Incompetence: CCBC (and other Public Bodies and Statutory Undertakers...)

[Cambrian]

%ages do not reflect the actual numbers of attendances surely.

[SteveH]

This story seams to bring local government shortcomings and mismanagement to the fore, .............

Plans by Grŵp Llandrillo Menai to relocate its Bangor campus to Parc Menai have been approved. Inspectors at Planning and Environment Decisions Wales gave the go ahead despite opposition from Gwynedd council.

The proposal to move to Tŷ Menai came as college bosses warned the existing city centre Ffriddoedd campus needed urgent maintenance. There was an estimated £18m bill merely to remain weatherproof and operational.

But there was some opposition locally to the plan to move students and staff out of the city, which is already struggling with footfall numbers. This saw officers and the planning committee at Gwynedd council oppose the relocation last September and Welsh Government have been encouraging a 'town centre first' approach from local authorities.

However the appeal had already been lodged due to frustration over delays with the planning process and Welsh Government inspectors have given the proposal the green light.

The £13m project will be jointly-funded by the Welsh Government and Grŵp Llandrillo Menai. The Grŵp will move Coleg Menai's existing provision from the Ffriddoedd Road and Friars sites to the building on Parc Menai, which has stood largely empty in recent years. (at a cost of millions with millions in upkeep already spent.......cound'nt arrange  a pxxx up in a brewery, springs to mind.. )

story https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/bangor-college-campus-move-out-23799872

[SteveH]

Plan to transform former Llandudno M&S faces deadline rush to secure Levelling-Up cash
Council officials had expected to bid for UK funding in the autumn and now warn application may 'not be as complete as wished'

A council now faces a rush to meet a tight deadline to bid for Levelling-Up funding for the transformation of the former Marks and Spencer site in Llandudno. This weekend North Wales Live revealed the plans to turn the Mostyn Street M&S into a foodhall and enterprise hub.

READ MORE...https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/plan-transform-former-llandudno-ms-24216724?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

A council boss wants to see a near empty ?58 million office block filled with workers again. Conwy County Council leader Charlie McCoubrey outlined his ambition to bring life back back into Colwyn Bay?s empty Coed Pella office.

He also believes the council's Bodlondeb headquarters, is still viable, despite more staff working from home. The council moved staff into its flagship, purpose-built ?58m Coed Pella building four years ago.

It (WE) pay just under ?1.5m in rent a year for the building and is locked into a 40-year lease. The hope was that the increased footfall created by the council office would boost trade and help regenerate Colwyn Bay?s town centre.

But the pandemic meant council staff have worked from home, and Conwy has since moved to ?hybrid working? in which staff alternate between home working and the office.

?My ambition is to see Coed Pella back to capacity as soon as we can,? said Cllr McCoubrey. ?We have a hybrid working system, but I?m really clear that the hybrid working system is about bringing the best results for our residents. So people need to be in the office doing their job. That?s where they should be.

?Reception (at Coed Pella) needs to be fully open. People need to contact our staff, exactly how they used to before. But the hybrid system does have some advantages. It depends on the job.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/north-wales-council-boss-wants-24335636

[Hugo]

Why it's so hard to get affordable housing in Conwy, according to council leader
Charlie McCoubrey says the local authority struggles to find suitable plots for housing

Although I have a small amount of sympathy for CCBC on planning matters and lack of Council owned land it does not seem to present a problem for developers.      Take Anwyl Construction for instance,  They have made and been granted planning application on a green field site at Bodafon Farm for 49 houses with only about 17 of them being affordable.     Why didn't they insist on 100% being affordable?

Incidentally Anwyl had permission in 2006 for 25 apartments on the site of the former Penmorfa Hotel but here we are 17 years down the line and the application for building those apartments has long since expired and there seems to be no progress on the horizon


https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/its-hard-affordable-housing-conwy-24377340

[Hugo]

Perhaps the members of CCBC can read this and then make sure that they attend all future planning committee meetings


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-62034658

[SteveH]

Conwy?s ?58m state-of-the-art Coed Pella office and Bodlondeb 'empty' as staff switch to hybrid working
Councillor slams council's homeworking policy

cont  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/conwys-58m-state-art-coed-24404461

[Cambrian]

Cllr Luckock has a very good point.  The whole "Workwise" exercise seems entirely management focussed and has no relevance to the public at all.

