MOVING CARMARTHENSHIRE FORWARD
Plaid Cymru’s 2008 Local Government Election Manifesto for Carmarthenshire.

Peter Hughes-Griffiths (Group Leader), Tyssul Evans (Vice-Chair), a John Dixon, (County Committee Secretary) at the Manifesto launch at County Hall in Carmarthen.

DEMOCRACY

Some of the Llanelli area Candidates at the Carmarthenshire Plaid Cymru Group, Manifesto launch in Llanelli.

While Plaid Cymru welcomes modernisation, Plaid councillors on Carmarthenshire County Council are against the weakening of our communities by the closure of rural schools. We support the positive aspects of the Modernising Education Plan, However, we would place a moratorium on the present policy of closing rural schools and establish a ‘Review Body’. This would  look at every possible option in consultation with staff, teachers, governors, parents and the general communities before adopting any future schemes.

In consultation with the Welsh Assembly Government Plaid Cymru would also review the whole issue of school transport within towns and in rural areas based on safety and aiming to decrease the use of private cars to help reduce CO2 emissions.

It would be Plaid Cymru’s aim to ensure that there are no more than 20 pupils in classes for children under 8 years and no more than 25 pupils in every junior and secondary class.

We would support and strengthen the county’s special education strategy.

To adopt the Welsh Language policy as outlined by Councillor Gwyn Hopkins in his document ‘Iaith Pawb’. (See Appendix) To develop the language policy in  Category A and A/B Schools (as completed already at Ysgol Ffwrnes, Llanelli), and to focus special attention in the Llanelli area in the 4-11 sector to maintain the appropriate standards in both languages and foster positive attitudes towards Welsh and contribute towards the aim of a bilingual Wales as set out in the Welsh Assembly Government’s “Iaith Pawb”. Further consideration should be given to establishing more designated Welsh  medium schools in the Primary and Secondary sector in certain parts of Carmarthenshire. At secondary level the Authority’s Welsh Language ‘Continuum’ policy should be  implemented to increase the provision of subjects taught through the medium of Welsh and to market this as a positive choice for children and parents.

REGENERATION OF COMMUNITIES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• Encourage and support the creation of businesses both rural and urban within the county, hence creating further job opportunities for local people.
• Support existing small rural and urban businesses and assist them to develop and extend further.
• Simplifying the Council’s services for supporting  and advising businesses.
• Encourage all sectors within the County to buy more local produce and goods in general.
• Ensure that the Council itself buys as much as possible of its procurement needs from businesses within our county.
• Ensure that existing businesses within the County are encouraged to tender for the supply of the Council’s procurement needs.
• Create opportunities for our young people to gain skills through providing apprenticeships within the workforce.
• Support small businesses e.g. agri-related etc. that want to diversify into tourism etc.
• Secure European Grants to enable the Council to help existing and new businesses to develop further.
• Encourage businesses to move into the area providing work for local people.
• Reconsider the treatment rates and rents for businesses in the county which are currently not equitable.

PLANNING

Review the council’s planning policies to ensure that we can maintain and develop the strength and vigour of our communities. Develop a stronger ‘local need’ policy within planning. This would support young people to remain within their local communities and secure the future of rural shops, schools, post offices, garages and other businesses and that planning policies do not have the opposite effect by making it harder for people to obtain homes in their own communities.

Control the further development of ‘Out of Town’ supermarkets and hypermarkets thus helping to ensure the survival of all types of businesses within the towns of Carmarthenshire.

Ensure that more financial benefits become available for towns and villages affected by all residential and commercial developments under Section 106 agreement with the developer, thus helping the local community to gain recreational facilities and any other improvements highlighted as a priority need by the local County Councillor or/and the Community Council. (Section 106 is where developers of over 10 new properties are asked to contribute funding towards improvements within the community they are seeking to develop on as part of Planning Approval.)

SOCIAL SERVICES

Plaid Cymru would:

• Further develop individual personal care schemes to promote independent living.
• Ensure a secure future for local Day Centres and establish more luncheon clubs to serve local communities.
• Promote additional transitional beds in Care Homes to reduce hospital bed blocking resulting from delayed transfer care.
• To enhance the role of  the voluntary sector and to raise awareness of the individual contribution of volunteers in developing and sustaining a caring community.
• Plaid Cymru opposes in principle the concept of ‘privatisation,’ especially so in social care.

