It's Mike Parker for Ceredigion

Mike Parker has been selected to represent Plaid Cymru at the next Westminster election in Ceredigion. The result was announced last night after the second of two crowded hustings meetings held in the constituency over the past eight days. 

Mike Parker is a self-employed writer and broadcaster. He moved from his native Kidderminster to Ceredigion in 2000, has lived in west Wales ever since and has learnt Welsh. He has written several travel books, and has presented series such as Coast to Coast and Great Welsh Roads on ITV Wales, and the 10-part series On The Map on Radio 4.

On winning the nomination, Mike said,

“The three main UK parties lack ambition for areas such as ours. Ceredigion has a strong tradition of entrepreneurship – self employment here is double the national average – as well as two universities and rich natural and cultural resources. I believe I can offer a genuine choice to people; the current Westminster government has achieved so little for Ceredigion, and I’m passionate and ambitious about the county’s future.

“I was born in Birmingham and grew up in Kidderminster; my life and writing proves that it’s possible to love both Wales and England with an equal passion, while believing that there’s a better way to organise the relationship between them than the creaking political structure that we have.

“I’m thrilled and very grateful to have been selected to try to win back the Ceredigion seat for Plaid, and look forward to working hard over the next two years to take our positive message to everyone in Ceredigion. I can’t wait.”

Mike is pictured here after the result was announced with Ceredigion's Assembly member Elin Jones who last night was also re-selected to contest the Ceredigion Welsh Assembly election in 2016. 

Elin said,

"Mike Parker is a man of great talent, honesty and integrity; it’s obvious he has a passion for our area and its people, and has great ideas for its future. I look forward immensely to working with him.”

The next Westminster election is expected to be held in May 2015. 

Ceredigion councillors to be cut by five

The new Welsh Local Government Minister, Lesley Griffiths, has agreed to proposals to cut the number of county councillors in Ceredigion by five, from 42 to 37. 

The proposals were contained in a report by the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales published in May 2011 but were put on hold by the previous Minister before last year’s elections. The changes are slightly altered by the Commission from those reported by this blog in 2010.

The five seats that will now be lost at the next council elections in 2017 are as follows:

·    *  Lampeter will reduce from two councillors to one

·    *  Cardigan will reduce from three councillors to two

·   *  Llangeitho ward will be split between expanded Tregaron and   Llangybi wards

·   *  Capel Dewi ward will be split between expanded Llandysul and Troedyraur wards

·   *  The four wards of New Quay, Llandysiliogogo, Llanarth and Llanfihangel Ystrad will have their boundaries altered to become three.

This blog has previously identified that the southern half of Ceredigion is significantly over-represented compared to the North. Although the Minister probably doesn't read the blog,  this is the issue tackled by the proposals, the intention of which is to produce a more equal number of electors in each ward.

Other more minor changes are:

Padarn and  Faenor wards on the outskirts of Aberystwyth to combine into one ward with two councillors

Aberaeron ward to take in the Aberarth section of Llansantffraid

Llanfarian ward to take in a small part of Melindwr

By my calculations, if the new boundaries had been applied to the 2012 elections, Independents would have lost three councillors and Plaid Cymru two. However 2017 is a long way off...

The map shows the distribution of councillors following the 2011 election. Plaid are in green, Independents   in light blue and Lib Dems yellow. Image source: Wikipedia. By the way, for some reason the otherwise excellent Wikipedia map has Penparcau (inset) down as an Independent ward whereas it actually has two out of two Plaid Cymru councillors.

Choosing Plaid Cymru's candidate for Ceredigion

Plaid Cymru will choose its new prospective Westminster candidate for Ceredigion at hustings meetings in June.

These are the three people seeking the nomination, in alphabetical order:

Owain Davies – a County Council worker who lives near New Quay. As Chair of the Ceredigion branch of Unison and an active member of Ceredigion Against the Cuts, he says he’s particularly concerned at the threat to universal health and education services from successive Westminster governments.

Doug Jones was born and brought up in Aberystwyth, and is Chair of the PCS union at the National Library. He was one of the founders of Ceredigion Against the Cuts and has been involved in campaigning for tax justice and against the Iraq war. An interview with him was published on the Planet website last year.

Mike Parker is an author of several books and a broadcaster. He was born in Birmingham, moved to Wales in 2000 and has learnt to speak Welsh. He believes that the three main Westminster parties deliver very little for places like Ceredigion. His website can be found here and his blog here.

