GWYNEDD Council’s foremost politician has urged residents to vote to ‘stay in’ in the upcoming Brexit referendum.

The leader of Gwynedd Council Cllr Dyfed Edwards has called on people to vote in favour of keeping Wales and Britain in the European Union.

At a meeting of the Gwynedd Council last week Cllr Edwards stressed that membership of the EU is vital to ensure greater investment in Gwynedd and to ensure a sustainable future for the residents of the county.

Over the years, Gwynedd has been successful in attracting European funding, and received £158 million from the European Structural Funding Fund which is part of a wider £300 million investment in the Gwynedd economy he stated.

The Plaid Cymru representative also said: “Without a doubt European funds have ensured greater investment in Gwynedd and help us to ensure a sustainable future for the residents of the county through what has certainly been a challenging period for the economy.

“In Gwynedd between 2007 and 2013 alone, European funds assisted 1,475 businesses to grow and expand, helped to set up 560 new businesses and 2,320 new jobs.

“The funding has also helped 12,000 people in Gwynedd to gain qualifications and helped 1,800 people to return to work.”

He also noted some specific EU-funded projects which benefitted Dwyfor and Meirionnydd.

“Thanks to the financial support of Europe, Plas Heli was built, a brand new sailing academy worth £9 million,” he continued.

See the full story in this week’s Meirionnydd and Arfon/Dwyfor editions of the Cambrian News