The communities pressure group Cymuned and the Rhostyllen Residents Committee (RRC) today condemned an attempt by the National Trust to mislead the public with regards to the proposed development of 223 houses in Rhostyllen. The groups say that the National Trust has behaved dishonestly, and is attempting to silence local opposition to their immoral attempt to cash in on house price rises.

‘Gwynne Angell Jones, the Communications and Marketing manager for the Trust in Wales, made it clear to us that the primary reason the Trust was developing this land was because of the rise in house prices in the last ten years,’ says Aran Jones, Cymuned’s Chief Executive. ‘He admitted that the Trust has done nothing more to assess the impact of this development on the local community than talk to the county and community council, and he implied that we should blame the community council if the consultation had not been sufficient. He also admitted that current income from Erddig is already enough to cover the estate’s running costs.’

The Slough-based Trust have attempted to question Cymuned’s right to challenge their plans because Cymuned’s headquarters are in Pwllheli – a patent absurdity which shows how desperate they are to shut up opposing points of view. They have also claimed that ‘the majority of local people are in favour’ of the development, a deliberately misleading statement for which they have no grounds whatsoever. They have suggested arrogantly that opposition to the planned development is based on inaccurate information, which is completely untrue – there is nothing inaccurate about residents who don’t want to see 223 unnecessary houses built on community green space.

‘We waited for months for a meeting and attended it in good faith, with a real willingness to try and explore possible compromises,’ says Aran Jones. ‘The Trust, however, were concerned only to try and shut up people who disagree with them. It is quite appalling that the very people who are meant to be protecting our heritage are engaged in blatant attempts to take advantage of the housing crisis in order to make money – their offer of 25% affordable housing is insulting in the light of recent Assembly statements that councils should look at 100% affordable housing for some new projects.’

‘The Trust have missed a great opportunity here,’ says Tara Green, secretary of the Rhostyllen Residents Committee. ‘They could have done a proper housing needs survey for Rhostyllen, and then provided a reasonable number of houses for genuine local need – this would have raised money for the endowment fund they want, while also setting a positive example for how to support the local community. Instead, they have been so blinded by greed that they are willing to ride roughshod over any opposition – to be honest, their attitude sickens me.’

‘We hoped that we could engage in positive discussions with the Trust,’ says Carrie Harper, Cymuned’s local representative, ‘but they have made it abundantly clear that they are only interested in taking cheap, dishonest shots. They leave us with no choice but to step this campaign up to a new level and consider actions of civil disobedience.’

The communitiess pressure group Cymuned and the Rhostyllen Residents Committee (RRC) today condemned a decision by Rhostyllen community council to cancel a public meeting arranged for this Saturday (25/08/07). The meeting would have been an opportunity for residents of Rhostyllen and Wrecsam to voice their concerns at plans by the National Trust to build 223 homes opposite the village of Rhostyllen. This follows several widely publicised attempts by both groups to arrange a public meeting within the community of Rhostyllen itself, which have been consistently undermined by the community council.

The meeting was requested by the RRC several weeks ago and a huge amount of work had been undertaken by the group to publicise the meeting planned for this Saturday. Secretary of the RRC, Tara Green, said ‘I am very angry at the way in which this council have behaved. They are supposed to represent the people of Rhostyllen, not take it upon themselves to do as they please regardless. They are saying we cannot have the hall because we are ‘closely linked’ to political activists, but they know full well that the RRC is made up of residents from Rhostyllen and Wrecsam.’

Committee member Barbara Davies, who attended the meeting at which the council made their decision, said ‘I have been to many council meetings and have never seen anything like this in my life. They invited us to attend this meeting and then refused to allow us to speak. The whole process appears to me to be very undemocratic. Why is the community council in Rhostyllen refusing to allow people to have an open discussion about this development?’

