Llandeilo statue row takes new turn
This letter has been sent by Simon Buckley to the Carmarthen Journal in reponse to the latest row over the proposed war memorial in Llandeilo.
Re: Tywi Afon Yr Oesoedd Statue Proposals
I have read the letter (in the Carmarthen Journal) from Charlotte Leadbetter of March 31.
At no time have I ever made any personal attacks on any member of Llandeilo Town Council.
I have merely urged the council to think about alternative proposals to their half-baked plan for a statue that is limited by budget.
I have the following comments to make:
1.
The idea for a war memorial was not mine. I, nevertheless, fully support it.
The idea was formulated by a group of young people who are customers of the White Horse Llandeilo. Average age 27. People who have lost members of their families in conflicts over the last 25 years.
They felt that it was more appropriate to dedicate a piece of local sculpture to the memory of our fallen Heroes than some cheap piece of architectural design that was limited by budget, and the lack of cash.
2.
The sculpture has not been commissioned as yet. The work is still undecided, and Carmarthenshire County Council have not determined finally as to whether the sculpture will definitely come to Llandeilo. They operate Tywi Afon yr Oesoedd.
3.
How can I or anyone else interact with the Town Council when, by her own admission, the Mayor states that, the townspeople know nothing about the project?
The last meeting of the town council, where decisions were made, was an invitation only audience.
Generally, the feedback from those there was that the proposed works were not of a high enough standard and that the limited budget of £5,000 was insufficient to create a work with any meaning.
The project seems a ‘fait a complit’, but yet again Mrs Leadbetter has failed to consult with the people of Llandeilo, merely cherry-picking her audience.
4.
I think it an impertinence of our unelected town councillors to challenge an alternative idea, and to try and ridicule the suggestion before they have even considered the proposal at a council meeting.
Let me reassure the town council, and its members that the current petition has more than 350 names on it and that vote of confidence is more than any of our town councillors have received at an election.
When and if the decision is made to support the War Memorial, the issue of funding will be addressed, with the opportunity to raise funds from a far wider range of benefactors than the proposed sculpture.
I have resisted the temptation to attack Mrs Leadbetter and the way the town council fails to interact with the townspeople of Llandeilo, and the council’s attempts to try and create a political elite, that neither listens to what the people say nor is seen to engage with them.
The current memorial is not open to the public 365 days a year, and for some the fact that it is in Church is off-putting.
It is clear from the sheer misrepresentation of her response and the lack of knowledge of the groundswell of support for this project that perhaps if anyone should get her facts right it is our unelected Madam Mayor and her coterie of 'artistes' that do not have any connection with
the mass population of Llandeilo.
Simon Buckley
Chief executive, Evan-Evans Brewery, Llandeilo.
For earlier post, see -
http://sirgarblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/llandeilo-statue-plan-sparks-debate.html
Re: Tywi Afon Yr Oesoedd Statue Proposals
I have read the letter (in the Carmarthen Journal) from Charlotte Leadbetter of March 31.
At no time have I ever made any personal attacks on any member of Llandeilo Town Council.
I have merely urged the council to think about alternative proposals to their half-baked plan for a statue that is limited by budget.
I have the following comments to make:
1.
The idea for a war memorial was not mine. I, nevertheless, fully support it.
The idea was formulated by a group of young people who are customers of the White Horse Llandeilo. Average age 27. People who have lost members of their families in conflicts over the last 25 years.
They felt that it was more appropriate to dedicate a piece of local sculpture to the memory of our fallen Heroes than some cheap piece of architectural design that was limited by budget, and the lack of cash.
2.
The sculpture has not been commissioned as yet. The work is still undecided, and Carmarthenshire County Council have not determined finally as to whether the sculpture will definitely come to Llandeilo. They operate Tywi Afon yr Oesoedd.
3.
How can I or anyone else interact with the Town Council when, by her own admission, the Mayor states that, the townspeople know nothing about the project?
The last meeting of the town council, where decisions were made, was an invitation only audience.
Generally, the feedback from those there was that the proposed works were not of a high enough standard and that the limited budget of £5,000 was insufficient to create a work with any meaning.
The project seems a ‘fait a complit’, but yet again Mrs Leadbetter has failed to consult with the people of Llandeilo, merely cherry-picking her audience.
4.
I think it an impertinence of our unelected town councillors to challenge an alternative idea, and to try and ridicule the suggestion before they have even considered the proposal at a council meeting.
Let me reassure the town council, and its members that the current petition has more than 350 names on it and that vote of confidence is more than any of our town councillors have received at an election.
When and if the decision is made to support the War Memorial, the issue of funding will be addressed, with the opportunity to raise funds from a far wider range of benefactors than the proposed sculpture.
I have resisted the temptation to attack Mrs Leadbetter and the way the town council fails to interact with the townspeople of Llandeilo, and the council’s attempts to try and create a political elite, that neither listens to what the people say nor is seen to engage with them.
The current memorial is not open to the public 365 days a year, and for some the fact that it is in Church is off-putting.
It is clear from the sheer misrepresentation of her response and the lack of knowledge of the groundswell of support for this project that perhaps if anyone should get her facts right it is our unelected Madam Mayor and her coterie of 'artistes' that do not have any connection with
the mass population of Llandeilo.
Simon Buckley
Chief executive, Evan-Evans Brewery, Llandeilo.
For earlier post, see -
http://sirgarblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/llandeilo-statue-plan-sparks-debate.html
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