Agenda and minutes

J Wagstaff (Penhow)

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 11 December 2014 were submitted. 

Agreed:

That the minutes of the meeting were a true record.

Presentation by Lagadare on the Wales Velathon Cycling Event in June 2015

The Chair welcomed Mr A Taylor, Event Director of Velathon Wales to the meeting to give a presentation on the South East Wales event taking place on 14 June 2015.

A Taylor explained the background of the UCI Velathon Majors, which was a global event concept consisting of mass participation and elite racing.  Its aim was to promote a worldwide cycling culture an event for all ages and genders.

§  Wales Velathon route included Cardiff, Newport, Caerleon, Usk, Abergavenny, Blaenavon, Pontypool and Caerphilly.  There would be two routes – 50km and 120km with some road closures.

§  There would be 15,000 participants and about 50,000 spectators.

§  Organisers were working with local councils to collate lists of affected businesses.

§  Working closely with emergency services and care services to support their planning for the day.

§  All emergency services will be present in the control room.

§  All residents and businesses directly impacted will receive communications through their doors.

§  Giving people significant notice to help with planning for the day.

§  Encouraging people to join in through volunteering or supporting the riders.

§  World class sporting event on your door and free to watch.

Questions raised by Community Councils:

A representative of Rogerstone Community Council asked how the younger cyclists could qualify. For the Youth Event, applicants could register through British Cycling website and youth circuit series.  Only top 100 rank riders could qualify however and it was an elite youth ride.

Rogerstone Community Council representative thought it was an excellent opportunity for cyclists in the area to participate and enquired as to what would happen to stragglers, if there was a cut off period.  There was a set time for the course and an average speed from cyclists was required to adhere to the road closure timings.  Support vehicles, minibuses and vans that transport bikes would be close by to help out with injuries or damages to the bikes such as flat tyres.  Participants would also be asked to rank themselves and the starting times would be staggered to allow for a more consistent flow of cyclists.

The representative from Langstone Community Council was approached by residents along Cats Ash Road.  Who were in favour of the event but were also concerned about how 15,000 cyclists riding through the road was going to affect the health and safety of pedestrians.  A Taylor assured those present that there were other houses and routes through Caerleon with the same concerns and there was an extensive crowd management plan in place.  Letters to residents would be sent out in due course and pre advanced warning signs would be posted along local roads.  Newport City Council’s safety advisory group would also ensure that there was appropriate stewarding for Newport.  A general item on the Velathon was issued in March’s Newport Matters and in the May edition a more detailed article on the traffic management details would be submitted. 

J Parcell suggested that more detailed information would be sent to all clerks to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Not all the community councils had responded to the email sent on 16 January 2014 requesting CCs to respond, however there were only three Community Councils still outstanding.  Community Councillors suggested that there should be a cut-off point for those Community Councils not meeting the required deadline response.

A Rogerstone Community Council representative suggested that the Community Councils responses be circulated to all clerks for information.  The Chair pointed out that some clerks provided a detailed response and others only provided their options.  Debate ensued regarding detailed responses.

The Bishton Community Council representative suggested that all clerks send in a breakdown of expenditure to find out which council was in need of funding the most.

After lengthy discussion Community Councils agreed that there needed to be a fair distribution of funds.

The Chair advised that all the responses received from clerks would be sent to the Head of Finance who would be invited back to the next meeting in June.  Additionally, if community councils preferred, the meeting could be set aside to discuss only the concurrent expenditure.

Some councils provided money to town or community councils but the funding might be provided in different ways.  Monmouthshire County Council did not provide community councillors with concurrent funding, although Caerphilly Council did, however this form of funding was unfortunately not a guaranteed pot of money.

The Community Councillor for Langstone referred to their clerk who had contacted A Jenkins in November 2014 regarding requesting funding for laptops.  No correspondence was received by A Jenkins, however the Chair advised that the IT procurement section be contacted to give advice on what could be purchased.

A representative from Wentlooge Community Council had been unsuccessful in contacting Streetscene to report issues either via the City Contract Centre or the website.  A Jenkins would contact Streetscene to find out if there was a problem.  In addition, the Chair suggested inviting an officer from Streetscene to a future meeting in order that Community Councillors could raise any issues they may have.

The next meeting will take place at 6pm on 25 June in Committee Room 1

25 June 2015 at 6pm in Committee Room 1.