When asked people of Ynys Môn overall quite happy.

The BBC has an interesting report today on the well-being survey - What are the top five happiest parts of the UK?

It is a digest of the recently published Measuring National Well-being - Where we Live, 2012 by the ONS.

When asked "Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday":

Save our libraries

Ynys Môn Council is currently carrying out a consultation on the future of the library services on the island.

I hope you will take part by visiting your  local library or the Councils website - Anglesey Library Survey - you have till 4 March 2013 to do so.

I think libraries are an essential community facility and more should be made of them, so the aim should be longer opening hours and  greater use of the space.

"What is more important in a library than anything else-than everything else-is the fact that it exists. Poet Archibald MacLeish"

See also: Voices for the Library

Why the testing always?

Why do politician seem obsessed with audits, and getting 'Little Johnny' to sit exams, have you ever wondered why?....I was wondering why when I was looking at a Estyn Report into the state of Education on Ynys Môn back in 2012, and .....they started to talk about 'outcomes' which in my book can only mean one thing - economists, you know the people that try to turn the 'real world' into a 'model' based on 'rational decisions and thoughts.'

So I can imagine at some time in the past Estyn will have organised a seminar, and at that seminar Professor Posh Name Loads of Titles will have been invited

And Professor Posh Name will have studied some schools in a thesis which allowed him to reach a conclusion..and suppose...they just happen to agree with your already preconceived ideas. You know the 'bloody hell I knew I was right all along' moment.....And you might forget to question the validity of what Professor Posh Name is saying, you assume his conclusions are correct - take for instance the Nobel Winning Economist Milton Friedman whose ideas are in the large now discredited. So there is a possibility that might say policy was determined on preconceived ideas and a flawed model.

Now further in the report they also talked about costs per pupil, and that means 'accountants'. They are the Auditors and they measure everything. And Terry Pratchett has them spot on in his Discworld series of books.

Let me give you an example: think apple trees - Auditors will ask how does your apple tree compare with the neighbours apple tree. And they'll invent the juice ratio - how much juice per apple. Whereas we might ask how do the apples taste?

And in the world where we measure things, to justify the monies we all are spending 'Little Johnny' needs to be tested, so we can all clap yourself's on the back and say look how good they did....aren't they clever. In a way we are measuring 'success' how successful a school was compared to the 'average' success of all other schools.

But how can you quantify success? - especially if it's a common measure of success for kids, all of whom will have different abilities, who also will have different ideas what success means. It shouldn't mean that just because all the clever kids go to the clever school, the other schools are somehow less successful.

In say a world where success is quantified by height and one day a year they measure height of kids, and have the height model, to compare against to see how much the kids have grown, does is make sense that a school is said to be failing because on the day of the test the tallest kid was off ill. Not forgetting that as Head Teacher it makes sense only to encourage the tall kids to come to my school.

To me it makes no sense putting pressure on primary kids to sit exams, for us to find out something that in the real world is meaningless, you know what's the saying one size doesn't fit all. If I had kids (I don't by the way before you ask) and wanted to know how 'Little Johny' was doing I'd ask the teacher, I'd trust them more than some auditors who visit the school once a year. Or dare I say I'd actually ask 'Little Johnny'. And we know this approach works because it works in Finland, where the key to success is trust in teachers.

For the record of the subjects I talk about above, education and economics I'm an expert in neither - which to some is probably stating the 'bleeding' obvious..

Building a prison on Anglesey would be stupid!!!!

Putting aside that super prisons don't work....talking to BBC News....Andrew Coyle, University of Essex emeritus professor of prison studies and a former governor of Brixton Prison, has "a real feeling of déjà vu" about the latest plan. [The former Labour Government in 2009 scrapped proposals for three 2,500-capacity "Titan" jails.]

He points out that while in opposition, Conservative minister Dominic Grieve criticised Labour's prison proposals as akin to building "giant warehouses".

"We have clear evidence from the chief inspector of prisons and others that the ideal size for a well operating prison is about 500 - to go beyond that and you do begin to warehouse," Prof Coyle warns.

He says the move to giant prisons could "make the situation much worse" for prisoners already spending "too much time in their cells".

The possible locations of a super prison and the relocation of prisoners away from their communities is also a concern.

Mr Coyle says: "There are not 2,000 people in prison in north Wales. And if it is to be built in London, then the cost of both providing the land and building on it is going to be astronomical.

If you asked the question where would you build a prison in North Wales, and a super prison at that, then logic says that the only place to build it would be in Wrecsam. After all North Wales depending on whom you believe has a need for a 500 to 800 capacity prison, which means 1,200 to 1,500  prisoners from England. And surely as the case for a prison in North Wales is the travelling distance for relatives as well as logistics, then it would be rather silly if we then build a prison that would increase the travelling distance for what would be the majority of relatives.

