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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1) Approve the Welsh Language Standards Annual Report 2023-24 (APPENDIX A) prior to formal publication in accordance with the Welsh Language Standards (Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011); 2) Approve the Policy Development and Compliance with the Welsh Language Standards policy (APPENDIX 2).
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1) Note the content of the Democratic Services Annual Report 2023/2024.
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1) Note the content of the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee Annual Report 2023/24.
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1) Approve the decision of the Licensing Committee at its meeting on 13 March 2024 and publish the Cumulative Impact Assessment for use with effect from 1 August 2024; 2) Authorise the Head of Shared Regulatory Services to make administrative amendments to the documents should the need arise.
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1. Receive nominations and appoint to the vacancies on the Committees, in accordance with the Party Group wishes, as set out in Table A and on the Amendment Sheet.
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1. Approve the nomination to the SEWCJC Governance and Audit Sub-Committee as set out in the Amendment Sheet; 2. Approve the nomination and appointment of a new non-executive director to the Board of Cardiff Bus as set out in the Amendment Sheet; 3. Approve the company’s proposed appointment of Mrs Jen Doody to the Board of Cardiff Bus as an executive director; 4. Approve the nomination of Councillor Garry Hunt for consideration and appointment by the company’s Board as the new Chair of Cardiff Bus.
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1. Approve the new appointments of Local Authority governors to the school governing bodies as set out in Appendix 1, each for a term of 4 years from the date of the appointment, in accordance with the recommendations of the Local Authority Governor Panel.
Apologies were received from Councillors Chowdhury, Davies, Henshaw, Jackie Jones, Owen, Shimmin and Taylor. In the absence of the Lord Mayor, the Deputy Lord Mayor chaired the meeting. She welcomed the new Councillor for Grangetown, Cllr Waheeda Abdul-Sattar, following the by-election on 25th April.
There were no declarations of interest.
The minutes of the 23rd May meeting were approved as a correct record.
There was one public question. 1. Reuben Kelman to Cllr Sarah Merry, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education How is the council protecting school budgets across our city? Reply – Cllr Merry Approximately 42% of the council’s total budget is spent on schools, and of this around 86% is delegated to schools in Cardiff, which is the highest delegation rate in Wales. Excluding home-to-school transport, our delegation rate in 2023/24 was 90%. In this year’s budget, schools received a 4.3% uplift to £12.8m a year to help deal with rising costs. This matched the Welsh government’s funding increase to the council and removed the budget requirement for efficiency savings. Budgeted net revenue expenditure on education in Cardiff increased from £307m in 2022/23 to £339m in 2023/24, which was an increase of 10.4%, the second highest increase in Wales. Schools’ budgeted expenditure increased by 10.5%, from £3.64m in 2022/23 to £4.03m in 2023/24, the fourth highest increase in Wales. From 2019/2020 to 2024/25, delegated schools budgets in Cardiff increased by around £66m, from £241m to £307m, with annual increases between 2.61% and 9.76% during this period.
No petitions had been received.
The Deputy Lord Mayor began by providing a number of events she had attended over the past couple of weeks: - Seafarers Remembrance Service - LGBT + Memorial Service – One Body One Faith - Philippines Independence Day flag raising ceremony at Cardiff Castle - Royal Gun Salute for His Majesty's birthday - Annual investiture of St John Ambulance Cymru - Tour de Barchester, Bryn Ivor Castleton - Cardiff Mela, Roald Dahl Plass - Citizenship ceremonies at the Mansion House. She congratulated Ken Poole, Head of Economic Development, who had received an MBE for services to economic and community development in Cardiff. Karen O’Donoghue Harris (Principal Pensions Officer) was also being awarded an MBE for services to life saving. She congratulated the Reverend Canon Stewart Lisk, Honorary Chaplain of Cardiff Council, for receiving a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his services to charity and community cohesion. Rev. Lisk had served as Honorary Chaplain since the annual council meeting in May 1992, initially to the former South Glamorgan County Council and then following reorganisation to Cardiff Council. He was also Chaplain to the Lieutenancy of South Glamorgan and during 2022/23 he was Chaplain to the High Sheriff. He had been instrumental to the successful delivery of many of the council’s civic events and his advice, dedication and support were hugely appreciated. She thanked Taylor Swift for her donation to Cardiff Food Bank, which was the largest donation the charity had received from an individual. It would provide the equivalent of feeding 1,200 people three meals a day for three days, and assist in meeting the recent increase in demand. She paid tribute to former councillor Gareth Neale, who passed away on the 29th of April at the age of 89. He was first elected to Cardiff District Council in 1979 representing Rhiwbina and was made Lord Mayor in 2006, serving until 2008. Finally, she wished the Lord Mayor a speedy recovery, along with other councillors who had been in hospital.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1) Approve the Welsh Language Standards Annual Report 2023-24 (APPENDIX A) prior to formal publication in accordance with the Welsh Language Standards (Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011); 2) Approve the Policy Development and Compliance with the Welsh Language Standards policy (APPENDIX 2).
