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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 updated Transport Strategy work streams are noted.
RESOLVED That the Review of Council Tax premiums item is postponed until the 5th October. The vote, undertaken by way of a roll-call, was carried, the votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion – Councillors Vivien Stoddart, Mike Stoddart, Alan Dennison, Aled Thomas, Steve Yelland and Vanessa Thomas Against the Motion – Councillors Jordan Ryan, Michael Williams, Maureen Bowen and Joshua Beynon Abstaining – Councillor Michele Wiggins The Chair said that legal advice would be obtained for this item at October’s meeting.
RESOLVED The work programme was approved subject to ‘Review of Council Tax premiums’ going to the meeting on the 5th October with the addition of the legal document provided to the Council Tax Working Group. Councillor Ryan asked if an update on building council houses could be available at October’s meeting.
Councillor Bethan Price who has been substituted by Councillor Mike Stoddart Councillor Pat Davis Councillor Huw Murphy who has been substituted by Councillor Vanessa Thomas Councillor Mike James
Councillor Michele Wiggins declared a personal interest on item 6 as she was a member of the Council Tax Working Group. Councillor Alec Cormack declared a personal interest on item 6 as he was a member of the Council Tax Working Group. Councillor Mike Stoddart declared a prejudicial interest on item 6 as his wife was a shareholder in a holiday accommodation but he was granted a dispensation to speak on second homes and topics related to tourism. He also declared a personal interest on item 6 as he was a member of the Council Tax Working Group. Councillor Vivien Stoddart declared a prejudicial interest on item 6 as she was a shareholder in a holiday accommodation but she was granted a dispensation to speak on second homes and topics related to tourism.
RESOLVED That the Minutes of the Meetings held on 20 June 2023 be approved as a correct record subject to the following amendments on page 9 of the agenda pack: · Councillor Michelle Wiggins was present for the vote on the ‘Consideration of a Local Choice Function: Self-Assessment and Panel Performance Assessment item and should be listed · Councillor Michael Williams was not present Councillor Steve Alderman should be Councillor Steve Yelland
There was no correspondence received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the updated Transport Strategy work streams are noted.
Darren Thomas (Head of Infrastructure & Environment) highlighted the following points: · The report covered updates on the work streams feeding into the transport plan, regional working and an update on shared use path data · The report provided an update on the timetable for producing the regional transport plan and its key aims, work streams, and the policy and guidance under active travel · The report is a strategy document and not a delivery plan · The team should be notified if any 20mph signage needed updating In response to Councillor Williams, Darren Thomas stated that SPRAG (South Pembrokeshire Rail Action Group) and North Banbridge Transport Forum had raised concerns with Welsh Government over the lack of railway transport in West Wales. Transport for Wales stated that there had been a delay on the new trains they ordered. After these trains arrive the need to do gauge clearance and check technical aspects on them. These new trains should go live in West Wales in November. A stakeholder meeting was held in Tenby that involved SPRAG and Transport for Wales in Tenby and concerns were addressed directly to the director. PCC had also been lobbying Transport for Wales and the Welsh Government for an improvement in the train service too. Councillor Williams noted the unreliability of trains arriving and arriving on time in Wales and more work needed to be done to put pressure on the Welsh Government to prioritise it. The Chair concurred with this and added that he was a member of SPRAG (South Pembrokeshire Rail Action Group). He said that the unreliability of trains puts residents off from using them in the future. Councillor Rhys Sinnett (Portfolio Holder – Residents’ Services) added that: · PCC’s transport plan was working to the national one · PCC’s transport strategy was being undertaken by CJC cross-county · Less funding was available to carry out what the team wanted to do with the strategy · The plan set out the aspiration for the next 15-20 years and what transport should look like by 2040 Councillor Dennison said that he would often have to catch the Neath train line as it was the nearest reliable service. GWR (Great Western Railway) had stated that they did not plan to go further west in Wales than Swansea. Trains on Sunday were often bus replacement services and the new 20mph speed limit would make this a longer journey. Darren Thomas informed the group that the plan will be pushing for railway services e.g. a train from Pembrokeshire to London via Bristol taking four hours. PCC was in discussions with GWR and they stated that they received their funding from Central Government and not Welsh Government. GWR had extended their service to Carmarthen where patronage exceeded expectation so GWR were looking at possibly extending into Pembrokeshire. GWR ran a weekend service to Tenby during the summer that was withdrawn during Covid-19; they were planning to reinstate this service. Grand Union were planning to run a train service to at least Llanelli which should benefit Pembrokeshire in the long term. Councillor V Stoddart highlighted the importance of Milford Haven needing a new train station as plans for its upgrade started in 2014. She was