Councillors row over £20m funding allocation

Richard Evans, Local democracy reporter

Some of the most deprived areas in one of Wales’ most popular seaside resorts will get a £20 million funding boost.

The cash injection from the UK Government will be spread over 10 years and spent in the less picture postcard parts of Llandudno, following a vote by Conwy County Council’s cabinet

But the decision sparked a row with councillors from other towns such as Colwyn Bay, arguing that the money should be spent there.

The funding comes through the Pride in Place Programme, aimed at “building stronger communities, creating thriving places, and empowering people to take back control.”

Conwy County Council is one of nine local authority areas selected for the scheme. But the council was tasked with identifying which neighbourhood should benefit – with only weeks to make a decision.

The programme must focus attention on one defined area with a guide population of between 5,000 and 15,000 residents, aiming to support communities most in need, using the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation.

According to the latest data, Llandudno’s “Tudno2” area, around Llandudno Hospital, Maesdu Road and the “top and bottom estates”, is the most deprived in Conwy county and in the top 10% most deprived in Wales.

Consequently, it was recommended that Tudno2 – ranked 42nd most deprived in Wales; Tudno1 – ranked 289th most deprived in Wales; and Mostyn2 – ranked 488th most deprived in Wales – should be put forward as one “contiguous” area.

But several councillors, including leader of the opposition Cllr Cheryl Carlisle and Colwyn Bay councillor Chris Hughes argued that historically, wards in the Colwyn Bay area would have been deemed the most deprived wards in the county, not Llandudno.

Council leader Cllr Julie Fallon however explained the money could not go to a town in the Clwyd North constituency.

Cllr Fallon said Rhyl was also in Clwyd North and had already received its £20m, which was decided by the UK Government, meaning the money was designated for Bangor Aberconwy.

Six cabinet members voted in favour of the recommendation, while Cllr Dilwyn Roberts voted against and Cllr Hannah Fleet abstained.

The vote was exempted from a call-in.

The programme will now appoint a board and focus on improving local priorities such as high streets, green spaces, and other key community assets.

Llandudno councillor Mandy Hawkins said the town deserved the money.

“Behind the postcard image of Llandudno, there are communities that feel forgotten,” said Cllr Hawkins.

“I live in Gogarth Mostyn ward. Within that ward, there are some of the most expensive homes in Conwy. Also in the same ward, on the Mostyn part of the ward and in Tudno, which is what is being discussed today, you’ve actually got some of the homes in the most deprived streets in Wales.”

She added: “And the people who are living there are dealing with things that never make it into the brochures: anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping, vandalism, young people with nowhere to go and nothing to do.

“I walk those streets every day, speak to parents who don’t feel safe letting their children out, and see teenagers who have already given up on school because they don’t believe anything is going to change for them, and we all know if we don’t step in now we risk losing a whole generation through disengagement.”

She added: “That is what pride and place is for, not hanging baskets, not shop fronts, but giving communities control, building hope, and creating places where people feel proud to live. And do you know what the most powerful thing is? This community is ready.”

Fellow Llandudno councillor Tom Montgomery added: “The data is as live as we are going to get. The data is weeks old. Surely, we can’t be building an argument around the fact that if we were using old data, then we would be looking at a different area. I totally respect Cllr Chris (Hughes) and the points that he raises, but this is live data. We must base our decisions on the most current data we have.”

He added: “This money is really needed in that part of Llandudno, as other members have said. A lot of people might have a shiny vision of Llandudno, and, believe me, nobody is prouder of Llandudno than I am. But I know first-hand that what you see on the postcard isn’t always true. This money will make a real difference to so many people’s lives.”

But Cllr Chris Hughes was one of several councillors arguing on behalf of their own ward that the money should be more equally shared.

“For more than 20 years, Glyn 2 (in Colwyn Bay) has been the most deprived community in Conwy,” he said.

“Pride and Place was announced weeks ago when the 2019 index was the applicable index. Weeks later the goalposts were changed. ”

He added: “In 2019 Glyn was in the 2% most deprived communities in Wales.”

He went on to claim that the ward had some of the highest crime and anti-social behaviour figures in the county and the fifth highest in the whole of Wales.

But council chief executive Rhun ap Gareth said the data showed the Llandudno wards were the most deprived.

Leader Cllr Julie Fallon said that it was “incredibly frustrating” in terms of the short timeline, as the government had only given the authority a few weeks’ notice, but she said the council would be risking losing the money if it was delayed.

Cllr Fallon explained that the UK had decided where money would go in the various constituencies.

“The fact that actually the highest level of deprivation sits in the Bangor Aberconwy constituency means that it is actually harder to deviate away from it,” she said.

Cllr Fallon added she understood members’ point of view in Colwyn Bay, Kinmel Bay, Pensarn, Towyn, and Abergele but said the council could not deviate from the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation data.

She reiterated that the council only had until Friday, 9 January, to submit.

Speaking after the meeting as chair of the finance and resources scrutiny, which discussed the matter on Monday, Cllr Cheryl Carlisle said: “I am extremely disappointed that the Conwy cabinet today did not support the £20m Pride in Place grant award to the Bay of Colwyn area.

“Yesterday (Monday), Conwy’s finance and resources scrutiny committee recommended to cabinet that this grant, payable over 10 years, should come to our area. This would have made a massive difference to our high street and communities, but instead it has now been awarded to Llandudno. On behalf of the residents of Colwyn ward, I made the case for the Bay of Colwyn, but sadly it was not supported.”