LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOUNDARY COMMISSION FOR WALES
11 OCTOBER 2006 AT THE MOORS FARM, WELSHPOOL
Present:
Commission
Mrs Susan Smith (Chairman), Mr John Davies (Deputy Chair), Mr Dennis Roberts (Member)
Secretariat
Mr Edward Lewis (Secretary), Mr Steve Halsall, Mr Dave Carr, Mrs Liza Brough
1. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
1.1 There were no new interests declared.
2. MINUTES OF COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON 27th SEPTEMBER 2006
2.1 These were agreed subject to some minor amendments.
3. MATTERS ARISING
3.1 Merlin Issues
3.1.1 It was reported that Merlin had still not sent an engineer to the Commission's offices to undertake the outstanding re-wiring work in the main office.
3.2 Accounting Software
3.2.1 It reported that since the accounting software had been correctly installed it was being run in parallel with the old finance system for 2006-07 and its performance would be assessed after the audit of the year end accounts. It was expected that it would probably be possible to replace the old finance database with the new accounting software for 2007-08.
3.3 Commissioners' Appointments
3.3.1 It was reported that two candidates had been interviewed and a third was to be interviewed on 12 October after the AOGM. The fourth candidate had declined the interview stage.
3.3.2 The Chair reported that she had updated the Commissioner's Assessment forms which would now need to be completed by Members and returned to the sponsor division as soon as possible.
3.4 Community Review Directions
3.4.1 It was reported that the background information for both the Rhondda Cynon Taff and Anglesey community reviews had been requested from the respective councils, however, neither had been received to date.
3.5 Building Better Customer Services
3.5.1 It was reported that a response had been sent to this consultation as agreed at the last Commission Meeting.
3.6 Budget Forecast 2007-08
3.6.1 The Secretary reported that he had raised this issue with the sponsor division at a recent liaison meeting. At that meeting it had been agreed that the Secretariat would draft a long-term forecast of budget requirements for the sponsor division.
3.7 Consultation: Towards E-Wales
3.7.1 It was reported that a response had been sent to this consultation as agreed at the last Commission Meeting.
4. REVIEW OF COMMUNITY BOUNDARIES AND COMMUNITY ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS IN THE COUNTY BOROUGH OF NEATH PORT TALBOT
4.1.1 The Commission considered the draft report on Neath Port Talbot's Community Review. It was considered that the draft report should make it clear that the responsibility for making changes to community electoral arrangements lay with Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council and not the Commission. It was agreed that the Secretariat would check their legal advisor's amendments to the report to ascertain whether there would be a conflict with any reference to the Commission's standing in respect of changing the community electoral arrangements. Subject to the outcome of this, it was agreed that the draft report should be published.
5. REVIEW OF COMMUNITY BOUNDARIES IN THE COUNTY BOROUGH OF WREXHAM
5.1 The Commission considered the assessment of the Wrexham community boundaries together with the representations received. It was considered that Wrexham County Borough Council's Unitary Development Plan (UDP) had been useful for determining where new housing developments had been built and in identifying possible community boundary anomalies. It was also acknowledged, however, that changes to communities should not be made solely on the basis of the UDP as it was subject to future change. Additionally the Commission also needed to be mindful of the requirement for effective and convenient local government. It was considered that changes should be proposed where existing community boundaries divided settlements and that in such cases the UDP should be used as a guide to determine the realignment of the boundary. It was considered that most of the areas included in the UDP looked to Wrexham Town for most of their services and that all areas within the County Borough probably looked to Wrexham Town for some of their services.
Llwyn Onn
5.2 The Commission considered that the existing boundary between the Communities of Abenbury and Caia Park at Llwyn Onn was clearly anomalous as it divided the Llwyn Onn estate. The Secretary reported that the site visit conducted by the Secretariat had confirmed that the area appeared to be a continuous settlement and that the alternative boundaries suggested Abenbury Community Council and Caia Park Community Council were both clearly defined and viable. It was noted that the Pentre Gwyn Community Hall situated within the Caia Park portion of the area was active and could possibly belong to Caia Park Community Council. It was noted that Wrexham County Borough Council's UDP indicated that there would be no further development to the east and south of Llwyn Onn for the foreseeable future. It was agreed that the boundary should be realigned to follow the settlement boundary in the UDP which would include the whole of Llwyn Onn within the Community of Caia Park.
