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RESOLVED: Council AGREED: 1. To adopt the Budget Timetable Framework set out in Appendix 2, subject to a decision by Cabinet at its meeting on 18th July 2024 (set out in the Amendment Sheet); and that the work outlined is progressed with a view to informing budget preparation.
RESOLVED: Council AGREED: 1. To note the Scrutiny Annual Report for 2023/24.
RESOLVED: Council AGREED: 1. To 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: 1. To approve the appointment of Mr Alan Davies as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Cardiff Bus for a term of 3 years, subject to the receipt of satisfactory references.
Apologies were received from Councillors Waheeda Abdul-Sattar, Davies, Gibson, Joyce, Latif, Owen and Singh.
The following declarations of interest were received in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct. Name Agenda item Nature of interest Reason for interest Cllr Naughton 7 Personal Family member is employed by Cardiff Council Cllr Ash- Edwards 15 Personal Non-executive Director, Cardiff Bus Cllr Gunter 15 Non-executive Director, Cardiff Bus Cllr Taylor 15 Non-executive Director, Cardiff Bus
The minutes of the 27th June meeting were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
There were three public questions. 1. Matthew Griffiths to Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport Many citizens and visitors have been outraged at what has been done in and around the Roath Recreation Ground. Whilst fully supporting the principle of a cycle lane and active cycle, the design is totally out of keeping with the Grade 1 listed Cadw Rec within the conservation area. It is at odds with the council’s own Roath Park conservation area appraisal, on the basis that the scheme is within a park boundary and not on the highway. What process was used to approve this highways project, and how is it fully compliant with the council’s own conservation policy without statutory consultation with Cadw, the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust and other protected bodies? Reply – Cllr De’Ath Firstly, I genuinely admire your commitment to heritage and the area where you live, it’s something I feel very strongly about myself. I actually used to work at the National Museum of Wales and heritage is a big thing for me, and for us as an administration. In a few days’ time, we’re bringing forward measures to add local pubs, several in Roath, to our local list and protect them for the future. On this particular project, I don’t agree with you. There are people in this chamber who have active travel schemes in their wards, and I say to them: when this goes in it will look awful, and people will complain. This always happens, when I first took on this role the Allensbank Cycleway was going in and looked like a building site, because it was one. That’s never going to look nice, but when it was finished it looked really nice and people came to like it, or at least not mind it. It was the same with Cathays Terrace and Crwys Road, and the same will be true with Crossrail. We’re really at that point with Roath Rec too. In the end, it will look very different, and in terms of the planning issues you raise, even though it is in the park, this is what’s known as permitted development for the town and country. Even though we haven’t had to consult with various people, we have done that as it’s best practice. We have engaged with Cadw right from the start, and we’re engaging with them at the moment over some planting that’s happening, and we take their views very seriously. Supplementary – Matthew Griffiths The revised design of the pedestrian/cycleway is now so far into the historic Rec that it is no longer adjoining the highway boundary. Is the local authority fully compliant with the Town and Country Planning General Permitted Development Order 1995, Schedule 2, Part 13? Reply – Cllr De’Ath We have checked again today and I’m informed we are. 2. Lucy Griffiths to Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport I’ve never had to do anything like this before so diolch, thank you for having me. Today I’m here to represent the Save Roath Rec campaigners who can’t be here to ask this question. There has been much speculation as to where the cycleway will continue after completion inside the boundary of Roath Rec. Alterations to the Pleasure Garden gates early on led many to believe it would continue through there, however a recent mailshot revealed the contractors are currently starting its construction onto Ninian Road without public consultation. This new information will have influenced residents during last year’s consultation to close the adjoining Alder Road, as they feel it provides overflow parking in a densely populated area, so would mean increased emissions. While the council absolutely has a mandate from the ward of Plasnewydd to address the climate crisis with such schemes, does that mean we don’t deserve transparent consultation in return? Reply – Cllr De’Ath I do feel we have a mandate to address the climate crisis, and a really important way of doing that is by building sustainable transport infrastructure. I don’t agree that it will increase emissions, I think the effect of the closure will be negligible in that regard. The cycleway as it stands stops at the Alder Road junction, not carrying on past there, for the time being at least. If it were to go any further then there would be a full public consultation. Supplementary – Lucy Griffiths In the run-up to the election, we were told on our doorsteps that the route was completely undecided, and yet days later we got this through our doors and now we see the actual truth. So my question is, will you now pause the works to allow your community to make an informed decision on the closure and the route in one, and reach a democratic solution to this mess? Reply – Cllr De’Ath We’re closing Alder Road for safety reasons, no scheme has been designed and we don’t have a secret plan for a cycleway. Anything we do will be fully consulted on, but at the moment it stops at Alder Road. It may well carry on down there but at this phase of the work I can’t say anything else. 3. Peter Banks to Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport My question is in respect of a significant change to works planned on the north side of the Recreation Ground. The council-appointed contractor Knights Brown issued a statement on the 20th June on the public record, on behalf of the council. The question you must answer is to explain the clear, and I emphasise clear, contradiction between the statement made through the contractor and Natural Resources Wales, who have said none of their teams involved in the Roath Brook and allied scheme have had any discussions as referenced. Given that the contractor was issuing their statement on the council’s behalf, please will you tell the community now, what was the reason for the eleventh-hour change to the planned works? Reply – Cllr De’Ath It’s absolutely the case that NRW were planning work on that park of the brook. It’s absolutely the case that they paused that work for financial reasons that were affecting the pathway so we took the decision not to carry on with it. I’m also alive to the fact that there has been lots of public feedback about it as well, I certainly don’t deny it. There was indeed, I’m informed by officials, a phone call with NRW on the day or around about the time that statement was put out, so I can only presume it’s crossed wires of some description there. Supplementary – Peter Banks As their statement was unambiguous, and the contractor has issued statements on behalf of the council, it’s clear that the contractor Knight’s Brown is acting on the council’s direction in matters of media and communication. Our community believes that the council is therefore accountable for another instance of wholly unacceptable conduct by the contractor. On the 26th June, the divisional operation manager of Knights Brown confirmed that it was their staff responsible for making a false representation on a social media channel about our campaign and that they are taking internal action on this matter. However, Knights Brown continue to refuse the reasonable request that they provide a full and public apology. As it is established that the contractor is acting on the council’s behalf, the question that we now put to you comprises two parts. First, will you direct Knights Brown to provide an unequivocal public apology that the community deserves, and secondly, as the community can no longer have any trust in this contractor, will you take personal charge of the relationship and commit to holding weekly meetings on-site with the community, starting next Monday? Reply – Cllr De’Ath I haven’t seen the NRW statement you’re referring to and I have nothing further to add.
Two petitions were received. Presented by Number of relevant signatures Nature of petition Cllr Driscoll 510 Calling on the council to cancel plans to remove two hours free parking in Llandaff High Street car park. Cllr Elsmore 1,068 Calling on the council to cancel plans to remove three hours of free parking from car parks along Cowbridge Road East.
The Lord Mayor reported a number of recent visits: Tuesday 25th June Citizenship Ceremony, Mansion House Saturday 29th June Creigiau Carnival Saturday 6th July Bristol Channel Yachting Club Yacht Pontoons, Mermaid Quay Monday 8th July International Paramedics Day Thanksgiving Service, St John the Baptist Church Thursday 11th July Greeted the King at the Senedd Thursday 11th July Srebrenica Memorial Day, Cardiff and Vale College Wednesday 17th July Summer Concert, Cardiff and Vale Youth Orchestra, Hoddinott Hall, Millennium Centre She added that Cllr Ash Lister would be running the Stuttgart 10k on Sunday 21st July on behalf of Cardiff Food Bank, and asked that people give generously to the charity.
