P-05-731 Land & Access Lane Sale at Abercwmboi – Correspondence from the Petitioner to the Committee, 22.03.17

I have amended my earlier email to provide more detail.

Thank you for your recent communication. 

I note that the Minister confirms the detail of the letter I originally PDF for the committee that his department were in discussion with'' interested parties'', up to & including, October 2016 for the sale of land & access lane. Yet this land & lane did not appear on SpaceCymru as being available, no notices were displayed on the land. We only heard about a proposed sale because one of the ''interested parties'' was making claims about what would happen when they purchased the land & lane. How did these ''interested parties'' become aware the the land & lane were available? Is there a select & privileged  list of ''interested parties'' that have  priority? This is hardly indicative of open & transparent government.

I can confirm that I have met with Gareth Porter, an official for Ken Skates Office, atmy request. He told me that his office was under no obligation to consult with residents who are directly & materially affected by the proposed land & lane sale. I endeavor, at my own expense, to distribute information & update sheets to all the households in the row. It should not be assumed that this can replace our elected representatives seeking the opinions of residents & hearing first hand how decisions made behind closed doors impact on individuals & families. If the land was fenced to the curb the lane is not wide enough for a car to turn into a garage or hard-standing. Particularly hard hit would be the elderly disabled residents who, denied access to the rear of their properties, would not be able to park on the main road where parking is at a premium.

During my meeting with Gareth Porter several ideas were discussed, including our suggestion that interested residents could individually purchase plots to the rear of their properties in order to preserve access to garages & hard standings. 

Mr Porter proposed that RCT could be offered a strip of land running parallel to the access road thus offering the same protection. I understood that this would be raised during the primary discussions with the local authority. This would be the ideal option as it incurs no costs to residents. Abercwmboi is a very underprivileged, low wage, area and not all residents are in a position to consider purchasing the land to the rear of their house. I do not recall any offer,by us, to buy the lane as we had discovered it is an adopted highway.

Mr Porter said that he would keep me updated but I have not had any correspondence from him. I have contacted Mr Porter for further information and await a reply. 

Thank you for your consideration,

Sue Waterson