Civil Parking Enforcement in Powys – Costs, Fines and Income

(see the following blog for details of your Councillor Candidate’s Responses to our Campaign)

This last month or so has been frenetic.  In late April we submitted two questions to Powys County Council, trying to find out : 

1.   How much it cost Powys County Council to adopt Civil Parking Enforcement?

and

2.   What were the costs and income for its first year of operation?

(these are very much shortened versions of our Freedom of Information requests)

We were promised that the “due date for responding to this request for information is April 25, 2012”.

No answer was received by 25^th or 26^th April but eventually, today 27^th at just past 5pm, and after much prevarication, we received a response to the second of our two questions.   We have been promised the answer to our first question this coming Monday, 30^th April.

HOWEVER interestingly it has just come to our notice that a report has been distributed to County Councillors on 25^th April which effectively duplicates many of our questions and does throw some light on elements of the income Powys have derived from parking fines over the last year.  There seem to be some very interesting anomalies too!

We shall come back to the responses Powys have given us to our question in a moment, but as some of the statistics provided to Councillors are broken down by towns – here goes:

Civil Parking Enforcement

1^st April 2011 – 31^st March 2012

Total number of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued

County Total                     6,255

Hay-on-Wye                643

Brecon                    1,989

Builth Wells                 374 

Llandrindod Wells         440

Crickhowell                 232 

Rhayader                   107

Talgarth                       10

Number of off-street PCNs issued (editor - i.e. in car parks)

County Total                     2,356

Hay-on-Wye                210

Brecon                       900

Builth Wells                 153 

Llandrindod Wells         109

Crickhowell                   99

Rhayader                     44

Talgarth                      n/a

Number of on-street PCNs issued (i.e. street parking infringements)

County Total            3,899

Hay-on-Wye                433

Brecon                       998

Builth Wells                 221 

Llandrindod Wells         331

Crickhowell                 133 

Rhayader                     63

Talgarth                       10

Total income generated for Powys County Council

County Total            £139,824

Hay-on-Wye                £22,505

Brecon                       £66,430

Builth Wells                 £13,090     

Llandrindod Wells         £15,400

Crickhowell                   £8,120    

Rhayader                     £3,745

Talgarth                         £350

(these figures are apparently based on £35 per PCN !)

[Ed. This makes a total of £114,240 which if the figures are accurate, means that the seven towns generated 82% of the income generated for Powys and the remainder of the county, generated only £25,584 or 18% of total income !   CAN THAT BE TRUE? ]  

Interestingly, based on the figures supplied, the income ratio per head generated for each town listed is:

Hay-on-Wye                15

Brecon                         7

Builth Wells                   5            

Llandrindod Wells           3

Crickhowell                   3  

Rhayader                     2

Talgarth                       0

Lastly and also very interesting are the :

Civil Enforcement Officer hours spent enforcing CPE

County Total            20,000 hours *

*Interim figure based on 9 officers and 42.5 hours per week

Hay-on-Wye                1,040           5%

Brecon                       3,900         19.5%

Builth Wells                    780          4%  

Llandrindod Wells            676          3%

Crickhowell                  1,300          6.5%

Rhayader                       260         1%

Talgarth                         260           1%

There really is something strange about these figures provided to Councillors.  The above timescales mean that 40% of time spent by CEOs in the seven towns produced 82% of the income, whilst the remaining 60% of time spent elsewhere in the county produced only 18% of the income generated.  (perhaps travel time has not been included – but even so!)

The document also provided some information regarding appeals but on first appearance, the answers seem to contradict information previously supplied.

If you can be bothered, an enlightening exercise is to divide the number of tickets issued by the income received and the results just don’t seem to make sense – that is unless Powys operate a Pay one, get one free system. 

I’m afraid that I for one, just don’t trust these figures!

Now, the answers provided to some of our questions!

Costs :

1.       Total costs for Pay and Display Car Parks                     £756,800

2 - 4. Total cost of Civil Parking Enforcement ²                       £326,248

² Civil enforcement costs include relevant staff overheads, equipment, internal and external administration.  The cost of “on-street” enforcement is not separately identifiable.

Income :

5.       Total number and value of off-street PCNs issued :

County Total  2,356          £50,845  (Ed. £21.58 each ?)

6.       Total number and value of on-street PCN’s issued :

County Total            3,899          £103,753  (Ed. £26.61 each ?)

7.       Total number and value of PCN’s paid within 14 days :

County Total 4,380³                   £121,935  (Ed. £27.84 each ?)

