10th Welsh local authority joins campaign to devolve the Crown Estate
Alec Doyle, local democracy reporter
A campaign to devolve almost £1bn of Crown Estate’s assets to the Welsh Government has been backed by another local authority.
The Crown Estate owns over £853 million worth of Welsh assets, the profits of which currently go to the UK treasury.
Flintshire Council joins nine local authorities who are campaigning to devolve the Welsh Crown Estate, in an effort to retain the profits in Wales.
Profits
Flintshire councillors have now supported a motion from Brynford and Halkyn councillor Simon Jones for the authority to officially join the campaign to return Crown Estate assets to Wales.
“The Crown Estate owns vast swathes of land and water in Wales including 65% of the Welsh foreshore and more than 50,000 acres of land,” he said.
“This includes the land along the coastline. This means the Crown Estate derives any profit from renewable energy and other business activities conducted on land and sea which fall within its control.”
Profits currently go to the UK Treasury, with 12% being passed on to the Royal Family through the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant.
Motion to devolve
Cllr Jones raised the motion: “We confirm that Flintshire County Council supports the campaign to devolve management of the Crown Estate and its assets in Wales to the Welsh Government and that funds raised be shared equitably between Welsh Local Authorities to support the social needs of the people who live within our communities.”
“We ask the leader of the council to write to the Welsh Government and Members of Parliament outlining our support to help persuade the Westminster Government to devolve the Crown Estate.”
The motion was backed by almost all Flintshire Councillors, with only two abstentions.
Councillor David Healy said: “It is very important that Flintshire joins those county councils across Wales that have voted for the Crown Estate and the revenue from the Crown Estate to come to Wales.
“In a situation where financial resources are scarce and they do not appear to be fairly distributed, we are forced to become parochial in the interests of the residents we serve”, he added.
Deputy council leader Richard Jones said: “The Crown Estate itself provides commentary that it’s almost 100 years since the first hydro-electric power station was commissioned in North Wales and just over 20 years since the UK’s first offshore wind farm opened just off the coast of North Wales.”
“I don’t think we need the Crown to guide us in which way we should do this, I think it’s a Welsh decision and I think anything that is around the foreshore and tidal waters around Flintshire should benefit Flintshire”, he added.
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‘Flintshire Council joins nine local authorities who are campaigning to devolve the Welsh Crown Estate, in an effort to retain the profits in Wales.’
Good for Flintshire, and for the rest of them. Though I doubt that those in power at Westminster will pay any great heed.
The King has a bee in his bonnet about H.M.S. Agincourt’s name, two fingers to the French and all that is now a bit insensitive! Personally as long as HMS Bronington (the King’s first command) sits on the bottom of a dock for want of a few quid, I think he should keep quiet until he does the decent thing and preserves his old Ton class minesweeper as she is the last of the ‘wooden walls’… Just saying I think this has been a shocking mark of disrespect to his old shipmates in the ‘Andrew’ and the armed forces in… Read more »