Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

There were no members of the public present.

The minutes of the Economy and Development Select Committee dated 7^th September 2017 were confirmed and signed by the Chair.

Context:

To scrutinise Monmouthshire Tourism Performance for 2016 against the objectives and outcomes set out in the Council’s Improvement Plan and to scrutinise the revised Destination Management Plan 2017-2020. The Select Committee received a presentation outlining details of the Plan.

Key issues:

The report card for Tourism provides a line of sight between Tourism activities and the outcomes and priorities which the council is committed to. 

The Select Committee is provided with the baseline information to assess where the Authority is and what progress is being made to demonstrate whether anyone is ‘better off’ as a result of the work being undertaken.

The purpose of the Destination Management Plan is to establish a clear framework for public, private and voluntary sector partnership working to address the identified priorities and deliver year round sustainable tourism growth to maximize the economic, social and environmental benefits of tourism across all parts of Monmouthshire.

Monmouthshire’s previous Destination Management Plan (DMP) came to an end on 31^st December 2015. This Plan has been reviewed and a revised Destination Management Plan for the period 2017 - 2020 has been developed in consultation with stakeholders. The draft plan has recently undergone further consultation and been updated to reflect feedback received. 

Member Scrutiny:

·         In response to a question regarding whether the Authority is on the right track with regard to tourism, it was noted that through the extensive consultation that was undertaken in the development of the plan and looking to the future on what the opportunities identified and what the growth markets were, the consultation responses received were positive about what was being achieved and what the Authority was aiming to achieve in the future.

·         With regard to future tourism performance, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding Brexit. In the short term favourable exchange rates have made the UK more attractive to overseas visitors but future tourism performance will depend on the actual Brexit terms agreed and the perception amongst potential overseas visitors of the quality of the welcome they will receive.

·         Airbnb is changing the environment with a lot of bed stock that is not within the regulatory process or the tax process.  This leads to questions as to how the Authority will afford to develop or maintain infrastructure in the future.

·         There could be a tourism tax imposed via Welsh Government in the future which could have create a negative impact on tourism. Until details are known this will remain an uncertainty.

·         The Authority has been working with its partners on the Living Levels partnership scheme. The stage two application is with Heritage Lottery Funding.  If successful, this will lead into a three and a half year programme providing a consistent approach to destination development across the levels.

·         The likely extension of the England coast path will meet across the Severn Estuary at Chepstow.

·         Working with the Wye Valley AONB Partnership, the Authority has made a joint proposal to Welsh Government to undertake a pilot for the Wye Valley to review countryside  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Context:

To scrutinise the results of the recent consultation exercise regarding the Draft Sustainable Tourism Accommodation Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) produced to provide further details of policies contained within the Monmouthshire Local Development Plan (LDP) and to consider whether to  endorse the SPG, with a view to it being formally adopted as SPG in connection with the Monmouthshire LDP. 

Key issues:

The Economy and Development Select Committee was informed of the preparation of Draft Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) on Sustainable Tourism Accommodation to provide clarification on the interpretation of the policies of the Monmouthshire Local Development Plan (LDP) on 9^th February 2017.

Planning Committee subsequently endorsed the Draft Sustainable Tourism Accommodation SPG on 7^th March 2017, with a view to issuing it for consultation purposes. The Cabinet Member for Innovation, Enterprise and Leisure took the decision to issue the SPG for consultation on 26^th April 2017.

The consultation took place for a period of six weeks between Thursday 1^st June 2017 and Thursday 13^th July 2017. A notice was placed in the Monmouthshire Free Press on 31st May 2017 and 427 individual notifications were sent in a joint consultation with the Rural Conversions to Residential or Tourism Use SPG to the following:

·         Specific (including Town and Community Councils), General and other consultees, as identified in the LDP Community Involvement Scheme.

·         Those considered to have an interest in the SPG topic, including relevant pre-planning applicants / applicants and specific tourism contacts.

·         Residents who were on the LDP consultation data base and had specifically requested to be notified of the SPGs.

·         Agents / developers who work in the Council area.

Copies of the draft SPG and representation forms were made available at the Council’s Community Hubs / libraries and on the Council’s website for the duration of the consultation period. The consultation was also publicised via the Twitter Account @MCCPlanning.

A total of seven replies were received. Generally, no significant objections were received and only minor amendments to the SPG documents have been necessary.

