PENARTH councillors have raised concerns about membership of the Momentum Group that will lead discussions of the recently launched Town Plan.

Councillors have questioned whether volunteers will attend all of the meetings, which representatives of the town council will be part of the Momentum Group, and if the three year ban on individuals sitting on the group once they have finished their first term is “excessive”.

The aim of the Penarth Town Place Plan is to identify issues that are important to local residents, with the Momentum Group working together to address them.

The group is set to have 12 public seats for individuals and representatives of local groups, as well as three seats for councillors from the town council.

It is hoped that councillors will “allow early input into discussions and feed in knowledge of political context”, with the number of representatives restricted to three so the town council doesn’t “hijack” the meetings.

The Group will agree priority projects/actions and where necessary make recommendations to the Town Council, and the Town Council will decide on the projects to be taken forward and the delivery mechanism.

It is proposed that individuals/representatives will sit for a year with the ability to sit for a further year if the time scale of a project, or the particular input or enthusiasm of any individual is important to continue work on the theme. Once an individual’s term is ended they would be unable to sit for another three years. This is intended to encourage new people to become involved in civic life. It also ensures no single individual or group dominates the group.

Labour Councillor Philip Rapier, who represents the St Augustine’s ward, questioned the three year ban on people sitting after they had served a term.

“I understand the logic, but have a concern that being ineligible for three years is excessive, especially if there’s a lack of experience and people willing to serve,” he said.

Labour Councillor Michael Cuddy, who also represents the St Augustine’s ward, said the ineligibility period was “still up for grabs”.

Labour Councillor Neil Thomas, who represents the Cornerswell ward, argued that there should be a youthful representation in the Momentum Group.

“I would like to encourage a seat for Penarth Youth Action to get a youthful voice heard in the town plan,” he said.

“They have been key in setting up the town plan and it seems reasonable that they will continue to make it happen.”

Conservative Councillor Anthony Ernest, who represents the Plymouth ward, questioned whether volunteers would turn up for the meetings.

“It’s important that people nominate another to attend in their place,” he said.

He added that meetings needed high attendance levels, representatives of different groups and a reasonable number of people attended them to ensure decisions could be made.

Conservative Councillor Clive Williams, who also represents the Plymouth ward, said that the council wanted to use members of the public so the group was not “hijacked by the council”.

The Vale of Glamorgan Council Town Centre Officer will also be included in an observer role and one seat will be up for the Chairman of the town’s Business Improvement District.

The prospect of the Town Mayor having a seat, which is currently Conservative Cllr Martin Turner, was also mooted.

The policy and finance committee agreed last night (October 30) that one of the three councillors would be from the minority party (Conservative), there would be a youth representative and that nominations for councillors would be made at a later date.