Agenda and decisions

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Councillor Goldup-John indicated he had a personal interest for Item 3a as he works for Transport for Wales. He has dispensation to speak.

Cllr C. Jordan declared a Personal interest for item 3a. as his daughter works for Great Western Railways he has dispensation to speak and vote.

Members considered item 3a.

Following scrutiny, the recommendation was supported to Cabinet Board with the additional recommendation below:

Reassess the scope and design of the scheme with the primary aim of addressing the concerns and issues raised during the consultation, further exploring the opportunities for collaboration with key partners and re-developing the scheme in the context of a wider Neath town centre masterplan.

Officers will explore a range of alternative development options, which can be brought back to Members for consideration and involvement at key and appropriate stages during the scheme development process. This process will include:

·       Considering alterations to the scope and design of the scheme based on consultation feedback and concerns raised by the general public.

·       Reviewing and addressing items identified by newly appointed members of the project team.

·       Considering the wider regeneration and placemaking objectives for the town centre, and how new transport infrastructure can support these ambitions, ensuring that a new scheme aligns with a wider masterplan and town centre regeneration programme.

·       Collaborating closely with key partners (Network Rail, Welsh Government, and Transport for Wales) to explore the potential for expanding the scheme to include the railway station, with a view to delivering a fully integrated transport hub following the recent transport policy and finding changes and the message form Welsh Government to be ambitious in transport scheme development to ensure that we have investible schemes linked to economic growth and decarbonisation. Further consideration will also need to be given to other modes of transport, such as Active Travel, and how they link in with any new proposals.

There are no Scrutiny Forward Work Programme items selected.

There were no Items selected from the Scrutiny Forward Work Programme.

There are no Performance Monitoring items selected.

There were no Performance Monitoring items selected for scrutiny.

The 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 none.