‘Devolve Crown Estate in Wales for eco future’
PLAID Cymru has renewed calls for the Crown Estate to be devolved to Wales, following the announcement that the UK Treasury could earn £43bn in rents from five newly planned wind farms off the coast of Wales.
It comes after the Crown Estate announced plans to generate 4GW of electricity through floating wind farms off the coast of Wales, the tender for which will start in 2023.
While the Crown Estate said it was too early to give job creation figures, some predict up to 10,000 could be created from floating wind farm development in the Celtic Sea, with assembly work at Welsh ports and supply chain activities.
However, Plaid Cymru says that powers over the Crown Estate in Wales are still held in Westminster, which means its revenues “disappear” into the HM Treasury “after a 25% cut for the Royal Family”.
Plaid Cymru MS Delyth Jewell said the Crown Estate’s control over the seabed means Wales is “missing out on the green economic rents of our own natural resources”.
The Crown Estate in Scotland was devolved to the Scottish Government in 2017, and Ms Jewells asks “Why not to Wales?”
Plaid’s spokesman for Energy, Ms Jewell said: “While there is a green goldrush off our shores, Wales will remain a mere spectator in the rush to capitalise from our natural resources.
“Plaid Cymru has long called for the economic levers and powers over the Crown Estate to be devolved to Wales, and now it’s crystal clear to see why this is so important. Instead of people of Wales being the ones who benefit from the leasing of our seabed, all the profits will disappear into UK Treasury, with a large chunk going to the Royal Family.
“Put simply, the resources of Wales should be governed by the Government of Wales, for the people of Wales. Devolving the Crown
Estate’s Welsh territorial assets would allow us to align them with Welsh decision-making and priorities, and provide us with the means to use our resources to invest in our green future.
“So let’s bring our natural resources and their rents closer to home and devolve the Crown Estate to Wales.”
When asked whether Crown Estate activities in Wales should be devolved to the Welsh Government, as is the case in Scotland, in an interview with the Western Mail earlier this week, Nicola Clay, who is head of new ventures marine for the Crown Estate, didn’t comment but said: “We’re working closely with the Welsh Government on the development of this. I meet with them every month to make sure we’re taking on board their aspirations and we’re making sure that we’re supporting each other.”
Last month, UK Energy Minister Greg Hands dismissed the question of devolving the Crown Estate to Wales. During a meeting of the parliamentary Welsh Affairs Committee, Mr Hands – the UK minister for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, said that he was “not aware” of any issues with the current arrangement.
And he said that the UK Government has “no plans” to devolve Crown Estate control to Wales.
Earlier this year, Liz Saville – Plaid Cymru MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd – drafted a Crown Estate (Devolution to Wales) Bill to Parliament. And an online petition calling for the ‘transfer control of the £500m Crown Estate to Wales like in Scotland’ has gathered more than 11,000 signatures.
Rhodri Williams, who started the petition to Welsh Secretary Simon Hart, wrote: “The value of the Crown Estate Wales’ renewable assets grew from £49.2m in 2020 to £549.1m in 2021.
“This is money that would enable Wales to build and develop our own Welsh renewable energy industry rather than selling off our assets to the highest foreign bidder.
“Please signs and share [the online petition]”