Opening democracy - BBC allowed to film Aberystwyth Town Council meeting

Aberystwyth Town Council struck a small blow for a more transparent democracy last night when they allowed a BBC cameraman unrestricted access to film their meeting for the first time.

A few weeks previously the Council had altered its standing orders to allow the possibility of filming at meetings in the wake of the controversy surrounding Carmarthenshire Council which resolutely continues to ban all cameras and has had a transgressor with a mobile phone arrested. Aberystwyth Town Council voted unanimously last night to allow the filming. Ceredigion Council is currently considering its own policy.

The BBC were filming as part of a programme about the planned development of Mill Street car park.

Ceredigion health projects put on hold

The Welsh Government’s Health Minister, Lesley Griffiths, has put all unstarted health service building projects on hold until at least the new year because she is new to the health portfolio. That was the surprising announcement made in an Assembly debate last week. The stoppage may affect plans for Aberaeron, Tregaron and Cardigan hospitals in Ceredigion, but not Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth which already has a major A&E extension scheme well underway.

Elin Jones, Ceredigion's Assembly Member and Plaid Cymru's Shadow Health Spokesperson, said in a statement,

“This amazing admission by the Health Minister suggests mind-boggling ignorance of the economic crisis that we’re in. Here in Ceredigion, everybody knows that there is a real need for new healthcare facilities to replace the ageing buildings which we currently have in Cardigan, Tregaron and Aberaeron. This revelation means that local people will have to wait even longer for these proposed new buildings to materialise, and I fear that the longer they’re put off, the less likely they are to see the light of day.

“The previous One Wales government outlined priority projects for the NHS in 2011-12. Although there’s a £17m reduction in next year’s capital budget, this in no way merits putting all projects on hold in this way”.

As everyone knows, the change that’s taken place in the Welsh Government since the election in May has been from a Labour/Plaid coalition with a Labour Health Minister (Edwina Hart) to a soley Labour government with another Labour Health Minister (Lesley Griffiths). With that degree of continuity you might think that the process of government would be able to continue, and that the new Labour Health Minister might stick to the decisions made by her predecessor. However the more significant change might be the absence of Plaid Cymru in government to stand up for Ceredigion.

The Bronglais Hospital development managed to secure full funding just before the election and can now be seen heading skywards from my bathroom window (see photo, although it is, of course, possible to view the development from places other than my bathroom).

The general funding disarray around election times leads professionals working in a range of fields dependent on public funding to despair. With everything having to stop before an election and, it seems, for some time afterwards, and with an Assembly election normally taking place every four years with other elections in between, it means that no-one can plan anything more than three years ahead at most. One might expect a slightly smoother transition with the same party holding the health portfolio but apparently not. There has to be a better way of doing government.

The County Council elections next May could be the next funding complication with ministers unwilling to make any announcements that could hit their party in the polls.

Meanwhile the £38 million Bronglais scheme continues on schedule. The new building will reach its full height in November and work will then commence to the external walls and interior. The new building should be completed by February 2013. The remaining work will then be internal, with the whole scheme scheduled for full completion and ready to open by November 2015.

The new Health Minister's announcement underlines how important it was that Bronglais funding was agreed before the election and what might have happened if it hadn't been...

Aberystwyth's Mill Street plans - Ceredigion releases details

Ceredigion Council have released details of Aberystwyth's planned Mill Street development, incoporating a multi-storey car park, a large Tescos supermarket and three other shops. The Council's press release reads as follows:

"Ceredigion County Council is pleased to confirm the appointment of Chelverton Deeley Freed as the Council’s preferred developer to deliver a strategic development of Mill Street Car Park Aberystwyth.

"This appointment results from an extensive UE compliant competitive dialogue process that has been ongoing for the last 18 months, culminating in three bidders submitting final tender proposals within the deadline of 18th July 2011.

"The three proposals were evaluated against four substantive areas of assessment:

• Planning content and design

• Economic Benefit

• Deliverability

• Financial proposal.

"Chelverton Deeley Freed’s proposal scored the highest against the agreed evaluation matrix, resulting in the Council’s decision to award the contract to this party.

