Wednesday 30 November 2011

Planning for Plan B

I went to Booths Bookshop last night to join in with a meeting of people who had put their names forward to do things to help with the campaign.
In fact, there were four meetings going on at the same time. I was with the Publicity group, upstairs at the front of the shop in the comfy chairs. Elsewhere were groups discussing Planning regulations, Fundraising, and Legal matters.
There were a dozen people in the Publicity group, and about ten others couldn't make it on that night. None of them were born in Hay, but several had been around for twenty years, and at least one family had put their kids through Hay School, so there's a lot of commitment to the area there. There is a perception that it could become an 'Incomers' vs. 'Locals' issue, though obviously it isn't that clear cut, and as one person there said, anyone who lives in Hay should be listened to, even if they are newly arrived. There were also people there who live in Clifford, Clyro and the Golden Valley - but they use Hay as a shopping centre too, so they deserve to have a say in the future of the town.
As yet, there is little that the Publicity group can do - there are no firm plans in place yet from the County Council, and they also have to wait for the other Plan B groups to discuss the issues before they have anything to publicise.
One positive idea to come out of the meeting, though was that the people of Hay shouldn't have to wait for the County Council to act - why can't we build our own school? This is the same thought that the Transition Towns meeting came to, so I'm hoping that there will be some pooling of resources there.
Later, Johnny Kramer came to speak to us. He's the Town Councillor who called the extraordinary meeting on Monday night, just to ask why there can't be a delay in order to have an impact assessment on the town carried out. Everyone who had been to the meeting agreed that it was a very angry and bitter meeting, with Johnny and Karl Showler on one side, and all the other councillors in favour of the County Council's scheme.
He also mentioned other town council business. The town clock faces have been dark at night since August, because a bulb needs mending. In fact, according to the man who winds the clock, all that is needed is a new starter motor - but nothing has been done about it yet. It is a bit worrying - if they can't manage to sort out a little problem like that, how can the people of Hay trust them to make any big decisions about the future of the town, especially when there is such strong local feeling on both sides?

Monday 28 November 2011

A 'Rubbish' Idea

I passed by Karl Showler's house the other day. He was outside the garage, making a frame for his new recycling bins.
"I don't want them lying around on the floor," he said. "Look, they just slide in and out."

Sunday 27 November 2011

Food Fair

Another busy weekend in the middle of town - the marquee was heaving with people! I managed to get a few useful bits and pieces to make up Christmas hampers for the family - and some interesting beers I hadn't seen before, from the Jacobi brewery of Caio, and Untapped Brewing Co.
On Saturday evening, the Christmas lights were turned on - there was a good crowd out for that, as well.
It's now 6pm, and the marquee is already down for another year.

Friday 25 November 2011

Islay - May 1997 to Nov 2011


Everyone thinks their dog is special.
There are touching eulogies all over the internet for people's beloved pets.
Islay was my special dog.

We first met on New Year's Eve, 1997. Scotch Annie, who dealt in antiques and lived over the launderette, had been persuaded by a friend that what she really, really needed was a little dog to sit in the van with her when she was out on the road. She came back from Brecon rescue kennels with an anxious little thing about eight months old, who stuck to her like glue all through the Hogmanay party. We were drinking Laphroig, but everyone agreed that it was a silly name for a girl - so Islay it was.
That first night, though, Islay ended up sharing my sleeping bag.
Annie had cats. Fergus the ginger tom was very laid back, and didn't care, but Heather the little Korat objected violently. She started a rooftop protest, living in one of the warm air vents of the launderette.
The dog had to go.
We couldn't let her go back to rescue.
So she came to Crickadarn, where we were living at the time, and learned to chase quad bikes - and not chase sheep, and to leap into our arms from a standing start.
She's been a bookshop dog at the Children's Bookshop, where she had a collar tag marked "Member of Staff", and archaeologist's dog ("bone specialist" - which was funny until she picked a medieval bone out of the tray where it was drying and ran round the yard with it), and re-enactment dog, visiting castles and fields all over the country. We took her round Norfolk in the van, which she loved - a new walk every morning as soon as we opened the van door.
She's been called "Imp of Satan", and "Little Friend of All the World".
She's had a social life all of her own, when friends took her out while I was at work, and as she slowed down and needed the trolley more and more, she still enjoyed being pushed round town, meeting her public.
Until this week, when she lost interest in everything.
For the past few days, I've been taking her round to all her friends that I could find, to say goodbye. Everyone has been very kind.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Supermarket Support

