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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED (a) That the new version of the ‘Deposit’ replacement Local Development Plan, referred to as LDP 2, Deposit Plan 2, and the associated documents be endorsed; and their publication, as a basis for a formal public consultation be agreed for a minimum period of six weeks during Autumn 2024. (b) That delegated power be given to the Head of Planning Service to agree any minor changes and updates required to the documents as a consequence of Council’s consideration of them along with any minor edits needed to address typographical or grammatical errors, prior to their publication for consultation purposes. [The Members that had declared a personal and prejudicial in the previous item of business returned to the meeting.]
RESOLVED (a) That Ms Maggie Hughes and Mr David Parsons be appointed as Independent Members to the Standards Committee for a period of six years. (b) That Ms Karen Chandler be appointed as a Reserve Independent Member in the event that a vacancy occurs in the next three months.
RESOLVED (a) That the Independent Group be appointed an additional seat on the Senior Staff Committee. (b) That Councillor Vanessa Thomas be appointed to fill the additional seat on the Senior Staff Committee. (c) Councillor Jacob Williams to step down from the Senior Staff Committee as per the required adjustment. The Chair then sought a show of hands from the Chamber, in support of the revised schedule. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the revised schedule be approved. The Head of Democratic Services advised that the Chamber now needed to consider the vacant seat on the Governance and Audit Committee, of which was required to be filled by a Member of the Independent Group. Following a request from the Presiding Member for nominations, Councillor Huw Murphy Moved that Councillor Alan Dennison be allocated the vacant seat, which was Seconded by Councillor Brian Hall. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That Councillor Alan Dennison be appointed to the Governance and Audit Committee. The Head of Democratic Services advised that the Chamber needed to consider nominating an unaffiliated Member to the Planning Committee. Councillor Jacob Williams Moved that Councillor Chris Williams be appointed; which was Seconded by Councillor Simon Hancock. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That Councillor Chris Williams be appointed to the Planning Committee Following a request for nominations to be received to fill vacant seats on the Licensing Committee and SACRE/SACRVE, no nominations were made, therefore those vacancies would be considered at the next meeting of Council. A request was made for nominations to be made to appoint a Vice-Chair for the Investigation and Disciplinary Committee. Councillor Aled Thomas Moved that Councillor Mark Carter be appointed; Seconded by Councillor Rhys Jordan. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That Mark Carter be appointed as the Vice-Chair of the Investigation and Disciplinary Committee The Head of Democratic Services stated that she had received notice from Councillor Huw Murphy that Councillors Jamie Adams and Anji Tinley wish to be appointed as reserve Members on the Governance and Audit Committee. The above proposal was Moved by Councillor Huw Murphy; Seconded by Councillor Brian Hall. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the following Reserve appointments be approved: · Governance and Audit Committee – Councillors Jamie Adams and Anji Tinley
The Presiding Member welcomed everyone to the meeting and stated that since Council last met, Members had suffered a grievous loss, in the death of Councillor Peter Morgan, who was the ward member for the Havens. Peter was universally popular across the Chamber, a man of distinguish sporting achievements, a Welsh International British Lion, and he had endeared himself over many years of public service by his warm, witty character. Condolences were extended on behalf of the Chamber to Peter’s family. It was added that the huge number of people that attended the funeral was a testament to his popularity and the reverence with which he was rightly held. Members and Officers then stood to observe a minute's silence in Peter’s memory.