"The development of Mill Street Car Park has been a key strategic aim of the Authority for some time. This is on the basis that increased car parking provision in Aberystwyth would support the needs of the town and some form of commercial development fronting Park Avenue would strengthen the town’s offer and support its vitality and viability.

"The Chelverton Deeley Freed proposal includes an anchor Tesco store comprising some 25,000 sq ft of net food sales space and 12,000 sq ft of non food net sales area. Three additional retail units are proposed fronting Park Avenue, with the proposed Tesco store located behind these units. The 3 retail units have a total ground floor area of 14,500 sq ft with the potential to double this floor space with a first floor mezzanine level. The scheme will also include 7 residential units and 500 car parking spaces – almost doubling the existing parking provision.

"The proposed public car parking spaces comprise 134 spaces over three levels which will be transferred to the Council to run as appropriate and 366 spaces will be operated by the Tesco store as a short stay car park providing 3 hours free car parking for shoppers visiting both the Tesco store and the town centre. The availability of this number of free car parking spaces in such close proximity to the town centre will be of significant benefit to retailers in the centre.

"In addition to the benefits of free car parking, the proposal will generate well in excess of 200 FTE jobs within 12 months of the scheme being created. The close proximity of Mill Street car Park to the town centre will result in significant linked trips between the proposed development and the town centre - estimated at between £1.6 and £3.5m net additional turnover per annum for the core town centre.

"The support for this proposal from Aberystwyth Chamber of Commerce demonstrates the positive benefits for traders in the core town centre that will result from this proposal.

"Ceredigion County Council is very pleased to confirm that the commercial element of the scheme will be developed to the highest possible BREEAM Excellent standard [note, BREEAM is the envivonmental sustainability building standard] and the development will incorporate a minimum 10% of recycled material in the construction phase. The Council will be working with the developer to deliver additional community benefits in terms of recruitment and training long term economically inactive persons as part of the construction workforce whilst also creating training and apprenticeship opportunities."

"It is anticipated that the development will be complete by mid 2014 and the developer will be invited to provide further information via stakeholder engagement events in advance of the statutory planning process."

Major block of student flats planned near Aberystwyth town centre

A planning application has been submitted to convert the former Department of Work and Pensions and Passport Office (pictured) in Northgate Street, Aberystwyth into 62 student flats.

The plans to change of the use of the four-storey building, currently open-plan office space, have been put forward by the Cantref housing association. The plans include the provision of 13 common rooms across the site alongside the single-person flats. There are 12 parking spaces at the building. The offices have been vacant since August after the Passport Office closed.

Comments on the application, which is currently out for consultation, can be sent to Ceredigion Council’s Planning Department at Penmorfa, Aberaeron, Ceredigion, SA46 0PA.

Aberystwyth, the Romani and the Daily Mail

In 1991, the then Cyngor Dosbarth Ceredigion (Ceredigion District Council) agreed to put the flags of 20 stateless nations on the North Prom in Aberystwyth. They published a booklet about the flags (pictured) which explained,

“When a Welsh person visits another country it is often the case that a display of flags is encountered adorning some public building or space. More often than not, the Red Dragon of Wales is not found amongst them. Realising that inhabitants of minority nations throughout Europe probably experience similar disappointments, the District Council of Ceredigion has resolved that as many as possible of the flags of Europe’s minority nations should be flown at Aberystwyth every summer.”

The nations originally included in the display were Alsace, Brittany, Catalonia, Cornwall, Corsica, Estonia, the Basque Country, Latvia, Lithuania, Isle of Man, Galicia, Occitania, Val d’Aosta, South Tirol, Friesland, Sardinia, Wales, Scotland, Flanders, Wallonia. Since then, Lapland has been added.

The South Prom has a further 30 flags of a more random selection of recognised states.

Recently Plaid Cymru councillor Mark Strong suggested in an Aberystwyth Town Council meeting that it would be in keeping with the spirit of the project to add a Romani flag, which has existed since 1933.

