FOUR BUSY DAYS

It’s been a busy four days with three Hustings on consecutive evening in Monmouth (a  Transition towns Monmouth and Abergavenny / Crickhowell Friends of the Earth Green Hustings) on Wednesday, a BMA Hustings in Newport (on Thursday evening) and a Church in Wales Hustings at Trellech (on Friday evening). All were well attended and the audiences produced interesting questions. 

First out of three consecutive Hustings...

This was followed up a commemorative parade to malt the 100^th Anniversary of Gallipoli Campaign (Anzac Day) on Saturday organised by Chepstow town council and the Chepstow Branch of the British Legion and contingents from veterans organisations and voluntary bodies, watch by a sizeable crowd of onlookers. 

On parade in Chepstow

This was followed by a late morning and afternoon canvassing session (it’s still very positive on the doors) in Bulwark, in Chepstow. 

On the stump in Bulwark, Chepstow

A few more housings last week (with the last one being at Monmouth Baptist Church, in Monmouth, which kicks off at 7.30pm on Friday May 1st) and the final round of canvassing and leafleting.

THIS MAKES A PLEASANT CHANGE

There is an old saying along the line of if you stand in the same place long enough then eventually everything will go passed you again. The re-opening of several Gwent police stations by Ian Johnston, the local police and crime commissioner (PCC) , should be welcomed. This bold decision and effectively reverses cuts made  to front desk services at the seven stations (out of 17 stations) that were originally closed to the public back in 2012 (with the loss of 19 jobs). The package of cuts was originally aimed to save around £500,000 as part of £34 million pounds worth of budget savings (by 2015). Gwent Police are reopening Police stations in Caerphilly, Chepstow, Maindee, Monmouth, Pontypool, Risca and Ystrad Mynach. The changes mean that Abertillery police station will now be open to the public on Thursday and Friday from 09:00 to 17:00, with Brynmawr open Monday to Wednesday from 09:00 to 17:00, it is worth noting that previously both these Police stations had only been open for a few hours a week. In Monmouthshire,  Monmouth and Chepstow police stations are also now open to the public from 9am to 5pm, five days a week. Initially the station front counters will be staffed by community support officers (CSOs) until Gwent Police recruit station enquiry officers (SEOs). Front counter services are to be reviewed after 12 months and levels of us will also be monitoured. I for one, hope that this bold step works out, and some of our communities can retain their (open) police stations.

THE OLD CONTEMPT FOR WALES

As we wait to hear about the cuts to Welsh Regiments, the news that that the Ministry of Defence decided not to participate in an enquiry by the Welsh Affairs Committee (chaired by David Davies MP for Monmouth) into the future of the remaining Welsh Regiments should not come as much of a surprise. The MoD along with much of Whitehall has a pretty clear track record of being pretty dismissive of Welsh concerns and interests, whether they are related to the impact of defence cuts or the historic acquisition of land in Wales for artillery ranges.

MAGIC NUMBERS

One unanticipated side effect of the recession is that the tolls on the two Severn bridges may continue to have to be paid for almost a year longer than planned due to combination of excessively high fuel prices and the economic downturn which means that less traffic crossing the Severn bridges. The Severn Bridge tolls, rise by inflation every year, something that appears to be set in stone by the exceptionally poorly worded or ill-thought out legislation passed by John Major’s Conservative government some 20 years ago which allowed a private company to construct the new crossing and to manage the original crossing.

This fix only comes to an end when Severn River Crossings Plc, has collected a set target total income from toll charges. The UK Government In 2005) calculated that this target would be reached in late 2016. The reduction in bridge traffic means however, that the target figure won’t probably be reached until the autumn of 2017. Welsh Government figures, part of the consultation on motorway capacity, show that traffic on the busiest section of the M4 (near Newport) began to drop off in 2005 as oil / fuel prices began to rise due to oil shortages.

It is surely no coincidence that amount of rail freight containers moved by rail into South Wales doubled last year, and in February, Tesco launched a rail service carrying supermarket products to its Wentlooge distribution depot near Cardiff, something that will replace around 22,000 lorry trips per year. If we are serious about cutting carbon emissions and congestion then we need to get heavy goods back onto our railways. This won’t be a quick fix and it may not be cheap but it can be done if the political will is there, as has happened in Scotland, where there is a useful combination of the will, the funding and interested private partners.

