Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Conference Room 1a, County Hall, Ruthin
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APOLOGIES |
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At this juncture, it was agreed to vary the order of the Agenda in order to accommodate the speakers for Item 6 – West Rhyl Housing Improvement Project. |
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WEST RHYL HOUSING IMPROVEMENT PROJECT PDF 72 KB To consider a report (copy attached) to provide an update on progress with delivery of one element of the Rhyl Regeneration Programme – the West Rhyl Housing Improvement Project. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Joan Butterfield declared a personal interest in
this item as she was a Member of the Community Housing Trust. The Chair, Councillor Jeanette Chamberlain-Jones welcomed
the three guest speakers to the meeting, namely: Ø
Peter James – Regeneration Manager, Welsh
Government Ø
Graham Worthington – Chief Executive, Clwyd Alyn
/ Pennaf Housing, and Ø
Phil Danson – Business Development Director,
North Wales Housing At this point, the Corporate Director: Economy & Public
Realm, tendered the Leader’s apologies for not being able to attend the
meeting, in his role as Lead Member for the Economy due to a prior engagement. The Corporate Director: Economy & Public Realm
introduced the report to provide an update on progress with delivery of one
element of the Rhyl Regeneration programme – the West Rhyl Housing Improvement
Project (WRHIP). The objective of the project would be to attract more
economically active people to live in the western area of the town, to support
the economy and the community to thrive.
The scheme was initiated to change people’s perception of the area and
of Rhyl in general. The project was a multi-agency partnership involving the Welsh
Government (WG), Housing Associations, the Council and private sector
partners. A presentation was delivered by Peter James, Regeneration
Manager (WG) which outlined the following: Ø
The history and background of the project Ø
The various stages in planning the different
levels and types of intervention required Ø
Illustrated the intervention area, project
budget and timescales for the project Ø
Individual projects which had been completed,
currently underway or proposed for each of the 6 zones Ø
Issues which had come to light during the
project – including the success stories, complex matters, how they had been
surmounted and lessons learnt during the project’s delivery, and Ø
Future issues / next steps. Peter James (WG) explained why the WG had decided that intervention
had been required in Rhyl. It had been
to attempt to reverse the continued decline of the area as the area suffered
from poor housing conditions which, in itself, had been a major stumbling block
for economic regeneration. There had
been a large demographic imbalance, as a large section of the local population
were single males, and both of those factors had led to a circle of
non-investment in the area. A housing needs analysis had been carried out which
identified a shortage of family orientated housing in the area and an imbalance
in the area’s housing tenure. A large
number of properties in the area were privately owned but in very poor condition
and, therefore, negotiating their purchase had been an extremely complex and
time consuming process. A total of 120
properties had been purchased, the majority via Compulsory Purchase Orders
(CPOs). The CPO process had been
instigated in 2013 and had probably been the most complex urban regeneration
project in Wales which involved residential properties. On completion of the WRHIP approximately
£27million would have been invested in west Rhyl comprising of WG, County
Council, other public bodies, and private sector money. Peter James (WG) then went on and:- Ø
Advised that the biggest risk initially had been
the resettlement of the residents from the properties which had been compulsory
purchased. However, all residents had
been successfully resettled without any negative comments being received Ø
Advised that the project was approximately 6-7
months behind schedule but, due to the complex nature of the project and the
poor condition of some of the properties, which had been made the subject of
CPOs, the slippage was understandable and manageable Ø Detailed the timeframe, planned outcomes and progress of work related to ... view the full minutes text for item 2. |
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ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIR PDF 33 KB To appoint a Vice-Chair for the 2016/17 municipal year. Minutes: In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, nominations
were requested for the office of Vice-Chair of the Partnerships Scrutiny
Committee. Councillor Martyn Holland nominated Councillor Raymond
Bartley, seconded by Councillor Pat Jones. RESOLVED that Councillor
Raymond Bartley be appointed Vice-Chair of Partnerships Scrutiny Committee for
the ensuing year. |
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DECLARATION OF INTERESTS Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business identified to be considered at this meeting. Minutes: Councillor Joan Butterfield declared a personal interest in West Rhyl Housing Improvement Project. |
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URGENT MATTERS AS AGREED BY THE CHAIR Notice of items which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972. Minutes: No urgent items. |
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MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING PDF 132 KB To receive minutes of the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee meeting held on the 14 April 2016 (copy attached). Minutes: The Minutes of a Partnerships Scrutiny Committee held on Thursday 14 April, 2016 were submitted. Matters arising:- Page 7 – Item 6 – Single Point of Access (SPoA). The Chair, on behalf of the Committee, offered thanks to the staff who made Members welcome during the visit on 14 April, 2016 which had been extremely informative. RESOLVED that subject to
the above, the Minutes be received and approved as a correct record. |
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SCRUTINY WORK PROGRAMME PDF 72 KB To consider a report by the Scrutiny Coordinator (copy enclosed) seeking a review of the committee’s forward work programme and updating members on relevant issues. Additional documents:
Minutes: A copy of a report by the Scrutiny Co-ordinator, which
requested the Committee to review and agree its Forward Work Programme and
provided an update on relevant issues, had been circulated with the papers for
the meeting. A copy of the “Member’s proposal form” template had been
included at Appendix 2, Cabinet’s Forward Work Programme had been included as Appendix
3, and a table summarising recent Committee resolutions and advising on
progress with their implementation had been attached at Appendix 4. The Committee considered its draft Forward Work Programme
for future meetings. At a recent meeting of the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs
Group, it had been agreed that a report on the North Wales Safeguarding Boards
be included on the Committee’s agenda for its next meeting on 7 July and that a
report on the Denbighshire Well-being Plan be presented to the Committee at the
October 2016 meeting. The Corporate Director: Communities gave members a brief
overview of the Regional Safeguarding Boards’ work. Committee representation on Service Challenge Groups were
discussed and updated. RESOLVED that subject to
the above, the Work Programme set out in Appendix 1 to the report be approved. |
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FEEDBACK FROM COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES To receive any updates from Committee representatives on various Council Boards and Groups Minutes: Councillors Jeanette Chamberlain-Jones and Meirick Lloyd Davies gave feedback regarding the Highways & Environmental Services Service Challenge meeting which they had recently attended. |
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At this juncture, Councillor Raymond Bartley wished to inform Members that Dolwen Residential Care Home would be celebrating its 50th Anniversary the following week. |
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The meeting concluded
at 11.55 a.m. |