Alunh

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  • in reply to: LDP Thrown Out #247171

    Alunh
    Participant

    Absolutely agree Zinger. That’s the main reason why the bickering politicians should have had the LDP in place years ago.

    The LDP concept was designed to get broad stroke objectives in play in the early LDP phase, get agreement on (say) the need for Housing, then put a plan in place to resolve all of the logistical detail.

    The sad thing is that there was an early acceptance of the need for Housing, no LDP, the 2021 census late in the day, an attempt by some to argue that the hypothetical LDP was mis-premised, political rowing backwards……and then a shit-show.

    My point is that Housing has to be a genuine priority, an LDP should have been in place several years ago, the real debate should have been about the ‘where’ (of the Houses) and the logistics to match.

    Now, they’re all over the place

    in reply to: LDP Thrown Out #247131

    Alunh
    Participant

    We all know that there is a down side to the current in the pipe line housing proposals. I really do wish that people who haven’t got a veiled agenda would start to trumpet the up-aspects; indeed, there are counter-arguments providing a different perspective.

    i. On services, no town or city has ever developed without logistical problems. Indeed, one reason for the development of the LDP approach is to try and allow as early as possible the custodians of the public purse the ability to pre-plan service provision and to allow the private sector to make its own response to the proposed development (as with the placing of a new Aldi in Llay). In Wrexham, we are lucky to already possess, for example, a purpose-built Secondary School lying idle, whilst many of the proposed developments lie on the periphery of the urban space allowing service growth. The truth is that there will invariably be a service time-lag in some sectors, but as the points below explain, this doesn’t need to be long-term.

    ii. It’s far too easy to play the game of evaluating Housing NEED in simple terms and whilst 3-4 bedroom proposals might seem at odds with perceived NEED at the bottom of the Housing ladder, studies of what actually happens in practice might help justify the current approach. The Housing ladder is so-named because individuals are constantly moving up and down it. The acquisition of 3-4 bedroom properties by aspiring folk, often with growing families size, invariably frees up Housing capacity on lower Housing rungs. This freeing up factor is vital and many of the Houses freed up will be starter homes or single/double occupancy units. There is no study evidence that a preponderance of the 3-4 bedroom properties will be bought up by ‘outsiders’ exclusively.

    iii. Many simplistic evaluations neglect the fact that demand and supply forces dictate to a large extent Housing prices. Inflating Wrexham’s Housing stock by 10,000 units will at minimum provide a safety valve on the pricing system, possibly helping reducing prices over time. The truth is that Wrexham’s Housing market requires fresh stock input at all levels and without it we will consign the coming generation to look elsewhere for their needs over time.

    iv. Simplistic evaluations ignore the direct knock-on effects of Housing growth. 10,000 Houses require an immense amount of building work to complete and Wrexham tradesmen ranging from Builders to Electricians, Plasterers to Kitchen fitters, Painters to Joiners, will be needed to produce the units involved. This is a huge bounty for the Wrexham workforce and a huge bounty for all of those existing commercial interests in the area that look to the sort of enhanced demand that this will produce.

    v. Simplistic evaluations ignore the Multiplier and Accelerator effects of the House building program. The financial input to the area described in iv has been identified by various studies as akin to the Keynesian pump priming approach in that all individuals who derive an additional income courtesy of the building program are also consumers of local services and goods. The additional House dwellers plus the additional disposable income of the House building sector should be regarded as a plus for Wrexham.

    vi. The House building game comes down to alternatives. There are some who suggest the priority should be the Social Housing sector, invariably state supported/financed. Fine. Unfortunately, the state of the public purse is such that this route is just not realistic, certainly not at present. Private sector development, on the other hand, is totally realistic. Developers are chomping at the bit to fulfil seemingly insatiable demand and the local Housing stock can be augmented rapidly and equitably. Only a fool or a charlatan would argue that the public sector can respond to Housing needs at this time. Yes, a start can be made, but without implementing the current proposals there will be a dire housing position for decades.

    vii. One bi-product of Housing increases within the 3-4 bedroom type is augmented Rates for the local authority. With £2000+ being a typical Rate payment, the idea of adding 10,000 X £2,000 (£20,000,000) to the Wrexham authority’s coffers is very nice. Not only can this help attend to any Service shortfalls, scale financial incomings should be more than capable of alternative uses in the community. It’s interesting that some local politicians always ignore this aspect of Housing proposals.

    viii. One argument used about 3-4 bedroom developments is that they attract Commuters rather than servicing local need. ii above part addresses this but it has to be said that no evidence is ever presented supporting the idea that Wrexham will suddenly become a magnet for people from distant areas. Additionally, what if it was the case? What if families did come here from across Wales, Britain, or the globe. Wrexham is a welcoming town that was so good as to welcome me in 1974 and these good folk will I’m sure become solid members of our local community in short time (even season ticket holders at Wrexham FC).

