Issue - meetings

In presenting his Annual Report to the Council covering the period 2021/22 the Leader spoke of the need to reflect on what had been achieved to date and consider what still needed to be done. He commented that it was his belief that no individual political party or group had the monopoly on good ideas and that each and every member had a role to play in contributing to the council’s corporate vision. He spoke of the need to have systems in place which enabled good ideas, from whatever source, to see the light of day. Over the next few years he was keen to engage with members from across the chamber on a regular basis to discuss their ideas and concerns and to work together for the common good. He added that he had already met with the leaders of the Labour Group, New Independent Group and each of the unaffiliated members of council setting out his wish to develop an engaging and co-operative relationship.

The Leader suggested that it was the wish of everyone to see Carmarthenshire flourish and that it was the duty of all members to find ways of working effectively together in order to deliver shared objectives.

He commented that it was the administration’s wish to tackle climate change, the cost of living crisis, regenerate the county’s economy and town centres, provide quality housing, raise educational standards, ensure social care support to the most vulnerable, improve public transport, see cleaner streets and deliver quality and effective council services. Whilst these were matters, he added, that were important to all members and needed to be pursued together over the next 5 years he emphasised that much had already been achieved which he outlined as follows:       

Economic Recovery

Early in the pandemic it had been recognised that alongside facing the day-to-day challenges a recovery plan was required. A comprehensive recovery plan had therefore been presented for supporting businesses, people, and communities. Covid-19 had had an impact on the local economy, but there were positive signs of a quicker recovery than originally anticipated and the Leader felt confident that Carmarthenshire’s economy could recover to become one that was even more productive than before.

He considered that the economic recovery plan was unashamedly ambitious – and was determined to do everything to keep Carmarthenshire on track and continuing its journey of growth. The plan realised the ambition to help businesses replace more than 3,000 jobs lost during the pandemic: safeguarding and replacing up to 10,000 at-risk jobs and creating around 1,700 new jobs - as well as supporting thousands of local businesses. Key to the plan was supporting the county’s foundational economy and supporting local people to grow skills and talent in targeted areas so that there was a strong and resilient local workforce.

The town centre recovery plans for Ammanford, Llanelli and Carmarthen would also be delivered - each of them highlighting key issues, opportunities, and specific interventions for the individual towns. The ten towns initiative continued to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8

Prior to introducing his Annual Report the Leader congratulated Cllr. Gareth John on his appointment as a member of the Hywel Dda University Health Board. He referred to the fact that although meetings were, a year on since the last Annual Meeting, still being held virtually it was hoped to commence hybrid meetings soon whereby members and officers could attend a meeting in person or online. On a positive note he welcomed the fact that 2 million people in Wales had now received a vaccination to protect them against Covid. In the Hywel Dda University Health Board area 60% of the population had received their first vaccine injection and 27% had received their second injection. However, with news of the Indian Covid variant he emphasised the need for continued vigilance adding that the Authority’s response would be measured and proportionate and led by scientific reasoning. He added that although restrictions had eased recently the Authority would proceed with caution as it focussed on returning to normal in regard to the reopening of local businesses and services.

Whereupon the Leader introduced his sixth Annual Report to the Council covering the period 2020/21 which this year was presented in a video format entitled ‘Reflect, Reset, Move Forward’. He commented that the video, which would also be available to view on the Council’s website, provided a summary of the challenges faced by the Council and the priority areas which would be focussed on moving forward. The video commentary included references to the following:

·       Reset - New ways of working, new ways of serving our residents, new policies and new ways of operating, the pandemic has made things happen more quickly - and in most cases this had been very positive;

·       Move Forward - Getting Carmarthenshire’s economy moving again. We will support businesses to re-establish and flourish again. We will create new jobs to get people back into work, and we will continue turning our ambitions into reality;

·       Town Centre recovery Our town centres are the places where people come together, where businesses can thrive and where friends and family can enjoy their leisure time together. Across all our town centres, we will continue working with existing and potential businesses and providing the opportunities for growth and doing things differently;

·       Ten Towns Further out of the urban centres, we are also focusing on our rural market towns - an important and exciting element of our rural regeneration strategy, Moving Rural Carmarthenshire Forward;

·       Rural (general) plus Carmarthen Mart - Creating new opportunities for the people who live and work in rural Carmarthenshire so that families born and raised in our communities are encouraged to stay, contribute and thrive;

·       Coast - Key coastal developments including the soon to be completed  £7million regeneration masterplan for Pendine with a new state of the art museum and eco-hotel alongside the new promenade, and the imminent commencement of the £200million Pentre Awel development at Llanelli which will provide world-class medical research and health care delivery whilst supporting and encouraging people  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6