For some time now Plaid has wanted to see the transfer of powers (to Wales) so that tolls on the bridges can be reduced, this would have a considerable impact on Welsh businesses and our economy. With control over the bridges devolved, Plaid has suggested reducing the cost of the tolls to under £2 a car and would also introduce new collection techniques so that people crossing the bridge would have an alternative to paying by cash. Any profit that is made could be used to maintain the bridges and upgrade Welsh infrastructure.

Back in October 2010, an independent economic study of the Severn Bridge tolls, by Professor Peter Midmore, recommended that the revenues should stay in Wales, once the crossings revert to public hands. It noted that Welsh businesses are unfairly penalised by the tolls and that the money should be shared with the Assembly Government and used to improve Wales’ roads and public transport. It is a matter for the public record that, once the cost of the Second Severn Crossing has been for then the revenue stream will revert straight to Treasury coffers in Westminster.

The study of 122 businesses commissioned by the Federation of Small Businesses found the tolls had a negative impact on 30% of firms in South Wales, compared with 18% in the Greater Bristol area. While noting that the economic impact was not substantial for most, the study found that transport, construction and tourism-related companies reliant on regular crossings had suffered (and continue to suffer) increased costs and reduced competitiveness. The bridges are of such importance to Wales that it is only right that control, or at least shared control, over them is in the hands of the Welsh people.

Let’s be honest the day when the Severn Bridges come back into public ownership and the day the tolls are reduced cannot come quick enough. In the meantime, there may be a few other things that would be worth examining. In 2011, the Welsh Affairs Committee chair David Davies, Conservative MP for Monmouth, noted that due to "the inflexible provisions of the 1992 Severn Crossings Act, neither the government nor Severn Crossings Plc is able to freeze or reduce the toll without incurring significant costs." More recently, Alun Cairns, Conservative MP for Vale of Glamorgan, said that amending the legislation wasn’t an option and that “Sadly, we’ve got to live with it between now and the end of the concession.”

Personally I have often thought that if there is a pressing problem then you find away to fix it rather than wait around for it to go away. I have also wondered whether it would be worth enquiring as to how come the Act was so badly written? And also whether or not any individuals (elected or not) directly or indirectly benefited (financially or otherwise) with a seat on the board or with contributions to Party funds? Now that might well be worth a freedom of information request or some investigative journalism – now there's a thought?

REGENERATION: A PROCESSES NOT AN EVENT?

There was a time when most Government’s would at least pander to the idea of taking a longer more thought out view when it comes to economic development. They would at least try to provide the best conditions and framework to enable the private sector to grow and flourish. Sadly while that concept appears to have quietly died sometime in the 1980’s as politicians concentrated on short term popularity and tax breaks and getting their noses back into the trough after each election.

Much has rightly been made of the state of our High Streets, the economic consequences of their imminent demise and the pressing need to do something about it. No doubt all the politicians will roll out the usual cliches about redevelopment and regeneration and then after having paid some lip service to the idea of reviving our high streets carry with business as usual.

This is not cynicism on my part merely a result of some twenty five years of observation on what has happened to my home town (Newport) and to the small towns of Monmouthshire and much of the Gwent valleys. We have all seen far too much talk over the years and scant action on the part of local politicians and the inhabitants of the Westminster village.

There are two key elements (amongst others) when it comes to creating economic circumstances which will favour the growth and development of small to medium sized local businesses and enterprises. Firstly there is a need to give local high street based businesses a fair and level playing field upon which to operate and secondly there is a need to give the public relatively easy and cheap (If not free) access to the high street.

More locally when it comes to development (or redevelopment for that matter) our Local Authorities need to develop a realistic and sensible long term economic view when it comes to planning policies and regeneration. Planning polices need to favour local businesses and small to medium sized enterprises – there needs to be a more thought out and more consistent approach to dealing with planning applications for in, out and edge of town retail developments.

