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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED: • To scrutinise the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing in respect of matters considered and agreed by Cabinet, and any key decisions taken, during the period 21st May 2025 – 7th October 2025; and, • To identify any areas arising from those matters determined within this period which Committee wish to further scrutinise, as part of revisions to the committees published work programme, in relation to Regeneration and Housing.
RESOLVED: • To scrutinise the Councils current and proposed future program of investment for managing flood risk from local sources; • To scrutinise the performance of the Flood Alleviation infrastructure operation during Storm Bert in November 2024; and, iii. To note that the Council’s completed and published Section 19 reports, produced under Section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 following Storm Bert, will be brought to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the 13th October 2025 for consideration, as per the program agreed by Cabinet on 19th February 2025.
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. The Chair also welcomed Councillor M Norris, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing, to the meeting and thanked him for attending today.
The Members Researcher and Scrutiny Officer referenced the research facilities that were available to Members within the Council Business Unit. Members were advised that if they have any specific queries to email them to the Council’s scrutiny team who would accommodate their requests.
In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, the following personal Declarations of Interest were received in respect of Item 4 on the agenda: Item 4: Cllr W Lewis “My son works for the Council in the Biodiversity Office and has done some work on the Peatlands Report”; Cllr W Lewis “I would also like to declare a personal interest in the SPF Grant Funding Cabinet decision”; Cllr Geraint Jones “A couple of the Community Groups that I’m involved with have received funding from the SPF Grant”; Cllr W Hughes “The Community Groups that I’m involved with have received funding from the SPF Grant”; Cllr W Hughes “I am involved in theregeneration of Tonypandy” Cllr C Middle “I would like to declare a personal interest in the Penrhys Cabinet decision as I sit on the Board of Trivallis”; Cllr C Middle “In the Tonypandy Town Centre Cabinet decision I would like to declare a personal interest as I have already been consulted on this as an Elected Member in the mid Rhondda ward area”
The minutes of the hybrid meeting held on the 17th July 2025 were approved as an accurate record
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: • To scrutinise the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing in respect of matters considered and agreed by Cabinet, and any key decisions taken, during the period 21st May 2025 – 7th October 2025; and, • To identify any areas arising from those matters determined within this period which Committee wish to further scrutinise, as part of revisions to the committees published work programme, in relation to Regeneration and Housing.
The Chair introduced Councillor M Norris, the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing, and welcomed him to the meeting. Councillor Norris thanked Members for the opportunity to respond to scrutiny questions. The Director of Legan and Democratic Services presented the report to Member and advised Members that the purpose of the report is to scrutinise any arising matters with the portfolio holder responsible for Regeneration and Housing and to ensure that the appropriate mechanisms are in place to effectively scrutinise the Executive. The Director reminded Members that questions need to focus on the decisions taken over the specific time period referenced in the report. The Chair went through each Cabinet decision listed in the report and invited questions from Members. Under the ‘Lost Peatlands – Landscape Connections Project’ the Chair noted that there had been a lot of tree fall in the Rhondda Valleys and noted that NRW had indicated to him that the plan was for it to become Peatlands. The Chair queried if this was the plan of the Council and if so is there is an alternative or is that the best option we have for those areas given our landscape. The Cabinet Member noted that the areas that are having tree fall at the moment are NRW land and it’s the Council’s policy going forward to increase the Peatland areas because they are one of the biggest ‘sponges’ to take in the carbon. The Cabinet Member also advised Members that developers within RCT need to have a policy that, if possible, they invest in the Peatland areas. Another Member queried how the Council intends to attract and encourage exploration of the lost Peatland areas particularly with our future generations. The Cabinet Member advised that any development on our hillsides we need developers to be knowledgeable about what we are already doing in the RCT area but also to invest part of their development fund within the area of increasing Peatlands. Following on from this, the Chair invited questions under the Cabinet decision ‘Affordable Warmth Strategy: Warm Homes Prosperous Lives 2025-2030’. A Member sought information as to how many homes in RCT fall into the ‘solid walls’ category’ and queried what role private landlords could play in achieving the aims and objectives of the strategy. In respect of terraced homes that are ‘solid stone walls’ the Cabinet Member advised that this is just over 56,500 and makes up approximately 52% of the housing within RCT, which is why when this policy was being discussed it was suggested that we lobby the UK Government and Welsh Government to include Terraced Solid Wall properties in their grant schemes. In respect of private landlords, the Cabinet Member advised that private landlords can access advice and support with grant assistance to meet the ‘MEES’ which is the Domestic Energy Efficiency Standards Regulations. The properties also need going forward to be Category 1 and Category 2 hazard 3 which