³ based on payments made at reduced rates.  Additional payments may be received within 14 days or underpayments made for higher rate offences.  Previous calculations have indicated a total of 4,468.

8.       Total number and value of PCNs paid after 14 days

County Total    435⁴          £23,260   (Ed. £53.47 each)

⁴ based on payment made at full rate.  Additional payments may may be recievd for alternative amounts.

9.       Total number and value of PCNs appealed and payment outstanding :

County Total  Not known            Value - not calculated

10.     Total number and value of appeals :

County Total  7                 Value - not calculated

11.     Total number and value of successful appeals :

County Total  3                 Value – not calculated

12.     Total number and value of appeals awaiting decision : 

County Total  3                 Value – not calculated

13.     Total income received from Wales Penalty Processing Partnership (WPPP) :

Total   £139,824    Income not yet received – not calculated

14.     Total Revenue from Pay and Display Car Parks :

Total   £959,498

Hay-on-Wye                £141,286 15%

Brecon                       £242,898 25%

Builth Wells                   £44,080   4.5%

Llandrindod Wells           £21,530   2%

Crickhowell                   £63,388   6.5%

Rhayader                     £14,983      1.5%

(Ed. The above 5 towns provided 54.5% of Powys’ total  income from pay and Display Car parks.)

15.     Total Revenue from Car Park Parking Permits :

County Total  £135,226

Well, there you are, those are the facts and figures as provided by Powys County Council.  We’ve not had the time to look at the figures properly yet, but shall do so.  In the meanwhile, why not let us know what you think!

  

NOT EVERYONE SUPPORTS OUR CAMPAIGN

Candidates supporting our call for an immediate review of traffic and car parking throughout Powys

Cllr. John Steadman – Ystradgynlais
Cllr. Margaret Morris – Glasbury
Robert Golesworthy – Gwernyfed
Cllr. Gareth Ratcliffe – Hay
Keith Tampin – Llandrindod Wells East & West
Cllr. Gareth Morgan – Llanidloes
Dr John Morgan – Llanerchyddol Ward Welshpool
Cllr. Mike Williams – Machynlleth
Cllr. Kathryn Silk – Bwlch
Cllr. David Jones – Guilsford
Mary Fellowes – Bwlch
Christine Williams Llanfair Caereinion
Chris Davies - Glasbury
Liz Davies – Bronllys

Rob Harper  - Churchstoke

John Pratt – Felin Fach

Peter Medlicott – Knighton

Paul Ashton – Brecon St Mary

Megan Lloyd – Builth Wells

John Milsom – Old Radnor

Debra Williams – Gwernyfed

Megan Lloyd – Builth Wells

Nick Powell – Llanfechain and Llansantffraid

Forbes Lopez – Llanyre

Richard Thomas – Tal-y-Bont

Marion Lopez – Llandrindod Wells North

Cllr. Aled Davies – Llansilan

Gillian Thomas - Yscir

Tom Turner – Lalndrindod Wells South

John Williams – Yscir

Cllr. Peter Harris – Newtown Llanwchaiarn West

David Jones – Llangors

Qualified support has also been received from :

Sarah Reast – Llanbrynmair

John Milsom – Old Radnor

Brian Lopez – Llandrindod Wells East & West

Acknowledgements have been received but no opinion expressed from :

Cllr. Linda Corfield – Forden

John Wilding

Watch this space for what we hope will be more responses before we publish the full list of replies - and those who just can’t be bothered to respond!

Some more comments received from candidates:

Marion Lopez – Llandrindod Wells North

Have read with interest the comments on your blog.  They indicated how a parking solution for Powys is not one-size-fits-all; Hay with full car parks and a heavily tourist-based economy needs a different response from Llandrindod where the car parks are half empty and PCC office staff park all day on-street, preventing residents from stopping legally anywhere near their homes.  Surely it's better to pay for a resident's parking permit than be fleeced by fines on a regular basis.

John Williams - Yscir Ward

I agree with your campaign for an immediate review of parking in Powys. Although the ward I am standing in is very rural, many of the constituents of Yscir will have faced the problems you speak of when visiting the nearby towns of Brecon, Builth and Hay.

I wish you all the best with the campaign.

Gillian Thomas - Yscir Ward

I support a review to be undertaken as soon as practicable which needs to be fair and equitable across the County.

Councillor Peter Harris - Newtown Llanwchaiarn West

I will most certainly support the Campaign.  Hopefully after the election the new Council will be controlled by like minded members.