Elin Jones, Plaid's AM for Ceredigion, says about the contest:

“I’m delighted that Plaid’s selection process, which was designed to be more open and inclusive than ever before, has produced such a strong shortlist of candidates. All three would be passionate and independent-minded advocates for our area, and would speak up for the many people who feel let down by the cuts of this present Westminster Government. We need someone in Westminster who will put Ceredigion first, and I look forward to working with whoever is selected.”

Rob Phillips, Chair of Plaid in Ceredigion, says:

 “A number of new members have joined Plaid Cymru recently in Ceredigion, especially people who have been active in opposing Westminster’s cuts which affect our local communities so deeply. We look forward to choosing a candidate who will offer a real, positive alternative to people in Ceredigion.”

The two hustings meetings will take place in Aberystwyth on June 6^th and Synod Inn on the 14th. Barring an earlier collapse of the Westminster government, the next UK election will be held in May 2015.

Ceredigion's Review of Traffic Orders

Proposals have been published today by Ceredigion County Council for alterations to hundreds of traffic orders in the county, the most visible of which are roadside yellow lines. The orders haven’t been reviewed for many years and, now that the county's traffic wardens have been back on the streets for almost a year, we thought it was about time the lines were reviewed.

Of course parking restrictions aren’t there to make life difficult for people. They’re there largely to prevent accidents and to prevent roads being blocked by parked cars. The short-term parking places in town centres keeps traffic turning over in order to help trade. However the Council wants to make sure that every parking restriction is still relevant and useful.

All local councillors, who know the issues in their local areas, have been consulted and the total of 440 changes that they've requested have now been published for local residents to comment on by 4th June. The proposals can be seen in full here. Signs have also gone up where changes are proposed and can be viewed in person in Aberystwyth Town Library, Canolfan Rheidol and other council offices around the county.

The proposals would remove yellow lines in many places and add some in others where a need has been identified. But, as whole, they’ll result in a net decrease in yellow lines in the county of 1000 metres, with a further 900 metres where existing restrictions are relaxed. I think this will be welcomed by people.

The intention is to repeat this exercise every year from now on to make sure that parking restrictions remain relevant and have community support.

In case you missed the link in the article (as I'm hearing some people have done), you can see the proposals by clicking on on this link and following the links at the bottom of that page.

Planning for Ras yr Iaith

September may be the other side of Summer, but planning for Ras yr Iaith -  a relay race between Machynlleth and Aberteifi in support of the Welsh language, is taking place in earnest. 

The next meeting of the planning group is tonight, Wednesday 8th May in the Llew Du (Black Lion), Bridge Street, Aberystwyth. In the meantime, here's some early artwork.

More background here

The door that saved the National Library of Wales?

I was shown round the fire damage to the National Library last week, along with Ceredigion's Assembly Member, Elin Jones (for anyone who doesn't know, a serious fire broke out at the top of the building on 26th April). 

A few things were very clear. Firstly, the damage is serious but restricted to a relatively small area of the top floor. Secondly, how well the library's fire safety measures, from the evacuation of staff to the sealing off of the affected area, worked on the day of the incident. Thirdly, how close, but for these measures, the library came to a real catastrophe, both in human terms and in terms of the vast catalogue of national treasures contained in the building.

The photo shows a part-burnt but still solidly intact fire door that separated the area of the fire on the left from the rest of the building. I’ll bear this picture in mind the next time I think of ignoring a sign saying ‘Fire Door - Keep Shut’.

The library staff pointed out how the materials and construction methods used many years ago for some parts of the building make it extremely vulnerable should any future fire ever break out in, or spread to, those areas. The new Welsh Government Minister for Culture, John Griffiths, also visited the library following the fire. I’m very hopeful that the Welsh Government will make available money not only to repair the existing fire damage but to safeguard those parts of the building that remain a future risk. The heritage contained within the National Library is irreplaceable.

Despite everything, thanks to the hard work of the highly committed staff, the National Library was open to the public again just three days after the fire. More photos here

Austerity on the buses

From 1^st April there has been a major cut in bus funding by the Welsh Government. This is how it breaks down.

1/ The Bus Services Operators Grant (BSOG) – which goes direct to the bus companies – has been cut by 25%, from £22.6 to £17 million.

2/ The Local Transport Services Grant (LTSG) – which goes to the County Councils to provide services – has been cut by 27%, from £11 to £8 million.

This amounts to an £8.6 million cut out of £33.6 million allocated for bus services across Wales. Bus funding - a complex mix of commercialism and subsidies brought about by the then Conservative Government's 1985 Transport Act - is also supplemented locally by County Councils; but no council could come close to being able to cover this kind of shortfall even in the best of times.

