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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED: 1. That the verbal progress report from Officers, on the Regional Transport Plan development, be noted. 2. That the Final Regional Transport Plan, and supporting documents, be endorsed to the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee. 3. That the latest Welsh Government position on grant funding and the ongoing evolution of the Grants Modernisation process, be noted. 4. That the requirement for additional resources, that the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee will be asked to endorse at their 10 July 2025 meeting, be noted.
The Chairperson welcomed everyone to the meeting.
There were no declarations of interests received.
The minutes of the meeting held on 8 January 2025 were approved as an accurate record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. That the verbal progress report from Officers, on the Regional Transport Plan development, be noted. 2. That the Final Regional Transport Plan, and supporting documents, be endorsed to the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee. 3. That the latest Welsh Government position on grant funding and the ongoing evolution of the Grants Modernisation process, be noted. 4. That the requirement for additional resources, that the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee will be asked to endorse at their 10 July 2025 meeting, be noted.
Members were presented with the Final Regional Transport Plan (RTP) for the South West Wales region. It was noted that Appendices 10 and 11, detailed within the circulated report, were exempt under Paragraph 14. There were no comments or questions received in relation to these appendices, therefore the meeting did not move into private session. Officers explained that the purpose of the circulated report was to provide progress and seek endorsement of the Final RTP, and supporting documents, prior to submitting to the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee (SWWCJC) for approval. In addition, the circulated report sought to highlight the latest position in terms of grant funding and the ongoing evolution of the Grants Modernisation process; and to also highlight the requirements for additional resources. A discussion took place in regard to the next key steps and timescales. It was confirmed that the Final RTP would be presented to the SWWCJC Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee on 2 July 2025 and then to the SWWCJC on 10 July 2025; the aim was to submit to Welsh Government on 24 July 2025, subject to approval by the SWWCJC. It was added that Officers would be expecting to receive a response from Welsh Ministers by October 2025, which should indicate suitability of the RTP from Welsh Government terms and an indication of the funding. Since the last meeting of this Sub Committee, Officers stated that a public consultation had been conducted, in which 900 responses had been received; there were a lot of similar emerging themes to the previous consultation, including the bus network, the suitability of active travel and where routes would be best located, and lobbying for and against particular schemes. Members were informed that the relevant stakeholder groups were also consulted, and their responses were similar to what had been previously analysed from past consultations; including issues regarding public transport, specifically the bus and rail networks and how these would be delivered. It was mentioned that the stakeholder groups also provided useful context and suggestions, such as a stronger link to the energy policy that the SWWCJC was exploring. The Committee was informed that the RTP, contained within the circulated report, included all of the statutory assessments that Officers were required to undertake such as the Integrated Wellbeing Assessment (IWBA), which also incorporated the statutory Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), and the statutory Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA). It was noted that at this stage, was that there was no impediment, in those statutory assessments, to the RTP proceeding forward into the phase of delivering schemes and applying the policies. Officers highlighted the following key changes that had been made to the documentation associated with the RTP: · The national schemes contained within Welsh Government’s National Delivery Plan, including the schemes that will be delivered by Welsh Government in a revised National Delivery Plan from 2027 onwards, had been moved from the Delivery Plan and into the main body of the RTP. It was explained that although these schemes wouldn’t be delivered by the South West Wales region, Officers had been advised by Welsh Government to highlight these schemes in the RTP as they form part of the overarching framework and transport network. · Reference to bus franchising matters had been amended to reflect the latest position. However, Members were informed that this would likely change again as further work, pertaining to bus franchising, would be developed by Transport for Wales (TFW) and Welsh Government over the coming months. · Further detail regarding the Metro had been added to the main body of the RTP, following a general consensus amongst Members and Officers that there was a need to provide more emphasis, especially on the regional elements of the Metro. · The structure of the document had been updated to reflect some of the comments, particularly from Welsh Government, regarding ensuring that the policies linked back to the evidence base and forward into the Delivery Plan. As discussion took place in regard to the Delivery Plan, with Officers providing a general overview of how the plan was produced. It was noted that Officers started this piece of work with a long list of schemes, which were put through an initial screen process; this assisted in removing schemes that were repetition, fell outside of the transport policy framework and/or were unsuitable in terms of