Support for our campaign is not universal, there are dissenters too:

(Although to be fair, these councillors are not opposed to a review of traffic and parking, they just think everything that could be done, is already being done.)

Councillor J H Brunt - Beguildy

The portfolio holder said in a press statement dated 1^st July 2011 that a review of on and off street car parking would commence straight away.

This was the case.  Unfortunately the officer responsible has been off sick most of the time since then.

The portfolio holder has a draft policy for resident’s (sic) parking and a scheme for prioritising Traffic Regulation Orders already complete.

It is certain that after the election the review will proceed.

In the current administration, Cllr. Brunt is Chair of the Environment and Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Committee and a member of the Licensing Committee.

We say:

We are of course well aware of Cllr Geraint Hopkins’ (the portfolio holder referred to in Cllr Brunt’s email.) statement; we refer to it in our blog.  Unfortunately Cllr Hopkins confirmed at the meeting held at County offices in Llandrindod Wells on October 11th 2011, that no work had at that time in fact started!  Both officers apparently responsible for the review were present at the meeting, although we understand that one has been off sick for an extended period since then.

However, July 1^st is almost ten months ago, and surely that is sufficient time to undertake a review that was promised to full council and publicised to the press.

It is reassuring to hear that “it is certain that after the election the review will proceed”.  We hope that whoever takes over portfolio responsibility after the elections agrees; we are merely trying to ensure that any new incumbent is fully aware of the urgency of the problems brought about through the council’s ill thought out draconian enforcement of outdated parking restrictions throughout the county.  Procrastination and further unnecessary delay are just not acceptable – and it seems from the support we have received that many councillors agree!

Lastly, why can’t we see the draft policy and the scheme for prioritising Traffic Regulation Orders’; or at least some evidence of their existance.   Public consultation should be at the heart of government, not secrecy.

Cllr. Ken Harris - Knighton

I’m sorry but as Cllr. Ratcliffe well knows (and could have told you) the Review is on-Going and the fact that a Review is taking place is as a result of support from the Cabinet Members of which I am one.

It is rather pointless to call for an immediate Review now during the end of one Council just before a second one starts.

In the current administration, Cllr. Harris is a Powys County Council Cabinet Member with portfolio responsibilities for Waste, Climate Change & Welsh Language.
 
We say

Thank you Cllr Harris, it is reassuring that you, as one of the cabinet, were instrumental in ensuring a Review ‘is taking place’.  However, as we comment above in our response to Cllr. Brunt, we have seen no evidence of the review!

We (and it seems our supporters) do not believe that it is ‘pointless’ to call for an ‘immediate’ review.  It is just because one council is ending and new councillors are being elected, that we are campaigning for long overdue action. 

Newly elected councillors will enjoy five years of power.  We hope they will not sit on their laurels but get on with all the various challenges facing them;  parking is an important priority and we believe bringing attention to candidates’ attitudes towards instigating an IMMEDIATE review of traffic and parking will concentrate minds.  You never know – it might just bring about a responsible approach to parking. 

More Responses

Responses and Quotes Received in Reply to our Letters to Candidates 

Response to the 160 letters we sent out to Powys County Council candidates continue to come in. Today’s update brings responses to 33 or approximately 21% of candidates.

We have today emailed all sitting councillors who are standing for re-election and the surprising number of councillors who are unopposed and already sure of their seat on Powys County Council. We await their response (unfortunately a number of councillors obviously don’t look at their emails too frequently as their ‘in-boxes’ are full and won’t take any more messages. Amazingly, for 2012, one councillor doesn’t use email but instead supplied a postal address – in this day and age and with the increasing cost of postage!

Supporting our call for an immediate review of traffic and car parking throughout Powys 

Cllr. John Steadman – Ystradgynlais
Cllr. Margaret Morris – Glasbury
Robert Golesworthy – Gwernyfed
Cllr. Gareth Ratcliffe – Hay
Keith Tampin – Llandrindod Wells East & West
Cllr. Gareth Morgan – Llanidloes
Dr John Morgan – Llanerchyddol Ward Welshpool
Cllr. Mike Williams – Machynlleth
Cllr. Kathryn Silk – Bwlch
Cllr. David Jones – Guilsford
Mary Fellowes – Bwlch
Christine Williams Llanfair Caereinion
Chris Davies - Glasbury
Liz Davies – Bronllys
Rob Harper - Churchstoke
John Pratt – Felin Fach
Peter Medlicott – Knighton
Paul Ashton – Brecon St Mary
Megan Lloyd – Builth Wells
John Milsom – Old Radnor
Debra Williams – Gwernyfed
Megan Lloyd – Builth Wells
Nick Powell – Llanfechain and Llansantffraid
Forbes Lopez – Llanyre
Richard Thomas – Tal-y-Bont
Marion Lopez – Llandrindod Wells North
Cllr. Aled Davies – Llansilan
Tom Turner – Lalndrindod Wells South

