Venue: Committee Rooms A/B - Neath Civic Centre. View directions
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To receive any declarations of interest from Members Minutes: The following
Members made Declarations of Interest at the commencement of the meeting: Cllr. S.Pursey – The private report of the Head of Property and
Regeneration on the land at Empire Avenue, Blaengwrach,
Neath due to the Member’s involvement on the planning
committee that passed the planning application on the use of the land. |
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Minutes: Members noted
the minutes. |
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To receive the Minutes of the Community Safety and Public Protection Sub Committee held on the 19th October 2017 Minutes: Members noted
the minutes. |
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To receive the Scrutiny Forward Work Programme 2017/18. PDF 74 KB Minutes: Members
noted the forward work programme. |
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To scrutinise information and monitoring issues being reported by: |
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Task and Finish Review of Support for Tourism - Progress Report PDF 69 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The former Chair of the Economic and
Community Regeneration Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Alun Llewelyn presented the
progress report to the Committee on the task and finish review which looked at
support for tourism in the county borough. Councillor Llewelyn reported that
tourism had contributed £110m to the local economy, attracted 1,530,000
visitors and supported 1,583 jobs in Neath Port Talbot in 2015. Councillor
Llewelyn reminded Members that Neath Port Talbot had several major attractions
such as Margam Country Park, Afan
Forest Park, Aberavon Seafront and Waterfall Country. Councillor Llewelyn informed Members that
Visit Wales, Neath Inspired, Swansea Valley Holiday Cottages, Neath and Tennant Canal Trust, and Tourism Swansea Bay Trade
Association participated in the review by attending the task and finish
meetings and contributing to discussions. Councillor Llewelyn added that a
public online survey was set up and responses were received from local
businesses and elected politicians. Councillor Llewelyn reported that the review
highlighted significant consequences following the dissolution of the tourism
team. Councillor Llewelyn informed Members that although the Economic
Development Department had now taken responsibility for the Destination
Management Plan (DMP), funding provided by Visit Wales was prioritised for
Councils with dedicated teams to take forward initiatives. Councillor Llewelyn
added that funding secured by the authority for tourism had significantly
reduced as a result. Councillor Llewelyn stated that the review
had found that other authorities had made significant progress with regard to
tourism while Neath Port Talbot had fallen behind. Councillor Llewelyn
continued by stating that the review had also found that the authority was not
maximising the number of potential visitors to the area, and this was impacting
on local businesses. Councillor Llewelyn informed Members that there had been a
reduction in the number of new businesses starting up in the tourism sector
within the county borough, and that one of the functions of the former tourism
team was to assist businesses in completing applications for funding and to
provide advice on how to market their businesses. Councillor Llewelyn explained
that the tourism industry in the county borough was not achieving its full
potential, which reduced the opportunities to diversify the local economy further
and create jobs. Councillor Llewelyn reported that following
the conclusion of the review the task and finish group made four
recommendations. Councillor Llewelyn informed Members that recommendation one
was to identify a dedicated resource to drive forward tourism, recommendation
two was to ensure that the DMP was considered on a regular basis by the
Regeneration and Sustainable Development Scrutiny Committee to monitor progress
and the completion of actions, recommendation three was for an All Member
Seminar to be arranged to highlight the findings from the review and to stress
the importance of the tourism sector, and recommendation four was for a letter
to be sent to St. Modwens to enquire what they
believe their responsibility was with regard to the maintenance of Neath Canal
and the importance of continued maintenance. Officers commented that recent statistics for 2017 indicated that there had been a ... view the full minutes text for item 5a |
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To select appropriate items from the Cabinet Board Agenda for pre-scrutiny (Cabinet Board reports enclosed for Scrutiny Members). Minutes: PRE-SCRUTINY The Committee chose to scrutinise the
following items: Cabinet Board Proposals 6.1 Biodiversity
Duty Plan The Committee received information in
relation to the Biodiversity Duty Plan as contained within the circulated report.
Following scrutiny the Committee were supportive of the proposals to be
considered at Cabinet Board. 6.2 Quarter
2 Performance Indicators 2017/18 Members received
information in relation to the Quarter Two Performance Indicators for 2017/18
as contained within the circulated report. Following scrutiny it was agreed
that the report be noted. |
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Access to Meetings to resolve to exclude the public for the following item(s) pursuant to Section 100A(4) and (5) of the Local Government Act 1972 and the relevant exempt paragraphs of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the above Act. Minutes: RESOLVED: that pursuant to
Section 100A(4) and (5) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be
excluded for the following items of business which involved the likely
disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 of
Schedule 12A to the above Act. |
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To select appropriate private items from the Cabinet Board Agenda for pre-scrutiny (Cabinet Board Reports enclosed for Scrutiny Members). Minutes: 8.
PRE-Scrutiny The Committee chose to scrutinise the
following items: Cabinet Board Proposals 8.1 Proposed acquisition of the former Crown
Foods, Carnaud Metal Box The Committee received
information in relation to the proposed acquisition of the former Crown Foods
site as contained within the circulated report. Officers
reported that the purchase of the former Crown Foods was an investment
opportunity where by the Council could offer floor space to companies
(particularly those wishing to expand) which would result in the creation of
jobs, and generate new potential income streams for the Council. Officers
informed Members that the purchase of the premises would contribute towards the
Valleys Task and Finish objectives as the jobs created would offer employment
to citizens from the valleys who would not have far to travel. Members queried
whether there were any asbestos risks in the building, and if so, would the
Council be responsible for removing it. Officers informed Members that the
authority had worked closely with the previous owners of the premises before
they ceased to trade, and they were very co-operative and compliant. Officers
stated that the information available to date confirmed that the company had
dealt with the asbestos in line with regulations. Officers added that what would
happen to the asbestos within the building would depend on the proposals of the
prospective occupiers as they may wish to physically alter the existing
building. Members
questioned whether there were any risks around residual chemicals or lead paint
in the ground. Officers stated that there was contamination as would be
expected in a building of this type and age, but from the information available
it was a manageable risk. Members
questioned whether work had been carried out to protect the building from flood
risk following severe flooding at the premises in 1977. Officers stated that
there had been no flooding at the premises since 1987, and there was now a sump
pump in the basement. Officers added that the culverts were cleared in 2001.
Officers assured Members that work had been carried out to mitigate the risk of
flooding. Members queried
whether the Council would be exposed to any financial risk in terms of
renovation works required to the building to make it suitable for alternative
use. Officers stated that they did not anticipate that the authority would bear
the costs for any renovation works, these costs would be met by businesses renting
the building. Following
scrutiny, the Committee were supportive of the proposals to be considered at
Cabinet Board. 8.2 Neath
Town Centre Redevelopment - Update Members received
information in relation to the Neath Town Centre Redevelopment as contained
within the circulated report. Members queried whether it was possible for the Council to stipulate in the contracts with the retailers that any branding or signage inside and outside the stores were required to be displayed in Welsh also. Officers informed Members that some retailers operated nationally and could be deterred by the requirement to incorporate the Welsh language into their branding and external ... view the full minutes text for item 8. |