On Anglesey two sites have been suggested, one at Rhosgoch...the former Shell oil terminal.  Sorry, but whoever suggest that site as a suitable location for a prison of any size must be really, really, and I mean really thick...mad utter bonkers.

The other proposed site is Anglesey Aluminum at Holyhead.....well it does have a direct link into the national grid for the electric chair I suppose.

But seriously, I suspect even Holyhead with its rail link and A55 connection would a be logistical no go area for a super prison, not forgetting the cost of clearing the site in the first place.

Now don't get me wrong I don't have any problems with prisons per say, after all travel to Shrewsbury on  train and when you disembark you're within walking distance of the prison, and it doesn't seem to deter tourist....you know seeing how we should always think of the tourist, apparently....

So please can we stop this utter nonsense - whilst there is a case for a prison for North Wales prisoners in North Wales, in my opinion there is no logical argument that can be put forward that supports a case for a prison on Anglesey.

As for the former Rhosgoch Shell depot, I suggest we turn it into a solar park, akin to the one recently approved at Bodorgan Estate (see BBC News) to bring some income into the Council at least.

To pylon, or not to pylon....that is the question..

The winner: T-Pylon by Danish company Bystrup Architecture

A report in the Daily Post - 'Pylon plan will damage tourism on Anglesey, say council on Thursday says National Grid plans to erect towering electricity pylons across Anglesey will damage tourism, warn council chiefs.

As we know the National Grid is consulting on proposals for new grid connections for the Wylfa B and the offshore wind farm array, and there is an ongoing debate as to whether the new connections should be subsea and underground. Not unsurprisingly the preferred option is new overhead lines, which got me thinking whether they will be the new T-Pylon design, shown above. You can follow the progress of the new design at the National Grid T-talk blog.

And if you want to read about the options considered for the new connection, costs and other factors: National Grid - North Wales Connections Strategic Options Report. (pdf file) - You will find that the subsea option is at least twice as expensive than overhead lines.

For at the end of the day it will be mostly down to cost, irrespective how desirable the more expensive option may be to all of us.

Section 9, Electricity Act 1989 says:

9 General duties of licence holders.

(1)It shall be the duty of an electricity distributor—
(a)to develop and maintain an efficient, co-ordinated and economical system of electricity distribution;
b)to facilitate competition in the supply and generation of electricity.

(2)It shall be the duty of the holder of a licence authorising him to transmit electricity—
a)to develop and maintain an efficient, co-ordinated and economical system of electricity transmission; and
b). . ., to facilitate competition in the supply and generation of electricity.

And in Schedule 9:

1(1)In formulating any relevant proposals, a licence holder or a person authorised by exemption to generate, transmit, distribute or supply electricity—
a)shall have regard to the desirability of preserving natural beauty, of conserving flora, fauna and geological or physiographical features of special interest and of protecting sites, buildings and objects of architectural, historic or archeological interest; and

(b)shall do what he reasonably can to mitigate any effect which the proposals would have on the natural beauty of the countryside or on any such flora, fauna, features, sites, buildings or objects.

The National Grid’s commitments when undertaking work in the UK is set out in their stakeholder, community and amenity policy - to download

And if your thinking what does 'have regard to the desirability of preserving natural beauty etc' mean, the following is an extract from the Court of Sessions -Judicial Review of a decision of the Scottish Ministers made on 22 December 2011 granting detailed consent under the Electricity Act 1989, section 36 for an application by Dorenell Limited (UK) for the construction of a wind farm on the Glenfiddich Estate, Morayshire, which was dismissed on all grounds:

....[4]In the summary of the report of the inquiry, the reporter explains that the wind farm would be around 8km to the south of Dufftown, and 2km from the northern edge of the Cairngorms National Park. The application proposes 59 turbines on a site extending to 21.5 square kilometres. The wind farm would be operational for 25 years. The reporter proceeded upon the basis that the determining issues in relation to the section 36 application were (i) the need for the wind farm and national energy policy and guidance, (ii) its environmental and other impacts, including tourism and recreation, and economic benefits and impacts, and aviation safety, and (iii) the development plan, other planning policies, guidance and advice, the Cairngorms National Park plan, and the requirements of schedule 9. The determining issues in relation to the decision on whether to direct that planning permission should be deemed to be granted were the same, under exception of the reference to schedule 9. 

