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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 in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for consideration of Appendix B on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act. The meeting then went into private session to discuss the contents of the exempt report. The Cabinet Member and Officers responded to questions put by Members. Committee then resumed in open session. The Deputy Leader explained that extensive work had taken place with the Contractor to reduce costs and noted that they were working on an existing scheme near Cheltenham and were utilising that scheme and design to bring it to the County Town. In response to a question from Councillor Steve Alderman regarding the 50% reduction in solar pv, the Deputy Leader explained that the capital was not available to install the level of solar pv that they wanted however, they could be retrofitted through grants in the future. Additionally the design of the roofing had been scaled down as there would not be many angles where it would be visible. In response to a question from Councillor Tim Evans regarding the car park barriers, the Senior Highway Engineer explained that the barrier system would inform the payment charge and he confirmed that there would be multi barrier systems. The Deputy Leader and Councillor Thomas Tudor both emphasised the development would enhance the town providing connectivity and significant improvements to the railway station. In response to comments from Councillor Di Clements that she did not feel that the car park would enhance the aesthetic of the town, the Deputy Leader advised that it had been an exhaustive process with conservation teams, planning and architects and that they had committed to certain outputs with Welsh Government. The Deputy Leader also emphasised that any changes would increase delays and risk costs increasing. In response to concerns raised by Councillors Shon Rees and Tony Wilcox regarding the size of the car park, the Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services explained that it would provide an interchange with a revamped bus station. At its peak, 160 buses would be utilising the station with the provision of toilets and shelter. Concerns that the Call-In was political were raised by a number of Councillors however, the Chair highlighted that without the Call-In there would not have been an understanding of the costs and the services provided by the interchange. Councillor Thomas Tudor emphasised that, as County Councillor for the Castle Ward in Haverfordwest he felt fully updated on the scheme. Councillor Aled Thomas proposed that the, given the significance of the project, full scrutiny at Council level be undertaken before returning to Cabinet and that the Cabinet Member engages with Welsh Government; Seconded by Councillor Di Clements. In response to a query from the Chair, the Deputy Leader pointed out that there would be a reduction in parking bays from 320 to 290 as each space would be increased from 2.4m wide to 2.5m. In response to a concern from the Chair regarding the 10% reduction in spaces resulting in a 10% reduction in income, the Group Engineering Manager explained that some of the spaces were unusable and that at its absolute peak 251 spaces were filled. The Committee was also advised that each charging bay would provide 22kw and that there were 160 parking spaces available at present. The vote, undertaken by way of a roll-call, was not carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For: Councillors Jamie Adams, Mark Carter, Di Clements, Shon Rees, Aled Thomas and Vanessa Thomas [6]. Against: Councillors Steve Alderman, Terry Davies, Tim Evans, Viv Stoddart, Thomas Tudor, Tony Wilcox and Chris Williams [7]. There were no Abstentions. On that basis, the Cabinet Decision was upheld.
Item 3: Haverfordwest Transport Interchange Councillor Shon Rees declared a personal interest by virtue of being a school contractor employed by the Authority.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for consideration of Appendix B on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act. The meeting then went into private session to discuss the contents of the exempt report. The Cabinet Member and Officers responded to questions put by Members. Committee then resumed in open session. The Deputy Leader explained that extensive work had taken place with the Contractor to reduce costs and noted that they were working on an existing scheme near Cheltenham and were utilising that scheme and design to bring it to the County Town. In response to a question from Councillor Steve Alderman regarding the 50% reduction in solar pv, the Deputy Leader explained that the capital was not available to install the level of solar pv that they wanted however, they could be retrofitted through grants in the future. Additionally the design of the roofing had been scaled down as there would not be many angles where it would be visible. In response to a question from Councillor Tim Evans regarding the car park barriers, the Senior Highway Engineer explained that the barrier system would inform the payment charge and he confirmed that there would be multi barrier systems. The Deputy Leader and Councillor Thomas Tudor both emphasised the development would enhance the town providing connectivity and significant improvements to the railway station. In response to comments from Councillor Di Clements that she did not feel that the car park would enhance the aesthetic of the town, the Deputy Leader advised that it had been an exhaustive process with conservation teams, planning and architects and that they had committed to certain outputs with Welsh Government. The Deputy Leader also emphasised that any changes would increase delays and risk costs increasing. In response to concerns raised by Councillors Shon Rees and Tony Wilcox regarding the size of the car park, the Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services explained that it would provide an interchange with a revamped bus station. At its peak, 160 buses would be utilising the station with the provision of toilets and shelter. Concerns that the Call-In was political were raised by a number of Councillors however, the Chair highlighted that without the Call-In there would not have been an understanding of the costs and the services provided by the interchange. Councillor Thomas Tudor emphasised that, as County Councillor for the Castle Ward in Haverfordwest he felt fully updated on the scheme. Councillor Aled Thomas proposed that the, given the significance of the project, full scrutiny at Council level be undertaken before returning to Cabinet and that the Cabinet Member engages with Welsh Government; Seconded by Councillor Di Clements. In response to a query from the Chair, the Deputy Leader pointed out that there would be a reduction in parking bays from 320 to 290 as each space would be increased from 2.4m wide to 2.5m. In response to a concern from the Chair regarding the 10% reduction in spaces resulting in a 10% reduction in income, the Group Engineering Manager explained that some of the spaces were unusable and that at its absolute peak 251 spaces were filled. The Committee was also advised that each charging bay would provide 22kw and that there were 160 parking spaces available at present. The vote, undertaken by way of a roll-call, was not carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For: Councillors Jamie Adams, Mark Carter, Di Clements, Shon Rees, Aled Thomas and Vanessa Thomas [6]. Against: Councillors Steve Alderman, Terry Davies, Tim Evans, Viv Stoddart, Thomas Tudor, Tony Wilcox and Chris Williams [7]. There were no Abstentions. On that basis, the Cabinet Decision was upheld.
