Campaign to devolve the Crown Estate to Wales launched
Stephen Price
Siarter Cartrefi, in partnership with Beth Winter MP and Liz Saville Roberts MP, will be holding an open meeting, with the support of Michael Sheen, to launch a new campaign focused on devolving the Crown Estate to Wales.
Beth Winter and Liz Saville Roberts will give an update on the Cross Party Bill in Parliament to Devolve the Crown Rights and a short video message of support from Michael Sheen will be screened, before opening up to a discussion on the future of the campaign. The meeting will take place online on 30 January at 7pm.
Joint campaign
This event aims to pull together individuals and organisations in a sustained joint campaign that will demand the devolution of the Crown Estate with the profits directed into a Sovereign Wealth Fund, managed by the Welsh Government, for community benefit.
Siarter Cartrefi, the Welsh Housing Justice Charter, is a grassroots organisation that brings together community activists from across Wales, collaborating with third sector, campaign organisations, Welsh Government and others.
In the spring of last year, Siarter Cartrefi co-produced Ten Recommendations to the Welsh Government via a community consultation and Emergency Housing Conference, devolving the Crown Estate was one of them, and was seen as a way to secure a more sustainable future for Welsh communities.
The Crown Estate
The Crown Estate is a collection of land and assets owned by the Crown, but managed by an independent trust. Its profits are funnelled into the UK Treasury, and 25% of revenues into the Sovereign grant, paid for the upkeep of the royal family.
The Crown Estate in Wales owns about 65% of the Welsh foreshore and riverbed, and more than 50,000 acres of land. In 2020-21, the value of the estate went from £96.8m to £603m, reflecting the value of the land for renewable development and other projects.
The estimated annual revenue in 2020-2021 was £8.7m. As revealed by Cymru Republic, the value in 2023 is £853m.
Since 2016, the Crown Estate has been devolved in Scotland.
Key recommendation
Catrin O Neill, founding member of Siarter Cartrefi said: “Devolution of the Crown Estate is a key recommendation from our community consultation work. The people of Wales increasingly see this as a really important cause.
“In the coming weeks we will be working with other campaigners to build momentum behind this fundamental issue. Wales should benefit directly from the profits of renewable energy, and to use this money to address the poverty and inequality in communities across Wales.”
Dylan Lewis Rowlands, member of Siarter Cartrefi said: “Our work on housing in Wales proved that, as the title of our report states, Housing is not just about Housing.
“Housing is a fundamental bedrock of communities, but there are so many inter-related issues that we could not ignore them. We are working on this campaign as a natural next step of our work, and we must win it, for the future of our communities in Wales”
The meeting will take place online, on 30 January at 7pm. Join via the Eventbrite link here.
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Where do I sign up. This accident of birth that sits on the throne has a cushy life, Duchy of Cornwall as Heir No1 then Duchy of Lancaster as chief shiny chair warmer plus a few nice holiday homes and paintings handed down (did he pay any inheritance tax?). Time the whole troop of them gave up some for the people that make the money and fade into obscurity. Heir No2 now is the only decent one it seems.
At last Welsh MPs fighting for the rights of Welsh people. Bring it on, those estates are ours.
If King Charles has any decency he will just hand them over
Diolch Liz and Beth, for fighting for us as usual…
Must be a slow news day, not much happening in the world then?
HMS Chiddingfold (village in West Sussex) backs into HMS Bangor leaving a big hole in Bangor’s hull off Bahrain. Thanks BBC Cymru for that…
Insurance details were exchanged…
Mr Alias Alias who purports to be our defense minister garbles some nonsense about aircraft falling out of the sky. The lives of a couple hundred thousand of our sons and daughters are in the hands of this con-man…
It shows where we are in this so called union, when we have to fight and campaign to get the same financial right’s from the crown estates as enjoyed by England and Scotland. The Senedd needs an urgent debate on the constitutional document recently published, and the public made fully aware of options and how we are being short changed with this and HS2 among other things.
The Crown Estate must be devolved to Wales. No ifs or buts. The English Monarchy obtained it out of conflict when they illegally invaded and annexed Wales appropriating land not theirs.
Billions are lining the pockets of King Charles and the English treasury as Wales suffers austerity, our services struggling and infrastructure crumbling due to historical neglect.
And If Scotland can have the devolution of its Crown Estate in 2017 with the Scottish Crown Estate Bill so should we. Take note UK Labour!
Labour ho ho ho.
The very idea that a matter can be devolved to Scotland and not to Wales should never be tolerated. It implies that we are a second-class nation.
Rob, do you think we are rated as high as second class. With the settlement for Scotland much greater than ours, and even London and Manchester given control of policing and other things, and Northern Ireland given billions, I would say we are closer to third class.
It has never have been a union of EQUALS but England and crumbs for the rest Wales Scotland and Northern and at the top of the English tree is JUG EARS and the rest of the Royal scroungers the only way we can control it is to get the hell out of the Disunited Kingdom and get independence dont forget unlike Scotland we did not join with England we where conquered leave alone we fought tooth and nail against the English invader
Brilliant. But where is the Welsh Government?
They absolutely should be handed back to Wales.
Where were the Welsh labour MPs when the crown estate money was given to Scotland and not given to Wales All siting on they’re hands and saying nothing they should be ashamed of themselves all that money being Lost to Wales and our conservative Minister for Wales said Wales doesn’t need the money 🤑 I don’t know who’s the worst the Welsh labour or the conservatives
I can’t 100% agree with this. We could do with an independent group fairly distributing funds to bring all nations up to the same level. After Drakefords antics, I wouldn’t trust any politician to act within public interests. Personally I think the Royal family has done a lot for the UK and given back. They choose to be taxed. Money earned from wind farms (put in place, way before anyone believed it was a good idea), goes back into the pot and not to lining the pockets of royalty as suggested by some here. It seems like people are looking… Read more »