Wrthi'n llwytho
Y penderfyniadau fel y mae cofnodion y cyngor yn eu cofnodi. Bydd crynodeb mewn iaith glir yn dilyn pan fydd wedi'i ysgrifennu.
AGREED to note the report.
AGREED to note the report.
AGREED to note the report.
AGREED to note the report.
AGREED to: · recognise the improvement to date in the reliability in the waste collection service since the additional investment. · note the external factors affecting waste treatment and disposal costs, and the impact that residents’ behaviour has on these. · note the resource challenges in the waste disposal team and the impacts that this has on service delivery. · note the current activity ongoing with WRAP, including a review of waste collections options, waste infrastructure, and a long-term review of household waste site provision.
AGREED to note the contents of the Forward Work Programme presented subject to the following: · Invite Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (Sewage Treatment Work Programme) · Detailed report on Aberaeron Coastal Defence Scheme (June) · Exploring parking permits for workers in Aberystwyth (June) · Review of ULEV Policy (next 12 months) · Invite representatives of Utility Companies to a future meeting in relation to road closures
i. Councillor Sian Maehrlein apologised for her inability to attend the meeting. ii. Councillor Rhodri Davies apologised for joining the meeting late. iii. Councillors Gareth Davies, Meirion Davies, Keith Henson, Ann Bowen Morgan and Carl Worrall apologised for leaving the meeting early.
Councillor Keith Henson declared a personal interest under item 5.
None.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED to note the report.
Councillor Shelley Childs (Cabinet Member for Highways and Environmental Services) provided an overview of the service and the associated budget pressures, requested as part of the Budget Task and Finish Group in advance of the 26/27 formal Budget Setting process. He explained that the Council has a statutory duty under Highways Act 1980 Section 41 to maintain highways maintainable at public expense, ensuring they are kept in a state where safe passage isn't endangered by their physical condition, including hazards like snow, ice, or defects. To meet this duty, the Council followed the principles of “Well Managed Highway Infrastructure – A Code of Practice” published by the UK Road Liaison Group and commissioned by the Department for Transport. A Highway Asset Management Plan (HAMP) for the elements that made up the highway infrastructure had been prepared by Highway Services. This document outlined the Council’s strategy for managing its highway infrastructure assets and recognised the importance of its highway infrastructure in contributing to corporate, regional and local objectives. The current HAMP document was the third iteration of the document first considered by the Committee and approved by Cabinet in 2015. Each HAMP covered a 5-year period, and its purpose was to define the service standards approved by the Council that users could expect and explained the strategies to be implemented to achieve the standards, including the budgetary requirements to comply with these approved standards. Phil Jones, Corporate Manager- Highways Services provided a presentation to the Committee outlining the following: · Why do we do what we do and how we do this? · What enables us to do what we do? · Resources o Legislation and Duty- HAMP, Funding (budget) & Workforce & Collaboration - staffing/ workforce · Hired vs Owned Plant · Local Government Borrowing Initiative (LGBI) Funding - 25-26 / 26-27 · Road Condition, measured performance and HAMP Targets · Funding Backlog & Recap Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions which were answered by Officers and Councillor Shelley Childs. The main points raised were as follows: · Concerns were raised in relation to the poor condition of the A482 Ystrad Aeron - Aberaeron whilst work was being carried out; it was noted that if the road failed on reinstatement by the statutory undertaker, the road would need to be repaired, and if not done within a specific timescale and to a satisfactory standard, penalties would be issued until done so. · Condition surveys of the highway network were conducted yearly. They provided a measurement of skid resistance and the structural condition of the roads, and in conjunction with highway inspections, indicated where work and investment needed to be prioritised. Consideration was also given to road hierarchy and traffic usage/volume when prioritising on where maintenance treatments are to be targeted. · In response to a query on the use of sweepers and unblocking culverts, Officers clarified that in Real Term Value, the service had 40% of the buying power from a decade ago, and therefore expectations had to be managed. It was acknowledged that planned maintenance provided better value for money in comparison to reactive maintenance; however, this was not always possible due to challenges with resources and managing the budget. · It was noted that any material collected from highways by sweepers was classed as waste and had to be treated in accordance with regulations. It was a cost the local authority had to absorb; however, there