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.

Nadolig Llawen o Aberystwyth

An intruder at Rummers Wine Bar, Heol y Bont

The Welsh language census results for Ceredigion

The census figures for 2011, recently announced by the Office for National Statistics showed the percentage of Welsh speakers in Ceredigion down 4.68 per cent - 2,954 in hard numbers - compared to the last census in 2001.

A percentage drop of some kind was generally expected, although not necessarily this much, because it’s well-known that there is significant net migration into the county. The figure has gone from 51% down to  47.35%. However the big shock is that 2,954 fewer people in the county recorded themselves as speaking Welsh compared to 2001. People have been asking how this can be, given the increase in Welsh language education, and it’s worth starting the process of unpicking what has gone on. The first place to start is to look at the figures for Welsh speakers in the different age groups in Ceredigion compared to the 2001 census. The figures below are provided by the superb Syniadau blog:

The age group is followed by the number of Ceredigion Welsh speakers up or down and then the percentage up or down.

Age 3-4:  Up 15 / Up 2.35% 

Age 5-9:  Down 599 / Up 2.02%    

Age 10-14: Down 387 / Up 1.6%   

Age 15-19:  Down 219 / Down 11.65%   

Age 20–24:  Up 433 / Up 1.01%  

Age 25-39:  Down 1039 / Down 2.19%  

Age 40-49:  Down 433 / Down 3%

Age 50-59:  Down 664 / Down 2.54%

Age 60-64:  Up 144 / Down 8.27%

Age 65-74:  Down 40 / Down 8.58% 

Age 75+:  Down 165 / Down 6.27%

Remember, these figures are but one snapshot in time last year compared to another snapshot in time ten years ago.

The first thing to state is the positive point that the percentages of Welsh speakers for all ages up to 14 in the county are up, undoubtedly due to the steadily improving Welsh-language provision in the County’s schools. There also seem to be more Welsh-speaking students at Ceredigion's two universities. It’s just that, despite the good work being done, there are simply far fewer children in the county now, and the good effect of these is being outweighed by other factors. There are huge age-related demographic changes at work here that health professionals have been warning about for years.

The key factor in the lower numbers isn’t older Welsh-speakers dying, as might be expected. By far the biggest drop is amongst the 25-39 age group. This is echoed by the total population changes shown below compared to 2001 where, again, the biggest change is in the 25-39 age group (although I recognise the age groupings given aren’t equal).

Age 3-4      Down 32

Age 5-9      Down 838

Age 10-14  Down 548

Age 15-19  Up 970

Age 20-24  Up 1154

Age 25-39  Down 1603

Age 40-49  Down 338

Age 50-59  Down 909

Age 60-64  Up 1270

Age 65-74  Up 1409

Age 75+     Up 518

So the key overall population factors for Ceredigion are that children are down, students are up, those in both early and late middle age are down and all ages over 60 are up. The net total shows there are now 73,847 people over the age of three in Ceredigion compared to 72,884 ten years ago.

Although the number of people over 60 moving to the County seems, according to the figures, to be cutting the percentage of Welsh speakers, I’m not convinced this makes the crucial difference to the vitality of the language. The key factor for Ceredigion is the devastating loss of 1603 people - 1039 Welsh speakers - between the ages of 25-39. As a comparison, it’s worth recording that, in Cardiff, there was an increase of 9,800 in this age group compared to 2001 and this included 1,162 more Welsh speakers. The losses in Ceredigion continue up to age 59. Losing so many economically active people represents a crisis for the local economy as well as for the Welsh language.

More census details will be released next year, including the figures for those living in the rest of the UK recording their first language as Welsh. However there was no provision in the census to record those Welsh speakers outside Wales not stipulating Welsh as their first language, so we’ll never know the total number. This is a regular and serious omission in all censuses and implies that Welsh is not taken seriously as a ‘British’ language. According to Syniadau, anything between 52,000 and 89,000 Welsh speakers are now estimated to move out of Wales over a ten-year period.

Talking with friends in the pub last night, we all knew of people once very active in the Welsh-speaking community who had moved to England. All of these were highly intelligent people who had moved with the greatest reluctance but had really been left with no other career option. Some will be back. I suspect the majority will not, unless we can start to turn the economy around.

