Agenda and minutes

Councillors Alun Lloyd Jones and Clive Davies apologised for their inability to attend the meeting.

Councillor Catherine Hughes (Cabinet Member) apologised for her inability to attend the meeting. Councillor Dafydd Edwards (Cabinet Member) apologised for his inability to attend the meeting, however, did attend later during discussions.

There were no disclosures of Personal and Prejudicial Interests (including whipping declarations) from Committee Members. 

Councillor Ceredig Davies, Observer, disclosed a personal and prejudicial interest and advised the Committee that he has received dispensation from the Ethics and Standards Committee to speak only.

Rhodri Llwyd, Corporate Lead Officer, declared a personal interest and stated that he would withdraw from proceedings if there were discussions relating to Chalybeate Street, Aberystwyth.

Councillor Rhodri Evans, Cabinet Member, stated that Councillor Dafydd Edwards, Cabinet Member was unable to attend the meeting to present the report and that the Officers present would therefore do so. 

The Chairman welcomed Russell Hughes-Pickering, Rhodri Llwyd and Steve Hallows to the meeting.

Russell Hughes-Pickering gave Committee Members a brief re-cap of the information presented to the Committee on the 1^st October 2021. He referred in particular to the next steps he had mentioned during that meeting which included engagement with Local Members and Cabinet Members in October, followed by a report to Scrutiny today, which would be presented to Cabinet in January 2022. If supported, he confirmed that an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) would be introduced which involves an on-going six month consultation period for public views.

Steve Hallows then presented the proposals for Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETRO), as part of the process for making selected parking and traffic flow elements installed temporarily in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, to be made permanent features. The Officer reiterated that several traffic management measures were introduced via the Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTRO’s) in Aberaeron, Aberystwyth, Cardigan and New Quay, to facilitate social distancing during lockdown restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic. TTRO’s have an 18-month life span and some of those currently in force, will expire in October 2022. These can be extended with appropriate permission providing the rationale is still relevant and valid, which is unlikely to be the case currently given the relaxation of initial lockdown restrictions.

He stated that the review of the temporary arrangements has recognised that some of the elements implemented gave rise to wider benefits to society, and that there is a case for commencing a legal process for possibly making these permanent, by making two ETRO’s. One for parking restrictions that will amend the existing countywide Parking Traffic Order and the other for ‘moving’ regulations such as one-way traffic flows, prohibitions of right/left turn, no entry etc.