Plas Kynaston Canal – Cefn Mawr

[Sam]

I’ve just read the very interesting proposal by the group regarding extending the canal up into the old Monsanto works and forming a marina. It highlights the plus points of the forthcoming jobs, boost too the local economy and the increase in tourism. It looks at the other two options through very dark glasses, and too be fair, rightly so.

But, if I was to look at the proposals details. It raises more questions than answers.
1. Mine the minerals from under Monsanto to recoup / fund the project.
How is this going too work ? It’s highly likely that any ‘minerals’ down there are possibly acting as a filter which is holding a look of bad stuff from entering the local water table and ultimately the Dee. So, IF you dig it up:
a – You’ll lose the natural filter
b – You’ll have a large opencast mine for a while making ex Monsanto stuff airborne.
c – You’ll have quite a bit of contaminated mineral, that the project will end up paying for to dispose of. There goes all the nice good things they promised you. No money left to finish them bits.
d – Once you remove the filter, what will enter the water table?

2. All these jobs and boosts to the economy. Absolute claptrap. Jobs ? It actually asks for you to forward your cv inlight of any employment that may come up. I’m not going to go in-depth but that is morally wrong on so many levels. And as for boosting the local economy ! Cefn Mawr needs investment to be able to attract the new tourist trade.

I have relatives there and grew up there, I left 20+ years ago but still visit regularly. What sort of welcome can Cefn offer currently ? I love the place and it breaks my heart to see what happening there ever since the fall of Monsanto and Air Products.the only investment I’ve seen is that white elephant of a glass fronted ex chapel.
Cefn Mawr deserves better than to be fed this dribble of lies and deceit by self claimed righteous people.
Yes something needs to be done with the old Monsanto site, I agree. Smoke and mirrors are not required.

Why do I feel so passionate about this ? It’s my growing up neighbourhood and where I live now is 7-8 years down the line of a similar local project, Brymbo Steelworks. And we’re still fighting for what was promised all them years ago. The goalposts have moved that many times, they’re on castors.

[pete]

Well said Sam.

The PKC group’s original plans for extending the canal and creating a high quality housing/leisure development for the site seem to have now changed into having an open cast coal mine in the middle of a residential area/world heritage site.

There’s also a considerable amount of scaremongering going on in the area suggesting that ‘affordable housing’ means ‘council house slum’.

It seems odd that on their vote they don’t include the option for the mixed use development of the site (which may or may not include an extension to the canal), only ‘cheap’ housing.

[Sam]

Pete, up in Brymbo we had the affordable housing banners everywhere, which is good.
But, the fact of the matter is that the WMBC will only grant planning too developments over a certain size if they include a percentage of properties which are deemed as ‘social’ housing. Up here social housings is used to accommodate families in crisis from as far away as Liverpool.
Everytime I read about the cable car I Pmsl. Who the hell would even consider such a ludicrous idea as that, never mind trying too promote it!
All I’ve seen so far is a very vague PDF of the perimeter and possibly where the canal will go.
Sorry, far too little detail to create a personal decision.

[Y Ffin]

What we need is ‘affordable housing’ that young people and first time buyers can afford to buy, not subsidised and private rented housing that allows other councils to dump their problem residents/tenants on communities who don’t deserve them and allows buy to let landlords to make a quick buck.

[Sam]

@Y Ffin 2708 wrote:

What we need is ‘affordable housing’ that young people and first time buyers can afford to buy, not subsidised and private rented housing that allows other councils to dump their problem residents/tenants on communities who don’t deserve them and allows buy to let landlords to make a quick buck.

I totally agree, but the trouble is that the banks are still holding on too the money. There not giving mortgages unless you’ve got a large amount as a deposit. 1st time buyers are now aged 35+ . That’s why the privately rented property market is the only one that’s moving !

[Author]

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