POWER FROM THE PEOPLE

Back in the 1960's people were actually told that by the year 2000 energy would be so cheap that it would be impossible to bill people for it. That never happened, largely as a result of the ideologically driven privatisation of the energy boards created a privatised (effective) monopoly. Once ‘market forces’ set to work we were left with the big six energy suppliers (a cartel by any other name). With weak regulation - despite some periodic and actually very effective work by Westminster parliamentary select committees - the cartel members have been able to get away with much - mostly at our expense (literally). 

We should recognise that this costly experiment has failed - much like the privatisation of the railways. Rolling the clock back to having it all run by the indifferent dead hand of a re-ecentralised post Brexit Brit state is just not a realistic option. That's partially how we ended up in this mess to start with. We need to do something different - firstly we need to make sure that we don't get fleeced over our energy bills by the members of the 'Big 6 Energy Cartel' - who have made fat profits over the years at our expense. 

In Cymru / Wales having recognised that what we have does not work, we need to change the rules of the game and to create a national energy company for Wales to generate sustainable and reasonably priced energy, which can also be part of the solution to create a low carbon society. There is no reason to suggest that similar solutions would not work in parts of England. Ynni Cymru, should be run as a not-for-dividend company at arms-length from the Welsh Government. This would prevent the agencies of the state from skimming profits off the top and ensure that they get reinvested.

A national energy company for Cymru / Wales

This is a vision for energy and the environment for a Wales that reduces its carbon emissions, harnesses its natural resources sustainably, and seizes opportunities in the low-carbon and circular economies. The link between energy and climate change is clear. A number of actions could fall into the remit of Ynni Cymru, including: reducing the cost per unit of energy to homes and businesses in Wales, reducing the consumption of energy in homes and businesses and helping consumers to make informed decisions based on smart metering technology.

Ynni Cymru should be tasked with funding the mass installation, outsourced to local companies, of solar panels on the roofs of households, business premises and lampposts in Wales, beginning with public buildings and social housing. The company would coordinate and facilitate the use of publicly owned land for renewable energy purposes. 

The company could finance the acquisition and development of new large-scale generating and storage capacity, ensuring Wales becomes self-sufficient in renewable energy and becomes a renewable energy exporter. It could boost our energy market by ensuring the development of a national producer cooperative among community energy organisations.

The problem we face is that our energy production and distribution model has been effectively restructured to primarily benefit the big 6 energy cartel members, their interests and their (City) profits. From the perspective of energy consumers and smaller scale energy producers, or anyone who wants things to change the problem is that all the Westminster focused political parties have happily bought into this cartel dominated model of energy production and ownership (or perhaps more truthfully were quietly bought).

The reality is that the UK’s cartel dominated model for energy production and distribution is not necessarily the norm everywhere in Europe or around the world. Now contrary to what you might think, and tend hear from Westminster and much of the UK media; realistic alternatives exist and actually prosper, a particularly good example of a balanced and healthy energy mix can be found in Germany. Small may very well be beautiful, even with a geographically sizeable state, especially in relation to energy, in 2012 some 22% of the countries energy came from small scale green entrepreneurs, by 2019 it was 46%.

Community based co-operatives (both urban and rural), farmers and homeowners are part of the 1.3 million renewable energy producers and part of the energy mix. In Germany, citizens’, cooperatives, and communities own more than half of German renewable capacity. Small-scale electricity generation is having a knock on effect encouraging change throughout the energy system.

Citizens’ owned energy in Germany involves:  

• Private individuals or farmers (jointly or individually) invest in energy facilities
• The investment is made with the citizens own capital, which gives a certain level of control over the project
• Citizens own at least 50 percent of voting shares
• Citizens have a connection to the region where the facility is operated

In Berlin, a cooperative (Burger Energie Berlin – literally Berlin Citizens Energy) continues to strive to take control of the capital's electricity grid with some 35,000km of underground cables. The cooperative is a free, cross-party coalition of citizens who are committed to a sustainable, sustainable and democratic energy policy in Berlin. Members have one vote regardless of the amount their deposit and anyone who wants the power network to be in civil hand, is welcome.

