Last Wednesday evening, I popped back to my home town of Pwllheli for an evening meal with my parents, to talk with a few businesspeople and to have a pint at my old local, the Black Lion, with John ‘Ambulance’ and Gwyn ‘Penlan’.
Pwllheli is considered to be the capital of the Llyn Peninsula and, like many parts of rural Wales, it has its economic challenges, most notably in finding job opportunities to encourage young people to stay in the area.
Two and a half years ago, officials at Gwynedd County Council put together an ambitious plan to expand the marina within the town, and create the potential for a centre of excellence for the marine industry sector in Wales. Unfortunately, the plans were turned down by local councillors, despite support from local people in Pwllheli.
Since that time, we have seen the moral authority of those councillors who voted against the marina undermined by their decision to grant planning permission for the massive development at the Victoria Dock in Caernarfon.
Don’t get me wrong. I am personally in favour of the development in Caernarfon as it will bring employment to an area that sorely needs such jobs.
However, like many others, I believe it is peculiar in the extreme to have allowed this project to go ahead whilst rejecting the Pwllheli marina project.
Pwllheli is considered to be the capital of the Llyn Peninsula and, like many parts of rural Wales, it has its economic challenges, most notably in finding job opportunities to encourage young people to stay in the area.
Two and a half years ago, officials at Gwynedd County Council put together an ambitious plan to expand the marina within the town, and create the potential for a centre of excellence for the marine industry sector in Wales. Unfortunately, the plans were turned down by local councillors, despite support from local people in Pwllheli.
Since that time, we have seen the moral authority of those councillors who voted against the marina undermined by their decision to grant planning permission for the massive development at the Victoria Dock in Caernarfon.
Don’t get me wrong. I am personally in favour of the development in Caernarfon as it will bring employment to an area that sorely needs such jobs.
However, like many others, I believe it is peculiar in the extreme to have allowed this project to go ahead whilst rejecting the Pwllheli marina project.
Everyone who comes to Pwllheli marvels at the natural harbour, one of the safest havens on the west coast of Britain.
Yet it has been twenty five years since the original marina project was developed and, since then, underinvestment in the harbour has allowed silting to increase to a level where 24 hour access to some moorings, one of its unique selling points, is no longer available.
It could, and should, be one of the jewels in the marine industry in Wales but has been allowed to decline through a mixture of neglect, lack of finance and absence of political will.
Part of the problem is the way that funding is spent within Wales on economic regeneration, and it’s time that areas outside the main population centres get support from local councillors and the Assembly Government.
Whilst Caernarfon and Bangor have benefitted from millions of pounds of European funding during the last seven years, resort towns such as Pwllheli have been neglected at a time when they need it the most, with some of the poorest wards in North Wales now to be found within seaside towns. Indeed, Colwyn Bay, Llandudno, Barmouth and Porthmadog have been similarly neglected by the powers that be when it comes to the distribution of money from Europe to help restore them to their former glories.
They clearly deserve better.
One hundred years ago, Victorian entrepreneurs saw the massive potential of towns such as Pwllheli as the centres for tourism and leisure. Local politicians should recapture such a vision and make the case for projects that will bring jobs to young people and enable the local economy to prosper.
If they cannot, then they should stand aside for those who will.
Yet it has been twenty five years since the original marina project was developed and, since then, underinvestment in the harbour has allowed silting to increase to a level where 24 hour access to some moorings, one of its unique selling points, is no longer available.
It could, and should, be one of the jewels in the marine industry in Wales but has been allowed to decline through a mixture of neglect, lack of finance and absence of political will.
Part of the problem is the way that funding is spent within Wales on economic regeneration, and it’s time that areas outside the main population centres get support from local councillors and the Assembly Government.
Whilst Caernarfon and Bangor have benefitted from millions of pounds of European funding during the last seven years, resort towns such as Pwllheli have been neglected at a time when they need it the most, with some of the poorest wards in North Wales now to be found within seaside towns. Indeed, Colwyn Bay, Llandudno, Barmouth and Porthmadog have been similarly neglected by the powers that be when it comes to the distribution of money from Europe to help restore them to their former glories.
