Councils reported on climate and nature plans this month, including net zero reports in Carmarthenshire and Powys and nature plans in Neath Port Talbot, Caerphilly and Bridgend. Planning committees also dealt with carbon capture, flood-related and biodiversity matters.[4][14][2][12][5][1]
Written in November 2026 from council records since 20 September 2026, open consultations and official sources. Written automatically, then checked: every point names its sources and every figure appears in them. Follow the links to check anything before relying on it.
Every Welsh council has declared or responded to the climate emergency and has plans to cut its own emissions, from buildings, vehicles and the things it buys. Councils also manage flood risk on local rivers and streams.
The Cabinet agrees climate plans; scrutiny committees check progress.
Ask your councillors how the council is doing against its own targets, and respond to its consultations on plans.
| Council | Items | With a decision |
|---|---|---|
| Vale of Glamorgan | 138 | 16 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | 55 | 52 |
| Gwynedd | 55 | 52 |
| Pembrokeshire | 43 | 36 |
| Carmarthenshire | 41 | 39 |
| Swansea | 40 | 31 |
| Powys | 40 | 29 |
| Monmouthshire | 38 | 9 |
| Wrexham | 27 | 27 |
| Cardiff | 27 | 24 |
| Conwy | 27 | 24 |
| Denbighshire | 22 | 17 |
| Flintshire | 21 | 11 |
| Newport | 21 | 10 |
| Blaenau Gwent | 17 | 17 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 16 | 9 |
| Caerphilly | 16 | 0 |
| Ceredigion | 9 | 8 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 8 | 7 |
| Torfaen | 7 | 6 |
| Bridgend | 5 | 0 |
Decided: Cabinet noted the overall forecast, the shortfall in 2025/26 savings, the position on schools and the risks. It noted the forecast movements in reserves. It approved using the prior-year underspend reserve, using the Transformation reserve to fund Care Cubed, and a budget virement (a transfer between budget lines) for low-carbon heat in the council's buildings.
Decided: The Council supported the motion and referred it to the Cabinet, following a vote. Councillors N. Lewis and M. James declared an interest and did not vote.
Decided: The Council did not support the motion, following a vote. Councillors N. Lewis and M. James declared an interest and did not vote.
Decided: Cabinet approved the change to the 2025/26 programme, replacing the Cyfarthfa Park playground with one at Glebelands.
Decided: Members noted grant-funded activity to help people affected by the cost of living. They supported a Working Group recommendation to give Wrexham Foodbank £60,000 in 2025/26 and £60,000 in 2026/27, and authorised senior officers to agree the award. They also endorsed the Wrexham Poverty Action Collaboration pledge on behalf of the council.
Decided: The Cabinet approved the response to the statutory consultation, adding opposition to the draft designation order and proposed boundary. It delegated to the Head of Environment the right to make any insignificant changes before the response goes to Natural Resources Wales.
Decided: The committee approved its Work Plan for 2025/26. The Chair also pointed councillors to Climate Change and Nature Recovery eLearning, which councillors may find useful.
Decided: The minute records that the core purpose of the Transformation Board is widened to include both nature recovery and aiming for a net zero Swansea by 2050. This aligns the board more closely with the Climate Change and Nature Recovery wellbeing objective and the committee's remit. Members endorsed the report.
RESOLVED: The Update Report was accepted and the work undertaken by Flintshire County Council and Wrexham County Borough Council and the Investment Zone team, Welsh Government and UK Government was noted. A draft Inter-Authority Agreement (IAA) was approved between the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee (CJC), Flintshire County Council and Wrexham County Borough Council, delegating the right to agree and finalise the final version to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, Section 151 Officer, the Vice-chair and Leader of Denbighshire County Council, as the appointed representatives of the Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone Advisory Board. A Year 1 and 2 Schedule of Projects, activities and milestones drafted to support the Annual Delivery Plan was approved. A draft Memorandum of Understanding was approved, delegating the right to agree and finalise the final version to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, Section 151 Officer, the Vice-chair and Leader of Denbighshire County Council, as the appointed representatives of the Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone Advisory Board. DISCUSSION The Members were thanked for their time and consideration of the report. It was reported that the development of the programme was now at a key point and had reached the approval phase with the Welsh Government and the UK Government. The Five Gateways Process had expired and the agreement for the Gateways had been accepted. It was explained that the CJC's approval for the Memorandum of Understanding and the Inter-Authority Agreement (IAA) between the CJC, Flintshire County Council and Wrexham County Borough Council was required. It was elaborated that these would govern the transfer of revenue funding and key activities in the programme. It was explained that annual delivery plans would be agreed every year to support the way the Investment Zones were structured and delivered. The draft Annual Delivery Plan would be submitted to the meeting of the Investment Zone Work Group, where the leaders of Flintshire County Council and Wrexham County Borough Council would meet and review the Annual Delivery Plan. It was noted that the intention was to hold a meeting of the Investment Zone Work Group on 28 November, to discuss the programme's initial activities. Further details were given of another meeting to be held to discuss the second year Delivery Plan. An overview was given to Members of the Annual Delivery Plan, drawing particular attention to some of the key points of the Investment Zone Programme included in Appendix 2. It was noted that these had been split into business support, skills, innovation, infrastructure and tax sites. The members were informed that the tax sites had been published on Legislation.gov, and they would come into force legally on 21 November. The members were informed that should the CJC approve the Memorandum of Joint Understanding and the IAA, that the Government would act to issue signed versions of the document