Agenda item

Cabinet Member – Councillor Nia Jeffreys

 

To consider a report on the above.

 

To accept the report and note the observations, and receive an update on the matter within a year.

 

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for the Economy, the Assistant Head of the Economy and Community Department and the Regeneration Programmes Manager were welcomed to the meeting.

 

The report of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for the Economy was presented, inviting the committee to consider the following in the context of the fact that an element of the 'Regeneration of communities and town centres' project in the Council Plan 2023-28 is to prepare Town/City Centre action plans for individual towns:

 

·         The arrangements for preparing action plans

·         Who is included in their development?

·         How is it intended to measure the effect of the action plans?

 

The Cabinet Member set out the context, and the Regeneration Programmes Manager elaborated on the content of the report.  Members were then given an opportunity to ask questions and submit observations. 

 

It was asked what the arrangements were for monitoring that all these multi-layered and cross-departmental plans worked effectively and in a timely manner, and it was asked whether the Council had sufficient capacity to undertake the work.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         The Council worked through a cross-departmental forum over the last two to three years, bringing town centre issues together, and that was the intention in terms of this plan, to have input and representation from different departments.

·         What would be monitored was very dependent on individual action plans within town centres, and it was believed that there was room in every town centre in Gwynedd to either develop or update a town centre plan to identify the priorities and monitor the progress against those priorities.

·         During the first year of the plan, the need to strengthen the data held for town centre areas was seen.  There was some historical data available, but it was believed that there was room to set slightly stronger data for individual towns, rather than counties, so that this was a means of monitoring the trends.

 

It was asked what would happen if there was a slippage in plans.  In response, it was noted that this work-stream had been identified as one of the priorities of the Council's Plan and that it would be an important part of the Department's performance management arrangements over the next five years.

 

It was asked how confident were we that there was sufficient funding available from the Transforming Towns programme to realise what we were trying to achieve, which was quite ambitious.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         We were currently in year 2 of the three-year Transforming Towns programme, and would have to plan ahead on the basis that there would be a subsequent regeneration programme.

·         UK Government funding, namely the Levelling Up and Shared Prosperity funding, had proved to be significantly greater funding than what the Transforming Towns programme had to offer, but over the last two years it was seen from the UK Government programmes that plans needed to be almost ready to start in order to be eligible for the funding.

·         It was necessary to prepare the plans in advance and try to anticipate what was going to happen in terms of the UK Government's current programmes, assuming that the focus would continue to be on town centres.

·         Gwynedd, in conjunction with other organisations, such as Hwb Caernarfon, had started implementing the Welsh Government's Smart Towns programme which installed free wi-fi in the county's towns to enable information to be captured on, e.g. the number of people who had visited different parts of a town and the length of stay, etc.  It did not set a full baseline, and there was more work to be done in terms of data assessment, but it was a means of seeing the impact of specific events or developments on the numbers of people on the high street, etc.

 

In response to a question regarding the tables in paragraphs 2.5 and 2.6 of the report, it was confirmed that the towns were not listed in order of priority, and that the intention was to focus attention on all of them as part of the plan.  However, it was noted that it would sometimes be necessary to prioritise, as it would not be possible to meet all needs in every town.

 

It was emphasised that businesses in the villages were just as important to those villages as any business in the centre of a town, and it was asked if there was a danger of the villages missing out as this plan focused on town centres.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         The definition of 'town' was difficult, and varied even from county to county within north Wales.

·         We had a significant number of towns in Gwynedd and attempting to focus attention on all of them was a considerable challenge.

·         It was hoped that any support for business would be open to villages in any case, and there was very little differentiation between business support in urban areas and in rural areas.

·         However, some of the interventions and measures within town centres might be slightly different in their nature to those in villages, but this work was not intended to exclude businesses in villages from being eligible for business support.

 

It was asked if there was a danger that the Department focused resources on regional plans at the expense of specific plans for Gwynedd.  In response, it was noted that Cyngor Gwynedd had taken responsibility for the administration and management of the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) programme on behalf of north Wales, which had meant a reduction in working capacity on Gwynedd projects, certainly in the short term.

 

It was noted that the Arfor 2 plan had created a degree of frustration externally.  In response, the Cabinet Member stated that the Department did not deal directly with Arfor 2, but that she would look into this and get back to the member.

 

Referring to paragraph 4.2 of the report, it was asked how much money came to Gwynedd from the Welsh Government's revenue fund.  In response, it was noted that, although it was not believed that there was a specific figure allocated for this, the amount was small, as there was not much revenue money available unfortunately.

 

Concern was expressed that Aberdyfi could soon be without a grocery shop or a post office, and it was asked what help was available to the community council and the local member to see if it was possible to have at least one grocery shop in the village.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         There would be opportunities arising quite soon in terms of business support for resources in towns and there could be a further conversation with the local member regarding that, outside the meeting.

·         Cyngor Gwynedd had to work together with other organisations to respond to the challenges and opportunities in town centres, and it was believed that the community and town councils were extremely important organisations in that process.

 

It was asked what power the Council had to tidy up empty properties in towns, such as installing window graphics, etc.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         A cross-departmental group had been established to focus on empty properties and it was believed that this also formed part of the Council's priorities.

·         Although the Council had enforcement powers in various areas, it was difficult to identify the threshold at which an empty building became an unsightly building which affected local amenities.

