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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED – T H A T the minutes of the meeting held on 16th October, 2025 be approved as a correct record.
AGREED – (1) T H A T Inspector Tyler be welcomed to the Committee and thanked for their time and verbal update. (2) T H A T a letter of thanks be sent to Inspector Gareth Childs. Reasons for decisions (1) To provide the Committee with a quarterly update since last received in October 2025. (2) To ensure that the Committee’s formal and sincere thanks are passed to Inspector Childs for his valuable contributions to the Committee in recent years.
AGREED – T H A T Group Manager O’Keefe be thanked for their time and verbal update.
AGREED – T H A T Councillor Summers be thanked for their written and verbal update in their capacity as the Town and Community Council Representative on the Public Service Board.
AGREED – T H A T the Head of Sustainable Development be thanked for their time and presentation. Reason for decision In response to the Request for Consideration submitted by Cowbridge with Llanblethian Town Council on Information regarding the Vale of Glamorgan Council Local Development Plan.
These were received from Councillors S. Campbell, M. Wilson (Cowbridge with Llanblethian Town Council), G. Thomas (Llantwit Major Town Council), R. Cox (Penarth Town Council) (Substitute), B. Morris (Colwinston Community Council), J. Shaw (Llandow Community Council) and T. Partridge (St. Donats Community Council).
Decision as recorded
AGREED – T H A T the minutes of the meeting held on 16th October, 2025 be approved as a correct record.
AGREED – T H A T the minutes of the meeting held on 16th October, 2025 be approved as a correct record.
No declarations of interest were received.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – (1) T H A T Inspector Tyler be welcomed to the Committee and thanked for their time and verbal update. (2) T H A T a letter of thanks be sent to Inspector Gareth Childs. Reasons for decisions (1) To provide the Committee with a quarterly update since last received in October 2025. (2) To ensure that the Committee’s formal and sincere thanks are passed to Inspector Childs for his valuable contributions to the Committee in recent years.
The Chair welcomed Inspector Huw Tyler as the new South Wales Police Service Representative for the Committee going forward and requested the Committee's permission to send a letter of thanks to his predecessor, Inspector Gareth Childs, for their valuable contributions to the committee in recent years. Inspector Tyler provided an overview of his background and responsibilities as the new Inspector for Barry, the Vale and Penarth. They reported that overall crime had decreased by 3% between January and December 2025 compared with the previous year, with reductions in public order offences, shoplifting, violence with injury, criminal damage and residential burglary. Increases were noted in violence without injury, vehicle interference, drug trafficking (due to national recording changes), and robbery (linked to the introduction of a new “business robbery” offence). Updates were given on ongoing operational activity including the Winter of Action targeting retail theft and prolific offenders, resulting in two Criminal Behaviour Orders. Test purchase operations in Penarth were undertaken, with two of four premises failing and due for retesting. Plain-clothes patrols and the establishment of a Pub Watch scheme in Penarth were also highlighted. On rural crime, the Inspector outlined his new role as force lead and work underway to strengthen governance, review Operation Waxbury, and explore investment in mobile Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology/cameras. They also reported on recent thefts from vans in Barry and Penarth, noting increased patrols and that no further incidents had occurred since early January. Following the Inspector’s verbal update, the Committee raised the following comments and questions that the Inspector kindly responded to as follows: Speaker – Comments/Questions Inspector’s Response Councillor Anne Asbrey The Inspector confirmed additional VoG Elected Member officers had been allocated, though Dinas Powys Ward some were moved from high-demand areas. The direction given was to Whether additional officers had been increase visibility, including officers recruited and, if so, whether they would being out on foot. The winter action plan be on foot patrols rather than primarily ended in January, but the intention was driving. to maintain high-visibility patrols. Councillor Mark Wilson (Vice-Chair) The Inspector expressed appreciation VoG Elected Member and confirmed the valuable role Stanwell Ward, Penarth. Councillors play as eyes and ears alongside PCSOs. They acknowledged Thanked PCSOs and Inspector for their the volume of information managed improved visibility in Penarth and noted through the team and thanked positive engagement. They welcomed Community Safety Warden Tony Parker new powers around aggravated for his proactive work. shoplifting and stressed the shared role of councillors and PCSOs as conduits for community intelligence. Councillor Malcolm Phillips The Inspector confirmed that Dinas Powys Community Council obstruction issues fell within Police Representative. powers. They committed to tasking the team to look into the matter, undertake