I don’t altogether blame the Welsh Government. After all, they themselves have been subject to a £50 million cut from Westminster this year. However there are choices to be made within the money available and it’s not clear how the cut in public transport funding is going to avoid compromising the intentions behind the Sustainable Development Bill.

The £25 million that’s still left for buses is now being put into one pot – called the Regional Transport Services Grant (RTSG). This is being given to each of the four Regional Transport Consortia,  the consortium for Central Wales being TraCC, covering Ceredigion, Powys & Meirionydd. They will then be responsible for allocating this money for services. A minimum of 10% must be spent on Community Transport schemes.

There may well be a few savings to be made by councils working more closely with their neighbouring authorities through the consortia, but it won't come close to making up for what’s being lost.

The completely new funding formula will be based on passenger mileage, i.e. how many miles buses travel with how many passengers, rather than just how many miles they travel, which is the case now. Of course this can be presented as a common sense green measure to discourage unnecessary mileage. However it obviously favours areas of denser population and it’s causing a lot of concern in rural areas. 

During this transitional year, TraCC will need to put together a bus network plan for the Ceredigion/Powys/Meirionydd region in the light of the funding changes. All the various stakeholders will be consulted and the plan, to be completed by January, will then inform the configuration of local bus services in the future.

All this is having to be done in a very short space of time and it will be a steep learning curve for TraCC, the bus companies and everyone involved. A report presented to the Ceredigion Council Cabinet this month points out that the bus industry has not gone through such a significant period of change since de-regulation in 1986.

Changes may not be apparent immediately because money available up to April 1st has already been invested. However  Arriva have already announced an intention to cut five of it's less well used services in Ceredigion from the end of July - see these listed at the foot of the page. 

Looking around for some spark of positivity amidst this gloom, the letter sent to councils from the (now former) Transport Minister Carl Sargeant explaining the changes does specifically mention Ceredigion in a couple of places. 

It mentions the Bwcabus scheme, which is a ground-breaking initiative in the southern two-thirds of the county and regarded as a model for other areas. It also mentions the intended Quality Partnership Scheme for Traws Cymru services between Aberystwyth and Cardigan.

So it's very, very slightly reassuring to know that Ceredigion is on the Welsh Government’s radar when it comes to new ways of providing bus services amidst the new financial realities. But the truth is that there's hardly any silver lining to this bus funding cloud. The Westminster Government's austerity measures are about to bite our bus services very hard.

Services Arriva has announced will be cut in Ceredigion from the end of July:
1 and 2 Aberystwyth town services
10 service to Swansea (Friday and Sunday – term time), 
510 and 512 evening services

Aberystwyth Regeneration Area - Latest schemes approved

These are the latest schemes accepted for Regeneration Area funding by the Welsh Government. 

* Coed Aber

£375,000 over three years for a major tree-planting scheme on the approach road to Aberystwyth between Parc y Llyn and the town. £75,000 of this is match funding from Ceredigion Council. The first 125 trees are due to be planted by the end of March.

* Terrace Road Cultural Asset

£50,000 for a feasibility study into revamping the block of buildings including Ceredigion Museum, the Tourist Information Centre and Ty Lisburne. The inside of the museum on the first floor is impressive but the street entrance is so anonymous that many people don’t know it exists. The arcade on the Bath Street side, which should provide a fitting entrance, is closed off.  The study will look at the possibilities of transforming the whole block, including utilising unused rooms. £10,000 is match funding from the County Council.

* Bridge Street Town Improvement Grants

A Town Improvement Grant will be offered in Bridge Street allowing independent retailer’s to bring forward small scale improvements to their properties. This will add conservation value and attractiveness to this part of the town. Owners will be able to apply for 50% of the total eligible costs up to £15,000.

* Promenade Enhancement

£20,000 has been allocated to upgrade the raised flower beds on both the North and South Promenade ready for the 2013 summer season.

* The Bandstand

The bandstand is a key feature on the promenade and has the potential to contribute much more to the vibrancy of the Prom and seafront area. Following consultation and planning for the site, a new two storey building is proposed, housing a cafe on the first floor and community/entertainment space on the ground floor. Funding of £130,000 has been approved to investigate structural issues and other preparatory works. A further £918,750 has been approved in principle for the capital construction.

Unfortunately a scheme to install electric car charging points was rejected by the Board.

