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The minutes are published. No summary has been written yet.
The minutes are published. No summary has been written yet.
Members questioned officers on empty buildings, Harbourside, heritage and Neath market, and then supported the recommendation to take the plans to Cabinet.
The Culture, Connection and Place Scrutiny Committee considered the Arts Strategy for Neath Port Talbot. The strategy sets out how the Council will support and work with the arts sector over the coming years. The committee supported the recommendation to send the strategy to Cabinet, and added a heritage task and finish group and a letter on Baglan Bay to its forward work programme.
The committee scrutinised its annual report and the business plans for Environment and Regeneration, and for Tourism, Heritage and Culture. It supported the annual report going to Full Council with a short presentation, and it noted both sets of business plans. Members approved the minutes of the previous meeting at the start of the meeting.
The Culture, Connection and Place Scrutiny Committee supported three recommendations to Cabinet: a revised draft Active Travel Network Map for public consultation, a delivery model for the new Local Growth Fund, and the Memorandum of Understanding and grant conditions for the Celtic Freeport. Members raised questions on local business use, officer capacity and the Local Development Plan, and asked for regular updates on the funding.
The committee scrutinised library performance, the draft Regeneration and Economic Development Strategy, the Pride in Place programme and a corporate performance report. Members agreed to send the strategy to Cabinet with a letter setting out their support and concerns. The other reports were noted.
The committee considered three items on 12 December 2025. It supported sending proposals to bring the Swansea Bay City Deal, a regional investment programme, under the Southwest Wales Corporate Joint Committee (CJC), a body set up by councils for regional work, to Cabinet. It also noted the Council's decarbonisation plan for its own operations and a verbal update on choosing a Pride in Place neighbourhood.
The committee scrutinised the Council's proposed base bus network for franchising and supported the recommendation to send it to Cabinet, although members raised concerns about funding and accountability. It also noted the Quarter 1 engineering and transport performance report and the forward work programme. Two agenda items had no minutes published.
The committee scrutinised a feasibility study for a new swimming pool at Pontardawe, after the old pool closed and was demolished. Officers said the preferred site is Pontardawe Leisure Centre, but about £11 million of funding is not yet in place. The committee noted the report, and members asked to be involved earlier in future projects.
The committee considered the Neath Integrated Transport Hub, a plan to bring bus and train services together in one place. The committee supported the recommendation to pause the transport part of the scheme and send it to the Cabinet Board.
The Culture, Connection and Place Scrutiny Committee considered the mid-term review of the South West Wales Regional Economic Delivery Plan, a regional economic plan. Members raised concerns about slow progress, funding and transport, then endorsed the report and agreed to write to the Regional Leads of the Southwest Wales Regional Development Group.
The committee received a verbal update on the three Levelling Up Fund projects in Neath Port Talbot: the Vale of Neath heritage and visitor schemes, the Port Talbot town centre regeneration, and the Newbridge Road Bridge. It also considered business plans for the environment, leisure, tourism, heritage and culture services, and the minutes record that these reports were noted. Performance monitoring was on the agenda, but no minute has been published for it yet.