Agenda item

The Leader presented his Annual Report 2018-2019 which looked back upon the achievements of the Council over the past 12 months. 

This was the Leader’s fourth Annual Report and he reflected on what he considered had been a very busy time for everyone with lots of events, progress and change particularly with the uncertainty of Brexit which had created political instability at both national and local level. In spite of this he expressed delight that the leadership in Carmarthenshire, between the Plaid Cymru Group and the Independent Group, was firm and determined to do the best for local communities. 

He reminded Council that at the start of the current administration he had announced a 5-year plan with almost 100 key projects and programmes that would contribute towards improving the economic, environmental, social and cultural well-being of the residents and communities of Carmarthenshire. The Annual Report noted the progress made to date by each department of the Council. Members were apprised of some of the developments and projects that had been completed or were in the pipeline which demonstrated that Carmarthenshire was leading the way, full of ambition, to make the most for residents, communities and visitors. These included:

Space Maker project at Ammanford libraries;Toy Box at Christmas;             50+ Forum; Culture Awards; Supporting new small businesses; Youth ambassadors; Enterprise Support [Coaltown Coffee, Ammanford]; Buckley Site for Housing; A snapshot program with 6th form pupils; Promoting rural businesses; Letting Housing; Period Poverty; First Step; Sports Awards;

The Leader introduced the new ‘mini’ executive board members made up of 10 local school children who would be shadowing their ‘senior’ counterparts and emphasised the need to ensure that future generations had good work opportunities, supportive communities, and great places to enjoy as they grew up and raised their own families.

Reference was made to pupil successes in GCSEs, the National Baccalaureate and performance at key stage 5 for pupils aged 16-18 and the Leader extended his thanks to all the Headteachers and staff within the county’s schools for the care, guidance and education that they delivered to their pupils. He also expressed his pleasure to see progress in the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan and the desire to move all the county's schools along the language continuum. It was hoped that this would enable as many young people as possible in Carmarthenshire to be fully bilingual by the time they left school. He added that as a Council the progress on the education modernisation programme was pleasing with projects totalling £20m having been completed in the last 12 months. This latest investment had seen new facilities and improvements at St. John Lloyd, Ysgol Parc y Tywyn, Ysgol Pontyberem and phase 1 of the work at Ysgol Llangadog. There would be further investment of £ 4.1m over the next year at Five Roads School with other projects due to start at Gorslas School, Pembrey School and Ysgol Rhys Prichard.

The Leader referred to a number of high profile events held in Carmarthenshire such as the Celtic Media Festival, Llanelli, and more recently the Tour of Britain Cycle race which had been great advertisements for the county. This latter event had been particularly important to communities and the local economy helping to attract new investors and tourists to Carmarthenshire. He praised the way local communities had worked with the Council to make the event a success adding that in June the county would be welcoming the Women?s Tour of Britain Cycle race.

He commented that the administration had been clear from the outset that focusing on regeneration was key to ensuring the county's prosperity.
Over the past year, through the work of the Council, some £16m of private and external sector funding had been attracted to Carmarthenshire and support had been offered to create 419 jobs. Collaboration with key partners on plans for developments in Ammanford, Carmarthen and Llanelli continued and, over the next year, it was hoped to extend this aspiration and look to enable economic and social development in the rural towns.
The economic development teams, he added, had been proactive in engaging with businesses, offering business loans and grants to enable growth and development. The practical support offered had been well received by the sector, making Carmarthenshire an attractive location for potential investors.
Reference was made to the Swansea Bay City Deal program which the Authority was keen to progress with its partners in order to deliver the ambitious programme of projects which would make a difference to future generations.
In addition, along the Carmarthenshire coast, work had been undertaken to prepare the development of the North Dock at Llanelli, the completion of a new RNLI station at Burry Port and the foundation for a £7m investment by 2020 in Pendine. Development work also continued in Cross Hands, with a number of expressions of interest having been submitted by developers. The site was now recognized as a business centre, with unrivaled links and infrastructure which was very attractive to investors.

In conclusion the Leader stated that he looked forward to another exciting year and thanked everyone who contributed to the success of the Authority.

The Leader of the Labour Group thanked the Leader of the Council for his report. He congratulated the Council on what had been accomplished and paid tribute to the contribution of partners.

Councillor Mair Stephens, speaking on behalf of the Independent Group, stated that the Leader’s report encapsulated all the excellent work being undertaken by the Authority.

Retirement of Mr. Mark James CBE, Chief Executive

The Leader referred to the forthcoming retirement of Mr. Mark James CBE, Chief Executive, and paid tribute to the leadership, vision and support Mr. James had provided over the last 20 years in that capacity. Mr. James was presented with a commemorative album of photographs covering his period of office. Mr. James thanked the Leader and Members for their gift and reflected on what he considered to be the highlights and notable achievements during his time with the Authority. He also thanked Members and staff for all their support and wished Wendy Walters, the new Chief Executive, every success.

The Leaders of the Labour, Independent and New Independent Groups, together with a number of other Members, paid tribute to Mr. James.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Leader’s Annual report, as circulated at the meeting, be noted.