Wrexham Council to stop accepting grants!
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The Wrexham.com news article may seem quite a small issue compared with all the other political turmoil going on at the moment, but such a policy would effectively put a stop to the millions of pounds that come to the area, at the moment. Everything from childcare to older people’s service to homeless, Social Care, Hosusing repairs, to name a few.
A quick look at the Council accounts papers to show approx. £50 million – can the Leader seriously think such a policy would not seriously damage our area.
Where would the Council be without grants for Ty Pawb, Wrexham Cemetery, ‘nice new’ pavements and road in town centre to name but a few.
Having funding that is short term must be a real problem for them to manage and Welsh Government need to wake up to this issue.
The impact of the disastrous Brexit aftermath will be even worse for Wales. The distribution of funding from the Westminster controlled Treasury will result in at least 20% less funding for Wales due to what is called the Barnet Formula.
We are heading for a complete nosedive leading to a meltdown of services- perhaps the merger talks with other counties needs to start again to drive efficiencies by sharing services and expertise.
Whatever the outcome is with politics at Westminster and the Brexit negotiations the impact at a local level will be lasting decades with massive changes to our political and economic landscape across Wales and crucially Wrexham our communities and the lifestyle of individual residents.Frankly it does not suprise me that the poundshop Donald Trump from Rhostyllen and his baying excuse for a envioronment member are on a rant. Do the Guildhall carpark and get the officers to respond. Where the hell does Pritchard think he would be without grant funding…like Boris Johnson but without a bloody O level.
Possibly the best move. These grants come with conditions.
Council Houses had solar panels fitted because they had to be finished by a particular date I believe to get the grant. A few months later scaffolding went up again to take off the solar panels whilst new roofs were put on. Solar panels the re-fitted.
Last year perfectly good whole undamaged 70 year old paving slabs were replaced in council house gardens by inferior concrete, which in places has already has moss on them. The paths have since had huge holes cut in them for water main replacement. Re-concreted in a different colour making them look like patchwork. No idea if that work was covered by grants but a total waste of money.
There is no joined up thinking. They see a pot of money going spare & think that they must have it.
I hope that I have misunderstood this report (which may well be likely).
It is obviously as dumb not to take grants without thinking the use of the same through as it is to take them, especially if the money will only find its way into some other community courtesy of the Welsh Assembly. Grants, per se, are not the problem.
The problem, of course, is when you let people loose on tax payer money who should never be let loose spending the contents of a money box. Take the wonderful state of the art (excuse the cliché) Theatre proposals, all complete with fancy grant. Money was made available for a new build subject to it being used for a criterion laced purpose. Sounded good to me. Until, of course, you delved into the detail. 400 seats proposed……making it 1100 seats smaller than Llandudno’s equivalent, 600 less that Rhyl’s Pavilion, 100 seats less than the Stiwt and 500 seats less than the William Aston Hall. In brief, a Theatre that broadly replicated the Little Theatre.
What this suggested is that the Theatre proponents, who were declaring that major artists would perform there (in their dreams) knew nothing about the economics of sustainability of this sort of project. The truth is that Grants can get things done…..but not if utilised by people who know absolutely nothing about making an objective work successfully
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