(i) Mayor (or person presiding)
(ii) Members of the Cabinet
(iii) Chief Executive
Minutes:
Mayor
The Mayor confirmed that he had the pleasure of hosting the annual Mayor’s citizenship awards in March where he presented 24 awards to a diverse range of both individuals and groups. It was heartening to hear about the good work that was happening in our community encompassing all age groups and areas of the Borough. He had already visited two of the winners to witness first hand what they do and was planning to visit as many as possible before the end of his Mayoral term. He thanked all those who had submitted nominations for the awards.
On a more sober note, after the tragic events in Belgium on the 22 March, the Mayor confirmed that he had written to the Belgium Ambassador in his capacity as Mayor, to express on behalf of everyone across the County Borough of Bridgend, our collective and sincere sympathy on the dreadful events that had taken place there. He had received a letter of reply which thanks the citizens of Bridgend warmly for their expression of solidarity and appreciation of our continued support. He would arrange for a copy of this to be placed in the Members’ room for anyone who wishes to read the full response.
Continuing with his theme of faith, The Mayor Advised that he and his Consort had attended a Passover interfaith event at Cardiff United Synagogue. It was very interesting to have the opportunity to learn about this important annual Jewish festival, its history, religious significance and its position in the Jewish way of life. He had also been invited to attend a multi-faith event at Tondu Mosque next week, and looked forward to meeting with representatives of the different faiths.
The Mayor announced that he wished to invite those present to his last two big charity events. The Mayor’s Annual Charity Gala would this year take place in the Heronston Best Western Hotel on Saturday 23rd April. Master of Ceremonies is Lee Jukes and there will be entertainment and dancing from the Phil Dando Band. The Charity Golf Tournament at the beginning of May would be hosted at Pyle and Kenfig Golf Club. This was an 18 hole event with team prizes and an evening meal. Tickets and further information for both can be obtained from Mari Major or Councillor Marlene Thomas the Mayor concluded.
Deputy Leader
The Deputy Leader stated that Members may have seen recent news reports from Scotland where 17 schools built under the Public Finance Initiative had to be evacuated after severe structural defects were detected.
All of the affected schools had been built by the same company. As our own Maesteg Comprehensive is a PFI school, we have checked with our PFI provider, Amber Infrastructure, and he was happy to confirm that they have reassured the Authority that it was not constructed by the same company. He hoped this re-assured Members. Amber Infrastructure would be writing to all local authorities to confirm this very soon.
The new home for Ysgol Bryn Castell and The Bridge Alternative Provision was officially opened recently at the site of the former Ogmore Comprehensive School. The old school had been completely remodelled and transformed to create the new ‘Bryncethin Campus’, which supports children aged up to 19-years-old who have emotional, behavioural and social difficulties, and could not be educated in their mainstream local schools. This was the latest project to be delivered through the Council’s ongoing 21st Century school modernisation programme, and the Bryncethin Campus represented a different sort of achievement, in that we have taken a former comprehensive school and have completely remodelled it. As well as enabling us to provide valuable places at key stages two, three and four, it offers further additional capacity for our post-16 provision, and provided a first-rate facility for pupils who would have formerly attended the old PRU at Aberkenfig, and YBC at Cefn Glas, which he thought it was fair to say, were tired and no longer fit for purpose. As these vulnerable pupils live all throughout the County Borough, the site is also conveniently central, easily accessible and has room to spare for housing all of the support services necessary for giving children the very best start in life. The Deputy Leader confirmed that he wished to offer his sincere thanks to everyone who had played a part in helping to deliver the Bryncethin Campus, from the project team who put it together to the teachers and pupils themselves, especially the pupils who took part in the ceremony, and to hear them speak about the progress they have made. Their contributions were both moving and inspirational he concluded.
Cabinet Member Communities
The Cabinet Member Communities announced that he was sure that Members are familiar with Newbridge Fields. With its prominent location, sports facilities, green open space and scenic river route, it was one of the County Borough’s most popular spots for people to visit and enjoy.
He confirmed that the Council had recently carried out some work to install a new tarmac footpath so that even more people will be able to access the fields.
The path has been designed for people with limited mobility and wheelchair users. It means that the existing path running from Bridgend Life Centre to the cricket pavilion has been extended further so that it joins up with the lane that runs from Bowham Avenue to the fields.
This was one of the suggestions that the Council received during last year’s ‘Shaping Bridgend’s Future’ consultation and he was really pleased that we had been able to implement it.
The new path will also be of benefit for dog walkers and other users during wet weather he added.