told in March 2022 that construction might start in Spring 2023. In June 2023 she and Councillor Dennison were presented plan for it but construction had not started by the time of the meeting. Darren Thomas clarified that funding was needed for a new railway station and anything rail related needed to go through a bureaucratic process called ‘grip’. ‘Grip’ is pre-project management process that railways introduced in response to some big crashes they occurred roughly 20 years ago. They tightened up their safety procedures but this resulted in a bureaucratic safety process. The new station for Milford Haven was at ‘Grip Stage Four’ which is the design stage before implementation. £674,000 was allocated to develop the new station in the 2023/24 financial year. A lot of money was needed to spend on consultants to get the required detailed design as well as ecology and animal surveys that needed to be carried out too. A Levelling Up bid to improve Haverfordwest, Milford Haven and Fishguard was unsuccessful, therefore they were try to obtain a transport grant from Welsh Government. If successful then the new train station for Milford Haven will start development. The plans for Milford Haven train station included straitening the track so the platform could be extended for longer trains; there will also be a bus interchange. It will also integrate with the retail park. In response to Councillor M Stoddart, Councillor Sinnett stated that Councillor Paul Millar (Portfolio Holder - Place, the Region and Climate Change) would be able to provide an update on digital connectivity in Pembrokeshire. Darren Thomas informed the committee that Broadway, who were the company rolling out digital connectivity, were hiring poor quality contractors before they went bust. PCC did not know about this until residents contacted them on the poor work that was carried out. Street Care officers had been meeting with the new contractors to ensure this did not happen again. In response to Councillor Aled Thomas, Darren Thomas clarified that it was always possible to go back to Welsh Government and seek a re-profiling of money that has been awarded. However, money is awarded based on business cases for specific schemes. The Havorfordwest Interchange was unique because it received multi-year funding. At the time of the meeting it was known that Welsh Government had huge financial pressures with large cuts being done and a re-profile of the Capital Programme. Therefore, if a re-profile was sought then Welsh Government could use this to take allocated funding back. Following points raised by Councillor Dennison, Darren Thomas stated that in 2022, PCC did not have the transport grant and at the time they had tried to get levelling up funding too. The transport grant has fully funded the Havorfordwest scheme. The funding obtained in 2023 for Milford Haven’s train station was used to get enough detail so contractors could start building it. Stephen Berger (Group Engineer) confirmed that the levelling up bid did include Fishguard as it was linked to the Havorfordwest interchange. The application mostly focused on the three interchanges in Havorfordwest, Pembroke Dock and Milford Haven. The Fishguard work will likely go ahead under the funding for the Havorfordwest interchange work. The cycle lane in Steynton had finished phase one has the design had been completed. The cycle route from Johnston to Havorfordwest existed but it needed updating as there were gaps on Pope Hill. Some trunk joining up routes were being constructed. They would prioritise the cycle lane on the main road over the one on the old railway line because this added over a mile and a half to a commuter’s journey. In response to Councillor Bowen, Darren Thomas stated that PCC was awarded £120,000 for active travel schemes only cross-county and Pembroke Dock will receive some of this. Steven Berger clarified that they intended to carry on with the Pembroke Dock interchange if successful with obtaining more travel fund grants from Welsh Government. They planned to finish the left turn into the Tesco Retail Park on London Road in Pembroke Dock; this will include pedestrian crossings. This will happen once PCC have permission to move Farm Food’s signs. The Chair noted that there were not many train conductors checking tickets so patronage numbers were likely lower than actual numbers. Darren Thomas stated that business cases could not rely on present usage as this would not show what Pembrokeshire could be with its successful economic industries. There will be an increased demand for train and bus usage in West Wales because of climate change. Councillor Alan Dennison suggested mentioning the increased provisions being made for tourists e.g. more campsites in the business case. Darren Thomas thanked the Committee for their feedback on the report as this was used to feed back into the team’s work streams. Councillor Sinnett concurred with this and suggested that an update report comes to the committee next year. The Chair suggested June 2024 and suggested specific updates on topics like Milford Haven train station. RESOLVED That the updated Transport Strategy work streams are noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Review of Council Tax premiums item is postponed until the 5th October. The vote, undertaken by way of a roll-call, was carried, the votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion – Councillors Vivien Stoddart, Mike Stoddart, Alan Dennison, Aled Thomas, Steve Yelland and Vanessa Thomas Against the Motion – Councillors Jordan Ryan, Michael Williams, Maureen Bowen and Joshua Beynon Abstaining – Councillor Michele Wiggins The Chair said that legal advice would be obtained for this item at October’s meeting.
