Wrthi'n llwytho
Ar 16 Tachwedd 2021 cyfarfu Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Torfaen.
Officers: Nigel Aurelius, Assistant Chief Executive (Resources) Delyth Harries, Monitoring Officer and Assistant Chief Legal Officer Stephen Jarrett, Assistant Chief Officer Environment and Technical Rachel Jowitt, Chief Officer Neighbourhoods, Planning & Public Protection Richard Lewis, Head of Planning and Development Dermot McChrystal, Chief Officer Education Lyndon Puddy, Head of Public Services Support Unit Dominique Redman, Deputy Team Leader Democratic and Member Services Tom Roberts, Senior Corporate Improvement and Scrutiny Officer Keith Rutherford, Chief Officer Social Care & Housing Nansi Salkeld, Head of Democratic Services Chris Slade, Senior Business Support Officer (Democratic Services) Stephen Vickers, Chief Executive Adrian Wilcock, Principal Planner, Planning Policy & Implementation Craig Williams, Team Leader Highways, Traffic and Enforcement
2.1 Apologies for absence were received from Councillors, Stuart Evans and Ron Burnett.
3.1 The Monitoring Officer and Assistant Chief Legal Officer (MO&ACLO) referred to Agenda Item 11, Petition Requesting the Installation of Chicanes and Updated Traffic Monitoring on Blenheim Road, St Dials, Cwmbran, and advised members that if they, or anyone with whom they live or anyone with whom they have a close personal association lives on Blenheim Road, they should declare a personal interest. Councillor Steven Evans declared a personal interest in relation to this item as he was a council appointed member of South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) Authority and SWFRS was referred to in the wellbeing assessment. 3.2 The MO&ACLO referred to Agenda Item 12, Arrangements for the Position of Returning Officer and Electoral Registrations Officer, and advised that the Chief Executive would leave the meeting whilst this item was being discussed as the recommendation was to appoint the Chief Executive to the position. 3.3 Councillor Steven Evans declared a personal interest in relation to Agenda Item 10, Endorsement of the South Wales Regional Technical Statement 2nd Review as he was a council appointed member of Brecon Beacons National Park
4.1 Council confirmed the minutes of the Council meeting held on 19 October 2021 as an accurate record.
5.1 Council noted the action sheet.
6.1 There were no petitions submitted.
7.1 There were no public questions.
8.1 The Leader conveyed his condolences and respects to former Mayor and Torfaen County Borough Councillor, Gwyneira Clark on the passing of her husband. He thanked all staff involved in the organisation of the Remembrance Parade that took place on Sunday 14 November, and he also conveyed his thanks to community councils and partners for the contributions they made, and to all veterans groups who ensured the parade passed off well. He referred to the Pride of Torfaen Awards for individuals, clubs or groups that had made a real difference within the community and informed members that nominations would close on Friday 19 November. 8.2 The Chief Executive highlighted recent and ongoing public participation activities on the Council’s ‘Get Involved’ public engagement platform. He explained that the council had engaged with residents on matters such as the local economy, child care provision active travel and Dog Control Orders. He also referred to the Residents Survey which had now closed with 800 responses, these responses would provide the council with a valuable insight on the public’s perception of the council and of the council’s services. Also, live consultations were currently open on local play facilities, Welsh medium education and the council’s plans for tackling climate change. He further informed members that, on the council’s Torfaen Together Idea’s platform, residents had been asked for suggestions or ideas to close the council’s budget gap. Several suggestions around what the council could do differently were now developing into online conversations amongst residents and he thanked them for their contribution.