Last week Ceredigion Council heard that their application to turn Ysgol Gynradd Aberteifi into a Welsh-medium primary school had been successful. Focussing in this way on the young people that we have, coupled with providing the good jobs, housing and prospects that bright, career-minded local people need, must be the future of the Welsh language in Ceredigion. How we can do this in the current climate is the big question.

Ceredigion Council Leader wins Local Politician of the Year Award

Whilst we're on the subject of awards, Ceredigion's Council Leader Ellen ap Gwynn (right) has tonight won the ITV Wales Local Politician of the Year Award. The award was given to her for showing strong leadership when floods hit North Ceredigion in June, after just a month in office. 

Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood won the Campaigner of the Year Award for her successful party leadership campaign.

All parties were represented on the judging panel. The photo shows Ellen with a framed cartoon presented by former Assembly Member Nerys Evans.

Aberystwyth Town Hall wins Building Commendation Award

It’s been more than a little controversial at times, but the conversion of Aberystwyth’s Old Town Hall in Queens Road, by an in-house Council team, into the Town Library, County Archive and Day Centre has been awarded the 2012 Commendation Award by CLAW, the Consortium of Local Authorities in Wales.

CLAW’s annual report says,

“The scheme is a very effective project putting to good modern use an iconic structure in the heart of Aberystwyth Conservation Area. The judges considered the design team had a particularly difficult challenge to achieve a modern open-plan layout within a former cellular plan building. It was good to see the building retained for community use within the town.”

The CLAW Building of the Year Award was given to the REGAIN Building at The Works in Ebbw Vale.

The Library had it's official opening as Canolfan Alun R. Edwards in September. The Day Centre is holding an open day on Saturday 8th December between 10am and 12.30.

Aberystwyth church demolition plan withdrawn

The controversial planning application to demolish St Winefride’s Catholic Church and Presbytery in Queen’s Road, Aberystwyth and build flats on the site has been withdrawn by the applicants.

The withdrawal came after it became clear that Ceredigion’s Planning Department were set to refuse planning permission due to the applicants’ failure to provide information that would justify the demolition of a historic church in the town’s conservation area and their claim that renovation would cost £2 million. At the same time, campaigners opposing the demolition had produced evidence, in a report commissioned by the organisation Save Britain’s Heritage, to show that the building did not need to be demolished and could be renovated for £600,000.

The application by the church’s Menevia Diocese, based in Swansea, is intended to fund the building of a new church in Penparcau which already has planning permission. Although there are different strands of opinion within the church’s large congregation, many parisioners have vehemently opposed the plans.

St Winefrede’s church was built in 1874-5 in a gothic style and was the first Catholic church to be built in Ceredigion after the Reformation. It played a pivotal role in developing the Welsh language within the Catholic church, publishing the first Welsh hymnbook and developing a Welsh Mass.

Following the withdrawal of the application, it is expected that the applicants will now make another attempt to assemble evidence to support their case and will re-apply for planning permission in a few months time.

Sanderlings and Starlings

It’s recently come to light that the Marston’s pub chain are planning to call their new establishment in Aberystwyth ‘The Sanderling’. The new pub is currently in the early stages of being built in Boulevard St Brieuc, between the Welsh Government offices and the Mudiad Meithrin building. 

For those who don’t know (and, asking around, that seems to include most people) a Sanderling is one of these little chappies on the left. I certainly hadn’t heard of them in the Aberystwyth area so I asked a friend who’s a member of the British Trust for Ornithology. She quoted her book about them:

“Breeds in high Arctic. Seen on passage and in Winter, sometimes in large flocks on sandy beaches, mudflats and pools. Rare inland.”

Apparently the nearest they come to Aberystwyth is the Dyfi Estuary, eight miles away, where they stick around for the Winter and then go again.

Alright, eight miles isn't all that far away, but a debate surfaced the other day on Twitter asking if a name with more local resonance could be found and one that is either Welsh or bilingual. In the Twitter dialogue, Ceredigion’s Assembly Member, Elin Jones, suggested Y Ddrudwen/The Starling would be appropriate since huge flocks of Starlings have become a real attraction on Aberystwyth Prom in the last few years, even being featured on TV and in the press (see picture left from the Mid Wales Birdlife site and many more by googling ‘Aberystwyth Starlings’). The serious-looking telescopes and cameras often lined up on the Prom at dusk show they’ve become a genuine tourist attraction that Marston’s might like to link into.