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RESOLVED: Council AGREED: 1. To adopt the Budget Timetable Framework set out in Appendix 2, subject to a decision by Cabinet at its meeting on 18th July 2024 (set out in the Amendment Sheet); and that the work outlined is progressed with a view to informing budget preparation.
Council was advised that this report sought to provide an update on budget preparation for 2025/26, including the most recent estimate of the 2025/26 budget gap; to provide an update in relation to the Medium-Term Financial Plan and Capital Programme, to outline the budget timetable that would be followed to present the 2025/26 Budget to Council in March 2025; and to provide an update in relation to the council’s financial resilience. The report was proposed by Cllr Weaver and seconded by Cllr Thomas. The Lord Mayor invited debate on the report. The Lord Mayor called for a vote on the recommendations. FOR (64) Councillors Ali Ahmed, Saleh Ahmed, Ali, Ash-Edwards, Bowen-Thomson, Bradbury, Bridgeman, Brown-Reckless, Burke, Carr, Carter, Chowdhury, Cunnah, De’Ath, Derbyshire, Driscoll, Ebrahim, Elsmore, Ferguson-Thorne, Goodway, Green, Gunter, Hinchey, Hopkins, Humphreys, Hunt, Jenkins, Lloyd Jones, Jackie Jones, Keith Jones, Owen Jones, Kaaba, Lancaster, Lay, Lent, Lewis, Lister, Littlechild, Livesy, Mackie, McGarry, Melbourne, Merry, Molik, Moultrie, Palmer, Proctor, Reid-Jones, Robinson, Robson, Sangani, Shimmin, Simmons, Stubbs, Taylor, Thomas, Thomson, Thorne, Waldron, Weaver, Wild, Williams, Wong and Wood. AGAINST (0) ABSTAIN (0) RESOLVED: Council AGREED: 1. To adopt the Budget Timetable Framework set out in Appendix 2, subject to a decision by Cabinet at its meeting on 18th July 2024 (set out in the Amendment Sheet); and that the work outlined is progressed with a view to informing budget preparation.
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RESOLVED: Council AGREED: 1. To note the Scrutiny Annual Report for 2023/24.
Council was asked to note the Scrutiny Annual Report for 2023/24. The report was proposed by Cllr Williams. The Lord Mayor invited debate on the report, before moving to the vote. RESOLVED: Council AGREED: 1. To note the Scrutiny Annual Report for 2023/24.
Leader’s Statement Cllr Thomas responded to questions in relation to: - St Mellons Parkway - the resignation of the First Minister - the future of Mansion House - the Build-To-Rent scheme - the Tafwyl music festival Finance, Modernisation & Performance Statement Cllr Weaver responded to questions in relation to: - the Local Broadband Fund - the CardiffGov mobile app Housing & Communities Statement Cllrs Thorne and Bridgeman responded to questions in relation to: - the Violence Between Girls project - pressures on housing and homelessness services, including that of the early prisoner release program - Llanishen Hub - the responsive repairs service - the pilot Elected Home Education project - organising a meeting with a local artist in St Mellons Investment & Development Statement Cllr Goodway responded to questions in relation to: - electric vehicle charging facilities - safeguarding small businesses where the council is the landlord Adult Services and Public Health & Equality Statement Cllrs Thomson and Sangani responded to questions in relation to: - Neurodivergent Friendly Cardiff engagement - the timeline of the Race Equality Task Force Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport Statement Cllr De’Ath responded to questions in relation to: - the Cardiff Bus Interchange - safe corridors for bike and walking buses Deputy Leader and Education Statement Cllr Merry responded to questions in relation to: - sixth form provision at Willows High School - the Little Gigs programme Children’s Services, Tackling Poverty & Supporting Young People Statement Cllrs Lister and Bradbury responded to questions in relation to: - the Joint Inspection of Child Protection Arrangements Waste, Street Scene & Environmental Services Statement Cllr Mackie responded to questions in relation to: - waste collections - the availability of green and hygiene waste bags Culture, Sport & Parks Statement Cllr Burke responded to questions in relation to: - encouraging participation in cricket across the city - the One Mow scheme
The Lord Mayor noted that a Notice of Motion proposed by Cllr Driscoll and seconded by Cllr Cowan had been received for consideration. The Lord Mayor invited Cllr Driscoll to propose the Motion as follows: This Council: 1. Recognises the vital contribution that high street hospitality, retail and small business sector makes to the vibrancy of our district shopping centres; 2. Recognises that Llandaff Surgery patients will be negatively impacted by the policy to remove free parking, that’ll negatively impact patients needing to attend appointments and visit pharmacies; 3. Recognises the important contribution the hospitality retail and small business sector makes to employment and the economy in the city. And acknowledges that removing free parking will have a negative impact on businesses; 4. Regrets that our high street hospitality and retail sector still hasn’t recovered to pre-pandemic levels; 5. Recognises that some bus services across the city have been cut, while other services like the number 66 Cardiff Bus Route that served Llandaff, has been completely removed from service; 6. Calls on the council to: a) Scrap the plans to remove two-hour free parking from car parks. Specifically, Llandaff, Canton and Whitchurch; b) Engage with local businesses, schools and residents, to fully understand the impact of any increased charges and removal of free parking in its car parks; c) Engage with doctors’ surgeries and patients to fully understand the impact of any increased charges and removal of free parking in its car parks; d) Rule out any further removal of Free Parking in local and district shopping centres; e) Write to Welsh Government to support retail hospitality and small businesses sector by: Reintroducing the 75% rate relief for the struggling hospitality trade and small businesses, as enjoyed by retail and hospitality businesses in the rest of the UK. The Motion was formally seconded by Cllr Cowan. No amendments to the Motion had been received. The Lord Mayor invited debate on the Motion, before inviting Cllr Driscoll to respond to the issues raised during the debate. The Lord Mayor called for a vote on the Motion as proposed by Cllr Driscoll and seconded by Cllr Cowan. FOR (18) Councillors Berman, Brown-Reckless, Carter, Cowan, Driscoll, Hopkins, Lancaster, Littlechild, Livesy, Melbourne, Molik, Naughton, Reid-Jones, Robson, Shimmin, Taylor, Waldron and Williams. AGAINST (42) Councillors Ali Ahmed, Saleh Ahmed, Ali, Ash-Edwards, Boes, Bowen-Thomson, Bradbury, Bridgeman, Burke, Carr, Cunnah, De’Ath, Ebrahim, Ferguson-Thorne, Goodway, Green, Gunter, Humphreys, Hunt, Lloyd Jones, Jackie Jones, Owen Jones, Kaaba, Lay, Lewis, Lister, Mackie, McGarry, Merry, Moultrie, Palmer, Proctor, Robinson, Sangani, Simmons, Stubbs, Thomas, Thomson, Thorne, Weaver, Wild and Wong. ABSTAIN (2) Councillors Chowdhury and Elsmore. The vote on the Motion was LOST.
