To consider
any questions the appropriate notice for which have been given under Section
4.19 of the Constitution.
Minutes:
(The Cabinet Members' written responses to the questions had been
distributed to the members in advance).
(1) Question from Councillor Sion Jones
"Has
the Planning Department got reserves when implementing a commuted sum for
developers?"
Response from the Cabinet Member for
Planning, Councillor Dafydd Meurig
"Briefly, these are contributions from
developers in relation to major developments where there is a contribution
towards local improvements. For example,
there is a £1.2m contribution from the Redrow company related to a large housing
estate in Bangor and most of this will go towards education in the city.
Therefore, to answer the question, I believe that approximately £1.95m of
contributions in total have been received in recent years, including the Redrow
money. Subsequently, some of the money
has not been spent yet, but this has been earmarked and it will be spent
appropriately and the entire system, of course, is managed by 106
agreements."
A Supplementary
Question by Councillor Sion Jones
"Does the Member agree with me that the Local Development Plan is an
opportunity to set more commuted sums on developments in order to give
something back to communities across Gwynedd?"
Response from the
Cabinet Member for Planning, Councillor Dafydd Meurig
"It is not possible to use these sums for anything except something
that is related to planning applications.That is their purpose and this is what
manages the system here and I'm sure that the planning system takes complete
advantage of this money within what is allowed."
(2) Question from Councillor Cai Larsen
"With the transfer of Gwynedd Leisure Centres to a Limited Company
in the Autumn, has there been any progress with the work of setting up the
Company?"
Response from the Cabinet Member for Housing,
Leisure and Culture, Councillor Craig ab Iago
"As you can see, everything has gone well,
therefore, it is very pleasing to stand before everyone today with a very
positive report.The company has been registered, a Shadow Board is in place and
is operational and we are currently undergoing the TUPE process with staff. Again, this consultation is very positive and
the union has been part of the process from the offset. They support it, the staff support it and
also all staff have been part of the process to design the business plans. We are learning a lot and their opinion will
be part of how the plan will be run. It
has been fantastic. The only thing I am
concerned about is the timescale, it is tight, there is a lot of work - I don't
think the staff will have summer holidays.
I'm very happy to answer questions, if you have any, after the
meeting."
(3) Question from Councillor Alwyn Gruffydd
"How much of
Gwynedd Council's resources, in officer time and cash, have been contributed
and will be contributed in the future towards establishing the North Wales
Growth Bid and its viability?"
Response by the Leader, Councillor Dyfrig
Siencyn
"Every council in north Wales has agreed to
contribute £50,000 towards the work of setting up an office for the programme
in due course, and the two further education colleges and two higher education
establishments are also contributing £25,000 each towards that work. I would venture to say that it is very
difficult to measure in hours or in money how much I have invested in it. I have committed to our partners in north
Wales that I am willing to represent them in the different discussions that we
hold. As it happens, I was in London
yesterday having a discussion with the relevant minister. Also, of course, staff from all councils have
contributed to the background work here.Our Treasurer has contributed towards
work on the finance side and our Monitoring Officer has been part of drawing
out the governance agreement, which is on the agenda today. Therefore, substantial work is taking place
and each council, in turn, contributes towards the work, but we are currently
taking a leading role and I believe that this is important."
A Supplementary Question from Councillor
Alwyn Gruffydd
"In light of the
fact that a quarter of the Head of Economy and Community Department's time is
spent on this work and half of the Corporate Director's work, who is doing
their work in their absence?"
Response by the Leader, Councillor Dyfrig
Siencyn
"We have an
economic regeneration service, and we have had a meeting with the Chief
Executive, for example, to ensure that we are capable of enabling our Director
to undertake this work, and this is important work that could bring in
substantial benefit to this Council in future.
I think the investment is worth it.
If you believe otherwise, fine, but that is my opinion. I believe it is important that we commit as
much as we can so that we can say that this bid is a success for the benefit
of, not only Gwynedd residents, but all residents in north Wales. This is part of all our responsibility and it
is also part, of course, of the day to day work of our officers, our economy
service and also our Directors".