includes cold and damp. Landlords also need to advise their tenants on the heating equipment which is in the home and how to use them efficiently. Landlords also need to support the tenants on how to apply for new energy measures and grant initiatives, such as ’NEST’ or ‘ECO4’ and Landlords need to make sure that they get up to date EPC ratings on their properties. The Member queried that if a landlord has an energy EPC rating of ‘C’ do they need to do any further work. The Cabinet Member advised that they wouldn’t need to do anymore work however 60% of properties in RCT are below grade ‘C’ so taking advantage of grant aid will upgrade those properties and improve the homes that tenants are living in. Discussions continued and another Member noted that many constituents want to access the grants that are available however they cannot get a call back from the Heating Services department. The Cabinet Member apologised and encouraged the Member to go through the Council’s Members Services to chase up any outstanding queries and advised that the Member will get a response as its all tracked. Discussions ensued and the Chair referred to cavity walls in social housing and asked what the Council’s policy is in this area. The Cabinet Member advised that Westminster have funding for residents that have had problems due to damp coming through the walls when a cavity wall has been filled incorrectly in the past. The Chair subsequently invited Members to comment on the Cabinet decision ‘Proposals for the Regeneration of Penrhys’. A Member noted that she was recently a part of the consultation on the first part of the 10 year plan in Penrhys and the Member praised the first part of this plan and praised the work taking place in this area. The Chair invited Members questions under the decision ‘UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund’, however, Members had no questions in this area. Discussed ensued and the Chair asked a question in respect of ‘Tonypandy Town Centre Strategy’ Cabinet decision. The Chair sought assurances from the Cabinet Member that all other funding streams have been explored within the strategy. The Cabinet Member advised that once the strategy itself is in place each group/organisation could meet regularly to discuss funding sources and then everyone could work together to get the best outcome for Tonypandy. Discussions continued and another Member queried what learning has been taken on board from other Town Centre Strategies that the Council has delivered. The Cabinet Member advised that the last Town Centre Strategy was in Aberdare and when the strategy was developed the team went into the town and spoke to residents, local organisations, businesses and to Ward Members to get their views on what they would like to see included within the strategy and that approach has been replicated in the strategy for Tonypandy Town Centre. The final draft of the Strategy has been out for consultation and this will now be coming forward to Cabinet for their consideration. The documents have also been made into a much more ‘user friendly’ format based on comments made in the Aberdare Town Strategy and this was useful to note going forward. Another Member queried why we were scrutinising the Tonypandy Town Centre Strategy when the consultation period has finished and recommended that we should be pre scrutinising this prior to it going to Cabinet. The Chair advised that we are scrutinising the decisions made by the Cabinet Member and that the purpose of this item is to raise any issues on the decisions made by the Cabinet Member so that the process is open and transparent and that feedback can be provided to the Cabinet Member and the Council, which will strengthen the governance process of the Local Authority. The Member subsequently queried how big was the consultation and asked if the consultation has, as yet, had any impact on the Strategy that will be going to Cabinet. The Cabinet Member advised that more people contributed to the Tonypandy Town Centre Strategy than the previous Aberdare Town Centre Strategy and that has been due to the Council following a two stage process where they went out and spoke to residents followed then by the consultation. The Cabinet Member advised that the Council went out to residents with a first draft of the strategy based on the Council’s interpretation of what the town needed and it was considerably changed from the first consultation to the second consultation based on feedback given at each stage of the process. The Chair praised the Council in its engagement with the public and for being so open and transparent at each stage of the process. The Chair followed on from this by inviting questions from Members based on the ‘Placemaking Wales Charter’ Cabinet decision, however, Members had no further questions in respect of this decision. The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing for attending and for engaging in the Scrutiny process. The Cabinet Member thanked the Chair for giving him the opportunity to attend the meeting. Following discussions, Members RESOLVED: • To scrutinise the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing in respect of matters considered and agreed by Cabinet, and any key decisions taken, during the period 21st May 2025 – 7th October 2025; and, • To identify any areas arising from those matters determined within this period which Committee wish to further scrutinise, as part of revisions to the committees published work programme, in relation to Regeneration and Housing.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: • To scrutinise the Councils current and proposed future program of investment for managing flood risk from local sources; • To scrutinise the performance of the Flood Alleviation infrastructure operation during Storm Bert in November 2024; and, iii. To note that the Council’s completed and published Section 19 reports, produced under Section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 following Storm Bert, will be brought to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the 13th October 2025 for consideration, as per the program agreed by Cabinet on 19th February 2025.