This item was taken as item 5 on the agenda to enable to the Portfolio Holder for Residents’ Services attend the Transport Plan item. Paul Ashley-Jones (Head of Financial Services) summarised that: · 74% of responses received were from people who did not live in Pembrokeshire · 26% of respondents lived in Pembrokeshire · The consultation asked what would be an appropriate level of council tax for second homes and empty homes · Homes in Pembrokeshire are currently classified as empty if they have been vacant for three years · The consultation also looked at possible discretion that PCC (Pembrokeshire County Council) could on the second homes premium; especially for properties that were classified as non-domestic rates but have/will be transferring into council tax as a result of not being let out for 182 days a year, which was brought in by Welsh government · Following the member budget seminar on the 15th September, the decisions on these premiums will not be debated until December’s Full Council. Member’s would have received the updated housing strategy and budget information before this meeting Dan Shaw (Corporate Planning Manager) highlighted the following points: · There were 1650 responses to the consultation plus a significant amount of letter correspondence · Respondents were mostly owners of self-catering holiday lets · Welsh Government changed the thresholds for how long a self-catering holiday let needs to be booked out for to 182 days from 70 days · They also extended the amount of days the property needs to be available for · Roughly 30% of holiday lets in Pembrokeshire would not meet this threshold · The consultation was advertised online · The respondents did not always make it clear if they were second home owners and/or owned holiday lets · 10% of respondents did not appear to have a second home/holiday let · Most respondents who owned second homes wanted there to be no tax premiums or 50% · 169 respondents did not own holiday lets or second homes and had more balanced views: 1/3 wanted no premiums, 21% to keep the premiums the same and just over 1/3 said higher premiums · Holiday-let owners were keen for discretion to be used if they were going to be taxed as second homes · There was slightly more support to increase tax premiums on LTEPs (long term empty properties) but there were a lot less LTEPs in Pembrokeshire compared to second homes/holiday-lets and a lot did not meet council tax thresholds Councillor Alec Cormack (Portfolio Holder - Corporate Finance) raised the following points: · The Council Tax Working Group consisted of eight members cross-party and was supported by legal, revenue and finance teams · The working group discussed the tax premiums and saw the consultation report before the OSC · The working group was formed in 2016 and the terms of reference for the Council Tax Working Group need updating so the group can share the discussions formally with Council · Members will need to consider external factors like the Housing Strategy and homeless when making their decisions on the tax premiums · They will have more of an idea what budget pressures PCC has towards the end of the year · Feedback from the working group and budget seminar showed that members noted the big jump from 70 days occupancy to 182 days · 70% on consultees believed that they would meet the 182 day occupancy threshold · Internal legal advice stated that PCC could possibly lower this threshold and change the circumstances for when these holiday-lets would be charged the same tax as second homes. However, PCC would then have to deal with any challenges from this · If the threshold was kept at 182 days then it would solely be the responsibility of Welsh Government · The Valuation Office tells local authorities what buildings need to be charged for council tax and second home council tax premiums where appropriate · If PCC introduced a discretionary scheme then they would need to police it all which would have significant administrative burdens on PCC staff who were working on historical payments owed · When properties come back from non-domestic rates into council tax, this does not mean that they would be subject to the second-home council tax premium · Houses that have planning conditions on them that prevent them from being permanently lived in are exempt from this council tax premium · If a house was being renovated to make it liveable then it was exempt from the council tax premium too · Any properties moving from non-domestic rates to council tax would have had 100% rebate and properties listed as businesses would have received business grants during Covid-19 · Council tax discretions should be given to Pembrokeshire residents who were struggling to pay their council tax instead of second-home owners · All members in different groups will be consulted on before Cabinet make a decision on this. The decision would be subject to call-in at Full Council · Members provided differentiating views on what they thought the council tax premium should be · Money made from second-home council tax premiums would be used to build affordable housing · Members of the working group were keen to see what other local authorities in Wales were doing on this · Homelessness in Pembrokeshire had risen by 800% since 2019 and 677 residents were in temporary accommodation. This was costing PCC £900,000 for the 2023/24 financial year · The 2024/25 financial budget would likely be the most difficult one that PCC will need to balance · There were 531 