Previous schemes approved can be seen here

Dydd Gwyl Dewi yn Aberystwyth

Funding agreed to line Aberystwyth's approach road with trees

Funding has now been agreed for lining Aberystwyth’s main approach road with trees. The money, totalling £375,000 spread over three years, has been allocated through the Welsh Government’s Regeneration Area fund.

The Coed Aber project, first mooted on this blog last April, has involved a collaboration between Forestry Commission Wales, Ceredigion County Council and the Greener Aberystwyth Group. It will see the planting of over 300 trees along Boulevard St Brieuc and Park Avenue, running from Parc y Llyn to the town.

These are a few quotes about the project, released today:

Meg Kirby, Secretary of the Greener Aberystwyth Group:

“Our group was set up to promote the development and conservation of green spaces in the Aberystwyth area. We see them as valuable amenities for the residents themselves and anyone visiting the area. The Greener Aberystwyth Group has long envisaged a tree–lined avenue to unify this important approach to Aberystwyth and is delighted that it is now becoming a reality.”

Trefor Owen, Director of Forestry Commission Wales:

“Many consider the benefits of such developments as being simply environmental but they are much greater. There are proven benefits for people to exercise and enjoy a safe, welcoming high quality local environment. From an economic perspective it can attract more visitors and tourists as well as promote investment by the business sector.”

Huw Lewis, Welsh Government Regeneration Minister:

“When the Regeneration Areas were established we asked Forestry Commission Wales to consider potential opportunities for urban tree planting schemes. In Aberystwyth this vision was integral to the development of a green river corridor along Boulevard St Brieuc. This environmental enhancement contributes positively to people’s perception of the town as they arrive and will bolster its overall regeneration.”

The work, which has parallels with the Oystermouth Road Project in Swansea, will commence in March with the aim of completing the project by 2015. Further details can be seen here and a walk-through video here.

Under the Welsh Government’s Regeneration Area scheme, £10.3 million has been made available to invest in Aberystwyth over five years. The scheme has just over two years left to run.

Mill Street latest

This is the first artist's impression of the proposed Mill Street development in Aberystwyth, looking from in front of the current car park entrance in Park Avenue. On the roadside is Marks & Spencer with Tesco behind. Behind that is planned a 555 space multi-storey car park.

Arguments for and against the development can be seen on a previous post here.

Aberystwyth's new student village

Aberystwyth University have revealed their plans for a new student village next to Pentre Jane Morgan on Clarach Road, to the north of the town. The plans were shown at a public consultation at the University on Friday.

The new £45 million village - to be built by Balfour Beatty - will have beds for 1000 students. These will be mainly in 3-storey 6-8 bedded units, although there will also be 100 studio flats aimed at mature students. The plans already have outline planning permission, although the final detail is still to be fully agreed with Ceredigion Council’s planning department. 

The opening of the new village, scheduled for September 2014, will see the closure of Pantycelyn, the Welsh-speaking student hall on Penglais Hill, situated between the University and Bronglais Hospital. Pantycelyn, built in 1951, is now regarded as being well below modern accommodation standards and the section of the new village on the right of the map – up to half of the site - is intended to replace this as a home for Welsh speaking students, including a communal area. I’m sure those used to living in Pantycelyn will be asking questions in the consultation about whether the communal facilities will fully replace those at the current site. The old Pantycelyn is a listed building and is will be used by the university for other purposes.

Although the new development is mainly on a greenfield site, it’s good to see a wildlife corridor – trees flanking conjoining streams - being incorporated into the plans. In response to my questions I was told that the site will cater well for cyclists, with covered racks and bike wash-down facilities. Car parking areas can be seen around the outside of the site, with the paths on the interior being traffic-free apart from bikes.

The working title of the new village is Penglais Farm/Fferm Penglais. I’ve made the point that this ought to be a solely Welsh name – like Pentre Jane Morgan next door - especially since such a large section will be reserved for Welsh speaking students.

There will be two further days of exhibiting the plans on Monday and Tuesday of this coming week at the Old College by the Pier. The exhibition will also be shown for a week at the Students Union, date to be announced.

Major Welsh language rally in Aberystwyth

500 people turned out today in Aberystwyth for a major rally in support of the Welsh language organised by Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg. 

The rally also marked the 50th anniversary of the first demonstration for the language, on Trefechan Bridge. Lots more photos here.

Rali'r Cyfrif Aberystwyth

Who's moving to Ceredigion?

The recently-released census figures showed how the population of Ceredigion is changing, and there has been much comment about the effect of this. 

