The Leader gave his report as follows:-

 

“I’d like to begin by congratulating Ken and Julia, John and Susan I know they will be outstanding representatives and ambassadors for the County Borough, my thanks to thanking colleagues for returning me as Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council.

 

My public congratulations to Megan and Tino also.

 

This is an extraordinary privilege and responsibility to be Leader, and I pledge to once more give the role my full attention and focus, and to always do my very best for all the people and all the communities we serve.

 

 

In 2019, when I last addressed the annual meeting of Council, I talked about how we were continuing to experience some of the most difficult and challenging times that local government has ever faced.

 

Then, I was referring to austerity, and the profound impact of having to cut £60 million from core council budgets over the space of ten years.

 

Who could have predicted that within just a few months, this scenario, which continues to be the case, would be further compounded by the global outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus?

 

We are all very aware of how this council has once again risen to meet this newest and greatest challenge.

 

The response from the staff of Bridgend County Borough Council has been absolutely remarkable.

 

They have adapted, innovated and persevered under the most difficult of circumstances, and have ensured that this authority has been able to continue to deliver essential services to the people of the county borough.

 

I am certain that members from all parties will want to join me in recognising their efforts, and in offering council staff our sincere gratitude and respect.

 

Secondly, the pandemic has brought together a wide range of organisations and agencies who have worked together to achieve a common aim across our schools and communities.

 

This has included such achievements as setting up six emergency childcare hubs overnight, making sure that more than five-thousand children did not go hungry, turning a council depot into a temporary ambulance station within a few days, setting up Abergarw Manor as a temporary step-down facility for people leaving hospital, and providing 2,300 businesses with more than £28 million in much-needed financial support.

 

We have worked alongside the brilliant BAVO and amazing community groups to support thousands of vulnerable people who were shielding, and set up a viable, locally-managed track, trace and protect system in just two weeks.

 

As challenging, as hard, and in many cases as tragic as the pandemic has been, it has brought out the very best in people, and it is this aspect, above all, which has served as an inspirational reminder of why we are here.

 

Of course, we have also faced the biggest blow of losing the Ford Engine Plant the loss of 1,700 jobs and the loss of more than £250 million per year from the local economy.

 

I previously told the Welsh Affairs Select Committee at the House of Commons that urgent investment and rapid action is vital to protect the county borough's communities and local economy, and this remains the case.

 

We have worked alongside taskforce partners such as Welsh Government and the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal to offer support to all affected workers and to see what fresh investment can be brought into the area, and we are continuing to do so.

 

It is encouraging to see that most of the Ford workers have taken advantage of opportunities for retraining and developing new skills, and that more than 360 of them have found new employment while a further 230 have opted to retire.

 

However, the fact remains that for more than four decades, Ford was an anchor company and one of the powerhouses of the local economy.

 

This is why it is more important than ever to maximise the future opportunities posed by the City Deal, and for UK Government and Welsh Government to work tirelessly alongside us to bring in new investment, businesses and jobs.

 

This is of course in addition to supporting those that are already here, and ensuring that opportunities remain available for our future generations.

 

In this respect, this council remains firmly focused upon generating future growth and prosperity, and we invite all businesses to come and see what the area has to offer.

 

Despite the impact of the pandemic and the closure of the Ford Engine Plant, this council has also delivered a number of services and facilities that we should feel rightly proud of.

 

As part of our modernisation programme of services for older people, and in partnership with Linc Cymru, we have opened two new extra care facilities at Ty Ynysawdre and Ty Llwynderw in Maesteg.

 

You only have to visit these facilities to see their worth and the positive change that they are making in the lives of older residents.

 

Ensuring that people can live independently with their partners, in their own apartments, where they can receive the support they need, lies at the heart of our vision for the future of social care and housing across the county borough.

 

When issues arose around the Ty Cwm Ogwr residential care home in Lewistown, this council took swift and decisive action to ensure that the home remained open, and residents could continue to benefit from high quality care.

 

Similarly, we have built upon the success of re-modelling our children’s homes in Bridgend and Porthcawl to progress new plans for a children’s residential facility on the former site of the Brynmenyn School.

 

This is a key initiative as it will enable us to bring some of our most vulnerable ‘out of county’ children home within an in-house setting.

 

We have also continued to deliver significant developments in education.

 

Band A of our flagship 21st Century School Modernisation Programme has already provided state of the art new facilities in areas such as Pencoed, Bettws, Coety and Brynmenyn.

 

Now we have confirmed our commitment towards Band B of the initiative, and are set to build upon this success by investing more than £68 million into further improvements.

 

This includes exciting plans for English and Welsh medium provision in the west of the Borough Cornelly, developing a new special replacement school for children with complex needs, and much more.

 

The council also continues to be one of the leading authorities in Wales when it comes to areas such as recycling waste and diverting it away from landfill.

 

While our plastic recycling rates have been independently deemed the best in the country and the second-highest in the UK, we remain ambitious, and have plans in place for providing a new, modern household recycling centre at Pyle which will replace the ageing facility at Tythegston.

 

Elsewhere, we are also delivering on pioneering proposals for slashing carbon emissions, and with the UK’s first ever large-scale minewater scheme at Caerau and a district heat network in Bridgend town centre all making headway, it is easy to see how the county borough is considered to be at the forefront heart of the UK’s future energy revolution programme.

 

Whether it is projects such as these, delivering multi-million pound investments in cycling and walking routes or establishing energy efficient new buildings, our commitment towards reducing the county borough’s carbon footprint is resulting in real action, as evidenced by our £3 million project to provide new walking and cycling routes in Pencoed and Bridgend.

 

We have committed to a record investment of more than £5 million into re-surfacing carriageways and footways across Bridgend County Borough, and have ring-fenced another £2 million for further public realm improvements.

