Monday 11 April 2011

Double Standards Again

As I have been following Carmarthenshire Planning Department's relentless, expensive and disproportionate pursuit of Mr Humphreys and the Mill at Felin Wen (please use search box on right for previous posts and background) I was a little surprised to read an article in the Evening Post concerning Kidwelly Town Hall, a Grade II Listed building which has been put on the 'at risk' register by 'Save Britain's Heritage'. It has been slowly deteriorating over a period of 15 to 20 years due to neglect. You would think that Carmarthenshire Council would have marched the owners off to court by now, rather like they have with Mr Humphreys or at least done necessary restorative work and chased the owners to pay the bill, after all their own website states that "If you are the owner of a Listed Building or come into possession of one, you are tasked with ensuing that the property is maintained in a reasonable state of repair" in fact you have a legal obligation for it's for its "good maintenance and repair". Cllr Scourfield, Executive Board Member for Planning even stated that  "the authority takes very seriously the statutory duties placed on it by Parliament with regard to listed buildings.”
Then one reads that it is the Council themselves who own the building! We knew they cherry-pick who they take action against and who they don't and this certainly confirms it. They are now trying to flog it off to a developer before it crumbles away completely. Double standards yet again.
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/Hall-list-risk-buildings/article-3424942-detail/article.html

Google Searches
A totally unrelated point, but I can sometimes see the google search words used by those who end up landing on this blog, some can be very revealing and prompt a little more research. Perhaps in the running for 'Search Words of the Week' should go to 'carmarthen council tribunal shredding documents'
The mind boggles!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I live in Kidwelly and the state of the old town hall is both shocking and dangerous. The roof tiles look to be slipping off. It is (was) apparently beautiful inside - but no-one can go in as its unsafe. The Town Council and residents petitions have failed to achieve anything other than waffly wordy meetings. I really hate the fact that many CCC officers jobs seem to be to attend meetings and waffle on as to why CCC will do nothing/can't afford to do anything. If money was saved on the salaries relating to these talking shops, there might be more money available to actually get things done.