delivery. Following this, it was stated that the revised list of schemes went through a consultation period; the views from this consultation helped to start shape the plan. The Committee was informed that Officers developed a robust matrix for scoring the schemes to assist them in the prioritisation work and to produce a shortlist of schemes; a number of different transport metrics were used to identify how each scheme scored in terms of their alignment with policy and the benefits they would bring forward. Following on from the above, it was stated that Officers undertook a prioritisation process to look at the key priorities for delivery within the four Local Authority areas across the region; considering what was important from a political and community perspective to help inform the key schemes. The next step noted was the development of a list of schemes that should be taken forward and submitted for funding, and another list of schemes which still needed more work and were less of a priority; these would be a live and working set of lists, with the ability to amend and switch out schemes, where necessary, based on transport priorities and the like. In terms of funding, it was confirmed that Welsh Government hadn’t yet set out the figures that they will be providing to Corporate Joint Committees to deliver this work; the indicative figures, that Welsh Government had given Officers to work towards, was noted to be just under £200million. It was mentioned that the current financial estimates for delivering the South West Wales RTP was around £500million. It was evident that there would be a lot more work to undertake in terms of prioritisation and refining projects once the funding from Welsh Government had been confirmed; and if the funding levels stayed in line with the outline indications, then not everything will be delivered. Nevertheless, Officers expressed the importance of showcasing the regions level of ambition and what could be delivered; as well as ensuring the needs and voice of the South West Wales region was heard. Reference was made to the four major schemes that form part of this work, which were estimated to cost around £100million. It was highlighted that Officers will need to hold discussions with Welsh Government to identify how the major schemes will be progressed. The Committee was informed that Officers were awaiting the outcome of the grants modernisation process and the announcement on funding allocations; following this, Officers will be able to provide an update to Members before determining the programme for 2026/27 delivery. Officers mentioned that due to the timescale pressures that Officers were under to deliver the Final RTP and associated documents, there were some minor typographical errors and changes that would need to be made to the documentation prior to submitting to the SWWCJC. Members highlighted a number of key points following Officers overview of the circulated report. Firstly, reference was made to the importance of managing expectations due to the resource and funding challenges; and the need for discussions, with Welsh Government, to continue in relation to addressing the funding gap across Wales and also within the South West Wales region. Secondly, it was recognised that there was a clear regional focus on highways and active travel schemes, with significant interlinkages to rail infrastructure, which, while not funded through the RTP, remained a critical component of metro development in South West Wales. It was mentioned that bus franchising also remained unresolved, requiring further strategic consideration. Following on from the above, it was expressed that uncertainty persists in terms of the allocation of funding for the four national schemes and the processes that underpin equitable distribution. In addition, South West Wales had experienced a significant shortfall in rail investment compared to other regions, requiring concerted efforts to ensure regional ambitions were recognised and supported by both Welsh and UK Governments. To conclude, it was stated that clarity was still needed around grant modernisation, with ongoing dialogue with Welsh Government expected to provide guidance on future funding levels and processes, which will be essential for regional prioritisation. The importance of maintaining flexibility was emphasised, particularly in light of evolving funding conditions at both UK and Senedd levels. It was noted that having a prepared list of schemes was essential to ensure readiness and the ability to act immediately when opportunities arise. The availability of development funding was also highlighted as a critical factor in enabling the progression of these schemes to a deliverable stage. The Chairperson of the Regional Transport Sub Committee expressed an interest in making representations at the forthcoming SWWCJC meeting regarding the issue of equitable funding, and the need to lobby Welsh and UK Governments on the wider transport spend with emphasis on the lack of investment for rail within South West Wales. It was agreed that presenting a united regional voice will be essential to advocate effectively for fair and balanced funding. The Committee thanked Officers for their considerable efforts in developing this work, particularly in light of the challenging timescales that were required to be met. RESOLVED: 1. That the verbal progress report from Officers, on the Regional Transport Plan development, be noted. 2. That the Final Regional Transport Plan, and supporting documents, be endorsed to the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee. 3. That the latest Welsh Government position on grant funding and the ongoing evolution of the Grants Modernisation process, be noted. 4. That the requirement for additional resources, that the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee will be asked to endorse at their 10 July 2025 meeting, be noted.
The Forward Work Programme was noted.
There were no urgent items received.
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