Burger Energie Berlin - literally Berlin Citizens Energy

Ordinary Berliners have invested their cash in the venture with the intention of producing a reliable 100 per cent renewable energy supply. The aim is to promote the integration of renewable energy into the grid and to invest a portion of the profits from this directly into the transition to renewable energy. After some serious campaigning, on the 5th March 2019 the Berlin electricity grid was awarded to Energie Berlin. 

This is grass roots energy generation that has potentially the power to change the nature of the energy supply system (in Germany and elsewhere). The aim to build an energy grid that is better handle the rise of green power and allows local use of locally produced energy. This may well be a case of small being both beautiful and perhaps deeply disturbing from the perspective of Westminster and Cardiff Bay something that can be both community beneficial and community owned. 

There is no practical reason beyond ‘thats not the way its done here’ why people living here and Wales could not benefit from membership of citizen owned energy co-operatives. In Germany, there is a deliberate promoted policy of energy transition (or ‘Energiewende’) – this is a very different approach to what is practised in these islands (at least south of the Scottish border). For a start the ‘Energiewende’ is driven by a desire to reduce and eliminate any dependency on nuclear energy.

The introduction of the Feed-in-tariff (EEG) in 2008 was an important part of this process, along with (post Fukushima) the almost unanimous across the board political commitment to a wide range of targets (in 2011) which included a commitment to reduce energy demand (with a 50% reduction in primary energy use by 2050) and the achievement of an 80% renewable electricity share of total consumption (by 2050). This has resulted in a significant uptake of renewables in Germany.

The real striking difference is that the operation of the grid in Germany means that generated renewable electricity is used first and that distribution network operators (DNOs) are also seeking to reduce demand. This is so radically different from the way the energy is generated, distributed, exported and used here in our country that it no doubt, at least from their limited perspective, quite understandably frightens Westminster focused politicians, the civil shrive and the city.

A significant difference, aside from the scale and pattern of investment (in Germany), is that small businesses, co-operatives, individual households and local authorities benefit from investment distributed by a network of local banks (again something we pretty much entirely lack here in Wales). The whole thing has been supported by the KfW (state investment bank) to the tune of 23.3 billion euro in the area of environment and climate protection.

These developments are a million miles away from the so-called ‘Free market’ for energy that exists in the UK, which is pretty dominated by the ‘Big 6’ energy cartel members. The fact that some former politicians have found rather rewarding post political career employment within the energy sector may be co-incidental but suggests that there is little desire for improvement within Westminster and perhaps a complete lack of understanding of the concept from any Labour in Wales government(s) be they previous, current or future. 

The way the current set up works, it is difficult to imagine ‘a Government’ at most levels (at least outside of Scotland in the UK grasping the concept, the practicalities and real possibilities of genuine community owned beneficial energy generation projects. Pending some real change in the way energy policy works we are all pretty much trapped with a real lack of meaningful choice or realistic alternatives when it comes to customers securing domestic energy from the big 6 cartel members.

What we have had over the years has been visionless New Labour, Conservative-Lib DeM and then Conservative governments in Westminster, which have remained hand in glove with despotic oil and gas-producing regimes in the Middle East ( aside from the vassal like relationship between the UK and Saudi Arabia ) who have had has little real interest in renewables. Teresa May’s wobbly and unstable Brexit fixated Westminster government, along with its predecessor continues to actively work to pull the rug out from under the renewables sector by cutting the feed in tariff something that has cost highly skilled jobs here in Wales.

A NEED FOR GREEN BELT

The explosion in housing and commercial developments around our cities, small towns and villages across Cymru / Wales over the last 40 years - often with little provision for public transport or alternative ways for potential residents to get around beyond using their cars - has flagged up the rapid loss of green spaces in and around our urban and not so urban areas. 

One thing our country lacks, aside from a serious well though out integrated housing structure plan, and a modern planning system and a realistic vision or plan for strategically developing our housing for the future, is green belt. 

There is a clear need for formal legally protected green belt, around Cardiff (including the Northern meadows), Newport, Cwmbran and Caerphilly along with our small towns in Monmouthshire: Abergavenny, Chepstow and Monmouth and elsewhere in Cymru / Wales.

We have a clear, if not a dire need for the creation of Green belt across all of our country, to fringe our urban areas, to help focus out of town and fringe of town developments, and to protect green spaces around, between and within some of our urban areas. 