·         It was difficult to enforce solely on the basis that a building was empty, and when considering any enforcement case, the Council had to present evidence of the harm that was created because of the condition of the property.

·         Although the initial work had highlighted complications and some barriers, it was believed that there was more that could be done, and no doubt the empty property group would look at that.

·         The method of proving the impact of an empty property on nearby amenities varied from building to building, and depended entirely on which legislation the Council would consider relevant to its specific case, e.g. planning legislation, building control, etc.

 

It was noted that there was an intention to install window graphics on empty properties in the National Eisteddfod area in August, and it was suggested that this was something for the Council to build on in the future.

 

In response to a question, it was stated that it was believed that the Council could, in some cases, demand that utility companies restore roads and pavements to their original standard following street works, but this would have to be checked with the Highways, Engineering and YGC Department, and get back to the member.

 

It was noted that there was a shortage of doctors, nurses, dentists, opticians, etc., in south Meirionnydd, and especially in the Tywyn area, and it was asked how the Council could make Tywyn a more attractive town for people to want to live there.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         It was clear that there were concerns regarding Tywyn specifically, and that a series of meetings had been held recently to discuss the situation.

·         The challenge for the future would be to try to identify how to build on the assets and particular characteristics of Tywyn to make it a more attractive town for people to live in.

·         It was possible that the element of trying to attract a specific profession or sector was something to be considered as part of the work on Tywyn town centre, in partnership with the relevant stakeholders, such as the Health Board.

 

The fact that the Department recognised that each town was unique, and tried to plan individually, rather than adopting a top-down approach, was welcomed, starting with the local members and the community councils and other stakeholders in the town.  Hope was also expressed that the officers pushed this in the regional discussions and opposed any tendency to obtain solutions from the top down for our towns.

 

It was suggested that Bethesda was a post-industrial town, rather than a rural centre, as described in paragraph 2.6 of the report, and clarification was requested on the categories of towns in paragraphs 2.5 and 2.6.  In response, it was explained that:

 

·         The intention in terms of the categories was to identify the main towns that it was wished to incorporate within the plan.

·         The study prepared by Hatch (referred to in paragraph 2.6 of the report) was a piece of work across north Wales to try to identify different types of towns.

·         There was a suggestion in the report that different types of towns faced different types of challenges, and that it might be necessary to consider specific measures to respond to the type of challenges these towns were facing.

·         It was agreed that Bethesda did not fit neatly into the 'Rural Centres' category, but that some of the post-industrial towns across north Wales were significantly larger towns than Bethesda, and not exactly in the same category either.

·         It was hoped that the Hatch study gave some foretaste in terms of identifying different types of towns, and how to set about trying to respond to the challenges of those towns, but that the details would follow in the individual town plans.

 

It was asked how the Town Centre Plans interwove with the Ardal Ni 2035 regeneration framework, which covered the whole of Gwynedd, and not just the towns.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         Regarding the regeneration framework, the local action plans would offer the framework for projects, whether those were urban or rural, villages or towns.

·         What was in the report before the committee were interventions that specifically targeted town centres, but which did not overlap other programmes.

·         No doubt there would be a work-stream in terms of rural development, and hopefully there would be opportunities there to realise some of the other priorities that had been identified within the regeneration framework.

·         There would be an attempt to identify what the local priorities, interventions and projects were so that we were then able to take advantage of financial opportunities to proceed that met local objectives.

 

It was asked to what extent movement was seen within town centres as shops selling essentials moved to retail sites on the outskirts/went online, to be replaced by leisure shops and restaurants, etc., e.g. in Pwllheli, where the Maes seemed to be thriving more than the High Street, and Caernarfon, where the area surrounding the Castle seemed to be flourishing more and of a better appearance than Pool Street.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         This was true in every town, and possibly the previous plans did not consider the changes to town centres over the last 10-15 years.

·         Changes very often offered new opportunities, and this was believed to be a consideration when developing the current town centre plans.

 

It was asked whether a situation was anticipated in the long term where some buildings on the high street would need to be demolished as they had no use.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         The current plan would not be able to respond to every challenge in every town centre in Gwynedd, but an attempt would be made to lay the foundations and to do as much as possible during the next five years.

·         Work was currently taking place on the Caernarfon town centre plan which was considering some more radical proposals for some sites in the long term.

·         It would be necessary to strike a balance between identifying a clear vision and trying to set an achievable target within five years, as it was not the wish to have plans that could not be realised.

·         It was necessary to aim to have short and medium-term programmes that were achievable, identifying slightly more radical plans for the long term.

·         The passage of time showed how the movement in places like Pwllheli and Caernarfon had taken place, and that there was room for more cross-departmental work in the long term.

·         The planning system and process obviously came into that, and there were examples in places like Bethesda, for example, where a shop had been re-purposed as a house.

 

The importance of ensuring that there were facilities, such as cafés, in town centres was emphasised so that older people, in particular, could socialise.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         Local bodies had the role of looking at more creative ways, possibly, of offering this type of provision.

·         There were third sector bodies, etc., that stepped in to offer socialising opportunities, etc.

·         It was desired to find solutions that worked for an individual town, which was obviously going to vary from town to town, in accordance with the enthusiasm and vision that was in that town to respond to challenges.

 

RESOLVED to accept the report and note the observations and receive an update on the matter within a year.