They clearly deserve better.
One hundred years ago, Victorian entrepreneurs saw the massive potential of towns such as Pwllheli as the centres for tourism and leisure. Local politicians should recapture such a vision and make the case for projects that will bring jobs to young people and enable the local economy to prosper.
If they cannot, then they should stand aside for those who will.
Comments
Dyna pam roedd cymaint o aelodau Pen Llŷn Plaid Cymru yn erbyn y cynllun, a dyna pam disgynnodd yn y pen draw. Mae'n beth da bod cynghorwyr lleol yn gwrando ar bobl leol, siawns?
Rydym ni o dan yr argraff i Doc Fictoria gael ei ganiatau yn 1999, ac mae'n amlwg bod nifer o ffactorau wedi newid cryn dipyn ers hynny; rydym yn ei weld yn gamgymeriad gan nad yw'r fflatiau wedi'u cadw at y farchnad leol, ond sut mae anghytuno gyda'ch safbwynt chi ar ddau ddatblygiad gwahanol yn tanseilio awdurdod moesol y cynghorwyr lleol?
Oes rhaid i bobl unai cefnogi pob datblygiad neu wrthwynebu pob datblygiad? Byddai hynny'n nonsens.
Rydych chi ar eich gorau pan yn edrych yn fanwl ar faterion economaidd, yn hytrach na chael eich tynnu i fewn i'r arfer gwleidyddol o daflu mwd er mwyn taflu mwd.
Os ydy harbwr Pwllheli i'w ddatblygu'n bellach, rhaid am gynlluniau sy'n dal dŵr yn economaidd, sydd yn cael effaith positif ar yr economi lleol (dim yr economi rhithiol lle mae pres ymwelwyr yn mynd yn syth i Asda), a sydd yn cael effaith positif ar yr iaith Gymraeg. Doedd y cynlluniau blaenorol ddim yn llwyddo gyda'r un o rheiny - mae'r cynlluniau presennol ar gyfer angorfeydd dros dro ac academi hwylio yn llawer agosach ati.
Yes, we do need to create jobs - but we need quality jobs for graduates and similar.
Wales needs regeneration in production, industry, agriculture and so forth. We should be branching out into renewable energy production and fuel cell development, and investing in hydroponics and aquaculture. Above all, we should prepare to take advantage of a hydrogen economy.
The last thing we need to do is encourage globalisation to further root itself in Wales. We want a country which is fair and socially just, economically succesful and productive. We do not need more development of shopping brands and hotels encouraging dependence on tourism and the service economy - especially jobs that will be lost at the first sign of economic downturn.
Tourism is about being dependent on other people's economies, not about developing your own. Even if we take a classical economic stance, 'efficiences' in production (ie getting someone poorer to do it for less, but that's another matter) have to be matched by developing new economic opportunities - and that means looking at what new sectors are growing (services, services, services, and high-tech development) and getting competitive in them.
Trying to pass off tourism as a new economic opportunity is lazy, unimaginative, and doomed to create an economy of dependency.
Keep up the good work Dylan, the Nats hate the truth, it;s the one thing money can't buy.
Rhydian, you have no clue whatsoever do you? You ask for jobs for graduates and yet the real issue for Wales is the lack of jobs for young people. Unlike you and Aran, the majority of 18 year olds don't go to waste three years at university but want real jobs. Whilst you and your nat friends are prattling on about hydroponics and the hydrogen economy, we are having to import thousands of poles and eastern europeans to work on building sites, and to take jobs as electricians and plumbers. We also need more engineers and technicians, especially working in the marina in pwllheli servicing boats and yachts. More boats in the marina would secure more apprenticeships for young welsh speaking people in pwllheli and give them a worthwhile career. Those are the jobs that are needed and they are not the jobs that a sailing school in pwllheli will create, as aran suggests.
I have deleted one comment - not because it was offensive but because I would like a sensible debate on this issue.
Aran and Rhydian have made some comments which I would, as someone involved in economic development and entrepreneurship for twenty years, completely disagree with.
