Agenda and minutes

Agreed that Councillor S.Jones be appointed as Chairperson for the meeting.

The Chairperson welcomed everyone to the meeting.

No declarations of interests were received.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 January 2023, be approved as an accurate record.

That the Forward Work Programme be noted.

Questions must be submitted in writing to Democratic Services, democratic.services@npt.gov.uk no later than noon on the working day prior to the meeting. Questions must relate to items on the agenda. Questions will be dealt with in a 10 minute period.

No questions were received.

Decision:

That the programme of works, as set out at Appendix C to the circulated report, be approved for 2023/2024.

Reason for Decision:

To maintain assets for which the Council is responsible and address community concerns in relation to same.

Implementation of Decision:

The decision will be implemented after the three day call in period.

Consultation:

Members Surgeries took place with Local Ward Members as part of preparing the programme.

Suggested amendments to Officers recommendations were received from the previous Scrutiny Committee, as detailed below in bold:

1.           That Members approve the purchase of the zero emission vehicles in the proposed Vehicle/Plant Procurement Programme for 2023/24 set out at appendix a.

2.           That Delegated Authority be granted to the Head of Service in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Transport and Connectivity to purchase any zero emission vehicles in order to maximise the availability of Grant funding that may become available to assist with the purchase cost of the vehicles.

3.           That the purchase of fossil fuel powered vehicles included in appendix a, and any additional vehicles be subject to further reports to cabinet board for approval, with justification as to why a zero emission alternative is not able to be purchased.

Upon taking advice from Officers, Cabinet Members noted that certain specialist vehicles (such as JCBs) were not currently available as zero emission variants. Officers explained that taking on the Scrutiny Committees recommendations would be detrimental to service delivery, and would add a considerable delay to the procurement programme. For these reasons, and although Cabinet Members understood the concerns of the Scrutiny Committee, the Cabinet Board chose not to support the amendments made by the Scrutiny Committee.

Decisions:

That having had due regard to the Integrated Impact Assessment -

1.           The Vehicle/Plant Procurement Programme for 2023/24, as set out at appendix A to the circulated report, be approved.

2.           Delegated Authority be granted to the Head of Engineering and Transport in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Transport and Connectivity, to purchase any vehicles in order to maximise the availability of Grant funding that may become available to assist with the purchase cost of the vehicles.

Reasons for Decisions:

1.           The replacement vehicles and plant will either be zero emission, hybrid electric or have a higher euro standard which will enable the fleet to be more fuel efficient by producing significantly less MPGs and reducing the carbon footprint of the Council by lower emissions.

2.           The Fleet Service in conjunction with the Welsh Government Energy Service have undertaken a review of the Councils Fleet of vehicles to establish usage within sections and where there are opportunities for introducing full electric and other zero emission vehicles and plant to further reduce the Councils carbon emissions in line with the Councils Fleet Transition Plan.

Implementation of Decisions:

The decisions will be implemented after the three day call in period.

Decision:

That having had due regard to the integrated impact assessment, the objections be up held in part to the B4242 Pontneathvaughan Road, Pontneddfechan, Glynneath – Proposed Prohibition of Waiting at Any Time, and Proposed Prohibition of Waiting on Footway at Any Time traffic regulation orders 2022 (as detailed at Appendix A to the circulated report), and that a revised scheme be additionally consulted upon (as detailed in Appendix B to the circulated report), and should no objections be received, that the proposals be implemented on site as advertised.

Reason for Decision:

To prevent indiscriminate parking in the interest of road safety.

Implementation of Decision:

The decision will be implemented after the three day call in period.

Consultation:

This item has been subject to external consultation.

Decision:

That having had due regard to the integrated impact assessment, the objection to the B4242 Pontneathvaughan Road, Glynneath (Revocation) and (30mph Speed Limit) - Order 2022 (as detailed in Appendix A to the circulated report) be overruled, the scheme be implemented as advertised, and the objector will be informed of the decision accordingly.

Reason for Decision:

The Order is necessary to maintain the existing speed limit of 30mph on the B4242 Pontneathvaughan Road, Glynneath within the borough after the Welsh Government passed legislation to implement a 20mph default speed limit in urban areas nationally throughout Wales in the interest of road safety.

Implementation of Decision:

The decision will be implemented after the three day call in period.

Consultation:

This item has been subject to external consultation.

Decision:

That having had due regard to the integrated impact assessment, the C250 from Cymmer to Glyncorrwg (Revocation) and (30mph Speed Limit) - Order 2022 (as detailed in Appendix A to the circulated report) be implemented as advertised, the objection be overruled, and the objector informed accordingly.

Reason for Decision:

The Order is necessary to maintain the existing speed limit of 30mph on the C250 from Cymmer to Glyncorrwg within the borough after the Welsh Government passed legislation to implement a 20mph default speed limit in urban areas nationally throughout Wales in the interest of road safety.