Council was asked to agree and approve the content of the Welsh Language Standards Annual Report 2023-24, prior to formal publication in accordance with the Welsh Language Standards, under the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011. The Deputy Lord Mayor invited Cllr Huw Thomas to propose the report. It was seconded by Cllr Green The Deputy Lord Mayor invited debate on the report. Councillor Huw Thomas responded to the debate The Deputy Lord Mayor called for a vote on the recommendations outlined in the report. The recommendations in the report were CARRIED. FOR (63) Councillors Abdul-Sattar, Saleh Ahmed, Ali, Ash-Edwards, Bowen-Thomson, Bradbury, Bridgeman, Brown-Reckless, Burke, Carr, Carter, Cowan, Cunnah, De’Ath, Derbyshire, Driscoll, Ebrahim, Elsmore, Ferguson-Thorne, Gibson, Goodway, Green, Gunter, Hinchey, Hopkins, Humphreys, Hunt, Jenkins, Keith Jones, Joyce, Lancaster, Lay, Lent, Lewis, Lister, Littlechild, Livesy, Mackie, McGarry, Melbourne, Merry, Michael, Molik, Moultrie, Naughton, Palmer, Parry, Proctor, Reid-Jones, Robinson, Robson, Sangani, Singh, Stubbs, Thomas, Thomson, Thorne, Waldron, Weaver, Wild, Williams, Wong and Wood. AGAINST (0) ABSTAIN (0) RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1) Approve the Welsh Language Standards Annual Report 2023-24 (APPENDIX A) prior to formal publication in accordance with the Welsh Language Standards (Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011); 2) Approve the Policy Development and Compliance with the Welsh Language Standards policy (APPENDIX 2).
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1) Note the content of the Democratic Services Annual Report 2023/2024.
Council was asked to note the annual report of the Democratic Services Committee. The Deputy Lord Mayor invited Cllr Lancaster, Chair of the Committee, to propose the report. The Deputy Lord Mayor invited debate on the report. The report was NOTED. RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1) Note the content of the Democratic Services Annual Report 2023/2024.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1) Note the content of the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee Annual Report 2023/24.
Council was asked to note the annual report of the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee. The Deputy Lord Mayor invited Cllr Lister to propose the report. The Deputy Lord Mayor invited debate on the report. The report was NOTED. RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1) Note the content of the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee Annual Report 2023/24.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1) Approve the decision of the Licensing Committee at its meeting on 13 March 2024 and publish the Cumulative Impact Assessment for use with effect from 1 August 2024; 2) Authorise the Head of Shared Regulatory Services to make administrative amendments to the documents should the need arise.
