To receive declarations of personal and prejudicial interest from Members/Officers in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct adopted by Council from 1 September 2008. 

Councillor H Bennett declared a personal interest in Agenda item 6 as a member of the Public Service Board and Regional Partnership Board, through her employment.

To receive for approval the minutes of 1/3/23 and 15/3/23

RESOLVED:                                   The minutes of the previous meetings of Council dated 1 March 2023 and 15 March 2023, were approved as true and accurate records, subject to an amendment being made to page 11 of the minutes of the 1 March, namely that on the top of the page where reference is made to ‘the Trade Union Pay Claim for staff was unfair’ that this be changed to ‘fair’.

(i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

Mayor

I hope you all enjoyed the Easter holiday with family and friends.

It is a particular favourite time of the year for myself where I like to see sunlight and daffodils thriving across all our communities. A timely reminder that summer will soon be upon us.

Since our last full Council meeting, I have had the pleasure yet again of meeting some incredible and remarkable people within our County Borough.

Some examples included, the birthday celebrations for Mrs Helena Charles BEM who celebrated her 105 birthdays in her home community of Blaengarw. A truly remarkable lady who shared memories of a lifetime in the Garw Valley, Mrs Charles is probably our most senior person in the County Borough, but I am sure I will be corrected if this is not right. 

I met the Ogmore Valley Suicide Awareness Group and had the pleasure of awarding its members a Mayors Certificate for their service to the community. The group were nominated for such an award by the Ogmore Valley Community Council.

It was a humbling experience to meet members of the group some of which had themselves experienced the collateral trauma of suicide. To listen to their experiences and witness at first hand their incredible focus and positivity to help others suffering from mental health issues was incredible.

It was also a particularly proud moment to attend the Declaration Ceremony of our new High Sheriff for Mid Glamorgan, Professor Jean White.

This was a very proud moment to witness the Declaration. I am sure the whole Chamber will join me in wishing Professor White the very best in her twelve-month term of office.

Could I also take this opportunity to thank the outgoing High Sheriff Maria Thomas for her support to the County Borough during her term of office. It was a pleasure to accompany and work with Maria at many civic events both within the County Borough and beyond.

I also had the privilege of welcoming Princess Anne Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal to the Bridgend Carers facility at Park Street Bridgend.

The event led by Helen Pitt manager of the Bridgend Carers Centre just demonstrates how vital a service the Bridgend Carers provide to unpaid carers. It was clear that unpaid carers make such a difference to our communities often in very difficult situations. The energy and pride within the centre were palpable.

A big thank you to all the team at Bridgend Carers. I am sure the whole chamber will continue to support your vital engagement and service to the most vulnerable.

Quite a unique experience and a first for me, was to be a guest of honour for a visit to the Dar-Ui- Isra Mosque at Wyeverne Road in Cardiff to share a Ramadam Meal.

This was an incredible experience, especially when I was asked to address the congregation. 

I met so many lovely people and enjoyed the various presentations on the meaning of Ramadam which is a sacred time and a key celebration in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 120.

You will have seen news reports about an illegal gathering over the Easter bank holiday weekend, at Kenfig Industrial Estate in Margam, which borders with the Bridgend County Borough. South Wales Police made a public order to direct people to leave the area.

For safety reasons, urgent road closures were put in place with people advised not to attend the gathering on foot or in vehicles.

Responding to an illegal gathering of this size and nature takes its toll on our emergency services, highways teams and clean-up crews, who were unexpectedly called out on Easter Sunday.

I would like to thank the local community for their patience and support along with colleagues at South Wales Police, Neath Port Talbot Council and other partner agencies who worked together to deal with the situation and ensure people left the site safely.

We were also notified over the weekend that a number of caravans had parked illegally at the Rest Bay playing fields in Porthcawl. We took swift action and in conjunction with South Wales Police, a notice was served requiring the caravans to leave the site. Under law, councils must follow a set process and are required to carry out social services assessments and confirm that there are no welfare issues before a notice can be served. As a result of this response, the caravans left the site on Monday.