In the B&R this week there are two letters in favour of having a supermarket in the middle of town. The arguments can roughly be paraphrased as: "it's all right for well-off people with cars, but poor people who rely on buses need cheap food locally."
Well, I'm not very highly paid, and I rely on buses, but I never go into Brecon or Hereford to shop for food. It is much more convenient to shop locally - especially since you're adding an hour's travel time each way to the shopping time. I once went to Lidl in Brecon and was bemused by the cheapness of the stuff in there, but very little of it was stuff I wanted to buy. I mostly cook from scratch now, and freeze portions for later, and my only real mass produced weakness is chocolate biscuits (and Dunkables from Spar are only £1.03). I don't want to lose the ability to shop at local greengrocers and butchers and the weekly market, and I've seen other towns where small shops have closed because of the arrival of a supermarket on the doorstep.
The issue is not just about whether a supermarket is desirable in Hay, though. It's also about local democracy and public accountability. We are told that there is no alternative to this scheme, which is being decided by people who do not live in Hay, without consultation with the people who live in Hay. There are always alternatives, and local people should always be consulted - and the results of those consultations should always be taken into account.
Hay is an expensive place to live, and we must all adapt to changing circumstances - but we should also have some say in how we choose to adapt, rather than having the changes forced upon us.

Tuesday 22 November 2011

Wake up and Smell the Coffee

My young man is a bit of a real coffee fan - strong and rich and dark, for preference (he likes his Hot Lava Java), so while he was here we had to go into the Wholefood shop to get some ground. He explained to Annie what he wanted, and then looked me up and down and said; "but we'd better not go too strong and dark. Maybe a bit more aromatic?"
Annie took down several jars from the shelf and invited him to sniff. "If you take two smaller amounts, you can make your own blend," she suggested, so we went for something strong, for him to take back to the Big City with him, with some Columbian for me to keep.
You wouldn't get that sort of service at a supermarket!

Monday 21 November 2011

Crime Wave Continues

I hear that the Green Room and Gordon's Flower Shop were broken into last night. I can't imagine that much was taken.

Sunday 20 November 2011

A Quiet Time of Year....

allegedly.
I was chatting to Eddie at Kilvert's on Tuesday night, when the bar was packed, and people were eating, and the Open Mic session was going on, and he sighed expansively and said: "This is what makes all the hard work worthwhile."
I went in again on Saturday afternoon, just as they were finishing serving food. They'd just put the Continuum on, from Hardknott brewery, and I felt that I deserved a treat. The bar was so packed I only just squeezed in, and there were four dogs lying under the tables (five when Islay staggered in).
We went into the Swan on Thursday to find the big table we normally sit round has gone - they have reworked that space by the bar as a comfortable little lounge, which is very nice for Stitch and Bitch. Every table in the bar was reserved, and the place was soon packed. "You must be doing something right!" one of the SnB ladies said.
And this week has seen the Globe surrounded by marquees again for Le Crunch - I haven't been able to get to any of the events this time, but it looked like a good programme.
And there's been another classical concert at Booths Books
Next weekend the Food Fair is coming up, and in a couple of weeks time, it'll be the Winter Festival.
It's all go!

Saturday 19 November 2011

Good News by the Riverbank

I was walking along the path near the canoe landing stage the other day when I heard the distinctive wingbeats of swans coming in to land on the river.
The two adult swans who nest on the island were accompanied by two cygnets, just starting to change into their adult plumage.
So they survived after all!
When I didn't see them for so long on the river, I thought they must have gone the way of the one that was shot - I was delighted to see them again.

Friday 18 November 2011

A Mystery Solved

I live in the end house of three cottages, and I'd often wondered about the history of them. The back wall is hugely thick, and solid, while the front wall is obviously Victorian terrace, so there's obviously been some re-modelling done. Also, I knew that the cottages were originally stables. The flat flagstone area at the front was originally a sloping cobbled surface so the horses could be led up to the stables.
The cottages are also odd in that they are not the same size. From the front, they look identical, but as soon as you get inside, you see the differences. They fit together like pieces from a jigsaw puzzle, with the stairs of the middle cottage fitting between the front room and kitchen of my cottage.

[The remainder of this post has been removed at the request of the lady concerned. My apologies for upsetting her, and I hope she keeps on with her family history.]