In addition to this, the
Council was also improving access at other green spaces around the
County Borough, including Maesteg Welfare Park, Tremains Wood and
Craig Y Parcau, as well as Wilderness Lake in Porthcawl, which we
have carried out in partnership with Porthcawl Town
Council.
He also wished to inform Council, that during 2015/16 Bridgend County Borough Council was successful in securing more than £4.4m of Social Housing Grant from the Welsh Government.
This figure represented nearly three times the amount of £1.5m that was originally allocated to the Council, and would allow the development of over 70 units of new affordable accommodation in the County Borough. He looked forward to bringing Members more news on this as it developed further.
Cabinet Member Children’s Social Services and Equalities
The Cabinet Member Children’s Social Services and Equalities confirmed that the announcements below also included those of the Cabinet Member Adult Social Care and Health and Wellbeing, as he had given apologies for absence for today’s meeting.
The way in which vulnerable people receive care and support changed earlier this month with the launch of the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act. Designed to give people a greater say in how their care and support is assessed and delivered by local providers, the Act was radically transforming the way in which sustainable services meet the needs of individuals.
She added that It focused on earlier intervention, increasing preventative services within the community and helping people to maintain their independence. As well as providing a framework that enables people to get the help they need before their situation becomes critical, it also helps to deliver improved outcomes by promoting greater integration between health and social care services.
This was a landmark development in social care and wellbeing as it gives people a stronger voice and real control over the support they need to remove barriers to their wellbeing.
The Cabinet Member Children’s Social Services and Equalities advised that people who are already receiving care and support will take part in the new process on their next scheduled review date, and it will be automatically applied to all new applications. In the meantime, a website has been set up at www.gov.wales/careandsupport which offers full details about the new Act and what impact it will have on carers, young carers, children and young people, older residents and disabled people.
She then confirmed that plans were underway to develop two new Extra Care schemes at the former comprehensive school sites of Maesteg Lower and Archbishop McGrath in Ynysawdre. In partnership with Linc Cymru Housing Association, the project would create a total of 45 new Extra Care units with 20 located at Maesteg and 25 at Ynysawdre. The schemes had been developed as part of the Council’s ongoing plans for modernising residential care services, and would offer a residential care option to our existing residents for as long as required.
The Cabinet Member Children’s Social Services pointed out that people in Bridgend County Borough want alternatives to traditional residential care, and we also want to create more sustainable care models to respond to projected increases in demand for care services.
Extra Care remains the future of care throughout the UK, and she assured that work with staff, service users and their families would continue, in order to ensure a smooth transition into the new facilities once they have been completed.
A Member thanked the Cabinet and the Corporate Director Resources for the recent adaptations that had been undertaken in respect of widening the doors and providing door control opening devices on Level 1 to and from the Council Suite and the Members lounge, which assisted greatly individuals with a disability.
Cabinet Member Resources
The Cabinet Member Resources advised Members that the next pre-Council presentation will now take place in June and is scheduled to be on the subject of the Central South Consortium.
On 25th April, there will be a further member development session on Carbon Reduction. He encouraged as many elected Members as possible to attend this session, as it would focus on the Council’s Energy and Carbon Management Plan and it’s key priorities and strategies.
The plan contributes towards the Climate Change section of the Welsh Government Environment (Wales) Bill, positioning Wales as a low carbon, green economy.
Finally, Members will by now have received their annual related party transactions form in their pigeon hole plus guidance on its completion.
He asked Members if these could be completed and returned to the Officer indicated by the 18th April.
Cabinet Member Regeneration and Economic Development
The Cabinet Member Regeneration and Economic Development, confirmed that the County Borough would host a prestigious sports event between 16th and 17th April with the arrival of the Welsh leg of the British Longboard Surf Competition. This UK wide event attracts the top longboard surfers who battle it out over a series of five events staged throughout the year at venues such as Rest Bay, Newquay, Woolacombe, Perenporth and Jersey. The Council had worked with Porthcawl Surf School to help deliver this locally, and you could expect to see the likes of Ben Skinner, currently ranked third-best in the world, past European champion Elliot Dudley and the current British number two, Sam Bleakley, all competing in Porthcawl. The event was being used as a training platform for Welsh Surf judges and will coincide with a super beach clean-up by the likes of Keep Wales Tidy, the Marine Conservation Society and the SAS – Surfers Against Sewage. He hoped Members would agree that this is something of a coup and he looked forward to the event’s success.
