Agenda item

To receive Annual Monitoring Report 7 (Appendix 1) and to submit it to Government by the end of October 2025.

The report was presented by Cllr Craig ab Iago.

DECISION

To accept the report.

DISCUSSION

The report was presented, stating that it was a statutory requirement to submit this report and submit it to the Welsh Government every year.

He explained that the Plan had focused primarily on developments within the local planning area of Gwynedd only since 2023.

He noted that it was primarily based on planning applications that had been determined or implemented over the year.

He set out the purpose of the annual Monitoring Report, stating that it assessed to see whether a review of the Plan was required. He added that a review report had been published and work was underway to prepare a new development plan for the local planning area of Gwynedd.

Reference was made to the table in the report which provided an overview of how the indicators had performed, stating that it confirmed that the planning policies met the main objectives of the plan.

It was highlighted that permission for 173 new residential units had been granted in the 2024/25 period, of which 75 were affordable housing. It was reiterated that 140 of the 212 houses that had been completed during the year, were also affordable homes.

Reference was made to the recommendations of the Planning Policy Working Group, which were included in the report.

Observations arising from the discussion:

·       It was stated that the development of the plan was a lengthy process, and that the plan would need to be brought back to the Cabinet and the Full Council in due course.

·       A member queried the discrepancy in the figures for the numbers of Welsh speakers that were noted in the report. It was noted that the figures provided by the Welsh Government often differed from the conclusions of the census. It was added that the Government had commissioned work to find out why there was a difference in the figures, but there were no clear answers at the moment.

·       Members expressed pride in the high number of affordable homes that had been built.

·       Clarification was sought regarding the figure for houses completed on the sites allocated for housing. It was explained that the percentage stated in the report referred to those houses that had been completed on designated sites. As this was the end of the Plan, it was reiterated that several of the designated sites had already obtained planning permission, or that work had previously taken place on that site. It was confirmed that the remainder of the completed houses aligned with the Plan's policies, as they could be on windfall sites. It was noted that small sites were not designated, but that many of the developments were carried out on these sites.

·       Referring to the target of houses that need to be built, it was questioned why so many houses need to be built if Gwynedd's population was decreasing. It was noted that the Government's projections along with a number of other factors had been taken into account. It was added that, at the time of producing the Joint Plan, there was talk of major developments such as the new Wylfa, which would likely affect the north of Gwynedd. It was reiterated that much had changed in the meantime and that the new plan would consider what the Government's projections were as well as local need, before proposing a figure in the Plan.