LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOUNDARY COMMISSION FOR WALES
14 JUNE 2007 AT CARADOG HOUSE, CARDIFF
Present:
Commission
Mrs Susan Smith (Chairman), Mr Dennis Roberts (Deputy Chair), Rev. H M Davies (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 THE COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON 18th APRIL 2007
2.1 These were agreed.
3. MATTERS ARISING
Merlin
3.1 It was reported that the outstanding cabling work had now been completed.
Community Reviews
3.2 The Secretary reported that Conwy County Borough Council had still not commenced their community review due to limited resources. Both the sponsor division and Secretariat would be continue to liaise with the Council's Electoral Officer and it was hoped that a review would commence in due course..
3.3 It was reported that Bridgend County Borough Council would be contacting the Welsh Assembly Government to request that they direct the Commission to conduct a review of the communities in Bridgend.
3.4 It was reported that the Secretariat and the sponsor division would be meeting officers of Caerphilly County Borough Council to discuss the commencement of a community review of Caerphilly.
3.5 No further response had been received from the Vale of Glamorgan. It was noted that Gwynedd would be undertaking a review of their community electoral arrangements, which would not require any assistance from the Commission.
3.6 It was expected that the draft report for Anglesey and the final report for Powys would be printed and published in early July. It was agreed that the deadline for Anglesey representations would be extended to September as it was considered that community councils seldom held meetings during August.
Role and Function of Elected Members
3.7 It was reported that the letter to the Local Government Minister agreed at the last meeting had not yet been sent as the Assembly had only just appointed a Local Government Minister. It was agreed that the letter would be issued to the new Local Government Minister as soon as possible.
Operational Plan
3.8 The Secretary reported that he had written to the Head of the Local Government and Culture department in the Welsh Assembly Government regarding the outstanding issues with the Operational Plan and had received a helpful response. However, it was reported that there was still no agreement on the Operational Plan.
Accommodation
3.9 The Secretary reported that he had investigated possibilities for additional accommodation in North Wales. There were currently problems with the Welsh Assembly offices in Llandudno which had not been completed, however it was possible that other suitable offices could be found at St Asaph. The Commission considered that the Secretariat should widen their search to cover other areas of North Wales. It was agreed that the Secretary would look into further options for North Wales accommodation.
Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL)
3.10 It was reported that the Speakers Committee would meet at the end of June to discuss the CSPL's Eleventh Inquiry report. It was agreed that the government's response to the CSPL's report would need to be raised at the meeting with the Local Government Minister due to be held on the 17th September 2007. It was agreed that the Secretary would contact the Minister's Diary Secretary to rearrange if possible the time of the meeting as Members travelling by air from North Wales would not be able to attend an early meeting in Cardiff.
Annual General Open Meeting
3.11 It was reported that the Local Government Minister would be available on Monday the 8th October 2007 at 11a.m to speak at the Commission's AGOM. The agreed venue would be confirmed on the 15th June 2007.
4. REVIEW OF THE COMMUNITY BOUNDARIES OF RHONDDA CYNON TAFF
4.1 The report was agreed subject to minor amendments. It was agreed that the report would be sent for legal advice and it was expected that it would be published during late July.
5. SUMMARY OF REPRESENTATIONS RECEIVED FOR THE WREXHAM COMMUNITY REVIEW IN RESPONSE TO DRAFT PROPOSALS
5.1 The Commission noted comments from Wrexham County Borough Council that they were content with the proposals made in the draft proposals report with the exception of the proposed changes to the boundary of the community of Gwersyllt.
Abenbury / Caia Park
5.2 The Commission noted the representation objecting to the proposed change to the boundary between the Communities of Abenbury and Caia Park in the draft proposals report. It was considered that the existing boundary would have to be changed as it currently divided the Llwyn Onn estate. It was noted that the majority of the estate fell within the boundary of Caia Park. The Commission considered that the representations received did not put forward any new views or raise any new reasons why the part of Llwyn Onn currently in Abenbury should remain in that community. It was noted that the proposal to realign the boundary along the Abenbury Road to include the whole of Llwyn Onn estate in the Community of Abenbury had been again put forward. However, they considered that the area of Llwyn Onn currently in Caia Park had long standing links with that community and the Wrexham Town area. It was agreed that the Commission would retain their draft proposal to include the whole of the Llwyn Onn estate within the Community of Caia Park.
5.3 The Commission noted the representation regarding Thornleigh estate, which claimed that the Wrexham County Borough Council planned to carry out further development in that area. It was agreed that the Commission would retain their draft proposal to transfer the Thornleigh estate into the Community of Caia Park and that the secretariat would contact Wrexham Council's Electoral Officer to obtain clarification on the issue of further development in case the area to be transferred would need to be enlarged.
