CCBC costs and cutting

[DVT]

Isn't the Council "subsidised" by the Welsh Governemt (Senedd) - surely the two most important things to spend (our) money on is NHS and Education ... no, the Senedd politicians rather spend on 20mph (£33M plus), Cardiff Airport (where did they find that latest amount from), trees in Uganda, and numerous other unimportant projects including an extra load of Senedd politicians that no-one, in the general poipulation, seems to want.

Starmer is apparently using Wales as a template, so god help us all in the UK.  I see so much discussion about scrapping the Senedd, that would be a good start for all of us.

[SteveH]

Half of public toilets being axed in North Wales county - full list of locations
The council has also revealed the 'tricks' used to avoid payment

Half the public toilets in Conwy are to close in an attempt to cut costs. Some are seafront loos in tourist locations, others are lone toilet blocks in rural villages, and many have long been regarded as essential public facilities.

The local authority said it cannot afford to subsidise all of its public loos or cover the cost of those often vandalised. For those facilties staying open, Conwy Council is looking to introduce charging at those toilets which are currently free to use.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/half-public-toilets-being-axed-29604208?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

Collapse of developers blamed as lack of new builds dubbed 'shambles' in Welsh county battling homelessness
Conwy county had the worst record in North Wales for new homes over the past 12 months and was near the bottom of Welsh table

A Welsh county battling homelessness had one of the worst rates for new builds in the country in the latest figures. Statistics released by Welsh Government were poor overall for new home completions for the period between April 1 2023 and March 31 2024.

Over that the period, 4,756 new dwellings were completed in Wales, down 18% on the previous year. It was better news for housing starts with work underway on 5,161 new dwellings, 13% more than in the previous year.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/collapse-developers-blamed-lack-new-29614189?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

Sounds to good? and is it going to be funded by grants?......... 

Conwy Council's historic HQ offered to firm with plans to create 'world-class business centre'
A lease on the grade 11-listed building has yet to be finalised

A platform for entrepreneurs has been confirmed as the preferred bidder for Conwy Council’s Bodlondeb HQ. Cardiff-based Ideas Forums plans to refurbish the offices in Conwy town as a business and innovation centre.

The company aims to create a “world-class business centre” and transform the council’s historic building into a global “beacon of entrepreneurship and innovation”. By offering free space to local start-ups, its three partners hope the venture will generate “tens of millions of pounds” for the local economy over the next five years

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/conwy-councils-historic-hq-offered-29739897?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[Robert2020]

Looked at companies house records for the company. It documents little capital behind it for such grand ideas,  it would appear they are the conduit for start up companies who attach grants. I hope the council lease makes this company pay to maintain the property and not the rate payer who currently has to maintain the colwyn bay council HQ building which they lease. Could well be another poor decision by the council.

[mull]

Sounds like subsidy junkies to me.

We have lots of them up here in Argyle and they seem to make a good living from it. Soon as one grant runs out they move on to something else.

OK if someone else is paying.

[SteveH]

Looked at companies house records for the company. It documents little capital behind it for such grand ideas,  it would appear they are the conduit for start up companies who attach grants. I hope the council lease makes this company pay to maintain the property and not the rate payer who currently has to maintain the colwyn bay council HQ building which they lease. Could well be another poor decision by the council.

Good point about maintain the property and not the rate payer the councils record of mucking up leases etc, no good closing the gate...............

[Hugo]

Eleventh-hour bid to 'pause' Conwy toilet closures as updated locations released
Critics want more time to see if some toilets can be kept open

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/eleventh-hour-bid-pause-conwy-29761850

[SteveH]

Message from Gogarth councillors

Last month Conwy County Borough Council announced their plans to relocate both Llandudno's Library and the Tourist Information Centre from Mostyn Street to Venue Cymru as part of a UK Government funded project to upgrade Venue Cymru.

The Council agreed to carry out a consultation on their proposals for the library, and this is a reminder for local residents to have their say.  Click here to complete the consultation. .... https://www.conwy.gov.uk/en/Council/Have-your-say/Consultations/Llandudno-Library-Consultation/Llandudno-Library-Consultation.aspx

The announcement came out of the blue earlier this summer, and we are very much against the Council's plans.  Earlier in the summer the proposals were discussed at a meeting of the Council's Labour/Plaid Cymru/independent Cabinet Committee.  We were able to attend the meeting and question the plans but unable to vote.

We were very surprised to hear the Council's spokesperson for economic development criticise local councillors for highlighting residents' concerns and suggest that Mostyn Estates had exciting plans for the building - the Council has since been unable to clarify what plans Mostyn Estates have for the site.

We'd encourage everyone who is interested to click here and watch the recording of the meeting.
https://www.youtube.com/live/KDbNdGBOKUc?t=2335s

[SteveH]

Conwy council’s leader has slammed a Welsh Government funding formula used to calculate how much money the council receives each year, insisting the authority has been short-changed by more than £210m in seven years. Leader Cllr Charlie McCoubrey says the amount of money given to Conwy in its local government settlement is not enough, arguing it compares drastically unfavourably to the sums received by Gwynedd and Denbighshire.

In December both Conwy and Gwynedd came bottom of the local government settlement table of 22 Welsh authorities with just a 2% budget rise. Consequently, Conwy then upped council tax by 9.67% this year, cutting frontline service budgets by 10% and even school budgets by 5%.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/conwy-short-changed-210m-says-29840302

[DaveR]

Looked at companies house records for the company. It documents little capital behind it for such grand ideas,  it would appear they are the conduit for start up companies who attach grants. I hope the council lease makes this company pay to maintain the property and not the rate payer who currently has to maintain the colwyn bay council HQ building which they lease. Could well be another poor decision by the council.

Good point about maintain the property and not the rate payer the councils record of mucking up leases etc, no good closing the gate...............

I believe Bodlondeb is to be offered on a 'New 250-year long leasehold interest', which is something I've not seen before? That's pretty much a Virtual Freehold, which would mean the tenant was responsible for all maintenance expenditure, whilst CCBC retains ultimate control over the use of the building.

[Hugo]

Perhaps CCBC has learnt the art of leasehold from Mostyn Estates?     After all the Estate is the master of leasehold and all it stands for.    The building site on the West Shore at Llandudno has a current asking price of over two million pounds with a lease of 900 years
That would suit someone like Methuselah

[Hugo]

Eleventh-hour bid to 'pause' Conwy toilet closures as updated locations released
Critics want more time to see if some toilets can be kept open

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/eleventh-hour-bid-pause-conwy-29761850

Wow that's a relief!      North Wales council's doomed public toilets get brief stay of execution
A proposed closure plan was suspended until Conwy Council's cabinet meets next week

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/north-wales-councils-doomed-public-29860892

[Meleri]

Conwy Town will be loosing the current public toilets on the Quay as the building & turret housing them has been sold to the developer of the Civic Hall. A modular Unit is to be installed on the slate Quay area, wherever that may be.

[SteveH]

CONWY COUNTY Borough Council spent more than £4million on temporary and emergency accommodation during the last financial year.

An application to the council under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) has revealed that the local authority spent £4,358,626 on these accommodation services in the 2023/24 financial year.

Emergency accommodation refers to short-term housing for people experiencing homelessness, while temporary accommodation is a longer-term solution for people who are waiting for permanent housing.

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/24571618.conwy-council-spend-700-000-less-emergency-accommodation/