Thursday 17 November 2011

Tales from Kilvert's

While my Young Man was here, we had to pop into Kilvert's for a quiet pint at some point. Wandering Beacons was on the pump, from the new Brecon Brewery run by Buster Grant - a man who is known for brewing wonderful beer. We decided to have lunch there as well, and while we were waiting for our meatfeast pizza and garlic bread, the conversation turned, naturally, to beer.
"If only he'd do a Steampunk beer," the Young Man mused, "like that Georgian Table Ale he did a while ago. I know a lot of people who'd buy that in London."
"What's that?" asked Eddie, behind the bar.
"He wants to kidnap Buster, imprison him in a cellar and make him brew beer for Steampunk parties," I said.
"You can't do that! He's my brewer!"
"Lease him?" the Young Man asked.
"How about rental?" Eddie suggested.

A few weeks ago, Lachrymose Glee told me about a visitor to Open Mic Night at Kilverts, which subsequent events kind of pushed to the back of my mind. She had come from somewhere Up North to visit relatives in Hay, and when she first turned up at Kilvert's she was quite tense and wary. After an hour or so, though, she relaxed, and said: "Everyone's so friendly! And there hasn't been a fight yet!"

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Sustainable Schools

I went along to the Transition Towns meeting in Kilvert's last night (we got chips! Thanks, Eddie). Since the big events they put on, the group have been struggling slightly to articulate just what Transition means to people who don't already know about it - but now there's a cause that they can become part of in a positive way.
They agreed that there was no point in banging on about supermarkets - other people are doing that, and there are no firm plans in place yet anyway. Also, there are all the issues of food miles, for instance, that they are already clearly against. Transition is all about making the best use of local resources for when the oil runs out.
On this theme, they decided to concentrate on the new school that Hay does want.
On of the founding members of the group has a background in architecture - and green architecture, at that. There are several schools which have already been built around the country with local materials, grass roofs, insulation made of sheep's wool, and so on - and building in this way would probably also make it a lot cheaper to provide a new school. And there's the potential for such a school to last longer than a cheap conventional build, such as we are seeing struggling along in Hay at the moment. There are even instances of such building schemes including training for local people in building techniques, which would be good for employment prospects in the future. One lady in the group had visited a school which basically came as a timber flat pack construction from Finland (where they do a lot of that sort of thing) with local sheep's wool insulation.
One member of the group also made the point that the Youth Club should be approached to see what the kids there think. After all, they've all gone to Hay School quite recently, so why shouldn't their opinions be listened to?
It could be interesting to see what develops.

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Steampunk Soiree

For the Young Man's birthday this year, we thought we'd push the boat out and have a party. And my house is small, so it could only be for a select few - hence the Soiree, but Steampunk?
Steampunk is a re-imagining of the Victorian era, celebrating the fashion, the technology, the craftsmanship - but without the poverty, dirt and disease! It's what the Victorians would have been like if Jules Verne and HG Wells had been true - computers run by clockwork, Her Majesty's Martian Colonies (reached by steam powered space ships), and goggles (to keep the steam out of your eyes).
The Young Man looked very dashing in his bowler hat and goggles, with a waistcoat and pocket watch (and lots of knives - his Steampunk persona isn't called 'Cutter' Conway for nothing). He took over the bar, where we had collected some speciality real ales, and the careful preparation of the absinthe (though one couple did bring some wine).
I was hostess Miss Amelia Harper, in a black lace corset and military jacket. We also had the 'Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder' Fairy and a Dirigible Conductress, and two Goths in costume.
There was good conversation - and opposing viewpoints on windfarms and tattooing.
About halfway through the evening, two of our guests had to leave and a couple more felt the need to indulge in nicotine on the front doorstep - which is when two other good friends came by, having just come out of the Globe from a poetry evening. And having just started a detox, they polished off the fruit punch that the Young Man had prepared.
It was great fun, and I think that everyone enjoyed themselves - so I might be tempted to try something similar again, for the people who couldn't come this time.

Monday 14 November 2011

Hot Rivetting!