Other suggestions made of local birds have been Glas y Dorlan/Kingfisher (often seen in Plas Crug Avenue, 200 yards from the new Marston’s) and Yr Alarch/The Swan, many of which live on the Afon Rheidol across the road.

Marston’s seem to have a policy of using rural or nature themes in the naming of their pubs. The names of the current 22 Marston’s pubs in Wales are:

Talardy, Ffordd Dderwen, Running Hare, The Crown, Plas Coch, Nag’s Head, Poachers Pocket, Smithfield Bell, Willow Tree, Dragonfly, Otter, Bumble Bee, Pitcher & Piano, Copper Penny, Llangewydd Arms, Cherry Laurel, The Barn, Cherry Orchard, Sand Martin, Cayo Arms, Cwrt Rawlin and Ffynnon Wen.  

I don’t know if they named them all or took some existing pubs over, but several of the names seem to indicate that they're not unaware of local or Welsh sensibilities.

I wonder if they could be persuaded to give their new pub a more locally-relevant name. Marston’s can be contacted via this link.

Sanderling image from: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/sanderling/index.aspx 

Starling flock image from: http://www.midwalesbirdwatching.co.uk/birdlife.html

Update  21/11/12
Response received from Marston's to an e-mail on the subject from one Aberystwyth resident:

"Thank you for your email regarding our new pub The Sanderling in Aberystwyth which is part of our national expansion that will see 25 pubs built this year.  A good news story in what seems to be a string of doom and gloom stories about the economy at the moment.

"We have always found the naming of pubs to be potentially contentious and can often generate a huge amount of debate.  We have tried over the years to include local residents in the naming of our pubs but this has, more often than not, led to even more discontent when one group's choice is taken over another's.

"Through our now vast experience at building new pubs over the last few years, we have opted to make the choice of name solely ours and to rely upon the great food, drink and service that the pub will offer to be the core of how we are judged.

"Our current naming policy is focused around animal names and nature, not necessarily local animals or nature, as these names are "neutral" as not to play to any one part of the community that we serve. These often help reflect the fact that a large part of our target customer group will be families who often disassociate food from more traditionally named pubs. We have found that opening pubs across the United Kingdom that this has worked well to date.

"We try to keep clear of historical figures or names that are linked to football clubs as that can often alienate a particular group of people - Something we are keen to avoid!
I, along with my team, look forward to welcoming you and the residents of Aberystwyth through the doors of The Sanderling in the near future when the pub is finally completed."

Update  26/11/12
Five days after sending the above, Marston's have informed Elin Jones that they will re-name the pub 'The Starling Cloud'. Well done to them for that. No mention of anything in Welsh as yet though.

Ceredigion romps home in battle of the spoilt ballots

It’s very likely that Ceredigion had the highest percentage of spoilt ballot papers anywhere in Thursday’s whole miserable Police & Crime Commissioner elections.  Figures for other places are hard to come by but, looking at those I’ve seen, Ceredigion looks way out in front. In fact, judging from this report, the tally was quite possibly the highest percentage of spoilt papers in any single preference election within the UK.

With a total of 944 spoilt papers, or 10.97% (let’s call it 11%), Ceredigion certainly outstripped the other counties in the Dyfed-Powys police area. Carmarthenshire scored 3.19%, Pembrokeshire 2.5% and Powys 4.38%. These figures are still very high, bearing in mind that, at the 2007 Welsh Assembly election for example, spoilt ballots amounted to 0.6%.

There are pointers to why Ceredigion’s figure stands out so much. The county has a history of strong political engagement and radical thinking. Uniquely, neither of the two dominant parties in the county (Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems, for those reading this from outside) were represented in the PCC election, which featured only Labour and Conservative candidates. During the election period a head of steam was generated by several prominent local tweeters calling for people to spoil their papers rather than not vote.