New legislation from Welsh Government means that from 17 September 2023, the national speed limit will fall from 30mph to 20mph on restricted roads.

Members will know from the briefing that they received that the move aims to reduce road injuries, offer a safer environment to encourage cycling or walking, as well as lower noise pollution.

An online public engagement exercise is currently underway on local exemptions to the reduction from 30mph to 20mph and will remain open until 24 April.

I received a letter of comfort from the Deputy Minister for Climate Change at Welsh Government, Lee Waters, about funding for the implementation of the lower speed limit. 

I also received confirmation that a planned consultation over the difficult issue of ‘pavement parking’ has been postponed until next year.

This follows feedback from Council Leaders advising that greater focus needs to firstly be placed upon the implementation of the new national speed limit requirements, and I am pleased to see that the deputy minister has listened to our concerns.

While parking on pavements is not currently illegal in Wales unless a vehicle is causing an obstruction, Scotland is in the process of banning the practice, and it is already illegal in London.

Charities such as Living Streets Cymru and the Royal National institute for the Blind have long argued that keeping pavements clear of vehicles is essential for blind and partially sighted people, and also for with mobility issues who may be forced out into the road to get around a vehicle.

We will bring you further details when the consultation is relaunched later in 2024.

In his letter the Minister  ...  view the full minutes text for item 121.

The Chief Executive presented a report, the purpose of which, was to seek approval from Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) of the Well-being Plan for Cwm Taf Morgannwg Public Services Board (PSB).

He confirmed that, changes to the health board footprint created the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board covering Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil and Bridgend local authority areas.  It was agreed that the two PSBs covering that area, should merge to become a single PSB to reduce duplication and enable more effective joint working to improve well-being for people in the area.

He added that following publication of the Well-being Plan, Cwm Taf and Bridgend PSBs will merge to form Cwm Taf Morgannwg Public Services Board. 

The Chief Executive advised that, the overarching theme of the Well-being Plan is ‘A More Equal Cwm Taf Morgannwg’ that drives every aspect of the Public Services Board’s work.  The Well-being Assessment informed that the communities in Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf have a lot to be proud about. However, not all communities have fair access to opportunities and face different challenges that impact on well-being.

The Well-being Plan attached at Appendix 1 to the report has two objectives and these were outlined in paragraph 4.3 of the report.

The Well-being Plan makes five commitments for the way the single PSB will work and these will be the core principles for the PSB that will guide and challenge activity throughout the PSB structure. These commitments were shown in paragraph 4.5 of the report.

The Chief Executive then alluded to the 12 week consultation that the final draft Plan had been subject to that included an on-line survey, which generated 238 responses.

The Chief Executive concluded his submission, by confirming that in addition to the Public Services Board collectively approving their well-being plan, the six statutory partners must also approve the plan for publication.

The statutory partners are:

•           Bridgend County Borough Council,

•           Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council

•           Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council

•           South Wales Fire and Rescue Services

•           Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

•           Natural Resources Wales

A member asked if there was a proposal for the Plan to be made fully accessible to all, as the copy before Council she noted, did not meet all the necessary accessibility requirements.

The Public Service Board (PSB) Officer confirmed that this would be the case, through the Council’s Design Team.

A member making reference to the evidence base of the EIA, noted that the document reflected that there were 238 on-line survey responses in respect of the consultation process. There had also been further engagement sessions that took place at certain public visited establishments within the County Borough, including at Sarn Library. He asked what the attendance had been in respect of the latter.

The PSB Officer confirmed that she did not have the specific levels of attendance at each of the consultation sites, however, the results of all engagement sessions had been fed into the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 122.

Councillor Tim Wood to the Cabinet Member – Regeneration

During recent years BCBC has expended a significant sum of public money firstly holding a consultation then a report and investigation process into opening a small portion of Bridgend Town Centre back open to traffic.