Implementation of Decision:

The decision will be implemented after the three day call in period.

Consultation:

This item has been subject to external consultation.

Decisions:

1.           That having had due regard to the integrated impact assessment, approval be given to advertise the 30 mph Speed Limit Traffic Regulation Orders associated with Ffordd Amazon, and any additional 30 mph Speed Limit Exceptions required within the Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council administrative area, associated with Welsh Government 20 mph Default Speed Limit National Roll Out 2023 (as detailed in Appendix A and Appendix B to the circulated report) in accordance with the statutory requirements.

2.           That the schemes be implemented in accordance with the relevant statutory requirements contained within the current Road Traffic Regulations, subject to there being no objections received, and in the event of any objections being received in respect of any schemes, these will be reported back to the Environment, Regeneration and Streetscene Services Cabinet Board for decision.

Reason for Decisions:

The proposed traffic regulation orders will convert back the strategic routes to a 30 mph speed limit following the national roll out of the 20 mph default speed limit in order to maintain traffic flow on the principal road network.

Implementation of Decisions:

The decisions will be implemented after the three day call in period.

Consultation:

A consultation exercise will be undertaken when the scheme is advertised.

Decision:

That having had due regard to the integrated impact assessment, approval be granted to advertise the Individual Disabled Parking Place traffic regulation orders, for the various locations, as detailed at Appendix A to the circulated report, and should no objections be received the proposals be implemented on site as advertised.

Reason for Decision:

The individual disabled parking places are required due to the residents meeting all the criteria required for individual disabled parking places, to be located at various locations across the Borough.

Implementation of Decision:

The decision will be implemented after the three day call in period.

Consultation:

A consultation exercise will be undertaken when each scheme is advertised.

Decision:

That having had due regard to the integrated impact assessment, approval be granted to advertise the ‘Prohibition of Waiting, Loading and Unloading at Any Time’ restrictions (as detailed at Appendix A to the circulated report) and should no objections be received, the proposals be implemented on site as advertised.

Reason for Decision:

To prevent indiscriminate parking at junctions in the interest of road safety ensuring sufficient manoeuvrability and access for waste/refuse collection vehicles.

Implementation of Decision:

The decision will be implemented after the three day call in period.

Consultation:

A consultation exercise will be undertaken when the schemes are advertised.

Decision:

That having had due regard to the integrated impact assessment, approval be granted to advertise the proposed raised toucan crossing, traffic regulation orders and traffic calming measures (as detailed at Appendix A and Appendix B to the circulated report) and should no objections be received, that the proposals be implemented on site as advertised.

Reasons for Decision:

1.           The proposed raised toucan crossing will provide a safe crossing point for pedestrians and cyclists in the interest of road safety.

2.           The proposed traffic calming measures will slow down vehicular traffic and are required in the interest of road safety.

3.           The proposed traffic regulation orders will prevent indiscriminate parking and facilitate the passage of vehicular traffic in the interest of road safety.

Implementation of Decision:

The decisions will be implemented after the three day call in period.

Consultation:

A consultation exercise will be undertaken when the scheme is advertised.

Decisions:

That having had due regard to the Integrated Impact Assessment it is recommended that the List of Approved Contractors be amended as follows:-

Companies to be added to the List of Approved Contractors

The following companies have applied to be included on the list and have passed the required assessments:-

Reason for Decisions:

To keep the List of Approved Contractors up to date and as far as possible, ensure a competitive procurement process, and for the purpose of supplying a List of Approved Contractors for invitation to tender within the relevant category.

Implementation of Decisions:

The decisions will be implemented after the three day call in period.

Decision:

That the monitoring report be noted.

Members received a copy of the report prepared by the Waste Strategy Task and Finish group approved by the Environment, Regeneration and Street scene Scrutiny Committee.

Decision:

That a report be prepared to the Environment, Regeneration and Streetscene Scrutiny Committee containing Cabinet Board’s response to the issues raised.

Reason for Decision:

To help the Council achieve the next statutory recycling target of 70% in 2024/25.

Implementation of Decision:

The decision will be implemented after the three day call in period.

Any urgent items (whether public or exempt) at the discretion of the Chairperson pursuant to Statutory Instrument 2001 No. 2290 (as amended).

No urgent items were received.

That the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as set out in Paragraph 14 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007 subject to the Public Interest Test (where appropriate) being applied.

Decision:

That having had due regard to the integrated impact assessment, the Contract Procedure Rules be excluded in accordance with rule 5, and that the Head of Engineering and Transport be granted delegated authority to extend the existing Home to School contracts due to end in July 2023, for a period of two additional years to July 2025.

Reason for Decision:

To ensure that the Council’s budget is not disproportionally affected by artificially inflated costs being submitted as a result of the lack of competition in the current transport market place, and economic climate. It will also provide reassurance and security to operators who work for NPTCBC.

Implementation of Decision:

The decision will be implemented after the three day call in period.