Ceredigion Council ignore the objectives of TraCC, ignore no Trawscymru bus connectivity in Aberystwyth/and ignore route Aberystwyth to Wrexham

Reply-To: john.mct@

Copies Welsh MPs,Welsh Assembly Members, Ceredigion Council Members, Powys Council members, Gwynedd Council members, Carmarthenshire Council members, Aberystwyth Town Council members

Dear Ellen Ap Gwynn,

Could you please note this additional information further to my letter of 01/06/2018. I have been informed since sending out the letter of the existence of the TraCC – Mid Wales Transport consortium, an organisation comprising of the 3 County Councils Ceredigion, Powys and Gwynedd , which meets regularly to encourage collaborative working under the chairmanship of the Ceredigion Councillor for Transport , Alun Williams.

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In view of the existence of this organisation and its objectives there is no excuse for Ceredigion Council refusing to complain to the Welsh Government regarding lack of connectivity of Trawscymru T2.T1 services in Aberystwyth and no excuse for refusing to complain to the Welsh Government regarding the review of a T3 Aberystwyth to Wrexham route commissioned on 14/11/2017 by Ken Skates in a letter to Alun Williams which has not been carried out.

There is also no excuse for Alun Williams to say he cannot request Gwynedd Council to change T2 departure times in Dolgellau with the statement that ”CEREDIGION COUNTY COUNCIL IS NOT IN A POSITION TO DIRECTLY INFLUENCE THIS MATTER AND THEREFORE HAS NO COMMENT TO MAKE IN RELATION TO IT.”  There is also no excuse for Alun Williams to say he cannot object to the T2 timetable changes of January 2018 with the statement that“ NOT APPLICABLE – THE TIMETABLE WAS NOT SUBJECT TO CEREDIGION COUNTY COUNCIL’S AGREEMENT”, especially when Gwynedd Council say Ceredigion Council  did agree to the T2 timetable changes.

There is also no excuse for the Leader of Ceredigion Council not taking some action regarding the T3 Aberystwyth to Wrexham route and writing on behalf of Ceredigion Council to Ken Skates to ask why the review of this route, (which was recommended 5 years ago in 2013), has not been carried out

Yours sincerely,

Dr John McTighe

THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ARE MADE REGARDING TRAAC ON ITS WEBSITE:-

(1)THE PARTNERSHIP IS IS SAID TO BE A WELL ESTABLISHED AND SUCCESSFUL EXAMPLE OF COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES, WORKING TOGETHER AND WITH PARTNERS TO DELIVER IMPROVEMENTS TO THE TRANSPORT SYSTEM WITHIN MID WALES.

(2) TRACC ALLOWS THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO BE A PART OF ENGAGEMENT ON STRATEGIC ISSUES SUCH AS THE CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WELSH GOVERNMENT’S NATIONAL TRANSPORT PLAN, AND THE TRAWSCYMRU NETWORK .

(3) TraCC gives the Region a better informed better co-ordinated and stronger voice I have also read the joint Local Transport Plan jointly prepared by (TraCC) the Mid Wales Local Authorities  of Powys, Ceredigion and Gwynedd,  with a forward from Ceredigion Councillor Alun Williams, which says the following:-

(a) We will work together to deliver the statutory Local Transport Plan, for the three Councils in the Central Wales area due to be effective from April 2015.This will be a joint Local Transport Plan for Central Wales

(b) We also look forward to working with the Minister for Economy, Science and Transport to help us join up the gaps in Central Wales, which in itself is key to joining up the gaps in Wales”.

(c) The Mid Wales LTP is a joint plan for the three local authorities. In order to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of the programme, a post of ‘Mid Wales  Transport Project Development and Delivery Officer’ is proposed to facilitate and co-ordinate the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of schemes included in the Mid Wales Joint Local Transport Plan

(d) We will improve the efficiency, reliability and connectivity of movement by all modes of transport within and between Mid Wales and the other regions of Wales and deliver a co-ordinated and integrated travel and transport network through effective partnership working

(e) The two counties of Ceredigion and Powys are proposing to grow the economy of Mid Wales by establishing a regional partnership structure and a strategic framework to promote and develop sustainable economic development in Mid Wales. “Growing Mid Wales”. The creation of jobs and growth requires an integrated approach in Transport and prompts the adoption of a wider and more integrated structure to support the region

BASED ON THE ABOVE STATEMENTS CEREDIGION COUNCIL SHOULD BE PROACTIVE IN APPROACHING THE OTHER TRACC MEMBERS TO SEEK A RESTORATION OF T2/T1 CONNECTIVITY IN ABERYSTWYTH AND A T3 ROUTE FROM ABERYSTWYTH (THROUGH POWYS) TO WREXHAM.