Green belt, if respected is still a useful planning tool, originally introduced for London in 1938, it was rolled out to England as a whole by a government circular in 1955 but interestingly enough it was only enough never rolled out here in Cymru / Wales.

Now the original concept was to allow local councils to designate green belts when they wanted to restrict, control or shape urban growth.  

The idea worked and it worked well, as by 2007, Green belt covered something like 13% of England (about one-and-a-half million hectares) despite the best efforts of previous Conservative, New Labour and Conservative–Liberal Democrat Governments it is still remains relatively well protected by normal planning controls against "inappropriate development".

It is worth noting that there is no designated green belt in Cymru / Wales - save for one patch of notional green belt (actually a Green wedge) that lies between Cardiff and Newport. Scotland has seven and Northern Ireland has thirty - each has its own policy guidance. 

This absence of green belt in Cymru / Wales explains much - it has certainly contributed to urban sprawl and significant out of town and edge of town development - something that has done little to help our communities, economically or socially especially over the last 30 years.

The preservation of green spaces aside, comes down to planning permission (and ultimately our planning process), which can be a touchy subject in itself, especially when a development (whether for commercial, housing or energy development) is controversial or the final decision is made against the wishes of local people. 

In Cymru / Wales we face the same problem across all of our country, be it around Wrecsam, Carmarthen, northern Cardiff, Swansea of any of our smaller towns and villages. 

A familiar site on our green spaces...

More locally, a number of these housing developments, which have done (and will do) some pretty serious damage to our environment have come without any necessary improvements in infrastructure e.g new railway stations with reasonably priced (or even free), adequate and secure park and ride facilities at Caerleon (closed as a result of the Beeching cuts in 1962, in the UDP since 1984) not to mention Llanwern and Magor.

In our south east, along the coastal belt and in and around Newport and Torfaen (not to mention around Cardiff and Caerphilly) and across Monmouthshire the last thirty years has seen a significant if not spectacular growth in the amount of housing, a significant percentage of which has never aimed to fulfil local housing needs. 

As a result the infrastructure along the coastal belt between Chepstow, Caldicot, Rogiet and Magor struggles to cope with existing developments and this is well before the projected expansion of housing on and around the former Llanwern site (where the proposed railway station was recently cancelled) really kicks in.

Northern Newport has been linked to the south Cwmbran - something that has brought little material benefit to the residents of either urban area but has contributed much to traffic congestion. 

Similarly linking Cwmbran with Sebastopol will bring scant real benefit to local residents - when the housing development is complete - just exactly how much of it will be affordable to local residents remains to be seen?

The removal of the Severn Bridge tolls resulted (as expected) in a bump in house prices as people living in and around Bristol moved to cash in on cheaper housing over here.  

This understandably impacted on both affordable and available housing, developers will no doubt pitch their developments accordingly to cash in on perceived higher wages in the Bristol area and perceived cheaper housing over here (and no doubt our local authorities will fall over themselves to accommodate the developers wishes regardless how local people feel).

The, then, National Assembly (now Senedd)  should have known better and acted accordingly, the institution when established was supposed to have sustainability enshrined in its actions, but, at times you really have to wonder, especially when it comes to the impact of some of the proposed developments on our communities, whether it does or not. 

We need to develop and protect our own green belt around and within our urban communities – because once developed (or overdeveloped) it’s gone for good. We need to bin the fundamentally flawed UDP process and make our local government structure fit for the 21st century rather than the 19th century and accommodate re realities of devolved government. 

It should be pretty clear by now to even the most dispassionate of observers that in Wales, we lack a coherent national strategic development plan for Wales judging by the half-baked way local unitary development plans have been put together over the years.

The problem caused by a lack of protection to our Green spaces is aggravated by the fact that while one generation of elected officials (and council officers) envisages as a green wedge, green lane, etc as a social necessity they are often seen by following generations of elected officials (and council officers) as either prime land for development or a nice little earner to help balance out the books.

This means that there is a real lack of stability and a lack of a sustainable long term vision for many of our urban areas and impacts on our quality of life. 