Although the Romani, more colloquially known as gypsies, are dispersed across most countries of Europe, the majority live in central and eastern Europe, often on the margins of society and facing considerable discrimination.

However in Wales, the Romani played a key role in helping to preserve Welsh folk music at a time when the Methodist establishment was trying to extinguish it. The descendants of Abram Wood, thought to be the first Romani in Wales in the 17th century, were trilingual in Welsh, English and Romani and contributed significantly to the Welsh harp tradition, one of them teaching Nansi Richards who became one of Wales’s greatest harpists .

Following Mark Strong’s suggestion, local paper the Cambrian News, published a small responsibly-written article about the idea on page 9 that week.

The Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph then picked up on the story. The Mail reported, ‘Council chiefs are planning to fly a gypsy flag on Aberystwyth's seafront promenade” (it’s interesting how a suggestion by a community councillor can end up being portrayed as clear plans by ‘Council chiefs’).

All hell then broke loose on the newspaper’s message board. There followed an avalanche of misinformed, abusive comments, many directed at Aberystwyth, which ironically provided living proof of the persecutory attitudes that Romani often suffer:

“My wife and I were in Aberystwyth not three weeks ago and to be honest it will be the last - what a dump.”

“Deranged Liberal elite crackpots”

“Another local council full of left wing Civil Service Nutters.”

“Political correctness gone bonkers again. The only flags that should be flown, are the flags of the four Nations that make up the United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland. I hope their tourism suffers, until they repent of their folly.”

“How the hell do these left wing liberal wets get in to positions where they can influence soppy decisions like this.”

“How many hours of council staff time has it taken to come up with this initiative, design it, discuss it further, develop it and implement it, plus what is the cost of "raw materials" and "construction"?”

“When you thought these loony council officials couldn't get any more stupid they jump up and prove us wrong. Sack them now without their gold-plated pension.”

“Why don’t they just go ahead and replace the whole lot with the hammer and sickle, that’s the ultimate goal of these silly seaside Labour councils.”

“The obvious solution is to take down the Union Jack. It will fit in with the ongoing policy of trashing anything British wont it?”

“Why not just fly it over Downing Street! I give up with this country, run by the left loonies and has been for years...”

“How about taking down all of them flags and replacing them with the British Union Flag.”

“How about remove the flag of St. George. I wouldn't want it flown in a country like yours.”

“This place is a complete dump and why anyone would want to go there is beyond me.”

“I bet that the Union Jack will be removed to accommodate this”.

Many comments equated Romani with the residents of Dale Farm in Essex, who have been in the news recently but are not Romani.

More positively there were these:

“I'm glad that Wales have seen sense and welcomed this community. We should all be treated as equals, there has been too much bad publicity since the Dale Farm fiasco. I am not a traveller but feel too much is being done to turn these people into monsters. “

“I salute Aberystwyth Town Council for this very small but important recognition of the role the Roma people have played in the local community and the Welsh nation. Thank you.”

The world of the current UK press is a surreal one. It apparently only takes a community councillor to make a suggestion one night in a small meeting room in an Aberystwyth side street for a twisted version to end up at the breakfast tables of millions of people, some of whom, for whatever dysfunctional psychological reason, then feel the need to expound their intolerance on newspaper message boards.

Now clearly the Romani are a different category to most of the stateless nations on the Prom in that they don’t claim any particular territory. And I’m prepared to give at least some credence to the popular view that a few Romani must accept a degree of blame for the discrimination they’ve experienced. That, though, wouldn’t be the same thing as saying their significant contribution to European culture shouldn’t be acknowledged. And whether or not the Romani flag ends up on the Prom, the issue has highlighted how unique Aberystwyth’s minority nation flags are.

Lib Dem Town Councillor Alec Dauncey has had this to say on his blog.

“Frankly, this sort of thing makes me glad I live in this strange and interesting town.”

Supporting Mark Strong, he’s now suggesting that the Aberystwyth small nation flags project should be extended to stateless nations outside Europe like Palestine (alongside Israel), Tibet and Southern Sahara.