 

The council continues to invest in our green spaces, and secured £400,000 through the Valleys Taskforce for investment in the Parc Slip Nature Reserve. We also secured additional investment of £500,000 for Bryngarw Country Park so that conservation work can be carried out along with a community orchard, tree planting, a wildlife garden, a rain garden, new ponds, new educational buildings, and more.  

 

This council has long maintained a commitment to promoting the Welsh language, and we are delivering on this by developing four new Welsh medium childcare centres in Bridgend, Porthcawl and the Ogmore and Garw valleys.

 

These will enable more families to take advantage of free childcare for working parents.

 

Our plans for the first centre, which will be established at Blackmill, are already underway.

 

Childcare is, of course, vital to ensuring that people can work and access training.

 

On that note, our employability programme has been recognised as the most successful in South Wales, and is continuing to help hundreds of people who are jobless or facing unemployment.

 

The Cardiff Capital Region City Deal is playing its part in this with a programme for graduate placements which is benefitting local students and firms.

 

The council is also embracing the programme, and is currently completing the latest round of recruiting new apprentices across a wide number of business areas.

 

Our regeneration projects are continuing to make progress, with further exciting developments at Porthcawl as we look towards Salt Lake, and the multi-million pound investment in renewed coastal defences and the Eastern Promenade.

 

Regeneration is also progressing in Maesteg, where work is underway at the iconic town hall to secure its place at the heart of the valley for generations to come, and Bridgend town centre, where we are preparing to unveil an all-new masterplan template to deliver new prosperity.

 

As a manufacturing-intensive location, the county borough has been officially acknowledged by the UK Competitiveness Index as being the seventh most competitive part of Wales.

 

With the second-busiest train station in the City Deal region, we are an area which serves as an important link in the national transport network, both for businesses and for people who need to travel to work or to access training.

 

Thanks to a £5 million investment from the Metro Plus programme, plans are underway for an expansion of Pyle railway station and the park and ride which will enhance links with Village Farm Industrial Estate.

 

Elsewhere, a new railway station is being constructed in Brackla, at Pencoed will infrastructure to enable the closure of the level crossing, and improved transport links between Maesteg, Bridgend, Porthcawl and Cardiff are set to include an all-new transport terminus in Porthcawl.

 

With projects such as these and many more being planned in play, this council is continuing to invest in new infrastructure for the county borough even as we look towards capitalising upon future developments throughout the region, and delivering high-quality services and facilities for the people we serve.

 

Before I finish, I would like to make some announcements regarding changes in the senior management of the council.

 

First of all, Janine Nightingale recently joined us as our new Corporate Director of Communities.

 

With more than two decades experience as a senior manager in local government, Janine is a qualified planner who has previously worked at Cardiff Council at chief officer level.

 

Janine was most recently the Head of Capital Projects in Economic Development, where she was responsible for providing strategic direction and leading on Cardiff’s £300m capital programme.

 

As a very proud daughter of Maesteg Janine is as passionate about progressing regeneration of our communities as we all are. 

 

Following the retirement of Sue Cooper, Claire Marchant is also taking over as the new Corporate Director for Social Services and Well-Being.

 

Claire has been the Director of Social Services in Cardiff for the past two years, and brings more than 20 years of senior level experience across Welsh public services to the role.

 

Having made Porthcawl her home and the place where she is raising her family Claire is as committed to protecting our most vulnerable citizens and the continued improvement and re-modelling of social services as we all are.

 

I am sure that members will join me in welcoming them both to Bridgend County Borough Council.

 

In my role as Leader, I am of course ably backed by my Cabinet colleagues.

 

I am very grateful for their support, and would like to acknowledge their ongoing commitment.

 

I can announce today that for the year ahead, there will be one change to the Cabinet team.

 

Councillor Philip White will be retiring from the position of Cabinet Member for and Councillor Nicole Burnett will be the new Cabinet Member for Social Services and Early Help.

 

In fulfilling this position over the last few years, Councillor White has offered tireless service.

 

He has also acted as a passionate champion for the rights of carers, older people, and children and young people.

 

Councillor White is retiring from Cabinet but for Council, he will continue to be a very active representative for his community of Caerau, for example as Chair of Nantyffyllon Primary School Governing Body. 

 

Councillor Burnett has demonstrated similar dedication and commitment, and I have no doubt whatsoever that she will ably fulfil the requirements of this important role shares that passion and commitment.

 

I am grateful that Councillor Burnett has accepted this position, and together with my Cabinet colleagues, I would like to extend a warm welcome to her, and to offer our sincere thanks to Councillor White for the invaluable contribution that he has made.

 

As I am not proposing to make any further changes to the current Cabinet portfolio, I would like to finish by taking this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the Deputy Leader, Councillors Patel, Smith and Young for their ongoing and much-valued support.

 

It is, as always, greatly valued.

 

I would also like to add my personal thanks to all members for their support during this time of a global health crisis. There are some political differences but as we face a long hard difficult winter. These differences are secondary to the overriding objective that we all share to protect the residents from the Covid-19 virus as best we can. I know we will want to continue to work as one council to support and protect our citizens.” 

 

The Deputy Leader and each of the Cabinet Members in turn, paid their own personal tribute to Councillor PJ White for the commitment, support and dedication he had shown as Cabinet Member for the portfolio of Social Services and Early Help.

 

Councillor White replied by confirming that he had enjoyed this role immensely and whilst he had thought long and hard about standing down as Cabinet Member, he felt that to be the right choice at this moment in time. He thanked the Leader and Cabinet Members for their kind words and for the support that they and other County Borough Members had given him also, since he had been a member of the Executive.