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The opening of a direct London to Wrecsam/Wrexham rail route yesterday may not seem as innocent as it first sounds and is likely to form part of a covert economic development plan for a regional spatial strategy for North East Wales and West Cheshire.
The train service, which will directly link London with Wrecsam via Shropshire will operate five times a day in both directions, but in addition to building a wider rail network for Wales the new line is also likely to be a major boost for the economic objectives set out in a non-statutory sub regional spatial strategy for North East Wales and West Cheshire.
It is this latter development, which has taken place over the last four years that is of concern to the Celtic League. The West Cheshire North East Wales Sub Regional Spatial Strategy is intended to provide a non-statutory framework for cross-border co-operation and development between North East Wales and West Cheshire over the next 15 years, since it came into effect in 2006. Even though the Welsh Assembly Government is one of the partners of Strategy, the economic entity of a North East Wales and West Cheshire sub region, its aims to create is likely to influence the Wales Spatial Strategy in terms of planning, development and regeneration for the North East Wales area. In particular the Strategy will override decisions made under the Local Development Plans and the town and country planning system in Wales, which do not have their own spatial strategies.
Moreover, public consultation for the strategy seems to have been very limited and it is also unclear just how the Strategy is open to public scrutiny and/or objection at all. Cross border cooperation maybe all well and good economically, but when English counties and businesses are able to exert an influence over important local decisions such as house building, then something has gone seriously wrong.
The Strategy has been very much Labour led from its outset, with Wrecsam Member of Parliament and anti Welsh language campaigner Ian Lucas, very likely being the driving force behind the plan. Lucas was incidentally one of the first passengers on the first Wrecsam to London train yesterday, along with only 10 paying customers.
According to Lucas, the Wrecsam to London rail link, marks "a tremendous occasion". He told BBC news :
"It's superb news for Wrexham because a business is showing it wants to come here because Wrexham is going forward and it's a prosperous place."
What Lucas didn't say is that the direct rail link will now make it easier for commuters to live in Wrexham or further west while working in London or elsewhere in England. The redevelopment of North West Wales by English minded councils and business and commercial interests will be bad news for the Welsh language, identity and culture and could create a corridor of immigration (or colonisation) into the Welsh speaking heartlands (the Fro Cymraeg) of North West Wales. One of the last things Wales wants is a 'West Wirral' over its boarder.
This may sound entirely like speculation at the moment, but it is necessary to look at the parallels with the Chinese Qinghai-Tibet railway, which promised to bring economic expansion into Tibet, but instead brought mass immigration. One of the main differences with North East Wales is that an economic strategy (with England) is already in place. In this economic context, is the London to Wrecsam direct railway service as innocent as it looks?
The Celtic League has written to the First Minister of the the Welsh Government (see below) to express its concerns and to ask some very pertinent questions.
"Dear First Minister Rhodri Morgan
North East Wales and West Cheshire sub region
I am writing to you to express our concerns about the existence and functioning of the above sub region, which has culminated in a non-statutory sub regional spatial strategy for North East Wales and West Cheshire.
Our concerns stem from the potentially damaging influence that this spatial strategy could have on the Local Development Plans (Unitary Development Plans) for these areas of Wales, where decisions regarding planning and regeneration can be made with little consideration for Welsh cultural and linguistic identity. If the Wales spatial plan and the North West spatial plan is to be overseen in the context of this West Cheshire/North East Wales sub region strategy then there are obvious issues for how the territorial integrity of Wales can remain intact.
In addition, we would like to know what the intention was behind the development of a cross boarder sub regional spatial strategy and how the public consultation exercise was carried out in early 2006, including who was consulted and what the outcomes were. It appears very few people in the north east of Wales know anything about the strategy at all and by all accounts the Strategy is being implemented by stealth.
Admittedly the spatial strategy is non-statutory, but in our opinion it nevertheless seems to have influence on the town and country planning system in Wales, which have no Regional Spatial Strategies. Therefore there is an issue of accountability here and we would like to know how the Strategy went through a validation process and what recourse, if any, the public have to lodge objections to the Strategy and how those objections will be heard by an Independent Inspector?
We look forward to receiving your comments.
Your sincerely
Rhisiart Tal-e-bot General Secretary"
J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League
29/04/08
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