The Deputy Lord Mayor chaired the meeting from this point forward. The Deputy Lord Mayor noted that a Notice of Motion proposed by Cllr Proctor and seconded by Cllr Carr had been received for consideration. The Deputy Lord Mayor invited Cllr Proctor to propose the Motion as follows: This Council recognises that: Access to adequate food and nutrition is a human right under Article 25 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights and articles 24 and 27 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Food security is a social justice issue. 15% of UK households, including 3 million children, experienced food insecurity in January 2024, as inflation causes high food prices to hit low income families. Wales is heavily reliant on UK and Global systems for its food security. 46% of all we eat in the UK is imported. Agriculture is both an essential part of our nation’s solution to food security and a major contributor to carbon emissions. And, as a key part of the Welsh economy, is itself under direct threat from climate change. The UK Risk Register highlights the current threats to our food supply chain from global disruptions including war, climate change impacts, anti-microbial resistance, and potential contamination from pathogens, to name but a few of the risks. We have already seen the impact of global risks on pricing and availability. Ultra-processed food, often unsustainable yet seeming cheaper and made easily available through aggressive marketing, is increasingly shown to have a negative impact on our health and well-being The Council’s One Planet Cardiff Strategy has a vision for us to be a carbon neutral city by 2030. One of the key ways we can maximise low carbon opportunities is to promote better food security for Cardiff. We can reduce greenhouse emissions and enhance economic, environmental, social and cultural well-being by ensuring everyone has access to good quality, healthy, sustainable food that is locally produced and mitigates the risk to these global threats. This Council resolves to: Make its contribution to ensuring everyone has access to decent, healthy, sustainably produced food, giving urgency to Cardiff Council’s new Food Strategy, building the momentum around community food and links to local supply chains by: Setting a clear direction away from regular servings of ultra-processed foods that are high in added sugar, salt, and saturated fats, and ultra-processed foods that contain little dietary fibre and have lost nutritional value through the processes that they have experienced in schools and council facilities, with a target of reducing this annually. Shift our focus towards sustainable procurement opportunities including school meals and other council catering facilities. Restrict advertising of ultra-processed or unhealthy foods around schools and venues for young people, in favour of promoting healthier options. Grow awareness of where and how our food is produced and the inter-dependencies between urban and rural areas and work with partners through existing structures such as the PSB, Food Cardiff, Farming Unions, and the Co-operative Movement to develop integrated, regional, cross-sector food partnerships and invest in local, sustainable food production and consumption. Shift away from low quality unsustainable meat supplies, favouring locally-produced, sustainable sources of vegetables and fruits, with (where it is used) better quality meat, sustainably produced, properly valued, eaten less often. Ensure the LDP is developed in a way that is complementary to the objectives of the Food Strategy and this motion. The Council further resolves to: Call on Welsh Government to develop and implement a long-term, sustainable strategy for food using Well-being of Future Generations Act Sustainable Development Principle, including the five ways of working. Work with the WLGA to ensure local government is actively involved in developing sustainable food strategies and plans, planning its part in ensuring everyone has access to decent, healthy, sustainable food supplies. Re-commit our support for the Cardiff Food Partnership and aim for a Gold Sustainable Food Places Award. Request that the relevant scrutiny committee(s) examine the council’s current and future approach to food security and sustainability and present recommendations to Cabinet of how the aims of this motion might be achieved, and any financial implications for implementation. The Motion was formally seconded by Cllr Carr. An Amendment to the Motion had been received from the Liberal Democrat Group. The Deputy Lord Mayor called upon Cllr Berman to move the Amendment as follows: This Council recognises that: Access to adequate food and nutrition is a human right under Article 25 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights and articles 24 and 27 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Food security is a social justice issue. 15% of UK households, including 3 million children, experienced food insecurity in January 2024, as inflation causes high food prices to hit low income families. Wales is heavily reliant on UK and Global systems for its food security. 46% of all we eat in the UK is imported. Agriculture is both an essential part of our nation’s solution to food security and a major contributor to carbon emissions. And, as a key part of the Welsh economy, is itself under direct threat from climate change. The UK Risk Register highlights the current threats to our food supply chain from global disruptions including war, climate change impacts, anti-microbial resistance, and potential contamination from pathogens, to name but a few of the risks. We have already seen the impact of global risks on pricing and availability. Ultra-processed food, often unsustainable yet seeming cheaper and made easily available through aggressive marketing, is increasingly shown to have a negative impact on our health and well-being The Council’s One Planet Cardiff Strategy has a vision for us to be a carbon neutral city by 2030. One of the key ways we can maximise low carbon opportunities is to promote better food security for Cardiff. We can reduce greenhouse emissions and enhance economic, environmental, social and cultural well-being by ensuring everyone has access to good quality, healthy, sustainable food that is locally produced and mitigates the risk to these global threats. Add: ’There is a recognised link between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and the growing prevalence of obesity which impacts on the community of Cardiff, as well as the wider population.’ This Council resolves to: Make its contribution to ensuring everyone has access to decent, healthy, sustainably produced food, giving urgency to Cardiff Council’s new Food Strategy, building the momentum around community food and links to local supply chains by: Setting a clear direction away from regular servings of ultra-processed foods that are high in added sugar, salt, and saturated fats, and ultra-processed foods that contain little dietary fibre and have lost nutritional value through the processes that they have experienced in schools and council facilities, with a target of reducing this annually. Shift our focus towards sustainable procurement opportunities including school meals and other council catering facilities. Restrict advertising of ultra-processed or unhealthy foods around schools and venues for young people, in favour of promoting healthier options. Grow awareness of where and how our food is produced and the inter-dependencies between urban and rural areas and work with partners through existing structures such as the PSB, Food Cardiff, Farming Unions, and the Co-operative Movement to develop integrated, regional, cross-sector food partnerships and invest in local, sustainable food production and consumption. Shift away from low quality unsustainable meat supplies, favouring locally-produced, sustainable sources of vegetables and fruits, with (where it is used) better quality meat, sustainably produced, properly valued, eaten less often. Ensure the LDP is developed in a way that is complementary to the objectives of the Food Strategy and this motion. Add: ’Work with schools to review the quality of school menus in order to ensure that children receiving school meals are being provided with an appropriately healthy diet.’ The Council further resolves to: Call on Welsh Government to develop and implement a long-term, sustainable strategy for food using Well-being of Future Generations Act Sustainable Development Principle, including the five ways of working. Work with the WLGA to ensure local government is actively involved in developing sustainable food strategies and plans, planning its part in ensuring everyone has access to decent, healthy, sustainable food supplies. Re-commit our support for the Cardiff Food Partnership and aim for a Gold Sustainable Food Places Award. Request that the relevant scrutiny committee(s) examine the council’s current and future approach to food security and sustainability and present recommendations to Cabinet of how the aims of this motion might be achieved, and any financial implications for implementation. Add: ’Work with partner organisations, including the Welsh Government and local health bodies such as Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Public Health Wales, on a medium-long term strategy aimed at reducing the prevalence of obesity amongst adults and children in Cardiff, with progress monitored against measurable outcomes.’ Add: ’Recognising the link between household finance and poor nutrition the new UK Government to scrap the two-child benefit cap at the earliest possible opportunity.’ The Amendment was formally seconded by Cllr Carter. The Deputy Lord Mayor invited debate on the Motion and the Amendment. The Deputy Lord Mayor invited Cllr Proctor to respond to the issues raised during the debate. She confirmed that the Amendment was not accepted. The Deputy Lord Mayor called for a vote on the Amendment as proposed by Cllr Berman and seconded by Cllr Carter. FOR (9) Councillors Berman, Carter, Hopkins, Livesy, Molik, Naughton, Shimmin, Taylor and Waldron. AGAINST (53) Councillors Ali Ahmed, Saleh Ahmed, Ali, Ash-Edwards, Boes, Bowen-Thomson, Bradbury, Bridgeman, Brown-Reckless, Burke, Carr, Chowdhury, Cowan, Cunnah, De’Ath, Driscoll, Ebrahim, Elsmore, Ferguson-Thorne, Goodway, Green, Gunter, Hinchey, Humphreys, Hunt, Jenkins, Jackie Jones, Owen Jones, Kaaba, Lancaster, Lay, Lewis, Lister, Littlechild, Mackie, McGarry, Melbourne, Merry, Moultrie, Palmer, Proctor, Reid-Jones, Robinson, Robson, Sangani, Stubbs, Thomas, Thomson, Thorne, Weaver, Wild, Williams and Wong. ABSTAIN (0) The vote on the Amendment was LOST. The Deputy Lord Mayor called for a vote on the Motion as proposed by Cllr Proctor and seconded by Cllr Carr. FOR (61) Councillors Ali Ahmed, Saleh Ahmed, Ali, Ash-Edwards, Berman, Boes, Bowen-Thomson, Bradbury, Bridgeman, Brown-Reckless, Burke, Carr, Carter, Chowdhury, Cowan, Cunnah, De’Ath, Driscoll, Ebrahim, Elsmore, Ferguson-Thorne, Goodway, Green, Gunter, Hinchey, Hopkins, Humphreys, Hunt, Jenkins, Jackie Jones, Owen Jones, Kaaba, Lancaster, Lay, Lewis, Lister, Littlechild, Livesy, Mackie, McGarry, Melbourne, Merry, Molik, Moultrie, Naughton, Palmer, Proctor, Reid-Jones, Robinson, Robson, Sangani, Shimmin, Stubbs, Taylor, Thomas, Thomson, Thorne, Waldron, Weaver, Wild and Wong. AGAINST (0) ABSTAIN (1) Councillor Williams. The vote on the Motion was CARRIED.