What bothers me is that the Conservative winner’s majority of 1,114 was so much less than the 2,912 spoilt ballots across Dyfed-Powys. However much people wanted to protest against the flawed elections, I’m pretty sure very few of them wanted the Tories to control policing here. We can now anticipate there won’t be much opposition going on from our new commissioner to the expected further police cuts.

This is probably the first time in 150 years that the Conservatives have won an election covering Ceredigion. It was for fear of this that I didn’t spoil my paper and voted Labour. Whatever the wrongs of the whole idea of a single commissioner - and there are many - and despite my own party not being represented in the elections, I am completely unable to pass up an opportunity to vote against the Tories. It’s a congenital condition. Even that didn’t work out and Dyfed-Powys became one of a series of dismal and quite surprising Labour failures in Wales.

It will be interesting to see what a non-Conservative Westminster government, should we get one, will do about the next PCC elections in four years time. In the meantime, let’s continue making the case for policing powers to be devolved to Wales so we can develop our own, more enlightened system for overseeing the police.

Image source: http://www.itv.com/news/update/2012-11-16/voters-take-pictures-of-spoilt-police-ballot-papers/

Plaid opens its doors to candidates

Plaid Cymru is casting the net as wide as possible to attract prospective candidates for the next Westminster election in Ceredigion.

This will be the first time ever that any political party has opened up the political selection process in Ceredigion. It will also be a first for Plaid Cymru on a national level. 

Rob Phillips, Chair of the Plaid Cymru constituency committee in Ceredigion, explains:

"We are encouraging anybody who supports Plaid Cymru to consider whether they would like to put their name forward to become the party’s Ceredigion candidate for the forthcoming Westminster election. We invite anyone who believes that they could be a champion for Ceredigion and Plaid Cymru to come forward and express an interest in this exciting role.

"Groups such as business people, women, ethnic minorities, farmers, and young people are traditionally under-represented in the political world. I would encourage people from all backgrounds to consider themselves as potential candidates for Plaid Cymru.

"Plaid Cymru believes that the internal candidate selection processes used by political parties need to be opened up to the wider public. Over the past year, we have seen Plaid Cymru’s membership increase by over 33 per cent here in Ceredigion. We therefore want to capitalise on this enthusiasm as we look to select our Westminster candidate".

Leanne Wood, Plaid's Leader, said tonight in the annual lecture of the Institute of Welsh Politics in Aberystwyth:

"Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales intends to open up our candidate selection policy to inspire people from all walks of life to put their names forward to stand and serve our country. I will be setting a goal for our party to have a million conversations between now and May 5th 2016 (the next Welsh Government elections). We have plans to create a ‘wiki-manifesto’ by crowd-sourcing ideas from people throughout Wales in order to transform the country and overcome voter apathy."

Anybody with an interest in putting their name forward to be Plaid Cymru’s Westminster candidate for Ceredigion should contact the Aberystwyth Plaid Cymru Office on 01970 617 492.

Aberystwyth shopfronts revamp

Shopfronts in Aberystwyth are the subject of a major renovation programme intended to improve the town's visual appearance. The works, which are becoming increasingly visible around the town, are being funded by a combination of grants and interest-free loans put together by the Ceredigion Council and funded by the Welsh Government as part of Aberystwyth’s status as a Regeneration Area. So far 13 buildings have been renovated, some incorporating more than one shop, with work on another seven in progress and many more expected.

Aberystwyth has always had some wonderful vernacular architecture that has often gone unnoticed and been allowed to decay. The principle of the scheme is that encouraging enough interested shop-owners to renovate their properties improves the whole image of Aberystwyth, by making best use of the town’s innate characteristics, which in turn attracts people into the town and boosts the economy.

Typically a scheme for a particular building might include painting that picks out architectural features, repair work, new windows, decluttering by getting rid of redundant hanging wires and aerials, bilingual signage and, where necessary, conversion back to a traditional-style shop-front.

Northgate Street, identified as a neglected area and an important entranceway into the town, is to be particularly targetted and most properties in the street will be improved in the next few months.

The work is taking place with grant and loan funding from a combination of Town Improvement and Community Enhancement Grants funded by the Welsh Government’s Housing Renewal Area fund.  The work builds on a smaller scheme begun in the town in 2008. Cardigan and Tregaron have also seen similar successful schemes in the past decade. 

