(i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

The Mayor

The Mayor announced that after a short break with her consort she had returned to a busy couple of weeks and with the warmer weather they had a lovely time at various community events and openings.  On Saturday 24^th June they attended the Brackla Funday and flower show and it was great to have seen so many people there enjoying the attractions and supporting their local community.

The Mayor stated that anyone who knew her, knew what a great animal lover she was and on Sunday therefore, she was pleased to be asked to open the Dogs Trust Bridgend funday in the grounds of Pencoed College. This was the biggest event in the re-homing centre’s calendar and drew thousands to watch the dog show. She and her consort were honoured to be asked to judge the first class in this event, although choosing was always going to be difficult for her as she thought that they all deserved to win.

The first event in support of her charity fundraising was held last week and she wished to thank all who attended and showed their support.  Events would be happening throughout the year and dates would be put into calendars so that Members were aware of the dates.  Details of her charities were still being finalised and she advised she would let Members know as soon as they were confirmed.

The Mayor recently attended an event with the Lord Lieutenant to present an MBE award to Mr. Dennis Jones.  Mr. Jones is 91 and for the last 25 years has been a volunteer with the Citizens Advice Bureau.  His dedication and hard work is truly inspiring and it was great to celebrate his achievements with his colleagues, friends and family. 

On a more sombre note, the Mayor referred to the dreadful events in Kensington where people lost their lives and scores of families lost their homes and in the Grenfell fire.  She stated that all our thoughts were obviously with those affected and our gratitude with the emergency services particularly the fire service who risked their own lives in saving others. In remembrance of all the people who were affected by the shocking event she asked all present to observe one minute’s silence.

A one minutes silence was observed by all present.

The Deputy Leader

The Deputy Leader announced that hundreds of local high street retailers could benefit from reduced rates bills as part of the Welsh Government’s High Street Rates Relief Scheme.  Eligible retailers will receive up to £1,500 off their non-domestic rates bill if they have a rateable value of £50,000 or less in the 2017-18 financial year.  In Bridgend County Borough, it is estimated that 449 ratepayers fit the criteria and could potentially benefit from the scheme, which he added, will also be offered in conjunction with the Small Business Rates Relief and Transitional Relief initiatives.

Members will be aware that many businesses have expressed concern about increases in non-domestic rates as a result of the Valuation Office Agency’s recent revaluation, and this scheme was announced by the Welsh Government earlier this year to support affected small and medium sized businesses.  He added that whilst the council does not have discretion over any elements of the scheme, we are pleased to be able to adopt and implement it in order to support local traders.

The Deputy Leader also mentioned a number of new developments that were about to come to fruition in the county borough, all of which had been set up with support from the council.  In Porthcawl, the Jennings Building was gearing up for its grand opening, and he believed the first of the businesses to locate there – Coffi Co – had already opened ahead of schedule.   The landmark building had been brought back into using funding that included townscape heritage funding, and was sure to be a big success.

THI funding had also played a prominent role in the complete refurbishment of the Victoria Inn. The former Bridgend town centre pub in Adare Street was set to reopen in July as the Corvo Lounge, a family friendly café bar.

The adjoining property at 7 Adare Street had also been restored along with two of the former Elder Street cottages using grant funding.

These latest developments will mean that over the last 10 years, more than £1.5 million has been invested in restoring town centre buildings to their former glory and bringing them back into use.

Together with new ventures that range from a food store to a dessert bar, this is excellent news for the town centre, and a sure sign of how the THI scheme is continuing to benefit local communities.

The Cabinet Member Communities

The Cabinet Member Communities was very pleased to confirm that two hours of free car parking was set to be offered at the Rhiw multi-storey later in the summer as part of a pilot scheme that will test the effect of free parking on the town centre.  The scheme was being funded using money set aside by the Welsh Government for the current financial year, and was available up until spring 2018.  He added that the pilot scheme will enable local authorities to trial different forms of free parking arrangements in order to see how much of an impact they may have in attracting shoppers back onto our high streets.  With its modern ‘pay on foot’ facilities, it will be relatively straight-forward to make the necessary changes for the pilot scheme to go ahead, and I am sure that members will all be eagerly watching the results.