The Senedd needs to grow up and act like the Welsh Parliament it has become - it should take the long view and legislate to create and protect Green belt land with full legal and planning protections in Cymru/ Wales. 

This might go some way to calming things down when it comes to development planning and might introduce a more long-term sustainable democratic element into the process. 

This is something that could be accomplished by creating Welsh Green belt land, as part of the process we also need an urgent and open debate into the planning process in Wales - something that has been long overdue.

Successive Westminster government’s (in England) talked about getting planning officers "off people's backs" with a relaxation of planning rules. 

When they talked about ‘people’ they meant developers. 

No doubt post Brexit Westminster ministers will want further changes to planning rules (in England) in an attempt to boost house building and revive the economy.

Not wanting to be left out (and also perhaps bereft of any fresh ideas), a few years ago Carwyn’s Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff also pursued major changes to planning rules in Wales aiming to ‘tilt the balance in favour of economic growth over the environment and social factors’. 

That decision was in my opinion aimed quite specifically at overturning those few occasions when our Local Authorities have rejected developments (often at the behest of local residents) rather than putting economic needs ahead of economic and environmental benefits and will do little for sustainable, flood free development to deal with local housing needs let alone preserve our green spaces. 

It explains much of the housing overdevelopment in various parts of our country and it does not deliver for our hard pressed communities or our country. 

We need to look at championing the development of new homes in small-scale housing developments in both rural and urban Wales on ‘exception sites’, where land plots, not covered by general planning permission, will be capped at an affordable price designed to benefit those in local housing need with family and work ties to the area, and whose sale will be conditional on these houses continuing in local ownership in perpetuity. 

What’s left of our social housing stock that remains under the control of the housing associations needs to remain intact in order to meet the demand for homes. 

Along with developing social housing stock there is a need to introduce a more rigorous system in the allocation of social housing to give priority to those in local housing need.

Part of the problem is that our planning system, along with our almost nineteenth century local government setup is not designed to coexist with devolution or for that matter to deliver planning decisions with real and lasting benefits for local people and local communities. 

There is a real need for root and branch reform and reorganisation of our planning system; something the Welsh Government has failed to deliver with tinkering and tweaks to existing out-dated legislation rather than and real reform.

Our current planning system remains far too focused on railroading through large housing / commercial developments, that often bring little benefits for local people and local communities and often fail to resolve real and pressing local housing needs. 

We need a fundamental change in planning culture to encourage appropriate and sustainable smaller scale housing developments, which are based on good design and actively promote energy efficiency and good environmental standards and that puts our communities first. 

This is something we are never going to get from a Labour in Wales government, it’s time to change Cymru / Wales, with a Plaid Cymru government in 2021, for unlike Labour, Plaid actually believes that Wales can. 

BUILDING WALES BETTER?

From the periphery, which often largely depends on where you stand and how you look at the map, a change of economic focus in Wales is long overdue, perhaps ironically where ever we end up post Brexit may well compel us to think and act differently.  

It is clear we cannot go on as we have, our country is literally littered with the tombstone like remnants of failed models of economic development. Most of them having failed to deliver long-term economic benefits and more than a few long-term jobs to our people and our communities.

What is badly needed is the courage to step away from the over centralised state dependent model of economic development as applied by successive Westminster and Welsh governments. Successive  Westminster Governments have consistently failed to deliver beyond the short-term for Wales. 

With the crutch of EU regional funding about to be kicked away, despite some weak and wobbly promises from Westminster to the contrary, we desperately need some fresh economic thinking and action rather than more words.

The older economic models which reduce Cymru / Wales to simply a region (of part of larger cross border regions) where we provide relatively cheap labour with industries that a heavily dependent on grants for funding just won’t wash anymore. 

We need to find other economic models that can deliver long-term jobs and lasting material benefits to our communities and to our country. 

We have been historically over dependent on Westminster or Cardiff Bay waving their magic wand to solve our economic problems, this is entirely understandable considering the nature of our economic and political history, but this simply compounds the error and won’t solve our economic problems or create sustainable jobs. 

The days of bringing in significant amounts of ‘inward investment’ are probably over, Westminster has better things to spend its money on - Cymru / Wales does not matter electorally (or economically) as far as the Conservatives are concerned. 