were measures in place to reduce costs such as dewatering. The contract for the collection and recycling of Street Sweepings had recently been out to tender. · An additional £4.6m of LGBI funding had been allocated by Welsh Government, on the condition the Councils current budgetary spend on highway maintenance remained the same. 60% of the funding had been received and used successfully across the county in 2025/26, with the remaining 40% to follow in 2026/27. Officers explained that they would rather receive additional funding on an annual basis, rather than a sum of money every so often. It was noted that the intention was to hire 2 jet patchers for 10 months in 2026, similar to 2025 as it proved more efficient overall at present compared to purchasing the plant item. · Concerns were raised with the condition of the roads near farms and fields; it was noted that the size and weight of vehicles had increased over the years and many roads had evolved from dirt tracks and were not built to any standards. A highway inspection regime was in place and roads were inspected in accordance with this. If a defect was recorded by a Highways Inspector, it was graded and the work was carried out accordingly, e.g. a category 1 defect was repaired within one working day. · Officers clarified there was a grit bin matrix in place and if a request for a bin met the criteria and capacity allowed, a yellow bin would be supplied and managed by the local authority. If this was not possible, Town and Community Councils were able to purchase a green bin and manage it if the location was not a road safety issue and there were no issues with liability. A further review of grit bins would be conducted in due course. · It was noted that the networks’ drainage systems were under pressure as there was increasingly more rain as opposed to cold weather. The system could cope with surface water alighting on it, but not with the water from private properties. · Concerns were raised that utility companies regularly closed roads in an emergency to carry out work, often for a few days. It was agreed to invite representatives from utility companies to a future meeting to have a discussion on the matter. Officers explained that they met with utility companies quarterly to discuss upcoming works. · It was noted that all enquiries were submitted through Clic and assigned to the team/ officer best placed to deal with it. From early 2026 onwards, a new Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Systemwould be used by the service to work alongside Clic to manage enquiries and work on the network therefore communication with Elected Members and the public should improve. It was AGREED to note the report.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED to note the report.
Councillor Clive Davies (Cabinet Member for Economy, Regeneration and Carbon Management) presented the update on the delivery and adoption of Sewage Treatment Works (STW) Programme. In 2009, the local authority transferred its housing stock to Tai Ceredigion Housing Association. The upgrading of the STWs formed part of the agreement, whereby the local authority was committed to upgrading the STWs to a standard deemed acceptable by DCWW for adoption. There were 27 STW sites and one pumping station included within the programme of works. To date, 3 STW sites and the pumping station had been formally adopted by DCWW. Despite completing site works and submitting 13 STW sites for adoption, there were ongoing challenges in formally completing the adoption process as outlined in the report. The easier sites had been developed, and the remaining undeveloped sites were more complex. Whilst the current sites had been delivered at costs in the region of £150k - £250k per site, the remaining sites were closer to £400k - £660k for the reasons mentioned in the report. Delivering the STW programme was a complex programme of work. Whilst site constraints such as geography and topography could prove challenging, they also required collaboration with multiple stakeholders which include contractors, social housing tenants, social housing landlords, private homeowners, private landowners along with engineering, legal and land management professionals. In addition to the above, the evolving legal and specification requirements for adoption by DCWW added to the complexity of delivery. Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions which were answered by Officers and Councillor Clive Davies. The main points raised were as follows: · From the Officer’s understanding, DCWW did not have adequate resources to process the legal documents submitted for the adoption of the STW sites. Although Peter Burry, Chief Executive of DCWW had stated in a meeting on 29.07.25 that they would add resources and expediate the process, this was yet to be seen. Once DCWW had adopted the STW, the ongoing costs would fall to them. · Committee Members expressed their disappointment that DCWW had not attended the meeting. It was suggested that another invitation be extended to the company to gain a better understanding of the situation. It was AGREED to note the report.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED to note the report.
