The committee discussed three reports: the Memorial Bench and Tree Policy, the Traffic Management and Road Safety Service Overview and the Forward Work Programme 2024/25. They noted the contents of all the reports and asked questions about the documents. They also discussed the Joint Fly Tipping workshop and thanked staff for their work helping with the recent flooding.

Memorial Bench and Tree Policy

The committee considered a report on proposed new policies for memorial benches and trees. The report, by Mark Panniers, the Council's Street Scene Manager, explains that the Council wants to improve the process for dealing with requests from the public for memorial benches and trees. The main aims of the new policy are to:

• Ensure that all memorial benches and trees are dealt with fairly and consistently.
• Create a framework for officers to work to.
• Make sure the council is using its resources efficiently.

The report explains that currently there is no formal policy document that covers requests for memorial benches and trees. As a result, the design, location and cost of memorial benches has varied, and the council does not have a complete record of all the memorial benches and trees in its care.

The report explains that a geographical information system (GIS) mapping survey has now been carried out for memorial benches. This has identified capacity issues at some sites, in particular Cyfarthfa Park, which is now full. A similar mapping project is planned for memorial trees. The report explains that in future all requests for memorial benches and trees will be added to the Council's Tascomi system. Tascomi is a job, asset, and workflow management system. The Council will use it to keep track of requests and plan maintenance. The Council intends to standardise the design of benches offered to the public. The report includes a draft of the memorial bench policy and the memorial tree policy as well as tables of costs for benches and trees. The committee discussed a range of matters relating to the new policies, such as:

• The lack of benches in children's play areas
• The criteria for refusing an application.
• The policy on individuals leaving flowers and other items on benches.
• The waiting list for benches in each park.
• Whether there should be one policy to cover cemeteries and parks.
• Whether members of the public could be encouraged to apply for memorial trees rather than memorial benches.

The report will be presented to full council for approval.

Traffic Management and Road Safety Service Overview

The committee discussed a report on how traffic is managed across the borough. The report, by Martin Stark, the Council's Senior Traffic Management Officer, notes that the Traffic Management and Road Safety team has a statutory duty to manage traffic, improve traffic flow, and improve road safety. The team's responsibilities include:

• Creating and implementing Traffic Regulation Orders¹
• Investigating traffic and road safety concerns.
• Providing essential road safety training in schools.

The report explains that the team has four main ways of trying to improve traffic flow and road safety. These are:

• Traffic engineering: This involves designing and building physical infrastructure such as road improvements, traffic signals and pedestrian crossings.
• Traffic education: This focuses on teaching people about traffic rules and regulations, safe driving practices and alternative modes of transport.
• Traffic enforcement: This involves enforcing traffic laws such as speed limits and parking restrictions.
• Traffic economics: This examines how traffic flow affects economic activity, with heavy traffic congestion being seen as harmful to business.

The report states that the Council used to spend £147,000 on traffic management in 2008 but this has now fallen to £15,000, with an additional £40,000 being raised by charging for road closures. The team's other activities include:

• Implementing the Kerbcraft child pedestrian training scheme in 14 primary schools across the borough.
• Providing National Standards cycle training to all primary schools in the borough.
• Working with Junior Road Safety Officers at 14 schools across the borough.
• Investigating complaints and concerns about road safety and traffic congestion.
• Working with the Active Travel Team to improve pedestrian safety.
• Reducing the number of school crossing patrols from 15 in 2010 to 0 in 2024.

In 2022, the Council was awarded £292,000 to install 66 average speed cameras on the A4054 between Pentrebach and Fiddlers Elbow, and to upgrade the existing speed camera on Swansea Road. The committee raised a number of issues in relation to the Traffic Management and Road Safety Service Overview. These included:

• How the service can deal with traffic problems around schools.
• Whether the fees charged for road closures could be increased.
• How the council could work more closely with the police to manage traffic.
• The relative merits of speed bumps and speed cameras.
• Whether a particular unnamed location should have permanent traffic lights.

Forward Work Programme 2024/25

The committee considered a report on the proposed work programme for 2024/25. The report, by Cllr Declan Sammon, Chair of the committee, sets out the proposed topics for discussion at future meetings, many of which will relate to the four well-being objectives set out in the Council's Corporate Well-being Plan. The topics include:

• Recycling target progress.
• Road maintenance in the County Borough.
• A two-part workshop to discuss the new Local Development Plan (LDP) ².
• A feedback report on the biodiversity site visits that took place in May 2024.
• A joint workshop with the Regeneration, Housing & Public Protection (including Crime & Disorder) Scrutiny Committee to discuss the findings of the Task and Finish Group on Fly-Tipping in the County Borough.
• Traffic management in the County Borough.
• The new Memorial Bench policy.
• Fleet management and electric vehicles.
• Planning enforcement.
• Street Scene maintenance, with a particular focus on weed treatment.
• Waste recovery targets and enforcement.
• Progress on the Flood Risk Management Strategy Action Plan.