‘Don’t make us merge while Wylfa Newydd is on horizon’
PLANS to merge Anglesey and Gwynedd have been formally opposed by town councillors.
Last week saw Local Government Minister, Alun Davies, revealed his vision of cutting the number of Welsh authorities from 22 to 10.
As part of the cull, Anglesey and Gwynedd would form one authority – a proposal vehemently opposed by members of Amlwch Town Council.
Among their concerns were that merger talks would take place at a “sensitive time” with plans for a new £12bn nuclear power plant at Wylfa, just six miles away from Amlwch, also in the pipeline.
At the town council meeting this week, members agreed that a letter should be sent to the Welsh Government stating the council’s clear opposition to the proposals.
While the UK Government will be responsible for issuing a Development Consent Order (DCO) for Wylfa’s nuclear reactor, the local authority will retain the power to issue planning consent for much of the surrounding developments.
The town council’s motion follows comments made by the leader of Gwynedd Council, who expressed his fears that more local government reorganisation could result in policitians “taking their eyes off the ball” in regards to providing services.
Speaking during the Amlwch Town Council meeting, chair- man Gareth Winston Roberts said: “With the prospect of Wylfa Newydd on the horizon, it is imperative that we continue to work in partnership with Gwynedd and other councils, as has been the case over several years now.
“But there are so many issues involved with even more council reorganisation, not to mention that Gwynedd residents pay much more in council tax.
“It took several years to sort things out after the last reshuf- MORE than 250 tonnes of rubbish has been found hidden under this beach after Storm Emma displaced sand.
The storm blasted away huge amounts of sand and reduced the height of Llanbedrog beach by around two feet.
The National Trust, which has been working to remove the rubbish, believe an old rubbish tip has been uncovered.
Andy Godber, Llŷn operations manager at the trust, said: “Despite our best efforts to resolve the issue quickly, we suspect there may still be more rubbish uncovered. As such, we’re still urging visitors to be vigilant of the increased risk, especially of sharp edges and shards of glass.”
The buried rubbish is thought to be historical and consists of some burnt metal and glass. Mr Godber added: “We hope that with time the sand will be replenished naturally by the tides.”
Similar drops in sand levels following Storm Emma have been witnessed at other beaches in the area, including Porthor, Tywyn y Fach and Porthdinllaen. fle in the mid-90s. I don’t want to see it happen again.”
Gwynedd council leader Dyfrig Siencyn has already raised fears that more reshuffles could impact on regional working across existing local authorities.
“Much work is already taking place in the North Wales region in terms of collaboration and working in partnership, and I fear that another round of discussions regarding local government reogorganisation could potentially cut across this important work,” he said.
“This latest announcement from the Welsh Government is a further change in policy on this issue, and will inevitably lead to uncertainty in councils across Wales.
“Indeed, this is the most recent change of tact from the government – and again coincides with a new Minister responsible for local government.
“As a Council, we have recently met with the Minister to discuss the matter and we look forward to continuing this discussion with him and with colleagues from councils across Wales.”
Mr Davies said he was “committed to a conversation”.
The Welsh Government Green Paper shows that no deadline would be set for whether councils wish to suggest a voluntary merger. Any authorities wanting to opt for phased mergers in 2022 and 2026 would have to approach Welsh Government by 2021. Mr Davies said there should be fewer, larger authorities, but that reorganisation has to be more than just changing the size and number of councils.
“I hope now we can have a positive, constructive and optimistic conversation about how we strength and empower local government in the future,” he said.
“We want councillors to fully reflect our communities and be representative of the diversity of experience, interests and priorities in those communities.”