Minutes:
The
Leader of Council referred to the recent announcement by TATA Steel of the immediate
closure of the Coke Ovens at the Port Talbot plant. Council were reminded that
TATA Steek are currently within a statutory consultation
period with trade unions and staff over potential redundancies linked to the transition
to low CO2 steel making. It had not been anticipated that such an announcement
would be made, but it was appreciated that the decision had been made on safety
reasons which is of paramount importance.
The
Leader confirmed the ongoing commitment of the Council to continue to work with
the UK and Welsh Governments together with TATA on the transition board.
The
Leader went on to inform Council that the UK Government had recently granted Associated
British Ports (ABP) permission to move to the due diligence stage with the Floating
Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (FLOWMIS.) This has the potential
to unlock a projected £1billion investment in Port Talbot and surrounding areas
which alongside the Freeport ambitions will encourage thousands of green jobs
to the area.