Villagers may be moved before 2050
POLICE officers who raided a house looking for a gun found illegal drugs instead.
Brock Andrew Cato was found to have wraps of cocaine and amphetamine valued at up to £520 along with £245 in cash when police searched his home in Ffordd y Felin, Dolgellau, in February.
The 32-year-old admitted possessing the drugs and having acquired criminal property and was jailed for two years and eight months.
Judge Huw Rees, sitting at Caernarfon Crown Court, said he was satisfied Cato had played a significant role as a street dealer selling illegal drugs to users in the area.
The judge ordered the drugs be destroyed and the cash and other exhibits be forfeited.
Karl Scholz, prosecuting, said officers had initially gone to his girlfriend’s home as they suspected Cato was in possession of a shotgun.
“The officers were told he no longer lived there,” said Mr Scholz.
“A search was carried out anyway, but no firearms were found.
“Their attention was drawn to a garden shed which was locked. Entry was forced and among the items inside was a set of digital scales with traces of cocaine on it.”
Police then went to Cato’s parents’ house where he was found in a bedroom, and a small box was found in his jacket containing the drugs.
Mr Scholz said the drugs were wrapped in individual “deals” and the cash was in his wallet.
A mobile phone was seized and examined, and a large number of text messages indicative of drug dealing were found.
The court heard Cato had boasted about the quality of the drugs he had for sale in some of the messages.
He claimed to have been supplying drugs to a small circle of friends and said he was making little financial gain from it.
Jo Maxwell, defending, accepted jail was likely but asked the judge to bear in mind Cato’s previous convictions included nothing for possessing illegal drugs and he had not been imprisoned before.
She said Cato had been drawn into the world of illegal drugs by associating with others who used such substances.
He had now taken steps to disassociate himself from these people and had found work away from Dolgellau, she added. PLANS to address the challenges a seaside community will face as sea level rises have been outlined to villagers.
Sea defences at Fairbourne, near Barmouth, will stop being maintained in the 2050s, but Gwynedd Council said it may begin “decommissioning” the village before then and start moving residents out.
A public consultation has been launched by the Fairbourne: Moving Forward partnership on proposals to address the challenges.
Natural Resources Wales maintains the sea defences and Gwynedd Council is leading a partnership to co-ordinate what happens in Fairbourne – and says some of the decisions about what happens in the long term are out of its hands.
The report says “the engineering and financial challenges of protecting the village are likely to become insurmountable earlier than other areas”.
There are “five specific plans which can be taken forward and developed by partner organisations over the coming years” to be considered by locals.
The plans focus on flood risk management, people and the built environment, infrastructure management, economy and business management and natural environment management.
Before the framework is taken forward, residents and organisations are being urged to present comments and feedback.
The consultation period ends next month.