Post the CORONA virus and Post BREXIT its time to be honest and admit that ‘The Union’ as it has been, even with devolution has failed to deliver for Wales. As far as it is concerned the current Welsh Labour government remains fresh out of ideas, unless compared to the current Conservative Westminster government. 

We desperately need indigenous home grown businesses (small, medium and larger scale) which will put down roots and stick around when economic times are tough rather than pulling up sticks and bugging out when the grant money runs out and be more able to resist being hovered up by multi nationals. 

We need to develop small to medium sized enterprises or local co-operative industries that could provide medium to long-term sustainable job opportunities.

Part of the economic mix should include developing and encouraging the co-operative model of economic development. The co-operative model works well in a number of countries including both Ireland and in the Basque country, there is no reason why it should not work well here. 

The Basque cooperative model, as personified by Mondragon co-operative suggests what can be accomplished. If we are to grow local businesses and local jobs we are going to have to create a real Bank of Wales, perhaps using the German Sparkasse and Landesbanken model. 

For too long far too many small and medium sized businesses in our country have been denied credit by banks and this has prevented the growth of our private sector.

Our over centralised dividend driven pretty much rootless London based banking model that has been followed in the UK is incapable, indifferent or simply unwilling to deliver or support economic development in our country. 

In Germany, the Sparkasse and Landesbanken operate on a geographical basis, and have developed special expertise in the local industries so that they are better equipped to make investment decisions and should offer a real alternative.

Mondragon a collective of over 264 companies and organisations mostly based in the Basque Country has proven to be one of the more resilient economic success stories in recession-hit Spain. It has a revenue of 12,215 million euros, with 81,837 employees with 15 technology centres in 41 countries and sales in over 150 countries. 

The Basque co-operative may well be the world's largest worker co-operative, it has certainly assisted the Basque economy to try and resist the worst ravages of the recession in Spain. The company was established in 1956, in the province of Gipuzkoa; with a business philosophy built around co-operation, participation, social responsibility and innovation. 

It began small (this may very well be the key to its success) and form the bottom up with a group of workers in a disused factory, literally using hand tools and sheet metal to make oil-fired heating and cooking stoves.

The Cooperative continues to compete on international markets using democratic methods within its business organisation, helps to create jobs, and is committed to the human and professional development of its workers and pledges to development with its social environment. 

Some parts of the co-operative are wholly owned, others are run as joint venture operations. 

Co-operative members as equal co-owners of their own workplaces enjoy job security and individual capital holdings, with an equal sharing of profits on a proportionate basis and an equal ‘one-member one vote’ say in the way their enterprises are run. 

Pay within the cooperatives is strictly egalitarian, with the highest rates payable other than in exceptional circumstances being refreshingly no more than six and a half times the lowest rate. 

The Basque country has Spain’s highest GDP per capita, its richer than even Catalonia and Wales is the poorest nation in the British Isles, and in northwestern Europe. 

We in Wales have much to learn from the example of Mondragon and its methods when it comes generating and retaining sustainable jobs, simply remaining poor (or increasingly poorer) west Britons is not an option. 

There is no reason why the co-operative approach combined with a rich mix of small to medium sized enterprises cannot be used to bring in a community focused upward economic slow burn approach to economic development.

We desperately need something that will not just provide local jobs but real community beneficial sustainable developments which can transform our communities and fundamentally boost our country’s economic potential. We can take that first step in May 2021 at the Senedd elections.

THE ILLUSION OF PROGRESS…

Ken Skates, Labour in Wales’ Transport Minister has written to the UK Government's Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, setting out a strong argument to build four new stations in Wales. Ken’s note calls on Grant Shapps to invest in the Wales and Borders rail network through the UK Government’s Restoring Your Railways fund.

A report undertaken by Transport for Wales for the Transport Minister Ken Skates has identified four locations for new stations. The developments, which would be paid for under the New Stations Fund 3, would be ready by early 2024.

The 4 stations are:

• Deeside Parkway, on the Borderlands Line in North Wales
• Carno, on the Cambrian Mainline in Mid Wales
• St Clears on the Great Western Mainline in West Wales
• Ely Mill on the City Line in Cardiff, in South Wales

Ken Skates also said that he took the opportunity to reiterate the case strongly for plans which included the Aberystwyth – Carmarthen and Bangor – Caernarfon re-openings.

