RCT Council antics make Yes Minister look like a documentary

Just what size catheter I wonder is being used by RCT Director of Strategy and Public Relations to extract the urine these days?

At least I am assuming it is this gentleman who is giving political advice and direction to the Cabinet.  The position is after all a political appointment – albeit you would never get the Labour party to admit to it.  He is a former Labour Council candidate and son of a Cabinet Member. He was with the Labour contingent at the election count, and is ever present at meetings keeping a close eye on things.

He also somewhere in his department has a responsibility for tourism, although quite why I have never been able to fathom, suppose it says a lot about RCT Council’s attitude to the potential of that for economic development.  The Lido renovation is going to bring tourists to Ponty in droves apparently, so it is only natural he should take an interest.

But I digress. What you may ask has brought about this cloud of wonderment at the ways RCT Council find to extract the proverbial?   Well not surprisingly it is the latest in the farce surrounding the decision to renovate the Lido in Ynysangharad Park and remove the paddling pool.

I am not repeating the whole story as enough has been written about that both here and at www.pontylibdems.org.uk  but in summary the Labour Cabinet made a decision, Welsh Lib Dem Cllr Mike Powell instigated a call in to ask Scrutiny Committee to ask them to look at it again, Labour who have a huge majority on that and every other committee voted no.

There have been doubts expressed all along about the level of public consultation – even the Labour MP for Pontypridd said it was poor.  But it was ok because the Trustees of the Park were fully in favour.  The Director of Regeneration said so – they had been consulted and had no objection at all to the plans.

Why then has a special meeting been called of the Trustees on the 15^th August to look at the same report yet again with a view endorsing the decision?  Or not?  Don’t think Paddy Power will be taking bets on that one.  Who are the Trustees in question?  Why it's a subcommittee of the Labour Cabinet.

You really couldn’t make it up could you?  Yet this is what passes as democracy in the totalitarian state of RCT.

Don’t know what size catheter they are using but I sure know where I’d like to pour what they are extracting.

Communication is key - somebody obviously misunderstood

Perhaps Owen Smith was too excited by his recent Shadow Cabinet appointment, his mind was elsewhere?  Maybe Tony Christopher is still stunned at the loss of his mate Russell from the Council and he misheard what was being said?

Either way there seems to be a major gap in communication regarding the plans for the new precinct in Taff Street in Pontypridd.

RCT Welsh Lib Dems last week welcomed what seemed to be good news about the development when Ponty MP Owen Smith assured Ponty Observer readers that he had spoken to the developers and everything was ticketty boo.  The rumours have been going around like wildfire that the development was in trouble - they had failed to find enough tenants for the shops there and could not afford to risk pressing ahead without a guaranteed take up.  Obviously those rmours were ill founded and we could all rest easy knowing that the Labour party had saved Ponty.  Such a relief.

But wait, what is this?  Just seven days later in his column for the very same paper Tony Christopher has the opposite view.

The developers have told him they are in trouble and whilst they are fully committed to the project then they are "facing a number issues with their funding package.”

Did the note taker make a mistake?  Did one of them fall asleep momentarily during the conversation and missed a sentence or two?  Because obviously there is a major discrepancy here.

But I have no doubt that a full explanation will be forthcoming from the cabinet member responsible, Cllr Paul Cannon.  Well now he hasn't got the Police Commissioner election to worry about he can turn his attention fully back to the job.

Read all about it - again and again and again

Yet more Labour propaganda hitting our streets spreading the same tired message.

This time it is the glossy ‘newsletter’ telling people all about the regeneration of Ponty.

The Council PR department have issued a press release about it!  Yep, good innit?  A press release about a newsletter which includes a series of stories that have already been press released anyway.

As the press release says

“The newsletter illustrates the completed areas of work at Mill Street and Church Street along with the ongoing phases in neighbouring Taff Street, High Street and Market Street. It also explains the exciting works taking place at Penuel Square and to the iconic Fountain.”

(which you can read about here and here and here)

“It also celebrates the news that yet another commercial property owner in the town centre has received major financial support to improve his building as part of the Council’s Townscape Enhancement Programme.”

Which you can read on RCT CBC website here

“Readers will learn more about the success enjoyed by a team of Pontypridd High School pupils who are compiling a series of short documentaries regarding the scheme and their recent recognition in attaining a film award for their efforts.”

A story which appeared here

And then there is

“The newsletter includes a series of images of the unveiling of Pontypridd’s Roll of Honour War Memorial which welcomed hundreds of visitors, including war veterans and families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.”

Seen in a whole string of press releases here

“Finally, the newsletter includes articles relating to the many other private sector investment projects taking place in Pontypridd, most notably the £50million Sainsbury’s project, Riverside Shopping Centre and the refurbishment programme at Pontypridd Museum.”

You’re getting the picture by now. Or pictures, all of them of Labour Councillors looking suitably smug.

The whole lot is repeated on the ‘Love Ponty’ website maintained by the Council.