Our Local Authorities are still far too often tempted by planning gain as developers offer includes, sweeteners and inducements to ease the passage of proposed developments. Council's fear the costs of planning applications (particularly those from larger retailers) being taken to appeal if original outline planning permission is refused. They may even be advised by Council officers of these potential costs if a development proposal involving a larger (potentially more aggressive) retail company goes to appeal - so much for local democracy!

Local Authorities also often fail to have properly researched retailing policies within their development plans. If retailing needs have not been assessed properly then it is very difficult for Local Authority planners to refuse any potentially damaging planning applications from developers, which results in local small businesses, consumers and our communities paying the price.

Since the 1980’s every Westminster Government has talked about promoting the vitality and viability of our small market towns, or at least paid a form of lip service to it. Over the last twenty five years many retail developments have consistently undermined this aim, as local authorities have effectively turned a blind eye to the consequences of out of town or edge of town retail developments on the edge of market towns in England and Wales. The economic reality has fallen well short of the verbal aspiration, a quick look at the damage that has been done to Abergavenny, Chepstow and Monmouth within Monmouth constituency and elsewhere in Wales.

Let’s at least be honest, how can we local regeneration schemes to work, when the once thriving commercial heart of our high streets has already been seriously damaged by an inability to compete with the aggressive tactics of supermarkets and larger retail chains chasing an ever larger market share. More than ever, our planners need to think about the long term economic consequences of planning decisions, to take the longer term view, rather than get fixated on short term financial gains and questionable inducements from developers.

If you live in various parts of Gwent or are intimately familiar with your home community, then over the years you will have noticed that redevelopment / regeneration comes and goes in phases, in any particular community or town regeneration schemes will have cleaned areas up, built in cycle routes, created transport plans, pedestrianised streets, reopened them to traffic, re-pedestrianised them and (as is the case in Newport and no doubt elsewhere) made certain streets shared space with both cars and pedestrians (this is not as crazy an idea as it sounds, and actually works) and so on.

Parking has been restricted, created and removed, made it free and charged for it, bus lanes have been created, removed and the hours when bus lanes operate varied. Now this is all well and good and may reflect the latest trend in regeneration and development, but at the end of the day has it made the places where we live, work and shop any better? Has the regeneration process or scheme increased or generated wealth in our communities or provided people with the opportunities to get jobs, to go into business for themselves or generate wealth?

One of the unintended features of redevelopment is that quite often it is (or is perceived as being) driven from the top down i.e. by elected bodies whether they be Town or County Councils or the National Assembly. Regeneration is a process that merely consults after the plans have been drawn up rather than before, during and after - any process run this way runs the risk of becoming deeply flawed. Local communities and towns and cities of South Wales have over the years has been the recipient of much grant aid, development and redevelopment schemes and initiatives - how can we measure success?

Measuring a regeneration schemes success should be a key factor in any regeneration scheme. This is the key question that needs to be asked - after the cement and the paint has dried, after the development / redevelopment / regeneration professionals have banked the cheque and moved on - have the various schemes made a difference. I mean beyond any immediate physical improvements to the environment, have they made a real difference when it comes to wealth generation in the area affected by the regeneration scheme?

If the end result is in reality a makeover, and the targeted community is no better off, save for being bereft of the 'regeneration funds' that have been effectively syphoned off by professional regeneration companies - is this success? How do you make regeneration projects work beyond the tick box list of the regeneration schemes managers? One key component that is often ignored or marginalised during the regeneration process is the communities greatest resource - its people.

If we truly want to build and develop strong sustainable communities then any regeneration scheme should from the start and at every stage of the process. We don’t need regeneration professionals coming into an area and engaging in a largely token consultation process. They should directly talk to local people (who are an asset to the process) and actually find out what they would like to be done, what they actually want for their community and their town.

Regeneration schemes and projects should be directed from the bottom up rather than the top down model (with a built in token consultation element) that we often seem to pursue. If you are spending public money, then you need to work it hard and squeeze out every possible benefit for the length of the project and afterwards.

We need to maximise the impact locally of the regeneration process and build in local benefits into the tendering process - whether by employing local people, using local resources and / or local skills and local input. If you are reusing or renovating old buildings (and this idea has worked very well in Poland and other places) then any regeneration scheme needs to ensure that old buildings can make a living after the regeneration scheme is finished.

