Home » Flintshire Council joins calls to devolve Crown Estate assets to Wales

Flintshire Council joins calls to devolve Crown Estate assets to Wales

Cllr Simon Jones' motion asking Flintshire County Council to join other Welsh authorities in campaigning for the devolution of the Crown Estate in Wales - worth around £1bn - was backed by fellow councillors.

A CAMPAIGN to devolve almost £1bn of Crown Estates assets to the Welsh Government has been backed by Flintshire County Council.

The Crown Estate – an independent corporation which manages around £16bn of assets for the monarchy – owns the castles of Denbigh, Harlech, Conwy, Flint, Caernarfon and Beaumaris – although those sites are managed and maintained day-to-day by Cadw.

It also owns Greenfield Dock – once an industrial shipping port but now an historical site plus areas of the sea bed at the mouth of the River Dee and along the shoreline to Prestatyn and beyond.

But the majority of the value of its Welsh assets is found on the coastline. The Crown Estate owns 65% of the Welsh coastal sea bed – land which has rocketed in value after it issued leases to offshore wind farms.

Since 202 the value of Crown Estate holdings in Wales has risen from £96m to over £853m in 2023.

Profits go to the UK Treasury, with 12% being passed on to the Royal Family through the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant.

Now Flintshire County Council has joined nine Welsh authorities including Denbighshire to call on the UK Government to return the land – including the Welsh sea bed – to the Welsh Government.

The Scottish Government has already negotiated a similar deal and Flintshire councillors have now supported a motion from Brynford and Halkyn councillor Simon Jones for the authority to officially join the campaign to return Crown Estate assets to Wales.

“The Crown Estate owns vast swathes of land and water in Wales including 65% of the Welsh foreshore and more than 50,000 acres of land,” he said.

“This includes the land along the coastline. This means the Crown Estate derives any profit from renewable energy and other business activities conducted on land and sea which fall within its control.

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“A Freedom of Information request in 2023 revealed the Crown Estate’s value in Wales had risen to £853m, with offshore wind and energy accounting for 93% of that.

“A 2023 YouGov poll showed that 75% of people in Wales support transferring control of the Crown Estate to the people of Wales. For comparison Scotland has had control of its Crown Estate since 2016.

“We confirm that Flintshire County Council supports the campaign to devolve management of the Crown Estate and its assets in Wales to the Welsh Government and that funds raised be shared equitably between Welsh Local Authorities to support the social needs of the people who live within our communities.

“We ask the leader of the council to write to the Welsh Government and Members of Parliament outlining our support to help persuade the Westminster Government to devolve the Crown Estate.”

The motion was backed by almost all Flintshire Councillors, with only two abstentions.

Councillor David Healy said: “It is very important that Flintshire joins those county councils across Wales that have voted for the Crown Estate and the revenue from the Crown Estate to come to Wales.

“In a situation where financial resources are scarce and they do not appear to be fairly distributed, we are forced to become parochial in the interests of the residents we serve.”

Deputy council leader Richard Jones added: The Crown Estate itself provides commentary that it’s almost 100 years since the first hydro-electric power station was commissioned in North Wales and just over 20 years since the UK’s first offshore wind farm opened just off the coast of North Wales.

“It shows we are innovators in Wales. I don’t think we need the Crown to guide us in which way we should do this, I think it’s a Welsh decision and I think anything that is around the foreshore and tidal waters around Flintshire should benefit Flintshire.”

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