within the week. Members’ attention was drawn to the Delivery Plan, highlighting the early work. The members were reminded that it was a Regional Skills Partnership project jointly with Wrexham University and Coleg Cambria. It was explained that the finance to administer the business grants was being delegated to Flintshire County Council and Wrexham County Borough Council. It was recognised that there was a positive increase in terms of the National Manufacturing Institute for Wales, with the intention of bringing this to North-east Wales as well as developments for decarbonisation programmes in industry and the transformation project supported by AMRC. It was elaborated that good progress was being made with the infrastructure requirements of the tax sites, with premises already being constructed in Deeside and projects promoted to be considered for planning in Wrexham. Further details would be presented to the Councils of Flintshire and Wrexham at the end of November, with items being submitted again to the Economic Well-being Sub-committee. It was explained that this was the last step in the decisions of the CJC in terms of constructing the Growth Zone, and it was explained that they were contracts that committed the CJC to the accountable body role. As an accountable body, the CJC sat between the Governments and therefore the Memorandum of Joint Understanding signed by the CJC and the Government was an ethical commitment to how the project was run. Funding letters, i.e. contractual documents and funding conditions, from the Governments would be sent subsequently. It was noted that the IAA was a collaboration agreement between the Councils and the CJC, and included how the Investment Zone was run, the governance, the revenue finance arrangements, and the arrangements to comply with the conditions set by the Government for the CJC. It was elaborated that it was a document that built on the decision taken in the last few months in the gateways to create the Investment Zone. Furthermore, it was explained that the Memorandum of Joint Understanding had been re-submitted to the CJC and although it did not appear that there had been many amendments since July, it referred to the control and Management and Non-domestic Tax that would need to be addressed in the Memorandum of Joint Understanding. It was pointed out that a draft of the IAA was before Members. Apologies were tended that the document was currently only available in English. It was explained that this was currently an initial version of the existing document to extend the discussion, and to ensure that the project moved forward they requested delegated powers to complete the documents in collaboration with Flintshire County Council and Wrexham County Borough Council. It was noted that they had received positive feedback from the Monitoring Officers of Flintshire County Council and Wrexham County Borough Council. It was emphasised that the right to proceed with the Memorandum of Joint Understanding and the IAA was essential, to draw documents together and give a foundation for the significant work of presenting the Investment Zone. The Chair extended his thanks to the consultant from AMION Consulting; to Cyngor Gwynedd's legal team and to the Chief Executive and Leader of Flintshire County Council for their partnership with the project. It was stated that this was an excellent opportunity for Flintshire and Wrexham to deliver for businesses in north Wales. Attention was drawn to the importance of the project. especially as a result of the increase in high-quality posts in wider regional economies.
Decided: The Committee supported the proposed increase to parking tariffs and the other proposed changes. This was subject to the observations made in the meeting, and to feedback from an all-member workshop and from each Member Area Group.
Decided: The committee granted permission in line with officers' recommendations, with an extra condition on the building's materials. The vote was 12 in favour and 7 against.
RESOLVED: • To note the finalised Audit Wales national report issued to the Council and seek clarity and further information, as required, from Audit Wales on the content of the report. • To note the Council’s response to the recommendations reported by Audit Wales and seek clarity and further information, as required, from the Council. • To consider whether there are any matters of a governance, internal control or risk management nature that require further action or attention by the Governance and Audit Committee. • To consider whether there are any matters of a performance nature that require referral to the Council’s Scrutiny Committees.
Decided: The Committee deferred the application so that members could visit the site. The vote was nine in favour, four against and no abstentions.
Decided: The Committee approved the application, subject to the conditions in the report. The vote was thirteen in favour, with no votes against and no abstentions.
Decided: The committee was minded to defer its decision, which means it will delay the final decision. It will first check with Dwr Cymru Welsh Water that the foul water drainage arrangements would not make existing problems in the area worse.
RESOLVED (a) That the governance arrangements around grants administered by Pembrokeshire County Council, on behalf of Pembrokeshire Nature Partnership, be approved. (b) That authority be delegated to the Assistant Chief Executive/Director of Place to award grants from Local Places for Nature (LPfN) and other allocated funding.
Decided: The democratic services officer confirmed the changes. The Decarbonisation Strategy and the Bus Franchise Update were moved, to 12 December and 14 November respectively. Engineering and transport performance monitoring was added to 14 November.
Decided: The Committee commended the report and the work being done. It requested the Gwent Wellbeing Plan Annual Report when it is published. It recommended sharing more regular updates on successes from Additional Learning Needs initiatives. It recommended that HR explore employment opportunities for Coleg Gwent students. It recommended that the partnership use council data to identify and support eligible households for home energy efficiency improvements. It requested information on how successful projects, such as the Dolman Theatre and Green Spaces, could be repeated across Newport. It recommended publicising the work of Coleg Gwent and the library service on the council website. It requested a video on participatory budgeting and engagement work.
RESOLVED: That the report be noted.