Member Scrutiny:

·         The SPG looks at sustainable types of tourism, specifically around glamping. The next LDP will revisit how these policies are written to ensure that the definition is as clear as possible which will be helpful for businesses.

·         Hadnock Road Hotel – This is a Ministerial decision to refuse permission with regard to the boutique hotel and spa application. In response to a question about options available to the Council or developer now, it was explained that the only option available is to consider judicial review.  However, the decision is based on established national planning policy so officer advice is that there are no grounds for a challenge.

Context:

To undertake scrutiny in respect of the performance of the Council’s Planning Service for the period 2016-17. The Select Committee received a presentation outlining details of the annual performance report.

Key issues:

The planning service’s work links directly with Monmouthshire County Council’s objective of delivering sustainable, resilient communities.  The service is directly involved with wider corporate projects such as 21^st Century Schools, rationalising the Authority’s estates portfolio and forms an enabling tool to help address some of the challenges and issues identified by Future Monmouthshire.

Key areas of work for the Planning Service include:

·         Providing pre-application advice to customers.

·         Determining planning applications in accordance with adopted policy and material planning considerations, taking into account stakeholder comments and corporate objectives.

·         Securing financial contributions from developers to offset the infrastructure demands of new development and meet the need for affordable housing.

·         Safeguarding the County’s 2400 Listed Buildings and 31 Conservation Areas, areas of archaeological sensitivity, the Wye Valley AONB, the Brecon Beacons National Park and the European designated Special Protection Areas and Special Areas of Conservation.

·         Taking robust enforcement action against unauthorised development that is unacceptable.

·         Raising awareness of the statutory role and importance of the land use planning framework, building on the high levels of engagement underpinning the LDP process.

·         Preparing supplementary planning guidance (SPG) to assist with the implementation and interpretation of LDP policy.

·         Implementing the Council’s LDP through engaging and working with communities, and partnership working with internal and external partners to foster the co-creation and growth of enterprise, community and environmental well-being.  This will include involvement with the Whole Place work and Local Well-being Plan.

·         Monitoring and evaluating Plan policies and the process of Plan preparation.

·         Joint working with South East Wales Authorities with the ambition of preparing a Strategic Development Plan.

Customer service feedback:

Between 2010 and 2012 the Council’s Planning Service underwent a Systems Thinking review. This review sought to strip the function back to first principles:

·         what is important to our customers, and how can waste (actions or procedures that do not add value to the outcome) be eliminated.  This evidence-based review has been fully implemented, although part of the Systems Thinking approach requires services to be kept under review and closely monitored.

This review identified that the following issues are important to customers:

·         Customers value pre-application advice and advice during the consideration of the application.

·         They want officers to be accessible and for there to be open and honest communication.

·         They want consistency of pre-application advice and in validation of applications.

·         They want the Planning Committee to follow the officer’s recommendation and value being able to have a dialogue with Members prior to determination.

·         They don’t want too many conditions being attached to decisions, and when conditions are imposed they should be relevant and easy to discharge.       

·         They value being able to submit an application online and to search for applications and information online.

·         Third parties value being listened to during the application process.

The service operates with these priorities as guiding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

We noted the list of actions arising from the previous meeting.  In doing so, the Scrutiny Manager informed the Select Committee that a letter had been sent to

the Cabinet Member with a view to consideration being given to the establishment of a Procurement Development and Efficiency Team to investigate the Council’s procurement mechanisms with a view to establishing savings in the coming years.

An invitation had also been extended to the Cabinet Member inviting him to attend a future meeting of the Select Committee to discuss this matter.

In light of this information, it was proposed that the Select Committee establishes a series of workshops to discuss Procurement and Partnership Working in which interested Members of the Council could join.

We resolved that the Head of Property Services and Facilities Management liaises with the Chair of the Select Committee and the Scrutiny Manager with a view to establishing a series of workshops to discuss Procurement and Partnership Working.

We resolved to receive and note the Economy and Development Select Committee Forward Work Programme.

We resolved to receive and note the Council and Cabinet Business Forward Plan.

Thursday 30^th November 2017 at 10.00am.

The next meeting of the Economy and Development Select Committee will be a special meeting and will be held on Thursday 26^th October 2017 at 2.00pm.

The next ordinary meeting of the Economy and Development Select Committee will be held on Thursday 30^th November 2017 at 10.00am.