[5] Overall the reporter concluded that the proposals would make a significant contribution towards meeting and surpassing national renewable energy targets. The site benefited from a good wind resource. The proposals would result in landscape and visual effects of substantial adverse significance, but these would be localised and limited in extent. In his judgment, the landscape in the area has the capacity to absorb the proposals. The landscape and visual effects, including the cumulative effects and the effects on the National Park, were acceptable. He was satisfied that an appropriate layout had been achieved. There would be adverse effects on recreation, most notably on walkers and hillwalkers in the local area. However these did not justify rejection of the proposals. The effects on the key industries of tourism, food and drink, and their brand images, would not justify rejection. The economic benefit arising would be small.

 [6] With regard to the proposed mitigation measures, the reporter was satisfied that the effects on birds and other wildlife inhabitats would not be sufficiently adverse to justify refusal. He was satisfied that the integrity of the River Spey Special Area of Conservation and the interests of the two European protected species on site (otters and bats) would not be adversely affected.

 You can read the full judgement at  the Scotland Courts website.

So if those opposed to the pylons want National Grid to consider the alternative subsea and underground options they need to show that the National Grid is not following it's own community and amenity policy and/or the Halford Rules. Also that the proposals will be worse than what exists currently, in that....there is already a connection to the grid across the island, which I assume will be taken away when Wylfa A is finally closed. And a reasonable question is what evidence is there that the existing pylons put off visitors from visiting Anglesey - and how much worse would the new pylons make the situation?

Of course there will be an adverse effect, especially locally near to the pylons, but will this in monetary terms be more than the additional cost of the alternative subsea and underground options?

The National Policy Statement for Electricity Networks Infrastructure (EN-5) says.."The Planning Inspectorate should, however, only refuse consent for overhead line proposals in favour of an underground or subsea line if it is satisfied that the benefits from the non-overhead line alternative will clearly outweigh any extra economic, social and environmental impacts and the technical difficulties are surmountable."

See also National Policy Statements for Energy Infrastructure.

And there you have it, the crux of the matter, that until national policy is changed we will be having pylons.

Prospects for Wylfa B get even gloomier.

Yesterday, there was only two companies left to bid for Horizon Nuclear and build Wylfa B.

Today,  if the report in 'The Times' is correct, this in the near future could go down to one. It seems that Toshiba and owner of Westinghouse; seen as a front-runner and heavyweight player in the nuclear sector, according to 'The Times' "wants to quit the nuclear industry altogether and is struggling to raise finance for the join venture."

It would appear that the days of nuclear energy are coming to an end, with Germany and Japan already committed to phase out their own nuclear plants, and investors very reluctant to invest in new builds due to ever growing costs.

Council boundary changes are welcome news.

The proposals by the Local Government Boundary Commission to reduce the number of councillors on the island by 25% has finally been accepted by the existing Councillors.

This is welcome news, as I have for some time been of the opinion that multi member wards was the way forward for the islands Council  i.e see  Ynys Môn - Review of electorate arrangements – Local Government.

In the past the perception was that  if you upset the local councillor, things could be made difficult for you - so to speak. Sometimes wards were ruled over by shall we say long standing councillors whom got elected by default 'cause no one else stood against them, and if you where not in their gang tough....

At next years election at least there will be a choice, and following the election a choice of 3 Councillors from whom to seek help.

Having said that I'm still of the opinion there we have far too many councils in Wales, and that we should reduce the number - as I have said in the past bring back the old Gwynedd County Council -  Merger – odds on favourite.

We need investment in state schools.

It's not rocket science, we have been here before, following a recession most private companies will try to consolidate debts - and those already stretched will find it hard to gain additional monies from banks.

The affect of this can be seen most sharply in the construction industry. For many 'SME' construction firms public contracts are their bread and butter, that kept them going, whilst private jobs was the jam.

I'm talking about local firms here, with long and successful histories of employing local people, whom are part of the local community and by their presence make the community better.

Of course the current thinking within the public sector is 'bigger is better'. Rather than say Jones of Amlwch repairing schools in Amlwch or Jones of Holyhead repairing school in Holyhead, no they say we need a big contract and a big firm (excuse used as ever the EU).

This is an idea that has come from the private sector, for example a local convenience store of mine had their door handle broken for some time. The spring had broken, it would have taken a local company ten minutes to fix, but no the manager informed me they had to wait till the 'maintenance company' sent and 'engineer' from Manchester to fix the door, 'cause that was company policy.

Things it seems are pretty bad at the Ynys Môn Council when you read (as I mentioned in a previous post)  "No budget allocation is available to cover other categories of maintenance, for example painting and decorating."

Think what we know about education on the island, firstly there is far too many surplus places, ideally the council would build new primary schools to merge and replace existing schools, that are not only expensive to keep, but not really suited to the needs of modern education.

And the islands secondary schools wont last for ever, take Ysgol Bodedern, the last new secondary school to be built on the island, that was in 1977, that's over 35 years ago.

