Venue: Council Chamber - Neuadd Maldwyn, Welshpool, Powys. View directions
Contact: Shane Thomas tel. 01597 826430 e-mail. shanet@powys.gov.uk
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Apologies To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were accepted from County Councillors M. Alexander, L. Corfield, B. Davies, P. Davies, L. George, S. Hayes and P. Lewis.
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Minutes of Previous Meeting PDF 79 KB To receive the Minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 6th September 2017. Minutes: The Chairman was authorised to sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 6th September 2017 as a correct record.
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Declarations of Interest To receive declarations of interest in relation to matters to be discussed on the agenda. Minutes: There were no declarations received in relation to matters to be discussed on the agenda for today’s meeting.
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Chairman's Announcements To receive announcements from the Chairman. Minutes: The Chairman reported on:
a. Queen’s Baton Relay – having attended the Queen’s Baton Relay at Welshpool b. LlysGlan Yr Afon – having attended the opening of the site which would provide housing and care for the elderly in Newtown c. Coffee Mornings – having attended a number of coffee morning in order to support local causes including the Newtown League of Friends d. Urdd Eisteddfod 2018 – the 2018 Urdd Eisteddfod would be held in Powys in 2018. Plans are well underway and there would be publicity e. Newtown Community Day - having attended a local community day f. Archives and Information Management – having attended the opening of the Powys archives and information management unit (the unit being based in Llandrindod Wells) g. Civic Services – having had the privilege to officiate at a number of civic service ceremonies h. Womens Institute Annual General Meeting - having attended a local WI AGM i. Newtown Rally – having visited the Welsh Rally during the Newtown stage j. Anti-Poverty Social Research Group – the Chair is also the Anti-Poverty Champion. The work of the anti-poverty group would re-commence shortly. The group would visit Machynlleth in December in order to view agencies who support those in hardship situations k. Future Fit – members were encouraged to contribute to consultations being run in relation to Future fit (the programme which will provide the emergency and urgent care estate for the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS area) l. Ladywell House, Newtown – the next meeting may be held in Ladywell House, Newtown in order that members can view the site and learn for plans for it. There would be an update in relation to plans to the next meeting
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Reports from and Questions to Cabinet Portfolio Holders (10.15 - 11.15) To receive reports from, and to put questions to, Cabinet Portfolio Holders:
a. Councillor Martin Weale – Regeneration and Planning:
i. Business Support ii. Regeneration Activities iii. Tourism iv. Planning Function Minutes: Members welcomed the opportunity to receive reports from, and to put questions to, Cabinet Portfolio Holders. Councillor Martin Weale – Regeneration and Planning attended for this item of business. Martin introduced Jenni Thomas, Regeneration Manager and Nathan Davies, War Memorials Officer. During discussion particular reference was made to:
Powys War Memorials Project:
a. War Memorial Project – communities have access to a time limited grant which is administered by the Authority. Communities can apply for funding to support projects which recognise conflicts with a focus on WWI and refurbishing war memorials. We are currently in year two of the four year grant period. Where memorials recognise more than one conflict they would also be considered for funding. The fund is being allocated on a first come first serve basis b. Montgomeryshire Applications – there had been a noticeable lack of applications from the Montgomeryshire area c. Funding/Application Process - up to £5k could be awarded to refurbish WWI war memorials, 10% of the grant award would need to be matched by the local community. The application process had been kept simple and there’s an emphasis on processing applications quickly d. Community Engagement and Events – funding could also be accessed to support community events which recognise the forces i.e. an area had applied to support a local walk of historical interest which links to the forces. Local cadet squads may be able to access funding e. Social Media/Website Projects – funding could also be obtained to support activities to provide information via. social media and/or to operate websites which recognise the services
Tourism:
a. Value – in 2015 the value of tourism to the Powys local economy was in the region of £720 million (the second largest value to Powys after farming) b. Branding – branding Powys is very important in order to provide an identity c. Events – the Authority has an events team. Hosting events can be very lucrative. It would be important to maximise publicity. There are national as well as local events held i.e. the tour of Britain and the Machynlleth comedy festival d. Visit Wales/Cambrian Way (A470) – historically funding has been provided to support activities along the Cambrian Way route which sits alongside the A470 e. Signage – it was felt by members that the upkeep and maintenance of signage to direct to tourist attractions was important. Some members expressed concern regarding the general condition of signage in their areas. Members were encouraged to report issues to the Council f. Rights of Way – it was felt that maintaining areas used for walking and other leisure related activities would be important in order to attract visitors g. Promotion – Powys would work with communities to help publicise local attractions. It was felt by members that there should be a very active, targeted approach to supporting communities. There are local sites of interests i.e. castles that could be tourist attractions which, if promoted, could bring in more tourists to areas h. Business Wales – there ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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Local Business Updates (11.15 - 12.15) To receive information in relation to the operation of two local businesses:
i. Hill Top Honey – Newtown ii. GloverSure (Website Development) – Welshpool Minutes: i) Hill Top Honey – unfortunately the representative from Hill Top Honey could not attend today’s meeting.
ii) GloverSure (Website, Marketing and Development) – members welcomed Richard Glover-Davies to the meeting to explain how he had developed his local business which had been recognised as a success on a national level. Richard informed members that he was local and had started a web based marketing company which had gone to from strength to strength. GoverSure has over 600 customers and offices in Welshpool, Chester and Aberystwyth. The company employs 18 members of staff. The range of activity has extended to the letting of business units and the development of local needs housing with a focus on selling locally without any ties to the area being placed on properties sold. In relation to the developments, the planning experience had identified lessons that Richard had shared with the Council and would share with the Portfolio Holder. The Portfolio Holder confirmed that he would be reviewing the restrictions imposed on planning applications as part of a review of the planning process. Members congratulated Richard on his success and praised his local focus.