    • This reply was modified 1 month, 2 weeks ago by Alunh.
    in reply to: LDP Thrown Out #244801

    Alunh
    Participant

    There are 2 considerations here

    1. What is the optimal way forward for Wrexham on the planning/housing front

    2. The adherence of WCBC to the required process and all its protocols

    On Question 1, I would suggest that many of the arguments being advanced about the non-requirement of New Builds of a 3-4 bed nature, the need for Social Housing, the threat of Commuters and the rampaging approach of profit soaked Developer capitalists is……..GASLIGHTING (though I don’t doubt that if public sector finances could afford 8000 social houses that might help + service facilities are lacking)

    On Question 2, I would advise that people check out the exact nature of the LDP. It is time sensitive and there is a clear process in play. The process was actually followed until very late in the day when several people rowed backwards. Oops. On time-scaled exercises that are supported by stringent legal aspects, such shenanigans needed to occur several years ago.

    Local Development Plans

    in reply to: Another £20 million for Wrexham over 10 years #240973

    Alunh
    Participant

    £20,000,000 equals some 2000 X £10,000. I only mention that because the best way of salvaging the High Street is to remove the Rates on businesses, attract business Investment as a result, and desist from the really silly approach of taking (from business) with one hand, pondering on the lack of business vibrancy, and then returning money to towns to aid reinvigoration. The latter act, by the way, invariably places the cash fund in the hands of those least equipped to make business decisions having removed cash from those who can

    in reply to: Wrexham Memorial Hall and Council Plans #240225

    Alunh
    Participant

    Reading through the link, it would appear that the days of seeing this Hall as a social & entertainment centre are numbered.

    If the Council do reinvent this facility as one focussing on the Memorial aspect, I would suggest combining the whole with a Museum (and canning the current site). At least there would be a rationale in that

    in reply to: 20 MPH Zones #237655

    Alunh
    Participant

    Plausible pretext is the usual approach to all of these issues when it comes to the Government nudge. Why stop at 20mph or 10mph. 0 would guarantee 100% survival.

    Perhaps we should look at every ‘risk’ aspect of life and organise accordingly

    Anyone for lockdown

    in reply to: MP Expenses #237340

    Alunh
    Participant

    Taiwan

    in reply to: Monday Market. #232272

    Alunh
    Participant

    As with everything in life, if you fail to prepare properly, be prepared to fail. I’m an individual who wants to trade on Wrexham Market but the cards don’t stack up. It would help if an experienced Market Manager was put on the case.

    in reply to: Nine Acre Field #222347

    Alunh
    Participant

    JaneJ is quite right to point out the difficult fact about numbers. Numbers alone would suggest that Wrexham actually has excess secondary pupil capacity not shortfall.

    Numbers alone, however, can be deceptive. A more granular exploration can lead people into difficult conclusions. Uncomfortable conclusions.

    The numbers seem to suggest that lots of children from Wrexham have either evaporated or that they are now being educated outside of the town. Numbers would also suggest that similar realities are present in many Welsh towns. Numbers also don’t suggest that the current Welsh way of doing things at Secondary level is working. After all, the English Labour Party abandoned the Welsh Labour Party approach. Why? Numbers

    Perhaps politicians from Wrexham should sit down in a room and actually talk about this issue rather than slinging mud at each other. Perhaps

    Perhaps if they did, the Secondary schools would improve, the Groves would be required and in almost Star Trek manner lots of children would suddenly rematerialize. Perhaps

    in reply to: Rhosnesni Special Measures #222235

    Alunh
    Participant

    Note

    Prestatyn High School has some 1800 pupils and 250 or so staff members. An interesting stat to chase is that relating to how many children who are eligible to be taught in Wrexham’s town schools and who are based in the town, are now educated elsewhere

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