So here we have representatives of the two major political parties in Ceredigion on the same side of the debate in support of small and stateless nations. That probably says something about the different perspective on the world that apparently peripheral Welsh towns like Aberystwyth have to offer.

Anyway, when actual ‘council chiefs’, i.e. those Ceredigion officers who are responsible for putting up any flags, heard about it, they quickly put out a blunt, dampening statement saying, “Ceredigion County Council has no immediate plans to amend the current display of flags”.

Whatever flags are put up in the future, I’ll leave the final (slightly misinformed) comment to someone on the Daily Mail message board from Chesterfield,

“Well done to the tourist board of Aberystwyth, for the cost of a flag and a flag pole tourist officials have managed to gain thousands of pounds of free publicity for the town. I didn't know about all the flags until I read this story but now I do know about the display I will definitely visit the town when I'm next in the area.”

To people like this, ‘different’ equals ‘interesting’. Hopefully there are more out there like him.

Aberystwyth Chamber of Commerce backs Mill Street plans

Aberystwyth's Chamber of Commerce, which represents around 60 town centre small businesses, has given conditional backing to the building of a multi-storey car park and major supermarket on the town's Mill Street car park.

A letter from the Chamber, sent last Friday, says,

"The Aberystwyth Chamber of Commerce would like to express their support for the decision made to appoint a Tesco-led development on Mill St.

"This support is conditional upon there being sufficient municipal car parking provision that is available for all users of the town centre and not exclusive to the users of the Mill St development.

"Whilst Tesco may not be an ideal choice for a lot of people the primary consideration must be to ensure that the Mill St development takes place as quickly as possible to provide a regeneration fillip to the town. We are hopeful that this can be a catalyst to attract other quality retailers such as Marks and Spencer onto the other available sites within or close to the Town Centre.

"As ever the devil is in the detail in these deals and we would appreciate being kept informed of progress so that we can maintain a supportive role in the process.

"As an aside, it would have been a considerate gesture from the developer if consideration could have been made to relocating or retaining the day centre within the development."

Meanwhile, this morning's meeting of the Council's Economic Development Scrutiny Committee voted, following a lively and lengthy discussion on all the ramifications, to back the Cabinet's decision last Tuesday (see story below) to support the Mill Street scheme with the additional recommendation that, "All capital receipts be retained by the Council to sustain and enhance the retail provision of the town". The discussion was held after six councillors (including this one) signed a motion to 'call-in' the Cabinet decision for more scrutiny.

Open public discussion of the scheme has been beset by commercial confidentiality and procurement regulation restrictions. Full details are now expected to be made public in the next couple of weeks.

Mill Street decision called in

The decision of Ceredigion Council's Cabinet to appoint a developer for Aberystwyth's Mill Street Car Park Scheme has been 'called in' by backbench councillors.

Under the Council's standing orders, a Cabinet decision can be called back for discussion by the wider Council before being enacted. The Cabinet decided, at their meeting on 13th September, to appoint the highest scoring tender for the site ('Bidder A') using a matrix for deciding competing bids set up by the Council under strict European procurement regulations.  The Cabinet voted to authorise Council Officers to agree and finalise all contracts associated with the development and to authorise officers to also explore any further development opportuniites emerging elsewhere in the town. 

Six councillors are required to sign a call-in request and that number was reached only a few hours before today's 5pm deadline. The wider Council will now discuss the plans atv a meeting within the next couple of weeks, although commercial confidentiality rules will prevent this being held in public. The issue will then go back to the next meeting of the Cabinet who will take on board the views of the wider Council but still have the final say. 

Update:
Following the call-in, the issue will be discussed in a closed session towards the end of  a meeting of the Economic Development, Tourism and Europe Scrutiny Committee on the morning of Wednesday 28th September. The motion to call-in the decision was signed by councillors Ellen ap Gwynn, Alun Lloyd Jones, Ian ap Dewi, Gareth Davies, John Roberts and myself with support from the committee chair, Liz Evans.

Surprising things about Aberystwyth #1 - Topiary in Penparcau

Mill Street Plans to go public soon

Ceredigion Council Officers have chosen a preferred scheme for the Mill Street car park in Aberystwyth – but won’t make it public until the scheme is discussed and agreed by the Council Cabinet.

