services. REASONS FOR THE DECISION The Terms of
Reference was approved at the Sub-Committee meeting on 1 October 2024. The
Sub-Committee had met on two occasions, and it was considered appropriate to
review the work undertaken and ensure that the right resources were in place to
meet future developments. DISCUSSION It was reported that this was the first
quarterly report detailing developments, in line with the North Wales Corporate
Joint Committee’s legal duty in relation to the development of a Regional
Transport Plan. It was further noted that a quarterly report would be submitted
to the Corporate Joint Committee detailing specific projects, the financial
performance of the Sub-Committee and upcoming developments. Members were
reminded that the Regional Transport Plan assisted local authorities with
developments and had no powers over strategic road and rail schemes which were
beyond the control of those authorities. The Sub-Committee and all stakeholders were
thanked for their assistance in delivering all the developments seen within the
report. It was confirmed that the consultation period
on the draft Regional Transport Plan had started since 20 January 2025 and
would continue until 14 April 2025. It was explained that the work was being
led by ARUP on behalf of the Joint Committee, also noting that collaboration
had taken place with Transport for Wales. An update was given that over 1120
people had responded to the consultation to date, with the expectation that
these numbers would continue to increase steadily until the end of the
consultation period. It was added that ARUP had found themes arising in several
responses, which had been collated in order to respond
effectively to any concern or idea presented by the public. It was highlighted that the local
authorities' communications teams had supported the promotion of this public
consultation. Furthermore, the Corporate Joint Committee and ARUP had taken
every step to ensure that as many people as possible were able to access the
consultation, such as a bilingual telephone line, a virtual engagement room and also by developing an easy-read version of the
consultation to support anyone who may otherwise find it challenging to
understand and participate in the consultation. It was clarified that ARUP was assessing all responses to the public consultation and they would submit a report on the responses in due course. It was detailed that quantitative questions had been included in the ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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Alwen
Williams (CJC Interim Chief Executive) Andy Roberts (Regional Strategic
Development Planning Officer) to present the report. Decision: · To accept the Report noting the
progress on the Strategic Development Plan and the relationship with the
Regional Transport Plan to date. · To schedule a further Report to this
Sub-Committee to share information with members about schemes, such as the
electric bus, within the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee's Responsible
Adventures project. Minutes: The report was
presented by the Acting Chief Executive of the North Wales CJC and Regional
Strategic Development Planning Officer. RESOLVED ·
To
accept the Report noting the progress to date on the Strategic Development Plan
and the relationship with the Regional Transport Plan. ·
To
schedule a further Report to this Sub-Committee to share information with
members about schemes, such as electric buses, within the North Wales Corporate
Joint Committee's Responsible Adventure project. REASONS FOR THE DECISION To ensure that the Strategic Transport
Sub-Committee was fully aware of progress with the Strategic Development Plan
from an early stage, to promote regular engagement and an integrated approach
to strategic planning. DISCUSSION The Regional Strategic Development Planning
Officer was welcomed to his first meeting. An update was provided on the process of
developing a Strategic Development Plan and the actions that needed to be
delivered. Further information was provided on timetable considerations and
legal requirements in relation to the development of the Plan. It was noted that the development of the
scheme ensured that the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee responded to
statutory requirements within the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act
2021 for regional economic well-being, spatial planning and transport planning
issues. It was explained that a Strategic Development Plan Handbook had been
submitted to Local Planning Authorities by the Welsh Government in 2022
providing guidance on how to develop a Plan. It was confirmed that it was
expected to take five years to produce a full Strategic Development Plan. It
was emphasised that work was underway to consider whether the North Wales
Corporate Joint Committee could make adjustments to
procedures in order to speed up the process where appropriate. It was explained that the Strategic
Development Plan was a long-term one that could be operational for up to 25
years. It was confirmed that this provided the ability to look forward to
future developments and ensure that the critical issues were developed for the
entire region. It was pointed out that the Plan ran in conjunction with other
North Wales Corporate Joint Committee projects in order to
secure economic well-being and ensure that there was suitable infrastructure
for meeting targets and realising new developments. It was confirmed that the first step in the development of the Plan would be to prepare a Delivery Agreement. It was clarified that the Agreement would detail how the Plan would be developed as well as confirming how stakeholders and the community could be involved in the development process. The initial timetable for the development process was detailed noting that there were eight main phases for the development of the Plan. The indicative timetable for the Delivery Agreement was reported, stating that it was hoped that the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee would formally adopt it in July 2025 before requesting the Welsh Government to adopt it. It was noted that the Strategic Development Plan would be formalised following these steps and would be further developed, following feedback from the Welsh Government on the detailed timetable ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |