Agenda item

To report to the Scrutiny Committee on the performance of the Environment Department.

To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.⁠

 

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for the Environment, the Head of Environment Department and Assistant Heads of Department.

 

The Members were reminded that the Department led on several projects in the Council Plan 2023-28, namely;

 

·        A Homely Gwynedd

o   Managing second homes and short-term holiday lets

·        A Green Gwynedd

o   New Local Development Plan

o   Waste and Recycling

o   Active Travel

o   Public Transport

 

They referred to several of the Department's projects as well as performance measures. Comments and questions from the Members were welcomed.

 

During the discussion, the following observations were made by the Members:-

 

The Planning Service

It was acknowledged that planning service officers had been under pressure recently, and they thanked them for their work and were pleased that the service was taking advantage of the opportunities in the Council's Cynllun Yfory. In response to the comments, the Department confirmed that they had taken advantage of the Council's Cynllun Yfory to appoint members of staff and train them to become qualified. It was noted that a Planning Policy Trainee post would possibly be offered soon. It was confirmed that the service planned its workforce effectively and while recognising staff turnover, new officers were being appointed to carry out the work.

 

It was concerned that the Council was at risk of losing expertise among planning officers. In response to the comments, it was acknowledged that some expertise was lost when officers left their roles, but the Members were assured that use of the Cynllun Yfory and effective workforce planning ensured that there was no significant risk of losing expertise.

 

Planning Enforcement

In response to an enquiry on Planning Enforcement rates, the Assistant Head explained that officers responded to complaints on enforcement issues when appropriate. He explained that situations arose where individuals were unhappy with the officers' views and statutory arrangements were in place to ensure that they can appeal if they wish. It was highlighted that it was challenging to reduce the number of enforcement calls received due to staffing issues, but they were confident that this issue could be addressed as the numbers of qualified staff increased.

 

New Local Development Plan

In response to an enquiry, the Assistant Head of Department confirmed that the timetable for introducing a New Local Development Plan was on time, but the current  priority was to support staff.

 

Active Travel

In response to a request for data about active travel plans and use in rural areas of the County, the Head of Department confirmed that the information could be shared outside this meeting.

 

Waste and Recycling

Consideration was given to whether there were plans in place to collect soft plastics to increase the percentage of waste recycled in Gwynedd. In response to the enquiry, the Assistant Head of Department confirmed that arrangements were in place for collecting soft plastics as part of the routes from April 2027 onwards. It was elaborated that the Council was currently working with the Vale of Glamorgan Council to explore good practice, as they had already implemented this service. It was noted that incorporating collections of this type could involve significant costs due to the need to include new schemes as well as the costs of processing the waste. It was emphasised that the service must ensure that the work of collecting the soft plastics was effective, as there was a chance that supermarkets would cease the service once the Council took responsibility for it. It was reported that the processes in place in the Vale of Glamorgan were very effective, and that they were the ones preferred by the Department. However, it was emphasised that soft plastics only made up around 1% of all waste in Gwynedd and would not affect recycling targets significantly.

 

Officers were asked if they believed that recycling 70% of the County's waste was an achievable target. In response to the enquiry on recycling rates, the Cabinet Member confirmed that there was no pressure to meet the Welsh Government's target of recycling 70% of the County's waste. He elaborated that new technology was being developed continually that would assist the Department in meeting these targets in the future, such as a recycling vending machine that dispenses money to consumers for using it. He assured the committee that he believed that 100% of all waste in the County should be recycled and that they planned to increase the amount of waste being recycled to try to reach that target as far as possible.

 

In response to a further enquiry about the officers' views on whether the Welsh Government's target of recycling 70% of the County's total waste was realistic given that there had not been a large increase in the County's recycling rates to meet the target, the Assistant Head of Department explained that all Welsh Local Authorities measured their success against this target differently. It was also noted that Gwynedd's rates against this target varied annually such as through garden waste rates, which were included within the figures along with waste from households, businesses, street bins and recycling centres. It was highlighted that a Waste Strategy was currently being developed in order to plan how the Department would address this, confirming that it would be presented to the Cabinet in July.

 

They agreed with the Members' comments that pressure should be put on companies, with the Welsh Government's support, to ensure that all types of product packaging can be recycled.

 

In response to a request for additional information about data relating to staff sickness in the Recycling Service, the Assistant Head of Department confirmed that he would share it outside the meeting. However, it was explained that the Department was working to reduce workforce sickness rates and had taken steps such as reducing recycling depot numbers within the County, so that the workforce could be planned more effectively if sickness was an issue. It was explained that this decision had been made because staff sickness rates varied from area to area in the County, and reducing depot numbers allowed for easier workforce planning.

 

         RESOLVED

To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.