There were 22 oral questions. 1. Cllr Cowan to Cllr Burke, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport & Parks I understand 'Better' have put adult swimming prices up by 80% in recent months. A constituent last went swimming in April in Maindy. The cost was £5. Now it's £9 and more expensive than the International Pool. Did you know in advance about the price hikes, and if so, what representations did you make? Reply – Cllr Burke I’d like to make clear at the outset that the cost of swimming for adults has not gone up by 80%. The £5 price for swimming you refer to is the senior concession price for 23/24, and the senior concession price for 24/25 is now £5.60. The adult swimming price for 23/24 was £8 without the concession – this has increased by £1. However, customers are actively encouraged to register for a Cardiff resident card, which reduces the cost to £8.20, or join the annual membership scheme, which reduces the cost to £6.80. I meet with GLL on a quarterly basis, but GLL are allowed to implement an annual price increase of 3% plus CPI across the full basket of prices as part of the existing contract they have with the council. Supplementary – Cllr Cowan Thank you, but some people just want to go swimming on an ad hoc basis and don’t want to sign up to any kind of long-term commitment. So how many times have you met with the organisation to try and persuade them to refrain from increasing prices? Reply – Cllr Burke As I mentioned, we meet on a quarterly basis, and to the best of my knowledge, in the times I’ve met them in my role as Cabinet Member, a discussion about price increases hasn’t come up because it’s within the contract that they have control over where they set their prices. As I mentioned, they’re able to implement the 3 per cent plus CPI. The conversations that we do have, to the best of my recollection, have been limited to mitigating the impact of the cost of living crisis, which has a huge impact on GLL in terms of the costs they’re seeing for energy and heating of the pool, and those conversations have been incredibly meaningful and impactful, and I think they’ve made good progress. If that hadn’t have been the case, it would be fair to assume that we’d be looking at conversations around higher prices. No-one wants to see price increases of any type, I appreciate that. 2. Cllr Berman to Cllr Burke, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport & Parks Please outline the extent of all work carried out to date to deliver the required replacement of the roof of St David's Hall since the venue was initially closed in September 2023. Reply – Cllr Burke I can confirm that AMG have developed a solution to eliminate the risk of the RAC roof following detailed surveys and is now committed to moving forward with the refurbishment of St David’s Hall. The AMG Board has approved the project and an agreement for a lease was signed on the 26th February 2024. The listing of the building has significantly prolonged the process and requires a listed building application to be submitted and approved before any works can progress. I think we’re all sure that that is the right course of action. AMG are currently finalising costs with contractors with a view to submitting an application towards the end of the summer. It’s anticipated that the work will take about 18 months to complete, once all the related plannings are secured. Supplementary – Cllr Berman Thank you for that detailed reply. I think a lot of people will be staggered that ten months on from the closure of the hall, unfortunately we haven’t been able to start the work to replace the work. I do understand the issues you’re raising, but if you’re saying it’s going to take 18 months to replace the roof once you’ve got the agreement in place and the planning consent, when do we expect that the hall might be able to reopen, and does that mean it will be reopening at a much later date than was previously indicated? Reply – Cllr Burke I don’t have the timeline directly in front of me and don’t want to give you incorrect information, but I’m happy to make sure that we get the right information to you. I think it’s important to recognise and appreciate that the Cadw listing has impacted the timeframes we’re looking at, and I absolutely think that was the right thing to do. People were very concerned about making sure St David’s was protected for the long term, and this isn’t something we can approach with a frivolous attitude, it has to be done the right way. So, if things take a bit longer, and they take a bit longer to do it right, then I’m absolutely fine with that. 3. Cllr Livesy to Cllr Weaver, Cabinet Member for Finance, Modernisation & Performance In reference to well-publicised environmental offences by Neal Soils and/or the Dauson Group, what assessment has the council made in relation to risk to its reputation or otherwise, while these companies seem to be widely involved in projects across Cardiff (directly or indirectly appointed by Cardiff Council)? Reply – Cllr Weaver The grounds by which the council can exclude bidders from tenders is governed by the Public Contract Regulations 2015, which sets out discretionary grounds on which a bidding organisation may be deemed ineligible to tender for, or be awarded, a public contract. One of the discretionary grounds relates to environmental law. Our standard tender documents state that should it become apparent to the council that any bidder has violated obligations in the fields of environmental law within the past 3 years, they may be excluded from the procurement. However, we are required to give bidders an opportunity to provide details of the relevant conviction, enforcement action or notice and details of any remedial action or changes they have made as a result of conviction, enforcement action or notices served. This information is what will be used to inform the council’s decision whether any company will be excluded or not. Supplementary – Cllr Livesy Could you confirm if the council has ever made loans to Neal Soils or any of the companies in the Dauson Group, and I’m in two minds about asking this, but would you be happy to clarify if the Labour Party group in Cardiff has received any donations from the Dauson Group? Reply – Cllr Weaver The Labour Party group in Cardiff, to my knowledge, has never received a donation from anybody. In terms of the council, I’m absolutely unaware of that but would have to check that with officers as that’s not information that councillors would be aware of or have. 4. Cllr Green to Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport Can the Cabinet Member give an update on the Greener Whitchurch project and the current timeline for the project? Reply – Cllr De’Ath I’m genuinely excited to be involved with Greener Whitchurch. I’m a huge fan of Greener Grangetown and I think Greener Whitchurch will be a great project, not just in terms of flood prevention but in terms of the street scene and biodiversity. At this precise moment, there’s a whole range of surveys going on looking at ground conditioning, bats, the condition of walls, a whole plethora of things and some of that will feed into the design process. In terms of the timeline, in a nutshell, in spring next year it will go through the planning process, there’ll be a full business case constructed in the autumn, it’ll go to the Welsh government, and all things being well, which I’m sure they will, construction should start in April 2026. Supplementary – Cllr Green It’s a very exciting project and much-needed investment into our high street. Just to check, is the project still on course, because I’ve got some dates here from the Greener Whitchurch website and the planning application’s supposed to go in autumn this year, and there was supposed to be a public consultation over this summer for the detailed design and preferred option. You may not have that answer now but if you could get in contact with me about that. Just going back to the high street, can you make sure it is a priority that of course we are dealing with the flood risk, but we’re also making Merthyr Road a nicer place to shop, eat and all those other things, and there’s a benefit to businesses there as well? Reply – Cllr De’Ath 100%, we’ll make Merthyr Road a much more attractive place to visit, it will benefit local businesses, I think that’s undeniable if you see what we’re preparing to do. What I think would be really useful is if I met with local ward members and we all had an update, I think we’d all benefit from that, so I can find out where we are in terms of consultation and whatnot. 