In his regular blog for Caerphilly Observer South Wales East AM Lindsay Whittle gives his take on recent news.
Police Station
Plans have been submitted to demolish the old Caerphilly Police Station in Mountain Road. The applicants are a company called Castle Park Developments.
It will be sad to see this piece of local history disappear. I remember it best as the former offices of Caerphilly Urban District Council.
I recall as a 14-year-old attending a meeting there in the 1960s– across the road from the old grammar school. My experience there clearly had an influence on me as I was elected to Rhymney Valley District Council in 1976.
The former school house in Park Lane and another former police station is also facing demolition.
Merger
Like colleagues on Caerphilly council, I oppose the proposed reorganisation of local government which would see Caerphilly council joining forces with Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen.
Given the very difficult economic situation, this is certainly not the time to be spending a huge amount in an unnecessary shake-up.
There is also a huge difference between the Band D tax rate in Caerphilly and the other two authorities – in fact, it is £43% higher in Blaenau Gwent which amounts to more £400 a year.
I couldn’t imagine Blaenau Gwent’s tax levels being brought down so asking people in Caerphilly to pay more is not acceptable.
Also despite the recent well-documented problems involving top officers, Caerphilly council does have an excellent record of service delivery and also works with other authorities in various areas such as dealing with waste on a south-east Wales basis.
Care Homes
As Plaid Cymru’s social services spokesperson, I’ve raised the issue of increasing concerns about Welsh care and nursing homes. They have almost doubled during the past year. Figures from the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales show that concerns rose from 741 in 2012/13 to 1,447 in the last financial year.
They vary from worries about neglect, quality of life, attitude and respect to physical and financial issues.
It is important that concerns about the way Welsh care and nursing homes are run are investigated. People, whether residents, relatives or social services professions, must be prepared to report any worries they have. There may be nothing in them but on the other hand there could be serious incidents of mistreatment, something which has been highlighted at homes in England.
Inspectors play a vital role in accessing standards in homes. It is vital people in care or nursing homes must expect excellent care and to be treated with dignity.
Not just the former police station and the schoolhouse face
demolition but the town’s first ever school is also due to go. This
school, in Park Lane, was opened in 1866 and was the first school in
Caerffili that was subject to government inspection. Given this
historical importance to a ‘tourist area’ and the fact that it is one of
the oldest buildings still standing in our ancient town one might think
that the council and CADW would wish to save it. No, apparently not; it
will go the same way as the ‘Tithe’ Barn, armoury, Clive Hotel, Ty
Vaugn and all the rest of our historic buildings demolished in the last
50 years.
One interesting aspect of this latest craze for demolishing our heritage is that the council seem oblivious to the protective covenants that apply to the land that these buildings stand on. Once the council demolish these buildings they will find that development of the land will not be straight forward as they obviously
think at present.
Richard; Your concern, at the total `lack of concern` for the WELSH heritage in respect to historic buildings in and around Caerphilly Town,by political elected representatives, is clear.
In the case of the historic buildings you mention in PARC LANE Caerphilly, it should be noted that the `DECISIONS` to rid the town of these buildings is down to OFFICERS OF THE COUNCIL and NOT COUNCILLORS. The current proposals to demolish the properties has been taken by middle management officers of the Council using `DELIGATED POWERS` abdicated to them on such `delicate` or sensative issues by our elected Councillors.
To date, no Councillor on Caerphilly Council have yet felt the need to protect these historic buildings in the town, however, Lindsay Whittle. in his defence, and as a Borough Councillor (which he still is) has always defended the protection of the facade of the `OLD POLICE STATION`
in Parc Lane.
NO elected member of CAERPHILLY BOROUGH COUNCIL has yet felt the need to intervene and `call in` this issue, and thereafter put thier name to whatever is decided on these buildings, if Lindsay is concerned in any way, or, if his Plaid Cymru Ward Councillors who represent Caerphilly Town on Caerphilly Council have any concern for the protection of Welsh historic interest and heritage in the Town, ( which Plaid Cymru have a natural predeliction for doing) they will get off their backsides, call in the deligated process, and make the decisions they are paid to make, and whatever they decide at least will then be in the name of the people of Caerphilly who they represent, no good complaining after the event and the buildings have been destroyed, however, if that is the decision they make at least have the courage to make it, and not leave it to faceless unaccountable middle management officers of the Council who have little or no consideration of public expressions, blinkered, we know best attitudes, are destroying Welsh Heritage right in the centre of such a Welsh historic Town like CAERPHILLY, it appears Plaid Cymru representatives and promoters and protectors of all things Welsh are also unwilling to ensure proper scrutiny of this wonton destruction and dismantling of images of Welsh history in our Town.
Trefor, I would not presume to speak on behalf of borough members, maybe they are as concerned as we are, but I have not any evidence to this effect.
For decades the old town has been systematically
destroyed by succesive councils, whether by councillors themselves or by delegation of their authority to council officers.
This may not seem important but tourism is supposed to be encouraged in Wales by boththe local authorities and Welsh Government. Instead the birthplace of Dr. William Price, the house of Evan James, Clive Hotel, rail locomotive
works, Ton Y Felin Woolen Mill and many other tourist interest sites have been obliterated to make way for tacky buildings.
This has led to the ‘two hour tourist’ who comes to see the castle and then says “nothing of further interest here, can’t even get a decent meal” and leaves to spend their holiday money in Cardiff or elsewhere. Who can
blame them? If I was a visitor I would do the same thing.
It doesn’t have to be this way, look at the Tithe Barn in Abergavenny, now a museum and coffee shop. We once had a barn of similar dimensions in the heart of the town, on the castle green. It was torn down to make way for, grass…
Perhaps the Cabinet Member for regenerationLabour Councillor Ken James,
who represents a ward thousands of miles from the historic Caerphilly
Town, but who is responsible for the proposed destruction of the County
School Buildings, and the 100 (odd) year old Town (Glamorgan) Police
station in Parc Lane, would like to ensure that local Welsh history and
heritage is at least consider before destruction, in this case, by
ensuring that an impact statement is prepared for future generations to
know who was responsible for such abdication of resonsibility to protect
this footprint of Welsh History.
It is very interesting to note
that Lindsay and his Welsh Nationalist Elected Colleagues on Caerphilly
Council are so silent in thier thunderous opposition to this historic
destruction in Caerphilly that they cannot be heard, It is also
interesting to note that the CAERPHILLY TOWN COUNCIL, which is a
majority PLAID CYMRU COUNCIL, and in who`s area these building are
located are also silent on the subject. As a result they are of course
complicit with the clearing of these historic buildings, and the most
serious issue is that even though the Caerphillt Council intend to clear
this small area of land, they cannot have any detailed proposed
development proposals for the site, and even when they do properly
consider its possible legal uses, they are so restricted that any
sensible and profit led commercial developer wil run a mile, that fun is
yet to come, unless of course the CAERPHILLY COUNCIL decide to play a
straight bat on a number of loca, associated issues, in which case
opposition and potential public challenges to the developemtn of the
cleared site may disapate.