The Flood and Water Risk Manager presented the report on the Council’s Current and Future Investment for Managing Flood Risk in Rhondda Cynon Taff with the aid of a Power Point Presentation. It was noted to Members that the report outlines the performance of the Council’s Flood Risk management investment in relation to the most recent significant flood impact in RCT in November 2024 during Storm Bert. The Chair also noted to Members that since publication of the report, the date of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee has changed from the 13th October to the 20th October, where Section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act will be presented to Committee. In summary, the following points were outlined to Members: • The Council’s current and future program of flood risk management investment reflects a proactive approach to climate resilience, ensuring that the Council is not just reacting to past events, but preparing for the future with foresight and responsibility. (16.1) • The Council’s continued investment in flood risk management has yielded demonstrable success, particularly when comparing the impacts of Storm Dennis in 2020 and Storm Bert in 2024. Despite Storm Bert incurring similarly intense rainfall, many of the areas previously affected by flooding were not adversely impacted due to targeted flood alleviation schemes which are estimated to have benefitted 2,269 properties. (16.2) · The reduced scale and severity of flooding during Storm Bert highlights the value of sustained investment in climate resilience and demonstrates the Council’s commitment to delivering its core corporate objectives: safeguarding public health, supporting economic stability and enhancing the natural environment. It also aligns with our statutory duties under the FWMA 2010 and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, embedding long-term thinking, risk mitigation, and collaboration into everything we do. The Chair thanked the Flood and Water Risk Manager for the report and presentation. Following the presentation, the Chair invited questions from Members. The Chair began by querying if the increase in flooding events throughout RCT has been due to lack of investment, Climate Change and has there been a realisation from UK Government of the severity of this issue that has allowed additional funding to be released to help the Council tackle these events and to be more pro active. The Chair also noted that Pentre and Treorchy are high risk areas and queried if this was because the initial rainfall they receive is the fastest in the UK to get to the river. The Chair also sought information on what areas within RCT are high risk. The Flood and Water Risk Manager advised the ‘risk’ has developed due to the local risk i.e the local area, the landscape, the way the environment has developed over time. Members were advised that to some extent this is a generational risk and the impact of climate change is going to make that worse. In terms of Pentre and Treorchy, the Flood and Water Risk Manager advised that it is the geography of those areas i.e very steep hill sides, water courses that stop at the top of terraced streets and those water courses come out into the river. It was emphasised that the high risk areas are not just Pentre and Treorchy and that there is a significant risk across the Authority. RCT has a significant proportion of the highest flood risk in Wales at 22.5%. The Officer noted that the Council tries to triage the high risk and low risk areas accordingly. Discussions ensued and a Member noted that in terms of the cameras and monitors that are planned or already in existence there are very few in the southern part of Taf and queried the reason behind this. In terms of privately owned culverts, the Member also sought information as to where these culverts actually are and queried if this is causing problems with planning applications. Also, in respect of the high risk areas throughout RCT the Member queried if residents in these areas know they live in a high risk area and questioned if it was possible to see the triage list of high and low risk areas. The Flood and Water Risk Manager advised that in terms of the cameras the locality of these is mainly due to the high risk areas and the infrastructure, however, it was confirmed that this is in the process of expanding into the South. In terms of the privately owned culverts, Members were advised that the Council knows where 70% of these culverts are, however, it was emphasised that where these culverts go underground it becomes much more difficult. The Flood and Water Risk Manager advised that the Highways department are doing work in this area and are mapping these and the Flood risk team feed into this project. It was confirmed that the Council has invested 5000-6000K revenue into the mapping process of underground culverts. In terms of high risk communities, the Member was advised that there is no public record of the high risk areas but there are National Flood Risk maps available. Discussions continued and a Member noted that storms are evolving and that it is impossible to predict the future direction and severity of these storms. On this basis, the Member asked how assured are Officers that the work on these culverts will be sufficient in ten years time for our future generations. The Flood and Water Risk Management advised that as part of the Flood Alleviation Schemes there is a ‘probability effect’ factored built in that follows the Welsh Government’s ‘Adaptation to Climate Change’ document where generally the aim is to factor into these plans 30-40% climate change. Members were advised that a ‘climate change probability’ is built into the Council’s infrastructure, however, it was emphasised that the design process will always leave an unknown risk and the Flood Alleviation Schemes are designed to alleviate risks but cannot stop flooding altogether. Another Member expressed her shock at the number of storms that have occurred since 2020 and praised the Council for investing so much money into this area to tackle flood risk in RCT. The Member also queried the Council’s relationship with NRW and emphasised the importance of NRW doing some urgent maintenance work throughout RCT. Another Member questioned how much biodiversity plays a part in the Council’s strategy to tackling the risk of flooding and stressed the importance of protecting the biodiversity wildlife in our County Borough. The Flood and Water Risk Manager advised that the Council does look at pre existing ecology in an area as part of its planning strategy and noted that there is another scheme called ‘Park Lane Attenuation Pond’ that looks at the existing field area above Aberdare park and as part of the scheme it was identified that there was an opportunity to expand the butterfly habitat. The Manager also advised Members that the team also have to adhere to the Welsh Government’s Implementation of the Flood Water Management Act which takes into account the biodiversity elements of an area. Another Member noted that the report states that future investment is subject to Welsh Government funding and queried whether other sources of funding have been looked at and whether there are any contingency plans in place if Welsh Government funding were to stop. The Flood and Water Risk Manager confirmed that the team look at every option of funding that is available and look at partnership working such as NRW and Welsh Water. Following discussions, Members RESOLVED: • To scrutinise the Councils current and proposed future program of investment for managing flood risk from local sources; • To scrutinise the performance of the Flood Alleviation infrastructure operation during Storm Bert in November 2024; and, iii. To note that the Council’s completed and published Section 19 reports, produced under Section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 following Storm Bert, will be brought to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the 13th October 2025 for consideration, as per the program agreed by Cabinet on 19th February 2025.
There was no urgent business to report.
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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