Rhostyllen.com

Rhostyllen residents will finally get the chance to have their say about controversial plans by the National trust to build 223 houses opposite their village. Residents have consistently been denied a public meeting about the plans, and have accused the community council in Rhostyllen of not representing their community and excluding residents from meetings with the National Trust.

In a dramatic twist, Rhostyllen.com campaigners say they have overcome the obstacles put in place by the National Trust and Esclusham community council to finally ensure that local people have their say about the future of their village.

Campaigners have been fighting for the last year to try and get a public meeting about the development. On 4 separate occasions the community council have refused the requests, blocking any sort of open discussion about the National Trust’s plans. But residents will now have a vote as to whether or not they are in favour of the ‘new village’ development; the vote will also apply to any other development within the community of Esclusham that is not based on local need. Additionally, residents have proposed a vote of no confidence in Esclusham community council.

Tara Green of the Rhostyllen Residents Committee said “It’s time to let the people decide - that is what this whole campaign has been about.”

The law allows local electors to convene their own parish meeting and to propose a referendum on an issue or issues relevant to their area. This is exactly what residents in Rhostyllen have done. They have delivered their official request to the county council, who now have between 14 to 25 days to comply under the local government act 1972, Schedule 12, Part III, Paragraph18(2).

Carrie Harper of the campaign group Cymuned said “We completely support the actions of the residents in Rhostyllen, and will help with this process in any way we can. It is only right that communities themselves decide what is right for their future instead of being dictated to by the council and developers. This will be an official vote, paid for and organised by the county council. Assembly guidelines (Planning Wales 2002) state that the planning committee should take on board the results of this vote when deciding on the application in question. Recently on the Dragon’s Eye programme, Iwan Hughes (Director of the National Trust in Wales) clearly stated that ‘This development will be decided by the democratic process’. We look forward to seeing if the National Trust will be true to their word.”

Campaigners say further details and a date for the referendum are expected soon. Due to the fact that the county council are not obliged to publicise the event, campaigners intend to inform the whole community of Esclusham as soon as a date is confirmed.

For more details, please contact Carrie Harper on 07745-701860, Aran Jones on 07887-573446 or Tara Green on 07852-108370.

Rhostyllen.com campaigners have today expressed grave concern at an attempt from the Rhostyllen Community Council and the Wrexham County Council planning department to breach the Freedom of Information Act. In a meeting with the National Trust the community council and the planners suggested that the minutes should not be disclosed to residents opposing the Trust’s plans to build 223 houses opposite the village of Rhostyllen.

Susan Griffiths, chair of the Rhostyllen Residents Committee, said “We tried to attend the meeting in question, only to be told to leave by the chairman of the community council, Mr John Droog. We had been informed by other residents of the village that the council were inviting people to come along and share their views - but they only wanted the attendance of those in favour of the development. Following the meeting, our secretary asked the local councillor, Mr Mark Pritchard, for a copy of the minutes. He informed her that there would be no problem at all with us seeing the documents. The community council, however, had other ideas.

They have refused point blank to let us see them. We have also been told by a member of the council that people from the planning department in Wrexham council, in attendance at the meeting, stated that we should not be allowed to see the minutes. We are now waiting for this matter to be processed properly under the 2000 Freedom of Information Act.”

Carrie Harper, from the campaign group Cymuned, said “The parish council in Rhostyllen are required to disclose information requested by members of the public under the Freedom of Information Act. It is very worrying indeed to learn that staff from the planning department of the county council also stated their reluctance to allow the public a copy of the minutes. It is bad enough that residents of Rhostyllen were excluded from this meeting, but for them now to be refused access to this information raises some extremely serious questions about democracy in Rhostyllen.”

“The clerk to the community council has emailed us an acknowledgement that the council hold the information we have requested, but in the same email he makes a factually incorrect statement about the Freedom of Information Act,” continues Carrie Harper. “Is this a deliberate attempt to mislead, or is he unaware of the details of the Act?”

Campaigners say they will submit a formal complaint to the Information Commissioner if the council refuses to release the minutes. This follows numerous situations in which the community council in Rhostyllen have been accused of misleading the local community and failing to consult them about the Trust’s plans.

Campaigners have stated on several occasions that they are shocked and disappointed with the behaviour of the council in relation to the planned development, and no longer feel they are fit representatives for the people of Rhostyllen.