Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from H Jackson Co-opted Member. 

Members are reminded of their personal responsibility to declare any personal and prejudicial interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government and Finance Act 1992 relating to Council Tax, the Local Government Act 2000, the Council’s Constitution and the Members Code of Conduct

Note:

(a)  Members are reminded that they must identify the item number and subject matter that their interest relates to and signify the nature of the personal interest and

(b)  Where Members withdraw from a Meeting as a consequence of the disclosure of a prejudicial interest they must notify the Chair when they leave

Councillor L Davies Declared his Interest in Item 3 – Town Centre Masterplan – and advised that as there were no recommendations in the report he would remain in the Meeting for this item. 

To consider report of the Deputy Chief Executive

The Chair welcomed Councillor M Symonds Cabinet Member, Paul Lewis, Sian James, Zoe Thomas and Melissa Clee to the Meeting. 

Zoe Thomas led the Committee through the ‘Town Centre Masterplan’ report and together with Councillor Symonds responded in detail to the following questions raised on the report: 

·         How do you expect to make the most of the riverside? 

·         In relation to 5.12, is thatcreating extra capacity? 

·         In relation to 4.1, where is the Tourist Information Centre in Merthyr? Why haven’t we got a Tourist Information Centre? Are there plans to put one here? 

·         In relation to 5.3, when will the Railway Station improvements start and finish? 

·         In relation to 5.5, how many of the 48 units and internal stalls are vacant? 

·         Theatre Royal – where are we with this? 

·         What came up in the feasibility study? Can this be brought to the next Scrutiny? 

·         In terms of future use, are there any stipulations from Cadw?  

·         Regarding 5.11, when do you think the Synagogue will be ready? Whatyear do you think this building will be open to the public? 

·         Can events such as the open day be progressed in conjunction with the bid, to highlight Jewish heritage? 

·         Who’scoordinating the Towns Board? How is it representative of people within the boundary? Are there any religious dominations in this group? 

·         Has the £50,000 been allocated for the set up? 

·         Town Centre Plan – is that achievable? Are there any concerns with the timeline? 

·         What will the corporate sign off be, Cabinet or Council? 

·         In relation to 5.10, where are we with the St Tydfil’s Hospital Site? How will this be progressed? 

·         Where are we with the Miners Hall? 

·         Regarding 5.8, where are we with the renovation or redevelopment of that? 

·         When will the Glebeland Site be finished? 

·         Questions were asked regarding match funding in relation to 6.6 (Clwb Crown). 

·         In relation to 4.5, what does the better gateway into the Town mean? 

·         BID - how is the area set? Could you provide us with a map? 

·         In relation to 5.6, would the hotel be a new build? 

·         In relation to 5.7, are the commercial units occupied? 

·         What is the timescale for the skatepark? 

·         In relation to 5.19, can we have an update on grants? 

·         Regarding 5.22, is there a timeline for when that has to be completed by? 

·         Can Scrutiny receive a report on the impact and effectiveness of the Street Cleansing team? 

·         Towns Board – where are we with the information on the website? 

·         Allocation of funding – is the impact on other venues considered when allocating funding? 

The following comments were raised: 

·         A Tourist Information Centre is needed in Merthyr Tydfil. 

·         We look forward to the report concerning listed buildings. 

The Chair then thanked the Officer for the detailed responses and update to the Committee.  

To receive report of the Deputy Chief Executive

Sian James led the Committee through the ‘Update on Empty Property Strategy 2022-2026’ report and together with the Officers responded in detail to the following questions raise on the report: 

·         Do we know how many of these propertiesrespond to the letters? 

·         Do you keep a record of who's responded? Would you be able to provide us with a record of how many people are responding? 

·         Why aren't people responding to the letters? 

·         Are any of the empty properties paying council tax? Are they paying the 100% charge? 

·         In relation to 7.3, what does this mean and what can you do? 

·         Will the risk assessment of empty homes be updated? 

·         Regarding the Miners Hall, can we compulsory purchase? How does that process work? 

·         Has there been an application placed with the Welsh Government to obtain money to demolish a property? 

·         Can you explain the new policies? 

·         National Empty Homes Grant – what was the amount we received for the last 12 months? 

·         Does the money rolloverif not spent? 

·         Do you write to the individuals every year? 

·         Enforcement powers – how many occupiers in the last 2/3 years have been taken to court because of the state of their property? 

·         Risk Assessment – how do you identify the housing need? 

·         Has there been any collaboration to discuss current empty homes that may not be on the market to see if a direct approach for sale could be made? 

·         Could you update us on what work has been done with the Communications team? 

·         Do the letters go to the property or to the owner’s house? 

·         What’s the timeline for doing a deep dive on the properties? 

·         Can you categorise the properties by ? 

Comments were raised regarding other local authorities and how they deal with empty properties. 

The Chair then thanked the Officers for the detailed responses andupdate to the Committee on the report. 

To consider the attached report

The Chair reminded the Committee that the Transforming Towns Grant has been removed from the next Scrutiny.  

The following question were raised: 

·         Bus services – could we have a report on the allocation of bus funding in the borough? 

To consider any referrals made to Scrutiny for inclusion in the Forward Work Programme

The Chair advised that there were no referrals. 

Did we address the recommendations in each report and how have we added value?

There were no recommendations. 

Any outstanding actions?  Feedback from workshops / task and finish groups / enquiry days, etc.

The Chair advised that some of the updates had been provided and that there are some tasks being looked at such as the fly tipping workshop.  

The Chair reminded Members to return Scrutiny Self Evaluation documents.