The following declarations of interest were made: Item 3 – Pembrokeshire County Council Replacement Local Development Plan - LDP 2 (2017-2033) - Deposit Plan 2 for Public Consultation Councillor Huw Murphy declared a personal and prejudicial interest. Councillor John Davies declared a personal and prejudicial interest by virtue of owning land within the current LDP, which may have an impact on LDP 2. Councillor Delme Harries declared a personal and prejudicial interest by virtue of owning land in Puncheston which forms part of LDP 2.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED (a) That the new version of the ‘Deposit’ replacement Local Development Plan, referred to as LDP 2, Deposit Plan 2, and the associated documents be endorsed; and their publication, as a basis for a formal public consultation be agreed for a minimum period of six weeks during Autumn 2024. (b) That delegated power be given to the Head of Planning Service to agree any minor changes and updates required to the documents as a consequence of Council’s consideration of them along with any minor edits needed to address typographical or grammatical errors, prior to their publication for consultation purposes. [The Members that had declared a personal and prejudicial in the previous item of business returned to the meeting.]
[Councillors John Davies, Delme Harries and Huw Murphy left the meeting, having declared personal and prejudicial interests in the matter.] Council considered a report by the Head of the Planning Service which outlined the request for Council to consider approving the replacement Pembrokeshire County Council Local Development Plan (2017-2033) – LDP 2, Deposit Plan 2 – as a basis for a public consultation in Autumn 2024, for a minimum period of six weeks. Consideration was also being requested for delegated power to be given to the Head of the Planning Service to agree any minor changes and updates required to the documents as a consequence of Council’s consideration of them and to address any minor edits required such as typographical or grammatical errors, prior to their publication for consultation purposes. Councillor Jacob Williams, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Planning and Regulatory Services, introduced the report and stated that the Local Development Plan (LDP) was the document that sets out the local policy framework for determining planning applications and directing growth. The LDP was stated to have primacy in the determination of planning applications, alongside Welsh Government’s Future Wales – the National Plan 2040 document and Welsh Government’s planning policy and guidance. It was stated that the current LDP was adopted in 2013 and was due to be replaced in 2021 but due to delays initiated by COVID-19, loss of staff and impacts of new guidance on phosphates, the deadline proved impossible. It was stated that large amounts of work had been undertaken, including a prior deposit plan, multiple versions of the replacement plan delivery agreement, viability assessments, completion of the Habitats Regulation Assessment and consideration of river quality information from Natural Resources Wales (NRW). Information regarding the proposed strategic changes to LDP2 were highlighted and the contents of the documentation which would be published as part of the consultation was outlined. The Cabinet Member expressed his thanks to all involved in shaping the LDP2. [Councillors Tom Tudor and Jordan Ryan joined the meeting at this juncture] The Chair opened the matter for discussion and the Leader began by highlighting that there appeared to be an increase in consideration of planning applications to reduce the affordable housing element within proposed sites, with developers stating that such requests were based on viability. He sought assurance that any sites allocated within LDP 2 are subject to robust viability assessments before approval is considered. The Head of the Planning Service provided assurance that high level viability testing had been undertaken for housing allocations in relation to the required level of contributions. It was stated that any site that becomes an allocation through the LDP2 would need to meet the relevant policy requirements, which would include the levels of affordable housing set out in the policy. It was added that whilst the expectation would be for developers to meet the level of contributions as set out in the policy, there would be the ability for developers to query viability, which would be done at the planning application stage and whilst newer viability testing may be conducted, the high level testing which had been conducted as part of the LDP2 would act as a benchmark. Councillor Jamie Adams highlighted a change where preference seemed to be given to ‘a contribution towards offsite affordable housing’, rather than the affordable housing being required within the development site. The Head of the Planning Service confirmed that there had been changes proposed as part of the revised plan, with a range of mechanisms being introduced to ensure affordable housing would be provided within the plan area. Members were advised that the changes came about as in some instances housing market values were too low to be able to demonstrate affordable housing by onsite provision for some allocations, so instead, the contributions would be put towards affordable housing within the locality. In response to a further question raised by Councillor Jamie Adams, the Head of the Planning Service confirmed that the contribution money could either be spent in terms of pooling