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There is no summary of this meeting yet. One is written once the council publishes the minutes. The agenda and papers are below.
Resolved that Howard Evans (Gower Society) be elected Vice-Chair for the 2025-26 Municipal year.
In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea, no interests were declared.
Resolved that the Minutes of the Gower National Landscape Advisory Group meeting held on 24 March 2024, be approved and signed as a correct record.
The Gower National Landscape Team provided a ‘for information’ report which advised the members of the Advisory Group of the recent changes to the group’s membership and on future steps to be taken. It was explained that Barbara Parry had now stepped down from the Clyne Valley Community Project and the Project had confirmed that she would be replaced on the Advisory Group by Jayne Jones. In addition, Philip Ogleby had not attended a meeting since before March 2023 and had not responded to attempts to contact him. As a result, he would be removed from the list of members of the Gower Advisory Group and consideration would be given to appointing a suitable alternative member of the group. This would be an opportunity to consider the make-up of the Group and to widen its representation.
Jake Cosgrove, Communities and Nature Project Officer provided a verbal update on the Landscape Wales Seminar. It was outlined that officers recently attended the annual seminar of Tirwedda Cymru, which is the partnership between the 5 National Landscapes areas and 3 National Parks in Wales. The seminar was entitled Ffermio Bro and an update was provided on the activities and discussions held. A number of issues were raised and Ffermio Bro is the Welsh pilot for the sustainable farming scheme. Resolved that the contents of the report be noted.
Mark Blackmore, Ffermio Bro Advisor for Gower National Landscape provided a presentation regarding Ffermio Bro. Details provided included: - · Background. · Welsh Government Context. · Outcomes. · Ffermio Bro on Gower. · Short term impacts – Managing expectations. · Long term impacts – Ambition is critical. The Group commented on the positive progress being made. Resolved that the contents of the report be noted.
Jake Cosgrove, Communities and Nature Project Officer provided a presentation on Events and Engagement. Details provided included: - · Engagement – 23 March to 23 June 2025. · City Nature Challenge: Swansea. · Celebrating Wales’ Outdoor Learning Week (28 April to 4 May 2025). · Gower Dormouse Project (April to November 2025). · Gower Practitioners – 22 May 2025. The Chair thanked the Officers for providing the informative presentation. Resolved that the contents of the report be noted.
Ursula Jones, Communities and Nature Projects Officer, provided a verbal update regarding the Management Plan. It was explained that the draft Habitats Regulation Assessment Scoping Report had been reviewed and returned to the consultants. It was added that it looked at the impact of the Management Plan on designated sites within about a 30km radius. The draft State of the National Landscapes Report and the Strategic Environmental Assessment Scoping Report are due back for review and return to the consultants. She added that there had been a delay in getting Council information to the consultants and a programme would shortly be circulated to the Group. Details regarding the Stakeholder Engagement Plan were also outlined, along with the consultation process which would be managed by Y Fallen, consultants. Details of the consultation process would be promoted on social media, the Council website, Gower National Landscape website and at the Gower Show. The Advisory Group asked questions regarding the timelines involved, the consultation process and the position of the current Management Plan.
The Gower National Landscape Team presented a ‘for information’ update report on recent project work and teams updates from Swansea Council’s Countryside Team. Paul Meller, Natural Environment Manager commented that the Village Green application at Pennard Common would be reported to Planning Committee in July 2025.
Partners reports and updates were provided as follows: - · Gower Society – Peter Burgess updated the Advisory Group on the Gower Landscape Connections scheme on Gower. He provided a timeline and noted how it would link in with the Management Plan and Ffermio Bro. · Mumbles Community Council – Carrie Townsend Jones updated the Group on the fruit tree mapping exercise being undertaken in Mumbles and water quality testing within the Mumbles area. · Natural Resources Wales – Hamish Osborn welcomed the projects mentioned and highlighted how good an opportunity they provided. He added that a new Project Officer had been appointed by NRW on salt marsh and water quality. A new Conservation Officer had been appointed which would improve the conservation capacity. · GPS Collars on Cattle – Peter Lanfear, Gower Commoners highlighted the success of GPS collars and some issues encountered, particularly from wild fires. · Dormouse Project – Councillor Paxton Hood-Williams highlighted an article he had read regarding a new tracking method, which he would share if he could locate it.
The Communities and Nature Project Officer presented the Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) Panel Financial Summary report ‘for information’. It was outlined that for 2025/26 the SDF budget of £95,000 for 2025/26 had been confirmed by Welsh Government. To date, 7 projects had funding committed, with 4 project applications being presented to the SDF Panel on Monday 30 June 2025. It was added that one of these projects would not claim their grant until the next financial year. Two further project applications were still being assessed. The Committed Funds figure included the CCS Management Fee of £9,500. Total Funds available £95,000 Committed Funds £73,120.13 Uncommitted Funds £21,879.87 Applications in progress £15,000 It was explained that for 2026/27, the SDF budget had been not yet been confirmed by Welsh Government, but indications were that the funding would remain at £95,000. It was added that grant offers for 2026/27 included a statement that “funding is dependent upon Welsh Government funding being available”. To date, 4 projects had funding committed, with 4 projects project applications being presented to the SDF Panel on Monday 30 June 2025. The Committed Funds figure included the CCS Management Fee of £9,500. Total Funds available £95,000 Committed Funds £54,135 Uncommitted Funds £40,865 Applications in progress £31,000
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