To say that tourism is essentially a dead industry is completely wrong - it is the type of tourism that is important to a region. I have been making the case for years for higher quality tourism that attracts more money with less footfall, and with a focus on cultural, creative, environmental and sports related tourism, which includes sailing.
In addition, when both talk about 'jobs for graduates', I hardly think that a sailing school will provide this type of job in spades when it is eventually built.
However, as Aran knows full well, the expansion of the marina can acta as a catalyst for the development of a far more important industry.
Two years ago, I made the case for the development of a marine industry cluster within the Pwllheli marina economic impact report, even though Gwynedd Council did not ask for this at the time.
The Marine Industry is exactly the sort of high technology high skill sector that an area like Pwllheli is crying out for and that both Rhydian and Aran would support.
If done properly, it could attract skills in areas such as electronics and materials, linked to university expertise thirty miles up the road in Bangor.
Other regions all over the world are seeing the potential of developing a strong knowledge-based sector around the yachting industry and both are growing quickly.
Wales currently is seriously underperforming in this sector and there is no reason why we could not have such a development promoted in the best centre in Cardigan Bay. If Pwllheli doesn't then areas such as Burry port and Swsnea certainly will.
If there is a Welsh language issue, then deal with it and do what Cymuned does best, namely promoting bilingualism within the companies and the employees they would take on. Gwynedd County Council could also work hand in hand with the Assembly to ensure that new businesses are started by welsh graduates in marine engineering and that any businesses coming to the area are encouraged and supported to take on local workers.
However, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater because of your ideological opposition to marinas. That is an insult to your intelligence and the people of Pwllheli.
You're also wrong to think (if you were referring to me!) that I have an 'ideological' opposition to marinas - that's far from being the case. As I said in my first post, the previous project fell through because it did not have wide-spread support amongst Dwyfor councillors - not because Cymuned oppose marinas per se!
What we do oppose are projects where the economic benefits are not convincing, particularly if at the same time there will be a negative impact on the language. In the early stages, we tried to offer some ideas for mitigation on the proposals, but there was no desire to take any concerns on board. We spent the best part of a year waiting for and then working through the various reports, and we were left entirely unconvinced by the project, which was why we agreed to help give a platform to people who wanted to speak against it.
I would agree entirely that low impact high spend tourism is significantly better than the alternative - but it seems to me that what you are saying about developing a knowledge-based sector around an industry is not all that far from what Rhydian and I have said about needing to develop beyond tourism. As far as I can see, neither one of us suggested that we should be actively getting rid of tourism!
Maybe, in a spirit of genuine discussion, you can tell me why the current plans, for temporary berths and an academy, which have included an actively positive approach towards the language from the very beginning, cannot themselves lead to some of the further, knowledge-based developments you describe?
Also, if you feel like dealing with any of the points I raised previously, rather than referring to me as having said that tourism is a 'dead industry' (can't see that anywhere) and something about 'jobs for graduates' (not mentioned in my posts), that would be great, and potentially interesting.
Yn gyntaf, mae'r blog yma (ar y funud) yn gadael i unrhyw un rhoi ei barn. Wyt ti'n dechrau siarad fel Jeff Cuthbert!
Yn ail, os wyt i'n darllen yr atebion ynghlyn a twristiaeth
"We do not need more development of shopping brands and hotels encouraging dependence on tourism and the service economy"
"Trying to pass off tourism as a new economic opportunity is lazy, unimaginative, and doomed to create an economy of dependency" (Aran)
Mae'n glir eich bod ddim yn brolio twristiaeth o gwbwl!
Ynghlyn graddedigion,Rhydian sydd yn gwneud y pwynt "Yes, we do need to create jobs - but we need quality jobs for graduates and similar".
Mi fyddai'n fwy na hapus i edrych yn llawer mwy manwl ar y cynlluniau newydd, yn arbennig ar y darn economaidd a'r impact ar Bwllheli. Os gwaith ymchwil wedi ei wneud eto?
Ynghlyn a'r cynlluniau gwreiddiol -wyt ti felly yn dweud fuasa Cyngor Gwynedd wedi gwneud eu gwaith yn iawn o'r dechrau ac wedi edrych yn mwy manwl ar sut i intigreiddio'r iaith a'r diwylliant lleol i fewn i'r cynllun, fuasa Cymuned wedi cefnogi'r peth?
