Urdd and Young Farmers clubs are to keep their favoured fund status, says charitable trust

ANGLESEY’S Urdd and Young Farmers clubs will continue to receive ‘favourable status’ when applying for funding from a £20m legacy pot.

A meeting of the Isle of Anglesey Charitable Trust last Wednesday voted to allow both groups to apply for continued annual funding due to their importance to the Welsh language and island-wide organisation.

The Isle of Anglesey Charitable Trust, worth over £20m, administers the money received from Shell when the company closed its oil terminal near Amlwch.

The trust, set up in 1990, is made up of all 30 Anglesey councillors who meet on a regular basis as trustees to share out the available funds between local groups, societies and good causes – usually spending the interest accrued by the funding pot.

In December, a vote on a decision to continue funding the island’s Urdd and Young Farmers branches by £40,000 and £30,000 a year respectively was delayed after concerns that proper procedure was not being followed.

The organisations, which largely operate through the medium of Welsh, are both offered on an island wide basis and have received the annual funding over the past five years to employ officers and improve their quality of provision.

But last week, members voted to continue awarding both groups protected status – meaning they do not have to apply on an annual basis and may continue to receive a yearly sum if approved by members during its next meeting in April.

Not all members were happy however, with the leader of the Labour group concerned that the Urdd and Young Farmers were being given an advantage over other groups on the island.

Cllr John Arwel Roberts said: “I have nothing against either organisation, but is it right to prioritise these over any other groups on Anglesey?

“I want everyone on Anglesey to be given the same chance, what about the Ucheldre centre in Holyhead where hundreds of people visit every weekend? “Where do we draw a line?” But Cllr Robin Williams said: “I propose that we take into account that both organisations, unique as they are, really do promote the Welsh language within our communities. I think it’s important that we emphasise their uniqueness when making a decision this afternoon.”

The next trust meeting, when a decision on the level of their future funding is expected, is on April 16.