Barbecue plea from farmer councillor

Richard Youle Local Democracy Reporter

Swansea’s cabinet member for environment has echoed calls for people not to use disposable barbecues on open land, while his peer in neighbouring Carmarthenshire said this summer’s unrelenting conditions were evidence of a climate and nature crisis.

Cllr Andrew Stevens has called on Swansea residents and visitors to use common sense and avoid using disposable barbecues while the drought status affecting open land continues.

Cllr Stevens, who is also a farmer, said most farmland, fields and parks were extremely dry.

Cllr Stevens, said: “We know that disposable barbecues may have been the cause of some wildfires in other parts of the country. This is something we can avoid if we stop using them while these hot and dry conditions continue.”

The call follows similar messages by fire services around Wales. Prime Minister Andy Burnham and First Minister of Wales Rhun ap Iorwerth have asked shops to stop selling disposable barbecues, and several retailers have done so under a framework agreed between fire chiefs and the British Retail Consortium in 2023.

Nearly three-quarters of England and all of Wales are officially in drought, making it easier for fire to take hold and spread.

Cllr Stevens added: “We don’t want to prevent families enjoying what we have to offer in Swansea this summer. The only thing we want to encourage is not to use disposable barbecues in our parks, on farmland and other open spaces while we are in this very dry and hot period.”

Carmarthenshire cabinet member Cllr Aled Vaughan Owen, whose portfolio includes climate change and decarbonisation, said the council was inspecting and managing its trees and woodland and responding to concerns where necessary.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service had asked what the council was able to do to manage trees and help wildlife during the hot, dry conditions.

Cllr Aled Vaughan Owen said trees had multiple benefits such as storing carbon and providing homes for wildlife, and that expanding woodland cover was critical.

“The prolonged dry weather across Wales is a stark reminder that we are living through a climate and nature crisis,” said Cllr Vaughan Owen. “This is not simply a matter of changing weather patterns but shows how human activity has driven the breakdown of our climate and communities are now experiencing the consequences firsthand.

“We need urgent action to tackle the causes of climate breakdown while protecting and restoring nature.”

Temperatures are expected to start dropping from August 14 but there is precious little rain in the forecast. The Met Office said more changeable weather was expected from August 18 to 27 with heavier and more reliable rainfall more likely in parts of the west and north-west of the UK.

---

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.