FT.com / UK / Politics & policy - Tories aim to shake up planning system

FT.com / UK / Politics & policy - Tories aim to shake up planning system: "One property figure said: “Instead of producing a workable document what we have is a piece of political dogma the everyone knows won’t work.”
Housebuilders admitted the planning system needed improvement. But John Slaughter, policy director of the Home Builders’ Federation, said: “The radical transformation the Conservatives propose carries potentially high risks and could have significant unintended consequences.”
Caroline Spelman, shadow communities secretary, said the Tory plans would replace a defunct “top-down, target-driven” approach."
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Such naivety! This will send us back to the stone age.

BBC News - Road closure for new aerial bat crossing

BBC News - Road closure for new aerial bat crossing: "'Bats such as this follow a very specific route,' said Sarah Cartmel, secretary of the Gwynedd Bat Group.
'They usually follow hedge and tree lines, so even the removal of a hedge will disrupt their flight.'"

Er... how did they get planning for the bypass in teh first place? Without all this bat mitigation.

Daily Post North Wales - News - North Wales News - Gwynedd Council to abolish special education for 7-11 yr-olds

Daily Post North Wales - News - North Wales News - Gwynedd Council to abolish special education for 7-11 yr-olds: "Education boss Dewi Jones said the council was “committed to providing the widest possible range of educational opportunities for every child”."

Will the 'assimilation' of English speaking 'special needs' children continue?

Daily Post North Wales - News - North Wales News - Gwynedd Council to abolish special education for 7-11 yr-olds

Daily Post North Wales - News - North Wales News - Gwynedd Council to abolish special education for 7-11 yr-olds: "Education boss Dewi Jones said the council was “committed to providing the widest possible range of educational opportunities for every child”."

Will the 'assimilation' of English speaking 'special needs' children continue?

BBC - Families in mid and north Wales are 'unhappiest in UK'

BBC - Families in mid and north Wales are 'unhappiest in UK': "'That said, I don't think this really reflects the experience of most of those who bring up children in Aberystwyth and the surrounding area.
'It is worth remembering that it is likely that the sample size for each town will be relatively small, and I don't think too much should be read into this survey, other than the underlying issues.'"

This MP and his fellow politicians are so far divorced from reality that they are not qualified to give opinions on what life is like for ordinary people.

BBC News - Work to begin on controversial £50m Porthmadog bypass

BBC News - Work to begin on controversial £50m Porthmadog bypass: "Gwynedd council leader, Councillor Dyfed Edwards, said: 'This is a momentous day for the Porthmadog area and its residents."

Is it a double edged sword?

WalesOnline - News - Wales News - 10,000 council jobs in Wales may be lost

WalesOnline - News - Wales News - 10,000 council jobs in Wales may be lost
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The system is flawed, time for a bottom up approach.

If you consider that in the region of 35% of council tax goes to prop up the gold plated pension schemes they could increase their budget with a few strokes of a pen.

Daily Post North Wales - Business - News - Welsh construction industry not expected to come out of recession yet

Daily Post North Wales - Business - News - Welsh construction industry not expected to come out of recession yet

Chris Wynne, managing director of Bodelwyddan-based Wynne Construction and North Wales Construction Forum chairman, said: “From our experience, a short term recovery is unlikely, but we have hopes for a more positive economy in the long term, as detailed in the CSN report.

“It is imperative that companies continue to prepare themselves for the upturn by investing in training now, otherwise we will encounter a skills shortage at the worst possible time.”

Ieuan Wyn Jones, Minister for Economy and Transport said: “The Welsh Assembly Government is already planning for the creation of a stronger, more sustainable Welsh economy beyond the recession through its Economic Renewal Programme and we look forward to discussing this further with the construction sector.”

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Vested interests wearing rose-tinted spectacles..

BBC News - Tourism centre bid to boost Gwynedd area

BBC News - Tourism centre bid to boost Gwynedd area: "The county council-backed scheme would encompass sites at Blaenau Ffestiniog, Trawsfynydd, Dolgellau and Y Bala."
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Nothing for the coastal areas then?

BBC News - Clarity call on the Cardiff to Anglesey air route

BBC News - Clarity call on the Cardiff to Anglesey air route: "The twice-daily route between Anglesey and Cardiff is operated by Highland Airways with £800,000 public subsidy from the Welsh Assembly Government."
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Good grief!!

