Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor G.B. Thomas.

The Chair referred to the meeting that day being the last Community Scrutiny Committee prior to the local government elections and extended his appreciation to elected members and officers for their contribution to the Committee’s work over the previous five years. Appreciation was also extended by members to the Chair for the manner in which he had conducted his duties during his tenure.

There were no declarations of personal interest.

There were no declarations of prohibited party whips.

No public questions had been received.

The Committee considered the Draft Local Development Order for Llanelli Town Centre, following its approval for public consultation by Council on the 22^nd February, 2017.

It was noted the Draft Order sought to reflect corporate regeneration objectives for Llanelli town centre, whilst ensuring the issues of its ongoing vitality and viability were appropriately considered in relation to the provisions of national planning policy. If introduced, the Order would allow a range of planning uses within a defined spatial area without the need for the submission of a formal planning application to the Local Planning Authority, subject to the Authority issuing a ‘certificate of conformity’. 

The consultation period for the Draft Order would commence in the spring/summer of 2017 for a minimum six week period and members of the Committee could, in addition to any recommendations the Committee may make, submit personal observations on the proposals as part of the consultation. Thereafter, a report on the representations received would be submitted to Council for formal consideration on whether to proceed with the Orders’ formal adoption and implementation

The following questions/issues were raised on the report:

·         Reference was made to proposals for the conversion of the upper floors of retail units within the town centre to residential usage. Clarification was sought on the potential impact that could have on current car parking facilities, and to whether additional parking provision would be designed into any redevelopment proposals.

The Forward Planning Manager confirmed the Draft Order did not incorporate additional parking as it was considered there was currently sufficient provision within the Town Centre. However, if the plan’s aspirations were being met, and it was subsequently deemed appropriate to revisit the issue potential avenues available in that regard could include the introduction of permit schemes or the use of shared facilities.

·         With regard to the extent of the C2 Flood Zone in the town centre, the Forward Planning Manager confirmed the flood risk areas, as defined on the plan detailed within the report, related to the potential risk from fluvial water courses. However, the Order would also need to have regard to the potential for flooding as a consequence of both tidal surges and climate change.

·         In response to a question on the preparation of the Llanelli Town Centre Masterplan, the Forward Planning Manager confirmed the council’s consultants were progressing with the gathering and collation of essential evidence in support thereof and its publication was anticipated in the near future.

·         Reference was made to part 1.2 of the report and the potential for any permission granted by a Local Development Order to fall within the provisions of a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), should the Council decide to proceed with its adoption for Carmarthenshire. The Forward Planning Manager advised that whilst CIL legislation was currently a non-devolved function, it would shortly be devolved to the Welsh Government which may decide to examine the legislation to ensure its deliverability for Wales.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.

The Committee received for consideration the Communities Departmental Business Plan providing an update on its priorities for the period 2017/20. It was noted whilst the plan enveloped the whole of the Departments’ priorities, the Committee’s role that day was to scrutinise the Housing and Leisure Services elements. With regard to Leisure Services, the Committee agreed debate thereon could be undertaken as part of its consideration of the Annual Update report on Leisure Services agendaed as a separate item that day.

The following issues were raised on those aspects of the report relating to Housing Services:

·         Reference was made to the imminent introduction of Universal Credit and the potential impact it could have on a tenant’s ability to pay their rent. A concern was expressed that whilst the Council was bound to initiate proceedings for the recovery of rent arrears, the costs of such action only served to exacerbate a tenant’s financial hardship. Accordingly, it was felt consideration should be given to examining ways of assisting tenants to avoid, as far as possible, hardship occurring.

The Head of Housing and Public Protection confirmed the Division, being aware of the legislation’s potential financial impact for tenants, was adopting a preventative rather that reactive approach to rent arrears. That included providing assistance to potential tenants, prior to the commencement of a tenancy, to evaluate their ability to sustain a viable tenancy, for example, assessing both rental levels and potential benefit payments.

·         Reference was made to the Department’s proposal to develop an online portal for tenants to access their rent account, outstanding repairs and transfer applications. A view was expressed the portal should also include reference to service charges for tenants living in housing complexes.

The Head of Housing and Public Protection confirmed the portal could be amended to include service charges.

·         In response to a question on the target to return 50 empty homes a year to the overall housing stock as affordable housing, the Head of Housing and Public Protection confirmed that following recent concerns voiced at the approximate 2,000 empty homes within Carmarthenshire, the Division had increased its resources for that element of its work, including doubling staff from one to two officers. That had resulted in the number of homes being returned to the Housing Stock increasing to approximately 110 per annum enabling the Council to achieve its target for at least 50 of those to be affordable homes. With regard to the remaining renovated properties, some would have been sold on the open market and others rented out in the private property market at higher rental levels.