Acton/ Caia Park / Holt
5.4 The Commission noted the representations received. Whilst they noted the objections from Acton and Holt Community Councils they considered that there was substantial evidence submitted by residents of the area of an affinity and community of interest between the Fairways Estate and the community of Acton, particularly in respect of the services and amenities in Acton which were used by the residents of the Fairways Estate. They considered the representation submitted by Caia Park Community Council which stated that transferring the Fairways Estate into Acton by diverting the boundary along Bryn Estyn Lane would result in a confusing and illogical boundary, however, they did not concur with this view and did not consider that such a realignment of the boundary would be confusing. It was agreed that the Commission would retain their draft proposals to transfer the Fairways Estate from the Community of Holt into the Community of Acton and to realign the boundary of the Community of Caia Park to follow the Bryn Estyn Lane and transfer the Old Gardens area into Acton.
Coedpoeth / Minera
5.5 The Commission noted the representations received from almost all residents of the affected area of Minera objecting to the draft proposals. The Commission considered that although the area of Minera appeared contiguous with Coedpoeth it was clear from the large number of representations that the residents felt very little affinity with the Community of Coedpoeth. In addition it was noted that the existing boundary was clearly defined and did not appear to divide any linked areas. It was agreed that the Commission would not adopt their draft proposal as their final proposals with the exception of the area to the south of Minera adjacent to The Smelt, which had no residents and the only access to which was through Coedpoeth.
Brymbo / Broughton
5.6 The Commission noted the representations received and in particular the proposal put forward for an alternative realignment of the boundary between Brymbo and Broughton. It was considered that the alternative boundary appeared to have merit when compared to the draft proposal as it encompassed areas that had clear access to Brymbo community and excluded areas that had more affinity with Broughton community. It was agreed that the Commission would adopt the alternative boundary as their final proposals. The Commission considered the area of the Lodge should also be included in the area to be transferred from Broughton to Brymbo as it was more accessible from Brymbo. It was agreed that the Commission would include the transfer of the Lodge from Broughton to Brymbo as part of their final proposals.
Gwersyllt / Gresford / Rhosddu
5.7 The Commission noted the objections to their draft proposals from Wrexham County Borough Council and Gwersyllt Community Council and considered that their draft proposal could not therefore be retained. However, they also considered that an alternative proposal could be put forward to transfer the areas of the industrial estate from the Community of Gresford to the Community of Gwersyllt as the only access to the estate was through Gwersyllt. It was considered that as there were no electors in the areas proposed for transfer it would not be necessary to issue a second draft proposal and that the proposed boundary changes could be include in the final proposals report.
Sesswick / Marchwiel
5.8 The Commission noted the representations received from Sesswick community council reiterating their proposed boundary change, which was adopted for the draft proposal. It was agreed that the proposal should be retained for the final proposals.
Report
5.9 It was agreed that the Commission's legal advisor would be consulted on putting forward new boundary changes as final proposals (ie without issuing a further draft) and the Commission would comply with the advice given by the legal advisor.
6. CONTRACTS FOR LEGAL SERVICES
6.1 The Commission noted the outcome of the tendering exercises for the provision of legal services. The Commission accepted the recommendations made by the Tender Board to award the Contract for Legal Services to the Treasury Solicitor for a further 3 years from 1 July 2007.
7. FINANCE REPORT YEAR END 2006/07
7.1 It was reported that the Commission's budget had been under spent by £36,717 at the end of 2006-07 which was £10,000 more than had been estimated. This was because the estimated expenditure had included a contingency for costs, which had not occurred or had been lower than estimated.
8. GENDER EQUALITY SCHEME
8.1 The Commission noted the content of the scheme documents. It was agreed that the Commission would wait for the Welsh Assembly Government to issue a Gender Equality policy before they considered issuing their own policy in order to ensure that the two policies were complementary.
9. COMMISSION LAPTOP
9.1 Commission member Mr D. Roberts declared an interest in the agenda item and withdrew from the meeting.
9.2 The Commission considered that, although Mr Robert's appointment was due to end in December 2007, it was anticipated that the laptop could continue to be used after that date either by Mr Roberts himself if he were reappointed, by another Commissioner if he were not or even by the Secretariat, given that staff numbers would be increasing during 2008 to deal with the work arising from the Electoral Review. It was agreed to proceed with the purchase of the laptop and appropriate software.
10. ANNUAL REPORT 2006/2007
10.1 The report was agreed subject to amendments made by the Chair. It was agreed that the amended version of the report would be forwarded to the Chair for approval.
11. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Welsh Language Scheme
11.1 The draft report was tabled at the meeting and was agreed subject to minor amendments.
Public Service Management Wales (PSMW)
11.2 The Secretary reported that PSMW would be publishing a report in the autumn on learning from other Countries. The report would include two papers contributed by the Secretary.
12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
12.1 It was agreed that the date of the next meeting would be the 11th July 2007 at 11a.m.
10/12/2007