Agenda, decisions and minutes

None.

None.

The Minutes of the last meeting held on 14 December 2022 were accepted as a true record.

The Leader introduced the Delivery Agreement, which set out the processes of plan preparation, making clear the opportunities and methods of engagement required by legislation, regulations and Welsh Government guidance. There was a requirement to keep the Delivery Agreement under review, a revision was needed when the preparation of the plan fell behind the approved timeline by more than three months.

The planned timescale slipped and a revised Delivery Agreement was required to be approved by Welsh Government. 

The reasons for the delay primarily related to recruitment issues but importantly there was a great deal of uncertainty around the implications of the Draft TAN 15 which had significant implications for Newport as currently drafted.  Whilst the issue remained unresolved, delayed work on the RLDP could no longer continue.

The report also sought authorisation for the next consultation stage of the Replacement LDP in January 2023, on Growth and Spatial Options.

Should Cabinet endorse the revised timetable, Welsh Government sign off was required. Informal discussions were held with WG on the revisions and they indicated their agreement with the revisions. This meant that the RLDP would be due for formal adoption in February 2026.

In terms of financial implications, the staffing issues resulted in an underspend during the current year and figures indicated that despite the delay, the RLDP would be delivered within the project budget.

The Leader invited Councillor Clarke, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Regulation and Housing to say a few words:

Councillor Clarke went on to say what was key, was the involvement of the Council and asked that should the decision go ahead, residents of Newport should be involved to participate in the consultation as well as stake holders. Councillor Clarke also mentioned that Newport was a listening Council. This could change Newport for the future and the more people that were involved could help with this change. 

Comments of Cabinet Members:

·        Councillor Davies mentioned two of the existing industries in Newport; SPTS had already commenced on the constructive of their new research and development and manufacturing site one based in Phoenix Park.  The Deputy Leader referred to their webpage and their press release, where it was highlighted that the company was expanding in South Wales to tap into the region’s attractive talent pool.  Also mentioning that Newport was also home to some of the UKs leading universities and research institutes with strong semiconductor competencies and industry ties for collaborative research.  The second company was IQE, which was already producing semiconductors and Councillor Davies also highlighted that their CEO was committed to continuous innovation and providing solutions that helped to propel the semiconductor industry forward and deliver technologies that would make a meaningful impact on our world.  This investment and expansion in Wales helped continue to develop wafer processing for the high growth secular industries, this included 5G communications, electric vehicles, consumer electronics, data centres, medical devices and much more.  This was an opportunity for our residents to provide their input.  This was the start of something  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Leader presented the report to colleagues. The Western Gateway Partnership was established in November 2019; a strategic partnership which aimed to deliver an economic powerhouse along the M4 and M5 corridor, driving growth on both sides of the Severn.  As one of five cities, Newport was a key player in the success of the partnership and stood to profit from the benefits that greater collaboration would bring.  As a partnership, there were nearly 4.4 million residents, approximately 160,000 businesses and in the region of 2.1 million jobs.  We also enjoyed excellent connectivity with major motorways and roads, two airports and deep-water ports. 

The last update was provided in February 2022 and since then the partnership was busy developing and embedding priorities and workstreams.  As a Vice Chair of the Partnership, the Leader was proud of the way the partnership was growing and maturing and the real progress that was being made towards delivering on commitments.

The Leader was pleased to report that a new Prospectus was launched and identified five missions, all of which sought to deliver greater regional growth as well recognising the need to decarbonise our economy. 

The first mission was to grow the regional economy by £34 billion by increasing productivity within the region.  We know that the Western Gateway was already home to over 55% of the UK’s high growth businesses, including our very own semi-conductor cluster in Newport, yet collectively we had a productivity level lower than the UK average.  It was clear that there was a need to bridge this gap to ensure that the region fulfilled, and hopefully exceeded its potential.  This involved working with supply chains and linking businesses together to make them more resilient and efficient.

The second mission was to grow international trade and exports by £4 billion.  With our excellent connectivity and accessibility to multi modal forms of transport, Newport was an international gateway capable of securing direct access into international markets.  We had a global brand to offer which could lead to greater investment and increased exports for our businesses.

The third mission focussed on decarbonisation and becoming a world leader in green energy.  We had all the core assets available to us, including solar, tidal and wind.  The Severn Estuary alone had the potential to contribute up to 7% of the UK’s energy needs.  When this was coupled with the emerging excellence we had in the region in relation to hydrogen, we were starting to see the real potential for renewable energy generation.  This would be transformational to meeting our future energy needs.

The fourth mission sought to improve connectivity between all businesses and communities across the region.  It was important for people to be able to travel to access basic needs such as housing, work and education.  We were currently looking at rail connectivity and how we can join up and address any gaps arising from improvements to the Great Western Mainline and the Cardiff Capital Region’s Metro scheme.

The final mission recognised the importance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The important message the Leader want to send in relation to the above report was to encourage residents who were struggling, to contact the Council who could provide help and support for people to pay their bills and try to prevent them from getting into any financial difficulty.

As Chair of OneNewport the Leader was confident of the Council’s strong partnerships across the city, and in turn, the commitment and passion of all partners to do all that they could at the cost-of-living summit held in November.

The Council’s officers continued to facilitate community-based events across the city with a range of partners to provide advice and guidance on the support available from local and national sources, as well as supporting the Welsh Government initiatives including warm spaces and Claim What’s Yours – all had a responsibility to sign post residents to this initiative.

Newport launched its warm spaces offer in December and the council were providing seven warm spaces its in own buildings, under the stewardship of Councillor Harvey, Cabinet Member for Community and Wellbeing. We were working with voluntary and community organisations who were currently facilitating another nine, with a further three launching this month. The council was working with GAVO to provide funding to support the running of warm spaces and develop new offers with a particular focus on areas which were not currently well served. Full information could be found on the council’s website.

Colleagues from across the council continued to support people through the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and the Welsh Super Sponsor Team. We were at a period of considerable risk for both schemes as the initial hosting arrangements came to an end and the council awaited confirmation on whether initial accommodation hotels, procured through the super sponsor scheme, would be extended from March 2023. In December, UK government announced changes to the funding regime. The £10.5k support payments would not be extended and payments for new arrivals would be reduced to £5.9K. Payments to hosts would increase from £350 per month to £500 per month after a year of hosting. Local Authorities in England would also be given access to a £500 million fund to purchase accommodation for people from Ukraine, but this was not extended to devolved nations. 

Comments of Cabinet Members:

·        Councillor Harvey thanked officers for putting the warm spaces in place so promptly.  

·        Councillor Davies added that the document focussed on schools provision of breakfast clubs, food banks and uniform banks.  The Deputy Leader also highlighted the thanks for teachers who put together food hampers for families and distributed to those families identified as most in need, especially during Christmas, providing Christmas meals.  Councillor Davies was grateful that staff took the time to do this.

·        Councillor Hughes regularly visited community church in Caerleon who in November, formed a project called Isca Haven. The project supported people in the community in need. This would not have happened without strong the partnerships within the community, church, food banks and the Council.  The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

This was the regular monthly report on the work programme. 

Please move acceptance of the updated programme.

Decision:

Cabinet agreed the Work Programme.