Agenda item

Following scrutiny, members noted the report.

Members felt there the information in the report was sparse and highlighted that even with the published addendums there seems to be a lack of information.

 

Members were disappointed to see that there's no mention of the Wales Costal Path on the section relating to the public rights of way.

 

Ceri Morris head of Planning and Public Protection clarified that the Wales Coast Path isn't a public right of way as defined in law and is essentially a permissive path which enables people to walk and cycle along it. The report focuses in on the public rights away and the three bullet points are examples of the work that's been conducted across the public rights away network over the course of the reporting year.

 

Officers will consider the feedback and may refer to the Wales Coastal Path and its progress in future quarterly reports.

 

Members agreed that it should be included because it is a well-used path and the closure of part of it now means that it's not a very well used.

 

Members asked what the criteria is for bus shelter replacements in relation to the replacement programme.

 

Officers advised that the main factor for bus shelter replacements is their condition. Changes in road conditions and health and safety standards have also necessitated some relocations. Some alighting points are no longer adequate and need to be moved. Currently, 38 out of 40 replacements in the current program are completed, with the remaining two scheduled for this month. This initiative is part of the Clean-Up Green-Up Programme and the Additional Works Programme, agreed in December 2022. Additionally, one further bus shelter is being replaced and relocated for pedestrian safety.

 

Members commented that some shelters are in very poor condition in their wards and have needed replacement for over 10 years. They hope these replacements will be included in the next round if possible.

 

Officers advised that the corporate joint committee plans to upgrade infrastructure across the entire bus network as part of the regional transport plan. This includes a regional review linked with bus franchising to improve infrastructure and access to bus shelters, not just in Neath Port Talbot but across the region.

 

The plan involves adding drop kerbs along routes to ensure accessible paths to bus stops. Additionally, there is a program to implement real-time passenger information. Some quick wins have already been achieved where power supplies are available at bus shelters. The intention is to roll out the improvements as part of a regional grant-aided program, with further infrastructure upgrades expected in the coming years.

 

Members noted that historically, many grant schemes have focused on strategic corridors, often neglecting valley communities or secondary bus routes. They suggested reviewing the overall program to determine what grant funding and regional work will cover, and what needs to be addressed by the works program.

 

They felt that it was important to align efforts to avoid disparities in shelter condition. Alignment will ensure equitable improvements across the region, including real-time information systems and infrastructure upgrades.

 

Members asked about explicitly aligning performance monitoring with the active travel delivery plan to ensure consistency and clarity. They noted that while activities are ongoing and progress is being tracked, they might not be explicitly referenced in relation to the delivery plan.

 

Members felt that aligning these efforts more explicitly could provide a clearer framework for assessing progress and ensuring that all activities are contributing effectively to the overall goals of the active travel delivery plan.

 

The chair stated that the scrutiny committee were vocal and instrumental in ensuring the delivery plan was in place to track progress and want to make sure that performance monitoring ties back to the objectives in that plan and noted that the additional report does reference some of the items that are within the delivery plan, but it needs to be clearer for people to track that.

 

Officers advised that over the past year, a significant number of strategies and plans have been approved. They plan to address this in future business planning to ensure that monitoring efforts are streamlined. This will help avoid duplicating efforts between corporate plan monitoring and other monitoring of strategies and plans, especially when annual reports are due.

 

Members found it challenging to keep abreast of everything which they acknowledged can be their own fault but felt that they could be the ones pushing for plans and strategies, but things can be spread out and not linked.

 

Officers noted that two plans are monitored annually: the active travel mapping and the delivery plan. They suggested being more strategic in reporting targets and delivery, considering how this can be reflected in the corporate plan.

 

Officers noted members references to gaps within the report and explained that several items are reported based on annual performance data. This likely causes some of the gaps mentioned in the report.

 

The chair felt that some of the gaps have now been addressed in the published addendum document.

 

Members felt that it was not an ideal way to have that information. Noting some of it related to spending on a particular scheme and members should be at any point in time able to check if the council has delivered on a particular scheme.

 

Members appreciate the challenges of having quarterly reports with annual metrics, but they note that gaps do appear. They understand the challenge of compiling the report involves gathering information from many heads of service and directors.

 

Officers agreed and acknowledged that for quarter one and quarter two, the documents were lengthy and often repeated previously reported information. This repetition occurred because there were no significant updates and not because work wasn't ongoing.

 

The report was noted.