Council was asked to formally authorise the publication of, and use of, the Council’s Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) which has been reviewed and updated in accordance with the statutory requirements of the Licensing Act 2003. The Deputy Lord Mayor invited Cllr Michael, Chair of the Licensing Committee, to propose the report. It was seconded by Cllr Mackie. The Deputy Lord Mayor invited debate on the report, followed by a vote on the recommendations. The recommendations in the report were CARRIED. FOR (61) Councillors Abdul-Sattar, Saleh Ahmed, Ali, Ash-Edwards, Bowen-Thomson, Bradbury, Bridgeman, Brown-Reckless, Burke, Carr, Carter, Cowan, Cunnah, De’Ath, Derbyshire, Driscoll, Ebrahim, Elsmore, Ferguson-Thorne, Gibson, Goodway, Green, Gunter, Hinchey, Hopkins, Humphreys, Hunt, Jenkins, Keith Jones, Lancaster, Latif, Lay, Lent, Lewis, Lister, Littlechild, Livesy, Mackie, McGarry, Melbourne, Merry, Michael, Molik, Moultrie, Naughton, Palmer, Proctor, Reid-Jones, Robinson, Robson, Sangani, Singh, Stubbs, Thomas, Thomson, Thorne, Waldron, Weaver, Wild, Williams and Wood. AGAINST (0) ABSTAIN (0) RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1) Approve the decision of the Licensing Committee at its meeting on 13 March 2024 and publish the Cumulative Impact Assessment for use with effect from 1 August 2024; 2) Authorise the Head of Shared Regulatory Services to make administrative amendments to the documents should the need arise.
There were 14 oral questions. 1. Cllr Cowan to Cllr Merry, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education How many schools are having to make compulsory redundancies this year due to the budget settlement? Reply – Cllr Merry There are two schools in Cardiff that have had to progress to making compulsory redundancies. Supplementary – Cllr Cowan What consideration have you given to producing a three-year indicative budget for schools? Reply – Cllr Merry I’m afraid that the UK government doesn’t give the Welsh government that indicative budget, and neither are we able to do the same thing within Cardiff Council without knowing what future money we will be receiving. 2. Cllr Molik to Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport Should someone elderly or disabled want to travel from out of Cardiff, i.e. from Newport to Roath Park Lake via public transport, what would be their route of travel? Reply – Cllr De’Ath There are obviously a huge number of routes into Cardiff, depending on where you start, what day you travel and at what time. There are a variety of journey planners available such as Traveline Cymru, which you can access via their website, app or via a free phone line, which some of our elderly residents might prefer. They also offer specialist advice for people with disabilities. With the particular example you’ve given, Traveline would recommend you travel from Newport to Cardiff by train and then get the number 28 or 29 bus that stops very near Cardiff Central station. That takes you all the way along Lake Road East and you could get off close to the Promenade by Roath Park Lake. Supplementary – Cllr Molik That suggestion is great when you’re able-bodied, but when you’re catching the 28 or 29 bus having taken the train to Cardiff Central, how far from the station would you have to walk if you were in a wheelchair, elderly or had sight loss? Reply – Cllr De’Ath One would arrive at Cardiff Central and go to stop JH, which is by Hayes Bridge Road. I couldn’t give you that in feet but it’s quite a short walk. 3. Cllr McGarry to Cllr Mackie, Cabinet Member for Waste, Street Scene & Environmental Services What is the council doing to discourage littering? Reply – Cllr Mackie The sources of litter need to be fully understood before we’re able to discourage littering. A source of littering across Cardiff relates to split bags from co-mingled recycling and 10% of Cardiff’s properties presenting residual black bags. Recycling and Neighbourhood Services are currently delivering a segregated recycling programme of change where gull-proof sacks are removing the impact of split bags. An independent report by Keep Wales Tidy revealed that 'on-the-go' food and drink packaging litter was found on 64.2% of streets across Wales, so we have a major problem with that. Currently, proposals relating to extended producer responsibility will provide the council additional funding to manage this litter through cleansing and intervention projects. Caru Cymru Litter Free Zones is a brand-new scheme designed to encourage businesses to keep their communities litter-free. It promotes businesses to adopt specific zones to clean-up on a regular basis. It is hoped that businesses of all shapes and sizes will get involved, from village shops and takeaways to private offices, supermarkets and industrial estates. Hopefully we’ll have a good result. Supplementary – Cllr McGarry I was thinking more about deterring people from actually dropping litter in the first place. I just wondered if there were ways we could do more to catch the culprits and fine them, and if we looked at what other councils do to try and stop people dropping their litter in the first place. Most of what you’ve said is reactive. It’s an awful mess. Reply – Cllr Mackie It’s a difficult one to deter people, and I think it’s a matter of education in all sorts of areas. We are certainly looking at how we do that. It’s about