(i) Mayor (or person presiding)
(ii) Members of the Cabinet
(iii) Chief Executive
Minutes:
Mayor
The Mayor announced that his Consort and himself were nearing the end of their visits to the winners of the Bridgend Business Forum Awards 2016. It had been a pleasure to pay a personal visit to the winners to congratulate them on their success and gain a better understanding of the types of businesses that operate in the county borough. They had met with some excellent, interesting and diverse people over the last few weeks who in different ways bring so much to our communities.
He added that they also had the honour of attending the inaugural Bridge FM Young Achiever Awards. This impressive event celebrated the young people from around the county borough and recognised their achievements in business, training, education, arts, music and voluntary work. It was heartening to meet so many young people who are actively making a positive contribution to our communities confirmed the Mayor.
Staying with the subject of youth achievements, the Mayor confirmed that he was asked to attend the Wildmill Youth Club presentation evening last week which highlighted the importance of giving recognition to the children, young people and families who attend the youth club. This youth club has gone from strength to strength in the past couple of years and he was pleased to be invited to present the certificates and trophies to these well deserving young people in order to give them some recognition for their participation, commitment and hard work.
As the Christmas season was getting near, the Mayor advised that he was delighted to announce that there will be a special performance of Jack and the Beanstalk in the Grand Pavilion Porthcawl with the proceeds going to his Charity Committee. It would be lovely to see Members (and Officers) there with their families he confirmed. Tickets could be purchased as usual via Mari Major he added.
To conclude, The Mayor knew it was early, but as this would be the last Council before the New Year, he took the opportunity to wish all those present a happy Christmas and a healthy New Year.
Deputy Leader
The Deputy Leader reminded members that there would be pre-Council briefings on Dementia Friendly Communities on 11th January and an update from Sustrans on 1st February.
In March 2017 it was hoped to have two pre-Council briefings, one on 1 March which will involve a progress update from the Welsh Community Care Information System, and another on 29 March that will be on the subject of ‘Dark Skies’. Both of these would be confirmed at a later date.
Members would also be aware that an internal audit report recommended that all members should complete a corporate parenting induction and relevant safeguarding training, plus annual refresher sessions.
To date, unfortunately only 19 members out of a total of 54 have completed the refresher training, so a third session has been arranged for Tuesday 13 December in the committee rooms. He encouraged those members who have not yet taken part to attend this session.
The Deputy Leader informed Members that there would also be a Member Workshop on 1 April 2017, that would explain to them the Council’s new Waste Collection Service.
Members may also be interested to know that four hundred more homes took part in the 2016 garden waste collection scheme than in 2015, and that we have doubled the amount of waste collected since the scheme was launched in 2013.
Just over 2,800 households used the fortnightly service which ran between April and October, and more than 468 tonnes of garden waste was collected and sent to be converted into compost fertiliser instead of being disposed of as landfill.
This is good news and a sure sign that the scheme is making steady progress he concluded.
Cabinet Member – Communities
The Cabinet Member – Communities was sure that members will be aware of the narrow escape that two separate households had in Caerau recently. It seems that a blocked chimney caused carbon dioxide to build up in one household and seep through into the adjoining property.
A tragic ending was avoided after a detector alarm went off, but nine people were still hospitalised, including three children under 12 years of age.
A media issue had been released making people aware of eight simple rules that will help them avoid falling victim to what has been called ‘the silent killer’.
Carbon monoxide can be produced by any fuel-burning appliance, so regular maintenance and proper ventilation is essential.
Symptoms included headaches, dizziness, breathlessness, nausea, tiredness and visual problems.
People might feel chest or stomach pain and act erratically before ultimately losing consciousness, and even low-level exposure to carbon monoxide over a long period of time can lead to significant health problems.
Warning signs that carbon monoxide is being released can include seeing yellow or orange flames instead of blue flames, finding soot or staining on or around appliances which is yellow or brown in colour, pilot lights that frequently blow out and increased condensation building up inside windows.
She hoped that members would help spread awareness about this potentially deadly issue, and will advise their constituents that more information is available online at websites such as the Welsh Government’s advice page on carbon monoxide.
The Cabinet Member – Communities also briefly mentioned Storm Angus, which caused widespread flooding up and down the UK and affected communities here in Bridgend County Borough.
The worst of the severe weather hit the county borough at around 2am on the morning of Sunday 20 November.
The council’s frontline staff worked alongside the likes of South Wales Fire and Rescue and South Wales Police to help keep residents safe from the heavy rainfall that overwhelmed local streams, rivers and culverts and caused damage to roads and homes.
The Council’s highways team distributed more than 3,500 sandbags during the height of the storm and worked flat-out to keep culverts clear from leaves, wood and debris.
Once it was over, street cleansing staff began clearing up the residue while our social services team supported vulnerable residents affected by the weather.
We also worked in partnership with town and community councils and other organisations as part of our response to Storm Angus so that skips were made available and affected householders could get easy access to civic amenity sites.
Offers of help were also received from groups that ranged from the players of Maesteg Celtic RFC to the Muslim Youth Association of Wales.