So who is moving here, or rather, where have they come from?   This page on the Office of National Statistics website (pointed out by the improbably named but excellent Oggy Bloggy Ogwr blog) gives a tool for finding out, albeit slightly delayed. 

In the year ending June 2011, 5,600 people moved into Ceredigion and 5,500 moved out. Of course, with two Universities in the county, a great many of those in both directions will be students. Anyway, below are the top movers into Ceredigion from Wales and England by local authority area for that year. The figures seem to be rounded to the nearest ten.

560 - Carmarthenshire

230 - Pembrokeshire

200 - Cardiff

160 - Powys

130 - Shropshire

110 - Gwynedd

          Swansea

100 - Birmingham

80 - Rhondda

70 - Bridgend

        Telford 

        Wrexham 

60 - Caerffili

        Dudley

        Flintshire

        Neath 

        Wiltshire 

50 - Bristol 

       Conwy 

       Herefordshire 

       Newport 

       Vale of Glamorgan 

       Wolverhampton 

       Ynys Mon 

Lower down the scale, those moving here are remarkably evenly spread through all corners of Wales and England. The tool does not record people moving in from elsewhere.

Image source - http://bit.ly/VdBWKJ

Ceredigion Snow Report

Communities in inland Ceredigion and areas on high ground were worst hit by Friday’s snow, while coastal areas escaped quite lightly. 

Measures taken by the Council included:

• 100 Council staff using 16 gritters and snow ploughs were out ensuring the road network remains open. 
• 200 tons of salt were spread on the county’s roads
• 33 schools in Ceredigion were closed whilst 27 remained open
• Refuse collections were suspended for the day on Friday to allow the Council workforce to concentrate on keeping the roads open.
• Meals on Wheels continued to be supplied, with the help of Council staff using 4x4 vehicles.

All A roads remain open although some require care. Four B roads in the middle and north of the county are closed at the time of writing.

Ellen ap Gwynn, Leader of Ceredigion County Council said:

“The Council’s labourforce has worked continuously from mid-day on Thursday to ensure that the county’s main road network remained passable and will continue to work throughout the night into Saturday morning to ensure that roads are open.

"The main problem encountered was drifting snow.  Most roads are now open and passable with care but high winds are still causing a problem with drifting.”

To be kept in touch with weather developments in Ceredigion, the following can be used:

Latest information on road closures etc is available on the Council website by clicking on the Winter Weather Update at the top of the main page:

http://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/

Twitter Road alerts:

Cymraeg: @CSCeredigion

English: @CeredigionCC

Twitter Schools alerts:

Cymraeg: @RhYCeredigion

English: @CeredigionSA

Facebook School Alerts page:

Cymraeg: https://www.facebook.com/rhyceredigion

English: https://www.facebook.com/ceredigionsa

Text alerts to mobile phones are also available via the website

Thanks to Hefin Williams for the snow angel in the photo

Aberystwyth Students Housing Report

Aberystwyth Students' Union has published a critical report on student accommodation in Aberystwyth.

Using data collected by 308 students living in private acccommodation around the town, the report highlights problems with:

• Condition of properties, damp being a particular problem
• High rents – they varied between £48 and £160p.w.  
• Charging full summer rents whilst not allowing the property to be occupied
• High admin fees – up to £200 non-refundable
• Pressure to sign contracts quickly.

The agency with the highest proportion of positive comments, out of the 12 reported upon, was Aber Student.

The report hopes that rents will decrease in future with a lower intake of students this year and new accommodation becoming available in Northgate Street.

The Union now plans to work towards a Good Landlords Award this year and, in the longer term, the setting up of a Student Union Letting Agency by awarding accreditation to landlords. The Union’s current policy is to not recommend one agency over another in the interests of fairness.

Student Union Support Officer Laura Dickens says in the report,

“It is my intention to ensure that future accommodation campaigns focus on the standard of accommodation and that we maintain a good working relationship with Ceredigion County Council and the Citizens Advice Bureau.”

“This report has highlighted a need for the University and Students Union to work together to provide more support and training for students when it comes to the private sector. The more educated students are when it comes to housing, then the better the treatment they are likely to receive.”

The Students' Union welcomes responses from landlords and letting agencies to the survey, particularly ideas for how things could improve. They can be contacted at union.support@aber.ac.uk

The 30-page report is available online in English here and Welsh here.

Aberystwyth Shop Fronts Design Consultation

Following on from this post, Ceredigion Council is now consulting on its draft Design Guide for Aberystwyth Shop Fronts.