So what can we do? - well may I be so humble and suggest that we need a 'big plan' to invest for the future. And this means borrowing money, and I'm not talking about some expensive PFI scheme or an equity swap with the private sector, I'm talking of council's being allowed to borrow money to invest in new infrastructure. Can't be done you say, then I refer you to monies made available in an attempt to clear the backlog in the maintenance of our highways see:  £60m boost for maintenance in Wales.

After all not all debt is bad debt, especially with the interest rates at a historic low. We need to invest in education and the future needs of the islands children, we need to repair old schools, better still build new schools. Above all we need timely support for our local building firms and provide a boost to the local economy.

Of course this is not something the Council can do alone, and this is where the Welsh Government should step in. It's all well and easy pointing fingers and saying things should improve following an Estyn report, but you are either part of the solution of part of the problem.

Is a collapsing education system really the legacy a Welsh Labour Government wants to be remembered for?

Education on the island.

A recent Estyn report on the quality of local authority education services for children and young people in Cyngor Sir Ynys Môn concluded:

Overall judgement: Unsatisfactory

The local authority’s education services for children and young people are unsatisfactory because:

• standards for children and young people are below what could be expected at all key stages;
• attendance rates in secondary schools are unacceptably low;
• the school improvement service is inadequate
• not enough progress has been made in planning for school places;
• operational leadership in the delivery of education has not driven improvements in areas of under performance and schools and officers have not been held to account; and
• business planning and risk-assessment processes have not been robust enough to identify and address the slow pace of progress in education services and schools.

Capacity to improve: Unsatisfactory

The local authority has unsatisfactory prospects for improvement because:

• there has been long-term under performance at service level;
• the pace of action to bring about improvement has been too slow in the past to assure inspectors that improvement can follow this inspection without external challenge;
• self-evaluation processes have been patchy and progress against recommendations made in previous inspections has been limited;
• school leaders have not been held to account; and
• service level lines of accountability are unclear.

There is only one thing you can say - it's another damning indictment of the piss poor leadership the Councillors of the island have given us. I for one think that since power was taken away from the under performing councillors things have actually started to improve at the council. It's less me me, and more about us.

Want more evidence as to the lack of leadership - Mike Barton in his report to review the future management strategy of property assets says:

An ongoing programme of revisions to condition surveys indicates a worsening situation with regard to building conditions and the maintenance required to retain premises in good order.. .. And...

No budget allocation is available to cover other categories of maintenance, for example painting and decorating.

Yes 'what the fuck' indeed, oh and don't forget that many of these so called Councillors are Governors as well, and that many of them are still prancing around as if this had nothing to do with them.

I think Councillor McGregor got it right, when he said this morning that this was another nail in the coffin of Ynys Môn Council.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the next logical step is a merger with Gwynedd County Council and possibly others, as we were in the good old days, when someone standing as councillor did so for the benefit of the community and not as it now seems to gain advantage for themselves and friends.

Some statistics about Ynys Môn

After reading the Daily Post, once again, saying that Ynys Môn had the lowest GDP of UK (doh!!!), I thought on a rainy afternoon I'd look up some statistics from  StatsWales.

In 2001 the percentage of the population in employment (16-65) on Ynys Môn was 66.3% as compared to the welsh average of 67.1%, whereas in 2010 that had risen to 69.5% compared to the welsh average of 66.2%.

In May 2009 the monthly claimant count was 2,009 whereas in May 2012 the provisional figures are 1,786.

Now the bit the Daily Post gets wrong. In 1997 the Sub-regional Gross Value Added (GVA) where UK=100, by Welsh NUTS3 area for Ynys Môn was 49.6% and in 2009 57.2%

OK it still means the island is in the bottom 5 in the UK but it is still ahead of Gwent Valleys (53.3%) and Wirral (53.7%)

In 1997 the Gross disposable household income where UK=100, by Welsh NUTS3 areas for Ynys Môn was 86.9% and the provisional figure for 2010 is 90.5% as compared to the welsh average of 87.7%

Note: Gross disposable household income is an estimate of the amount of money that households have available for consumption expenditure or saving. It is equivalent to the excess of income (including earnings, pensions, investments, benefits etc) over expenditures associated with their income (tax, property ownership and the provision for future pension provision).

In 2001 there was 67,806 of us living on Ynys Môn and in 2010 a few more 68,592.

So next time the Daily Post, and or the Welsh Conservatives march out their lazy narrative in an attack on Plaid Cymru and/or Ieuan Wyn Jones AM - usually along the lines that Plaid Cymru have made it worse on the island, lowest GDP in UK etc etc I hope you do remind them of the facts.

