Minutes:
The
Committee scrutinised the following Cabinet Board items:
Ash
Dieback
The
circulated Cabinet Board report contained information on the potential future
environmental and financial impact of Chalara Ash
Dieback disease which was currently affecting a large number of trees on both
Council and private land.
Members
queried whether the reference to playgrounds in the report referred also to
playgrounds owned and managed by Town/Community Councils. Officers confirmed
that the figures in the report only related to Council owned playgrounds. It
would be for land owners to manage the trees on their land. However the action
plan would include how the Council would be cascading information on the
disease to other land owners. This would include Town and Community Councils.
It
was also noted that where land was leased from the Council, then the terms of the
individual lease would determine who would be responsible for any trees on that
land.
Queries
were raised on the transportation and reuse of the dead wood. It was confirmed
that as the Ash Dieback disease was now so widespread, the transportation of
the felled material was not subject to restrictions. This meant that the wood
could also be used in small scale projects and in log burners and so on. It was
anticipated, however, that there would not be much resale value in the wood due
to the volume of trees needing to be cut down, and the majority of the wood would be
recycled.
Members
noted that although Biomass Plants used wood to create energy, ash trees would
not be suitable in all cases, as the process was designed to take straight
trees such as conifers which were easier to manage with their processes.
Replanting
the felled trees with other species, for visual and biodiversity purposes would
be included in the action plan, and ongoing meetings had been arranged
concerning woodland management.
Due
to the scale of the operation, contractors may be used in addition to Council
staff to cut down and dispose of the trees.
The
following areas were also discussed:
·
Larch tree disease,
·
Rhododendrons,
·
Funding of the project,
·
Highway safety.
Following
scrutiny the Committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by the
Cabinet Board.
Memorial
Testing
The
circulated report contained a proposed memorial testing policy which would
formalise current procedures and provide a clear and consistent approach to the
inspection of memorials within all cemeteries managed by the authority.
Members
discussed how often the inspections would take place, and noted this would be
every five years, although if a memorial was deemed to be safe, but in need of
ongoing observation, then the follow up inspections would be more frequent. It
was noted that the laying down of headstones would be a last resort, and
headstones would be staked or pocketed (placed in a deeper hole) wherever
possible.
Following
scrutiny the Committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by the
Cabinet Board
Christmas
Parking 2019
Members
noted that in previous years where free Christmas parking in the weeks leading
up to Christmas had been offered, footfall had increased in the town centres –
by 11% in Port Talbot, for example. Although it was difficult to get
quantifiable information from local traders, they felt that there was a benefit
from the free parking.
Following
scrutiny the Committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by the
Cabinet Board.