getting people to be proud of the area they live in or visit, like the city centre, and not just throwing things everywhere. It’s a difficult one because it’s very hard to enforce when you’ve got to see people doing it. We are looking at different ways of doing it, by encouraging people, students particularly, to get involved in litter picks, and maybe we should look at that for schools as well, so that the education is there from the beginning. If they’re picking it up maybe they won’t be so keen to drop it. 4. Cllr Driscoll to Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport We had news this week that from August 2024 Stagecoach are reducing the service of the 122 route that serves Cardiff West and also serves Danescourt and Llandaff. Yes, the 144 will continue to serve Llantrisant Road, as will the No 62 Cardiff Bus, but what more can we do to improve Cardiff Bus services to compensate for this loss? Reply – Cllr De’Ath The reduction in frequency of the 122 bus service will still leave Llantrisant Road with three services per hour and, together with the 63 bus service, there will be four bus services per hour between the city centre and the Heol Isaf junction. The 62 and 63 are both supported services from the Welsh Government’s Bus Network Fund, which is fully committed and unfortunately there is no more money to subsidise any further services. Supplementary – Cllr Driscoll You may remember that a couple of years ago I delivered a petition to the council to save the 66 route that was cancelled, which runs through the centre of Llandaff and also serves parts of Fairwater. I know the former First Minister, my local MS, made representations too on behalf of residents in my ward and the adjoining ward. The demographic in Llandaff is older, without any slur on people who live on Fairwater Road, particularly youngsters. It’s an important service we’ve lost there, we’ve still got the infrastructure there, we’ve got the bus stops there, but that 66 route is really important to some of the older generations that do feel isolated and stuck in their homes without that service. Is there something you can do to maybe get that 66 route reinstated, because it does run through the centre of Llandaff, where people otherwise have to walk quite a long way to Llantrisant Road or Western Avenue to get the 101 or 102? Reply – Cllr De’Ath I certainly agree with you, all bus services are really important to the people who use them, particular elderly residents. In in the round, I know these are famous last words, but I think we’re turning a corner with the bus service after some really difficult years post-Covid, things are finally stabilising. I think we’ve got a route map to a much improved service, partly through our bus priority plan, which came through a few months ago. Hopefully, the funding package around bus services will slowly get better going forward. We’re in dialogue with all the bus operators in Cardiff, constantly seeing what changes we can make to optimise all the routes running. Who knows what the future holds, but we certainly appreciate how your residents feel, and fair play to you for lobbying on their behalf. Going forward, I’m optimistic that slowly but surely, things will get better. 5. Cllr Carter to Cllr Goodway, Cabinet Member for Investment & Development What is the council doing to help the Muslim community of Pentwyn and Llanedeyrn find a location for a future mosque? Reply – Cllr Goodway The council is aware of the requirement identified by members of the local community to assist with identifying land for a potential new mosque. As the councillor will be aware, the council is continually reviewing its land and property assets across the city to meet council objectives. Where land is declared surplus to requirements, it may be considered appropriate for disposal and listed in the council's Annual Property Plan. At this point, parties may register their interest in the site. Whilst a surplus site within the Pentwyn ward is not currently available, should such an opportunity arise, the council will inform the relevant parties. Supplementary – Cllr Carter Whilst we need to map out our housing need, which is great in the coming years, would you agree that we also need to map our community in terms of mosques, synagogues, churches and temples, so we’re not simply building homes but also communities in these new areas, and catering for new communities moving into distinct areas as well? Reply – Cllr Goodway I do agree. 6. Cllr McGarry to Cllr Mackie, Cabinet Member for Waste, Street Scene & Environmental Services At this time of year fly-tipping seems to get worse. How is the council ensuring that the culprits get caught and fined? Reply – Cllr Mackie A 2022/23 report which analysed fly-tipping recorded by councils between 1st April 2022 and 31st March 2023 showed that Cardiff is one of the highest performing local authorities in Wales when dealing with fly-tipping, with the council issuing 511 Fixed Penalty Notices and securing 9 prosecutions. Recycling and Neighbourhood Services are currently developing a litter and fly-tipping strategy to support providing the approach to tackling issues in this area. Fly-tipping requires evidence to support any implementation of fines or prosecution. This evidence can be provided by third parties, such as witness statements, video and photographic evidence of vehicles undertaking the activity, or unopened bags can be searched by council officers for evidence such as address labels within the bags. A restructure within Neighbourhood Services encompassing cleansing and environmental enforcement alongside digitalisation will support more officers being able to search bags for evidence. The restructure should be concluded by the end of 2024. The council is unable to utilise CCTV unless it has the explicit intent of prosecuting the offender, and it can’t be used for Fixed Penalty Notices. The council has to utilise dedicated overt and covert cameras with the associated authorisation required by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. 