Star’s childhood home is village again after U-turn
THE childhood home of Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta Jones has gone back to being a village.
Mumbles Community Council, which sparked fury after voting itself a town council, has made the U-turn.
After the move was initially announced by the council, angry residents demanded a referendum to decide whether the seaside spot is actually a town or a village.
The change came at a meeting on October 10 but was then rescinded at a meeting this week.
The U-turn took around five minutes and was voted for unanimously, according to Coun Helen Mitchell.
Mrs Mitchell was one of eight to vote against the initial motion. Nine voted for it.
She said: “I am pleased it has been rescinded because the public opinion went right against the community council.
“The meeting was not heated at all, it took around five minutes to make the decision and it was voted for unanimously.
“I think people thought it would be extra expense but it was really a question of why change something after 32 years? We are a community.”
There are several technical and official definitions of what makes a town.
In modern usage the term refers to old market towns or settlements which have a town council.
Some residents were concerned that the change and introduction of a mayor would have come from the council budget but Coun Will Thomas, who proposed the idea, said this was incorrect.
He said: “After we voted to become a town council, obviously it went on social media, and the news story, which I did think was an unfair article to be honest, which is part of the reason we did the U-turn.
“Which is partly our fault too for not doing more to get the message out there.
“It was never going to be the name of the area that was changing.
“A town council means that you can have a mayor, you can’t have a mayor as a community council.
“We would not have had any signs up saying town or anything like that, and it wouldn’t have cost the council any money.”
He added: “It was purely to have a mayor. Having that would be good for the area, to open schools and to help with tourism.”
Former Mumbles community councillor Brian Arthur said that public opinion had won the day.
“If the council had consulted beforehand, then we would not be in the position we are in,” he said.
Mumbles Community Council covers of a large area with a population of more than 17,500 residents.