How many houses could I build for that much money? Er... TWELVE!! Every year...

Daily Post North Wales - News - North Wales News - Clash of the Titans film shoot boosts Snowdonia economy

Daily Post North Wales - News - North Wales News - Clash of the Titans film shoot boosts Snowdonia economy: "Managing director Neil Rowlands said: “They stayed for around 25 nights. They certainly helped make it a bumper July.”"
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One month in one year, as the saying goes "one swallow doesn't make a summer". We need more of this and more sustainable tourism, something for the kids to do when it is raining for example.

FT.com / UK / Business - Wales seeks way out of low-skill legacy

FT.com / UK / Business - Wales seeks way out of low-skill legacy: "“Our tribal memory is of unemployment,” says Garel Rhys, one of Wales’ most prominent economists, and an advisor to the Welsh assembly government."
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Er.. isn't that the memory of all 'tribes'?

In all recorded history there has not been one economist who has had to worry about where the next meal would come from.
Alfred A. Knopf

Council tax rise needed due to local government pensions black hole - Telegraph

Council tax rise needed due to local government pensions black hole - Telegraph: "She said: “The Liberal Democrats are playing into the hands of commentators peddling the line that hard-working public servants are living in the lap of luxury once they have retired.”
The Government described the size of the deficit as “pure speculation”.
A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said: “This year's valuation of the fund has not been carried out yet and is legally required to be based on market levels at the end of March - no one has any accurate way of knowing what that will be.”"
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What was it last year? And the year before?

We can't afford to fund these pension schemes, time to wind them up...

News Wales > Environment > Wales slammed over dying wildlife

News Wales > Environment > Wales slammed over dying wildlife: "'However, much more is needed as many policies and projects fail to fully address their environmental impacts. Public money is also being wasted on schemes that have a negative impact on the environment, such as the subsidy given to the intra Wales
airline.'"
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If the RSPB has workable solutions we can afford to fund can we please see them? I doubt that the wealthiest nations in teh world could do what they suggest, in Wales we need housing and jobs.

Diolch yn fawr

BBC News - Wales 'missing out on green jobs'

BBC News - Wales 'missing out on green jobs': "'Developing a sizable manufacturing capacity for marine renewables would require a lot of effort and investment to catch up with Scotland."
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Are we sheep? Do we not have any ideas of our own? Can we not ensure that we no not follow the 'herd' and perhaps make an expensive mistake?

Home Access - Home Access

Home Access - Home Access
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Is this available in Wales?

No?

So much for devolution...

Grab £1,000s of Grants: Free cash for homes, business or you...

Grab £1,000s of Grants: Free cash for homes, business or you...: "The scheme is due to run for the next 18 months but there is a maximum of 270,000 grants available, one per household. There are currently no plans to extend it across the rest of the UK."
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Is this available in Wales?

No?

So much for devolution...

Porthmadog - Gwynedd - A Brief Look

Porthmadog - Gwynedd - A Brief Look: "Originally known as Portmadoc until 1974, Porthmadog-Gwynedd is known as being very deeply rooted in Welsh culture"
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Why did they change the name?

BBC News - Salt supply low in Wales as freeze goes on

BBC News - Salt supply low in Wales as freeze goes on: "In Gwynedd, around 37% of the county's roads are pre-treated with salt and grit - this is around 670 miles.
Gwyn Morris Jones, Gwynedd council's head of Highways and Municipal, said: 'It takes around four hours to treat Gwynedd's primary routes."
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In order to reach that figure there must be more salt on roads around Caernarfon than elsewhere, in my area the main road is clear (apart from the pavement when there is one) but everything else is frozen, it is a public safety issue.

Daily Post North Wales - News - North Wales News - Llais Gwynedd: There is a threat to the heartland

Daily Post North Wales - News - North Wales News - Llais Gwynedd: There is a threat to the heartland: "Group leader Owain Williams said: “Both Plaid and Labour continue with centralised strategies that will do nothing but accelerate emigration and further weaken Welsh language heartlands.
“This is exactly the sort of policies that led to the Highland Clearances of Scotland 150 years ago.”"
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Well said sir.

