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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED: That the report be noted.
The Chairperson welcomed everyone to the meeting.
There were no declarations of interests received.
The minutes of the meeting held on 19 May 2025, were approved as a true and accurate record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the report be noted.
Members were provided with an update on the recruitment process enabling progress to be made on the Strategic Development Plan (SDP) Delivery Agreement (DA). It was explained that, in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Strategic Development Plan) (Wales) Regulations 2021, Welsh Government mandated the preparation and adoption of an SDP in each of the four regions of Wales via the Corporate Joint Committee structures; the SDP formed part of a suite of development plans which will inform the planning system across Wales to address issues such as region housing markets and economic opportunity areas. Officers highlighted that following the recommendation made by the Strategic Planning Sub-Committee on 19 May 2025, the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee (SWWCJC) considered two options for progressing the SDP at their meeting on 27 May 2025; the Committee approved the preferred option which was to recruit an experienced Planning Policy Officer to lead the preparation of the DA for the South West Wales SDP. The Committee was informed that the DA will include the timetable for preparation of the SDP, a Community Involvement scheme setting out who, when and how stakeholders will be engaged and consulted, and will highlight the staff and financial resources required to deliver the SDP; it will also include the risks associated with developing the Plan and details of the monitoring and review process required. It was stated that preparing the DA does not commit the region to developing the full SDP, and additional funding would need to be secured from Welsh Government in order to fully commit to the Plans delivery. Reference was made to the approach taken to the recruitment of the Planning Policy Officer; due to time pressures and given that Neath Port Talbot Council was the designated Land Use Planning lead Authority for the region, the agreed approach was to create a secondment opportunity for a Regional Principal Policy Officer to be hosted by Neath Port Talbot Council's Planning Policy team. It was noted that this approach was considered to offer the most efficient and pragmatic solution. Following on from the above, it was detailed that on the 6 August 2025, correspondence was issued to all constituent Local Planning Authorities across the region inviting expressions of interest for the secondment opportunity; those interested were requested to submit a brief outline of relevant experience and availability by the 13 August 2025. Officers highlighted that they received one expression of interest, and subject to further discussions with that Officer, together with the completion of all the relevant Human Resource forms, it was anticipated that progress could now be made to secure the secondment; in order to facilitate the funding and arrangements for the post, a Service Level Agreement between Neath Port Talbot Council and the SWWCJC was already underway. From a financial perspective, it was highlighted that there were sufficient resources available in the reserves, following the receipt of the recently announced £200k from Welsh Government, to cover the cost of preparing and securing adoption of the DA only. However, it was added that there were insufficient resources available to progress beyond the DA stage. Members expressed the importance of continuing to lobby Welsh Government in order to secure the funding to be able to deliver the SDP. RESOLVED: That the report be noted.
It was suggested that the impact of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) to the South West Wales region, which regulated under Natural Resources Wales (NRW), be considered at future meeting. The Forward Work Programme was noted.
There were no urgent items received.
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