Qualified support has also been received from : 

Sarah Reast – Llanbrynmair
John Milsom – Old Radnor
Brian Lopez – Llandrindod Wells East & West

Acknowledgements have been received but no opinion expressed from : 

Cllr. Linda Corfield – Forden John Wilding

Watch this space for what we hope will be more responses before we publish the full list of replies - and those who just can’t be bothered to respond!

Responses and Quotes

Responses and Quotes Received in Reply to our Letters to Candidates

Response to the 160 letters we sent out to Powys County Council candidates continue to come in. Whilst it is true that not all respondents have been universally supportive, most are.

We take this opportunity to quote some of the responses we have received, and those replies we have sent in return. Quoted below are comments from respondents marked *

Supporting our call for an Immediate review of traffic and car parking throughout Powys :

Cllr. John Steadman – Ystradgynlais
Cllr. Margaret Morris – Glasbury
Robert Golesworthy – Gwernyfed
Cllr. Gareth Ratcliffe – Hay
Keith Tampin – Llandrindod Wells East & West
Cllr. Gareth Morgan – Llanidloes
Dr John Morgan – Llanerchyddol Ward Welshpool *
Cllr. Mike Williams – Machynlleth *
Cllr. Kathryn Silk – Bwlch
Cllr. David Jones – Guilsford *
Mary Fellowes – Bwlch
Christine Williams - Llanfair Caereinion
Chris Davies - Glasbury
Liz Davies – Bronllys
Rob Harper - Churchstoke
John Pratt – Felin Fach
Peter Medlicott – Knighton
Paul Ashton – Brecon St Mary
Megan Lloyd – Builth Wells
John Milsom – Old Radnor

Qualified support has also been received from :

Sarah Reast – Llanbrynmair *
John Milsom – Old Radnor *
Brian Lopez – Llandrindod Wells East & West *

Acknowledgements have been received but no opinion expressed from :

Cllr. Linda Corfield – Forden
John Wilding

Worth quoting are the following respondents :

From: John Milsom - Old Radnor

Bearing in mind that parking is not uppermost in the minds of the electors of the Old Radnor ward, and that many are more concerned with parking in Kington than in Powys.
But yes, there have been a lot of complaints recently about parking in Hay, and from what I have heard, parking regs are being enforced there in a pretty rigid and unimaginative fashion.
So yes, there is room for a review.
Having said that, if you are also promoting the idea of residents' only parking, I am against. It cuts down the amount of parking available to people coming in to shop, and so is bad for business (and bad for the people of Old Radnor Ward). And, if my daughter's experience in London is anything to go by, it can turn into a way in which council can fleece the residents, some of whom will have little choice but to pay the charges, whatever they are.

We responded

Thanks for your response. I hope you will get an opportunity to look at our proposals as outlined in our blog. In fact we don't call for residents only parking; our proposals have been carefully worked out to provide two zones in towns, the first to be only visitors' parking with half and one hour parking allowed plus some disabled and and visitors' restricted to half and one hour waiting only. There are only a very few residents only parking areas, restricted to particularly difficult areas and very limited in number. In the outer zone (we call it zone 2.) which is the area where most residents live, parking is time restricted to 1 hour, from 8:00am to 6:00pm 7 days a week. HOWEVER residents displaying a permit will be allowed to park in such zones without restriction of time. The idea is that many residents do not use these areas during normal working hours and it is important we provide sufficient visitors' places to encourage commerce.

The plan has been quite carefully worked out and if you find it difficult to locate it on our blog, please contact me and I can happily email you the details. I hope that answers some of your questions. We believe it important that representatives of both rural and urban wards support the campaign. We must encourage people from out of town to visit, shop and generally use our towns. In passing, we have also proposed the use of the town's cattle market parking during non-market days, as overflow parking. We do believe that this scheme has been something of a 'cash cow' for the council and have put in two Freedom of Information requests to find out the costs of setting up the scheme and most importantly, the income derived against the running costs. Answers have been promised by 25th April!

