Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and conveyed a special welcome to Councillor Meirick Davies who was a new member of the Committee.

There were no apologies.

No declaration of interest had been raised.

No urgent matters had been raised.

To receive the minutes of the Communities Scrutiny Committee held on 19 October 2017 (copy enclosed).

The minutes of the Committee’s meeting held on 19 October 2017 were submitted.

Matters Arising – Page 11, Item No. 6 Scrutiny Work Programme, second bullet point – The Scrutiny Coordinator advised that the information requested by the Committee on 21st Century Schools Programme Band B proposals had been included in the report to Cabinet dated 18 July 2017 and had been reproduced in the Committee’s information brief for ease of reference.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 19 October 2017 be received and approved as a correct record.

To consider a report by the Traffic, Parking and Road Safety Manager (copy enclosed) updating members and seeking their observations on the project to develop a tourist direction signing scheme for the Vale of Clwyd and explaining the process of applying for tourist direction signs on the trunk road network generally.

The Council Leader introduced the Traffic, Parking and Road Safety Manager’s report (previously circulated) which outlined the progress made to date with the project to develop a tourist direction signing scheme for the Vale of Clwyd.  The report also detailed the application process which had to be followed to apply for tourist direction signs on the trunk road network generally.  Introducing the report the Leader and the Lead Member for Highways, Planning and Sustainable Travel highlighted the complexities involved with gaining permission to place ‘brown’ tourist signs alongside a trunk road.  The complex nature of the process was fettering the Council’s ambition of developing the local tourist economy, a point which had been raised at a recent Destination Management Conference held in the county and which had been communicated to the Welsh Government’s Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport.

Due to the complexities involved with the application process for signage on trunk roads, particularly the strict eligibility criteria which had to be met in order to be able to apply to erect a tourist information sign on the trunk road, the Council was grateful to the local Assembly Member (AM) for establishing a working group for the purpose of devising an innovative way to enable rural areas, such as the ‘Vale of Clwyd’ to meet the required criteria.  Details of the method by which the criteria had been met were contained in the report.  It was thought that the approach taken, which involved the ‘grouping together’ of a number of standalone tourist sites, was the first example of a ‘grouped’ application anywhere in Wales with a view to meeting the eligibility criteria for tourist signs.  The work had involved considerable effort on behalf of all partners, including city and town councils, the Diocese of St. Asaph, Cadw, Denbighshire County Council and the AM.  Whilst the costs, as detailed in the report and reported in the press, did appear extortionate and were a concern, they were a conservative estimate of all costs associated with the project including the costs of the signs, safety work and trunk road closure etc.  The Traffic, Parking and Road Safety Manager advised that with an estimated 36,000 trips a day being made along the St. Asaph section of the A55 the proposed signage had the potential to highlight the Vale’s tourist sites to an extended audience, and whilst those travelling along the trunk road had already decided on their destinations for that particular day, seeing the signs to the Vale of Clwyd on the roadside may help entice them back at a later date to explore the area further.  This could potentially represent a subsidiary benefit to gain from the new signs, and one which required to be capitalised upon, to ensure that once tourists had been directed off the trunk roads they were made aware of other places of interest to visit in the county. Once the tourist signs on the trunk road had been secured it would be important for a tourism signage strategy for the entire county to be developed in order to realise maximum benefits from those visiting the county.  The Council’s Team Leader – Tourism, Marketing and Events, who was in attendance, confirmed that the ‘brown tourist signs’ did have the potential to bring people off the trunk roads to visit other areas nearby.  The Welsh Government (WG) had recently launched a new 10 year project called ‘The Wales Way’, the purpose of which was to highlight the country’s hidden gems.  Developing a county tourism signage strategy which linked into the trunk road tourism signs would support the delivery of ‘The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Scrutiny Coordinator submitted a report (previously circulated) seeking members’ review of the Committee’s work programme and provided an update on relevant issues.

Discussion focused on the following –

·         a report on the Council’s plan for redundant school sites and any other vacant sites as requested at the Committee’s last meeting would be submitted to their next meeting on 18 January 2018

·         Welsh Audit Office officials would be attending as observers at the next Committee meeting as part of their fieldwork on a study ‘Fit for the Future’ examining how provisions of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 were impacting on scrutiny, and would also be meeting with the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs Group and other members as part of that process.  They would also be assessing progress against the action plan drawn up following their previous improvement study in 2014/15 on ‘Good Scrutiny? Good Question!’

·         the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs Group had referred a matter for scrutiny relating to the findings of the Section 19 Flood and Water Management Act 2010 on the investigation into the summer 2017 flooding incidents in Rhyl, Rhuddlan and Prestatyn, which had been included in the Committee’s work programme under future issues for consideration

·         members agreed to invite the relevant Lead Cabinet Members to the Committee’s next meeting and to schedule a pre-meeting briefing beforehand

·         referred to the Committee’s recent scrutiny of the charging scheme for ‘blue badge’ holders for parking in council car parks and confirmed that the Committee’s views had been taken into account as part of the delegated decision process with the intention of introducing an extra hour for the same tariff  as other users.  The Corporate Director confirmed he would ensure that members were informed once the delegated decision had been implemented

·         the reports requested by the Committee under the previous agenda item would be included within the work programme and actioned as appropriate.

RESOLVED that, subject to the above, the forward work programme as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report be approved.

The Chair had been unable to attend the recent Planning and Public Protection Service Challenge and the Corporate Director confirmed he had taken the challenge as the former Head of Service and no major issues had been raised.  Members were advised that the notes of the Service Challenge would be circulated with the Committee’s information brief in the usual manner.  The notes of the Customers, Communication and Marketing and Business Improvement and Modernisation Service Challenge meetings held in October had been included in the Committee’s latest information brief.  Councillor Glenn Swingler advised that since his last report on the Customers, Communication and Marketing Service Challenge meeting more work had been undertaken on the use of social media.  The Committee noted the importance of being represented at Service Challenge meetings and was advised that any issues identified by members within the notes for further scrutiny could be taken forward in the usual manner following completion of the member proposal form.

RESOLVED that the verbal reports be received and noted.

The meeting concluded at 11.45 a.m.