‘This is not democracy!’

As thousands of Montgomeryshire residents head to the polls today (Thursday), the Welsh Assembly Government and Powys County Council’s handling of the wind farm saga has prompted Welshpool to question the democratic credibility of local government.

 

Welshpool Town Council has been fighting multi-billion pound Energy Proposals for four years and its Town Clerk has accused the Assembly and Powys of freezing out the views of the people.

 

“We as a council have deep concerns,” said Mr Robinson. “There have been times, like when Tirgwynt Planning Application was considered at Powys, that they have not let community councils speak. This is not a democratic way to operate and shows the lack of understanding for local sentiment and feeling.”

 

Mr Robinson also insinuated that there is a growing feeling within the town council that some county councillors, who he did not name, are now only reacting after discovering that the Power Plans are a lot closer to home than previously planned.

 

“Three-and-a-half years ago when Welshpool started to fight the wind farms and warning people of substations and power lines we were being accused of scare mongering and exaggerating. Well, unfortunately, I can say we were wrong, the plans are a lot worse than we could have ever imagined.

 

“Welshpool Town Council has met with ministers at Westminster and the Welsh Assembly on the matter and has put forward formal petitions to both Parliament and the Welsh Assembly seeking a public inquiry.

 

“The question is now: do we negotiate with the developers to get the best deal or do we fight them? Well, the message is clear that Montgomeryshire will fight.”

 

However, Mr. Robinson is concerned that there is a lot of wasted effort going into the campaign which he also fears is fragmented with different protest groups pulling in different directions.

 

The town council, which has initially agreed to oppose the Energy Plans in their entirety, will embark on an extensive door-to-door survey to seek public opinion before formulating its official response to the proposal to build 800 more wind turbines, a 19-acre substation and hundreds of power pylons.

 

“While the turn-outs to these public meetings have been good, the percentage represented for the people living in those towns and villages is not big,” Mr. Robinson added. “We are going to take it up another gear by asking every single household what they feel about them through a more targeted questionnaire. This will give us all a real feeling.

 

“These plans won’t affect Welshpool as much as other areas but we want to show our support and stand shoulder to shoulder with other town and community councils in Montgomeryshire.”

 

The questionnaire will also be handed to each of the 1,300 pupils who attend Welshpool High School. A meeting of all Montgomeryshire town and community councils is expected to take place tomorrow (Friday) to debate the issue.