Best wishes and I hope this will persuade you to support the campaign


From Brian A Lopez – Llandrindod Wells East & West

Thank you for your recent undated and unsigned communication that I received in Saturday morning's mail delivery.
Until receipt, I was completely unaware of your campaign and whilst expressing support for it generally, I appreciate the complexity of the matter, especially as it relates to the whole of Powys as an entity.
Having resided in Ithon Road in Llandrindod Wells for in excess of twenty years - and previously in Ffynnon Gynydd -1 have been aware of a parking problem in my immediate neighbourhood for some while. However, since I have got on the ground by canvassing the two wards that I seek to represent on Powys County Council, I have become aware of at least three other parking and/or traffic circulation problems within these wards at the centre of our town.
Therefore, I imagine that as Llandrindod is only one of about ten centres of population within Powys that has vehicular problems of one sort or another the whole matter is far greater than I can currently imagine.
Therefore, whilst I accept the urgency of the subject, due to the complexity of the problem and in order to do justice to all the communities within the County, I find myself unable to accept the word IMMEDIATE but recognise the need for a comprehensive and thorough review to be undertaken at an early convenient and programmed opportunity.
In replying I find myself responding to an anonymous pressure group identifying itself with what I consider to be an offensive mnemonic as its title. Should there be future contacts between ourselves I would prefer to know with I am corresponding, or meeting, and without the use of a vulgar epithet to identify itself.

We responded

Thank you for responding to my mail shot. First I should explain that I have quite deliberately tried to keep my name out of the campaign preferring that any publicity should concentrate on the campaign rather than any one person. Further, I believe my anonymity allows the campaign to be seen as non-political, single issue and not associated any supporter’s perceived preferences or political stance. It does and has allowed me to acknowledge the support on the blog of all and any who are in sympathy with our aims.

Regarding your comments about CRAP being an offensive mnemonic, when I started the campaign in April last year, I needed a name for the original local questionnaire and decided that a Rational Approach to Parking described what I hoped to achieve. In discussion with others, I changed Rational to Realistic and the campaign was launched. I decided that the resulting acronym C.R.A.P was memorable and likely to attract the attention of the media; and so it has proved.

I accept the term Crap is offensive to many, is certainly vulgar in the proper use of the word, but it is in common usage and its definition of ‘ worthless, useless or lacking in ability’ I felt aptly described what I considered had been the County’s inept approach to the adoption of Civil Parking Enforcement in April last year. Nonetheless I must apologise if you find it particularly distasteful.

I note your reservations regarding my choice of requiring an ‘immediate’ review of traffic and parking, but please understand that we have been working on a plan for a year in Hay and despite receiving specific promises of reform from the Powys politicians and officers responsible for traffic and parking, being told that our plan could be used as a blueprint for the county and a unanimous vote in July last year to bring forward a review, nothing has been done. It will be all too simple for the new Powys administration to procrastinate unless our campaign results in a better appreciation of the problem among both the public and our newly elected councillors.
Nonetheless, I recognise your inability to accept ‘immediate’ in the wording of our campaign and shall record your statement accordingly.

The story of our year long campaign is recorded on our blog crap-powys.blogspot.com.

Should you have any queries, or further comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.


From Sarah Reast – Llanbrynmair :

Thank you for your letter asking for my support for your campaign. As my
Llanbrynmair ward is extremely rural, parking is not an issue that
directly relates to us here so I can not honestly say I can represent the
constituents views on an issue that that barely affects them. However, if
I am elected then I will be in a position to view the matter from a more
County wide perspective and would be very interested then to re-visit it.
Watch this space!
Good luck.

We responded that we believe that a review of traffic and parking is as important for the rural community in Powys as it is for the urban dweller. We all hope that Powys continues to prosper and thrive and attracting both residents and visitors to use and shop in our towns is to the advantage of all of us, wherever we live in the county.


From David Jones – Guilsford

Thank you for your letter. It is not like Powys to be slow to provide a service. I suggest you take the matter up again with the relevant cabinet member who, I am sure is straining at the lease to justify his 40% salary increase. I think it will be more useful to go for a change of cabinet at Powys. In the meantime I support your campaign to have orderly parking in Powys with the proviso that the council is not allowed to make a profit out of motorists parking outside their own homes.

Best wishes for the campaign


From Cllr. Mike Williams - Machynlleth

Thank you for your recent letter regarding this matter and I respond as follows: I support an IMMEDIATE review of traffic and car parking throughout Powys. Incidentally, I raised this matter at the most recent meeting of Montgomeryshire, stating the deep concern of Machynlleth Town Council and myself, and calling for an appropriate Powys County Councillor officer to meet with the Council.