Marine Conservation Zones

The Welsh Government is currently consulting on 10 potential sites as options for further consideration as highly protected marine conservation zones, on the basis that the Welsh Government intends to designate no more than 3-4 sites....This consultation is the first in an iterative process consisting of 3 consultation phases.

You can download the consultation document from the Welsh Government's website.

On Ynys Môn there are two potential sites - Puffin Island and a section of the shoreline on the North East of Menai Strait.

Within the potential highly protected marine conservations zones, there will be strict conditions attached which the consultation explains:

The best way of achieving this is to afford the sites a high level of protection where they are protected from the extraction and deposition of living and non-living resources plus all other damaging or disturbing activities to support as natural an ecological state as possible.

 Extractive, depositional, damaging and disturbing activities have been defined in the site selection guidance [..] as follows:

• An extractive activity is defined as an act that involves the temporary or permanent removal or attempted removal, of any living organism or non-living material or natural feature from the marine environment. An exemption to this is the removal of man-made litter.
• A depositional activity is defined as an act that involves the laying down, movement or discharge of living or non-living materials or substance into the marine environment. This includes deposit of materials such as rocks, gravel or sand, building of structures, and the release of any polluting or toxic or chemical substances, as well as the discharge of ballast, untreated human waste, biodegradable and industrial waste and the discard of fish offal and by catch.
• A damaging activity is defined as an act that potentially results in permanent or temporary physical harm or injury to species, or cause permanent or temporary alteration to natural features within the marine environment. Physical damage would count as something which reduces an organism’s ability to operate in a natural.

With such strict conditions there are concerns that the potential highly protected marine zones could harm the legitimate businesses of some people and/or the leisure activities of others with consequential damage to the tourist trade.

The Daily Post on Thursday had a report on 'Coastal communities up in arms over planned marine zones'.

As part of the first stage of the consultation the Welsh Government is collecting evidence from those likely to be affected by any potential marine conservation zone.

For example for the potential zone at Puffin Island they ask

Do you currently use or enjoy or plan to use or enjoy the sea or coast within or near this site?

If so tell us:

Where exactly?

What activity or pastime are you involved in?

How often do you do the activity or enjoy the pastime?

How important is the activity or pastime to you?

Therefore if you are concerned that any of the potential sites may unduly affect your livelihood and/or enjoyment of the natural environment it's important that you let the Welsh Government know. You can download a consultation response form (in word format) from the Welsh Governments  website

The consultation closes on 31 July 2012.

Please note: words in italics are extracts from the Welsh Government's Consultation Document.

Ynys Môn and GVA

The Daily Post in a report on Wednesday -  Wylfa B not derailed by power giant pull-out said:

[The pull out by RWE and E.on from investing in nuclear in the UK]....started a scramble to find a new consortium to bail out the development, seen as vital for a county which has the lowest GDP in England and Wales....

In the first place the preferred measure for regions is GVA, in particular GVA per head, and we know from the last issued  GVA figures for regions; from December 2011, that Ynys Môn does not have the lowest GVA per head of population in England and Wales, that would the Gwent Valleys at £10,654.

Which was something I did post about at the time see:  Ynys Môn GVA per head revised figures.

Britannia Bridge and active traffic managment.

On Monday I crossed Britannia Bridge on my annual trip into the heart of Gwynedd.  Now, we are told that  Britannia Bridge cannot cope with peak traffic flows and that a second crossing is needed,  which some claim was to be  funded by 'Wylfa B'. You know that magical funding pot that politicians on Anglesey have been praying was the answer for all the islands problems.

Take the A5025 which is slowly falling to bits, don't worry was the answer  - 'Wylfa B' will pay for all the improvements. My advice take care, as many lengths of the A5025 are in desperate need of resurfacing, due to low skid resistance -  you will notice far more 'slippery road' warning signs up these days.

Or when schools need to cut back on staff as there was not enough children coming to the school, some Councillors suggested we should wait as Wylfa B would bring many families into the island and their children would need to be educated.

A stock answer it seems - don't worry 'Wylfa B' will pay for it.

But 'Wylfa B' will not now happen for many years, and if there is no 'public subsidy' to guarantee electricity  prices to make investors money may never happen.

Therefore, with poor odds of 'Wylfa B'  ever being built, you might as well as forget about a second crossing. I wouldn't think it carries enough traffic to attract other private investors, and we have no public money, so we are told.

Which brings me back to my trip to Gwynedd this morning.  Williams Hughes Civil Engineering were carrying out essential works on the approach to the bridge, and for the safety of its workers had a 30 mph speed limit in place -  the result when I went past no queues.

Which supports my view that what we require on both of the approaches to Britannia Bridge are variable speed limits and active traffic management as trialled on the  M42. This together with enforced average speed limits would in my opinion significantly reduce occurrences of peak hour queuing on the bridge.