5. Cllr Melbourne to Cllr Thomas, Leader of the Council How will the full Council be informed of the deliberations of the Corporate Joint Committees (CJCs) and what opportunities will all councillors have to influence their agenda? Reply – Cllr Thomas As you may recall, the Cabinet considered an update report on the South East Wales Corporate Joint Committee back in March. As the newly appointed Vice Chair of the South East Wales CJC, it’s important for me to remind members that the CJC is not a joint committee in the traditional sense, in the way that our shared regulatory services are for example, but is in fact a separate legal entity in its own right, established through legislation, that operates in the same way as other principal councils in Wales. What that means is that meeting agendas, reports, decisions and minutes have the same publishing requirements as there are for Cardiff Council, so they are made publicly available on the ‘Governance’ section of the Cardiff Capital Region website. As was outlined in the report in March to Cabinet, the specific functions of the CJC relate to its statutory duties to prepare both a Regional Transport Plan and Strategic Development Plan, as well as its ability to exercise economic wellbeing powers and undertake activities that promote and support economic development within the Cardiff Capital Region, inheriting the City Deal responsibilities as originally established. The membership of the CJC as the main decision-making body is comprised of one councillor from each of the 10 constituent councils who are the Leaders of each Council. As the appointed Cardiff Council representative on the CJC, I would be happy to consider and raise any matters at future CJC meetings, which colleagues may wish to raise with me from a Cardiff perspective and which fall within the remit of the CJC. I’ve previously spoken in this chamber and elsewhere about the genuine concern that backbenchers lose a direct say in the processes of the CJC, so I’m alive to that and will work with you to make sure that’s not the case. Supplementary – Cllr Melbourne Thank you, that does tie into the supplementary of what specifically will you, as the Cabinet Member, do to ensure that all backbench Members from across the political spectrum have a chance to influence the agenda, because we all know that this committee is very influential and will hold a lot of clout in the future of the development of Cardiff? Reply – Cllr Thomas It is influential, but actually when you consider, and we’ve made this point about the City Deal, its actual spend as a wider investment fund, yes there are opportunities, but that is at the margins of what the ten principal councils spend on an annual basis. What I was going to go on to say was that there have also been appointments made to the CJC Sub Committees that deal with the strategic development plan and the regional transport plan, and indeed onto the joint overview and scrutiny committees, so I’m sure that the appointed representatives on those committees will also wish to work hard to ensure that the views of councillors here are heard as we deliver, through that body, the agenda and outcomes that we want to see here in Cardiff as well. 6. Cllr Molik to Cllr Sangani, Cabinet Member for Adult Services and Public Health & Equality In accordance to the Census 2021, 0.8%, i.e. around 6-7 thousand, of Cardiff’s population are Bangladeshi. The history of Bangladesh (part of India) in the UK dates back to the 18th century. I became the first Lord Mayor with Bangladeshi origin last year. Bangladeshi community set & built the multi-million pound curry industry in the UK through their blood, sweat & tears and, indeed, through sheer hard work. Current days, much of the migrants coming to the UK from Bangladesh come to make academic & research contributions or work in health & social care and travel legally to the UK. Does the leadership in Cardiff appreciate the contributions made by Bangladeshi community in Cardiff & the UK and recognise the upset it caused when this community were targeted misleadingly by our newly elected Prime Minister? Reply – Cllr Sangani Cardiff’s Bangladeshi community is the largest in Wales and makes an important contribution to the city’s economy and its ethnic and cultural diversity. For example, Cardiff is pleased to celebrate International Mother Language Day every year at the city’s International Mother Language Monument, which was funded and constructed thanks to the hard work and commitment of members of the city’s Bangladeshi community. Our Bangladeshi community is longstanding and thriving, with a number of colleagues in this Chamber – including yourself – being of Bangladeshi origin. The city has welcomed a number of Bangladeshi nationals to Cardiff in recent years who have made the exact contributions you described in your question, such as working in the NHS, in our universities and our economic growth sectors, as well as politicians in this Chamber as well. As the new Prime Minister also said prior to the General Election, people of Bangladeshi origin make “an enormous contribution to our country”. So, on behalf of this administration, I am pleased to join you in recognising the contribution of the Bangladeshi community – and all our other diverse communities – to life here in Cardiff. Thank you. Supplementary – Cllr Molik Immigration and migrants often become a hot topic during our election times. The majority of immigrants coming to the UK do not arrive on boats, they arrive on a mutual need and benefit basis, i.e. because the UK needs them. That has been the case historically, in places like Bangladesh and India contributed largely to help Britain win wars and then to rebuild Britain post-war, and that is what happens now. I took my mum for a cataract operation last week, two eye clinics running parallel, 80% of patients were white British but 80% of health professionals operating those clinics had migrant backgrounds. That is the real truth. So should we not be shifting immigration debate to the full truth about immigrants, rather than misleading the public and feeling the need to satisfy false rhetoric? If your answer is yes, then how will you aid and ensure that shift in the immigration debate in Cardiff takes place? Reply – Cllr Sangani Cllr Molik, I can absolutely sympathise with your emotion, but I just wanted to tell you that here in Cardiff we are absolutely welcoming and cohesion is important for us. Our Prime Minister Keir has proudly supported the Bangladeshi community across the UK, who make an enormous contribution to our country. That clip has been edited to make it look as though Keir has suggested repatriation of British Bangladeshis, which is misinformation. In fact, the Prime Minister referred to Labour’s long-established policy of returning those who don’t have the legal right to be in the UK to a safe country. Bangladesh was only used as an example as there is already a bilateral agreement between the two countries, and I completely understand our Prime Minister. When he first became an MP, the first country he visited was Bangladesh. So I just wanted to make sure, here in Cardiff, we are equally welcoming and everybody understands and appreciates the contribution of migrants as well. 7. Cllr Livesy to Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport Please can we have a statement explaining, to residents of Gwaelod y Garth, the loss of the G1 bus service and the longer than expected delay in finding an alternative for the village? Reply – Cllr De’Ath Thank you for your question. What I would say to residents of Gwaelod y Garth is that the G1 bus was a supported service, we had been paying £74,000 a year for it. When we tried to retender for it last year, that went up to £330,000, which obviously was an incredible increase. That bus has an average of 465 users per month, so that would have meant a subsidy of £12.54 per passenger per month going up to £59.14 per passenger. That’s obviously a huge increase and one the council simply can’t meet. We did look at a community bus service using Section 22 of the Transport Act but couldn’t find an operator to do that, and as you’ll know from our meeting we’re making efforts to set up a community car scheme, there’s an electric car we can provide, working with the community council and volunteers, and that work is ongoing. I hope people can appreciate why this has happened, it was such a large amount of money that Cardiff Council simply can’t meet that demand, and we are making every effort to provide some kind of service for your residents, but it’s not easy. Supplementary – Cllr Livesy Thank you for that, and thanks for your support over the months. Pentyrch Community Council feels that its emails and phone calls about the issue have been continually ignored as they seek info on the way forward. My question is, why would this be? Reply – Cllr De’Ath I don’t believe I’ve personally had any phone calls and I don’t recall any emails, so I don’t know who they’re going to, presumably one of our officers. I’m certainly happy to look into that and get an update for them, and of course yourself. 8. Cllr Green to Cllr Weaver, Cabinet Member for Finance, Modernisation & Performance Given its rapid rise, what considerations has the council made about the potential of artificial intelligence in delivering council services? Reply – Cllr Weaver We recognise the transformative potential of AI, or artificial intelligence, in enhancing service delivery and we’ve identified several key considerations for its use. Primarily, we’re focusing on improving efficiency and accessibility, and we are investing in training and upskilling staff to effectively integrate AI tools. Ensuring data privacy and security to protect personal information is an extremely important part of this. In addition, maintaining transparency and accountability is crucial to building public trust as we potentially use some of these tools. We are addressing ethical implications by making sure that AI applications adhere to privacy standards and prevent bias. This includes establishing appropriate ethical guidelines to govern AI usage to ensure fair outcomes for all Cardiff residents. Of course, we already have some use of AI in the council, for example our chatbot Bobby, an integral part of our customer service offer, providing support for residents 24/7. There’s a working group of officers who evaluate emerging AI solutions at local authorities and other sectors for what’s working, and we’ll continue to stay aware of those opportunities that may come forward, ensuring that anything we do in this area is appropriate and leads to service improvements, working for the benefit of the people of Cardiff. Supplementary – Cllr Green Thank you for that very thorough answer. I did something I wouldn’t normally do recently and listened to what Tony Blair had to say on this issue, and he published a report through his organisation that found that the British public sector could make savings annually of £40bn from improved