Sustaining Spin: Welsh Assembly Government failing on sustainable development

WAG must stand up to council "dinosaurs" on green issues says report

A report published by Friends of the Earth Cymru today shows that the Welsh Assembly Government's (WAG) refusal to call-in the Bluestone project in Pembrokeshire is just the peak of a massive iceberg of WAG inaction on sustainable development. The report, Sustaining Spin, by Gordon James, finds that despite some positive moves, WAG has failed to live up to its sustainability rhetoric, partly due to its refusal to stand up to maverick local authorities [1].

The report examines seven case studies of recent controversial planning issues in Wales on which the Assembly refused to act despite strong local opposition, national controversy, questionable local authority practice or clear breaches of both planning policy and sustainable development principles.

Included are:

• Ysgol John Bright School in Llandudno, Conwy: moved to a former tip and gasworks site to clear land for supermarket development, despite the objections of their recently appointed Children's Commissioner;
• Rhiw (New Road), Llyn Peninsula, Gwynedd: built through ancient woodland and the garden of R.S Thomas, one of Wales' leading poets despite clearly breaching planning guidance;
• Island Farm (housing, business park, hotel and rugby academy) Bridgend: approved despite thousands of objections, all-party Assembly opposition, the presence of protected wildlife and the loss of green space and valuable farmland;
• Trowbridge housing development, Cardiff: approved despite massive opposition, damage to an important wildlife site and the fact that the council was due to gain over £1.5 million when it granted itself planning permission;
• Bargoed Bypass, Caerphilly: WAG funded despite commentary by leading transport expert with 25 years experience, "I have never seen anything this poor before. Never. It's a dreadful scheme."
• South Sepastapol, Pontypool: WAG has refused to intervene to prevent Torfaen Council giving itself planning permission for a massive housing development which aims to swallow all the green space between Cwmbran and Pontypool;
• Bluestone Leisure Park, Pembrokeshire: a "Team Wales" effort for which the Assembly and its sponsored bodies provided £16 million for the desecration of an area of National Park in direct contravention of a host of National and local policies.

The report finds that the system needs reform and that the Assembly Government must give a clearer lead to local authorities and its own sponsored bodies such as the WDA on sustainable development issues.

The report makes several recommendations for Assembly action to make sustainable development work in Wales, including:

• A study into the economic and job creation benefits of good environmental practice;
• Support for real practical projects with social, economic and environmental benefits;
• Increased advice and financial support for business to improve their environmental performance;
• The introduction of a "third party" right of appeal in the planning system, to enable individuals and groups to challenge developments which have been approved by local authorities;
• The introduction of heath impact assessments for significant developments;
• Assembly pressure on local authorities to implement sustainable practices.

The report, which was completed at the beginning of January, suggests that WAG's response to the Pembrokeshire Bluestone project would be a litmus test of its commitment to sustainable development rather than just sustaining spin. In the time between the submission of the report to the Assembly and its publication, WAG has failed that test by failing to "call-in" the Bluestone planning application.

Gordon James, the author of the report commented:

"The main findings of this report were that, although the Assembly Government has made some progress, there is still an enormous amount of work to be done. One of the main blocks to real action being taken is the mistaken belief that sustainable policies will cost jobs. We need to see a clear lead from Ministers in demonstrating that a sustainable Wales will have a healthy environment, economy and society.

"The second main block is that many local authorities in Wales appear to have little understanding of, and sometimes display a contempt for, sustainable development. Until WAG is willing to stand up to local authorities and their outdated thinking we will never see a sustainable Wales."

Julian Rosser, Director of Friends of the Earth Cymru commented:

"This report vividly demonstrates the massive challenge we face in moving the Assembly Government from sustainable rhetoric to sustainable development. In case after case we have seen local councils ride roughshod over communities and the environment while Assembly Ministers either ignore or, more usually, fund their activities. We have tried to encourage WAG when it does good things but the main sense one gets on reading this report is that many of the sustainability noises coming from WAG are at best spin and at worse a sick joke."

Notes

[1] The report was commissioned by Friends of the Earth Cymru as its response to the WAG consultation on the review of its first sustainable development scheme.
Sustaining spin: An assessment of the mainstreaming of sustainable development by the Welsh Assembly Government and local authorities in Wales (PDF format)

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