Duncan Hall, Executive Corporate Lead Officer- Finance and Procurement provided an overview of the quarterly Controllable Revenue Financial Monitoring report and quarterly Capital Financial Monitoring report for Quarter 2 2025-26 presented to Cabinet on 02.12.25. The Budgets for each Service were actively monitored and reviewed on a regular basis, to assess the timing of income and expenditure, as well as the forecasted year-end position and ensuring corrective action was taken wherever possible and as appropriate. At the quarter 2 point in the year, a broadly breakeven position was forecasted on the Controllable Budget for the year, with a very small projected overspend of £21k showing against a budget of £209.2m (0.01% of the 25/26 Budget). An overview of the following as outlined in the report was provided: · Post Budget Setting Update · Budget Performance - Key Challenges (High-end Children’s placements and use of agency staff within Social Care) · Budget Performance – Council Tax (including Premiums) · Budget Performance – Service Positions – In relation to the Highways and Environmental Services, the contractor was due to commence on the work of installing the infrastructure for charging for parking on Aberystwyth Promenade, which was expected to be fully operational by the end of the financial year. In relation to the Capital Programme, there had been a failure of the existing Screwpumps on Glanyrafon Industrial Estate and a temporary solution had been installed with the assistance of Dŵr Cymru at the time of writing the report. A more permanent solution was being explored and £300k had been allocated in the Capital Programme for the work, although this sum may need to be revised. Duncan Hall explained that the Aberaeron Coastal Defence Scheme reached a practical completion on 30.09.25, with all aspects of the site returned to the Council by 10.10.25. There was a 12-month period where any snagging or defects (bar latent defects which were covered by a longer timeframe) would be raised for rectification by the main contractor. Under the terms of the contract, 2.5% (£848k) of the main contract sum was being retained by the Council during this period to ensure any matters arising were attended to. Within the main construction contract, there were c175 individual compensation events which related to variations on the construction contract. Within the adverse variations, there were only 4 items that individually exceeded £500k in value. These were an additional cost due to the original scheme completion date being 02.12.24, but with scheme completion occurring on 30.09.25 – there was an overrun of c43 weeks. The scheme’s original £31.6m budgeted cost was funded by £26.9m from Welsh Government (85%) and £4.7m by the Council (15%). As the full cost of the overspend (£4.0m) falls to the Council to fund at the time of writing the report, several external funding avenues were being actively explored and some of those discussions remained ongoing. The final funding position would be reported in due course. Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions which were answered by Duncan Hall and Councillor Gareth Davies. The main points raised were as follows: · In relation to Aberaeron’s Coastal Defence Scheme, Members queried whether the onus of the overspend should be on quantity surveyors/ structural engineers as opposed to the local authority/ WG. Members highlighted the issues emerging at South Beach and with the deposit in the harbour entrance in Aberaeron. The Officer explained that the Project Board would hold a reflection session before it concluded its work and a detailed report on how the scheme was managed, funded and lessons learnt would be presented to the Committee in the new year. · As the level of Capital funding had not been sustained over the years, it had not been possible to fund essential work along with the Council’s aspirations. This included the highway maintenance backlog worth £53.8m. · It was noted that residents continued to ask Members to consider permit parking for workers in Aberystwyth. Committee Members agreed to request a report on the matter. · It was noted that any budget and Council tax considerations were political decisions, but the Local Government Settlement increase from 2.3% to 4.1% for 2026/27 announced by WG on 09/12/2025 was welcomed. · In relation to the reference to the Planning Service’s shortfall in expected income from planning applications, it was noted that the target had historically been high as opposed to a drastic decrease in the number of planning applications received. It was AGREED to note the report.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED to note the report.
Councillor Shelley Childs (Cabinet Member for Highways and Environmental Services) provided an overview of the proposed cross-pavement residential EV charging facilities which formed part of the Net Zero Action Plan. As part of its response to the climate emergency and plans to decarbonise transport and travel, an Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) Strategy and Action Plan was approved by Cabinet on 06.09.2022. One of the actions identified in the policy paper was to undertake a small-scale trial / pilot of innovative solutions for on-street EVCP’s, primarily in an urban landscape where off-street parking was not available or suitable whilst tackling blockers to EV uptake. These solutions would include such things as cable channels or lamp column chargers or standalone EVCP’s to establish whether this was something the Council wished to deploy more widely. To date, the Council had installed 74 EVCP’s in its car parks and premisses across the county and with agreement, 14 EVCP’s in non-council owned location such as community council village halls and 2 EVCP’s at other strategic locations. Ceredigion was 9th in terms of the total number of EVCP assets installed and 2nd in Wales (October 2025 figures) per 100,000 population for EVCP asset provision. The installation of off-street and on-street EVCP’s would continue further as funding was made available. It was recognised that demand for on-Street EVCP’s would increase and therefore to cater for that demand, the Council was looking at yet another stepping stone in its journey of