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.
RESOLVED to: 1. Acknowledge the content of the report; and, 2. Agreed that the Committee’s comments would be used to help shape the development of a draft Regeneration Strategy For Aberdare Town Centre.
RESOLVED to acknowledge the update and to receive annual updates in respect of public right of way.
The Chair welcomed Members to he meeting and thanked everyone for attending.
Apologies of absence were noted from County Borough Councillors J. Barton, D. Grehan, W. Treeby and E. Dunning.
In accordance with the code of conduct, Councillor Dunn declared the following interest “I am a ward Member for Aberdare East”.
The minutes of the 16th January 2023 were approved as an accurate record.
The Members’ Researcher & Scrutiny Officer referenced the consultation links, which were available through the ‘RCT Scrutiny’ website. Members were reminded that information is provided in respect of relevant consultations for consideration by the Committee, which are circulated on a monthly basis and updated on a fortnightly basis.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED to: 1. Acknowledge the content of the report; and, 2. Agreed that the Committee’s comments would be used to help shape the development of a draft Regeneration Strategy For Aberdare Town Centre.
The Director of Prosperity & Development presented the report to Members. Members were provided with a detailed overview of the findings collected from a recently completed ‘Informal Engagement’ exercise undertaken to help inform and shape the development of a Draft Regeneration Strategy for Aberdare Town Centre. Following this, Members were provided with the opportunity to scrutinise the report. A Member questioned how far the team went outside of the Town Centre to consult with other Ward Members. The Director advised that conversations were had with the local town Members but that he and his team are more than happy to continue these discussions with the upper Cynon Valley Ward Members outside of the meeting. Discussions continued and another Member queried the issue of larger out of town stores and the ability to link them in to the town centre. The Director acknowledged these points and confirmed that this connectivity is certainly an issue that needs to be addressed in the strategy. Discussions ensued and a Member queried what the plans were to keep the development of the town in line with the conservation rues. The Director praised the architectural merit of the town and emphasised that the plan would be to build on that and not to lose it. A Member also referred the Committee to the Market Charter and noted that this restrict certain activities in the town and asked if there was anything that could be done for the Authority to address that. The Director advised that the Authority has no influence over the Market Charter, however it was emphasised that there were conversations with the Market about a temporary licence that allows Community Groups to carry out certain events. This was also confirmed by The Project Team Leader – Town Centres. The Member replied by emphasising that the Charter is out of date for today’s purposes and that it does restrict outside companies from investing in the area and that it is time for these issues to be addressed. The Head of Legal Services advised that the Charter is an Act of Parliament and therefore has to be an Act of Parliament in order to be removed and that representations would need to be made via MPs and Member of the Senedd. The Chair suggested that the Committee recommend that representations are made to Cabinet as part of the Regeneration Strategy. Discussions continued and a Member queried if similar plans will be made for other towns such as Tonypandy and if so, will the Local Ward Members be invited to contribute to the plan. The Director that yes the Authority has the ambition in place to have a strategy in place for all the Town Centres, Tonypandy included and that this would be done in consultation with the local Ward Member but also those Members in the surrounding areas as well. The Chair advised that it is also worth looking at where the catchment area is for the local comprehensive schools. Following discussion, Members RESOLVED to: 1. Acknowledge the content of the report; and, 2. Agreed that the Committee’s comments would be used to help shape the development of a draft Regeneration Strategy For Aberdare Town Centre.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED to acknowledge the update and to receive annual updates in respect of public right of way.