Thornleigh
5.3 The Commission considered that the existing boundary between the Communities of Abenbury and Caia Park at Thornleigh was anomalous as it separated Thornleigh from the adjacent settlement at Willow Court and that these two areas had a community of interest. It was considered that Thornleigh also appeared to be a continuation of the settlement area in the north eastern part of Caia Park. It was agreed that the boundary should be realigned to include Thornleigh within the Community of Caia Park. It was noted, however, that the amended boundary proposed by Caia Park Community Council included an area of vacant land adjacent to Thornleigh which was not included in the UDP settlement area for Caia Park. It was therefore considered that this land should remain in the Community of Abenbury. It was agreed that the boundary should be realigned to follow the line of the UDP settlement area for Caia Park which would include Thornleigh in Caia Park but leave the area of vacant land to the south east within the Community of Abenbury.
Fairways Estate
5.4 The Commission considered that the Fairways Estate appeared to have a community of interest with the Wrexham Town settlement and noted that it was some five miles away from the village of Holt. The Estate appeared to have an affinity with both the adjacent settlement areas in the Communities of Acton and Caia Park, although it was noted that Acton Community Council had opposed the transfer of the Bieston Ward into their Community on the grounds that the two areas were divided by the Llan-y-pwll link road dual carriageway. The Commission noted, however, that the Holt Road which seperated Acton from the part of the Bieston Ward containing the Fairways Estate was not a dual carriageway and included access roads to both settlements and therefore did not present a major barrier to amalgamation. It was considered that the proposal to include the Fairways Estate within the Cartrefle Ward of Caia Park would produce an acceptable level of representation. It was agreed the boundary be realigned to follow the line of the settlement area for Caia Park given in the UDP which would include the Fairways Estate within the Community of Caia Park. It was noted that two cottages to the south east of the Fairways Estate were not included in the settlement area for Caia Park in the UDP and it was agreed that these cottages would not be included in the transfer and would remain in the Community of Holt. It was agreed that the Draft Proposals would also seek comments on the alternative proposal that the Fairways Estate be included within the Community of Acton.
Bieston
5.5 The Commission considered that the Bieston Ward of the Community of Holt was too small to form a viable community on its own.
Coedpoeth, Brymbo and Minera
5.6 The Commission noted that Coedpoeth Community Council had submitted revised proposals in response to the opposition to their original proposals by Minera and Bwlchgwyn residents. The Council did consider, however, that their original proposal to incorporate the Community of Minera together with the village of Bwlchgwyn into the Community of Coedpoeth still had merit. The Commission noted the Council's original proposal and their argument that the areas were all linked by the A525 and used community services provided by Coedpoeth. The Commission considered, however, that implementing the proposal would give rise to changes to neighbouring communities which would need to be addressed and that this would involve making changes to communities which were not specified in the Review Directions. The Council's revised proposals were considered to have merit and the area of Minera suggested for transfer into Coedpoeth did appear to be a continuation of the settlement area of Coedpoeth. It was noted, however, that the Wrexham UDP settlement area for Coedpoeth included adjacent areas of Minera which were not included in the Council's proposal. It was agreed that the Draft Proposals would recommend that the boundary be realigned to transfer the area of Minera into Coedpoeth but that the line of Coedpoeth Community Council's proposed boundary be amended to follow the line of the UDP settlement area. It was agreed that consideration would be given to include the industrial estate into Coedpoeth also.
Gwersyllt
5.7 The Commission considered the suggestion that the settlements of Rhosrobin, Pandy and Bradley in the Community of Gwersyllt could be amalgamated to form a separate community. It was noted that whilst Rhosrobin and Pandy were the only settlements in the Gwersyllt South Ward, the settlement of Bradley was not the only settlement in the Gwersyllt East Ward. This meant that the formation of a new community could not be a simple process of combining these two wards. It was agreed that the proposal would be included in the Draft Proposals report in an attempt to attract further comments and support.