If we do this rather than merely making a token gesture towards public consultation then any regeneration schemes will with hard work deliver tangible benefits for our communities. After all regeneration should be a process not merely an event.

A BUSY MORNING IN MONMOUTH...

We had a busy morning in Monmouth on Tuesday with a street stall and simultaneous leafleting in another part of the town. We had plenty of passing customers, many of whom were more than willing to stop for a chat and to pass on their concerns. One prominent local concern (amongst many) was the call for the return of the market (to the square outside the Shire Hall) - from where it was removed so that the Shire Hall could be refurbished. Local opinion suggests that Monmouth County Council (MCC) is dragging it's feet (for whatever reason) when it comes to facilitating the return of the market - something that many traders and small business people in the town are calling for. Monmouth is a town that has a great deal of potential to make far more of itself economically - it does not need MCC to be dragging its feet over the return of the market.

IF IT'S THURSDAY EVENING IT MUST BE MONMOUTH

Thursday night, so it must be Monmouth... Another Hustings, done and dusted, this was the Green Hustings, held in the Savoy Theatre, in Monmouth. A well organised, well chaired and reasonably well attended despite the attractions (or not) of the televised Leadership debate.

UK wise, with less than 7 days until Polling Day it is beginning to appear that the three London based Parties are too busy with their petty squabbling rather than concentrating on the key issues, especially Climate Change. Not so in Monmouth, where last night the Green Question was front and centre. 

In Wales, regardless of the bickering and squabbling in London, Plaid has made the case for more powers over energy production and conservation to be devolved to the National Assembly, so that we can tap into the potential for creating sustainable green jobs and helping the economic recovery through investment and tackling climate change.

This is the real agenda for the 21st century, rather than more of the same that's being offered by the 3 London based Parties. Plaid is absolutely clear about the threat posed by climate change, and the pressing need for long term measures to tackle it. What's more, Plaid can see the substantial economic potential in developing the green economy. 

A National Assembly with powers over energy would be an important step forward, enabling Wales to developing an Environmental Action Plan. With the right tools for the job, then Plaid could ensure that Wales leads the way in tackling climate change and creating thousands of sustainable green jobs. 

Our Environmental Action Plan would develop high-speed electrified railways in Wales and more green transport, investing in community based farming to produce more locally grown food as well as investing in energy saving projects such as home insulation. Plaid is also ambitious about creating more green energy through renewable energy projects and changing the national grid to support more local energy production. 

Plaid is serious about tackling climate change and realising the potential of green jobs and investment. The other parties may have chosen to put climate change on the back burner, while they indulge in petty squabbling (clearly a case of ego triumphing over substance) but its pretty clear that Plaid has stuck to hammering away at the key issues.

Last night we covered a wide range of topics from recycling, alternative energy, through to integrated public transport and reviving our railways, not to mention cutting down on the sheer volume of packaging that comes with every purchase. On to Chepstow later this morning, with a school hustings at lunchtime today and then one at the Drill Hall, Chepstow on Monday evening, followed by a final one in the north on Tuesday evening.

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

I warmly welcome Plaid’s campaign to make the “Town Centre heart of our community”. Let's be brutally honest the small towns of Monmouth constituency and elsewhere in Wales have suffered in the past from ill-thought out developments and questionable short term economic thinking; local small to medium retailers and businesses and local consumers have suffered accordingly and ultimately we the consumers have paid the price with a loss of local services and choice.

Yet all is not lost, locally in Monmouth constituency, the continuing campaign to retain the livestock market in Abergavenny shows that many people have real and serious concerns about the economic future and the character of their communities. Now we have to ask ourselves and Monmouthshire County Council some serious questions about who these decisions in relation to redevelopment are being made for? And why? And who really benefits, locally or otherwise, certainly not us the customers?

Plaid Honorary president Dafydd Wigley said:

“Town centres have an invaluable role to play, aside from attracting visitors, they are also play a vital economic and social role. Many of the most vulnerable people in our communities lack the means to access the large out of town developments and rely heavily on smaller, local shops. We all need to work together to ensure that our town centres have a viable future. Local councils, the Assembly government and the UK government must all take steps, but this won’t achieve anything if the community itself doesn’t get involved and support our local, town centre businesses. The UK government needs to work together with the Welsh and local government to introduce policies to sustain our town centres. For too long the London government has left small businesses to fend for themselves while they prop up big business. Despite bailing out the banks, many small businesses are unable to secure the credit they need to survive. This cannot be allowed to continue and this is why Plaid is calling for action now to put our town centres back at the heart of our communities.”