Mr Sargeant - please don't forget the public.

In September,  Councillors of Ynys Môn Council may be given back the key to the executive chamber, and over a phased time period have power returned to them. You can read a transcript of Carl Sargeant, Minister for Local Government and Communities statement in  Paul Williams Druids Revenge blog.

Carl Sargeant, the Commissioners and the Audit Commission whilst not totally convinced that the problems of past "misbehavior, under-performance and petty squabbling" would not return, have concluded "there are no longer any serious risks."

I suspect though that the ratepayers of Ynys Môn will be far less optimistic as to the likelihood of good behavior continuing within the ranks of the islands Councillors.

And that in once sense is a problem with this process, is a feeling that nobody has really bothered to ask the ratepayers what they thought, what they wanted. Nor has anyone; it seems, asked how can we bring the ratepayers back on board and interested in the real issues that affect the island, and how through the democratic process can their concerns can be satisfactorily addressed.

Don't get me wrong in many ways a lot has been achieved since the Commissioners have been 'running the council' on behalf of Carl Sargeant. Procedures have been updated to improve the governance of the Council, and steps have been taken to ensure that the Council has in place a strong management team, which is something the Audit Commission has long identified as a weakness.

Then there is the decision of Carl Sargeant to change the island election boundaries for councillors to multi member wards, similar to what occurs in Scotland. I think it's a very good idea, and would urge Carl Sargeant, if he can to go further and adopt  Single Transferable Vote (STV) as a method of electing Councillors, again as they do in Scotland.

I would urge also the main political parties on the island to set aside their differences and work together on how they can encourage greater participation in the politics of the island. I seem to recall that there where moves made last year to this end, but have read little about it since.

I also read somewhere that there was a growing call within the Conservative Party to look at how candidates where selected, and whether the process could be widened so that a greater; shall we say, diversity of candidates be put forward, and not from a narrow pool of what may be portrayed as stereotypically candidates from any of the main political parties.

In terms of multi member wards one concern as expressed by Paul Williams is that it will make it harder for independent councillors to be elected, due to the size of the wards and lack of resources by independent candidates to canvass such wards. Can I make a suggestion that as part of the election process the Council could send out to all ratepayers a leaflet saying whom is standing in their ward, within which each candidate would be allowed; within limits, an opportunity to spell out why they should be elected as Councillor for that ward.

Which brings me neatly onto independent councillors, and a commonly asked question - Are independent councillors really Conservatives in disguise?

Interestingly the Political Studies Association in April also asked that question in respect of Councillors in England, and you can read their working draft by following this link - Independent Councillors.

Which sort of, in conclusion to the question -Are independent councillors really Conservatives in disguise? says  - No, but lots of them are.

Now there are many reasons why you would stand as a independent councillor - you may not have a great allegiance with any of the main political parties, or although you may support a political party you may have fallen out with the local party on a specific issue, or you may have been excluded from standing in the name of the local party for various reasons.

Of course one of the problems you have with independent councillors is in the most a lack of a manifesto, from which they can claim a mandate or on which the electorate can judge whether they have kept promises made.

There is also a lack of party discipline and or support, not that this means no good independent Councillors exist. But if you do have allegiances if not with the main political parties, maybe you should follow the lead of Llais Gwynedd, who formed their own party rather than some confusing case of being independent but yet being part of a group of Councillors with similar views and not therefore strictly speaking independent at all.

As to whether following next years council elections the long term future of Ynys Môn Council is secure may be academic, as I have said before there are far too many Council in Wales, and when the time is right a merger with Gwynedd and possibly Conwy is definitely on the political horizon. 

Visit Wales and walk around Anglesey.

Picture RSPB South Stack

It's official Wales is one of the top 10 regions to visit in 2012. This week the world's first coastal path to cover an entire country has been officially opened in Wales.

Stretching from the mouth of the River Dee in Flintshire in the north to Chepstow in south, the Wales Coast Path covers 870 miles (1,400km). The network also links into the Offa's Dyke Path - creating a 1,030 mile (1660km) route around the whole of Wales.

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel: top 10 regions for 2012 has Coastal Wales as their number one region to visit.

And this is what they had to say about Coastal Wales:

"What a wonderful thing: to walk the entire length of a country’s coastline, to trace its every nook, cranny, cliff-face, indent and estuary. How better to truly appreciate the shape – and soul – of a nation?" Read more...

So if you do fancy a break from the hectic 24/7 modern world, to relax and enjoy the idyllic welsh coastline in relative peace why not visit Anglesey.

To find out more about the coastal path around Ynys Môn - Anglesey please visit the following websites:

Visit Anglesey - Coastal Path
Friends of Anglesey Coastal Path

One of the highlights amongst many on the Coastal Path is the RSPB Nature Reserve at South Stack.