Gresford, Llay, Gwersyllt and Rhosddu
5.8 The Commission considered that the proposal from Gresford Community Council was reasonable as it followed the line of the A483 dual carriageway and was consistent with the UDP. It was agreed that the boundary of the Community of Gresford should be realigned to follow the A483 dual carriageway with the areas to the west being transferred into the Community of Llay. It was considered that the boundary between the Communities of Llay and Gwersyllt could be realigned to follow the New Llay Road. The industrial area beyond the dual carriageway previously in Gresford should be included in Wrexham Town as part of Rhosddu. The Community of Rhosddu should be extended beyond the dual carriageway to the railway line and beyond it to include the Pandy and Rhosddu industrial estates as specified in the UDP. It was agreed that the Secretariat would produce a map of this proposal for Member's approval before including it in the Draft Proposals report.
Llansantffraid Glyn Ceiriog, Glyntraian and Ceiriog Ucha
5.9 The Commission considered that there was insufficient support for the proposal from Glyn Ceiriog Community Council that Hafod y Garreg and Pant Farm be transferred into their Community from Ceiriog Ucha and Glyntraian respectively. It was agreed that the Commission would not propose these changes in their Draft Proposals report.
Glyntraian and Chirk
5.10 The Commission considered that the proposed change to the boundary between the Communities of Glyntraian and Chirk suggested by Glyntraian Community Council had little merit. It was also noted that the Community of Chirk was not included in the Directions for the Review. It was agreed that the Commission would not propose these changes in their Draft Proposals report.
Sesswick and Marchwiel
5.11 The Commission noted the two proposals suggested by Sesswick Community Council. The first proposal that the boundary between Sesswick and Marchwiel be realigned to follow the line of Bedwell Brook to the A528 and then follow the line of the A528 south until rejoining the existing boundary was considered to have merit as it followed clearly defined features. It was agreed that this proposal would be put forward in the Draft Proposals Report. The second proposal that the boundary between Sesswick and Marchwiel be realigned to follow the planned southern access road to Wrexham Industrial Estate between Cross Lanes and five Fords was not considered viable as the access road would not be completed in the foreseeable future. It was agreed that the Commission would not propose this change in their Draft Proposals report.
Isycoed and Holt
5.12 The Commission noted that Isycoed Community Council's proposal to transfer Oatlands Farm from Holt into Isycoed appeared reasonable. The Council had not as yet, however, provided the Commission with a map showing the extent of the land belonging to the Farm and it was therefore not possible to suggest an alternative boundary. It was agreed that the proposal would be included in the Draft Proposals report subject to further information being received from Isycoed Community Council.
Brymbo and Broughton
5.13 The Commission noted that the proposals put forward to Wrexham County Borough Council by Brymbo Community Council for changes to the boundary between their Community and the Community of Broughton had not been put forward to the Commission in Brymbo Community Council's initial representation. It was noted, however, that these proposals appeared consistent with the UDP settlement areas for Brymbo and Broughton.
5.14 It was agreed that the Secretariat would draft the Draft Proposals report along the agreed lines for consideration at the next Commission meeting.
6. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
6.1 The Chair considered that the draft letter from the Commission to the Committee for Standards in Public Life should include reference to the functions of the commissions and how they should be serviced. The draft also did not address the differences between the memberships of the local government and parliamentary commissions and make it clear that the two commissions were different bodies with different remits and should remain separate with the possible exception of a common 'link' member. It also needed to draw attention to the different requirements for the English commissions for whom the review work was continuous and therefore left no scope for dovetailing the parliamentary and local government reviews unlike Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland where the cyclical nature of the reviews meant that this was practicable. It was agreed that the letter would be redrafted to incorporate the points raised.
6.2 It was reported that a seminar on the modern role of the councillor was being held in Cardiff by CRG Research Ltd on 10 November 2006. It was agreed that the Secretary would attend this seminar.
6.3 The Commission noted that the Secretary had received an invitation for the National assembly to attend a workshop on biodiversity on the 4 November 2006.
7. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
7.1 The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 8th November 2006.
4/4/2007