Keep Parc Howard public for the people of Llanelli

Nia Griffith MP has slammed UKIP’s Ken Rees for holding secret talks about selling off the town’s treasured Parc Howard, and, in response to residents’ concerns, has started a petition to keep Parc Howard in public ownership. Commenting on a packed meeting on Saturday afternoon, at which she, together with Labour Councillors Bill Thomas and Jan Williams and members of the Parc Howard Association expressed their anger, Nia said,

“First of all I should like to thank the residents who turned up to the open meeting of the Parc Howard Association on Saturday, and apologise to those who did not have the opportunity to put forward their ideas for their park. When I re-established the Parc Howard Association a few years ago, the whole point was precisely that, to bring together people who wanted to preserve and enhance the park, and a number of members of the Association have worked hard to put on events, share ideas on improvements and raise concerns with the County Council.

Unfortunately on Saturday, we had to deal with the fact that, to our horror, the Chair of the Association, Ken Rees, had been in secret talks about selling off Parc Howard – which he has got absolutely no authority to do – a fact that came to light when Llanelli Town Council blew the whistle and turned down the invitation to meet a private developer, knowing that if the County Council wants to bring in private contractors to run catering outlets or do refurbishment, there are proper advertising and tendering procedures to adhere to.

So what next? I appreciate that the Conservative UK Government has imposed cuts of an unprecedented scale on the County Council, but not so long ago, the County Council’s Leisure Chief Ian Jones assured us that Parc Howard was Carmarthenshire’s  “Jewel in the Crown “ and was not an asset they would even consider transferring to Llanelli Town Council, nevermind sell off. Although we know that they have subsequently talked about transferring it, for Ken Rees to be in detailed talks with one purchaser is an affront to the people of Llanelli, and breaks every rule in the book. These talks must stop now.

We need Cllr Meryl Gravell, the Executive Board member for Regeneration which includes the parks to come and listen to the people of Llanelli – so we can tell her and her officers that Parc Howard is a special case, and that we want to keep Parc Howard in public ownership for the enjoyment of the people of Llanelli.“

Sign the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/carmarthenshire-county-council-keep-parc-howard-public-cadwch-barc-howard-yn-gyhoeddus?recruiter=312963675&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=des-lg-new_account-no_msg&fb_ref=Default