Janet backs 15,000-strong petition

Plaid Cymru's North Wales AM Janet Ryder has backed a 15,000-strong petition against a sub-regional plan that links North East Wales to Cheshire and Merseyside.

Janet Ryder was down in the Assembly building in Cardiff to welcome the People's Council of North Wales campaign group as they presented their petition - the largest ever presented to the Assembly.

She said:

 "The petition's size demonstrates the strength of feeling in Wrexham, Denbighshire and Flintshire on this matter. The West Cheshire/North East Wales sub-regional strategy is repeatedly played down by council officers but it is evidently a material planning consideration as they prepare their Local Development Plans. 

"It's important that the concerns of the people were listened to and that local housing needs are paramount. The North East has seen thousands of homes built in the past 10 years and also seen house prices rise way beyond the reach of the average local wage. The latest news that Denbighshire wants to treble the number of houses in Bodelwyddan and effectively create a new commuter town on the A55 reinforces the thrust of this strategy.

"The plan has been developed without people's consent. This petition is a wake-up call to planners, politicians and developers to say 'enough is enough' and calling a halt to overdevelopment. I commend the hard work carried out by the campaign to raise awareness, to highlight the dangers to the environment, our communities and the fragile Welsh identity in many of these areas."

Pictured with Janet Ryder AM are Cllr Carrie Harper, of Wrexham, and other campaigners down in Cardiff Bay.