Agenda Item No. 18

CARDIFF BAY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

MINUTES of a meeting held on 24th May, 2006.

Present Representing

Councillor N.J. Gibbs (Chairman) Town Council Mrs. C. Dimond (Vice-Chairman) Flood Action Committee Mr. P. Barry Cardiff Yacht Club Mr. J. Harrison The Environment Agency.

Also present:

Mr. S. Howell Cardiff Harbour Authority Mr. C. Hope Vale of Glamorgan Council.

1 Apologies for absence -

These were received from Councillor T.H. Jarvie (Vale of Glamorgan Council); Councillor N. Howells (Cardiff County Council); Captain Trevor Auld (Dock and Harbour Master); and Mr. T. Davies (Royal Yachting Association).

2 Wetlands Area -

It was noted that prior to the commencement of formal business, members of the Advisory Committee had been provided with an overview of the Cardiff Bay wetlands area, which was observed from the Cardiff Yacht Club due to the poor weather. The members of the Advisory Committee had thanked Mr. Lowe for the interesting presentation.

3 Minutes -

RESOLVED - T H A T the minutes of the meeting held on 22nd March, 2006 be approved as an accurate record.

4 Matters arising from the Minutes -

Re Minute 7(i) ‘Request by Scrutiny Committee Chairman ’, the Chairman advised that he had attended before the Scrutiny Committee on 26th April, 2006 and had been asked several questions.

The purpose of the meeting had been to give members of the Committee an understanding of the role of the Cardiff Bay Advisory Committee and to advise on the relationships / interface between the organisation and the Council via

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the Harbour Authority function. Issues in relation to the future regeneration of the Bay area were also considered.

Councillor Gibbs felt that the meeting had been productive and advised that a copy of the final report would be provided to members of the Advisory Committee when it became available.

5 Progress Report - Cardiff Harbour Authority -

Mr. S. Howell, Cardiff Harbour Authority, provided a report in respect of the following:

Barrage

The annual maintenance of the fish pass had been completed and was fully operational. Scheduled maintenance on the sluices had commenced.

Water Bus Landings

The maintenance work on the Castle stop had been completed and this was now available to the Water Bus operators to use.

Harbour

The dry spring had ended with the recent period of heavy rainfall resulting in 50 skips of rubbish being removed from the Bay during the previous week. an extension to the wetlands litter boom had been ordered to reduce the debris getting through onto the area and was at present being built ready for installation next week.

Water Quality

The 5mg/l dissolved oxygen standard had been achieved 100% of the time so far this year. The oxygenation barge had been deployed only once this year to date.

It was planned to add the Bti larvicide to the Bay this week as a flying insect reduction measure. However, this had been postponed because of the inclement weather conditions. Under high river flows and windy conditions, the larvicide did not sink to the bed of the Bay where it needed to reach in order to be effective. The larvicide would be added to the Bay once the weather conditions improved.

General

The new ‘bendybus’ service would commence on Sunday, 28th May, 2006. This new service connected the City to the Bay and vice versa, with a bus available every 10 minutes Monday - Friday and every 15 minutes on the weekend.

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The staging of the previous weekend’s National Water-ski event on the Bay was not too badly affected by the rain, with most of the racing taking place as planned. Visitor numbers were low and the supporting French Market did suffer and closed early on the Sunday.

On the weekend of 27/28th May, 2006, Cardiff Yacht Club would host the 5th Annual Cardiff Harbour Regatta. The event was open to both experienced and novice sailors, with a variety of classes for both dinghies and larger vessels.

The Norwegian Church had been transferred to the Council last month and would be managed by the Harbour Authority.

The WAG and CCC Scrutiny investigation into the future arrangements for the Harbour Authority was due to conclude next month.

6 Welsh Assembly Government Review on the Performance of Cardiff Harbour Authority - Environment Agency - Position Statement -

Mr. John Harrison of the Environment Agency Wales, welcomed the opportunity to participate in the Welsh Assembly Government Independent Investigation to review the performance of Cardiff Harbour Authority in managing the Cardiff Bay Barrage, the freshwater impoundment and associated matters.

A copy of the Environment Agency Wales’ position statement was distributed to members of the Advisory Committee.

In summary, the position statement stated that the Environment Agency Wales was satisfied with the performance of the Cardiff Harbour Authority to date. The Harbour Authority had discharged its functions, often proactively, to protect the environmental quality in and around Cardiff Bay. It had instigated a comprehensive monitoring programme to inform it’s decision-making and had put in place the required contingency measures to mitigate the predicted impacts.

It was

RESOLVED - T H A T the contents of the Environment Agency Wales position statement in response to the Welsh Assembly Government review on the performance of Cardiff Harbour Authority be noted.

7 Timetable of Meetings -

A timetable of meetings for 2006/07 was presented to the Committee as detailed below:

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DATE VENUE Wednesday, 26th July, 2006 at Cardiff Bay Harbour Authority Offices 5.15pm

Wednesday, 13th September, 2006 at Ditto 5.15pm

Wednesday, 15th November, 2006 at Ditto 5.15pm

Wednesday, 24th January, 2007 at Ditto 5.15pm

Wednesday, 21st March, 2007 at Ditto 5.15pm

Wednesday, 23rd May, 2007 at Ditto 5.15pm

RESOLVED - T H A T the above timetable be approved.

8 Minutes of Meetings -

Minutes of the undermentioned meetings were presented to the Committee:

- Cardiff Bay Strategy Working Group - 6th March 2006 - 8th May 2006

- Environmental Communication Forum - 5th April 2006

- Waterfront Partners - 19th April 2006.

With regard to Minute 7.6 of the meeting of the Cardiff Bay Strategy Working Group held on 6th march 2006, a member of the Advisory Committee expressed concern about wake height and the danger this causes to dinghies in the Bay.

9 Any other Business -

Penarth Headland Link

The Advisory Committee were advised that the Vale of Glamorgan Council had granted approval to progress a Compulsory Purchase Order for two sections of beach in private ownership that were required for the construction of the Link.

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