7. Cllr Robson to Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport What discussions has the Cabinet Member had with Transport for Wales about plans for increasing the frequency of trains on the Coryton Line? Reply – Cllr De’Ath I think we’ve discussed the Coryton Line previously, I think you asked me a question last year. I think the case for 4 TPH on the Coryton Line, and on the City Line for that matter, is unanswerable. Professor Mark Barry points out that nobody’s going to wait half an hour for a 15-20 minute journey, although you don’t need to be a professor to realise that. Transport For Wales studies have shown that a slight alteration to the track and the loop would allow trains to pass and make four trains per hour achievable. In terms of discussions we’ve had, we have dialogue with the Welsh government and TFW on an ongoing basis, and the Leader and I met with Ken Skates MS about this very issue only a few weeks ago. Supplementary – Cllr Robson As you’ve mentioned, there are only two trains per hour on the Coryton Line. I find myself agreeing with Professor Barry, which doesn’t happen often, as he pointed out that waiting 30 minutes for a 15 minute journey is a real disincentive to get the train. It means that this line has some of the least used stations in Cardiff despite having a large catchment population within easy reach. With the drive to encourage people to commute and leave their cars at home, would the council push the Welsh government and TFW to seriously look at what infrastructure could be installed to enable four trains per hour? Would you agree, for example, that such infrastructure like a passing loop need not be overly expensive compared to the benefits that it would produce? Reply – Cllr De’Ath I completely agree with your analysis. What we have done is suggest those improvements, to allow four trains per hour, be included in the regional transport plan of the South East Wales Corporate Joint Committee to try and attract some funding, so hopefully if we are successful I think the case for four trains per hour can be even more compelling. I really appreciate your lobbying, and I know other councillors in the north of Cardiff like Cllrs Carr, Palmer and Ash-Edwards have also been lobbying vociferously for this. For me, it’s just a no-brainer. 8. Cllr Naughton to Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport Will the council introduce road safety measures to tackle dangerous parking on Pentwyn Drive? Reply – Cllr De’Ath It would be really useful to have a little bit more information about this – I have asked officers to contact you and your ward colleagues to discuss this and see what investigations are needed, and what possible solutions can be suggested. Supplementary – Cllr Naughton We can speak offline, but the main issue is around the area which was the Pentwyn Arms and which has become emergency housing. This is great, but now there’s more demand for parking and it’s already very busy as we’ve got a one-stop shop there, and there are issues with people parking by the school. It’s becoming a bit of a dangerous situation. Officers did say they’d get back to me last year and we haven’t heard back, so it would be great to have an outline of what officers plan to do. Reply – Cllr De’Ath I’m sorry to hear they’ve not got back to you, I didn’t realise you’d raised this previously. What I can do is arrange a site visit where you can meet them and discuss what’s feasible. 9. Cllr Ali to Cllr Merry, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Education Can the Cabinet Member provide an update on school meals, and how many schools provide halal and vegetarian food in the city? Reply – Cllr Merry Every school in Cardiff provides a vegetarian option as part of all menus on a daily basis, with the vast majority of these meal options also being plant-based. halal food is currently served in eight schools, with two of those schools designated as wholly halal. The Education Catering Service can provide halal options to any school that requests this option and is currently working with a number of schools regarding halal food being served from the start of the 2024/25 school year. Work has also been undertaken with the Muslim Council of Wales to produce a set of protocols for dual standard/halal school meal provision. We will also be looking to undertake a public consultation on these protocols supported by the Muslim Council of Wales. 10. Cllr McEvoy to Cllr Burke, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport & Parks How much has been spent on play areas since the 3rd May 2012 in the following wards: Canton, Ely, Fairwater and Riverside, including Llandaff Fields? Reply – Cllr Burke A full breakdown of capital and Section 106 funding used for play area improvements within the wards you specified has been provided to you in the written response. 