The Chair welcomed Members from the Welsh Conservative Group and the Unaffiliated Member to the meeting to present their Call-In to the Committee. The Call-In was submitted by Councillor Aled Thomas, supported by Councillors Di Clements, Mark Carter, Rhys Jordan, Aaron Carey, Steve Yelland, David Bryan, Jonathan Grimes, David Howlett, Danny Young, Claire George (Welsh Conservative Group); and Andrew Edwards (Unaffiliated). The Call-In was in relation to the following decision made by Cabinet on 22 April 2024: That the award of the contract for construction services, as detailed in the report, be awarded to Kier Construction Western & Wales. The Chair invited Councillor Aled Thomas to present the call-in on behalf of the Members. The key points were highlighted as follows: · The income generated from the parking charges had previously been noted as £400K and then changed to £200K however, in the last financial year it was approximately £38-40K. Councillor Thomas questioned the viability of the project in the current financial year. · The number of charging points had reduced. · Councillor Thomas questioned whether the electrical supply was sufficient. · Councillor Thomas emphasised the need of ensuring the money was only spent once. In response to the concerns raised by the Call-In, the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Place, the Region and Climate Change clarified that the multi-storey was very old, poorly built and inadequate for modern day requirements. The interchange would cost £1.9M of the Authority’s money with the remainder grant funded. He further highlighted that the Cabinet was made up of nine very experienced and diligent Members who had debated the reports at some length. The Chair then highlighted the confidential reports advising that they move into private session. The Principal Solicitor advised that all Tenders were submitted in confidence and the move into private session was to preserve that confidence and potential impact on Contractors. Councillor Thomas then Moved an amendment that the redacted document would remain in public session; Seconded by Councillor Di Clements. In response to a question from the Head of Law and Governance regarding clarity on which documents were to be discussed in private session, Councillor Thomas explained that the redacted version remain in public session as presented in person. The vote, undertaken by way of a roll-call, was carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For: Councillors Steve Alderman, Mark Carter, Di Clements, Terry Davies, Tim Evans, Shon Rees, Viv Stoddar,t Aled Thomas, Vanessa Thomas, Thomas Tudor, Tony Wilcox and Chris Williams [12]. There were no votes Against and no Abstentions. RESOLVED That in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for consideration of Appendix B on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Act. The meeting then went into private session to discuss the contents of the exempt report. The Cabinet Member and Officers responded to questions put by Members. Committee then resumed in open session. The Deputy Leader explained that extensive work had taken place with the Contractor to reduce costs and noted that they were working on an existing scheme near Cheltenham and were utilising that scheme and design to bring it to the County Town. In response to a question from Councillor Steve Alderman regarding the 50% reduction in solar pv, the Deputy Leader explained that the capital was not available to install the level of solar pv that they wanted however, they could be retrofitted through grants in the future. Additionally the design of the roofing had been scaled down as there would not be many angles where it would be visible. In response to a question from Councillor Tim Evans regarding the car park barriers, the Senior Highway Engineer explained that the barrier system would inform the payment charge and he confirmed that there would be multi barrier systems. The Deputy Leader and Councillor Thomas Tudor both emphasised the development would enhance the town providing connectivity and significant improvements to the railway station. In response to comments from Councillor Di Clements that she did not feel that the car park would enhance the aesthetic of the town, the Deputy Leader advised that it had been an exhaustive process with conservation teams, planning and architects and that they had committed to certain outputs with Welsh Government. The Deputy Leader also emphasised that any changes would increase delays and risk costs increasing. In response to concerns raised by Councillors Shon Rees and Tony Wilcox regarding the size of the car park, the Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services explained that it would provide an interchange with a revamped bus station. At its peak, 160 buses would be utilising the station with the provision of toilets and shelter. Concerns that the Call-In was political were raised by a number of Councillors however, the Chair highlighted that without the Call-In there would not have been an understanding of the costs and the services provided by the interchange. Councillor Thomas Tudor emphasised that, as County Councillor for the Castle Ward in Haverfordwest he felt fully updated on the scheme. Councillor Aled Thomas proposed that the, given the significance of the project, full scrutiny at Council level be undertaken before returning to Cabinet and that the Cabinet Member engages with Welsh Government; Seconded by Councillor Di Clements. In response to a query from the Chair, the Deputy Leader pointed out that there would be a reduction in parking bays from 320 to 290 as each space would be increased from 2.4m wide to 2.5m. In response to a concern from the Chair regarding the 10% reduction in spaces resulting in a 10% reduction in income, the Group Engineering Manager explained that some of the spaces were unusable and that at its absolute peak 251 spaces were filled. The Committee was also advised that each charging bay would provide 22kw and that there were 160 parking spaces available at present. The vote, undertaken by way of a roll-call, was not carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For: Councillors Jamie Adams, Mark Carter, Di Clements, Shon Rees, Aled Thomas and Vanessa Thomas [6]. Against: Councillors Steve Alderman, Terry Davies, Tim Evans, Viv Stoddart, Thomas Tudor, Tony Wilcox and Chris Williams [7]. There were no Abstentions. On that basis, the Cabinet Decision was upheld.
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.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
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