BBC News - Euro cash hope on rural internet

BBC News - Euro cash hope on rural internet: "'In the 21st Century, it is vital that people in all parts of Wales gain access to a high-speed internet service, and it is essential that businesses are fully equipped with the right information communications technology (ICT) infrastructure to compete successfully in a global market.
'ICT plays a major part in helping us to meet our goals, building a strong and sustainable Welsh economy and providing opportunities for all,' he said."
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Some would agree but how fast do we need to go? I am happy with what I have already in the bleakness of Snowdonia National Park, a place where decent housing and jobs are scarce and where development is shunned, even for sustainable affordable housing and jobs.

WalesOnline - Business - Business News - Thousands of people commute out of Wales to work every day, figures show

WalesOnline - Business - Business News - Thousands of people commute out of Wales to work every day, figures show: "In an investigation into the Welsh economy, the study – published on the Welsh Assembly Government’s statistics website – says that, compared to the start of the 21st century, there is now an increasing number of people who travel to England to work.
However, more people are travelling into Wales to work now than they did at the start of the century. The 81,000 daily workforce loss is offset by 58,200 people resident outside of Wales coming in to work here – however, that means there is a net outflow of 22,800 people each day."

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Some of them are going to move out forever if we don't improve the social and economic situation on this side of the invisible border.

The further west you go the more dependant upon the public sector Wales becomes, this east/west divide is accelerating and becoming more unsustainable by the day.

Daily Post North Wales - Business - News - Wales sees a big drop in merger and acquisition business deals

Daily Post North Wales - Business - News - Wales sees a big drop in merger and acquisition business deals: "No deals worth more than £100m were recorded in Q4 2009 in Wales."
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How much more evidence do we need that Wales is unlikely ever to be fully autonomous?

- Councillor slams Welsh Assembly over LDP

- Councillor slams Welsh Assembly over LDP: "According to Cllr Parry, a full council convened to decide on a suitable option for the area. 'Option Three' involved the construction of 9,000 new dwellings while 'Option Two' proposed 6,300.
He said: 'After much strenuous and considered debate, your Councillors, at full council, voted by a majority for Option Two as being least detrimental to an area lacking in prime employment and almost totally dependent on tourism, holiday and retirement income. However having made a democratic decision we are now told it’s not the right one and to think again - or else face the possibility of a financial fine imposed by WAG.
'All of which begs the question - who’s in charge, who knows best and who’s running the show anyway? In this case it’s certainly not the Councillors you pay and voted for. As one of them I should know - and I believe you all should too.'"


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Perhaps decisions like these should not be the remit of Councillors who are unqualified and inexperienced in planning matters?

BBC News - Tourists enjoying warm Welsh welcome, survey suggests

BBC News - Tourists enjoying warm Welsh welcome, survey suggests: "Some 5,601 visitors, including day trippers and people on longer stays, were questioned on all aspects of their break.
Most visitors went away with a 'very positive' impression of the country, with 92% rating their stay either very good or excellent"


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On the face of it this is indeed good news, I do however wonder where these people stayed, who questioned them and what the questions were. Perhaps someone could enlighten us? My interest in this is down to the fact that I live on the Ardudwy coast in the Snowdonia National Park which has more than its fair share of caravans and tents and the weather has not been condusive to such accommodation of late. The decline of Barmouth after Woolworths shut has been marked, there is little or nothing for young children to do when the weather is bad but the planners don't want any development whatsoever on this coast. The future looks bleak.

WalesOnline - News - Cardiff News - Anger at power station firm’s planning appeal

WalesOnline - News - Cardiff News - Anger at power station firm’s planning appeal: "Chris Franks AM said: “There are serious questions that the planning inspectors have to answer. Residents are worried about the risk to their health and properties. It is important that the fears of residents are properly addressed.”"


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If the fears of residents are addressed there would be no honest obstacle left in the way would there? I don't doubt that a political heavyweight or two may be included in the list of residents.

However, it isn't the generation of power which we should be concentrating our efforts upon, it is the misuse of it. As with any problem the solution often lies at the root of it.

WalesOnline - News - Wales News - ‘No real need’ for referendum on lawmaking powers

WalesOnline - News - Wales News - ‘No real need’ for referendum on lawmaking powers: "They state: “It is going to be immensely difficult to formulate a referendum question which accurately conveys this narrow issue to the voters."


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The fundamental question showld be 'do we need law making powers which may place Wales at a disadvantage within the UK'?

As a paid up member of the IWA I respect the opinion of a few at the top, however I do not agree that there is no 'real need' for a referendum simply because we in Wales are concerned about our futures.