In February the Cabinet resolved, “To promote the development of a multi-storey car park on Mill Street as a key strategic aim of the authority”, and authorised officers to undertake a procurement exercise to select a company to develop the idea. The Officers have now chosen a preferred bidder, out of three companies submitting tenders, by a process of ‘competitive dialogue’ which involved judging the bids against a ‘matrix’ of criteria. These included the planning content and design, the ability to deliver the plan, the financial package proposed and the overall economic benefit.

The officers’ report will be discussed at a closed session of the Council Cabinet on Tuesday morning.

Update
Following Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, the Mill Street decision will not now be made public before 5pm on Thursday 22nd Sept as this is the deadline for the decision to be 'called in' (i.e. challenged). If no call-in is received, the decision will probably be announced the following day. If the decision is called in, the result will not be announced until this process is complete, probably in a week or two's time.

Plans to close Defra Veterinary Laboratory in Aberystwyth

More public sector jobs are under threat in Aberystwyth following the recent revelation that the Defra Veterinary Laboratory on the Buarth has been earmarked for closure.

The Prospect trade union has revealed that the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) has submitted proposals to the Westminster Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman MP, which would see both Aberystwyth and Carmarthen laboratories closed by April 2013.

Ceredigion's Assembly Member Elin Jones AM said:

“I’ve long suspected that a move to close the vet lab at Aberystwyth was on the cards but those closure plans have been resisted until now. Losing good science-based jobs will be a big blow to Ceredigion.

“In Aberystwyth there is a longstanding expertise in agriculture and land-based jobs with the University and IBERS, but this would be eroded by the closure of the vet lab.

“Closing both the labs at Aberystwyth and Carmarthen will leave Wales without any such facilities. Given the high livestock numbers in Wales, the work carried out in these Defra centres is essential in the fight to eradicate animal diseases such as Foot and Mouth, Bovine TB and Bluetongue”.

The closure would mean people having to go to Shrewsbury for the service in future. There's been no local consultation on the proposals and seemingly no consideration of how the closure might affect the local area. Aberystwyth can't afford to lose another key public sector facility with the knock-on effects for the wider local economy.

Aberystwyth and the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation

Aberystwyth’s standing in the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation, published last week, contains one or two surprises.

The Index divides Wales into 1896 areas of about 1,500 people each and places them in order. Here’s how the different areas of Aberystwyth fared in the overall result, 1896 being the best possible score and 1 being the worst:

Bronglais - 1822
Gogledd / North - 1584
Rheidol 2 - 1369
Rheidol 1 - 1203
Canol / Central - 1076
Penparcau 2 - 747
Penparcau 1 - 652

To make up these overall figures each area is scored on a range of indicators. Out of the 1896, Bronglais Ward is number 23 in Wales in terms of employment and number 56 in terms of income.

What is really surprising is the results for the town centre. Central Ward is the second best in Wales for proximity of access to services but the very worst, bar none, for quality of housing.

Elin Jones to stand for Plaid leadership

Elin Jones, Welsh Assembly Member for Ceredigion, today announced her intention to stand for the leadership of Plaid Cymru. Full statement below:

"Today I am announcing my intention to stand for election as Plaid Cymru’s next Leader. I believe that I have the strength of character and clarity of vision to be the party’s Leader, and I have spoken to many members and supporters over the summer weeks to gauge views on the party’s future and my role in that future. I will now be putting my name forward to stand for Party Leader when nominations open.

"Plaid Cymru has achieved a great deal for Wales over the past few years. This year saw the establishment of Wales’ first legislative Parliament and the completion of Plaid’s first-ever term in Government. Now a new chapter is opening for Plaid Cymru. Our task is to strengthen our country’s autonomy and economy, and to make the case to the people of Wales that our nation is better served by independence than dependence.

"Unlike the British parties, our job is never to manage Wales, but to build Wales. Sometimes Plaid will contribute to that work from within Government, sometimes from outside. However, our aims remain clear: that we build our country’s independence and that we work to achieve economic prosperity and social justice for our people.