Echoed support for increased foot local enquiries, and assess what action patrols. They raised concerns over could be taken. ongoing parking obstruction within Dinas Powys village square, particularly vehicles blocking the bus stop and causing issues for Cardiff Bus. They asked whether Police could assist. Councillor Sally Hanks The Inspector acknowledged the VoG Elected Member balance between not criminalising Llantwit Major Ward. young people and ensuring public safety. They noted enforcement was Highlighted issues with youths using possible but often limited by difficulties electric scooters in Llantwit Major in an identifying riders. They would discuss unsafe manner and asked what action current plans with the team and explore Police could take. educational opportunities with schools and youth clubs. They were also working with Safer Barry Group on e-bike mentoring and would explore extending this. Councillor Summers The Inspector confirmed PCSOs had Penllyn Community Council already been directed to maintain Representative. contact with Councillors via email, telephone, or meeting attendance. They Raised the need for more consistent agreed to review meeting schedules PCSO attendance at Community and asked to be informed if Councillors Council meetings, suggesting a experienced difficulties contacting scheduled rota so Councils could rely PCSOs. The Inspector asked to be on periodic attendance. informed of any Councils feeling unsupported so issues could be followed up. They emphasised that if staff could not attend meetings due to operational reasons, they should notify Councillors and provide written updates where appropriate. In conclusion, the Chair supported the need for improved consistency in Community Council attendance and reminded Committee of the Inspector’s contact details available via the agenda front sheet as standard. With no further comments or questions, the Committee subsequently AGREED – (1) T H A T Inspector Tyler be welcomed to the Committee and thanked for their time and verbal update. (2) T H A T a letter of thanks be sent to Inspector Gareth Childs. Reasons for decisions (1) To provide the Committee with a quarterly update since last received in October 2025. (2) To ensure that the Committee’s formal and sincere thanks are passed to Inspector Childs for his valuable contributions to the Committee in recent years.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – T H A T Group Manager O’Keefe be thanked for their time and verbal update.
The Group Manager apprised the Committee on the following matters in relation to the Bridgend and Vale of Glamorgan areas since the last update that had been provided to the Committee in October 2025 as follows: The Group Manager reported that overall incident numbers in the Vale had decreased during Quarter 3 compared to the same period last year, with a particularly notable 34% reduction in deliberate fires. Crews from Barry Fire Station, alongside the Arson Reduction Team, South Wales Police and Vale of Glamorgan Council, undertook Operation Sentinel in response to increased anti-social behaviour linked to deliberate fire-setting in the Holton Road area, with early indications of positive impact. A total of 227 incidents were attended within the Vale during the quarter, down from 368 in the previous year. Recent major incident support included the service’s involvement in the Storm Claudia response in Miskin, utilising water rescue capabilities. The Service also responded to 16 accidental dwelling fires, with a continued concern highlighted regarding fires involving lithium-ion batteries used in devices such as e-scooters, mobile phones and laptops. Public safety campaigns were ongoing to address these risks. The Service had completed 15,380 home fire safety checks so far this financial year, fitting smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and providing safety advice, with Councillors encouraged to promote the free service to vulnerable and older residents. Education and prevention work continued through 71 youth education programmes, six road safety campaigns, and extensive community engagement over the festive period, including charity work with the Noah’s Ark Foundation and a community Christmas dinner at Barry Fire Station aimed at reducing social isolation. Work was progressing on a new Community Risk Management Plan, which would be shared with partners once finalised. Following the Group Manager’s verbal update, the Committee raised the following comments and questions that the Group Manager kindly responded to as follows: Speaker – Comments/Questions Group Manager’s Response Councillor Malcolm Phillips The Group Manager advised they could Dinas Powys Community Council not confirm the cause of any specific Representative. incident without an official fire report. They noted reports suggesting Expressed thanks for the update and lithium‑ion involvement and reiterated referred to a recent fire in the Dinas key safety messages: avoid overnight or Powys area, noting local speculation unattended charging, keep devices out that it was caused by a lithium‑ion of escape routes, and purchase battery from an e‑scooter and sought CE‑marked products. clarification to relay concerns from residents. Councillor Sandra Perkes The Group Manager stated that VoG Elected Member lithium‑ion batteries could enter thermal Court Ward, Barry. runaway very rapidly, producing