Work had also started on the new 4KM cycle route that was being created along Porthcawl seafront to ensure that it is ready in time for the summer holidays.
The route will incorporate a number of improvements so that users can continue to cycle from Rest Bay and Mallard Way all the way down to Trecco Bay.
Work had started on West Drive, and the scheme will improve conditions for cyclists and walkers by widening footways, installing new kerbs and signage, improving drainage, and will also involve some resurfacing.
The route was being used to encourage active travel to and from work or school as well as for leisure purposes, and will feature convenient bike racks as well as facilities where bikes can be hired in a fashion similar to the famous ‘Boris Bikes’ system in London. The project was being delivered with the Bridgend Tourism Association and funding had been awarded from the Coastal Communities Fund for the work, so he was delighted to see things ‘moving up a gear’.
Finally, the Cabinet Member Regeneration and Economic Development thanked Hugh Murray, proprietor of Porthcawl Surf School and Director of Bridgend Tourist Association for his part in promoting the provision of 2 new replica surfer benches along the Esplanade, Porthcawl. He felt that these had been uniquely designed in that one of these was facing the coast and the other was facing inland (the selfy bench).
A Member confirmed that he was delighted with the provision of the cycle track as mentioned above, as was the Porthcawl Town Council he added.
Chief Executive
The Chief Executive announced that preparations for next month’s Welsh Assembly, Ogmore Parliamentary and Police and Crime Commissioner elections were underway. As local people will be asked to complete up to four ballot papers depending on where they live, it is important that residents familiarise themselves with what to expect, as this was somewhat complicated due to there being two Elections.
To help keep local people informed, BCBC are issuing regular messages and updates to the media, via its website and through social media also. A prominent part of this, incorporated a series of short promotional films that were being made in-house, to coincide with key developments in the electoral process.
The first of these short films had already been completed and issued, and focused on the issuing of poll cards to local households. There will be another shortly which would explain how to complete and submit postal votes. A third film was also being planned, to look at what people can expect to find at polling stations on election day.
As Members knew, there were a couple of important dates that people should be aware of. The deadline for voter registration was Monday 18 April, while the deadline for submitting a postal vote application form is Tuesday 19 April. The deadline to apply to vote by proxy is Tuesday 26 April.
Further details could be found on the ‘Elections’ pages at www.bridgend.gov.uk along with some short films, which will also be hosted at You Tube and shared via Facebook and Twitter.
Our website also features full details of all candidates as well as information about the election for a Police and Crime Commissioner, so he hoped that Members would encourage their constituents to visit the site and find out more.
The Chief Executive also wished to update Members on the Cardiff Capital Region Deal. The signing of the heads of terms agreement on 15th March marked the end of the first phase of work, and it was worth noting that due to the efforts of all concerned, we managed to get to the end of this phase quicker than has been achieved in any city deal across the UK.
The heads of terms agreement set out the partnership between the 10 Councils, UK Government and Welsh Government.
The UK and Welsh Government were each contributing £500 million to the fund, and the 10 local authorities will contribute £120m over the 20 year period of the fund. In addition, over £100m from the European Regional Development Fund has been committed to delivering the City Deal.
The Cardiff Capital Region believes that investments in these areas will deliver up to 25,000 new jobs and bring forward at least £4 billion of additional investment from local partners and the private sector by 2036.
Given the importance of the Metro to the UK Government, Welsh Government and Cardiff Capital Region, a proportion of the Investment Fund will be pre-allocated to the delivery of this scheme.
The heads of terms also sets out how we intend to explore issues such as the devolution of business rate income above an agreed growth baseline in order to provide funding for the City Deal programme, providing an ability to levy an infrastructure supplement, creating an option for local authorities to use alternative finance sources, and removing conditions set around some specific Welsh Government grants that will allow funding to be pooled at a regional level in areas such as school support or interventions that seek to address poverty.
With Phase One being concluded with the reaching a heads of terms agreement with both governments, now Phase Two is expected to run to the end of this calendar year and will involve concluding the detailed negotiations, establishing various governance arrangements and identifying and selecting projects. Phase Three is the delivery phase, and assuming that all parties agree the final terms of the deal as worked through in Phase Two, this is expected to begin in early 2017.
Our immediate priorities are to put a full-time dedicated team in place, ideally seconded from within the 10 authorities, and to develop proposals for a shadow Cabinet, an economic growth partnership, a regional transport authority, a regional business organisation and a growth and competitiveness commission.
The Chief Executive concluded his submission by stating that he would share with Members, further news on the City Deal as it developed.