The Cabinet Member Communities advised members that as part of Community Energy Fortnight, a new information session and exhibition had been arranged on the Caerau Minewater Heat Project.  He advised that it would take place between 12.30pm-3pm on Tuesday 11 July at St Cynfelyn’s Church Hall on Cymmer Road and would give people a chance to find out what progress has been made on the scheme and ask further questions about how it could benefit local communities.

Heat networks were believed to have the potential to supply heat for between 14 per cent and 43 per cent of all UK buildings by 2050, and the council is also exploring two further potential heat network schemes, this time in the Bridgend town centre area.  He stated that he would bring members more details as it develops further.

The Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and Future Generations

The Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and Future Generations stated that she was sure that members will have noted the recent report from the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales which confirmed that the Authority takes prompt action to keep children safe from harm.  She stated that Bridgend was one of the first authorities to be inspected under the new framework, and the inspection coincided with the Councils efforts to implement the requirements of the Social Services and Well-Being Act 2014.

She added that it helped to identify ways in which we can improve the quality of our assessments, threshold screening and care and support planning.   With a significant improvement programme already underway, the inspectors were pleased to note that senior managers are committed towards achieving further improvements in the provision of help and protection for children and families. They also found that the directorate is working hard to transform services, and that senior managers have already taken steps to look at the impact of services on reducing need and risk.

She informed Members that an improvement action plan has been produced to take account of the report’s recommendations, and she was really pleased to see that inspectors have highlighted the council’s high performance in safeguarding children.

The Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and Future Generations wished to thank everyone who helped make Carers Week 2017 such a success and who helped organise the various events and information stalls that visited different parts of the county borough.

She added that according to the last census, almost 18,000 local residents act as unpaid carers for relatives, friends, partners or neighbours within the area, and the week was marked with a call to establish more carer-friendly communities.

She informed Members that this is where employers and local service providers can work together to remove some of the obstacles that carers might face in their daily lives. The daily pressures that a carer can face often remain hidden from public view, so by raising awareness of carers’ issues, signposting people towards the most appropriate support and information, and encouraging the establishment of carer-friendly communities, we can help take some of that pressure away, and make their lives a little easier.

Chief Executive Announcements

The Chief Executive announced that at the last meeting of Council he advised members that the UK Government had set the national threat level at ‘severe’. He explained that this generally meant that further incidents are highly likely, and that we should all remain alert and vigilant.   He added that the cautionary measures that were added to the council’s existing procedures remained in place and, as before, staff and members were advised to report anything that caused concern or raised suspicion to a line manager and South Wales Police by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency.  He advised that at the same time, we were sending the message that we should get on with the business at hand while remaining alert in and around council premises.

The Chief Executive stated that Members who enjoyed using social media may be interested to know that the council’s first Instagram account was launched recently.  It gave residents a new, visual option for keeping in touch with the council, and for being up-to-date with the latest council news, developments and events.   To date, the Council’s Twitter and Facebook accounts have around 17,000 followers and this number was growing every day, and the Instagram account would support this while specifically helping the authority to engage with younger people and visitors to the county borough.  He advised Members that If they would like to follow the council on Instagram, they could find us under the name ‘Bridgend CBC’.

Finally, he stated that members may be interested to know that the Urdd Eisteddfod at Bridgend College's Pencoed Campus was a big success.  This was a massive event which called for the laying of 60 miles of cables, 2,500 trackways and a five-week construction period requiring more than 150 workers.  Not far off 90,000 people visited the Urdd throughout the week, and organisers revealed that 15,000 competed in the various competitions, including more than 4,000 children who took part in sporting activities alone.   He added that the council exhibited at the event alongside Halo and Awen, and were able to showcase the county borough to scores of visitors. The Chief Executive stated that he also volunteered at the event, so he saw for himself the reaction of visitors and all in all we received some excellent feedback, and the event provided some highly positive for the county borough.

Corporate Director Operation and Partnership Services

The Corporate Director Operation and Partnership Services announced a change in membership on Subject Overview and Scrutiny Committee 3 in that Councillor K Watts would come off the membership and Councillor K Williams would go on.