Why not ask the people themselves if they want to vote on giving 'more powers' to yet another layer of expensive bureaucracy when the beneficiaries will be the lawyers?

BBC News - No 10 meeting for Carwyn Jones and Gordon Brown

BBC News - No 10 meeting for Carwyn Jones and Gordon Brown: "They spent a little more than half an hour together in Downing Street, their talks ranging from the weather to this year's general election."

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30 minutes?


Hello...

Weather...

Elections...

Goodbye...

WOW....

PONY TREKKING IN WALES

PONY TREKKING IN WALES: "Cobs are aristocratic horses, in their way — they never were used to plow, but only for cart work and for riding. They pulled carts of coal and slate when that was the lifeblood of the country."

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A fascinating piece of writing.

Although the Welsh Cob and Pony (there are four types) is welcomed in many counties it has lost its popularity among teh sheep farmers in parts of Wales, they don't like the bridle paths and will not willingly keep them open.

The demand for pony trekking remains high but the supply has all but dried up thanks to the nanny state's health and safety laws which make insurance unaffordable to those of us who would like to run a trekking centre or even operate a guest house where horse owners can bring their steeds and ride up the mountains or along the miles of Blue Flag beaches.

Wales is a contry in decline, the farmers rely upon EU handouts to buy their new vehicles, the only other gainful employment is the public sector which we can no longer afford but like a drug addict they refuse to let go of the habit.

And the Welsh Assemply Government is worried about the drop in tourist numbers?

WalesOnline - News - Wales News - While Wales failed to benefit from the boom in financial services, our manufacturing base declined even further

WalesOnline - News - Wales News - While Wales failed to benefit from the boom in financial services, our manufacturing base declined even further

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And attract inward migration of people who can bring jobs without hitting them (and their children) over the head with the Welsh language?

Until that happens Wales will continue the downward spiral to the status of banana republic, sans bananas of course.

Plaid Cymru policies are nationalistic, introspective, protectionist and above all unsustainable, take Gwynedd for example and include the Snowdonia National Park, it is becoming a travesty of cultural insanity prevailing over common sense.

No escape from Britain's big chill, forecasters warn | UK news | The Guardian

No escape from Britain's big chill, forecasters warn | UK news | The Guardian: "In Snowdonia, national park rangers reported seeing at least two babies out in backpacks on the mountains, where earlier an ice-climber with a broken femur was winched to an RAF helicopter in the area's first mountain rescue of 2010."


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Did the "Rangers" say anything to the fools with their babies in backpacks? If not then why bother with having these "Rangers" if they are simply observers who "report"? Another waste of money, you should see the mess they have made our sand dunes! Random fence poles dotted around, a dodgy "track" created by a digger, dangerous slippery boardwalk, gaping ruts where cows have put their feet through rabbit holes... a siambles go iawn!!

OH!! I forgot to mention the cows which deposit tons of semi-digested sileage which in some cases looks like it is full of botulism, they are the animals owned by John Ellis Wiliams of Ystumgwern, one of the cattle has left an ear tag behind but can he be bothered to pick it up?

People are afraid to walk their dogs in case the herd tramples them all.

Bonkers!!

BBC News - Drivers in north Wales warned of icy roads risk

BBC News - Drivers in north Wales warned of icy roads risk: "Motorists have been warned to take care on the roads after heavy snow fell across parts of Wales."


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I went on the Highways Agency website to check the roads into the West Midlands.... no Welsh roads!!

Then I found the Welsh version, talk about primitive!!! Thank you Welsh Assembly Government, so many things are falling behind, take the Planning Portal for example, lip service to Wales.

So much for devolution...

Building boom set to boost Welsh construction recruitment :: Local Authority/Public Sector News :: CareerStructure News

Building boom set to boost Welsh construction recruitment :: Local Authority/Public Sector News :: CareerStructure News: "Gwynedd's economic development chief Sinoed Williams told the paper: 'The top priority for the council is to make sure that local firms and the Gwynedd workforce are ready and able to seize the opportunities these schemes will bring, both in the construction phase, as well as when building work is complete.'"


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I can see the nationalist hysteria which will be inflamed by migrant workers who will also need somewhere to live and therefore price out the locals for the few properties which are available to rent or to buy. Locals will be doing the menial tasks because they are not skilled enough to do the best paid work.

I blame the Plaid Cymru "Policies of Misery" in North West Wales. They can't hold back the tide, their introspection and proptectionism actually makes matters worse.