commitment to Net Zero, namely on-street EVCP’s. In addition to the NET Zero being a driver, another important driver was the risk to the Council reputationally, and the liability and enforcement of legislation as outlined in the report. Due to this, the Council entered a contract with private industry to trial and install on-street EVCP’s. At the outset, the Council entered a contract with two suppliers/partners namely Trojan Energy and Connect Kerb, however Trojan Energy had since withdrawn. Andrew McKniff, Project & Programme Manager - EV Charging Infrastructure explained that the Council had consulted with the ward members, community and town councils and the public on its intentions and would continue to engage and consult where it had not done so thus far. Before the end of the 2025-26 financial year, the intention was to install on-street EVCP’s at 15 locations which would realise an additional 75 additional EVCP’s across the county. The trial would highlight any issues and blockers so that for 2026-27 further roll-out could be successfully achieved. It was noted that Connect Kerb currently funded 80% whilst Welsh Government (WG) funded the remaining 20% for the installation of EVCP. There were no financial costs for the local authority, only senior officer time for managing and directing the project(s). As it was becoming increasingly more difficult to secure locations, it would not be possible to use all the TfW funding from WG for 2025-26 and any funding not used would be returned. In moving forward, the TfW grant would be added to the CJC’s Regional Transport Plan’s remit, and both Powys and Ceredigion would be able to apply for the funding. A review of the policy would be done in the next year and would be presented to the Committee before being presented to the Cabinet. It was AGREED to note the report.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED to: · recognise the improvement to date in the reliability in the waste collection service since the additional investment. · note the external factors affecting waste treatment and disposal costs, and the impact that residents’ behaviour has on these. · note the resource challenges in the waste disposal team and the impacts that this has on service delivery. · note the current activity ongoing with WRAP, including a review of waste collections options, waste infrastructure, and a long-term review of household waste site provision.
Councillor Shelley Childs (Cabinet Member for Highways and Environmental Services) presented information regarding the Council’s waste disposal arrangements, and the investment in the waste collection service. He explained that the Council had two statutory duties underpinning its waste management activities as set out in the Environmental Protection Act 1990, namely Waste Collection Authority and Waste Disposal Authority. An overview of both functions as outlined in the report was provided. Rhodri Llwyd, Corporate Lead Officer- Highways and Environmental Services provided a presentation to the Committee outlining the following: · Statutory/ Legal Obligations · Waste Collection Service – Domestic / Commercial · Additional Resources 2024 and Disruption 2023-2025 · Waste Disposal Service · Recycling Performance · Budget 2025-26, Cost Performance, Cost Comparisons/ Savings & Future Challenges · Waste Strategy (Increasing Targets - Zero Waste, Changing Legislation, Compliance Requirements, Circular Economy, Net Zero & Opportunities for Funding) Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions which were answered by Officers and Councillor Shelley Childs. The main points raised were as follows: · Members thanked the service for their work, and for upholding targets. · Officers noted there was no reason why food should be included with residual waste as all households were entitled to an indoor and outdoor food waste container along with food waste liners. · In response to a query in relation to Penrhos Depot, Officers clarified that there was currently an ongoing review of the wider service which included the depots and other waste related infrastructure. · The local authority did not currently sell garden waste as compost, but this could be considered in the future if the volume of garden waste collected kerbside increased. · It was noted that WG had trialled using recycled nappies to resurface a stretch of road on the A487. Nappies from Ceredigion were currently treated as residual waste by Energy from Waste as opposed to being recycled due to the low volumes involved. It was AGREED to: · recognise the improvement to date in the reliability in the waste collection service since the additional investment. · note the external factors affecting waste treatment and disposal costs, and the impact that residents’ behaviour has on these. · note the resource challenges in the waste disposal team and the impacts that this has on service delivery. · note the current activity ongoing with WRAP, including a review of waste collections options, waste infrastructure, and a long-term review of household waste site provision.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
AGREED to note the contents of the Forward Work Programme presented subject to the following: · Invite Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (Sewage Treatment Work Programme) · Detailed report on Aberaeron Coastal Defence Scheme (June) · Exploring parking permits for workers in Aberystwyth (June) · Review of ULEV Policy (next 12 months) · Invite representatives of Utility Companies to a future meeting in relation to road closures
It was AGREED to note the contents of the Forward Work Programme presented subject to the following: · Invite Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (Sewage Treatment Work Programme) · Detailed report on Aberaeron Coastal Defence Scheme (June) · Exploring parking permits for workers in Aberystwyth (June) · Review of ULEV Policy (next 12 months) · Invite representatives of Utility Companies to a future meeting in relation to road closures
It was AGREED to confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 24.09.2025. Matters arising: None. The Chair wished a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.
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.