efficiencies, and that would be all the public sector working together from UK government level all the way down, but I think there is lots of potential if the public sector as a whole works together. Interestingly, a Harvard Business School study found that AI tools helped people do administrative tasks 25% faster and at 40% better quality. Do you agree with me that although we should embrace AI as it develops, we also shouldn’t let it become a job killer, and it should complement the work jobs humans do, and use the efficiencies to create jobs in things it can’t do? Reply – Cllr Weaver Thank you, that last point is absolutely correct. There are certain things that robotic processes or artificial intelligence should be able to help with in terms of speed and making it more efficient that can free resources for the things where we need human-to-human interaction and human decision making, and frees resources that can be put into frontline services, so I agree with your last point entirely. I also saw the Tony Blair report, I believe they interestingly conducted a large part of the research using artificial intelligence chatbots to identify the areas they thought could work. I’ve also seen, though, and I think it’s worth being aware that while there are a number of organisations that identified the potential of AI, there are also those warning that we mustn’t overstate it until we have evidence of how things work. I did see that Goldman Sachs were a little more sceptical around the use of some of it. It’s still in its early stages, and the key thing for us is we’re going to stay aware of it and look at what others are doing, we’ll see if it works for Cardiff, and where that is possible, it could be an exceptionally helpful tool in many of the tasks we do, but we need to see that it works and we need to understand how that works. At the moment, it’s very early and the key point is that it could change very quickly, and we need to be flexible enough to roll with that. 9. Cllr Driscoll to Cllr Burke, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport & Parks I welcome the announcement of the twenty new 3G pitches which are being proposed by Cardiff Council as part of their new long-term strategy in partnership with the Football Association Wales (FAW), Cymru Football Foundation (CFF), and local leagues. Can you tell me, was Danescourt FC in partnership with Danescourt Primary school considered as part of the programme, and if not, why not? Reply – Cllr Burke The approach we are taking for new 3G pitches is for them to be based on secondary school sites as they will need to be full-size pitches for competitive matches. There are very few primary schools with enough space to accommodate a full-size pitch. However, there may be opportunities to utilise primary school sites if there is enough space, and if there are external funding opportunities, and if it helps to provide a better distribution of pitches across the city. As we develop plans with the FAW, we are looking to link each new and existing facility with the local feeder community clubs to provide a balanced programme of pitch availability for all local clubs. For example, Danescourt FC will be considered when we look at pitch bookings at Ysgol Plasmawr, Fairwater Campus and Radyr Comprehensive School as these school sites are all within the club’s catchment area. Notwithstanding this, I would encourage you and the local football team to participate in the consultation exercise arising from the report that was considered by Cabinet earlier today. I’m pleased we were able to have a catch up in my office yesterday, where I committed to you personally that I would be happy to meet with you and Danescourt FC to discuss what support they could have in the future. Supplementary – Cllr Driscoll Thank you for the response. As you know, yesterday I gatecrashed the Economy & Culture Scrutiny Committee to get a better understanding of the scheme, and I’m glad I did because it gave me an opportunity after the meeting to discuss with senior officers the circumstances of Danescourt Football Club. I’m also grateful to you for agreeing to another one of our fifth floor impromptu meetings. As I explained, Danescourt have sometimes 150 girls and boys travelling out of the area to train and play, at enormous cost financially and logistically. I know the schemes are leaning towards secondary schools, but do you agree with me that siting a 3G pitch in Danescourt Primary would greatly benefit the school, Danescourt Football Club, the local children and the community? Reply – Cllr Burke Thank you. To be clear, our fifth floor chats are all above board and perfectly proper. I don’t know that I would agree with you about the 3G pitch at Danescourt Primary, the reason being that in the conversation we had yesterday, you used the term that Llandaff ward was deficient in terms of green space, and I think there’s a balance to be struck in terms of making sure that there is appropriate sport facilities but also making sure that communities like yours have the green space they so badly need. We touched upon the area where our wards buff up against each other, it’s protected woodland. Given the very limited green space in your ward, I would be anxious about dedicating space to a 3G pitch if there are more appropriate sites yet to be identified. 10. Cllr Hopkins to Cllr Merry, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Education What discussions are taking place between Cardiff Council and Welsh government officials concerning the national review of school improvement arrangements? Reply – Cllr Merry Council officers are working closely with Welsh government officials to develop plans for future school improvement arrangements for Cardiff in line with the conclusions of the national review undertaken by Professor Dylan Jones. Officers meet regularly with Welsh government officials to discuss how the School Improvement Partnership Programme is progressing. They have also been engaging with schools across Cardiff to ensure that future approaches are developed in collaboration with school leaders. Officers are also working to ensure that we meet the Welsh government’s timelines, with informal discussions taking place this month ahead of the final submission of plans by local authorities for future school improvement arrangements by end of October. Supplementary – Cllr Hopkins As Cllr Merry will know, and as she’s already alluded, the Welsh government released guidance in June which proposes a significant change in how school improvement services are organised. The guidance potentially signals a change with regard to consortium arrangements but still proposes a system involving collaboration between schools locally and across local authorities, and between local authorities themselves. Given that the regional consortium has been an important partner working closely with the local authority and local schools in securing improvement, what stance is Cardiff Council going to take on any proposed changes in the discussions with Welsh government officials on this matter? Reply – Cllr Merry We would see that there is a tremendous opportunity, actually, to seek arrangements that will better suit us here in Cardiff. There’ll be an opportunity for much greater collaboration on the ground, and the ability to actually develop approaches bespoke to Cardiff, but that doesn’t mean there will not necessarily be some working on a wider footing. I’d also like to point out, and I don’t know whether you’re aware of this, you may know Joanne Daniels, who is a former director of the Welsh government’s education department, and five local authorities within the consortium are working with Joanne to come up with the options going forward, and that engagement with school leaders of course is really important. 11. Cllr Livesy to Cllr Mackie, Cabinet Member for Waste, Street Scene & Environmental Services We were very pleased to have had news from Highways in May that funding was found for surface water issues in Star Lane, Capel Llanilltern, and are very grateful to Highways for the work they did in squeezing out some money. However, residents are getting nervous again that work is delayed or will not happen, a repeat of recent years. What assurance is there for Star Lane and Llantrisant Road residents who can see 20 feet high splash from speeding traffic, or small rivers running through gardens? Reply – Cllr Mackie Thank you very much Cllr Livesy, and I’m sorry about the problems your residents are having. Quotes have been obtained from local contractors to undertake the installation of the new highway gullies, as well as further clearance and remedial work to the culvert. As intensive network management will be required to support these works, namely road closures and large diversions, discussions are currently ongoing with the council’s Network Management Team. Works are proposed to begin during the school summer holidays, so not long to wait. Supplementary – Cllr Livesy Brilliant, a nice positive ending. I guess there was some work that was already completed, and it did leave a mound of earth which has now been washed back into the part of the drains they were clearing. I guess I just wanted to check, because residents have been asking, if those issues will be addressed. Reply – Cllr Mackie I’d imagine they would be, and if they need addressing before that then maybe we can get some of the earth out, if it’s not a major problem. We can look at it, if you wanted me to, drop me a line. 12. Cllr Kaaba to Cllr Bridgeman, Cabinet Member for Housing & Communities What progress is being made on the proposed OnSide Youth Zone in Ely? Reply – Cllr Bridgeman Thank you for your question, Cllr Kaaba. We are committed to delivering a new, modern youth space in Ely, and delivering a Youth Zone was one of the administration’s commitments that was set out in Stronger, Fairer, Greener. A programme of engagement is taking place right now, and will continue throughout the summer, to understand what the young people of Ely really want. This engagement will inform the design of a future space and we will work with the community and public service partners, as well as the Welsh government, to deliver our policy commitment. Supplementary – Cllr Kaaba I recognise that you’re a new Cabinet Member, but can you let me know how many times you’ve met the on-site charity, and when will you be meeting them next? Reply – Cllr Bridgeman I’ve not actually met them, but I’ve been speaking with our regeneration team who have been carrying out the consultation, and they’ve spoken to children on two occasions (December 2023 and April 2024) and throughout this summer. The headline feedback to date we’ve had on future spaces for young people in Ely include dance studios, media rooms, recording spaces, pool tables, games rooms, kitchens, cooking facilities, space with a modern open feel including quieter areas for revision or reading, and a breakout room for smaller groups, large areas for sports halls, football and other sports, multi-use games areas and outdoor spaces. Again, apologies that I’ve not met them yet, but I’ve been dealing with our regeneration team and speaking with Cllr Bradbury, who heads up the youth service. 