AN MS HAS vowed to take a North Wales council to the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales for failing to provide a public consultation report over the proposed controversial move of Llandudno library to Venue Cymru.
Janet Finch-Saunders said she will now take the matter to the Ombudsman, accusing Conwy of refusing to hand over the report on the consultation that finished in the autumn.
The authority has also twice delayed a future committee meeting where the matter is due to be discussed before a final cabinet decision, and the MS is alleging that the council is deliberately postponing any future discussion, with UK government grant money incoming.
Earlier this month, a petition of 1,800 signatures was presented to Conwy’s economy and place overview and scrutiny committee, opposing relocating both Llandudno library and the tourist information centre from Mostyn Street to Venue Cymru.
Those who signed the petition, including Llandudno councillors, say the library is vital to the survival of the high street as a “busy, vibrant, and viable” town centre.
Conwy wants to use £10m of a UK Government grant funding to renovate Venue Cymru, and whilst the council says the promised funds, subject to a business case, don’t hinge on the library moving, the council wants to include the move in its overall plans.
The council claims moving the library will “safeguard” ’its future at a time of “severe financial pressures”.
A decision had been scheduled in June, following an economic impact report on the high street being presented to councillors.
But Conwy has now delayed that meeting and the report until July, and Mrs Finch-Saunders has slammed the council, suggesting they are trying to delay further debate before the UK Government transfers the funds.
“I’m taking Conwy to the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales,” she said.
“The (public) consultation was from August to September last year. I‘ve been asking since the beginning of this year for a copy of the consultation response. They (the council) keep saying they haven’t got it yet.
“It is disgusting. So I asked again last week for a copy of the consultation report. I didn’t receive it. I was going to take further action with the powers at local authority level.
“I feel confident that it is me requesting a copy of that report that made them (delay the meeting). As soon as they said they were sending me the report, it was delayed until next month. Now it has been delayed until July. That’s not good enough.
“People of the town signed that public consultation response in good faith. They have every right to see it. We are not going to stand by and allow that council to move that library until all those consultation responses are received and they are accurate. It was announced two months ago that the move is likely to go ahead. People are going ballistic.”
She added: “It does not take nigh on 12 months. If it goes to July, the consultation was the previous August. They had the report but wouldn’t share it with me, and immediately they have put the meeting off, and now they’ve put it off again until July. It is disgraceful.
Absolutely disgraceful conduct. It is a farce of a consultation. I don’t know if they are playing for time to get the money so they can say, ‘We’ve got the money now.’ Conwy doesn’t listen to public consultations. They never have. Look at the (sandy) beach petition; over 11,000 signatures. It didn’t get us anywhere.”
A council spokeswoman said: “Scrutiny committee is scheduled to receive a progress report on the Venue Cymru Futures Project in early July.
“The results from the consultation will be included as an appendix to the report, as will the results of the economic impact study.”