Clearly on a roll, the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales Ken Skates also stated that the stations would improve access to the rail network across Wales.

The Transport Minister also invited the Transport Secretary to discuss further priorities for rail investment, including new stations at Greenfield and Magor. 

He also wants to use  the New Ideas Fund, to restore passenger services on the line between Gaerwen and Amlwch on Anglesey and wants to use the Accelerating Existing Proposals fund to restore the line and services to Abertillery in South Wales.

No while I don’t have any problems with the proposed new stations or re-opened railway lines - its worth exploring the fact that with 11% of the UK’s railways within Cymru / Wales we have no control of any rail funding or any real input into Network Rails priorities. 

However, we have been here before - back on the 28th August 2019  - perhaps for the Labour in Wales that day was a good day to bury bad news. 

Some even further back story, in April 2017, a list of 12 potential new and revived railway station sites was made public which would have gone a long way towards adding connectively to various parts of our country’s poor railway network and potentially reducing road congestion. 

On the 28th August 2019, it was revealed that the original list of 12 has now become  4  - when another list of 4 was published - perhaps Ken is really good with lists - rather than actual action. Or perhaps in the absence of actually doing anything positive an old press release is re-issued to create the illusion of progress.

Now this was not a definitive list, and there are no guarantees that these 4 prospective railway stations will eventually be built or re-opened as they have to go on for yet further assessment in Westminster. 

The lucky 4 prospective railway stations then were: 

• Ely Mill/Victoria Park in Cardiff
• St Clears in Carmarthenshire
• Deeside Industrial Park/Northern Gateway
• Carno in Powys

What’s interesting is the railway stations which did not made it through the initial Westminster assessment  - they were:

• Llanwern
• Newport Road/Rover Way
• St Mellons
• Cockett
• Landore
• North Wrexham
• South Wrexham
• Llangefni

It is important to remember that control of our railway infrastructure investment remains not devolved to Cymru / Wales - a decision made by the then Labour Government in Westminster.  It still remains with the UK Westminster Government, all the Welsh Labour Government does is draw up a short list of suggestions.

Regardless of whether it was then of now, all potential stations go through three stages of assessment, not in Wales but in Westminster / Whitehall:

• The first looks at Welsh Transport Appraisal Guidance criteria and consideration of the Wellbeing and Future Generations Act.
• The second looks at the strength of the financial and economic case for a new station and advice from Network Rail on deliverability.
• The third is "development and assessment of the highest priorities".

To help narrow the list down, station demand forecasts were drawn up which are designed to give a likely viability of proposed stations. This may actually sound a more scientific and rational process than it is. 

It is worth remembering that the anticipated number of passengers who were expected to travel on the reopened Ebbw Vale line to Cardiff in 12 months travelled on the new service in the first 4 months. 

A word of warning - please don’t hold your breath in anticipation of any regular train service from Ebbw Vale to Newport - we may yet have quite along wait. 

The 7,000 + householders who will end up living on the Llanwern site will have no option but to use their cars or the bus service to get to and from work. 

Not pushing for a railway station at Llanwern continues to directly impact on the congestion in an around Newport, on the SDR and the existing M4. 

Then, as now, any proposal will only be successful with "a sound business case" and the assessment "increases the ability of station proposals to be in a position to benefit from funding calls" - and that decision will be made in Westminster rather than here in Cymru / Wales. 

Back then a Welsh Government spokesman said: "The stations that scored the highest in the assessment will now be taken forward. The proposals for the remaining stations will be considered when additional resources become available." I wonder if the same old tired excuse will be rolled out…

It is also worth noting that, then as no doubt now, the process is ongoing and there is no date for any potential reopening of any station. 

Considering that Westminster has been tearing itself apart over BREXIT for the last few years and the Westminster government, now presided over by Boris has other more things to be concerned about.

That said, even with no pandemic, it would be a safe bet that it may be a while before any Westminster government focuses on Cymru / Wales and our national interests. 

Quite simply decisions about railway infrastructure development and spending need to be made here in Cymru / Wales, not in Westminster - as happens in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland - but don’t hold your breath.