Council begins official negotiations with Crown Estate

Emily Price 

A Welsh council has started official negotiations with Crown Estate officials to release the county of its obligation to pay fees for access to land, coast and seas within its boundaries.

Gwynedd Council recently took part in a meeting with the Wales Director of The Crown Estate alongside Plaid Cymru councillors who emphasised the challenging financial situation facing county councils in Wales.

It came after the matter as raised at a full council meeting in October by Councillor Dewi Jones.

The Crown Estate is a huge collection of assets owned by the British monarchy, which includes vast swathes of urban, coastal and maritime land worth billions.

It is run as a business, independent of government, but its profits are delivered over the border to the UK Treasury each year.

Doubled

In Gwynedd alone, over £160,000 of public money was paid to the Crown Estate in 2023.

The payments ranged from £35 for a stretch of Bangor beach, £8,500 for a stretch of beaches in Dwyfor and a huge sum of £144,000 for Hafan Pwllheli.

Crown Estate profits more than doubled from £443 million to £1.1 billion in 2023/24.

In the same period, Gwynedd Council has seen their budget cut in real terms and is currently facing a financial gap of £9 million.

Plaid Cymru Gwynedd Leader, Councillor Nia Jeffreys said: “Throwing crumbs at us year after year will not ensure fairness for the children of Gwynedd who need care, the older people of the county who need support in their old age, or for those Gwynedd families who need permanent homes.

“It is high time for the governments in Cardiff and Westminster to tackle the underfunding that is happening at grassroot level. This is one way that the situation in Wales could improve to benefit Gwynedd residents.

“It is immoral that such fees go towards maintaining the British Monarchy and into the coffers of the Treasury in London. This money should stay in Gwynedd in order to support the people of Gwynedd.”

Support

The majority of county councils in Wales have now officially expressed their support for responsibility of the Crown Estate assets to be handed to the Welsh Government.

The argument for devolution is that local authorities are better placed to manage and invest in these assets for the benefit of their communities and the Welsh economy.

In 2016, Scotland secured devolution of its Crown Estate, allowing its revenues to be reinvested directly in Scottish communities.

The Welsh Government says its position is still that the management of the Crown Estate should be devolved to Wales.

But a recent vote on the Crown Estate Bill saw Labour MPs vote down a Plaid Cymru amendment that would have seen asset powers handed to Welsh ministers in Cardiff Bay.

In 2023, MP for Ynys Môn, Llinos Medi, submitted Freedom of Information requests to all Welsh councils asking them for the lease fees they paid to the Crown Estate.

Figures showed councils across Wales paid nearly £345,000 in lease fees that year.

Value

At the Committee stage of the Crown Estate Bill, Ms Medi tabled an amendment which would have required the Crown Estate to annually publish the value and name of all lease agreements it has with public bodies in Wales.

The amendment was opposed by the UK Government and was voted down.

Next week, the Plaid Cymru MP will make a final bid to alter the Bill during a debate in the House of Commons.

Ms Medi said: “Plaid Cymru’s Freedom of Information requests reveal that councils across Wales pay nearly £345,000 a year in lease fees to the Crown Estate simply to use the land in their area. At a time when councils are struggling financially, resulting in higher council tax for people in Wales, this cannot be justified.

“In addition to these unjust lease fees, the profits derived from activities on this land is sent directly to the UK Treasury. Plaid Cymru has long called for powers over our natural resources to be transferred to the Welsh Government so that this profit is kept in Wales for the benefit of our communities.”