[SteveH]

Is this another case of Good money after Bad, how many projects around North Wales are lying empty after grants have been grabbed    .

Joint venture to build units on ghost park after nearly 20 years lying empty
Welsh Government and the North Wales Economic Ambition Board are looking at developing part of Parc Bryn Cegin in Bangor

Last week Business Post revealed that discussions were taking place behind closed doors about a joint venture backed by funding from the ?240m North Wales Growth Deal.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/joint-venture-build-units-ghost-24581095

[SteveH]

Welsh Government has expanded staff numbers - but less than one in 10 based in North Wales
The Government's workforce has increased in recent years but a vast majority remain in South Wales

O the 6,022 now employed only 534 are based in North Wales - which is between 8% and 9% of the total workforce. North Wales has around 22% of the population of Wales. When Welsh Government opened the ?27m North Wales headquarters in Llandudno Junction in 2010 it estimated that around 650 staff would be based there in the future.

There are 447 Welsh Government staff in Mid-Wales and 614 in West Wales - while the vast majority (4,279) remain in South Wales.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/welsh-government-expanded-staff-numbers-25254976

[SteveH]

FOLLOWING a serious fly-tipping incident at Watling Street car park, Llanrwst, Cllr Mostyn Jones, chair of Planning and Highways Committee and deputy mayor, has criticised Conwy County Borough Council for not investigating fly-tipping incidents thoroughly.

After the local authority team cleared about 20 bags of rubbish dumped in the public space on October 14, Cllr Jones sent an email to the council asking if a relevant official will be viewing the CCTV footage from the cameras in the car park, with the intention of identifying the perpetrator(s) and pursuing enforcement action.

Despite the email having been acknowledged on October 18 by the Environment, Roads, and Facilities department, the Regulatory Services department issued an email on November 2.

This said: ?Due to an IT glitch in our system, we only received the email on Monday, October 31.

?Our CCTV retain footage for a period of 14 days; regrettably, in this instance we cannot ask for a review of the footage?.

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/23108743.conwy-council-investigated-0-6-per-cent-fly-tipping-incidents-2021-22/

[Cambrian]

I think a lot depends - like Planning - on which case officer deals with the matter.  The 20 bags should have been examined for evidence (eg envelopes and boxes with addresses on etc) to identify the perpetrator without the need for CCTV footage. Even then blatant cases can escape with a low fixed penalty because the CCBC can't be bothered going to court for a prosecution and to seek costs of removal.  As for ERF, that department does not seem to have operated effectively in any meaningful way for several years.

[SteveH]

MPs have been told for the first time they can expense the cost of food and drink for Christmas staff parties to taxpayers.

But the ?hospitality? claims cannot include alcoholic beverages, guidance from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) states. The expenses watchdog issued the advice in response to ?frequently asked questions? about how MPs and their staff can celebrate during the festive season.

Ipsa confirmed that ?MPs can claim the costs of food and refreshments for an office festive? in their parliamentary or constituency offices, but warned ?no claims are allowed for alcohol?. The cost of ?festive decorations for their office? can also be claimed.

But MPs were told that any claims ?should represent value for money, especially in the current economic climate?, as millions feel the strain of a cost-of-living crisis.

The news has not gone down well with the voting public, with some turning to social media to vent their anger, with one person tweeting: ?MPs have been told they can have Christmas parties and claim expenses for decorations and refreshments!

cont https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/mps-told-can-claim-expenses-25573977?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[Cambrian]

Anyone else noticed the leak of water causing ponding and spray at the Links Roundabout ?  Been running for around 5 weeks now and neither CCBC nor DCWW seem remotely bothered.  I am aware people have reported this to both bodies. Come back Conway Valley Water Board!

[Bri Roberts]

I do not know how disabled people with scooters manage to cross the road as well as mothers with prams and pushchairs?