In January, Llanelli’s Chamber of Trade and Commerce said they were looking for support for a bid for Llanelli to become a city through the King’s Charter process on the 30 March.
The group of independent and Plaid Cymru Councillors have expressed concerns around the boundary of any proposed city, the cost attached to preparing an application and the changes which would be needed if Llanelli were to become a city.
The councillors also raised concerns around a lack of consultation with residents and the reaction of some to the news of the city bid – some of whom called the proposal “hillarious” and that Llanelli was “barely a town”.
Cllr Terry Davies, representing Tyisha Ward, Cllr Michael Cranham of Bigyn Ward, Cllrs Sean Rees and Louvain Roberts of Glanymor Ward, Cllr Alex Evans of Glyn Ward and Cllrs Sharen Davies and Jason Hart of Llwynhendy & Pemberton Ward issued a joint statement saying they feared “this is now becoming yet another divisive issue for the Town”.
The councillors say their concerns fall into three categories: boundaries, consultation and costs.
The group said: “Firstly, there has been no suggestion as to which areas of the existing constituency would form part of the new City with no clear boundary identified. Would it be communities within the Town Council area alone? Would some or all of the communities within the Rural Council be included? Would the boundaries need to extend even further in order to meet the requirements of a City? What would be the cost attached to answer these questions?
“We have looked at case studies elsewhere which have shown that Towns are known to have paid between £8 – £30,000 on preparing their applications to become a City with no guarantee of success. Should we also become a City who would foot the bill? Would taxes go up? Who pays for the rebranding of street signs for example? If our taxpayers are expected to cover any of this cost, then they really ought to be consulted.
“Also, the public must be made aware on the actual benefits of ‘City Status’ when being consulted. We need to see evidence to support the claims that becoming a City will draw more investment into Llanelli. If no such evidence can be shown, why should this be a priority for the town?”
The councillors continued: “We feel our residents must have their say as to whether ‘City Status’ is genuinely a priority to them right now given the current cost of living crisis. Some Towns have stated the process of changing to a City is entirely that of status and would have little to no impact on the economic prosperity of an existing Town. There are some Towns who after consulting with their residents found that the majority were against such a move and then ended up withdrawing their bids.”
The councillors say they are calling on the leader of the Town Council and President of the Chamber of Trade & Commerce, Cllr David Darkin to outline in full a timescale for public consultation to take place and to publish of all of the costs involved.
(Lead image: Roger Pagram / CC BY-SA 2.0)
