‘Not on Erddig’ campaigners will gather at 2.00 o’clock this Wednesday (31/10/07) to express their disgust at National Trust plans to build a ‘new village’ near the Erddig Estate in Rhostyllen, Wrecsam by protesting outside the Trust’s Welsh head office in Llandudno. Protestors will be wearing Halloween costumes and carrying placards reading ‘Rhostyllen R.I.P.’

The National Trust have claimed publicly that a majority of local people are favour of the development and that the money raised by the proposed development is needed to secure the future of Erddig Hall and the surrounding estate.

Carrie Harper, local spokesperson for the campaign group Cymuned, said “This demonstration shows the strength of feeling against the proposed development amongst local people. Hundreds have signed the petition at www.Rhostyllen.com and the site is receiving from 60 to 80 visits a day. It is simply not true that a majority of local people are in favour of this proposed development. The Trust’s claim that the money is needed to secure the future of Erddig is also very misleading. By their own admission, the running costs of the estate are met by admission fees and no work actually needs doing at the Hall. This organisation has some very difficult questions to answer.”

Tara Green, secretary of the Rhostyllen Residents Committee, said “The National Trust has an investment fund of nearly £900 million, yet they expect our small community to put up with a large, intrusive development as they claim they need the extra money. How many charities have £900 million in the bank? Their so-called justification for this development baffles me completely.”

‘Not on Erddig’ campaigners have been working since February to raise awareness about the Trust’s plans, which they say will cause many problems to the existing community. Increased traffic, environmental damage, pressure on services and loss of identity are just some of the concerns raised. Many local people are angry at the fact that this new village will be purpose-built for commuters and that local people will not be able to afford the state-of-the-art properties.

Local campaigner Sean Leech said “Why should our community suffer just so the National Trust can make yet more money? Is it even appropriate that an organisation of this nature partake in property development?”

Campaigners say they are determined to stop the development going ahead. If the National Trust will not see sense, they intend to fight to the highest level to ensure the protection of their community.

For more details, please contact Cymuned on 01758-612712.

Cymuned believes that the Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society) is right to request the Rural Affairs Department of the Assembly Government to take over responsibility for village schools in order to develop them as key resources for community regeneration. Local education authorities would then be able to rent the capacity needed to maintain the school, removing financial pressure from the argument and helping to safeguard one of the most important resources of any rural community.

Sharing spare capacity with local groups and small businesses could also have a positive effect in terms of emphasising to school children the importance of entrepreneurialism, something that other Assembly projects have already attempted to do.

‘We support this policy suggestion from the Cymdeithas,’ says Aran Jones, Cymuned’s Chief Executive, ‘because we believe it offers an inventive way forwards that could help solve one of the most serious problems facing rural communities.’

Cymuned will be working in partnership with Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg to hold a protest outside the main entrance to Gwynedd Council in Caernarfon at 1 o’clock on Thursday afternoon (25/10/07) to enable families and governors to speak out against the Schools Transport Plan that will be discussed that afternoon by the the Council’s Children and Young People scrutiny committee. The two organisations will be calling on the committee to refuse to pass the plan, and to request officers to return to discussions with all the affected governing boards in order to produce an alternative and more positive way forward.

For more details, please contact Cymuned on 01758-612712.