It was a grim, gray and generally 'orrible day that we decided to go to Talgarth.
At one time, you would pretty much have run out of things to do there in five minutes, unless you were passing through the village to go up to the nature reserve at Pwll y Wrach (the Witch's Pool). There was the Tourist information shop, part of the medieval tower, the Mace (now the Co-op), a newsagents, a chemists, the Strand bookshop and cafe, George's the butchers - and a lot of pubs.
Now, however, things are different.
We got off the bus at the New Inn, where we had the set Thai lunch for £4.95 with Brains SA beer ("Do you want lager beer or ale beer?" the Thai girl behind the bar asked). Being the middle of the week, we had the bar to ourselves, but there were a few locals drinking around the corner at the side bar.
After that, we did a quick dash through the pouring rain to Talgarth Mill. When I first came through Talgarth, the building was a semi-derelict corrugated iron shed with older stone buildings around it. Thanks to various grants and a huge amount of volunteer work by the local people, it has been wonderfully transformed.
We were a bit early for the next guided tour of the mill, so we had a coffee in the cafe which has replaced the corrugated iron shed, looking out of the picture window at the little river running by. Unlike the New Inn, the cafe was quite busy, which is a pity, because the Thai food is really very good.
The tour of the mill is £3.50, and we were the only two taking it that afternoon, which was nice for us and also for the volunteer taking us round - it was his first day doing the tour, so he could practice on us! Standing by the turning wheels and cogs, he told us something of the history of the mill, going back to the 12th century, and being used as a fulling mill for woollen cloth at times, as well as being used for grain. Because of health and safety, we couldn't go up the steep miller's stairs, so we had to go out and round to the next level where the millstones were. These are sealed into a wooden box, to discourage rodents, but there's a full size cutaway model to show what's going on there, and one of the millstones (made of concrete!) they found at the bottom of the wheel pit when they cleared it out. The owners destroyed all the workings in the 1950s to prove to the Water Board that they were not extracting water from the river, when the Water Board wanted to charge them.
He talked about the fire risk in mills, and how important it was not to let the millstones heat up. When we went round, they weren't grinding any wheat, just letting the wheel turn gently.
The top floor was originally used for storage, and it looks as if they have meetings there now. There were also lots of pictures of the work in progress to turn the mill into the clean, bright, working mill that we see today.
And then we went outside to see the leat that feeds water to the mill wheel. It was still pouring down, (the Welsh expression is "raining old women and sticks" apparently). We wanted to see everything, though, so we left the volunteer sheltering in the dry, and went out into the little garden they've made on the river bank. The wood and iron work have all been made by local artisans, and they've made it beautiful, with wrought iron birds and dragonflies, and carved fish among the flagstones, and gently curved wooden struts. My Young Man has an engineering background, and he was fascinated at the details of how the shelter had been put together - and then he saw the pipe that led the water from the leat to the wheel. It was part of the original fittings of the mill, and that's where he got terribly excited about hot rivets! When he pointed it out, I could see the difference. The original seam of the pipe had been rivetted together with the hot rivets, and a later patch had been cold rivetted in place (which is easier).
We spent about an hour at the mill, and bought some of their bread - which is delicious.
Then we had a bit of time to wait before the Tower Hotel opened for the afternoon. They are also the home of Rotter's Brewery, and we wanted to try some of their beer.
The stout was on, and very pleasant it was, too. We had a chat with the man behind the bar (who may have also been the landlord - I'm not sure). He pointed out the alterations he was making to the pub, to divide the restaurant part from the local's bar, and said that he was aspiring to become like Kilvert's in Hay! He also had an interesting selection of bottled beers, including Robinson's Old Tom, which I haven't seen for years.
We had to drink up pretty quickly to get down to the square to get the bus back, though it would have been very pleasant to stay at the Tower for a bit longer.
All in all, it's a day out I can thoroughly recommend!

Sunday 13 November 2011

Machine-gun toting Police!

We were footling around on the computer, watching something Doctor Who related on Youtube, when Mark noticed the figure hanging around outside the house in the dark. We looked closer - helmet, flak jacket, sidearm ... machine gun? In Hay?
He hung around there for a while, looking up the road towards the Globe. Some other, similarly dressed, officers appeared and they talked together - and then they moved off and disappeared, leaving us thinking that the world had just become a bit less safe than it had seemed before.
The following morning, we wandered up to the Buttermarket to look at the Artisans of Hay Fair, and we met Brian with his Staffies, who told us all about it.
It seems that a young lad from Merthyr tried to rob the Spar shop, and claimed to have a gun - so the armed response unit was called out. Not being the sharpest spoon in the drawer, he had been working at one of the local pubs and left them a note telling them he was just nipping to Spar for a bit! And of course, they knew where he lived, which was just down the road from me.
And this seems to be only the first incident in a Hay crime wave. When I passed the Sandwich Cellar this morning, after seeing my Young Man onto the bus back to the Big City, there were police there, inspecting a smashed window.