flammable vapors and igniting with little Asked how quickly lithium battery fires warning. They advised monitoring developed and how much time devices when charging, unplugging any occupants typically had to evacuate. overheating or swollen batteries, moving them outside safely, and calling 999 if concerned. Councillor Mark Wilson (Vice-Chair) The Group Manager advised that no VoG Elected Member dryer‑related fires were known in the Stanwell Ward, Penarth. current quarter but noted that domestic appliance‑related incidents still Queried whether fires involving occurred. They emphasized regular unattended tumble dryers remained an filter cleaning, avoiding overnight issue for the service and requested operation and never leaving appliances advice on safe dryer placement. As a running unattended. They were secondary question, asked whether unaware of any approved charging protective charging boxes existed for enclosures and advised charging small devices. devices on hard, non‑combustible surfaces. In conclusion, the Chair referred to a recent incident that had come to their attention involving someone charging a mobile phone while using it in the bath, highlighting the obvious electrocution risks that were not obvious to the individual. Therefore, continued education on general electrical safety guidance and the dangers associated with charging devices near water or in unsafe conditions were key. With no further comments or questions, the Committee subsequently AGREED – T H A T Group Manager O’Keefe be thanked for their time and verbal update.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – T H A T Councillor Summers be thanked for their written and verbal update in their capacity as the Town and Community Council Representative on the Public Service Board.
Councillor Summers provided an overview of key matters considered at the most recent meeting of the Public Service Board (PSB), noting that detailed notes had already been circulated to Committee Members. They highlighted the introduction of the Family Compass Service, a new single-entry contact point for all child-related services across the Vale and partner organisations. The approach provided a neutral and non-judgemental gateway offering support ranging from early advice to significant interventions and may function as a useful model for other Council service areas in future. The Director of Public Health for Cardiff and the Vale, Clare Benham, presented her Annual Public Health Report to the PSB, which focused on issues relating to Type 2 diabetes. A link to the full report had been shared with Members. An update was also provided on the Good Food Movement, a whole-system approach to healthy eating and healthy weight. The current two-year plan, its early achievements and the first six-month progress update were summarised. The relevant report was circulated with the Councillor’s notes. The PSB’s six-monthly report had also been reviewed and was available on the Council’s website. In addition, Lloyd Fisher presented recently published data from the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD). Members were advised that the number of areas within the Vale ranked among the 10 most deprived had increased from three to seven, all located within Barry. Work to address the newly identified areas would now be progressed alongside existing programmes. It was further noted that three rural areas in the Vale were ranked within the 10 most deprived nationally specifically regarding access to services, highlighting the need to recognise rural deprivation as well as urban. Updates were provided on the Your Place programme, which focused on interventions within the most deprived neighbourhoods in Barry and would now be expanded to cover all seven affected areas. The PSB also received an update from Rob Thomas regarding regeneration work in Barry Town Centre, including progress on developments in Holton Road, the new community centre, and emerging projects relating to the former Filco store and integrated service proposals for the Western Gateway. Following Councillor Summer’s verbal update, Councillor Sally Hanks took the opportunity to thank Councillor Summers for the interesting information that they had created and stated how the information was much appreciated. The Chair echoed the comments of Councillor Hanks and how they hoped that each Member of the Committee would be disseminating the information as widely as possible within their respective Councils. Councillor Summers concluded by highlighting the importance of all Councils having an appreciation of what was going on across the whole of the Vale of Glamorgan area, and not just their respective Council areas, and requested that Members reach out to them with any topics they wished to be raised at future PSB meetings. With no further comments or questions, the Committee subsequently AGREED – T H A T Councillor Summers be thanked for their written and verbal update in their capacity as the Town and Community Council Representative on the Public Service Board.
Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings
Decision as recorded
AGREED – T H A T the Head of Sustainable Development be thanked for their time and presentation. Reason for decision In response to the Request for Consideration submitted by Cowbridge with Llanblethian Town Council on Information regarding the Vale of Glamorgan Council Local Development Plan.