Ras Glyndwr 2013 starts now

Planning has started for a long-distance relay race to celebrate and raise money for the Welsh language.

The intention of the organisers is to hold a non-competitive relay race from Glyndŵr’s parliament in Machynlleth to Cardigan on Saturday 15^th of September 2013. Clubs, societies, families, schools and individuals will pay to buy one kilometre of the journey, passing a baton from each kilometre to the next. 

September was chosen to hold the race as it won't coincide with other important events in the Welsh calendar like the Urdd Eisteddfod, the Royal Welsh Show and the National Eisteddfod. The 16th of September is also Glyndŵr Day as this is the date that he was crowned Prince of Wales in 1400.

Gwenno Hywel of Cered, Ceredigion’s Welsh language initiative, who is co-ordinating the event, says,

“It’s time to celebrate the Welsh language and  bring people together from every background with an interest in supporting the language – Welsh speakers, learners and non-Welsh speakers. It will cost £50 to nominate a kilometre but more than one person can run each kilometre in the name of their local football club, branch of Merched y Wawr, local pub or school. We will be commissioning local craftsmen to create a special baton and we intend to hold different events along the route. The profit made from the race will be distributed in grants to promote the Welsh language.’ 

Ras Glyndŵr is based on similar very successful races in Ireland, Brittany and the Basque Country. The first race of its type, the Korrika, in the Basque Country, was held in 1980. Today the Basques run non-stop, 24 a day for ten days, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds towards teaching Basque to adults. The idea was adopted by the Bretons and in 2012 their race, the Redadeg, travelled non-stop, day and night, over 1,400km across Brittany. This year the An Rith was also held in Ireland, running 1000km through towns and countryside including Derry, Belfast and Dublin.

"It’s time for us to celebrate the Welsh language", said Siôn Jobbins who has run the Korrika, Redadeg and the Rith and has written a report about them. "It’s time for the friends of the Welsh language to come together, and show a bit more oomph and fun for the language instead of expecting others to work on their behalf. Ras Glyndŵr will be a great way to bring people together, raise money and awareness about the language and celebrate that we are still here!"

A meeting to establish Ras Glyndŵr will take place at 2pm on Thursday the 15^th of November in Theatr Felin-fach, near Aberaeron.

Further details

Gwenno Hywel:  gwenno.hywel@ceredigion.gov.uk

Siôn Jobbins:  sion.jobbins@gmail.com   

A Welsh language video about the race, filmed on location at the Korrika in the Basque country, can be seen here. The photo shows the Redadeg this year in Brittany, with the front runner holding a specially carved relay baton (source http://www.ar-redadeg.org/?lang=br)

TraCC’s annual report

TraCC (Trafnidiaeth Canolbarth Cymru), the local authority transport consortium for Central Wales, has published its annual progress report.

TraCC consists of Ceredigion and Powys councils plus the Meirionydd area of Gwynedd. It receives funding from the Welsh government to deliver agreed transport schemes across the Mid Wales region.

According to the report, TraCC’s top five priorities are currently:

• Post Bach to Synod Inn road improvements - currently being constructed
• Llanrhystud – Aberystwyth trunk road improvements
• Newtown Bypass
• Pont Dyfi bridge replacement at Machynlleth
• Hourly passenger service on the Cambrian rail line

Other priorities for Ceredigion mentioned in the report include:

• Aberystwyth Passenger Transport Gateway Scheme - currently being built along the length of Alexandra Road
• Aberystwyth Park & Ride North – Funding currently being sought to expand the Hospital/University car park on Clarach Road.
• Cardi Bach Rural Bus service, linking villages along the coast in South Ceredigion  - up and running
• Bwcabus  Phase 2 – up and running
• Rural Interchange project at Synod Inn – funding being sought
• Rail Study into the possibility of stations at Bow Street and Carno - study complete, funding being sought.
• Dyfi Bends road straightening project – currently being built between Talybont and Machynlleth
• Extension of the Ystwyth Trail cycle path into Tregaron – funding being sought

Anyone interested in transport schemes in Mid Wales, how they are funded and how the region is doing in terms of its transport carbon footprint will find a wealth of information in the report which is on this link