the Council’s delivery of affordable housing in the locality, or additionally on other site’s, brought forward by a registered social landlord. Councillor Jamie Adams sought an explanation regarding the rationale behind infill within local villages being an option but rounding-off not appearing to be an option anymore, to which the Head of the Planning Service outlined proposals for settlement boundaries and confirmed that no rounding-off was being proposed and any applications received which fall outside of a settlement boundary would be judged on their own merits, against policy. A number of exceptions were outlined for Members’ information. [Councillor David Simpson joined the meeting at this juncture] Concerns were raised by Councillors Jamie Adams and Pat Davies regarding reliance being put on three housing sites to provide a very large proportion of the housing allocation, and it was commented that non-delivery of any of those sites would have an impact on the planning obligations that would have been adopted by the Authority. The Head of the Planning Service advised that the Authority had undertaken a large amount of work and were confident in the deliverability of housing within the three proposed strategic sites. Assurance was given that the Authority was not solely relying on the entirety of the sites being delivered and stated that the figures had been based on a proportion of the sites being provided. Reference was made to the policy concerning community facilities and Councillor Jamie Adams queried if consideration could be given to reconciling a decision made by Cabinet to close day centres, by basing rationale on this policy. The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Safeguarding stated that she did not think the two matters were connected in a way which Councillor Adams believed, but extended an offer to discuss the matter outside of the meeting. [At this juncture, Councillor Neil Prior declared a personal and prejudicial interest by virtue of being a non-executive Director at Pobl. He added that he had obtained dispensation to speak but not vote on housing matters.] Councillor Tony Wilcox queried if there would be any flexibility as part of LDP2 in relation to categorisation of town centre units. The Head of the Planning Service explained that there had been significant change in the LDP2 in relation to town centres which would provide greater flexibility of town centre units to assist with making town centres vibrant whilst still maintaining primary retail frontages. The Cabinet Member for Place, the Region and Climate Change added that the proposed increased flexibility would assist with regeneration of town centres, assisted also in some cases by grant funding, and expressed his opinion that the proposals were welcomed by him. Councillor Michael John queried if there would be a mechanism as part of the consultation for the designation of villages to change, based on services within those villages. The Head of the Planning Service advised that a rural facility survey was carried out in 2020 but the consultation would also enable members of the public to advise whether the level of service in an area had changed, since the survey was conducted, of which the feedback would be taken into account. [Councillor Josh Beynon joined the meeting at this juncture.] In response to a suggestion by Councillor Michael John that the consultation be run for a period longer than six weeks, the Head of the Planning Service informed Members that the consultation length was a decision which would be made by Officers and the proposal was to run the consultation over an eight-week period. Councillor Jordan Ryan sought clarification as to whether the delivery timetable would take into consideration the six weeks lost due to the Election. In response it was stated that the Election did not affect the consultation as the delivery agreement was approved post the pre-election period. Moved by Councillor Jacob Williams, Seconded by Councillor Alec Cormack The vote, undertaken by way of an electronic vote, was carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion: Councillors Jamie Adams, Steve Alderman, Josh Beynon, Maureen Bowen, David Bryan, Alistair Cameron, Aaron Carey, Mark Carter, John Cole, Alec Cormack, Pat Davies, Terry Davies, Alan Dennison, Andrew Edwards, Tim Evans, Claire George, Jonathan Grimes, Nicola Gwynn, Brian Hall, Simon Hancock, Jon Harvey, Tessa Hodgson, David Howlett, Mike James, Mike John, Rhys Jordan, Paul Miller, Mel Phillips, Shon Rees, Jordan Ryan, David Simpson, Rhys Sinnett, Sam Skyrme-Blackhall, Mike Stoddart, Vivien Stoddart, Aled Thomas, Vanessa Thomas, Anji Tinley, Thomas Tudor, Iwan Ward, Michele Wiggins, Tony Wilcox, Chris Williams, Jacob Williams, Steve Yelland and Danny Young [46] Abstentions: Councillor Neil Prior [1] There were no votes against. RESOLVED (a) That the new version of the ‘Deposit’ replacement Local Development Plan, referred to as LDP 2, Deposit Plan 2, and the associated documents be endorsed; and their publication, as a basis for a formal public consultation be agreed for a minimum period of six weeks during Autumn 2024. (b) That delegated power be given to the Head of Planning Service to agree any minor changes and updates required to the documents as a consequence of Council’s consideration of them along with any minor edits needed to address typographical or grammatical errors, prior to their publication for consultation purposes. [The Members that had declared a personal and prejudicial in the previous item of business returned to the meeting.]