The Countryside & Rights of Way Officer presented the report to Members, providing the Committee with information on Public Rights of Way work within the County Borough. Following this, Members were provided with the opportunity t scrutinise the report. The Chair began by quering if the forum referenced within the report was open to Councillors to attend. The Officer confirmed that it is open to Councillors to attend if they wish to do so. Another Member queried if there is a difference between land owned by the Council and land owned by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) with regards to the footpath above the waterfal at pen pych. The Officer advised that it depends on whether it’s a designated footpath or right of way. The Officer advised that from memory he believes this is the responsibility of NRW. The Chair queried whether the Authority is able to act to make sure that these footpaths are safe. The Head of Legal Services advised that the Authority would have no legal powers to act. The Chair queried whether anybody has the power to act i.e Welsh Government. The Head of Legal Services advised that representations can be made to NRW, the Local Ward Member or Welsh Government but that ultimately the Authority has no power to do anything about it. The Chair sought clarification as to whether further investigations can be made to find out who does have the power to act. The Head of Legal Services advised that ultimately it is the responsibility of the owners of that land i.e NRW if they own that particular piece of land. Discussions continued and a Member asked how often are the footpaths patrolled. With regards to the National Park Authority (NPA), the Member questioned how informed should local ward Members be of any communication between the Council and the NPA. The Officer advised that the footpaths are generally surveyed ad hoc or when a report has been received from a Councillor or member of the public. Councillors are also informed as a matter of routine when there is any plan changed to any of the routes. With regards to the NPA, Members will receive a general overview or data limited to what is in the agreement and anything out of the routine. The Member queried whether there were any plans for this to change as there is concern around footpaths that are not lit up at night. The Officer advised that there is no duty to light the paths and they sometimes deliberately choose not to for ecological reasons or where it would affect residents living nearby. The Director of Prosperity & Development that the Authority is responsible for maintenance, however, as referenced in section 3.1 of the report they have 800kilometeres to maintain and therefore due to resources the Authority can only keep up with the defects reported to them by members of the public. Discussions ensued and a Member queried whether there was a situation where a right of way could be lost, for example, if it had not been used in years. The Officer advised that it is not possible as the right of way would still legally exist. Discussions ensued and another Member questioned if there was a leaflet within the Authority advertising circular routes etc. The Officer advised that this is in the process of being done and was particularly highlighted during lockdown, for example, Pontypridd does have its own literature on it’s website regarding sporting routes. Another Member commented that public rights of way are an asset to the Authority and good for mental health. The Member also commented that barbed wire next to a footpath is not safe. The Member also highlighted obstruction to footpaths as a problem and the intimidation of landlords as well as dogs being on long leads and wildlife such as geese being an issue. The Member also questioned whether footpath maps could be available to Members so that Members could pinpoint any issues straight away. The Member also sought clarification on the difference between the definitive map and the interactive map. The Officer said that under the Highways Act there is a specific power for the Council to remove or ask the relevant Landlord to remove barbed wire where it is identified to be causing an issue along the footpath. However, there are various considerations that will be taken into account as part of the decision making process. Members discussed this issue and the Chair emphasised that this is something that would need to be looked at on a case by case basis. The Chair raised concerns regarding tree felling and its impact on footpaths and water courses. The Officer assured the Committee that where applications are made for Tree felling by NRW that the impact on footpaths is considered and every effort is made to reinstate them where possible. The Chair emphasised the importance of maintaining the old “parish” trails and the historical importance of keeping these trails as they are. The Chair advised Members that if they have any observations or concerns to send them in to the Officer. The Chair asked if there was anything the Authority could do about maintaining old pathways and ensuring that people can walk across them. The Officer advised that work is ongoing through multi agency partnerships such as the Community Safety Partnership and working with the Police to tackle problem hotspots where criminal damage and off road biking are causing issues. The Officer advised that a lot of work has to be done to identify the legal status of many of these paths to decide who is responsible for maintaining them. The Head of Legal Services advised that a lot of footpaths are not identified on the definitive maps and that maintaining them can be very resource intensive. There could be ancient highways that will not be shown on the definitive maps but the public will have a right to access them. The Head of Legal Services advised that it will be a lot of work to identify them and agreed that off road biking is a problem and all departments are aware of them. The Chair questioned whether the ‘Links and Loops’ initiative was still ongoing. The Officer advised that the parties responsible for the project had now disbanded and many of the routes and pathways they had established crossed over private land, meaning that the legal status of the routes was now unclear and permission would need to be obtained from private landowners to reinstate many of the routes. The officer stated that there was great potential in ‘re-walking’ some of the routes to assess the feasibility of putting them back into use as there is no available record or map relating their current states. Another Member noted the positive feedback they had received from ‘Penrhys Pilgrimage’ regarding recent works on paths in their area. They had received praise on the replacement of stiles with kissing gates along the paths, which had improved access for users. Following discussion, Members RESOLVED to acknowledge the update and to receive annual updates in respect of public right of way.
There was no urgent business to report.
The Chair thanked Members for attending and reminded Members that the next meeting will be held on the 22nd March 2023.
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.
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