SAFER COMMUNITIES

Plaid Cymru wishes to strengthen the role of the County Council in promoting safer communities in Carmarthenshire through:

• Providing support for introducing more Community Police Officers and Local  Safety Wardens.
• Secure more money from government sources for CCTV cameras with funding for monitoring during the night and day.
• Support and safeguard the position of community based youth workers to enable them to develop longer term youth projects within a network of youth clubs, and the provision of a variety of attractive amenities for young people.

HOUSING

• Plaid Cymru’s major objective would be to expand rapidly the supply of affordable homes for local people.
  To establish Community Land Trusts and review and tighten agreements under Section 106 when new houses are built. (See ‘Planning’ manifesto)
• Support the continuation of local authority ownership of housing stock.
• Investigate with the Welsh Assembly Government the need to build ‘Council Houses’ in rural areas with the opportunity for local ‘first time buyers’ to rent or buy such houses. This housing policy would strengthen rural communities and provide  support for rural schools, shops and other essential services.

ENVIRONMENT

Carmarthenshire must play its part in the global effort to save the planet. Plaid Cymru councillors will prioritise measures to make our county cleaner and greener:

• Ensure a co-ordinated whole authority approach and increase the pace of change.
• We will encourage the development of local energy production such as micro generation as a radical means of reducing our carbon footprint.
• Empower local communities to play their role in tackling climate change and reduce fuel costs of citizens through the setting up of Local Forums/Groups. Create ‘Go Green Teams’ to advise  householders.
• Promote and expand waste recycling schemes and ensure recycling is easy and accessible to every resident.
• Make Local Authority buildings more environmentally friendly  e.g. solar panels, phase out incandescent light bulbs by 2012.
• Promoting environmentally friendly transport alternatives and seeking to reduce traffic generation by using public transport and cycle routes and other green travel ideas. The promotion of improving disabled access to buses, buildings, public places and public areas would be continuously reviewed.
• Minimising all aspects of pollution would have  priority.
• Work in partnership with other organisations, bodies and agencies  towards enhancing the health and welfare of the county, its environment and communities.
• Promote the use of Fair Trade goods and support the campaign to win Fair Trade Status for Carmarthenshire and Wales.

YOUTH SERVICES

• Create awareness of the full extent of opportunities that are available within the county and encourage young people to stay and work in the county.
• Develop new apprenticeship schemes for young people.
• Hold an in depth ‘Review of the County’s Youth Service and Provisions’ and implement a new strategy for a network of Youth Activity Centres in appropriate buildings within communities throughout Carmarthenshire (with reference to our ‘Communities Commission.’)
• Plaid Cymru would make available a sum of money for the Carmarthenshire YFC and Urdd Gobaith Cymru youth movements to employ full time ‘Development Officers’ in Carmarthenshire. ( The majority of Welsh  Rural Local Authorities already implement such a policy).

LEISURE AND A HEALTHIER COUNTY

• Ensure that present leisure resources already available in schools etc. are used by making these facilities available to communities during the evening and holiday time under proper supervision, and developing a network of attractive leisure programmes.
• Effective co-operation and partnership between the Local Health Board and the Local Authority is of the utmost importance. Closer and more effective co-operation will therefore, be a priority for a Plaid-run County Council.
• Develop further schemes that promote healthy living and keeping fit.

REGENERATION OF COMMUNITIES

Plaid Cymru will set up an “Our Communities Commission” to research in depth into all aspects of community life in Carmarthenshire, with special attention given to rural areas. The Commission would present a detailed report, listing the strengths and weaknesses of our communities in Carmarthenshire, followed by practical  and positive recommendations on how to improve and develop communities and especially ‘community life’ throughout our county.

THE WELSH LANGUAGE AND WELSH CULTURE

• Promote within the County the vision as set out in the ‘One Wales’ document and the Welsh Assembly’s directive “Iaith Pawb”.
• ‘Mentrau Iaith’ has a key role to play in promoting and delivering these policies and would be fully supported by Plaid Cymru.
• The County Council’s present initiatives of supporting staff and members to enhance their bilingual skills would be further developed and encouraged, thus promoting bilingual meetings and seminars in accordance with the council’s bilingual ethos.

TOGETHER WE CAN MOVE CARMARTHENSHIRE  
FORWARD WITH PLAID CYMRU

Uncollected Rubbish in Llanelli