A request for consideration was received from Cowbridge with Llanblethian Town Council in relation to Information on the Local Development Plan. In response, the Head of Sustainable Development for the Vale of Glamorgan Council provided a presentation to the Committee on the RLDP Strategy / Deposit Plan and Consultation / Publicity Methods going forward. The Officer advised that the Deposit Plan consultation would run for a statutory 6- week period between the 28th January and 11th March 2026, to allow interested parties to make representations on all policies and allocations. Representations made as part of the Deposit Plan would be considered and reported back to VoG Full Council (via Cabinet and Place Scrutiny), envisaged for Autumn 2026. Subject to approval of the consultation report / Deposit RLDP by Full Council, the Plan would be submitted to Welsh Government for examination by an Independent Planning Inspector, potentially in early 2027. The Officer’s slides were provided in advance within the meeting papers, with slide 6 setting out the details of public engagement drop-in sessions available to Town and Community Councils and members of the public alike. Following the Officer’s presentation, the Chair reminded Members that the discussion should focus on the process of the consultation, not the content. Therefore, it was hoped that substantive representations would be submitted via Town and Community Councils directly as part of the consultation. The Committee went on to raise the following comments and questions that the Officer kindly responded to as follows: Speaker – Comments/Questions Officer’s Response Councillor Malcolm Phillips The Officer explained that resource Dinas Powys Community Council limitations prevented full-day events be Representative. held but residents may attend any session regardless of venue/area, and Raised concerns about timings of that the relevant Council team was consultation events (e.g. 3:30–6:30pm available outside event times for in Dinas Powys), noting these restricted contact. attendance for working residents and suggested that full-day sessions be The Officer acknowledged the issue available. being raised by Councillor Toker and agreed to discuss possible adjustments Councillor Sandra Toker with the team facilitating the events St. Athan Community Council however, stressed the need to balance Representative. event arrangements to ensure that they neither ran too early nor too late in the Raised similar concerns about early day as officers had received criticism in finish times for the public engagement relation to both. events disadvantaging rural residents and suggested extending some events to 7:30pm. Councillor Anne Asbrey The Officer confirmed that hard-copy VoG Elected Member forms would be available and that staff Dinas Powys Ward could help residents complete them at the time of the event as well as Queried whether objections received separately. Representations should before the consultation period were ideally be made within the statutory kept, and whether paper forms would be window. available at events to take away and submit at a later date. Councillor Stephen Haines The Officer agreed and asked for VoG Elected Member Councillor Haines to confirm future St. Athan Ward. Council meeting dates in writing, following the meeting, in order to Requested that the Officer attend a arrange a meeting and assess their St Athan Community Council meeting, availability. with local Members, to discuss concerns directly. Councillor Michael Cuddy The Officer confirmed that the ISA Penarth Town Council Representative. would accompany the draft Plan and agreed to explore highlighting broader Expressed concerns about the focus on policies at the public events. The Officer allocations overshadowing other also noted that feedback often focused policies (e.g. sustainability, biodiversity) on allocations, however this was not the and queried the status of the Integrated only focus of the events. Sustainability Appraisal (ISA) and the consultants’ role. The Chair also suggested that Councillor Cuddy follow up with any detailed technical questions by email direct to the Officer. Councillor Christine Cave The Chair clarified that individuals, as VoG Elected Member well as collective Councils, were fully Llandow Ward encouraged to submit representations. Sought clarification that individuals, not just collective Councils, could submit their own views. Councillor Summers The Officer advised that there were four Penllyn Community Council rural allocations currently under Representative. consultation that may be wholly or partially affordable. These were Requested that clearer guidance be relatively small allocations compared to included in future presentations others. New policy may require market provided on how rural affordable housing to demonstrate local needs as housing allocations would be treated well as affordable housing. This was a and assessed. new approach for the Vale of Glamorgan, noting a similar approach in It was a grave concern of rural Town Monmouthshire, and anticipated strong and Community Councils that planning local engagement. policy did not match the reality of rural settlements. In conclusion, the Chair echoed the Officer’s closing comment in that it was hoped that everyone submitted comments to reflect the reality and overall picture in relation to the allocations proposed and emphasized the importance of high public participation in the consultation. With no further comments or questions, the Committee subsequently AGREED – T H A T the Head of Sustainable Development be thanked for their time and presentation. Reason for decision In response to the Request for Consideration submitted by Cowbridge with Llanblethian Town Council on Information regarding the Vale of Glamorgan Council Local Development Plan.
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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