Free bus pass age to rise in Wales
CELEBRATED restaurant brand Marram Grass has launched a summer collaboration to bring street food to their caravan park courtyard on Anglesey.
Liam and Ellis Barrie wanted to turn the courtyard at White Lodge Caravan Park, near Newborough, into a social space. It will see the Zapatismo Taco Van bringing Mexican food to the site as well as Marram’s own Fat Pig Company, with a pizza truck also due to be lined up. This will go alongside alpaca walks by Anglesey Alpacas, as well as cooking classes at the Peninsula Studio, created in collaboration with Peninsula Windows. FREE bus passes will no longer be automatically issued to 60-year-olds in Wales under planned new rules.
Instead, they will be issued as people reach state pension age which is 65 for men and women. It will rise to 67 by 2028.
In a statement to AMs, Transport
Liam Barrie said: “We love to see people milling around enjoying themselves. Tourism is a massive industry for Anglesey, it’s important to build into the visitor experience across the island.
“It’s great to team up with some other businesses, on the face of it you could say they are competition for the Marram Grass but we believe the key is making sure there is something on offer for everyone. No one wants to eat in the same place for lunch and dinner for seven days a week. And as a spin off local residents have something interesting to come and try. Minister Ken Skates laid out the changes he plans to make.
The Welsh Government recently announced a raft of laws it will pursue over the next year – including bus reform. It had already touted potential changes to bus passes, but this would make it law.
It includes franchising and council-run bus services, and
“We’re targeting quality food offerings to complement what we are doing but also quality activities such as the kids club or Alpaca walks. To be honest, it’s just great fun.”
The Barrie brothers began their restaurant in 2009 when their parents moved from Liverpool to North Wales to open a caravan park.
They transformed it from a greasy spoon into a gourmet bistro with an enthusiastic following amongst diners and critics, with numerous national industry awards including two AA Rosettes in 2018 and a Good Food Guide entry. rules on sharing information between providers so that councils “will be in a better position to make arrangements to address changes in service provision”.
The Public Transport (Wales) Bill “will also amend the eligibility age for the mandatory concessionary fares scheme so that over time it will align with a person’s state pension age”.
When the changes will come in is not yet clear – Mr Skates says work is ongoing to “consider the potential costs and benefits of the proposed legislation”.
In a recent transport consultation, there was a mixed response about whether concessionary fares should be available.
The Welsh Government conclusion read: “There were mixed responses to this proposal.
“There was strong representation that the eligibility age should remain at 60 but there were also comments that concessionary fares should be targeted at those most in need.
“There was some support for the proposals if it meant that the scheme is retained and is sustainable for the future and if savings were re-invested in supporting bus services.
“Some other suggestions were made, including having one-off payment or annual charge for the concessionary passes, restricting travel times or applying means testing.”