11. Cllr Cowan to Cllr Mackie, Cabinet Member for Waste, Street Scene & Environmental Services When will the replacement site for the Wedal Road Household Recycling Centre be unveiled? Reply – Cllr Mackie There is significant capacity at the moment within our existing recycling centres. There is also an existing funding allocation within our Capital Investment Programme to support the exploration of options in the north of the city and any required land acquisition for new recycling, repair and re-use facilities in partnership with the third sector. The service is also looking at how work relating to re-use and borrowing could be further promoted in Cardiff through working with the third sector and friendship groups. Supplementary – Cllr Cowan As you know, this issue has been around for a very long time and lots of local residents in Rhiwbina really did rely on the Wedal Road tip to help with your recycling targets, so I’m very pleased to hear that you are exploring a facility in Cardiff North. Could you give me some idea of the timescale, and what involvement local members will have with that? Reply – Cllr Mackie I’m sure local members will definitely be involved in whatever is going to be proposed. I can’t give you a timescale, I’m afraid, at this time, as conversations are going on and we still have to raise the budget as well. It will take a little time, I’m sure. 12. Cllr Molik to Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport Given that our long awaited bus station has now opened, could you tell me when and who decided 14 bays would be sufficient for a bus station in a capital city and that the bus station would not be accommodating National Express and other such coaches that travel from out of the city? Reply – Cllr De’Ath When the bus station received planning permission, this was based on a transport assessment that showed it had a proposed capacity in line with the previous bus station and capacity for coaches. When it opens this Sunday, there will be 44 buses per hour. When it is up to full steam, that will be 60 an hour, and theoretically under the right conditions it could go as high as 80+ an hour in certain circumstances. I stress that it’s for TFW rather than ourselves to decide who and what goes in there, but it’s not the case that National Express couldn’t go in there for some reason. They’ve just chosen not to go in there at this time, there’s no issue with the bus station preventing them from going in. We as a council are fully engaged with them, we’ve spoken about producing a coach strategy, and we could even see a standalone coach station somewhere in Cardiff. These are all things we’re currently considering. Supplementary – Cllr Molik You didn’t quite answer who and when that decision was made, which would be useful to know. Of course, going up to 80 buses but still excluding connections to much of the city is why my first question was raised earlier. We were given the impression that there wasn’t enough space for large buses to manoeuvre in the station – is that not correct information? Reply – Cllr De’Ath I think I was pretty clear in my original answer that the issue of there not being enough bays is a nonsense. There are enough bays for 80 buses an hour, that’s a huge amount. It’s not too small, there’s nothing wrong with it, it looks brilliant. The reason why Stagecoach haven’t gone in is not because they can’t, or because there’s any problem – the bus station looks great and is a huge achievement for our city. We should be celebrating it rather than talking it down. I’m glad you went to look round at the recent open day, I’d encourage people watching to go along. 13. Cllr Driscoll to Cllr Burke, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport & Parks Over some time, the Bishop’s Palace in Llandaff has suffered from vandalism, generally at night. There’s a feeling amongst residents that the historic gates at the entrance to the Palace are in need of some sort of additional protection to safeguard their condition. Can the Cabinet Member make a statement on whether a nightly locking regime would benefit the Bishop’s Palace and better protect this historic asset? Reply – Cllr Burke I’m aware that officers shared a report with you and your ward colleague Cllr Jenkins in February following a structural inspection of site features by a Cadw-approved structural engineer. Findings from the report will inform the Conservation Management Plan, and I anticipate that this will include the refurbishment of the gates that you refer to. It’s possible that a locking regime could help to reduce the risk of vandalism; however, this is a significant all year-round undertaking that the council is not currently resourced to fulfil. The council has, however, been successful in creating Park Watch schemes with Friends Of groups and local individual volunteers, whereby park unlocking and locking arrangements are introduced, with the council providing support with induction and risk assessments. Furthermore, I’m aware that the Llandaff 50+ group has shown an interest in such a scheme for the Bishop’s Palace, for which I have asked officers to provide full support. Supplementary – Cllr Driscoll As a trustee of the Llandaff 50+ group, I’ve not seen that, but if it is something they’d like to