Questions about Llanelli development
Just come across this from my old pal Stuart Hopkins. He wrote the following as an open letter to Welsh Assembly member Helen Mary Jones. It was published in the Llanelli Star in January - January last year. Not much has happened since then, I think.
Stuart's letter -
There has been much publicity recently regarding the demise of the town centre and the message from Carmarthenshire County Council is to be patient, together with a promise that the town will be regenerated in two years.
I view this with some scepticism and would ask what contributed to the town centre demise in the first place?
I would like to remind readers of an extract from my letter to the Star in January 2005 which stated, “In particular the threat of further retail development in Parc Trostre poses a huge danger to Llanelli town centre .. .
"If the new out of town retail park is reinforced by a significant addition to what is currently on offer (and under construction) at Trostre/Pemberton, then Llanelli town centre must suffer.
"One of the National Assembly’s sustainability aims in their Planning Policy Wales document to local authorities is to ‘maintain & improve the vitality, attractiveness and viability of town, district local and village centre’; it also advocates a sequential approach to new retail development i.e. if new retail development can be justified then the first sites to be looked at should be those nearest the town centre."
The Assembly document goes on to say “adopting a sequential approach means the first preference should be for town centre locations when suitable sites or buildings suitable for conversion are available, followed by edge of centre sites then by district and local centre and only then out of centre sites”.
The council appears to have adopted this approach in Carmarthen town, why not Llanelli?
One has to ask the question whether the council protected the town centre before implementing their regeneration plan for Trostre/Pemberton.
The Chief Executive’s obsession in driving forward the move to Trostre/Pemberton, come ‘hell or high water’ on retail and another main project has been well documented in this paper.
Unfortunately it is felt by many members of the public that the Executive Board did not ask the necessary question, or if they did, were carried forward on a tide of ‘over optimism’ generated by very senior officers and the Chief Executive.
The council failed in its duty to adequately scrutinise costs and the obvious follow on consequences to the traders and the town centre.
Unfortunately, the town centre and your readers as council taxpayers are now paying and will continue to pay the price.
The reduction in value to the council’s assets in the town centre and the cost of regeneration must now be enormous.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing but many were warning of the consequences at the time and it is the council’s duty to weigh these consequences before making huge decisions.
I am aware of some of the story but few, even some Councillors, have the whole picture.
This is a matter which should have always been open and transparent and the public should know what has been done in our name and the full implications and consequences of the path taken.
This can only be achieved by an open public inquiry undertaken by the Welsh Assembly, before the costs to the council taxpayer gets even worse.
I would ask our Assembly Member to raise this matter in the Assembly and to seek such an inquiry as a matter of urgency.
If she is no so inclined, then perhaps she should respond in the columns of the Star, why not?
You guessed it, not a lot has happened since the letter was published last year.
Stuart's letter -
There has been much publicity recently regarding the demise of the town centre and the message from Carmarthenshire County Council is to be patient, together with a promise that the town will be regenerated in two years.
I view this with some scepticism and would ask what contributed to the town centre demise in the first place?
I would like to remind readers of an extract from my letter to the Star in January 2005 which stated, “In particular the threat of further retail development in Parc Trostre poses a huge danger to Llanelli town centre .. .
"If the new out of town retail park is reinforced by a significant addition to what is currently on offer (and under construction) at Trostre/Pemberton, then Llanelli town centre must suffer.
"One of the National Assembly’s sustainability aims in their Planning Policy Wales document to local authorities is to ‘maintain & improve the vitality, attractiveness and viability of town, district local and village centre’; it also advocates a sequential approach to new retail development i.e. if new retail development can be justified then the first sites to be looked at should be those nearest the town centre."
The Assembly document goes on to say “adopting a sequential approach means the first preference should be for town centre locations when suitable sites or buildings suitable for conversion are available, followed by edge of centre sites then by district and local centre and only then out of centre sites”.
The council appears to have adopted this approach in Carmarthen town, why not Llanelli?
One has to ask the question whether the council protected the town centre before implementing their regeneration plan for Trostre/Pemberton.
The Chief Executive’s obsession in driving forward the move to Trostre/Pemberton, come ‘hell or high water’ on retail and another main project has been well documented in this paper.
Unfortunately it is felt by many members of the public that the Executive Board did not ask the necessary question, or if they did, were carried forward on a tide of ‘over optimism’ generated by very senior officers and the Chief Executive.
The council failed in its duty to adequately scrutinise costs and the obvious follow on consequences to the traders and the town centre.
Unfortunately, the town centre and your readers as council taxpayers are now paying and will continue to pay the price.
The reduction in value to the council’s assets in the town centre and the cost of regeneration must now be enormous.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing but many were warning of the consequences at the time and it is the council’s duty to weigh these consequences before making huge decisions.
I am aware of some of the story but few, even some Councillors, have the whole picture.
This is a matter which should have always been open and transparent and the public should know what has been done in our name and the full implications and consequences of the path taken.
This can only be achieved by an open public inquiry undertaken by the Welsh Assembly, before the costs to the council taxpayer gets even worse.
I would ask our Assembly Member to raise this matter in the Assembly and to seek such an inquiry as a matter of urgency.
If she is no so inclined, then perhaps she should respond in the columns of the Star, why not?
You guessed it, not a lot has happened since the letter was published last year.
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