PLAN FOR HYBRID ENGLISH-WELSH REGION CAUSES CONCERNS

PLAN FOR HYBRID ENGLISH-WELSH REGION CAUSES CONCERNS

The opening of a direct London to Wrecsam/Wrexham rail route yesterday
may not seem as innocent as it first sounds and is likely to form
part of a covert economic development plan for a regional spatial
strategy for North East Wales and West Cheshire.

The train service, which will directly link London with Wrecsam via
Shropshire will operate five times a day in both directions, but in
addition to building a wider rail network for Wales the new line is
also likely to be a major boost for the economic objectives set out
in a non-statutory sub regional spatial strategy for North East Wales
and West Cheshire.

It is this latter development, which has taken place over the last
four years that is of concern to the Celtic League. The West Cheshire
North East Wales Sub Regional Spatial Strategy is intended to provide
a non-statutory framework for cross-border co-operation and development
between North East Wales and West Cheshire over the next 15 years,
since it came into effect in 2006. Even though the Welsh Assembly
Government is one of the partners of Strategy, the economic entity
of a North East Wales and West Cheshire sub region it aims to create
is likely to influence the Wales Spatial Strategy in terms of planning,
development and regeneration for the north east Wales area. In particular
the Strategy will override decisions made under the Local Development
Plans and the town and country planning system in Wales, which do
not have their own spatial strategies.

Moreover, public consultation for the strategy seems to have been
very limited and it is also unclear just how the Strategy is open
to public scrutiny and/or objection at all. Cross border cooperation
maybe all well and good economically, but when English counties and
businesses are able to exert an influence over important local decisions
such as house building, then something has gone seriously wrong.

The Strategy has been very much Labour led from its outset, with Wrecsam
Member of Parliament and anti Welsh language campaigner Ian Lucas,
very likely being the driving force behind the plan. Lucas was incidentally
one of the first passengers on the first Wrecsam to London train yesterday,
along with only 10 paying customers.

According to Lucas, the Wrecsam to London rail link, marks "a tremendous
occasion". He told BBC news:

"It's superb news for Wrexham because a business is showing it wants
to come here because Wrexham is going forward and it's a prosperous
place."

What Lucas didn't say is that the direct rail link will now make it
easier for commuters to live in Wrexham or further west while working
in London or elsewhere in England. The redevelopment of North West
Wales by English minded councils and business and commercial interests
will be bad news for the Welsh language, identity and culture and
could create a corridor of immigration (or colonisation) into the
Welsh speaking heartlands (the Fro Cymraeg) of north west Wales. One
of the last things Wales wants is a 'West Wirral' over its boarder.

This may sound entirely like speculation at the moment, but it is
necessary to look at the parallels with the Chinese Qinghai-Tibet
railway, which promised to bring economic expansion into Tibet, but
instead brought mass immigration. One of the main differences with
North East Wales is that an economic strategy (with England) is already
in place. In this economic context, is the London to Wrecsam direct
railway service as innocent as it looks?

The Celtic League has written to the First Minister of the the Welsh
Government (see below) to express its concerns and to ask some very
pertinent questions.

"Dear First Minister Rhodri Morgan

North East Wales and West Cheshire sub region

I am writing to you to express our concerns about the existence and
functioning of the above sub region, which has culminated in a non-statutory
sub regional spatial strategy for North East Wales and West Cheshire.

Our concerns stem from the potentially damaging influence that this
spatial strategy could have on the Local Development Plans (Unitary
Development Plans) for these areas of Wales, where decisions regarding
planning and regeneration can be made with little consideration for
Welsh cultural and linguistic identity. If the Wales spatial plan
and the North West spatial plan is to be overseen in the context of
this West Cheshire/North East Wales sub region strategy then there
are obvious issues for how the territorial integrity of Wales can
remain intact.

In addition, we would like to know what the intention was behind the
development of a cross boarder sub regional spatial strategy and how
the public consultation exercise was carried out in early 2006, including
who was consulted and what the outcomes were. It appears very few
people in the north east of Wales know anything about the strategy
at all and by all accounts the Strategy is being implemented by stealth.

Admittedly the spatial strategy is non-statutory, but in our opinion
it nevertheless seems to have influence on the town and country planning
system in Wales, which have no Regional Spatial Strategies. Therefore
there is an issue of accountability here and we would like to know
how the Strategy went through a validation process and what recourse,
if any, the public have to lodge objections to the Strategy and how
those objections will be heard by an Independent Inspector?

We look forward to receiving your comments.

Your sincerely

Rhisiart Tal-e-bot
General Secretary"

J B Moffatt
Director of Information
Celtic League

29/04/08

The Celtic League has branches in the six Celtic Countries. It works
to promote cooperation between these countries and campaigns on a
broad range of political, cultural and environmental matters. It highlights
human rights abuse, monitors all military activity and focuses on
socio-economic issues.

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