13. Cllr Robson to Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport What plans does the Cabinet Member have to improve connectivity between the new bus station and the coach point at Sophia Gardens? Reply – Cllr De’Ath I think I’d argue that the bus station and Sophia Gardens were already quite well connected. There are six buses an hour in both directions travelling along Cathedral Road from the bus station. There are also a taxi rank at both locations and excellent walking and cycling routes. Supplementary – Cllr Robson It’s obviously good news that we have finally, finally got the bus station open after many years of delay. When the initial plans, however many years ago, were first circulated, you’ll recall (I say you’ll recall, I don’t know if you were on the council at that point actually) it had provision for coaches to use the bus station. However, at one of the Q&As recently, shortly after it opened, online, we were told that the coaches are too long to use the bus station. So, what went wrong between the initial plans and the current situation we’ve got with the final product? Reply – Cllr De’Ath I mean, my understanding, and I’m not necessarily sure it’s because they’re too long, but I know there’s been an issue with layover. Some coaches want to use the bus station and spend half an hour there, and that’s not really the intention, we want a really fast turnaround to allow a through-flow that is as high as possible. In terms of where coaches go more generally, you’ve got our coach strategy we’re working on, there’s also discussions going on between coach operators and TfW about seeing how we could possibly move some nearer to the city centre. 14. Cllr Taylor to Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport What steps has the council taken to engage communities and interest groups in the development of plans to upgrade the Taff Trail? Reply – Cllr De’Ath In 2018 we commissioned Sustrans to do some engagement work with Taff Trail users, the Friends of Hailey Park and many other stakeholders, called the Taff Trail Route Study. Subsequently, there were two formal consultations, one in in March 2020 and another in 2023. Both of those had engagement drop-ins at Llandaff Scout Hall, and officers engaged with residents of Mary Street in person, as well as representatives of the Friends of Hailey Park, Llandaff North Residents Association and local sports clubs, both on site and online. Supplementary – Cllr Taylor Thank you for the response, I think perhaps my question to you has been pre-empted, looking at Cllr Burke’s Twitter feed, about taking a period to look at the revisions to those plans. There’s lot of concern about the loss of park space, as we saw earlier this evening about Roath Rec, about a presumption being made about a loss of park space to deliver some of these cycle routes. My question, I suppose, is given the review of those detailed designs being announced, will there be a period where residents have an opportunity to re-engage, for communities and interest groups like Cardiff Cycle City to engage in that detailed design review? I know you’ve already spoken to them, but having that opportunity five years on from 2018 is really important. Reply – Cllr De’Ath I appreciate people’s concern, it’s an issue I’ve been speaking to local ward members and elected members more broadly about. We’ve been lucky enough to have a new OM in our transport team, a guy with a construction background, so we thought this was an opportunity to have new eyes cast over the project to make sure it’s the best thing we can deliver. Really, depending on the outcome of that review, and if there are central changes, we will go out and consult again in some way, and certainly engage with Cardiff Cycle City. 15. Cllr Ali to Cllr Thomas, Leader of the Council Can the Leader provide an update on how many languages are spoken in Cardiff and the percentage breakdown of ethnic minority groups in the city? Reply – Cllr Thomas Thank you Cllr Ali, Cardiff is of course a proud bilingual capital city but also a city where there are many, many languages spoken on a day-to-day basis. In fact, according to the 2021 Census, there are over 83 spoken languages in Cardiff. The top three languages spoken after English and Welsh are Arabic, Polish and Bengali. As you might imagine, this demonstrates how Cardiff is also a diverse city. It has by far the greatest number of minority ethnic residents of all local authorities in Wales and is more diverse now than at any point in its history. Over 21% of the city’s population, which is more than 1 in 5, has identified as being from a minority ethnic background, and in terms of the percentage breakdown of the population, according to the 2021 Census classifications: 9.7% are Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh; 4% are from Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups; 3.8% are Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African; 3.3% are from other ethnic groups; and 79.2% are classified as White. And I would just add to that, of course, one caveat, that there is some concern around the census classifications, and people feeling that those classifications don’t fully represent them, in terms of them being Welsh and of an ethnic minority. I do want to add that caveat because that point has been raised with me by others. But as you can see, a very diverse city of which we are very proud. 16. Cllr Cowan to Cllr Thomas, Leader of the Council There is cross party support for the proposed Cardiff Parkway development for which the council resolved to grant planning consent more than 2 years ago. Can you please explain why your Welsh government colleagues continue to delay issuing a decision letter, given that the applicant was promised earlier this year that a decision would be made on or before the 26th April? Reply – Cllr Thomas Thank you Cllr Cowan, as you have noted in your question there is full support from the council for the Cardiff Parkway development, with the Planning Inspector’s report known to have been submitted to Welsh ministers in February of this year. Regrettably, the 26th April date has passed and a decision is still awaited. I cannot explain why that is, and I will express my frustration frankly with the fact that this council, this Planning Committee, empowered to do so, having had the land identified for this purpose in our Local Development Plan, gave permission for this development over two years ago, as you yourself have said. It is inexplicable that the Welsh government has taken so long to decide and still have not. We heard in the King’s Speech this week how the Labour party in government in Westminster plans to get Britain building again, and it is imperative that the Welsh government support this council in delivering that agenda here in this city. Supplementary – Cllr Cowan Thank you, Huw, for that really honest and helpful response. Do you now accept, though, that the project is currently in jeopardy, and how many times have you met ministers to push the case for Cardiff Parkway, and will you publish any correspondence to ministers pressing the case for this important project? And will you now demand that ministers make that decision without any further delay? Reply – Cllr Thomas I will unequivocally make the case for ministers to make the decision without delay, because I think it’s worth noting that this is not a political decision but a matter of planning. It’s gone through a planning inspection process within the Welsh government, so there is no political decision here, it is simply confirming whether the plans, having been called in, are compliant with Welsh government planning policy. The strong view within this council is that they are, and our understanding is that this view is shared by NRW and others. I cannot recall off the top of my head, Jayne, how many times I’ve met with Welsh ministers on this issue, but certainly the correspondence is extensive. Cllr Goodway wrote to the minister for transport as recently as last week on this subject. I was copied in and was part of drafting that correspondence. We are continuing to make the case for this development, which is vital for the east of the city, particularly the economically challenged areas of St Mellons, Trowbridge, Llanrumney and Rumney. Cardiff East, perversely, is the only constituency in Wales that does not have a train station in it. This station was identified by the Burns Commission as a key part of the transport interventions to ease traffic on the M4. The project has Welsh government buy-in, literally as a joint venture partner in it, so something needs to change. 