The Communities Scrutiny Committee met to discuss a range of topics, including a Gypsy and Traveller site assessment, the planning compliance function, a proposed beaver project, and the committee's work programme. The committee supported a recommendation to provide a residential site for Gypsies and Travellers on Site A, and agreed for the planning compliance team to continue working in accordance with the current Planning Compliance Charter. The committee also confirmed that it had read and understood the report and associated project brief for the enclosed beaver trial at Green Gates Nature Reserve.

Gypsy and Traveller Site Assessment

The committee considered the report on the conclusions of the Member Task & Finish Group (T&F Group) regarding suitable options to meet the accommodation needs within the agreed Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA). The report recommended providing a residential site on Site A.

The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 requires local authorities to undertake a GTAA at least every five years to assess the needs of Gypsies and Travellers residing in their area. The council's assessment, approved by the Welsh Government in May 2024, identified an immediate need for 14 pitches¹.

Since the GTAA approval, the needs of one family group for seven pitches have been met privately, and a separate need for one pitch may be met by a planning application. This leaves a statutory duty for Denbighshire County Council to find a permanent site for four pitches to meet the needs of one family.

The T&F Group agreed to limit the search for suitable sites to one specific town, expanding the search area only if necessary, due to the family's established links to that town. Site A was deemed the most suitable for a permanent site. The committee confirmed that it had read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment and supported the recommendation to provide a residential site on Site A.

Planning Compliance Function

The committee considered a report from the Development Manager regarding the impact of the revised Charter and resources allocated to the Planning Compliance Function. The report provided an update on the staffing and performance of the planning compliance function.

The Planning Compliance function is a non-fee earning and discretionary service of the council that investigates and seeks to resolve breaches of planning control. The council provides guidance on how this function operates within its adopted Planning Compliance Charter.

At the time of the December 2024 Scrutiny Report, the council had reduced officer numbers from two to zero. In line with Welsh Government guidelines and the Charter, cases are registered, triaged, prioritised, investigated, and assessed according to the level of harm being caused. Since December 2024, 114 new planning compliance cases have been opened and 67 closed, with 13 formal enforcement notices issued.

The report also highlighted specific priority planning compliance work undertaken since December 2024, including:

• Ty Isoe, Llandegla: The council undertook a five-day works in default site clearance operation, removing around 36 scrap vehicles from the land to address visual harm.
• Land near Graianrhyd/Llanarmon-Yn-Ial: The council pursued the prosecution of an individual who refused officers access to land to investigate alleged planning breaches.
• Gwyddelwen: The council is investigating a multi-layered case concerning large-scale excavations, working collaboratively with North Wales Mineral Officers and Public Protection Officers.
• Land near Denbigh: The council served an enforcement notice regarding caravans sited on land for permanent residential occupation without planning permission.
• Trefnant Area: The council is working on cases involving listed buildings and buildings within the Conservation Area, including a listed building subject to an enforcement notice.
• Llangollen Area: The council has been working on a piece of land between Llangollen and Trevor, liaising with Natural Resources Wales (NRW), and became aware of an outdoor pursuits provider establishing an operating base within the Clwydian Range National Landscape.

The report also included a highlight report from Ben Lea, Place Improvement Officer, on the Place Improvement Project, which commenced in 2024 with the aim of improving the appearance and vitality of Denbighshire's communities. Examples of successful results achieved during the project were given, including:

• Ahava, Rhyl: Working with the management of the White Rose Shopping Centre to quickly fill the unit, which has been occupied by Ahava since the Spring of 2024.
• Barclays, Rhyl: Issuing a maintenance of land notice, specifying works to clean the walls of the ground floor plus the restoration of windows, replacement of render and painting the first and second floors in white.
• Hashm Barber Shop, Ruthin: Issuing a listed building enforcement notice with the contravention detailed as the replacement of a door to a listed building; and the affixing of signage, a canopy and lamps to a listed building.
• Peacocks, Rhyl: The property and asset management company responsible for the site got in touch after receiving a second letter from us to state they had obtained a quote for the listed works excluding the vinyl window covers.
• Rhuddlan Vape Shop: Following consultation with both the freeholder and the tenant, it was agreed that the signage would need to be removed and replaced in a two-step process to avoid the possibility of us issuing an enforcement notice.
• Spar, Prestatyn: Shopfront design consultants were appointed by Spar to redesign the shopfront's posters and vinyl advertisements.
• Tech Edge, Prestatyn: Contact was made with both the freeholder and tenant of the premises on Nant Hall Road.
• Webbers Amusements & Webbers Bet, Rhyl: A maintenance of land notice had been drafted but not issued when it was discovered that remedial actions had been taken as the freeholder addressed the paintwork and rendering issues on the first floor.

The committee acknowledged the update report and agreed for the Planning Compliance team to continue to work in accordance with the current Planning Compliance Charter and to provide a further update report on workload and performance in 12 months.

Green Gates Nature Reserve

The committee considered a report on proposals for the establishment of an enclosed beaver project at Green Gates Nature Reserve. The report provided information regarding the proposals to introduce a pair or family of beavers into an enclosure at the nature reserve.

Eurasian beavers are native to Wales but were hunted to extinction by humans, mainly for their fur and meat. Beavers are often referred to as 'keystone species' or 'ecosystem engineers' due to their ability to alter various physical and biological features of a site through their foraging, burrowing, and damming activities.

The location of the proposed enclosed beaver trial is Green Gates Nature Reserve, St Asaph. The nature reserve is 70 acres in size, and the enclosure will extend to approximately 24 acres within the western side of the site. As part of the nature reserve creation, nine new ponds have been created within the enclosure area, which also contains a stretch of stream approximately 250m in length.

As beavers are listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is an offence to release them into the wild without a licence. The project has been developed in line with the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's 2013 Captive Management Guidelines for Eurasian Beaver and the IUCN Guidelines for Reintroductions and other Conservation Translocations .

The consultation will run online for a period of four weeks, providing local stakeholders with the opportunity to learn about the proposals and provide feedback. Following the closure of the consultation period, feedback will be collated, and a report will be written summarising the results.

The committee confirmed that it had read, understood and taken account of the report and the associated Enclosed Beaver Trial – Project Brief document, and the Well-being Impact Assessment.

Scrutiny Work Programme

The committee reviewed its draft forward work programme and were asked to reflect on how scrutiny can support the delivery of the council's Corporate Plan and its aim of becoming Net Carbon Zero and Ecologically Positive by 2030, whilst also prioritising matters which the committee deems important to scrutinise.

The committee considered the information provided and approved its forward work programme.