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED (a) That Ms Maggie Hughes and Mr David Parsons be appointed as Independent Members to the Standards Committee for a period of six years. (b) That Ms Karen Chandler be appointed as a Reserve Independent Member in the event that a vacancy occurs in the next three months.
Council considered a report by the Head of Democratic Services which outlined the requirement to consider the appointment of two Independent Members to the Standards Committee. The Leader introduced the report, outlined the Membership requirements of the Committee, and stated that as outlined within the Standards Committee (Wales) Regulations (2001), Regulation 20 stated that the term of office for an Independent Member shall not be less than four years or more than six years. It was highlighted that the vacancies were following two resignations in June 2024, both due to personal reasons, and after a recruitment process, involving five applicants, the two candidates, of which background information was provided, were recommended by the Appointments Panel. It was added that the Panel had also recommended appointment of a reserve Member, in the event of a vacancy occurring in the next three months; background information of the recommended reserve Member was also provided. Councillor Jon Harvey Moved that Ms Maggie Hughes and Mr David Parsons be appointed as Independent Members to the Standards Committee for a period of six years and that Ms Karen Chandler be appointed as a Reserve Independent Member in the event that a vacancy occurs in the next three months; Seconded by Councillor Huw Murphy. The vote, undertaken by way of an electronic vote, was carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion: Councillors Jamie Adams, Steve Alderman, Josh Beynon, Maureen Bowen, David Bryan, Alistair Cameron, Aaron Carey, Mark Carter, John Cole, Alec Cormack, Pat Davies, Terry Davies, Alan Dennison, Andrew Edwards, Tim Evans, Claire George, Jonathan Grimes, Nicola Gwynn, Brian Hall, Simon Hancock, Jon Harvey, Tessa Hodgson, David Howlett, Mike James, Mike John, Rhys Jordan, Paul Miller, Mel Phillips, Shon Rees, Jordan Ryan, David Simpson, Rhys Sinnett, Sam Skyrme-Blackhall, Mike Stoddart, Vivien Stoddart, Aled Thomas, Vanessa Thomas, Anji Tinley, Thomas Tudor, Iwan Ward, Michele Wiggins, Tony Wilcox, Chris Williams, Jacob Williams, Steve Yelland and Danny Young [48] There were no votes against or abstentions. RESOLVED (a) That Ms Maggie Hughes and Mr David Parsons be appointed as Independent Members to the Standards Committee for a period of six years. (b) That Ms Karen Chandler be appointed as a Reserve Independent Member in the event that a vacancy occurs in the next three months.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED (a) That the Independent Group be appointed an additional seat on the Senior Staff Committee. (b) That Councillor Vanessa Thomas be appointed to fill the additional seat on the Senior Staff Committee. (c) Councillor Jacob Williams to step down from the Senior Staff Committee as per the required adjustment. The Chair then sought a show of hands from the Chamber, in support of the revised schedule. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the revised schedule be approved. The Head of Democratic Services advised that the Chamber now needed to consider the vacant seat on the Governance and Audit Committee, of which was required to be filled by a Member of the Independent Group. Following a request from the Presiding Member for nominations, Councillor Huw Murphy Moved that Councillor Alan Dennison be allocated the vacant seat, which was Seconded by Councillor Brian Hall. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That Councillor Alan Dennison be appointed to the Governance and Audit Committee. The Head of Democratic Services advised that the Chamber needed to consider nominating an unaffiliated Member to the Planning Committee. Councillor Jacob Williams Moved that Councillor Chris Williams be appointed; which was Seconded by Councillor Simon Hancock. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That Councillor Chris Williams be appointed to the Planning Committee Following a request for nominations to be received to fill vacant seats on the Licensing Committee and SACRE/SACRVE, no nominations were made, therefore those vacancies would be considered at the next meeting of Council. A request was made for nominations to be made to appoint a Vice-Chair for the Investigation and Disciplinary Committee. Councillor Aled Thomas Moved that Councillor Mark Carter be appointed; Seconded by Councillor Rhys Jordan. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That Mark Carter be appointed as the Vice-Chair of the Investigation and Disciplinary Committee The Head of Democratic Services stated that she had received notice from Councillor Huw Murphy that Councillors Jamie Adams and Anji Tinley wish to be appointed as reserve Members on the Governance and Audit Committee. The above proposal was Moved by Councillor Huw Murphy; Seconded by Councillor Brian Hall. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the following Reserve appointments be approved: · Governance and Audit Committee – Councillors Jamie Adams and Anji Tinley
Council considered a joint report by the Head of Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer which sought to review the allocation of committee seats to political groups and to review the allocation of representation on politically balanced outside bodies. The Head of Democratic Services introduced the report and stated that following political balance changes, the report comprised of four elements which would be taken separately. The first element was in relation to the allocation of seats and outside bodies, with the revised allocations being based on 59 Members of Council, with the changes being highlighted in red, in Appendix 1, as a consequence of the change in membership of Independent Group. It was stated that the Independent Group was now entitled to one additional seat on an ordinary Committee which was a matter for Council to determine and which would bring with it an adjustment to the seats allocated to Unaffiliated Members. It was added that notice would need to be received as to which Member would step down from the seat. Councillor Huw Murphy Moved that the Independent Group be appointed an additional seat on the Senior Staff Committee; Seconded by Councillor Brian Hall. Councillor Paul Miller sought clarification from the Head of Democratic Services in relation to the legislation regarding discrepancies in allocations. He explained that discrepancies in allocations were only ever permitted in the case it was +1 or -1 however it seemed those discrepancies were becoming increasingly higher. He asked if anything in legislation permitted this, and if not, expressed that he was not comfortable with it so would suggest the Chamber review it as Committee balances were starting to become affected. The Head of Democratic Services advised that the legislation was made up of four principles, which ensured Committees were politically balanced, but highlighted that the allocations set out in Appendix 1 are those which were previously agreed by Council, hence the variance, as the highlighted changes were based on the changes to those approved at the previous meeting. The Head of Law and Governance agreed that the matter should be explored and an update brought back to the next meeting, with a suggestion to bring allocations back to scratch to ensure balance, where required. Councillor Jacob Williams voiced his agreement with the concerns raised by Councillor Miller. Councillor Jacob Williams Moved the following Amendment to Councillor Huw Murphy’s Motion: for the Independent Group to be appointed an additional seat on the Licensing Committee; Seconded by Councillor Mike Stoddart. In a response to a question raised by Councillor Jordan Ryan, the Presiding Member advised that Unaffiliated Members cannot be treated as a group and the political balance of the Council has to reflect its membership. The vote on the Amendment, undertaken by way of an electronic vote, was lost. The votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion: Councillors Steve Alderman, Josh Beynon, Alistair Cameron, Aaron Carey, Alec Cormack, Pat Davies, Nicola Gwynn, Simon Hancock, Jon Harvey, Tessa Hodgson, Paul Miller, Neil Prior, Jordan Ryan, David Simpson, Rhys Sinnett, Sam Skyrme-Blackhall, Vivien Stoddart, Mike Stoddart, Michele Wiggins, Tony Wilcox, Chris Williams and Jacob Williams [22] Against the Motion: Councillors Jamie Adams, David Bryan, Mark