Agenda item
- Meeting of The Council, Thursday, 8th March, 2018 2.00 pm (Item 12.)
- View the background to item 12.
To submit
the report of the Council Leader
(attached).
Minutes:
Submitted - the Leader's report inviting the Council
to adopt the Gwynedd Council Plan 2017/23.
The officers were thanked for all their work in
preparing the report. An apology was expressed
that the Corporate Support Department's plan had been left out of the
Department's Plan due to an oversight. The members had received a separate copy
and the document would be incorporated in the final version of the Council Plan
that would be published. Some minor editorial errors would also need to be
amended, in addition to adding a paragraph stating that all matters in the plan
complied with the Council's Financial Strategy, although it could be impossible
to realise all priorities due to the financial context.
During the discussion the
following matters were raised:
·
It was noted that parents had received a text message from a primary
school Headteacher after 9am on two occasions
recently, saying that the school was closing as they had no gas, and asking
them to return to fetch their children. It was asked why the parents were not
being informed of situations like this earlier, as the school knew about the
gas problem before 9am. The Leader responded that this was a matter for the
Governors.
·
It was asked whether
the Derwen Team had plans to extend their criteria to ensure that every child
with disabilities in Gwynedd could take advantage of the specialist service
that they were offering. The Leader noted that he would forward the question to
the Team and the member would receive the answer directly.
·
It was asked how much
pressure the Council was putting on ensuring an adequate supply of rented
housing. The Leader responded that the housing matter was a fundamental
priority for him and that discussions had already taken place with housing
associations to move this on further. In identifying where there was a need and
what the need was, it would be possible to research how the Council could
assist the housing associations and he was eager to see buildings up and
let.
·
In response to an enquiry, the Leader noted that this plan was not only a
wish list, and that there were many more details available on the individual
plans than what was included in the document. It was an action plan and there
was development on details. It would be
developed regularly and would possibly change direction.
·
It was asked whether the Planning Department had been contacted regarding
Improvement Priority 4 - Ensure a greater supply of suitable housing available
to our residents. The Leader responded that the planning policy had been
discussed as a completely separate matter. Planning matters impacted matters
such as these, but the Council had no choice but to act within its policies.
The planning question had arisen in the discussions on economic growth and
planning touched upon everything. If the Council's planning policies were too
stringent, there was room to also review this and the Joint Planning Policy
Committee could look at them.
·
Concern was expressed
that local planning policies were often restricted by national policies which
was reflected in the decisions of the Planning Inspectorate.
·
The 'Children First' pilot scheme in the Maesgeirchen,
Bangor area was welcomed, and a desire was expressed to see the scheme being
rolled out to other deprived areas in Bangor such as the Maestryfan
Estate, Station Houses and Coed Mawr.
The Leader responded that he assumed that this plan was funded by the
Government and was therefore dependent on additional funding from Welsh Government,
but that he accepted the observation.
·
Disappointment was expressed that only 86 of the 245 houses approved in Penrhosgarnedd were affordable housing.
·
It was noted that the plan referred to what the individual departments
had achieved and a desire was expressed to see more of an emphasis on
collaboration between the departments.
·
In response to an
enquiry, the Leader confirmed that he had complete faith that remodelling the
Youth Service would give a better provision to meet the needs of young people of
the county, but it would be required to keep an eye on how it would be
implemented and what the outcome of the new arrangements would be.
·
In response to an enquiry, the Leader explained that he could not
guarantee that the Lloyd George Museum, Llanystumdwy
would be open forever, but he truly hoped that it would continue. It was more of a national responsibility than
this Council's responsibility only, and if the Council could offer any support
to ensure the future of the museum, it would do so. It was asked what progress
had been made in terms of seeking funding towards establishing the building as
a national museum. The Leader responded that he could come back with more
details on any steps that would be taken.
·
It was asked how taking
money away from the Young Farmers would improve support to children and young
people in the countryside. The Leader responded that the new system would
target more young people than were previously included. He added that the
Council had already extended their support for a year and would extend it for a
further nine months, and had also offered the Regeneration Service's support to
attempt to aid them with facing the cut.
RESOLVED to adopt the Gwynedd Council Plan 2018-2023.
Supporting documents:
- Council Plan 2018-23, item 12. PDF 124 KB
- Appendix 1 - Gwynedd Council Plan 2018-23, item 12. PDF 8 MB
- Appendix 2 - Equality Impact Assessment, item 12. PDF 273 KB