Comments on: City regions game changer for Wales

By: stuart conway

stuart conway — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 11:49:38 +0000

On the contrary Jon, what I want for Wales – regardless of whether we are independent or not – is social justice and a sustainable society. The basis for that is economic prosperity and Wales continues to languish behind England in every economic indicator.
My objection to Skates and his scheme is not that it would promote cross-border economic interdependence, but that it seeks to socially engineer a situation that is patently not to our benefit on this side of the border (which does exist if you have any concept of history, heritage and prescription charges). The past decade has seen a huge house-building programme in N E Wales that has not been for the benefit of local communities and has put huge strain on the area’s infrastructure.
Make the case for Wales being incorporated into England if you want but don’t dress it up as being progressive or for the betterment of Welsh communities.

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By: David

David — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 12:52:17 +0000

I suppose it would have to be called ‘The Chester City Region’. Nice. LOL!

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By: David

David — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 17:17:04 +0000

And what would the name of this new city region be?

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By: Ken Richards

Ken Richards — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 22:09:10 +0000

This article brought to mind the paper which Dr. John Davies delivered at the National Eisteddfod in 2007 (Rhanbarth Ymylol: Y Gogledd Ddwyrain yn Hanes Cymru). Dr Davies offered a long term perspective on the economic development of North East Wales which is worth bearing in mind in present circumstances.

There is an interesting dynamic at play which is based on economic reality, but with a good measure of history thrown into the pot. Wrexham is economically part of the North West City Region, but with an historic and cultural difference, which may not be fully appreciated or acknowledged on the English side of the border.

In this context, the idea of cross-border partnerships sounds well and good in a general sense, but such arrangements require a great deal of work and patience in reality. In the long term, it may be better to work on collaborative arrangements with neighboring organizations on specific topics, rather than taking on a broad spectrum of initiatives.

Take transportation as an example. There has been a great deal of discussion on this site about the improvement of railway infrastructure both within the Cardiff City Region and its connections with London. Less appears to have been said, or emphasized, regarding the needs of the Wrexham area.

I have often wondered why Wrexham is not included in the West Coast Mainline Rail Contract with provision for a regular express passenger service to London through Chester. Given that the West Coast Mainline Rail Contract is back on the table, perhaps Cardiff Bay should be puttting some of its political weight behind the notion of providing for the needs of the Wrexham area in the new call for proposals.

Not forgetting that the railway link between Wrexham and Cardiff, together with the West Midlands and Telford through Shrewsbury, is also an important part of the overall discussion of rail on the Borderland.

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By: David

David — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 19:23:31 +0000

Isn’t Dr Elisabeth Heywood the wife of Labour MP Peter Hain? Why do they have so much say in the running of our country? She was against setting up of our Assembly? She obviously still has problems understanding that Wales is not England.

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By: Penderyn

Penderyn — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 15:15:08 +0000

This isnt a “partnership”……it never has been, its a one way route of exploitation that ends with the destruction of welsh identity and culture

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By: Gruffydd

Gruffydd — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 14:45:44 +0000

This is nothing other than ,the discredited,West Cheshire NE Wales sub regional strategy under a new name. The talk of mutual benefit is nonsense. It is a plan which will swamp N Wales with English commuter houses and multi national retail companies . This will further marginalise indigenous opportunities and keep local wages down but increase the cost of housing beyond the reach of locals at the same time as eroding the communities locally, as well as the Welsh identity .

http://deffrorddraig.com/west-cheshire/

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By: Jon Jones

Jon Jones — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:00:33 +0000

Do you realise how farcical your position is Stuart? There is no line on the ground. There is no barrier at the edge of Flintshire or Wrexham or Powys. People who live in Wales work in England and, to a lesser extent, the reverse is true. There is no mechanism on earth that can stop people from migrating East or West. There is no difference between people in Wales and those a few hundred yards away in England.

But what do YOU want? Well that’s easy to see; you want separation, you want to build a barrier no matter what the cost. You want to point at economic failure in Wales and blame England…as if there are no run down economies in the North East or North Yorkshire and Humberside.
What always bemuses me is the overwhelming desire of Nationalists to court any kind of failure, to almost wish destitution on Wales, as long as they can use that destitution to build an argument for Independence.
There is a chance for people in the North East of Wales to forge a closer relationship with adjacent areas of England in order to increase prosperity for all concerned. Nevertheless I am sure that Welsh nationalists will spend time and energy dripping the poison of distrust and division into the ear of anyone foolish enough to listen.

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By: stuart conway

stuart conway — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 10:45:39 +0000

You may not have noticed but we’re “in partnership” with England now, except that a partnership implies an equal relationship. It’s not doing us much good if you look at any economic indicator. Do you want Wales to be permanently considered to be a backwater, on the periphery, a sideshow or do you want it to make its own future?

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By: Jon Jones

Jon Jones — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 07:52:23 +0000

So… in essence you are asking whether we in Wales would rather thrive in partnership with English regions or wither in isolation?

This is a no brainer… we choose to atrophy and die!

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