The coastal path also caters for sport enthusiasts i.e it forms part of a series of coastal marathons see  endurancelife - Coastal series Anglesey.

See aslo:

Anglesey Walking Holidays - an award winning company and local experts in offering customers a tailor-made holiday on the Anglesey Coast Path.

Celticos for guided themed and nature walks, craft & hobby courses in Snowdonia and Anglesey.

Local jobs for local people?

A report in the Daily Post on Saturday - Meeting over Anglesey Council contracts row said "A COUNCIL mired in a row after an English firm was awarded the grass cutting contract for its schools could now see its executive study every tender before they are given out...."

...The motion resolved that the executive should look at every aspect of the tendering process in the future and consider “legitimate” means to help local firms tender."

Now I'm sure most of us would want our local council to help local businesses be competitive, grow and be successful. And the Council can help in many forms - assistance in applying for grants, business advice,starter units for new businesses etc...

But what they can't do is give an advantage or be perceived to give an advantage to local businesses in the tender process for public contracts. The Council spokesperson is right, the Council has to comply with European treaties and conventions.

In particular Article 101 of Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU):

1. The following shall be prohibited as incompatible with the internal market: all agreements between undertakings, decisions by associations of undertakings and concerted practices which may affect trade between Member States and which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition within the internal market, and in particular those which:

...(e) make the conclusion of contracts subject to acceptance by the other parties of supplementary obligations which, by their nature or according to commercial usage, have no connection with the subject of such contracts.

The Public Contracts Regulations 2006 incorporates this European legislation into British law.

Of course if there was legitimate means of giving an advantage to local businesses, don't you think some other Council would not have done so already?

But there is not.....and imagine the reaction if say an English Council awarded a contract to a local company even though a Welsh company tender price was lower.

And I agree with Cllr Peter Rogers who said to the Daily Post - "We need to make Anglesey companies competitive so they can bid for these contracts and also go to other areas and bid for work.

“We can't do this by stopping competition. We can't have councillors meddling in every contract.”

Returning to the report in the Daily Post and the "row after an English firm was awarded the grass cutting contract", let me finish with something I hope is quite obvious which is Article 18 of TFEU:

Within the scope of application of the Treaties, and without prejudice to any special provisions contained therein, any discrimination on grounds of nationality shall be prohibited.

Dylan's Restaurant @ Porthaethwy

NOW OPEN

In these times of austerity, recession and bad news concerning employment prospects on the island, I was pleased to be contacted with some good news.

In June of this year a new restaurant will open on Menai Straits' waterfront.  With its glass and timber clad boat house design at the water’s edge; a contemporary reference to Anglesey’s maritime culture and history, Dylan's Restaurant will aim to be a friendly, high quality, family oriented restaurant at the heart of the local community, and will work hard to promote Menai Bridge, the wider area, welsh language and culture.

Dylan's Restaurant has been awarded a 'local investment fund grant' by the Welsh Assembly, to help create new jobs. Venture Wales assisted with the application, and the owners of the 'soon to be open' Dylan's Restaurant speak highly of the Economic Development Office at Ynys Môn Council for their support in  turning an aspiration into reality.. The funds will go directly towards capital expenditure items and in particular, the fitting-out of the kitchen at Dylan's Restaurant.

If you want a job at this new restaurant, you can apply online at Dylan's website.

Alison Bell tells me that we should all "look out for Dylan's vintage Citroen HY van around the Island and North Wales coastline, which will be advertising the arrival of the new restaurant. The van will be visiting caravan and camping sites, beaches and nearby towns, providing information and distributing sample slices of pizza. We are also aiming to visit local schools to deliver educational and fun baking demonstrations to primary school children as part of Dylan's commitment to the principles of healthy eating.

The upstairs space in the restaurant will be available at selected times as a meeting place for local interest and social groups; as a gallery space for local artists; as a venue for lectures and talks about local issues; for wine tasting evenings, celebrations etc."

For more information visit Dylan's Facebook page.

Porthaethwy (Menai Bridge), need I remind you, is used as the backdrop to the popular S4C soap opera Rownd a Rownd

Post updated 2/6/2012 Picture of van added and changes to text.

Lein Amlwch - Gaerwen to Llangefni

You may have read in the Daily Post that the cost of re-opening the disused railway line between Gaerwen and Llangefni 'would' cost £25 million. This sounds quite a lot, especially at £6,250,000 per mile. I hope you notice that in the report itself the 'would' turned to 'could' cost....

You can download the Network Rail report from the Welsh Government website.

If you do download the report by Network Rail you will also notice that there are many 'if and buts' within - i.e the £25.1 million cost includes "a risk percentage of 35% and is subject to further GRIP development."