"We need, as a Party, to reach out to a wider array of voters. We cannot just speak to ourselves, we need now to go out and talk to, and for, everyone in Wales. Over the coming months I will outline clearly how I believe we can reach out to people and build our support.

"I have held many offices within Plaid Cymru, both locally in Ceredigion and nationally, as Party Chair and now Director of Communications. I have been a Town Councillor and, since 1999, an Assembly Member for Plaid Cymru. I began my working career as an Economist, and politics has been a lifelong interest and passion.

"I am a West Walian and a proud Cardi. Had I lived in any other country in the world, I would still have been a republican and a socialist. But as a Welsh citizen, then I am also a Welsh nationalist. I speak both languages of Wales.

"I am passionate and ambitious for my country. An occasional Welsh Grand Slam or Gold Medal is great, but is not enough for me. I want to see Wales as a self-governing nation placed among the best countries of the world in terms of its education, economic and environmental achievements too.

"If elected its Leader, then my party can expect 100% dedication from me. I am a hard-worker and a team player. Winning a tough marginal seat such as Ceredigion four times on the trot would not have been possible without those characteristics.

"I enjoy meeting people and working for people. My constituents know that I am there for them – whether in a formal surgery, on the end of a phone or in the supermarket aisle on a Saturday afternoon. Gaining people’s trust is a necessity for any politician. I have done so in Ceredigion and in my recent role as Rural Affairs Minister. I can do it again as Plaid’s Leader.

"I can be trusted to listen, to take tough decisions and win arguments. But, most importantly, I have learnt that there is little point in taking those tough decisions or winning those arguments in isolation. I can take people with me.

"Today is my 45th birthday. I was born in Carmarthen, in 1966, on Gwynfor’s birthday, September 1st. That makes me acutely aware of the longer-term struggle by Plaid members and supporters in seeking to establish an independent nation. Many have known darker political times than me. However, realising the ambition of national freedom should continue to unite and motivate us all.

"Plaid Cymru has achieved so much for Wales over its 86 year history. But so much remains to be done. As we begin our party’s next chapter, and Wales’ first chapter with its legislative Parliament, I am ready to lead Plaid Cymru."

Paul jumps for safety

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Plaid Cymru councillor Paul James on one of three bungee jumps this weekend to raise money for CCTV cameras on the Llanbadarn to Aberystwyth cycle path.

It has to be said there are mixed views about the desirability of CCTV cameras on the path. The campaign was started following two robberies at knifepoint on the path in September and November last year, attacks that came as a huge shock to a town entirely unused to crimes of that nature, having one of the lowest crime rates in the country. 

Since they haven't been repeated anywhere in the area, there is a view that the attacks may have been the work of outsiders who have moved on. The question is being asked whether the apparently diminishing need to act to prevent further attacks is outweighed by concerns about loss of privacy and how extensive CCTV coverage looks like becoming in our society. 

What isn't in doubt, though, is the commitment to the safety of local residents shown by Paul, a County Councillor for Llanbadarn Fawr Sulien Ward, just outside Aberystwyth. In April he arranged a 3-day bag pack with Communities First at Morrison's supermarket, which borders the path, raising £4,922.

This weekend's series of three jumps, one after the other, was taken from the highest bungee platform in the UK at Windsor, measuring 100 metres. At 50-odd years of age, that's no mean feat and the jumps are set to raise well over another £4,000 in sponsorship. I'm just glad we're not looking at a by-election.

Anyone wishing to donate money to the campaign can e-mail Paul  at paulj@ceredigion.gov.uk

Bodlondeb saved

Ceredigion Council yesterday agreed not to close Bodlondeb residential home in Aberystwyth. The decision was taken at a closed Budget Workshop.

The meeting heard a range of options for finding the extra money required and, although a final decision was not taken on this, council officers agreed to go away and work on it. One option could be to increase Council Tax.

Council Leader Keith Evans, an unapologetic fiscal conservative, made his unhappiness at the decision clear but accepted the overwhelming view from both sides of the Council that Bodlondeb should remain open in response to a sustained public campaign of support. The Council are due to put out a press statement later today.