With all good wishes to your campaign


From Dr John Morgan - Llanerchyddol Ward Welshpool

Thank you for your lobbying letter which I collected from my mail box barely half a mug of coffee ago. I have been involved in casework in trying to get residents parking permits, even if only for reserved occupations and severely disabled, in the Mount St area of Welshpool and have been frustrated by the lack of progress since what seemed a ray of light appeared all those months ago. Therefore on the basis of you lobbying letter I fully endorse your campaign and will challenge its objectives as stated should I be elected on the 3 May. I also want to know why the portfolio member in charge hasn't progressed matters, maybe the electorate will hold him to account.

Thus:
I support an IMMEDIATE review of traffic and car parking throughout Powys.

More Quotes to Follow

Thank you Machynlleth

An unsolicited message of support from Machynlleth

Sirs

Machynlleth Town Council support an immediate review of traffic and car parking throughout Powys.

Regards

Melanie Biffin
Clerk to Machynlleth Town Council

Support for CRAP's Campaign

Following our letter posted to all 160 plus candidates standing in the 3rd May Powys County Council elections, we are beginning to get emails and returned slips, most confirming support for the CRAP campaign.

RURAL CANDIDATES

Powys is a proudly rural county with a small number of relatively small towns and villages. An interesting response to our letter came from Sarah Reast, Powys County Council candidate for Lllanbrynmair, a particularly rural ward. We quote her email below:

Thank you for your letter asking for my support for your campaign. As my
Llanbrynmair ward is extremely rural, parking is not an issue that
directly relates to us here so I can not honestly say I can represent the
constituents views on an issue that that barely affects them. However, if
I am elected then I will be in a position to view the matter from a more
County wide perspective and would be very interested then to re-visit it.
Watch this space!
Good luck.
Yours sincerely
Sarah Reast
County Council candidate for Llanbrynmair

We think Sarah makes a valid comment but take this opportunity, perhaps not adequately made in our letter, to stress how important traffic and parking should be to both rural as well as urban members of the Powys community.

Parking is undoubtedly particularly important to residents of our towns of villages, but as important are the well being and interests of the rural community to urbanites, so should the health and vitality of our urban centres be to the county’s country dwellers.

Rural residents use local towns for shopping and leisure, and tourists, upon whom mch of our economy depends, are attracted as much by the unique appeal of our countryside as they are to what our historic towns and villages have to offer. Town and country are interdependent and it is vitally important that we who live locally, in town, village or in the countryside, use all that our unique countryside has to offer as well as shopping locally, buying local produce and products and support local enterprise and businesses.

Our county will only thrive if it remains a wonderful place to live, a thriving place to earn a living and a welcoming place for visitors.

Don’t let short term draconian enforcement of outdated parking restrictions dissuade visitors from the local community as well those from further afield, from coming to our towns.

NOW THE DETAILS SO FAR:

We have received support from the following candidates, all of whom ‘support an IMMEDIATE review of traffic and parking throughout Powys’. Some comments forwarded to us will be added over the coming days.

In no particular order, support has been received thus far from:

Cllr. John Steadman – Ystradgynlais
Cllr. Margaret Morris – Glasbury
Robert Golesworthy – Gwernyfed
Cllr. Gareth Ratcliffe – Hay
Keith Tampin – Llandrindod East & West
Cllr. Gareth Morgan – Llanidloes
Dr John Morgan – Llanerchyddol Ward Welshpool
Cllr. Mike Williams – Machynlleth
Cllr Kathryn Silk – Bwlch
Cllr. David Jones – Guilsford
Mary Fellowes – Bwlch
Christine Williams Llanfair Caereinion
Chris Davies - Glasbury
Liz Davies - Bronllys

Only 150 more to go!

Everyone's Here

A Lovely Sunny Day in Hay-on-Wye


The car park is full, the market is buzzing and the town centre is crowded with both locals and visitors - Just what we want for our town!


Walking the Streets of Hay this morning were Powys County Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe, (Hay ward) Robert Golesworthy, Hay Town Councillor and prospective Powys County Council candidate for Gwerwyfed ward, Fiona Howard Hay Town Councillor and Steve Holdaway, Powys County Council Head of Local and Environmental Services who were looking at the parking problems and traffic in the town. (It should be noted that a CEO [traffic warden to you and me!]was active in the very busy card park - we hope no-one overstayed their time!)

There is hope yet that we may get a sensible parking scheme for Hay and the county.