Leader pledges to tackle ‘negative perceptions’ of council

Richard Evans, Local Democracy Reporter

A council’s leader has pledged to improve communication and public engagement in a bid to tackle what she describes as negative perceptions of the authority.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Julie Fallon of Conwy County Borough Council says she is keeping to her promise of prioritising communication, as many residents believed the council “just emptied bins”.

Cllr Fallon, a member of the Conwy First Independent Group, was elected as leader in October following former leader Cllr Charlie McCoubrey stepping down.

The Deganwy councillor has  started posting videos on the council’s YouTube channel as well as the authority’s social media in a bid to engage with the public – with a public roadshow to follow.

Cllr Fallon said her efforts to share more about the council’s work were just beginning, stressing her intention to be more accessible than previous administrations.

“I said when I put myself forward for leader ‘communication, communication, communication’, because for me it is hugely important.”

She added: “I just want people to feel that they can share their thoughts and feelings and make suggestions, because at the end of the day we are elected to represent them, so of course they should be the voice of what we are doing.”

Cllr Fallon acknowledged there was a disconnect between the council and residents, admitting historic issues, such as £3.2m wasted on the contract for the Mochdre HGV depot – a building unfit for purpose – continued to shape public opinion.

“There is so much negative feeling out there around the council, and I thought maybe if they knew what we do and how wide the work is, they might think, ‘Oh OK,’ because so many people think we just emptied the bins and that’s it.”

“I think, unfortunately, there is negativity. Unfortunately, there have been some things over the years that remain on people’s minds. You’ll have seen from the comments (on social media) lots of people mention Mochdre and the green shed, as they call it.

“That wasn’t a decision that I was part of. These things have happened historically. People hear that and think all we do is waste money, and in reality that happened so many years ago, and I want to try and change that and show what we are doing so something like that can never happen again.”

As part of that effort, Cllr Fallon is launching a series of public engagement events across the county.

“That is going to be called ‘Here to Listen’, so that I can get out into the community. I’m going around all the different areas of the council – rural, east and west, central, northern – and that again is to give people the opportunity to come along, and I’ll share some information.

“The chief executive is going to be there as well, and I may well bring along, depending where it is, different members of staff that have projects happening in that area.”

Conwy County Council has historically and repeatedly ranked low in terms of the annual local government settlement percentage rise it receives from Welsh Government.

Despite this, the authority has come under fire from opposition members for raising council tax by nearly 10% for three years running – with this year’s rise considerably lower at 6.5%.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked Cllr Fallon if she believed the council wasted money in 2026.

“No, I don’t – not having been a part of it. The council is scrutinised so much, for so long, I think it is quite the opposite,” she said.

“I think we need more money to invest in things, and we are going to need the UK and Welsh Government to be able to do that. I’m hoping that at the next election, hopefully, they’ll prioritise investing in local government instead of cutting, cutting, cutting.

“There is no opportunity to overspend. There is no money left to overspend. There just isn’t.”

Cllr Fallon encouraged residents to contact her directly with ideas or concerns.

“If anybody wants to get in touch with me, I’m very happy for them to make suggestions or highlight an issue – that’s what I’m there for,” she said.

“I’ve had some really good suggestions from people, and I’m putting them together, and they’ve already met the chief executive this week and spoken about some suggestions that have been made. So often that can be where something starts, and suddenly that becomes a project of the council that can make a difference.”

Residents can contact Cllr Julie Fallon directly at [email protected]