Therefore the on their own calculations the cost could be between around £16 million and up to £21.5 million.

But even at £16 million or around £4 million per mile it still sounds rather a lot to me. Time to study the report further me thinks......

Tories at war over Conwy Council tax rise.

It seems the Tories of Conwy are at war - A report in today's Daily Post says:

"THERE were calls yesterday for three councillors to be expelled from the Conservative Party for voting for a 4% council tax rise.

The Conwy County Councillors voted with other parties for the rise last month because they felt it would have been illegal not to do so and set a budget...."

You may recall from an earlier post by me Ynys Môn Council Tax - some context that Conwy County Council had in the financial year 2011-2012 and average Band D Council Tax rates the 4th lowest rate in Wales.

You may also recall the big fuss the Tories made when the Commissioners whom run the executive function of Ynys Môn, following consultation made a final recommendation that the Ynys Môn Council element of the Council Tax should increase by 4.5%

I think all you need to say about Conwy’s Tory group leader and Clwyd West Conservative Association chairman Cllr William Knightly; is to quote him directly from the Daily Post, when asked about the fact that Cllr Merfyn Thomas had resigned from his group and will stand as an Independent in May’s local elections:

He is “disappointed” with the resignation of a “damn good councillor”.

Meanwhile Cllr Merfyn Thomas and former Conservative Councillor whom stood by what he believed was the correct choice for his constituents said to the Daily Post:

[...T]he 4% rise in 2012-2013 would be the equivalent to householders in a Band D property of buying “a Mars Bar” a week, not agreeing the rise and budget would have been illegal. Nor was there an alternative budget. He resigned because he didn’t want a whip on such issues.

An interesting concept of localism there by the Tories, which seems to say you can decide locally as long any decision taken concurs with policy set nationally.

Improvements to A5025 between Valley and Amlwch

This week residents whom may be affected by proposed improvements to the A5025, as part of Wylfa B have been written to by Alan Smith, Head of Site Development at Horizon. The text of the letter is self explanatory and is as below:

"Dear Sir/Madam

Potential route improvements to the A5025 between Valley and the proposed site for a new nuclear power station at Wylfa

In November 2011 we wrote to landowners along the route of the A5025 between Valley and Amlwch to outline our approach to considering what road improvements may be needed to support the construction and operation of a new nuclear power station at Wylfa.

I am now writing to all residents living between Valley and our proposed development site to provide our early thoughts on where we believe route improvements may be needed in these areas, ahead of us presenting more detailed options formally to you as part of our first phase of community consultation in the next few months.

Through our work with the Isle of Anglesey County Council Highways Authority and our environmental consultants. Mott MacDonald we're looking at the following areas for possible route improvements:

• The Valley crossroad - where the crossroads may need to be bypassed
• Llanfachraeth - where a bypass to the east of the village is being considered
• Llanfaethlu - where the bends at the Black Lion Inn and Llanfaethlu may need to be straightened
• Cefn Coch - where the existing route between Bod-Hedd and Cefn Coch may need to be straightened
• Tregele - where modifications to the site access at Tregele as well as potential changes to the access to Cemlyn may need to be considered.

We have started talking privately to landowners that may be directly affected by any potential changes to the A5025 in those areas prior to developing our options further. These are early stage discussions and we have not developed any firm proposals at this stage.

Its our intention to talk to everyone who we believe may be directly affected by any potential road improvements as part of our project and, in the coming months, will present draft proposals to the public as part of our first phase of formal consultation. We will hold public exhibitions across Anglesey and North Wales where you will be able to view our proposals and give us your feedback. Additionally, we may hold mini consultations specifically on proposals relating to the A5025 as we want to give local people every opportunity to have a say on our proposals.

While dates and locations of our consultation events have yet to be announced, but we will advertise them widely in the media, through our newsletter to every home on the island, and via the Isle of Anglesey County Council.

You can also register for updates on our consultation process at consultation.horizonnuclearpower.com

While we tried to ensure this letter is sent to all residents along the route of the A5025 from Valley to the proposed construction site, if you are aware of anyone that has not received this letter, please let us know.

You can contact us via our freephone hotline on 0800 954 9516 or email address at wylfaenquiries@horizonnuclearpower.com

The next stage of our work will be to consider what road improvements may be needed along the A5025 from the proposed construction site to Amlwch and we will keep residents in those areas up to date on our early proposals."

Further information about Horizon Nuclear Power can be found on their website horizonnuclearpower.com/wylfa

(Note: letter from Horizon scanned using text recognition software, and may not reflect the layout of the original letter. Any spelling mistakes most likely to be mine and my typing skills. A letter in welsh was also sent by Horizon.)