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Welsh Ambulance Trust (12.15 - 12.45) To receive information in relation to the operation of the Welsh Ambulance Trust – Heather Ransom, Ambulance Operations Manager. Minutes: Members welcomed Heather Ransom – Ambulance Operations Manager and Dave Watkins – Locality Manager to the meeting to provide an update in relation to the operation of the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust. During discussion particular reference was made to:
a. Local Engagement – moving forward there would be a strong focus on local/community engagement. Heather would welcome communities engaging with the service in order to shape services around community needs as opposed to imposing services. Members were encouraged to share the presentation Heather presented to the meeting and to encourage communities to contact her direct to discuss local need. Heather would welcome visiting communities in order to engage better b. Service Delivery – the service had been reshaped nationally. There are five areas of service delivery that would deliver the care model (Help Me Choose, Answer My Call, Come to See Me, Give Me Treatment and Take Me To) c. Paramedics – there had been an upskill to paramedic positons in order that they are now able to discharge from care without the need to admit if the situation allows for it d. Categories of Contacts – when responding to a contact the situation information requested (albeit that it might seem a lengthy process to provide requested information at the time) would deliver the right response e. Montgomeryshire Call Outs - the true position is that there are two ‘red’ calls to the emergency service per day. Red calls are calls where there are immediate life threatening situations. The target response time for red calls is 8 minutes, there are some difficulties in Powys in meeting this target due to rurality. Amber calls are split into two categories (1 and 2), the majority of calls to the service in Powys are amber 1 calls. WAST performs well against the 19 minute amber 1 target time in attending situations (despite rumours to the contrary) f. Cross Border – there are good links across borders and there should be no impact on treatment due to which side of the border residents reside (while recognising policy differences apply). A memorandum of understanding applies and is adhered to which should not advantage or disadvantage any area or resident g. Demand – on average there are 60 calls on the service to date, the highest demand in Montgomeryshire is in the Newtown and Welshpool areas h. Locality Based Schemes – there would be a strong emphasis on community based schemes, ideas include community based ambassadors. It could be that communities identify locals to provide initial, emergency, lifesaving support to complement the service i. Sharing of Information – a member reported a situation where he had been late in being presented to a hospital whilst being transported by ambulance which had caused worry to waiting relatives. Notifications would be sent to inform of arrivals and new systems would improve the transfer of information, however, at times of need the emphasis would always be on treating as opposed to sending notifications j. Defibrillators – there had ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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Reports from and Questions to Members Serving on Outside Bodies PDF 59 KB To receive reports from, and put questions to, members serving on outside bodies:
a. Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth Railway Liaison Committee – Councillor Michael Williams b. Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth Rail Passengers’ Association – Councillor Michael Williams Additional documents:
Minutes: Members welcomed the opportunity to receive reports from, and to put questions to, members serving on outside bodies.
a. Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth Railway Liaison Committee – members welcomed the update report from Councillor Michael Williams b. Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth Rail Passengers’ Association – members welcomed the update report from Councillor Michael Williams
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Correspondence To receive items of correspondence (if any). Minutes: There were no items of correspondence.
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Road Safety and Traffic Management Schemes (12.50 - 1) PDF 137 KB To consider a report in relation to propsoed waiting restrictions at Four Crosses. Additional documents:
Minutes: Members considered a report entitled ‘On Street Waiting Prohibitions, Four Crosses’ and RESOLVED to:
1. Support the proposed waiting prohibitions on the county highways within Four Crosses as identified on the proposal plan 2. Authorise the local highway authority to commence the legal consultation procedures for the proposed traffic regulation order and, if no substantive objections are received, authorise the traffic engineer to implement the proposal
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Date of Next Meeting To note the date of the next meeting – 10th January 2018 (Ladywell House, Newtown). Minutes: It was agreed that the next meeting would be held on Wednesday 18th January 2018 and possibly at Ladywell House, Newtown.
A member expressed concern regarding moving to meet at Ladywell House given that the shire had had no involvement in discussions relating to the future operation of the facility. It was the member’s opinion that a meeting to discuss Ladywell House should be held in Welshpool for shire input/engagement before a visit or further plans would be considered for the Ladywell site. The member also reported that he had been made aware that Cabinet would be considering a report in relation to the Ladywell site before Christmas. The member urged shire engagement before Cabinet consider options for the Ladywell site. In general terms, and with the shire meeting bi-monthly as opposed to monthly, planning so that there could be shire input into matters would be important.
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