News. . . .
July 20th, 2010
County Council to sell Cawdor car park to smooth Planning Committee decision
Carmarthenshire County Council is proposing to sell the public car park behind the Cawdor Garage in Newcastle Emlyn to allow the development of yet another supermarket. A decision on the sale of the car park will be made by the executive of the council before the end of July, and all but one elected councillor will not be consulted.
County Councillor for the Cenarth Ward (which includes the town) Haydn Jones, has gone on the record as being in favour of the sale, and therefore of the proposed supermarket. He is also mentioned in the application:
“The local Member supports the proposed disposal, subject to appropriate open car parking provisions being included to ensure sufficient car parking for the town centre”
Minutes for the Executive Board Meeting planned for Monday 26th July 2010 also state:
“The owner of the Cawdor Cars has asked the County Council to dispose of its land as part of the overall development in the event of planning permission being obtained.”
The council is rumoured to be looking to make £500,000 from the sale.
So this is how democracy Carmarthenshire style works…
Despite the fact that this is the most controversial planning application in the town for years and despite the fact that a very large proportion of local residents and traders oppose it, the Council is going to steam-roller it through anyway, without even first waiting for a decision from the planning committee on whether the application should be allowed or not.
The planning officers have consistently made it clear that they favour the proposed development, which has been held up by a series of annoying public bodies worried about things such as site stability, the impact on the town’s creaking sewage system and the destruction of part of an adjoining Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The planning officers’ main justification for supporting the plan has been the recommendations made by their allegedly “independent” consultants, Nathaniel Lichfield Partnership, which also acts for Tesco and other large supermarket groups.
See also report at the campaigning website carmarthenplanning.blogspot.com
Where’s the problem? Local businessman realises his assets (who employs many local people), and we have a new supermarket! You dont have to shop there, but whats wrong with more choice?
If they do sell the car park, it will just be the latest in a series of stupid mistakes. As a longterm resident I can recall an efficient one-way system operating in town: north to south along Sycamore Street, south to north along the edge of the mart and into Church Street. As soon as work on the new water main was finished, this was abandoned and they granted planning permission for the flats. No thought for possible increases in population, increases in car ownership, increases in traffic volumes etc etc.
Andy’s seductively reductionist standpoint “what’s wrong with more choice?” either reveals someone who is irredeemably ignorant, or frighteningly dismissive of all the solid arguments which have been posted by the people of this town in this long going debate.
This venture will not improve our quality of life in any way. Quite the opposite. Most people in Newcastle Emlyn simply don’t want to be fucked by a local landowner and a multinational supermarket whose motive is the maximization of their profit at our expense.
As a former resident of the area who now visits perhaps 4 times a year I have been following these supermarket developments with interest. I can’t see what the problem is with having more choice- it can only be a good thing surely.
It may also draw people in from a wide catchment (Llechryd/Synod Inn/Llandyssul/Cynwyl Elfed/Crymych) to shop where they currently go to Cardigan, Carmarthen, Aberaeron. After all a new shop opening is always a draw and existing businesses should see the opportunities this presents.
If a supermarket is built in the Cawdor car park this will be one of the closest and most accessible to the main street of any town surely. I live in South West Scotland now and whilst some towns like Dumfries have sold out to Tesco (I shop in Morrissons who buy British meat incidentally) other smaller towns (not unlike NCE in terms of size)such as Castle Douglas have smaller Tescos within walking distance of the main streets – Castle Douglas has a great reputation as a food town and other businesses are doing well. Perhaps NCE should look at how they can market themselves to complement the possible arrival of a major player.
I am involved in agriculture and can understand the objections to supermarkets generally though. However they do provide employment which is always an important issue in an area like West Wales.
Elizabeth- I can also remember the temporary one way system that worked a treat and saved a lot of time- perhaps this will get looked at again once the droves of new shoppers come to town to the new supermarket!
Andy, Long time no see- I’ll look you up when I’m down in August.
Mr Davies, I am neither ignorant nor dismissive, and have followed this discussion for many months, and welcome your views. Whilst I am in some ways not entirely in favour of a new supermarket, nobody has yet proposed any other viable option for redeveloping this eyesore of a site. Any suggestions in the current economic climate?
Rhids, a balanced and educated response as I’d expect! Why do people see choice or change as a threat? It goes way back to the Luddites I guess! The site is a mess, the council arent able or willing to assist, and the town cant possibly raise the money for any of the notable schemes suggested. Where lies the problem? Less transport for local shoppers, more promotion for local business, easier parking, a nice site…? I dont see an option.
Incidentally Mr Davies, whilst I understand your quite valued concerns, I do not think your choice of language is entirely suitable for a very public forum on an excellent website which could be viewed by young children, and I would urge you however strong your feelings to apologise. I am surprised this passed moderation.
Andy Unett asks what’s wrong with this. Well, firstly there was absolutely no consultation with anyone in town before the county council decided to sell what has to be one of the most important publicly owned assets. Not even the Town Council was asked for an opinion. What sort of local democracy is that?
Secondly, why did a decision need to be made before planning permission was given? By making a decision now, the Council is sending out a strong signal to the supermarkets that it is on their side. Common courtesy surely dictates that the planning committee should reach a decision first before the executive makes its views known.
Something is very wrong here – the views of a very substantial part of local residents have been ignored, the town council and the county’s own planning committee have been treated with contempt, and the whole operation was conducted in a furtive and secretive way.
Newcastle Emlyn is ill-served by its county council. This week’s Carmarthen Journal carried another report revealing that for years the Town Council has been paying rent to the county council in Carmarthen for properties gifted to the town. It seems that the county has also grabbed a chunk of the King George V playing field and built on it.
Not very long ago, the playing field was in a very sorry state, with rusting and broken swings and slides. The county council would not make a penny available to provide decent and safe equipment, and the whole thing would have been closed and lost to the town if a group of local parents had not worked long and hard and managed to raise the money from the Lottery Fund and other sources.
So will Carmarthen refund the town all of the rent which has been wrongly paid, and will it pay compensation for the illegal confiscation of land gifted to the town?
It also seems that the mart car park may belong to the town rather than the county, which insisted on introducing car parking charges a couple of years back in the face of almost complete opposition from local traders and residents. As charges have risen, the state of the car park has continued to deteriorate, with huge potholes and frequent flooding of huge parts of the site.
Far from being there to serve the interests of our community, the county council clearly sees Newcastle Emlyn as a cash cow to be plundered and milked dry.
As a woman of 93 who still manages to go to chapel twice every Sunday, I too was shocked by Mr Davies’s choice of language, which was rather too mild to describe the activities of this particular gentleman.
In defence of the moderator, whom I have had occasion to meet, I can tell you that he is a saintly and rather other-worldly figure who can sometimes be glimpsed ambling along the by-ways in a moth-eaten cassock accompanied by his ancient labrador. He is almost certainly unaware of terms such as these.
However, Mr Unitt need not fret. It is highly unlikely that any children will be glued to this website, waiting to read his turgid outpourings.
All this is getting a bit silly. I’m as suspicious of Doris Evans’ bona fides as I am of Andy Unett’s mock Mary Whitehouse shock at the use of a swear word you can hear in use almost any day on the BBC.
That’s not to say I would routinely allow swearing, but in this context, and having sounded out myself the feelings of many people in town on how their views have failed to be considered by the County Council, I think the reference to sexual violation is entirely appropriate. My only complaint would be that “raped” would have been a better term than the “F” word.
Jeremy Clulow