(i) Mayor (or person presiding)
(ii) Members of the Cabinet
(iii) Chief Executive
Minutes:
The Mayor
The Mayor announced that she had now begun to visit the winners of the Bridgend Business Forum Awards 2017. She stated that 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. She informed Council that she had met with some excellent, interesting and diverse people over the last few weeks that in different ways bring so much to the communities of the County Borough.
The Mayor also announced that she had the pleasure of attending the Wyndham Boys and Girls Club presentation evening last Friday. This wonderful charity has been providing facilities and activities for young people for over 80 years. She stated that it had been a joy to listen to the achievements of the young people and meet the volunteers who give so much of their time to this invaluable local organisation.
The Mayor informed Council that she was also very impressed by the facilities that are provided at STEER – the Enterprise Academy, when she had visited for their launch last week. She informed Council that currently within their 37 acre site they have a community café, workshops, residential bunkhouse, volunteer hub, sensory garden, Men’s SHED, community allotments and woodlands for all to use. This is such a positive initiative and a great celebration of community spirit.
Finally, the Mayor announced that she had attended the Diwali festival in Cardiff last weekend and experienced at first-hand one of the many diverse cultures that are celebrated in Wales. Diwali is known as the Festival of Lights and it marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year. The festival represents the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. She informed Council that the children who took part in the music and dancing were a delight and their costumes were truly amazing. She stated that it had been a great privilege to have participated in this community celebration and share this experience with others.
Deputy Leader
The Deputy Leader informed Council of some new recycling information through which would be of interest to Members. In quarter one ‘waste flow’ statistics had highlighted an increased 63.81% recycling rate compared to 75.33% last year, while in quarter two, the recycling rate has increased from 57.08% last year to 73.45%. He stated that quarter two is the first complete quarter since the implementation of the two-bag rule, and this demonstrated that the County Borough should be comfortably ahead of the statutory 64% target and very well positioned indeed for the future 70% target.
The Deputy Leader drew Members’ attention to a forthcoming training and development session which had been arranged to provide more information on the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. The session will take place on 27 November 2017 at 4.00pm. He stated that details of other training topics and a schedule of pre-Council briefings could be found in the latest Bridgemembers newsletter.
He also informed Members that a Budget Consultation Workshop would be held on 9 November and he encouraged all Members to complete the online consultation.
Cabinet Member Communities
The Cabinet Member Communities informed Council that he had two good news announcements to make. Firstly, Members will recall his announcement at the last meeting of Council with regard to the Caerau Minewater Heat Project. He further announced that the project has been recognised at the Energy Impact Awards. He stated that the project had beaten competition from 80 other UK initiatives to win third place at the awards, which are organised by fuel poverty charity National Energy Action in partnership with British Gas. The awards recognise best practice among organisations whose energy work will benefit local vulnerable people, and he was really pleased that the Council’s efforts had been recognised with this award.
The Cabinet Member Communities reminded Members that the Council had previously been awarded a £2,500 grant for the project, which aims to create a heat network for local homes using water that has collected in old mine workings. He stated that test drilling has revealed that the void at the former Careau Colliery site is full of water to a depth of 230 metres. This meant that the project has the potential to warm more than a thousand homes. The next step is for the British Geological Survey to test the temperature, chemistry and volume of water that is available. He informed Members that the study will continue until the end of January next year, and a public exhibition is planned for the Spring which will reveal findings from the investigations. He will update Members further with more information as this exciting project develops.
The Cabinet Member Communities informed Members of further good news in that the Wilderness Lake in Porthcawl has been selected as one of the UK's top 10 green spaces in this year’s People’s Choice Green Flag Awards. He stated that a record-breaking number of voters took part to decide the nation’s favourite parks and open spaces this year, and together with Margam Park, the Wilderness Lake was one of only two green spaces in Wales to make an appearance in the nationwide awards. He informed members that originally part of an area known as the Wilderness Wetlands, the lake is adjacent to the village of Nottage, and was developed as part of the Porthcawl storm water flood prevention scheme in 1971. He stated that
the scenic Wilderness site comprises a large lake, which is surrounded by woodland and grassed areas, and includes a children’s play area and skate park. He informed Members that the 10 award winners are spread across England, Scotland and Wales, and include large and small sites, traditional parks to wild unusual spaces, run by councils, community groups and even university campuses. There were a record number of votes for the People’s Choice Awards, which were more than double the number received last year which indicated how much people’s favourite green spaces mean to them. He congratulated all the staff, who work so hard to maintain well-loved green spaces to such a high standard and also thanked the thousands who took the time to vote. He stated that parks matter, and this was further evidence of support for the efforts to protect and improve the Borough’s wonderful green spaces for future generations.
Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help
The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help was delighted to announce the launch of a new project which invites older residents to reminisce and discuss their sporting memories which has kicked off across the county borough to help tackle loneliness and social isolation. He stated that the ‘My Sporting Days’ project will be delivered in partnership with Awen Cultural Trust, and encourages local people to share their enjoyment of sport to spark memories, conversations and new friendships during weekly sessions in Bryncethin, Ogmore Vale and Nantymoel. He stated that research has found that for people to age well it was essential that they not only stay physically active, but that they remain socially and mentally active too. This project will help to do that and further details can be found in the latest Bridgemembers newsletter issued to Members today.
The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help announced that he along with the Leader, Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing and Head of Children’s Social Care had recently the Young Carers event, which is an event to celebrate the work and achievements of young carers. He thanked the Group Manager Sports and Physical Activity for his contribution in making the event such a success.
Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations
The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations informed Council that the Shared Regulatory Service has received some very good news after its Animal Health and Welfare team were nominated at the 2017 RSPCA awards. She was delighted to confirm that they received a silver award for the stray dog service, and a bronze award for the animal licensing service.
She stated that the success did not stop there, as the Shared Regulatory Service was also presented with the coveted RSPCA Innovator award by Lesley Griffiths, the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs.
This award recognised innovation in animal welfare improvements, and the winner is chosen by an independent panel of expert judges. The RSPCA recognised the Shared Regulatory Service for its development of pro-active engagement within the traveller community intended to educate, raise awareness, and improve the welfare conditions of dogs and horses. The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations felt sure that Members will agree that this is a very significant success for the shared service, and will want to join her in congratulating staff within the Shared Regulatory Service.
The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations also informed Members that Bridgend County Borough Council was successful in securing nearly £2m of Grant funding from the Welsh Government under the Innovative Housing Programme to invest in housing in the Bridgend County Borough area. This initiative is designed to increase the supply of affordable housing through the provision of innovative and alternative housing that addresses fuel poverty and carbon production issues and also assists local employment, skills and local industry via its construction. There are two schemes within Bridgend County Borough that have been successful, and will be developed by V2C. The first scheme is a Barnhaus project which will see the development of 4 low energy properties in Cornelly and the second provides 8 steel framed modular housing properties in Ynysawdre and Tondu, produced by Wernick, a locally based business in Kenfig. Further details on these schemes are available from the housing team.
The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations also announced that Members will note the recent positive press coverage on Wildmill, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the building of its first homes. She stated that when it was built, it was a ground breaking settlement, which used state of the art design to help residents feel both a sense of independence and community. V2C are currently carrying out a multi-million-pound improvement programme of the exterior of the homes and an exhibition is also being planned as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, which hopes to reignite the passion and pride within the estate. She requested Members to join her in offering their support to Councillors Burnett and Baldwin for
their work in raising the profile of this disadvantaged community.
Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration
The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration informed Council that he was delighted to join the Vice-Chair of the Bridgend Business Forum to welcome the forum’s 800th member company. He stated that the 800th membership of the Forum is a major milestone for the forum and is perhaps fitting that its newest member is a business which focuses on creativity and innovation. He informed Members that Frankly Materials Limited is located at Tondu Centre Enterprise and provides materials for special effects for film, television and theatre. The company has joined the forum at an exciting time as an executive group has been set up to help the organisation develop further.
The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration announced that 34 schools, colleges and training centres from all over Wales were recently recognised for their excellence by the regulator, Estyn and the Welsh Government. He stated that they had all achieved excellent ratings in areas which they were inspected in the academic year 2016-17. The awards were presented by Education Secretary, Kirsty Williams and Meilyr Rowlands, Chief Inspector of schools in Wales. The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration congratulated Brynitrion Comprehensive School and Ysgol Cynwyd Sant, which were the two schools from Bridgend chosen for this award.
The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration also announced that he was pleased to receive a letter from Matthew Hasler, a young entrepreneur at Maesteg Market on behalf of his fellow traders. Maesteg Market was nominated in the “farmers market of the year” category at the inaugural Welsh Independent Retail awards and last week the Market had won the award. He stated that this was fantastic news and a great way of promoting the market square which will be a focus of the regenerated town hall complex. He extended his congratulations to the market and he looked forward to it receiving further honours.
The Cabinet Member Education and Regeneration announced that local historian Natalie Murphy was currently hosting a collection of old photographs of Bridgend at Carnegie House this week and urged Members to call in to view this fascinating display.
Monitoring Officer
The Monitoring Officer informed Council that he had been notified by the Conservative Group of their intention to replace Councillor T Giffard with Councillor C Webster as a member of the Development Control Committee.