Saturday 12 November 2011

Performance

"Mirth in abundance. A delightful performance!"
So says Lachrymose Glee in his write up of this Tuesday's Open Mic Night, so it must be true! He was describing my Young Man performing Delilah without singing a note, and with various asides and digressions.
Mind you, people were ready to giggle, having just been treated to yet another instalment of The Green Book of Olwen Ellis by Chris Bradshaw (which involved a seduction scene!).
I followed it on with the minutes of a meeting of the United Deities, by Miles Kington, and we were also entertained by Toby Parker, Malcolm Scott Wilson, Dorothy, Dirty Ray and others. A running joke through the evening was the mentioning of Dirty Ray and Toby performing the following evening at the Baskerville Arms. Toby was also acting as the compere for the evening - which led to a bit of an argument with Jason in the audience - I'm not sure what the problem was, but they certainly Had Words after the last act had packed up.
The beer, as ever, was very good - we shared a bottle of Brooklyn Stout, and stayed with dark beer for Three Tuns Stout from the brew pub in Bishop's Castle. I had one of the new beers from Beacon Brewery.

Friday 11 November 2011

New Things in Hay

First of all, there's the Artisans in Hay, doing their Fair in the Buttermarket tomorrow. Shelley will be there with her silk scarves, Richard with his pictures, and Jackie with her rather lovely soaps.
Meanwhile, back at the Clock Tower, Hazy Daze has moved into the shop that Carlisles has moved out of. It seems to be gifty things, though I haven't had chance to take a proper look yet.
Up at Bookends-as-was, a new antique shop opened yesterday. It's nice to see those big windows filled with things to sell, rather than being empty just as visitors come into the town.
And down at the other end of town, phase two of the Millbank houses has just started. The houses facing Broad Street/Newport Street are going to be faced in stone rather than brick, according to the plans - and of course, they'll hide the backs of the present houses there.
The other big change in town this week, of course, has been the bins. I saw Gareth Ratcliffe out this morning in his dayglo yellow and big gloves, along with the bin men to make sure there weren't any problems with the new regime.

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Plan B for Hay meeting

Monday night was busy! It was the evening of the regular Town Council meeting, and I was told there were about 30 members of the public there, in the Chamber and standing outside on the staircase, including Richard Booth. I'm not sure whether anything useful came out of the meeting, as I couldn't be there myself.

However, the Plan B for Hay group also met that evening, and they do now have a plan of campaign worked out in some detail.
The first step is to try to delay the signing of an option agreement with Gaufron, the property developers. They don't see much chance of success on this one, but if an agreement is signed, then the planning process will have started, and there will be something concrete to deal with.
They want to commission an independent impact assessment to look at the potential effects a second supermarket on the present school site would have on Hay, as well as real effects supermarkets have had on other market towns. The developer/supermarket is obliged to pay for their own impact assessment, but if the developer is paying for it, it can't be seen to be independent.
They want to invoke the Freedom of Information Act to keep as much information about the development in the public domain as possible.
There will be a petition.
They want to approach the chief executive of the Co-op to see what his opinion on the situation is.
They want to find sympathetic candidates to stand for election to the Town and County Councils.
And if a development does go ahead, they are planning a local and national media campaign.
They are also quite clear that they want a new and better school for Hay - and there must be a way to have that without having a supermarket.

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Bonfire at the Castle

We went in costume, of course (my Young Man does look rather good in a bowler hat!), and as we walked up towards the Castle, we could hear drumming.
The party itself was by invitation, mainly the various shopkeepers (and their staff) in town. I didn't see anyone else from the Cinema - but they may have been down at the Pagan bonfire at the Globe!
The bonfire was a bit slow in getting started (but it was huge!), and the fireworks were very good - I'm told they could be seen in Clyro. The spooky lights up the ruined tower were also much appreciated.
The Hay Castle Trust are hopeful that this is the first of many events to be held at the Castle. We certainly had fun, and chatted to several interesting people.