Plaid has outlined a number of proposals to put town centres back at the heart of our communities including:

• the extension of credit union principles to support small and medium sized businesses
• a change in planning regulations to promote sustainable communities
• a mandatory retail impact assessment with each major planning development
• a level playing field for smaller, local businesses

The Times (27th October 2009) reported that in 705 town centres that had been surveyed, 10 per cent of shops failed between January and September of 2009. While it would be easy to see this merely as a cold, hard financial fact, of jobs and business and a direct result of the free market, there is more to it than that.

Shops are more than merely the places we go to in order to buy; they are the unacknowledged secular hubs of our communities. It has long been noted that recessions change the way we shop, the collective, tightening of belts brings about a well-documented shift from specialist shopping, in butchers and bookshops, to a different model, whereby customers visit one superstore for a variety of needs.

While this may be an understandable short to medium term consequence of economic uncertainty, the consequences may be pretty long term, maybe (and maybe is the key word here) when things improve economically and collective wallets are loosened again, then shoppers will abandon their necessary economy drive, and return to smaller local outlets once more. However, for that to happen, the local shops and small businesses need to still be in business.

The Times survey revealed that those businesses suffering the most are the ones that make one community different from the next. More than a thousand bookshops have closed, almost three quarters of them independents. Britain has lost at least 233 florists, and 1,146 corner shops. At least 1,136 pubs have closed, as have 4,143 restaurants and cafes, and 2,201 hairdressers – however you spin it, and spin is the key word here, having sat a listened to Tesco’s spin doctor (at a recent party conference) claim that his company helped to stimulate local economies but enabling local niche businesses to emerge, presumably after Tesco has trashed or mopped up (take your pick) the local economy and put local shops and local businesses out of business that is.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) - and they should know - has noted that the UK is losing 2,000 local shops every year and that of this rate of loss continues then by 2015, less than 5 years hence, there will be no independent retailers left in business, something that will badly hit both consumers and our communities hard as they lose any real choice in the marketplace and lose potential local job opportunities.

Over the last twenty five years, we have all seen the commercial hearts of many of our communities have been seriously damaged as a result of a combination of aggressive policies pursued by the larger retail chains and exceptionally poor decision making on the part of local government and central government indifference. The result of the abject failure or indifference of local and central government to develop realistic local economic plans and a failure to create a level playing field for local businesses and suppliers, has been combined with some very questionable planning decisions over the last thirty years, has directly lead to many of our town centre's being "regenerated" to death.

The rise in the number of shops owned by larger retail chains damages the local economy, drains profit out of the area to remote corporate headquarters and reduces local job opportunities. Ten pound spent in a local business circulates in the local economy three times longer than if it is spent in a non local business. A real side effect of this is a real loss of a sense of community, a loss of local character as our high streets has lead to our high streets losing lost their distinctive local shops which have been replaced by “micro-format” supermarket or chain store branches and any real loss of choice for the customers.

The Assembly Government, recently commissioned a review of planning in Wales, saying that there was a need to simplify the system, but, this should not take place at the expense of fundamentally damaging democratic control of the planning process. Any plans to speed up the planning process should not at the cost of creating unsustainable developments that further damage our high streets and our communities.

There is a real necessity that We work together to ensure that our town centres have a viable future. Local councils, the Assembly government and the UK government must all take concrete steps, but this won’t achieve anything if the community itself doesn’t get involved and support our local, town centre businesses. The UK government needs to work together with the Welsh and local government to introduce policies to sustain our town centres.

For far too long successive Conservative and New Labour London government's have left small businesses to fend for themselves while they prop up big business and their friends in the City. Despite the recent bail out the banks, many small businesses are still having problems securing the necessary credit they need to survive. This cannot be allowed to continue and this is why Plaid is calling for action now to put our town centres back at the heart of our communities.