volunteer, is that something we could put in place quite quickly, or would it take some time to consult? Reply – Cllr Burke I will speak to officers to ascertain the timeline for you, but I shouldn’t think there would be a problem to let you see it if you haven’t already had a copy. 14. Cllr Lancaster to Cllr Stubbs, Chair of the Planning Committee Will you advise on the number of planning applications received into the service over the past three years, with a breakdown of commercial and residential per year? Reply – Cllr Stubbs Over the last three years, the average number of applications per financial year has been about 2,550. The planning service is quite stretched, not just with applications but also pre-applications and appeal decisions. Despite that, I have asked officers if they could email you with the specific breakdown you’ve asked for. Supplementary – Cllr Lancaster I look forward to receiving that more detailed response. You mentioned the service being stretched, and that is indeed the nub of the question. Residents have contacted us regularly about their frustrations about things like getting simple responses to queries from the planning department, as well as delays in responses via telephone enquiries and things like that. What are your plans to improve the response efficiency of the system? Reply – Cllr Stubbs I’ll have to be a bit careful during the pre-election period, but we all have to be mindful that when we ask anything of council services, that public services are increasingly stretched. All I’ll say is we know why that is. So, what I would encourage residents to do is to just be mindful of that. If there are any individual issues that councillors have about particular applications, I would encourage them to take them up with the Chair of Planning, but other than that, if you look at the sheer number of applications that are coming in, there are 2,500 or more, and that doesn’t even paint the full picture of what the service is doing – significant amounts of enforcement issues, increasing numbers of appeals, significant number of pre-planning applications. This is a growing city, we are chasing growth and part of that growth is that people are putting in planning applications and that’s something we should welcome. Let’s work with the service and please let me or officers know on specific issues.
Part of an issue followed across 11 meetings
There was no urgent business.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1. Receive nominations and appoint to the vacancies on the Committees, in accordance with the Party Group wishes, as set out in Table A and on the Amendment Sheet.
The Council was requested to receive nominations and make appointments to current committee vacancies as set out in the report and in accordance with the approved allocation of seats and political group wishes. RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1. Receive nominations and appoint to the vacancies on the Committees, in accordance with the Party Group wishes, as set out in Table A and on the Amendment Sheet.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1. Approve the nomination to the SEWCJC Governance and Audit Sub-Committee as set out in the Amendment Sheet; 2. Approve the nomination and appointment of a new non-executive director to the Board of Cardiff Bus as set out in the Amendment Sheet; 3. Approve the company’s proposed appointment of Mrs Jen Doody to the Board of Cardiff Bus as an executive director; 4. Approve the nomination of Councillor Garry Hunt for consideration and appointment by the company’s Board as the new Chair of Cardiff Bus.
The Council was requested to receive nominations and make appointments of members to outside bodies to fill vacancies which had arisen. RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1. Approve the nomination to the SEWCJC Governance and Audit Sub-Committee as set out in the Amendment Sheet; 2. Approve the nomination and appointment of a new non-executive director to the Board of Cardiff Bus as set out in the Amendment Sheet; 3. Approve the company’s proposed appointment of Mrs Jen Doody to the Board of Cardiff Bus as an executive director; 4. Approve the nomination of Councillor Garry Hunt for consideration and appointment by the company’s Board as the new Chair of Cardiff Bus.
Part of an issue followed across 3 meetings
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1. Approve the new appointments of Local Authority governors to the school governing bodies as set out in Appendix 1, each for a term of 4 years from the date of the appointment, in accordance with the recommendations of the Local Authority Governor Panel.
The Council was requested to appoint Local Authority School Governors to fill vacancies. RESOLVED: Council AGREED to: 1. Approve the new appointments of Local Authority governors to the school governing bodies as set out in Appendix 1, each for a term of 4 years from the date of the appointment, in accordance with the recommendations of the Local Authority Governor Panel.
In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 17(f), Written Questions received for consideration together with the responses will be attached to the minutes.
Part of an issue followed across 11 meetings
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
Lists the council's current councillors only. Co-opted members, officers and former councillors aren't shown.