17. Cllr Carter to Cllr Burke, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport & Parks How much rent has Cardiff Rugby paid Cardiff Council and GLL since they moved into Pentwyn Leisure Centre four years ago? Reply – Cllr Burke The use of space at Pentwyn Leisure Centre by Cardiff Rugby was facilitated via a licence, which was renewed annually and granted by GLL direct to Cardiff Rugby, and consent granted by the council. The council has not received any rent from Cardiff Rugby as the financial relationship exists between GLL and Cardiff Rugby. Supplementary – Cllr Carter That answer is quite staggering, the question deliberately mentions GLL in it as well as Cardiff Council because I was asking about money for them as well. But that being said, this authority bailed out GLL massively during the pandemic. We’ve had Cardiff Rugby on the site for more than four years, we were led to believe they’d already left and learnt last week from managers on the ground that they are actually still there. So I suppose my question is, do Cardiff Rugby have squatter’s rights, and do the council have any plans to take back the building? Reply – Cllr Burke To be clear, I believe if I could share that information I would, but I believe it’s commercially sensitive. Work is progressing at Pentwyn Leisure Centre and I believe that an update will be coming to you and ward members in the coming weeks. 18. Cllr Stubbs to Cllr Burke, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport & Parks Congratulations on Cardiff Council's remarkable achievement of retaining 18 Green Flag awards and gaining two new ones for the Civic Centre and Maltings Park in my own ward, giving Cardiff the most Green Flag awards of any Core City in the UK. Could you share your thoughts on this accomplishment and elaborate on the specific initiatives or strategies that have been most effective in maintaining and enhancing the quality of our parks? Additionally, how do you plan to build on this success to further promote and improve our green spaces in the future? Reply – Cllr Burke Thank you Cllr Stubbs, I’m glad you asked. I’m absolutely delighted with the outcome of this year’s Green Flag award assessments, it’s testament to the work of our officers, rangers and volunteers across the city. Critical to the success of the scheme in Cardiff has been the dedication of that workforce, who are responsible for the direct delivery, and some of whom have qualified as Green Flag assessors themselves. I want to highlight the contribution made by them and by our network of volunteers and Friends of Groups, who provide significant support to the development and delivery of our management plans on each site submission. Community engagement is a key award criteria and we’ve been able to demonstrate a commitment to this. In terms of building on successes, and notwithstanding the unprecedented financial pressures that this council faces, and will continue to be challenged with, we remain committed to the Green Flag Award Scheme and the benefits derived from our participation. Officers are already developing a management plan for Llandaff Fields, which will be Cardiff’s new submission for 2025. Working with a wide and diverse range of partners also forms part of the council’s strategy and we will continue to fully explore funding opportunities that secure improvements to our parks and green space provision. 19. Cllr Driscoll to Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport With the announcement of the Cardiff Hackney Emissions Reduction Grant scheme (CHERG): can any Hackney carriage licence holder/operator apply? Reply – Cllr De’Ath There are some eligibility criteria: you have to own a registered Hackney carriage that has been licensed with us since 1 February 2024, you have to live in Cardiff and your taxi needs to be registered to your home address. Your main source of income must be taxi driving, you must have used your taxi actively over the last 3 months, and only one application per address or owner. Supplementary – Cllr Driscoll I think you might have just touched on the answer for me. There are some well-known celebrities that have licensed taxi cabs which have never picked up a fare or paying passenger. Allegedly the late Prince Phillip was one – the reason being that they’re able to drive in bus lanes at any time, avoiding traffic jams and congestion. I think Noel Edmonds was another. Is this scheme open to abuse from drivers that could benefit from the grant but never actually ever pick up a fare-paying passenger? Reply – Cllr De’Ath I would say no, the criteria we’ve set out are specifically designed to stop that from happening. Our officers, who you know very well, will actively monitor to prevent that. 20. Cllr Berman to Cllr De’Ath, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport Are you satisfied that the council adequately consulted local communities living in the vicinity of Roath Rec about the scheme of works currently being undertaken there? Reply – Cllr De’Ath I am. Supplementary – Cllr Berman Clearly you don’t understand the anger of both my constituents and your constituents, as exemplified by the three public questions we had at the beginning of this meeting. A lot of that anger is because what’s been delivered isn’t in line with what was actually consulted on. And let’s not forget that there were two consultations, but since then substantial changes were made. So are you satisfied that you had adequate consent from the community to move the footpath in substantially into the park on the Ninian Road side, to make a much wider path than was indicated on the diagrams in the consultation, to have street lights down the side of the new footpath, which again wasn’t in the consultation, and are you surprised that the community is angry about the damage that’s now been done to Roath Rec as a result? Reply – Cllr De’Ath As you’ve just referenced, there have been two full consultations on this scheme. The first one involved input from the local living streets group, and the second one had a full display for quite a while in Penylan Library. We have taken on board suggestions, even suggestions you’ve made about traffic calming on Ty-Draw Road, so I feel we have. 21. Cllr Elsmore to Cllr Mackie, Cabinet Member for Waste, Street Scene & Environmental Services What remedial actions has the Cabinet Member in train to deliver cleaner streets and keep them clean? Reply – Cllr Mackie Our Cleansing Services are currently being restructured to deliver improvements in relation to keeping our streets clean. This process will ensure that cleansing resources are balanced across the week and can be directed to wards following collection days. Specific investment is also being made by several council services, including Recycling and Neighbourhood Services, in terms of asset management and improving the street scene in the city centre to ensure that it is somewhere to be proud of and respected. 22. Cllr Cunnah to Cllr Merry, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Education Would the Cabinet Member join with me in congratulating pupils from Ysgol Treganna who recently performed their prize winning rendition of Safwn yn y Bwlch for His Majesty the King at the celebration of 25 years of the Senedd, and who gave an impromptu rendition for both the Prime Minster and First Minster? Reply – Cllr Merry There’s no surprises with this answer to the question. I would certainly join you in congratulating Ysgol Treganna’s ensemble who recently won first prize, I understand, as well at this year’s Urdd Eisteddfod. Their performance at the Senedd last week was really inspiring, and I want to commend all those pupils who took part on their very polished performance in front of their majesties the King and the Queen, as well as Members of the Senedd. I also enjoyed seeing their impromptu performance a couple of days earlier during the visit to the Senedd by the new Prime Minister. Their reaction to that surprise was delightful and went viral on social media afterwards. And I also want to say ‘diolch yn fawr’ to their teacher Bethan Mair Roberts for affording them such a memorable opportunity to represent Cardiff and Wales at the event to mark the 25th anniversary of the Senedd.
Rhan o fater a ddilynwyd ar draws 11 cyfarfod
There was no urgent business.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED: Council AGREED: 1. To 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.
Council was asked 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: 1. To 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.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED: Council AGREED: 1. To approve the appointment of Mr Alan Davies as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Cardiff Bus for a term of 3 years, subject to the receipt of satisfactory references.
Council was asked to consider the appointment of one Independent Non-Executive Director of Cardiff Bus. RESOLVED: Council AGREED: 1. To approve the appointment of Mr Alan Davies as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Cardiff Bus for a term of 3 years, subject to the receipt of satisfactory references.
In accordance with Council procedure Rule 17 (f) the Written Questions received for consideration and the responses are attached to the minutes.
Rhan o fater a ddilynwyd ar draws 11 cyfarfod
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.
Caiff datganiadau eu darllen o'r cofnodion unwaith y byddan nhw wedi'u cyhoeddi.
Yn rhestru cynghorwyr presennol y cyngor yn unig. Nid yw aelodau cyfetholedig, swyddogion a chyn-gynghorwyr yn cael eu dangos.