Without these efforts, the impact of the extreme weather would have been much, much worse, and I’m sure that members will want to acknowledge the efforts of council staff, the emergency services and everyone else who played a part in trying to limit the impact of the flooding throughout Bridgend County Borough.
A Member from Maesteg East in view of the ongoing financial constraints that local authorities have continually faced, asked for an assurance that this would not compromise front line services, to such a degree that it would impact on the Authority’s ability to protect its residents, and particularly to prevent repeat incidents of blocked culverts etc, which contributed to the flooding incidents. He asked the Cabinet Member – Communities if an assurance could be given to constituents, that should repeat incidents of flooding occur, then resources will be found to put in place preventative measures that will protect their homes from the possibility of further flooding.
The Cabinet Member – Communities advised that the Council would investigate the culverts in question which became blocked following bad weather, resulting in flooding having taken place in the location(s) referred to by the Member. If there was deemed to be any particular problems there that could be remedied with a view to alleviating and/or assisting in minimising future cases of flooding in these areas, then these would be pursued.
Cabinet Member – Equalities and Children’s Social Services
The Cabinet Member – Equalities and Children’s Social Services advised that the annual White Ribbon campaign to highlight domestic violence was underway in the county borough and was launched recently with a flag-raising event in Maesteg.
This global campaign spreads awareness and recognises that while women are disproportionately affected by domestic violence, it is not and has never been simply a ‘women’s issue.
Since the Assia Suite opened at the Civic Offices in October 2015, a total of 442 people have received help and support.
Of these, 10 were men and two were trans-gender, and the service helped more than 500 children who were living in situations where domestic violence was commonplace.
Men and boys have a crucial role to play in creating a culture where violence, abuse and harassment against women and girls is seen as unacceptable, and Bridgend County Borough Council remains committed to helping highlight this problem and providing support to our local residents.
The council’s Family Information Service has become the first local authority in Wales to receive the revised Families First Quality Award from the Family and Childcare Trust.
The free service offers parents access to a wide range of useful information that ranges from classes and groups for new mums and dads to childcare provision and summer activities.
She was really proud to see that the service had been rated so highly, and congratulated them on their success.
Cabinet Member – Regeneration and Economic Development
The Cabinet Member – Economic Development and Regeneration confirmed that he was happy to announce that ambitious plans are underway for designing and developing a new water sports centre at Rest Bay in Porthcawl.
The project was intended to provide new high-quality facilities for local people and visitors to the award-winning Blue Flag beach. It will also establish an iconic, contemporary attraction capable of supporting and developing sports and leisure activities in the area.
Funding was currently being sought for the project, and the centre forms part of an initiative to create a year-round, family-friendly local hub for water-based sports that will appeal to a broader audience of seasoned enthusiasts and beginners alike.
The proposals aim to make the most of Rest Bay’s unique setting and could include enhanced café and kiosk facilities as well as improved changing and public toilet amenities, to cater for sporting and non-sporting visitors.
In fact, the potential and quality of local water sports provision was highlighted recently when Porthcawl Surf School beat off 150 competitors to be named Best Surf School In Britain at the UK Pro Surf Tour Awards 2016. He congratulated Mr H Murray and his team for putting Porthcawl on the map
Visitors, tourists and holidaymakers spent more than £313m in the county borough last year. If funding can be secured, an all-new water sports centre at Rest Bay would also further consolidate Porthcawl’s growing visitor appeal and secure its potential as a coastal resort fit for the 21st century.
The Cabinet Member – Regeneration and Economic Development asked members to remind constituents that in the run-up to Christmas, free car parking will be available after 10am at council-run town centre car parks in Porthcawl and Bridgend on Saturdays throughout December.
In response to a members query, the Cabinet Member – Regeneration and Economic Development confirmed that some method of signage would be placed in car parks affected making it clear that free car parking was available at the times/dates in question.
With the all-new Rhiw multi-storey now open in Bridgend town centre and a range of Christmas events taking place in Porthcawl, Maesteg, Pencoed and Bridgend, this was a perfect opportunity to do a bit of festive shopping, support local trade and have a good time.
The Christmas parking and local events were currently being promoted across social media, on local radio and in the press, and more details were available on the council’s website he concluded.
Corporate Director - Communities
The Corporate Director - Communities advised Members of an issue on behalf of the Chief Executive.
The first is that on Tuesday 6th December, the Partnerships and Governance Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be receiving a presentation and holding a discussion on the Cardiff Capital City Deal.
Any Members who have an interest in the City Deal are encouraged to attend this event.
Discussions were progressing well between the 10 Leaders and with both the UK and Welsh Government, and it is anticipated that all Councils will be looking to enter into a joint working agreement in the New Year.
This will have the effect of formalising the Joint Cabinet that is currently in shadow form.
In doing so, it would allow Welsh Government to pass the first contribution of £10m from the UK Government along to the City Deal partners.
There was a lot of detail and further information behind this, and the Scrutiny Committee would no doubt ask questions of the Invitees in relation to this and other related issues.
If it looks like we will be ready to ask Council to agree to the joint working required to take the City Deal forward, the Authority were also proposing to hold an all-Member briefing in the New Year.
Further details on this will be forthcoming the Corporate Director Communities concluded.