Carter, John Cole, John Davies, Terry Davies, Alan Dennison, Andrew Edwards, Tim Evans, Claire George, Jonathan Grimes, Brian Hall, Delme Harries, David Howlett, Mike James, Mike John, Rhys Jordan, Huw Murphy, Mel Phillips, Shon Rees, Aled Thomas, Vanessa Thomas, Anji Tinley, Thomas Tudor, Iwan Ward, Steve Yelland and Danny Young [27] There were no abstentions. Consideration then reverted to the original Motion and the vote, undertaken by way of an electronic vote, was carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion: Councillors Jamie Adams, Josh Beynon, Maureen Bowen, David Bryan, Mark Carter, John Cole, John Davies, Terry Davies, Alan Dennison, Andrew Edwards, Tim Evans, Claire George, Jonathan Grimes, Nicola Gwynn, Brian Hall, Delme Harries, David Howlett, Mike James, Mike John, Rhys Jordan, Paul Miller, Huw Murphy, Mel Phillips, Shon Rees, Jordan Ryan, Vivien Stoddart, Aled Thomas, Vanessa Thomas, Anji Tinley, Iwan Ward, Tony Wilcox, Chris Williams, Steve Yelland and Danny Young [34] Against the Motion: Councillors Steve Alderman, Alistair Cameron, Aaron Carey, Alec Cormack, Pat Davies, Simon Hancock, Jon Harvey, Tessa Hodgson, Neil Prior, David Simpson, Rhys Sinnett, Sam Skyrme-Blackhall, Mike Stoddart, Thomas Tudor, Michele Wiggins and Jacob Williams [16] There were no abstentions. Councillor Huw Murphy advised that Councillor Vanessa Thomas would be appointed, by the Independent Group, to fill the additional seat on the Senior Staff Committee. Following instruction given by the Head of Democratic Services at the start of the item that notice would need to be received as to which unaffiliated Member would step down from the seat, Councillor Jacob Williams gave notice that he would step down. RESOLVED (a) That the Independent Group be appointed an additional seat on the Senior Staff Committee. (b) That Councillor Vanessa Thomas be appointed to fill the additional seat on the Senior Staff Committee. (c) Councillor Jacob Williams to step down from the Senior Staff Committee as per the required adjustment. The Chair then sought a show of hands from the Chamber, in support of the revised schedule. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the revised schedule be approved. The Head of Democratic Services advised that the Chamber now needed to consider the vacant seat on the Governance and Audit Committee, of which was required to be filled by a Member of the Independent Group. Following a request from the Presiding Member for nominations, Councillor Huw Murphy Moved that Councillor Alan Dennison be allocated the vacant seat, which was Seconded by Councillor Brian Hall. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That Councillor Alan Dennison be appointed to the Governance and Audit Committee. The Head of Democratic Services advised that the Chamber needed to consider nominating an unaffiliated Member to the Planning Committee. Councillor Jacob Williams Moved that Councillor Chris Williams be appointed; which was Seconded by Councillor Simon Hancock. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That Councillor Chris Williams be appointed to the Planning Committee Following a request for nominations to be received to fill vacant seats on the Licensing Committee and SACRE/SACRVE, no nominations were made, therefore those vacancies would be considered at the next meeting of Council. A request was made for nominations to be made to appoint a Vice-Chair for the Investigation and Disciplinary Committee. Councillor Aled Thomas Moved that Councillor Mark Carter be appointed; Seconded by Councillor Rhys Jordan. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That Mark Carter be appointed as the Vice-Chair of the Investigation and Disciplinary Committee The Head of Democratic Services stated that she had received notice from Councillor Huw Murphy that Councillors Jamie Adams and Anji Tinley wish to be appointed as reserve Members on the Governance and Audit Committee. The above proposal was Moved by Councillor Huw Murphy; Seconded by Councillor Brian Hall. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the following Reserve appointments be approved: · Governance and Audit Committee – Councillors Jamie Adams and Anji Tinley
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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