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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 verbal progress report from Officers on the Regional Transport Plan development, be noted; • That the Regional Transport Plan Year 1 Investment Programme and the Years 2 and 3 rollover funding ask of Welsh Government be endorsed to the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee (SWWCJC); • That the latest Welsh Government position on grant funding and the ongoing evolution of the Grants Modernisation process, be noted; • That it be noted that the report to the South West Wales Corporate Committee (SWWCJC) will seek delegated authority for the Chief Executive, in conjunction with the SWWCJC Chair and the Chair of the SWWCJC Transport Sub-Committee, to finalise recommendations for possible additional investment based on the principles set out in the circulated report.
The Chairperson welcomed everyone to the meeting.
There were no Declarations of Interest received.
The minutes of the meeting held on 4 November 2025 were approved as a true and accurate record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: • That the verbal progress report from Officers on the Regional Transport Plan development, be noted; • That the Regional Transport Plan Year 1 Investment Programme and the Years 2 and 3 rollover funding ask of Welsh Government be endorsed to the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee (SWWCJC); • That the latest Welsh Government position on grant funding and the ongoing evolution of the Grants Modernisation process, be noted; • That it be noted that the report to the South West Wales Corporate Committee (SWWCJC) will seek delegated authority for the Chief Executive, in conjunction with the SWWCJC Chair and the Chair of the SWWCJC Transport Sub-Committee, to finalise recommendations for possible additional investment based on the principles set out in the circulated report.
The Committee was presented with the Regional Transport Plan (RTP) Year 1 Investment Programme, which represented the next stage following approval of the RTP. The report set out proposals for the allocation of funding for Year 1, with the appendices also providing indicative investment plans for Years 2 and 3. It was noted that Welsh Government had provisionally allocated £23.4 million for the 2026/27 financial year and had confirmed that a limited proportion of this funding could be rolled into Years 2 and 3.; this flexibility provided an opportunity to bid for larger, regionally significant schemes requiring delivery over more than one year. It was mentioned that arrangements were being put in place to provide Officer support for programme coordination, with a budget allocation of approximately £100,000 identified for this purpose in the next financial year. Members were advised of potential additional funding opportunities; the Cabinet Secretary had invited the region to consider bidding for further funding at two levels: £5.5 million or £11 million, both for Year 1 only and significant when compared to the provisional allocation. The circulated report provided further detail on this, including the rationale for seeking additional funding; it was important to note, that any such funding would be separate from the 4% awarded to Local Authorities through recent budget announcements as this was already committed to other priorities. Officers had therefore outlined a clear strategic case for additional funding and the types of schemes that could be supported. It was stated that Officers were continuing work to identify schemes that could benefit from any additional funding; a list of potential schemes was included within the appendices to the circulated report, with a particular focus on regionally significant projects spanning multiple Local Authorities or delivering benefits across the whole region. It was further reported that Officers were exploring the option of directing a significant proportion of any additional funding towards metro-related projects. It had been considered that additional funding would support the development of a more cohesive and comprehensive metro programme; current discussions included bringing the metro projects together as a single programme while also expanding the scope of other regional schemes. The Committee was informed that should additional funding be secured, there would be an opportunity to bring forward certain schemes currently planned for Years 2 and 3 into Year 1. It was acknowledged that Years 2 and 3 were currently over-programmed, and the early delivery of schemes would be beneficial, subject to the completion of the relevant processes and approvals. It was noted that the Year 1 programme was slightly over-programmed, with a total value of approximately £25.6 million; this approach was intended to allow effective programme management throughout the year, ensure alignment with Welsh Government grant indication, and provide flexibility to respond to delivery timescales, emerging priorities, and the availability of additional funding sources. RESOLVED: • That the verbal progress report from Officers on the Regional Transport Plan development, be noted; • That the Regional Transport Plan Year 1 Investment Programme and the Years 2 and 3 rollover funding ask of Welsh Government be endorsed to the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee (SWWCJC); • That the latest Welsh Government position on grant funding and the ongoing evolution of the Grants Modernisation process, be noted; • That it be noted that the report to the South West Wales Corporate Committee (SWWCJC) will seek delegated authority for the Chief Executive, in conjunction with the SWWCJC Chair and the Chair of the SWWCJC Transport Sub-Committee, to finalise recommendations for possible additional investment based on the principles set out in the circulated report.
There were no comments or questions received in relation to the private appendix contained within agenda item 7, therefore the meeting did not move into private session.
There were no urgent items received.
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