The meeting report pack includes discussions on planning policy, local taxes, and the future of local bus services. The most significant items on the agenda for the public include a range of plans to invest in and improve green spaces and tree coverage across the county. The report pack also includes proposals for a new Charter for Families Bereaved through Public Tragedy.

Redevelopment of Plas Y Bryn Residential Home, Cwmgwili

The former Plas Y Bryn Residential Home in Cwmgwili was purchased by Carmarthenshire County Council in December 2023. The Council is now seeking funding from the Welsh Government’s Social Care Integration and Rebalancing Capital Fund (IRCF) to redevelop the home.

The report pack proposes a match funding contribution of £5,266,996 towards the redevelopment which would see the home increase in size from 32 beds to 60 beds. The home will also become a dual registered home, offering both residential and nursing care. The pack highlights the increasing cost of care in the independent sector, and the pressure on acute hospitals caused by a lack of suitable care placements for people with complex needs.

We are also experiencing issues from a market perspective whereby a very small number of providers are the only providers who will support residents who they perceive to have more complex needs particularly linked to challenging behaviour.

The report pack states that the IRCF requires a new build development like this one to meet Net Zero Carbon standards. To that end, Carmarthenshire County Council are going to work with the Welsh Government to use the Plas Y Bryn redevelopment to develop a blueprint of how care homes can be developed to meet the standards.

A Tree and Woodland Strategy for Carmarthenshire County Council

Carmarthenshire County Council are proposing to adopt a new Tree and Woodland Strategy. The report pack states that the strategy will guide how the council will:

manage its trees and woodlands appropriately, to deliver a range of benefits

take action to plant more trees and woodlands across its land portfolio, ensuring it plants the right tree in the right place,

The pack includes details of the benefits of trees and woodland, like improving air quality, reducing flood risk and their positive impact on mental and physical health.

The pack also sets out the current state of woodland coverage in the county, and the council's plans to increase coverage.

Woodland cover in the UK is currently c.13%; in Wales it is 15%; in Carmarthenshire it is 17.6% and across the CCC estate it is 12% (National Forest Index 2020).

The pack proposes a target of increasing woodland coverage on council land to 17% by 2050. To achieve this target, 9.5 hectares of new woodland would have to be planted every year for the next 25 years.

Draft Strategies on Green and Blue Infrastructure & Allotment and Community Growing

The report pack contains proposals for two draft strategies:

• Draft Green & Blue Infrastructure Strategy
• Draft Allotment & Community Growing Strategy

The strategies will set out how the council will protect and improve Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI) across the county.

The report and production of the strategies reflect the multifunctional benefits provided by Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI) are considered crucial factors in obtaining healthy placemaking by creating attractive communities which are resilient and adapted to both local and global sustainability challenges.

The pack states that the strategies will help the council fulfil the requirements of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and Environment (Wales) Act 2016. In particular they will support the delivery of Objective 3 of The Carmarthenshire We Want – 2023-28: Responding to the climate and nature emergencies.

The Draft Allotment & Community Growing Strategy sets out how the council will increase opportunities for local people to grow food, including:

• increasing the availability of allotments
• supporting new community growing projects
• identifying public land that could be repurposed for community growing.

An Allotment and Community Growing Survey Report published in August 2024 found that 93% of respondents wanted to see more growing opportunities across the county. The report pack states that the strategy has been designed to support the delivery of Policy PSD8 of the Revised Local Development Plan: Provision of New Open Space.

The pack proposes a 6-week public consultation on the draft strategies.

Bus Franchising

The report pack includes a proposal from Transport for Wales (TfW) to develop proposals for a future franchised bus network across Carmarthenshire.

Bus Franchising means that decisions about bus services in Wales (including routes, timetables, fares, hours of operation and service quality standards) will be made by Welsh Government and Transport for Wales, working in partnership with local authorities and Corporate Joint Committees (CJCs).

The pack includes a summary of the proposals set out in the Welsh Government's One Network, One Timetable, One Ticket white paper and Our Roadmap to Bus Reform which was published in June 2024. The pack states that TfW are currently working with local authorities to develop a new bus network. This will include:

• a ‘Base Position’ network that will be deliverable within current funding levels.
• an ‘Aspiration Position’ network that will include service enhancements that would require additional funding.

TfW are planning to undertake stakeholder and public engagement on the proposals in Summer 2025.

Annual Monitoring Report 2023/24 Adopted Carmarthenshire Local Development Plan (2006 – 2021)

The report pack states that the council has produced an Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) for the Adopted Carmarthenshire Local Development Plan (LDP). It contains a summary of the report and a copy of the full report.

The AMR has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and the Local Development Plan (LDP) Regulations 2005.

The pack summarises the key findings of the AMR, including:

• The council granted permission for 616 new homes on large sites during the monitoring period.
• 89.8% of new homes granted planning permission were located on allocated sites.
• Planning permission has been granted for renewable energy and heat projects that have the potential to contribute a total of TBC MW.

Council Tax Base 2025-26

The report pack contains a proposal for the council to formally determine its Council Tax Base for 2025-26. The report highlights the statutory requirement for the council to formally determine the tax base.

The County Council is required each year, to determine its Council Tax Base, and the Council Tax Base of each community within its area, for the purpose of setting the level of Council Tax for the forthcoming financial year.

The pack includes a number of tables setting out the proposed tax base.

The pack states that the collection rate of 97.5%, which has been used since 2014-15, has been retained for 2025-26. It also includes a proposal to increase the second home premium from 50% to 100% from 1 April 2025.

Charter for Families Bereaved through Public Tragedy

The report pack contains a proposal for Carmarthenshire County Council to sign up to the Charter for Families Bereaved through Public Tragedy. The Charter was developed in response to criticisms of how authorities treated bereaved families in the aftermath of major incidents like the Hillsborough Disaster.

The Charter for Bereaved Families through Public Tragedy is a framework that aims to support families who have lost loved ones in public tragedies.

The pack includes a detailed report on the charter, describing the historical context of the charter, the benefits of signing up, and some of the challenges. It also includes the full text of the charter which sets out 6 principles for public bodies to follow when supporting bereaved families.

The pack proposes that Carmarthenshire County Council adopt the Charter in its entirety.

New Collaboration Agreement for Regional Education Workforce (Partneriaeth)

Partneriaeth¹ is a regional education workforce that supports schools in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Swansea. The report pack includes proposals to replace the existing Partneriaeth Legal Agreement with a new Collaboration Agreement.

Regional arrangements to support the delivery of educational improvements are currently being delivered by Partneriaeth via a Legal Agreement effective from 2022, creating a Joint Committee between the Local Authorities of Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Swansea.

The pack states that the new Collaboration Agreement will simplify governance and provide greater clarity for decision making arrangements. It also contains a full draft of the Collaboration Agreement, a business plan, and terms of reference for the Strategic Group.

The pack recommends that the Cabinet approve the transfer from the existing legal agreement to the new Collaboration Agreement, and delegate authority to the Director of Education and the Chief Legal Officer to make any necessary amendments to the new agreement.