·         Reference was made to the proposal for the introduction of a reward scheme for tenants. Clarification was sought on the type of options being considered and their achievability.

The Head of Housing and Public Protection advised that whilst no formal policy had been established, consideration was being given to whether its introduction could benefit both the authority and its tenants. If adopted, the policy could, for example, include reward offers for tenants  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Committee received for consideration the Leisure Services Annual Update Report for 2016/17 measuring performance against the following seven outcomes:

Outcome 1 – People can access opportunities to be active

Outcome 2 – More Children and Young People are hooked on leisure / cultural activity for life (0-24)

Outcome 3 – More people (25years+) are active in Leisure and Culture

Outcome 4 People are affiliated to clubs / community groups or facilities

Outcome 5 – People are given the skills to become physically and creatively literate for life

Outcome 6 – People achieve their potential

Outcome 7 – Our facilities and services are well managed and efficient

The following issues were raised on the report:-

·        Reference was made to the proposals for the development of a masterplan for Parc Howard Museum and to a recent site visit undertaken by the Scrutiny Committee. A view was expressed on the uniqueness of the facility and the need for its marketing to both residents of, and visitors to, Carmarthenshire to enable the site to achieve its full potential.

The Head of Leisure Services concurred with the sentiment and reminded the Committee that when the museum service had been incorporated within Leisure Services several years previously, it had been endured funding reductions for a period of time. Subsequent to that integration, additional resources had been made available and it was hoped improvements thereto would become apparent over the next few years. Those additional resources, had enabled the service to appoint a Museum Development Manager and a vision was now being prepared for the future development and marketing of the service, incorporating a desire for the provision of a new storage facility to house the county’s artefacts to replace the current arrangements where they were stored in a number of different venues for example, 70,000 items were stored between the Parc Howard and Abergwili museums. However, those improvements would need time to bear fruition.

The Head of Leisure also advised that as part of the vision, the service was seeking accreditation from the Wales Museum Service which set standards for museum management, collection care and public service

·       In response to a question on the provision of the new archives building behind Carmarthen Library, the Head of Leisure advised that discussions on its design were nearing completion and it was hoped the new facility could be operational by early 2019.

·       In response to a question on the measurement of performance against the seven key outcomes, the Head of Leisure reminded the Committee that it received quarterly update reports on such performance. Those included reference to participation levels at both the Council’s, and private sports facilities, with the Council providing information on its own facilities and Sports Wales on private sports facilities/clubs.

·       Reference was made to previous Council consideration on the potential for the externalisation of leisure services, and clarification sought on the current position.

The Head of Leisure confirmed that whilst the Council had previously considered the matter, it was no longer being pursued.

·       References were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

In accordance with the decision made at the meeting held on the 20^th July 2016, the Committee received a report on the application of the Vangaurd Methodology in relation to the operation and performance of the authority’s policies and procedures for the letting and returning of council housing properties to use.

The Head of Housing and Public Protection advised that the Vangaurd Method, initially developed for the private sector, was being widely used across the public sector as organisations continually sought ways of responding to the on-going challenges of reducing financial resources against increasing service demands and expectations. It required organisations to think differently about service delivery and usually involved staff participation at all levels. That approach, had been used by the Council across 12 separate service areas resulting in significant improvements in quality and efficiency.

With regard to the operation of the Council’s House Letting System (Void’s), that had previously involved a 34 step process across three separate departments resulting in an average 70-80 working days to return a void property to the Housing stock for re-letting. The application of the Vangaurd methodology had resulted in the process reducing to 4 steps, a reduced spend in void repairs, an increase in tenant satisfaction rates, a reduction from 80 to 20 days in the average time taken to re-let a property, together with a consequential £600k per annum increase in rental incomes. In essence, the methodology had resulted in the void system being upgraded from one that was not fit for purpose to one that incurred less cost, achieved quicker turn around and re-allocation times and improved rental incomes.

The Head of Housing and Public Protection advised that although Vangard should not be regarded as a panacea, it was an effective tool for examining and improving service delivery, quite often at reduced cost.

The following issues were raised on the report:-

·        References were made to the council’s allocation policy and the need for local members to be apprised of empty council housing properties in their ward and their allocation as soon as possible. The Head of Housing and Public Protection confirmed that processes were in place for that information to be conveyed to local members, but that he would remind staff of that requirement.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meetings held on the 30^th January and 17^th February, 2017 be signed as correct records.