Agenda and draft minutes

The Chairperson welcomed everyone to the meeting.

There were no declarations of interests received.

The minutes of the meeting held on 2 September 2024 were approved as an accurate record.

Members were presented with the Draft Regional Transport Plan (RTP) for the South West Wales region.

Officers highlighted that they were seeking approval, from the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee, to commence the public consultation process for the Draft RTP. It was stated that the proposed timeframe for the consultation was eight to ten weeks, starting from the end of January/beginning of February. Officers added that the two strands that would form part of the consultation were the Draft RTP and the Draft Regional Transport Delivery Plan (RTDP).

The Committee were made aware of the following changes that Officers would be making to the circulated documentation. It was noted that the updated version will be presented to the South West Wales Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee:

·        Inclusion of Policy 15 which was missing from the circulated report.

·        Amendment to the list of schemes:
1. Inclusion of a number of third-party rail and trunk road schemes, delivered by Welsh Government, which Officers noted to be essential for the region. It was explained that this was particularly important due to the fact that the National Transport Delivery Plan will be expiring in 2027; therefore, there would be opportunities to highlight schemes that the region would like to see in the next iteration of that plan.
2. Inclusion of a broad location for each scheme to provide further clarity on where the schemes would be delivered, whether that be Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire or throughout the region.

Officers referred to the Case for Change which was submitted to Welsh Government in February 2024. It was explained that Welsh Government had not provided formal comments on the Case for Change; however, they had been supportive and agreed that the region should proceed in the development process. It was added that Officers would now need to seek approval from Welsh Government in terms of moving forward with the public consultation process.

It was reiterated that the Case for Change captured the regions current position and why there was a need to develop the RTP; the Case for Change and the Draft RTP reflected the Welsh Transport Strategy Guidance from 2021. The Welsh Transport Strategy set out three broad themes, which were reflected in the six objectives that Officers would be putting out to consultation along with the supporting material.

Reference was made to the number of policies within the Draft RTP which set out the framework to move forward with decision making in terms of scheme investments. It was noted that this affected a range of other policy areas such as land use planning, economic development, environmental issues and tourism; Officers provided an overview of how these different work streams interlink with the RTP.

A discussion took place in regard to accessibility, specifically the detailed exercise that Officers had undertaken to analyse the accessibility of key locations across the region, including town centres and hospitals. It was highlighted that the accessibility analysis was included as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The appendices relating to Draft Regional Transport Plan (RTP) were discussed under minute number 4.

The Regional Transport Sub-Committee Forward Work Programme was noted.

Any urgent items at the discretion of the Chairperson pursuant to Section 100BA(6)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

There were no urgent items received.