Diddorol iawn.
Ti'n iawn, mae gen i amheuon mawr iawn am dwristiaeth - sydd wrth gwrs ddim yr un peth a'i weld yn ddiwydiant 'marwol'! Y peth ydy, mae'r math o drafodaeth ti'n codi yn fan hyn (fel codaist yn yr adroddiad) am sut i ddefnyddio datblygiadau twristiaeth i sbarduno datblygiadau o fewn yr 'economi gwybodaeth' yn brin iawn - mae llawer iawn gormod o feddwl diog lle mae cynyddu niferoedd twristiaid yn cael ei weld fel ateb ynddo'i hun.
Gan fod hyn bron â bod yn ymateb reddfol cymaint o bobl, mae angen rhywfaint o weiddi o'r ochr arall i greu cydbwysedd - neu dyna beth dw i'n ei gredu. Yn sicr iawn, mae modd cael datblygiadau economaidd sydd yn cryfhau'r iaith hefyd, ac mae dybryd angen modelau arfer da yn hynny o beth.
I mi, dau brif wendid oedd i'r cynllun blaenorol - y canolbwyntio ar angorfeydd llawn amser (sydd yn arwain at gynnydd ar ran y mewnlifiad, gweler yr adroddiad iaith), a'r ansicrwydd amlwg ynglŷn â faint yn union o swyddi, ar ba lefel cyflog, byddai'n cael eu creu.
Oes, pe bae modd wedi bod i ateb y pryderon hynny, mae'n bosib na fyddai Cymuned wedi ymgyrchu. Mae'n debyg y byddi di a fi gyda barn wahanol am bwy sydd ar fai yn hynny o beth - un o'r pethau trawiadol o wahanol am y cynllun newydd, sy'n cael ei yrru yn ei flaen gan aelodau Cymraeg o'r clwb hwylio, ydy'r parodrwydd i siarad gyda grwpiau gwahanol. Roedd diffyg parodrwydd hynny gyda'r bonheddwyr blaenorol yn rhan fawr iawn o'r problem.
Hyd yma, mae'r ffocws yn y cynllun newydd ar ddigwyddiadau ac angorfeydd dros dro er mwyn cynyddu gallu cynnal digwyddiadau yn gwneud mwy o synnwyr i ni, ac yn gweithio'n well ar ran lleddfu ofnau am yr effaith ar yr iaith. Mae'r syniad o ganolfan hyfforddi hefyd i'w weld gyda buddion amlwg i bobl leol, yn enwedig os bydd yn gyfrwng Gymraeg gan amlaf. Y peth pwysig, dw i'n credu, ydy i osod y cynsail bod angen meddwl yn greadigol am ffyrdd i ddefnyddio datblygiadau fel hyn i gryfhau'r iaith - rhywbeth nad oedd yn bresennol o gwbl yn y cynllun blaenorol, a rhywbeth dw i'n siwr y byddet ti'n cytuno ei fod o werth.
Ar ran gwaith ymchwil ar y cynllun presennol - hyd y gwn i, maen nhw wrthi'n ceisio rhoi cyflwyniad llawn at ei gilydd gydag ymgynghorwyr gwasanaethau morwrol, a bydd angen am gefnogaeth i hynny cyn iddynt symud ymlaen at astudiaethau dichonoldeb (ac iaith, gobeithio!).
Bydd yn ddiddorol iawn clywed dy farn o'r astudiaethau pan byddant ar gael, yn enwedig ar ran gweld os y byddai modd/sut yn union byddet ti'n awgrymu datblygu'r clusters ti'n awyddus i'w gweld yn codi ar gefn datblygiadau fel hyn.
Gyda llaw, os wyt ti'n derbyn i'r cynllun Doc Fictoria gael ei basio peth amser yn ôl, byddai'n rasol iawn i ti dynnu yn ôl yr hyn dwedaist am iddo danseilio awdurdod moesol y cynghorwyr lleol...;-)