LTEPs in 2023 compared to 563 in 2019 · Most consultees said that the council tax premium for LTEPs should start sooner than three years (which was the threshold at the time). Members of the working group and seminar were for this starting sooner too Councillor M Stoddart noted that the working group was set up to administer the distribution of funds raised from second homes and LTEP council tax and not to determine the rates of these taxes. The Chair queried whether the committee would like to put forward any recommendations regarding the report. In response to Councillor Aled Thomas, Councillor Alec Cormack confirmed that the council tax working group got this legal document as additional information and it may have not been provided to the OSC because this meeting was a public meeting. Councillor Jordan Ryan stated that the legal document said why the Council was allowed to charge council tax on second homes and how they could amend it. Councillor Thomas proposed adjourning the item to a later meeting as the committee did not have sight of the same legal document that the Council Tax Working Group did. Councillor M Stoddart seconded this proposal and said that the committee could go into private session to discuss exempt information if needed. Paul Ashley-Jones clarified that the legal document needed to be updated by the legal team but he believed an updated version was provided to the council tax working group. The Chair suggested carrying on debating this item as nothing that would be discussed would be exempt from the public. He noted that some responses in the consultation said they would sell their second homes which was the point of the council tax premium. The most common issue raised by his constituents was the homeless issue amongst residents and if anyone was asked if they wanted to pay more council tax then they would say no. The Chair supported the idea of raising second home council tax and decreasing the amount of time before council tax premium started for LTEPs. The low council tax rate that PCC had more decades meant that Pembrokeshire was being under-invested in. Councillor Thomas said he would prefer to view the legal document before giving an opinion on premium council tax. He concurred that homelessness was an issue that needed to be addressed and debated whether the current or previous administration had built a council house. Councillor Thomas added that that he struggled to get homeless data from officers whether homeless residents in Pembrokeshire were local. He was against increasing council tax rates for all properties and suggested building things like chalets for holiday makers instead of them buying properties. Councillor Michael Williams noted that there was a homeless problem among young people from Pembrokeshire in Tenby with an 800% increase. There were some houses being built in Tenby and PCC were trying to buy houses back that were bought under the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme. He added that many streets were mostly second homes and houses were on the market for high prices. Businesses and voluntary sectors were struggling because there was a lack of permanent residents in Tenby. There were two foodbanks and a hotel being used to house the homeless in Tenby. Councillor Williams supported the increase in council tax for second homes and the 182 day threshold for holiday homes was reasonable. Councillor Ryan suggested that councillors could lobby the local MPs for help with housing. Private sector renting had significantly increased and hundreds were on waiting lists for social housing as they could not afford private sector rates. Councillor M Stoddart said that 75% of second home council tax proceeds went to building new houses but this was reduced to 60% after a Council vote. Councillor Cormack clarified that he would support this item being postponed if the Committee voted for this. Councillor V Stoddart noted that this discussion could be deemed as pre-determination ahead of the second home council tax debate in December 2023. For: V Stoddart, M Stoddart, Dennison, A Thomas, Yelland, V Thomas Against: Ryan, Williams, Bowan, Beynon Abstain: Wiggins RESOLVED That the Review of Council Tax premiums item is postponed until the 5th October. The vote, undertaken by way of a roll-call, was carried, the votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion – Councillors Vivien Stoddart, Mike Stoddart, Alan Dennison, Aled Thomas, Steve Yelland and Vanessa Thomas Against the Motion – Councillors Jordan Ryan, Michael Williams, Maureen Bowen and Joshua Beynon Abstaining – Councillor Michele Wiggins The Chair said that legal advice would be obtained for this item at October’s meeting.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED The work programme was approved subject to ‘Review of Council Tax premiums’ going to the meeting on the 5th October with the addition of the legal document provided to the Council Tax Working Group. Councillor Ryan asked if an update on building council houses could be available at October’s meeting.
RESOLVED The work programme was approved subject to ‘Review of Council Tax premiums’ going to the meeting on the 5th October with the addition of the legal document provided to the Council Tax Working Group. Councillor Ryan asked if an update on building council houses could be available at October’s meeting.
5th October 2023 at 2pm
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
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