Gelli Anwen

Former mayor of Aberystwyth Afan ab Alun today unveiled the new name for the 200 metre footpath leading from North Road in Aberystwyth up to Castell Brychan, the home of Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru, the Welsh Books Council. The footpath is named Gelli Anwen after his late wife Anwen Tydu. The plaque, funded by Aberystwyth Town Council, explains, in poetry and prose, how she used to climb and descend the 107 steps of the steep path four times a day over a period of twenty years, adding up to over thirty thousand passages.

The occasion was filmed by the S4C TV programme Wedi 7.

Ceredigion Cabinet split as Bodlondeb decision delayed

Ceredigion’s Council Cabinet today voted to defer any decision on closing Bodlondeb residential home in Aberystwyth until further meetings and discussions have been held. But the Cabinet was split after a proposal to abandon the plans altogether was defeated.

A coach load of local residents had travelled down to Aberaeron to witness the debate on the Council’s Feasibility Report into plans for transferring residents at the Council-run Bodlondeb in Penparcau to the site of the privately-run Hafan y Waun at Waun Fawr on the other side of Aberystwyth.

The split came when Council Leader Keith Evans proposed that the item be deferred until a Budgetary Workshop meeting involving the whole Council was held. This would discuss the proposals in the context of the overall council budget. However this proposal seemed to surprise some Cabinet members, who had already met for a ‘pre-Cabinet meeting’ earlier in the morning.

Hag Harris, Cabinet Member for Social Services and therefore the councillor with the portfolio for the issue, proposed that plans to close Bodlondeb be abandoned altogether. The proposal was greeted by huge cheers and a standing ovation from the public gallery.

He was supported by Ceredig Davies, Cabinet Member for Education, whose portfolio could be in the frame for providing some of the extra money needed to maintain Bodlondeb. However they were outvoted by other Cabinet members who all backed the Council Leader’s proposal to discuss the plans further. Those voting against the proposal to abandon the closure included Carl Williams, Lib Dem councillor for North ward in Aberystwyth, along with his Lib Dem colleague, Eurfyl Evans and the various Independents on the Cabinet.

It was an emotional roller coaster for the dozens of people in the public gallery who momentarily thought their campaign to save Bodlondeb had succeeded following Hag Harris’s intervention. The sight of the Council Leader clashing publically with the responsible Cabinet Member, having first had the opportunity to agree a mutual stance at a preliminary meeting, is very unusual and it was clear there was annoyance on both sides.

Councillors were later notified that the Budgetary Workshop to discuss the plans further will be held on the morning of Tuesday 26th July. It’s not yet clear if the public will be allowed to attend.

Rheidol ward by-election candidates declared

Candidates have been declared for a Town Council by-election in Aberystwyth's Rheidol ward.

Plaid Cymru's candidate is Samantha Mackenzie-Grieve, the well-known co-owner of MG's cafe in Chalybeate Street. The full list of candidates is:

Sam Mackenzie-Grieve (Plaid)

Tim Foster (Greens)

Wendy Morris-Twiddy (Lib Dem)

Martin Shewring (Independent)

The election has been called after Martin Shewring, a sitting town councillor, resigned from both the Lib Dems and the Council following an internal argument within his party. He's been strongly criticised for wasting council money (up to £1600 to hold the election) in resigning only ten months before the next full round of local elections in May 2012. 

Most people who leave their parties stay on under their new label until the next election. On the other hand, those councillors, AMs and MPs who've done exactly that are habitually told they should have put their new allegiance to their electorate. So it could be argued that he's acted with integrity.

Rheidol ward was a safe Lib Dem ward for many years until Aled Davies caused the biggest shock for some time in Aberystwyth politics by winning a County Council by-election there for Plaid Cymru in June 2008.

The election will be held on August 4th.

Bodlondeb - Cabinet decision due on Tuesday

Ceredigion Council’s controversial Feasibility Study into closing Bodlondeb Residential Home in Penparcau in favour of a new facility at Hafan y Waun has concluded that the idea is...wait for it....feasible. Well, what else did anyone expect from a Feasibility Study?