9.1 The Chief Officer Social Care and Housing (COSC&H), as Statutory Director of Social Services, highlighted the report, which advised Members on the effectiveness of social services for the years 2019/20 and 2020/21, prior to publication in November 2021. 9.2 Discussion ensued and, in summary, members commented around: · The challenging and difficult circumstances experienced by staff within the social care sector during the pandemic. · The positive work that had been undertaken around day care services, young carers working with partner organisations, the safe reduction of the number of children in care, and, in particular, the development of Ty Glas-Y-Dorlan which is a multipurpose wellbeing hub providing support to adults over 18 years of age and those just below transitioning into adulthood. · The importance of social care within the community and the preventative services this provided, particularly to the NHS. · The need to raise the profile of social care, increase pay in social care, address the social care crisis at a national level and the need for Welsh Government to act. · The lack of progress made nationally over a long period of time, in ensuring that carers are provided with appropriate support. 9.3 In response to questions asked by members, officers commented as follows: · In terms of strengthening links with children’s services and education, the authority engaged regularly with colleagues in education and the Complex Children’s Panel was regularly attended by colleagues; · There were particular challenges around the domiciliary care sector where there was a significant shortage of carers. The authority was working closely with services users to ensure safety and every effort was being made at a national and local level to address the situation. · The authority had slightly increased it’s in house service, however, there were challenges around recruitment. Representations around the crisis had been made to national government and an announcement was due later in the week. · Regular meetings are held with internal staff to provide reassurance and support. Regular webinars were held which provided an opportunity to discuss and consider solutions to improve the situation in any way possible. · The social care sector was a competitive market, but it was a worthwhile and rewarding job with the possibility of progression. Some work had been undertaken with Coleg Gwent, however, many of the students had transferred to the Health Board. Consideration was being given around apprenticeships, but this had been delayed due to the pandemic. · With fewer carers, workloads would increase, however, carers could only deal with so many clients. The COSC&H was not aware of carers carrying out 10 minute calls due to workload and this is something he did not agree with. He recognised that carers were tired and stressed and every effort was being made to support staff. · Most care workers in Torfaen had received the covid-19 vaccine and where they hadn’t, this was largely due to health reasons. The vaccine was not mandatory in Wales. · The authority commissioned much of its services from various agencies, some private and some not for profit. Whilst there had been occasions where some care packages had been handed back, the authority was working closely to keep clients as safe as possible. · The authority had good relationships with colleagues in health, district nurses and GP’s. There were some patch-based runs where carers worked in certain communities and where some calls required more than 1 carer. In terms of adapting a particular model, one size did not fit all and there was a requirement for a community focused solution. · People were living longer with more complex health issues. The need for unpaid or paid carers was likely to increase for the foreseeable future and there was a need for a social care revolution. 9.4 Members expressed their gratitude and thanks to staff in social care and praised them for going above and beyond in providing a service during such a challenging time. Members also praised the work of the COSC&H. 9.5 Councillor Daniels announced that this would be the last time that the COSC&H would deliver his annual report to Council as he was due to retire next March. On behalf of the Council, the Presiding Member offered her sincere thanks to the COSC&H. 9.6 Members unanimously agreed to: · Note the content of the reports attached at Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 · Support the publication of this report promoting general awareness of its content.
10.1 The Principal Planner highlighted the main areas of the report explaining that: - The South Wales Regional Aggregates Working Party (SWRAWP) had requested that the Council endorses the Regional Technical Statement 2nd Review on Aggregates (RTS2) (September 2020); - with the individual Mineral Planning Authority (MPA) page 111 Agenda Item 10 aggregate apportionments therein having been amended by a subsequent Welsh Government Policy Clarification Letter (November 2021); - The report considered this request and made a recommendation to endorse the RTS2 (as amended); and - asked members to note that a further report will be presented to Council to consider the ‘Former Gwent Statement of Sub-Regional Collaboration’ in due course. 10.2 Members unanimously agreed to: · Endorse the SWRAWP ‘Regional Technical Statement Second Review:’ ‘Main Document’ and ‘Appendix B - South Wales’ (September 2020) as amended by the Welsh Government’s Clarification Letter (November 2021); and · Note that a report to consider the ‘Former Gwent Statement of Sub Regional Collaboration’ will be presented to Council for consideration at a future date.
