Agenda item

The information in the report was accepted and noted.

The report was submitted by Cllr Dafydd Meurig

DECISION

The information in the report was accepted and noted.

DISCUSSION

It was reported that the department was leading on five projects which were part of the Council's Plan 2023-2028. The following were noted as an update on those projects:
 

·       Management of second homes and short-term holiday lets - It was clarified that the consultation period on the Council's intention to introduce an Article 4 direction had closed on 13 September. It was pleasing that a few thousand responses had been received and officers were now analysing those responses before submitting a timely report to update the Communities Scrutiny Committee and the Cabinet.
 

·       Waste and Recycling - It was noted that the department had set a target of recycling 70% of the County's waste by 2025. It was acknowledged that achieving this target would be challenging but the department was hopeful it would succeed by following a new internal restructuring arrangement.
 

·       Active Travel- It was confirmed that the Department had successfully received a grant in this area for the next period. It was noted that two additional applications had been made for grants but these had been unsuccessful.

·       Public Transport - It was announced that the SHERPA'r Wyddfa service has been short-listed for this year's British Transport Awards (UK Transport Awards) following its restructure in recent years.
 

·       New Local Development Plan - It was explained that a governance arrangement for the scheme had been accepted. It was detailed that a Planning Policy Working Group of 15 members had been established and met for the first time recently. It was noted that the working group had dealt with the initial work and planned to meet regularly.
 

Members were updated on three of the Department's services which had seen progress recently.
These included:

·       Planning - It was confirmed that the service had successfully responded to 88% of planning applications within the statutory time limit at the start of this year. This was noted as an improvement over recent years. It was announced that the service had recently successfully appointed two new planning trainees. It was explained this would be a great help with capacity issues within the service. It was noted that attracting staff to service posts had been a challenge in the past, but it was hoped that these appointments were a positive sign.
  

·       Planning Enforcement - It was reported that capacity problems were still affecting the planning enforcement service. It was explained that this was a challenge because officers strove to deal with new cases as well as historical cases that remained open on systems.
 

·       Land charges - It was explained that the land charges services had now been upgraded to a new computer system. As such, this service was performing well. It was noted that officers had to stop dealing with land charges applications for a period of time while the system was being upgraded, due to a lack of capacity. It was confirmed that this problem had now been sorted as the new system was in place and the applications were being dealt with effectively.
 

·       Traffic, Projects and Footpaths - It was reported that priority has been given to ensuring everything was in place for the 20mph restriction regulations that had recently come into force. It was explained that a great deal of planning and preparation had been undertaken to ensure this update. Unfortunately, this meant that some of the other service projects had not been prioritised but the officers were now working diligently on them once more.
 

In response to a query on the financial position in the field of public transport, it was acknowledged that the situation did not look positive for the next financial year.  It was explained that the government had not currently submitted information on potential grants and therefore it was hoped that the situation would improve when approaching a new financial year in April. The Head of Environment Department elaborated that the Department was undertaking a comprehensive review within this area and ensured that all efforts were being made to ensure that public transport services did not cease.
 

It was noted that the Transportation service was overspending. Despite this, the service benefitted from receiving funding from Transport for Wales. It was explained that this was annual funding and therefore risks arose if Transport for Wales did not provide funds to support services. It was assured that the department was aware of the risks within the field and every effort was being made to address them.
 

In light of recent difficulties within the waste collection and recycling service, the need to educate residents on the importance of recycling was considered when the restructuring had been completed and the service was running smoothly within the Department. It was recognised that behaviour towards recycling needed to change within the county and getting officers to work on this was necessary to meet the 70% target for recycling waste by 2025.

Comments were shared that residents were frustrated that recycling collections were not consistent and that correspondence was not being shared to confirm that collection was not happening. In response to these comments, the Head of Environment Department identified this issue as the main focus of the department's next performance challenge meeting. It was noted that better communication was taking place in the Arfon area than in Meirionnydd, as the hub had now been effectively established, but there was a commitment to improving the service. It was also explained that a recent strike had also affected services in recent weeks. It was recognised that there was room for improvement in this service but that the service was heading in the right direction.
 

In response to a query regarding the conduct of the waste collection and recycling service workforce, the Head of Environment Department stressed that no shortcomings in the service arose from the conduct of the workforce. It was explained that some areas within the County such as Harlech, Dwyfor and Arfon worked well together in their areas as one team and therefore the service ran smoothly there. It was acknowledged that staffing issues had arisen in Meirionnydd and that officer locations and staff sickness had affected the service. It was detailed that a focus was being placed on the southern areas of the County to ensure that the waste collection and recycling service improved there in the near future. It was ensured that collectors worked hard across the County to strive to ensure the continuity of service on a regular basis.

In response to a query about the safety of active travel users, the Cabinet Member for the Environment noted that problems arose with the purchase of land to maintain these paths and challenges arose when applying for grants due to the nature of the application forms being more favourable to urban rather than rural areas. The Head of Environment Department elaborated that there was design work and environmental inspections for the paths and that this scheme was being completed section by section. It was ensured that the department strove to provide fit-for-purpose infrastructure so that new paths could be created in the next financial year.
 

The department was thanked for all their work.