Madam,

At a rowdy meeting, Llanbedr Community Council failed to explain what consultation process they employed before deciding to support a Welsh Government-funded scheme to build a £12m-plus bypass round the village.

Instead, to justify their decision, the council claims that a bypass will allow Llanbedr to become the “gateway to the Rhynogydd”, but without explaining how diverting traffic away from the village will do this. The council also genuinely seems to believe that if a bypass is built jobs will then mushroom at the airfield. With luck development will in time take place there, but what is certain is that the Llanbedr Airfield Enterprise Zone is located in a remote rural area far from centres of population, sources of supply, and the kind of labour market that can provide abundant access to a wide range of skills. A bypass will in no any way alleviate these problems, but it will certainly inflict irreversible collateral damage on the existing local economy without any guarantee of new jobs being created.

In any case, there are other far less expensive and intrusive ways to improve access to this site if necessary.

According to Welsh Government guidelines, community councils are required to “represent the interests of the whole community –and to represent the interests of the different parts of the community equally”. Councillors also have a “responsibility to be well informed, especially about diverse local views” and are warned that they can-not represent the interests of electors without consulting them.

Now we have a situation where Gwynedd Council, backed by Llanbedr Community Council, has decided which out of six so-called ‘access improvement’ options will be implemented, but without any proper consultation. Those who oppose this master plan are being branded as against progress, NIMBYs, selfish, and not having the best interests of the village at heart. Some seem to feel the scheme is inevitable and are reluctant to speak out against it. This is not how local democracy should work. Rural communities have more than enough problems without being bypassed.

Yours etc

Tony Newbery

Llanbedr.