However the study, published yesterday, seems to show that the cost of re-furbishing Bodlondeb and avoiding the closure would not be the £300,000 first talked about but, in fact, only £268,000 over many years. The cost in the first four years is put at total of £113,400, a relatively small amount in terms of the County Council’s budget. On the other hand a new facility at Hafan y Waun would apparently cost £74,000 less per year to maintain.

The report includes submissions from a number of organisations critical of the proposals. Ystwyth Medical Group said,

“The local demographic is of an aged population with the trend likely to continue. The trend will lead to an increased demand for residential services in the future....The empty wing at Hafan y Waun gives an ideal opportunity for local EMI services to be provided as previously promised. At present vulnerable EMI patients are sent out of county, causing distress to the patients and their carers/family.”

The study concludes by saying that the move to Hafan y Waun, owned by Methodist Homes Association, is feasible but goes no further, simply recommending that the Cabinet gives this 'consideration'. The decision will therefore be a political one by members of the Council's Independent/Lib Dem/Labour Cabinet.

Another packed meeting in Penparcau last night, organised by Ceredigion Against the Cuts, agreed to demonstrate outside the County Council Offices in Aberaeron on Tuesday morning when the Council’s Cabinet meeting will be discussing the report. The meeting begins at 10am.

The feasibility study can be seen via this link. In the list of agenda items, click on Adroddiadau Adrannol Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol or Social Services Departmental Reports (depending on language) and go to page 80.

Filming council meetings – Ceredigion set to join the revolution

Ceredigion Council looks set to open up its meetings to film and sound recording, following a discussion by the full Council yesterday.

The issue was discussed in the light of the incident in Carmarthen on June 6th in which someone filming a meeting on their mobile from the public gallery of Carmarthenshire Council was led away in handcuffs and put in a police cell (see story three posts down, with links).

Since then, a Wales-wide campaign to open up council meetings to recording has taken off, recognising that both the Assembly and Westminster governments allow this and the technology that the average person in the street possesses has now moved ahead of council policy and practice.

The clear consensus of the Ceredigion meeting was that the Council should open up, although within the consensus there were different views. Most supported the Council arranging for the filming of meetings and making that available to the public. But many strongly opposed allowing ad hoc recording on mobile phones, believing this could be made to show a distorted picture by editing.

My feeling is that this fails to understand that anything publically available can be copied and edited in any case. There would be little point in the Council bothering to prevent mobile phone filming and the easy availability of a better quality version would make it less likely anyway. The possession by the Council of an original version would act as a safeguard.

There was a slight suspicion that the occasional press reporter might already have resorted to sound recordings themselves (citing accurate reporting of detailed speeches without apparently writing them down).

I made the point that having a recording of meetings can actually help the Council in some circumstances (for example, legal challenges) and would be more likely to lead to accuracy of reporting.

One councillor proposed consulting S4C on the best system to use, something that could perhaps open up a new avenue for them.

At the end of the debate the Chief Executive agreed to put together a report on the options for the electronic recording of meetings for the Council to consider within a couple of months and some kind of provision looks certain to be set up.

Talking to senior Ceredigion officers, it’s clear they would not have reacted in the draconian way that Carmarthenshire Council did in the first place. But it’s interesting how that over-reaction now looks likely to lead to positive change across Wales, with many other Councils and public bodies due to debate the issue in the next few weeks.

Ceredigion to pursue cruelty-free cleaning policy

Ceredigion Council today agreed to look into adopting a policy of only using cleaning products which have not been tested on animals.

Having been lobbied by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection at the last Plaid Cymru conference, I presented a motion to the Council proposing that only products approved under the BUAV’s Humane Household Products Standard would be used in future.

Council officers see little problem with the idea and think there would be minimal cost implication. The scheme works in a similar way to Fairtrade which Ceredigion is already signed up to.

Councillors at the meeting wanted to check out the practicalities but agreed to the principle and directed their officers to produce a report which will hopefully lead to the idea becoming Council policy.