Minutes:
Consideration was given to report of the Team Manager Natural Environment.
The Team Manager presented the report WAO report which covered the 2019-2020 audit year. The report considered how the Council has acted in accordance with the sustainable development principle public bodies must take account of.
He reported that WAO found that ‘The Council is acting in accordance with the sustainable development principle; it collaborates well with others, but lacks a clear long-term, joined-up plan’. WAO identified areas for improvement, and the management response made by the Council in response to these proposals for improvement was attached at Appendix 2.
The WAO Officer said the purpose of the audit was to ensure that the Council was applying the Five Ways of Working as defined in the Welsh Government’s Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 in terms of the sustainable development principle in improving access to, and the quality of open spaces for the benefit of the community, businesses and visitors. The Officer reported that workshops had been held with various Members of the Council and partners to explore how they are starting to embed the five ways of working.
The Team Leader Natural Environment said the Management Response recognised that this was a Council objective and all Departments had a role to play.
A Member asked whether there was money set aside within the budget to undertake future maintenance of the Borough’s opens spaces as many were overgrown and there was no money available within the budget to undertake any works.
The Officer confirmed that two funding bids had been submitted under the Welsh Government Enabling Natural Resources and Wellbeing scheme, designed to tackle specific issues of biodiversity and development of a Gwent Green Grid Partnership. Part of the funding had been successful, and a decision on the larger project was awaited. The funding available was significant and the objectives were specific to cover a much wider area and collaboration with other LA’s was key. There were also other funding elements being explored around flood risk management and active travel.
He agreed that for many years the Authority had spent capital monies on reclaiming land etc., but this was very much about managing our existing assets. In terms of collaboration, he confirmed that there were many community groups coming on board who were very interested in protecting the open spaces within their areas, and work was also being undertaken with other Departments to tap into other funding elements.
The Member then referred to page 28 of the WAO report and expressed concern that the Council had yet to assess the impact of the toolkit in preventing anti-social behaviour in the Borough’s upland area, and asked when
The Member then referred to page 28 of the WAO report and asked when Members could expect reports on the Council’s assessment of the impact of the South East Wales Uplands Landscape Crime Toolkit.
In response the Officer said the Toolkit was developed to address problems of fly tipping and illegal off-road driving. Off-road driving was a problem throughout the Borough, it was a criminal offence and should be managed by the Police.
In terms of the Council’s efforts to prevent off-road driving, repairs to fencing was being undertaken and improvements where necessary, however, within weeks of repairs being undertaken the fences were being cut again and there was only a limited amount of resources available.
The Chair requested an update on the South East Wales Uplands Landscape Crime toolkit, and the Team Manager Leisure & Streetscene undertook to provide a report to a future meeting of the Committee.
In response to a question raised regarding the timelines detailed in the Management Response the Officer said these had been included in order to monitor a number of funding opportunities but would become more realistic when funding was in place.
A Member referred to the Local Air Quality Report in the Information Pack, in particular monitoring of air quality at a number of Primary Schools within the Borough, and the Chair confirmed that this would be brought back to Committee in due course.
The Committee therefore AGREED to recommend that the report be accepted and the WAO review be accepted and actions to implement the proposals for improvement (Option 1).