Both groups intend to lodge a complaint about the decision with the relevant bodies. Following enquiries by the RRC, Wrexham County Council have offered alternative venues in both Johnstown and Wrecsam town centre for a public meeting about the ‘new village’ development. Carrie Harper, spokesperson for Cymuned in the north-east of Wales, said ‘The kind offer from Wrecsam council is very much appreciated, but unfortunately there is not time to publicise a different meeting venue for this Saturday. We will however be considering their offer for an alternative date. I really do not understand the thinking behind the decision from the council in Rhosyllen to cancel the original meeting. They can stop residents having a public meeting but they can’t stop them going online.’

The groups have now launched the ’Not on Erddig’ campaign website at Rhostyllen.com. The site includes up-to-date information about the campaign and also an online petition.

On Saturday (18/08/07) members of the Rhostyllen Residents Committee and the communities group Cymuned displayed placards reading ‘SAVE ERDDIG’ outside the National Trust’s offices in Erddig to launch the ‘Not on Erddig’ campaign. The campaign is a protest against the National Trust’s plans to build 223 new homes on Erddig ground directly opposite Rhostyllen.

Rhostyllen Residents Committee secretary Tara Green said ‘We have been working extremely hard for the last few weeks to finalise arrangements for the public meeting, and we are very pleased that residents will finally be permitted to have their say.’

The public meeting will take place on Saturday 25th August at 3.00pm at the Parish Hall in Rhostyllen. Rhostyllen Residents Committee chairperson Suzan Griffiths said ‘Residents do not want to lose one of the last pieces of green space in our village. The increase in traffic will make our daily lives a nightmare, and this development goes totally against the wishes of Phillip Yorke when he donated the estate to the National Trust for the good of local people.’

Campaigners say that they will fight this development every step of the way, and plan to continue lobbying both the local council and the Assembly to make sure that this unacceptable and inappropriate misuse of the National Trust’s land is brought to a stop.

Local Cymuned representative Carrie Harper said ‘The National Trust’s head office for Wales in Llandudno has contacted Cymuned to request a meeting. Members of the RRC will also be attending to share their concerns with the Trust’s representatives. Residents of Rhostyllen have clearly stated that they do not want this development; I hope that the National Trust are now willing take on board the concerns of local people.’

‘It is very good news that a date has now been given for local people to have their say at a public meeting. Anyone is welcome to attend and give their view on the latest of a long line of contentious developments in North East Wales.’

For further details, please contact Tara Green (secretary of the Rhostyllen Residents Committee) on 07852-108370 or Carrie Harper (Cymuned spokesperson for North East Wales) on 07745-701860.

A teenager who walked out on her job after being told not to speak Welsh has been offered new employment. Angharad Hughes, 15, of Y Felinheli was told by the owner of “La Voile” restaurant in Y Felinheli that she was not to speak Welsh with customers. Now, the owner of a complex of flats, cafe and shop in West Wales has stepped in to offer Angharad alternative employment.

Dr. Dilys Davies of Canolfan Tresaith (www.tresaith.net) said she wanted to offer Angharad employment over the summer months as a way of supporting her stance and encouraging other young Welsh speakers in similar situations. “I think Angharad was very brave in standing up for her language in such a way, and I just wanted to support her in the best way I could,” said Dr. Davies, who has studied the psychological effects of colonisation both on individuals and communities.

“In Canolfan Tresaith, we have created a completely Welsh atmosphere since all the staff members are Welsh speaking here. We are showing that speaking Welsh is an economic advantage both for ourselves and the staff, and this of course is what the owner of this restaurant in Y Felinheli has completely failed to understand.”

Gwenllian Hughes, Angharad’s mother said she was very grateful to Dr. Davies for her kind offer of employment. “Canolfan Tresaith is quite a way from Y Felinheli, but Angharad’s grandparents live in Tregaron which is close by, so we will think about it” she said.

Ms Hughes added that the family had submitted a letter to the Commission of Racial Equality for Wales following the incident at La Volie and were now awaiting their response.

Communities pressure group Cymuned have welcomed the offer. “This shows that confidence and courage is the right response to small-minded, colonialist attitudes,” said Aran Jones, Cymuned’s Chief Executive. “Successful people like Dr Davies make it clear to all of us that if we stand up for what is right, we can make a real difference – and we encourage everyone to visit our Business-in-Wales.com site to see how they can make their own small contribution.”