Sunday 6 November 2011

Pleasant Surprise

I was getting my washing together to go down to the launderette when I realised that, last time I'd been there, I'd left my washing powder behind. It had been over a week, so the likelihood of the powder still being in the launderette was slim.
So, on the way up I got another packet.
And when I got to the launderette, there it was, just where I'd left it!
One of the good things about living in Hay.

Saturday 5 November 2011

Being Neutral

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be shot at by both sides (that's how you know you're doing it right!)"
Poor Gareth Ratcliffe! He says he's getting it in the neck from both sides of the re-development dispute because he's not taking sides. The problem is - he can't take sides. As soon as he comes down on one side or the other, by the Council's rules, he won't be allowed to speak on the issue. He thinks it's better to be there, in the discussion - and for that, he has to be neutral.
Meanwhile, he has managed to get the Cabinet to agree to have a meeting to discuss how they are going to respond to the public. They're meeting on Tuesday - but they haven't invited Gareth!

Friday 4 November 2011

Rubbish!

After all the song and dance about new methods of collecting rubbish, and the new system of recycling - the new bins have been delivered today.
I saw the van in Carlesgate yesterday, delivering all the wheelie bins and boxes - but most of the rest of town, it seems, is getting none of that. I got a green 'food waste caddy' with everything else packed into it. It seems that my house has been 'identified as not suitable' for the wheelie bins, which is something of a relief, so I get the food caddy for outside, the kitchen caddy (for all the food waste I don't compost already in the kitchen caddy I already have), biodegradable liner bags for the kitchen caddy - and some more plastic bags. These are purple for non-recyclable, clear with blue writing for paper and clear with red writing for plastic and cans. It seems that glass recycling won't be happening from the doorstep for the moment. I'm not entirely clear why they had to issue new bags when we all had plenty of bags from the old scheme which are now obsolete (the red bags seem to be the same).
However, I'm now all set for the new system - not so different from the old system except that the non-recyclable stuff will be collected every fortnight. There's a handy little calendar to show which weeks are which.
Something that is rather useful is a checklist showing exactly what is deemed recyclable and what isn't. (But - why not labels off food cans? They're just paper, aren't they? And what about envelopes with clear windows? I dare say all will be revealed in time.)

Thursday 3 November 2011

Creation boss Alan McGee says Hay-on-Wye is perfect example of how our towns should look as coroprate 'clone towns' encroach - Wales News - News from @walesonline

Creation boss Alan McGee says Hay-on-Wye is perfect example of how our towns should look as coroprate 'clone towns' encroach - Wales News - News from @walesonline

More Hay in the news....

Council Meeting

Just a reminder that the next Council Meeting will be at 7.30pm in the Council Chambers, and there will be a portion of the meeting called the public presentation session, where members of the public will be allowed to speak (normally, members of the public can attend and watch the meeting, but not speak).

Reply from the Leader of the Council

This is the reply I got from Cllr. Michael Jones:

Development of Hay on Wye School Site

Thank you for your recent email concerning the above. The Chief Executive has explained the Council’s position and please find below a copy of his reply for your information.

“Although consideration is currently being given to the development of a new primary school in Hay (along side new indoor recreation facilities) the plans have not yet been developed in detail. If and when such proposals are developed they will be subject to significant scrutiny through the appropriate planning process. As you are probably aware such a process would be overseen by the Brecon Beacons National Park .

There will be a consultation exercise should developments currently being considered be progressed to the next stage i.e. planning application. I realise that by placing the matter in the public domain, concerns will be raised. I can assure you that all proper processes will be followed should the potential for any developments relating to a new school, retail developments, etc be taken forward in respect of Hay on Wye. This will include detailed analysis and assessment of such matters as potential traffic problems, access to the site, and the economic impact on the town.”

I trust the above response answers the questions you have raised.

Yours sincerely

County Cllr. Michael Jones
Leader, Powys County Council

Meanwhile, at the other end of Powys....

I see that Powys County Council are also embroiled in contention about a 1,000 cow dairy unit somewhere near Powis Castle. There is strong local opposition (not least from the local primary school), the Planning Department have advised against it - but it has been approved by the councillors.
The group Not In My Cuppa are campaigning against it, too.

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Plan B For Hay

There was good coverage of the meeting last week in today's B&R, together with the details for contacting the group that is organising to think of alternatives to the plans of the County Council. They say there is no Plan B - therefore, that's the group's name!
If anyone has any bright ideas and/or would like to contribute to the debate, please contact planbforhay@hotmail.co.uk

Tuesday 1 November 2011