If you are not amongst the lucky few thousand to receive a copy then you can read it here

The Council already spends £65K on its ‘Outlook’ newsletter.  What is the point of this if not to provide Labour with extra election material at the taxpayers’ expense?

And they are putting Council Tax up by 2.5%

A whole £10 invested in Ponty? Will we notice the difference?

A few weeks ago I wrote of Labour’s lack of a web presence locally.  Well it seems I missed one site – RCT Labour do have a website, and a fine example it is of Labour in action in RCT.

In fact their ‘Delivery In Action’ page is brilliant and really sums it all up as far as Labour in RCT are concerned. Take a look here.  Good isn’t it?

 It is extremely informative

‘Rhondda Cynon Taff Labour Group are made up of the 48 Councillors who represent communities across the Borough

Labour regained control of the Council from Plaid Cymru in 2004 with a commitment to work in a more accountable and more transparent manner and to improve and invest in the frontline services that matter to local people.’

Well would you believe it?  Accountable and transparent?  Think they lost their way somewhere.

But credit where it is due, they do make much of the investment in schools and education in RCT (no mention of the pupil deprivation grant of course) and it seems that investment is very much needed.  In fact whoever puts this site together really could do with a lesson in grammar.

News headlines include

Labour Deliver's Support for First Time Buyers

and

Labour Deliver's 160M Investment in RCT Schools

The first headline has been changed for the Leader’s column section where it reads :

Leader’s Column – Labour Support’s First Time Buyers

But my absolute favourite headline from this site has to be this one:

£10 Regeneration of Pontypridd Underway Thanks to Labour

Silence is sometimes the best option.

Do we need an artificial town centre?

I wrote some months back about a proposal to create a new town centre in Talbot Green.  Well it seems plans are progressing and developers Valad, formerly operating as Scarborough and prior to that Teesland, have now roped in one of their old partners - Sainsbury’s.

The Pontypridd Observer reports that

“The project will see a host of new shops brought to the area including a department store, around 40 shops for high street brands and the major Sainsbury’s supermarket.

A new Leekes store will also be built, replacing their existing building on Cowbridge Road and plans also include a leisure and entertainment quarter with a cinema complex, cafes, restaurants, bars and a hotel.

In addition to the huge new shopping and entertainment centres offices, apartments and townhouses will be built.”

This development is in addition to the already substantial retail centre that exists in Talbot Green.  As I asked previously, what effect will this have on our existing town centres?  The Labour lot in RCT keep bragging about the £10m investment being made in Pontypridd.  Rubbish.  That is nothing but a cosmetic exercise – tarting up a few buildings, shuffling a few businesses around.  Where is the new business coming to the town?  And why on earth will people shop there when they can shop in the ever growing number of out of town shopping areas where amongst other things they can park for free?

Mind you there is no guarantee this will ever come to pass.  Scarborough or whatever they are calling themselves this year don’t have a great record of delivery in RCT as Mike Powell points out in this letter to the press.

They do have a record of producing plans that are not popular with local residents.  The Angharad Walk plans for Pontypridd passed in 2003 were flawed in the eyes of many residents as they encroached upon part of Ynysangharad Park. The plans were opposed by Welsh Lib Dem Councillors (including myself) at the time.

They have planning permission to build at Mwyndy Cross - an application which was met with huge opposition and was turned down by RCT Council only to be granted by the Assembly on appeal. 

So it will be interesting to see how this progresses.  The company seems confident of gaining planning consent – and with good reason, it has been written into the Local development Plan.  Mind you that document also talks of preserving existing town centres!  Everything to everybody – that’s Labour in RCT for you.

Pontypridd redevelopment - a long time coming

Welcome news recently that at last developers have started to tear down the Taff Vale Precinct as a prelude to developing a brand new retail centre in Pontypridd.  But people have every right to be sceptical after waiting for over 30 years for promised redevelopment.

What exactly are we going to end up with here?  The history of the site is long and has promised all sorts – major chain stores, hotels, restaurants, offices.  At one stage even the relocation of the Council HQ to make Pontypridd the county town.

In 2007 planning consent was granted for a scheme that would have provided over 400,000 sq ft of new retail space, residential apartments and leisure accommodation including a hotel.  The Pontypridd Observer reported that ‘PONTYPRIDD’S “ugly duckling” Taff Vale shopping centre could be transformed into an elegant hotel, apartments and offices and modern shopping complex .’

As stated on the developers’ website “shortly thereafter a downturn in the property market began.”  So new plans were cobbled together which provided for a far less attractive development with a much smaller retail area and a ‘budget’ hotel provided for in phase 2.

Six new shops are planned of various sizes – not a lot to regenerate what is supposedly the County Town. Worryingly developers Riddell state they have let only two of the units.  There is no mention at all of ‘phase 2’ or the planned hotel anywhere on either their website or the RCT press release.

Meanwhile we have also seen this past week an announcement of a planning application to build a new town in Talbot Green

At this rate Ponty will be lucky to end up with a couple of new market stalls and a hot dog stand,