This consultation back in 2016 had the highest public engagement in the history of this council and the public were resounding in their backing of this partial re-opening of the town centre.

As such, will the Cabinet Member for Regeneration agree that we as a council are here to serve the public, to be good stewards of the public purse and are here to encourage and sustain our town centres not hinder them.

So will the Cabinet Member for Regeneration detail to me their plans to make Bridgend Town Centre accessible to all?

Councillor Alex Williams to the Cabinet Member - Communities

Will the Cabinet member - Communities make a statement on the subsidies which BCBC currently provides to support those bus routes which have been deemed as commercially unviable; outline what consideration has been given to the reduction or complete withdrawal of these subsidies; and what analysis has been conducted on the potential ramifications of such a reduction or withdrawal in subsidies on people within the communities which were previously in receipt of subsidised routes?

Councillor Tim Thomas to the Cabinet Member - Communities

What is the Cabinet Member doing to ensure that BCBC roads and highways are accessible for the elderly and disabled?

Councillor Ian Williams to the Cabinet Member - Regeneration

Could the cabinet member for regeneration please let me have an update on what measures are being taken to restore the many derelict buildings in our town centre and what is the timeline for this remediation?

Councillor Tim Wood to the Cabinet Member – Regeneration

During recent years BCBC has expended a significant sum of public money firstly holding a consultation then a report and investigation process into opening a small portion of Bridgend Town Centre back open to traffic.

This consultation back in 2016 had the highest public engagement in the history of this council and the public were resounding in their backing of this partial re-opening of the town centre.

As such, will the Cabinet Member for Regeneration agree that we as a council are here to serve the public, to be good stewards of the public purse and are here to encourage and sustain our town centres not hinder them.

So will the Cabinet Member for Regeneration detail to me their plans to make Bridgend Town Centre accessible to all?

Response

Following on from the Bridgend Town Centre Regeneration Masterplan 2021, there is a continued focus on fulfilling Bridgend’s role as a destination and centre for retail, living, employment, education and heritage. To enable this, the Council has, for a number of years, been asked to consider de-pedestrianisation as a potential solution to increasing footfall in the town centre to support the local economy and create a more vibrant and inclusive town centre for residents and visitors alike.

We have indeed completed exercises over recent years in order to establish how access could be improved but have undoubtedly faced barriers along the way, not least a change in Welsh Government policies on Planning and Active Travel, but also a UK Government moratorium on De-pedestrianisation and active travel schemes to allow a review of national policy.

The current Bridgend Town Centre Accessibility Options Appraisal, focusses on improved town centre access and puts forward three potential options to address the issue, aiming to balance competing priorities for the diverse range of stakeholders within Bridgend town centre. Whilst previous studies have suggested options for de-pedestrianisation, this work provides a re-examination of the accessibility of the town centre involving a review of current planning policies such as Planning Policy WALES (Edition 11, February 2021) and the new Wales Transport Strategy, plus a review of the previous access studies undertaken.

An evaluation of the current traffic regulation order (TRO) has also undertaken in order to gain a better understanding of the approach needed to improve town centre access, including electronic bollard management, parking provision and the investigation of click and collect and delivery options.

We are now working with specialists at Atkins to thoroughly test and interrogate the viability of the three options and to determine the preferred option that can be taken forward to delivery stage, ensuring that projects are legally and technically feasible, as well as economically justifiable and worth further investment. In order to determine the preferred option, further extensive consultation will be undertaken with relevant BCBC departments, statutory bodies and elected members.

Options will also be appraised using an criteria assessment framework against key policy and legislation, which will include (but are not limited  ...  view the full minutes text for item 123.

To consider any item(s) of business in respect of which notice has been given in accordance with Part 4 (paragraph 4) of the Council Procedure Rules and which the person presiding at the meeting is of the opinion should by reason of special circumstances be transacted at the meeting as a matter of urgency. 

None.