11.1 The Assistant Chief Officer, Environment and Technical (ACOE&T) highlighted the key areas of the report which: - updated Council on the results of recent traffic monitoring that had been undertaken at Blenheim Road since the previous report was presented to Council on 21st September, and - proposed the Council’s response to the additional traffic monitoring exercise. 11.2 Councillor Haynes stated that she had relayed this report to some of the constituents who were again disappointed in the council and the recommendations set out in the report. In summary, she commented around the data supplied in the report which supported that traffic had increased almost a quarter and that 15% of vehicles nearest to the school were travelling in excess of 33.4mph, each day which was the equivalent of 299 vehicles were breaking the speed limit every day outside of the school. She stated that it only took one of those speeding cars to kill somebody and she implored councillors to vote against the recommendations and for traffic calming measures to be installed on the road. 11.3 Councillor Fay Jones informed members that the Community Council had agreed to fund speeding signs for Greenmeadow Drive and Blenheim Road, which might assist with the issue of speeding until consideration could be given to introducing a 20mph speed limit. She also informed members that the Traffic Division of Gwent Police could supply speeding guns. However, there was a need to ensure that anybody using these within the community, were adhering to safety regulations. 11.4 Discussion ensued and some members commented around the dangers of speeding around schools. They supported the petition and urged other members to vote against the recommendations. Other members commented around the recommendations and agreed that chicanes weren’t suitable on Blenheim Road. They felt that chicanes increased the risk of accidents in some areas as cars tried to speed through them causing near head on collisions. They also encouraged the use of the banana bridge across Blenheim Road. Other members commented that, whilst they supported the recommendations set out in the report, they felt that alternative measures should be considered. 11.5 The ACOE&T responded as follows to questions asked by Members: · Based on the information and data collected, traffic calming in terms of engineering measures would not be supported. The data provided for the route did not score highly enough and would therefore not be supported by Welsh Government. · With reference to the recommendation, based on traffic data, chicanes or any other form of traffic calming measures were not supported at this time. · Whilst there were 20mph schemes around schools, criteria and data around this would need to be considered, rather than introducing a blanket 20 mph around all schools. · The 85% percentile is an industry recognised standard. It is recognised that 15% of drivers will do what they want to do, regardless of measures. The ACOE&T did not know when the 85th percentile was last reviewed as a specification and he wasn’t aware that this was no longer an appropriate measure. · The authority had engaged more recently on this scheme with Go Safe and had provided them with data. Go Safe did have any particular concerns. The authority worked closely with them and engaged with them at a strategic and operational level, however, they were their own organisation. · With regards to monitoring schemes and concerns across the county borough, the authority looked at all routes, highlighting various hotspots and forming bids around this. Bids had been submitted in areas with greater needs and these had been unsuccessful as Welsh Government did not prioritise these schemes over other local authorities. · The authority did not deploy cameras, this is in the remit of Go Safe but we would be happy to consider working with others who could fund speed indicator devices. 11.6 Councillor Owen, Executive Member Environment, understood that the situation was disappointing and frustrating, however, she reminded members that officers were working in line with policies and national guidelines. She also commented that if all near misses were reported, this would add to the data. She explained that the criteria had not been met to warrant having safety measures in place on Blenheim Road. 11.7 A recorded vote was undertaken, with members voting as shown in the table below. 27 voted in favour and 9 voted against. COUNCILLOR FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN Stuart Ashley ü Glyn Caron ü Richard Clark ü Lynda Clarkson ü Leonard Constance ü Veronica Crick ü Fiona Cross ü David Daniels ü Giles Davies ü Kathy Evans ü Steven Evans ü Joanne Gauden ü Elizabeth Haynes ü Jon Horlor ü Anthony Hunt ü Gaynor James ü Keith James ü Mike Jeremiah ü Fay Jones ü Nicholas Jones ü Peter Jones ü Robert Kemp ü John Killick ü Sue Malson ü Jason O’Connell ü Richard Overton ü Mandy Owen ü Norma Parrish ü Jessica Powell ü Kelly Preston ü Rose Seabourne ü Alan Slade ü Christopher Tew ü Colette Thomas ü Dave Thomas ü David Yeowell ü 11.8 Councillor Haynes requested a copy of the recorded vote and of the data from the Blenheim Road 2021 monitoring. 11.9 Members agreed, with the majority voting in favour: · To note that the Authority will continue to monitor Blenheim Road along with all other parts of the highway network annually through our Collision Statistic Study Group (CSSG). · To note that Blenheim Road falls into the WG categories and from summer 2023 will become 20MPH by default. · That based on updated traffic data obtained, the request to install chicanes or any other physical road safety measures on Blenheim Road are not recommended at this time. · That the main petitioner is informed of the decision.
12.1 The Chief Executive left the meeting for this item. .The Assistant Chief Executive Resources (ACXR), highlighted the report which proposed that Stephen Vickers, Chief Executive, is appointed as Returning Officer and Electoral Registrations Officer for Torfaen County Borough Council from 16 November 2021. 12.2 Council unanimously approved Stephen Vickers, Chief Executive Torfaen County Borough Council as Retuning Officer and Electoral Registrations Officer from 16 November 2021.
13.1 There were no motions on notice.
14.1 There were no member questions.
15.1 The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday 14 December 2021 at 10.00am.
16.1 Council unanimously agreed to note the Cabinet Decisions.
Rhaid i gynghorwyr ddweud pan fydd ganddyn nhw gysylltiad personol â rhywbeth sy'n cael ei drafod, fel swydd, eiddo neu aelod o'r teulu. Mae buddiant sy'n rhagfarnu yn ddigon cryf i'r cynghorydd adael yr ystafell fel arfer a pheidio â chymryd rhan.
Steven Evans: Buddiant personol ar Petition Requesting the Installation of Chicanes and Updated Traffic Monitoring on Blenheim Road, St Dials, Cwmbran / Deiseb yn gofyn am Osod Rhwystrau Igam Ogam a Monitro Traffig wedi ei Ddiweddaru ar Blenheim Road, St Dials, Cwmbrân
Mae'n aelod a benodwyd gan y Cyngor i Awdurdod Gwasanaeth Tân ac Achub De Cymru, ac mae'r Gwasanaeth yn cael ei gyfeirio ato yn yr asesiad llesiant.
Steven Evans: Buddiant personol ar Endorsement of the South Wales Regional Technical Statement 2ND Review / Cymeradwyo Ail Arolwg Datganiad Technegol Rhanbarthol De Cymru
Mae'n aelod a benodwyd gan y Cyngor i Barc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog.
Yn rhestru cynghorwyr presennol y cyngor yn unig. Nid yw aelodau cyfetholedig, swyddogion a chyn-gynghorwyr yn cael eu dangos.