The idea is raise the town's economic performance by ensuring all future building improvements and alterations have a positive visual impact and to assess this when deciding on planning applications.  The guidance asks developers within the town to consider these kinds of questions:

Existing Streetscape:

Has the relationship of the proposed design taken into account the rest of the building as well as those adjoining it? Has the design considered the overall character of the immediate environment?

Building Elevations:

Is the scale and design of any shopfront in proportion to the facade of the building? Do the upper floors and shopfront complement one another to create one harmonious building frontage?

Shopfront Design:

Are there any historic shopfront elements that are capable of being retained and remediated? Are there any historical photos which give clues about the original design of the shopfront?  Are the design materials and features employed in the scheme of high quality? Do they respond to the historical context of the shopfront?

Signage:

Is the graphic design style, advertisement and illumination appropriate to the rest of the shopfront, building and streetscape? Does it contain the Welsh language?

Canopies and Blinds:

Have they been considered within the overall design of the shopfront and the building as a whole? Are they appropriate to the use of the premises?

Security:

Do security devices obstruct any architectural features on the building or have a negative visual impact?

  

The consultation is open until 15^th February and can be accessed here.

The photo shows Y Siop Leol, a nice-looking new shop selling Welsh produce in Pier Street

Ceredigion keeps best records of homophobic bullying

Ceredigion Council is the best in Wales at recording homophobic bullying in schools. 

The Council have recorded 73 incidents since 2010. The next nearest was Conwy with 18 followed by Gwynedd and Bridgend with one each. The other 18 Councils in Wales did not keep central records.

The information was obtained by Plaid Cymru using the Freedom of Information Act. Lindsay Whittle, Plaid’s Shadow Equalities spokesperson and Assembly Member for South Wales East, said:

“This survey is worrying because it reveals that most local authorities are in the dark over the extent of homophobic bullying and, possibly, bullying generally.

“Some local authorities like Ceredigion and Conwy clearly have systems in place to record this information which is to be applauded. Knowing the extent of any problem is key to dealing with it, so something needs to change.  I will be raising this issue in the new year in the National Assembly.”  

Plaid Leader Leanne Wood also commented here on ITV.
Image source: Stars, Aberystwyth

Tai Ceredigion warn of looming housing benefits crisis

Tai Ceredigion have warned that upcoming changes to housing benefit will mean serious financial problems for some people that could lead to increased homelessness in the county.

The not-for-profit housing association took over the County Council’s housing stock in 2009. Their Chief Executive, Steve Jones, now says,

“The Government’s 40% public sector capital cutbacks will inevitably reduce spending on housing and thereby compound the current desperate housing shortage. Whilst homelessness is often associated with cities, the rural situation is as bad, if not worse, because of the limited supply of accommodation available.

"There is a huge need for more social housing in Ceredigion to meet the needs of local people, many of whom are on very low incomes. These include working single persons and families who are going to be worst hit by the UK Government's changes to Housing Benefit for single persons under 35 years as well as the Bedroom Tax to be introduced in April 2013.

"The Bedroom Tax will affect working age tenants in homes where they do not use all bedrooms. There is widespread talk of people in their 40s and 50s ‘under occupying’  three-bedroom houses and that they should move to smaller one or two-bedroom accommodation - but in rural areas like Ceredigion, where are these properties? They simply do not exist and the UK 40% capital spending cut means there is a lot less Social Housing Grant available to build new smaller homes” . 

The Association has produced data and modelling to highlight the effect of the Westminster Government's Bedroom Tax on over 300 of Tai Ceredigion's tenants. They say this will mean the loss of around £180,000 per annum in Housing Benefit income for Tai Ceredigion tenants and therefore the local economy.

The planned cap on increases in benefits over the next three years contained in the Government’s recent spending announcement will also mean further reductions in income for tenants (including private sector tenants) for the next three years.

“This is going to lead to increased rent arrears and an increase in evictions and homelessness at a time when homelessness and numbers on the Social Housing Register is already increasing sharply,” says Steve Jones.

“Last year Tai Ceredigion more than doubled the number of properties made available to the Council for use as temporary accommodation, from 20 to over 40, but there is a real danger that the Council will be forced to put families with young children back into bed and breakfast accommodation.

"This housing crisis is going from bad to worse and we have specialist staff currently advising all of our affected tenants on benefits, so that we can prepare them as best as possible for these major cuts to their already low incomes."

Tai Ceredigion has 2227 rented homes and 137 leasehold dwellings in the county. Its charitable status ensures that income can be ploughed back into improving tenants’ homes and running the housing service.