Wrexham Council owned farmland still up for debate

Earlier this year Grosvenor Cllr Marc Jones (Plaid Cymru) asked if the council’s Customers, Performance and Resources scrutiny committee could look at the issue of council owned farms, their future and how they were currently being put to use.

This was agreed to and at the time members were told that out of the nine farms owned by the council, three that are vacant were being earmarked for sale.

Cllr Jones is hoping to see unused council farmland put to use either in producing food or renewable energy, or as starter farms for people looking to get into the industry.

READ MORE; Wrexham Council farms under scrutiny

At that October scrutiny meeting the issue was tabled for a report and debate to take place in December or January.

But at this month’s meeting (December) members were told that this was now being pushed back to February, leading to Cllr Jones to express his frustration with the delay.

He said: “I’m concerned about the council farms issue.

“I know the chief officer has signed off the reports, it seems to me the delay is purely down to the political leadership which is very regrettable.

“I always thought scrutiny was in the hands of the committee rather than the political leadership, so I’m concerned this has been delayed further.”

He added: “We’ve already had a month’s delay from September to October so it’s going to be seven months since this was submitted and it’s almost three years now since an FOI (Freedom of Information request) was submitted on this matter and started to raise questions.

“Frankly I’m starting to get more questions than answers on the issue which worries me. I would like this to provide answers for people in Wrexham on how the council is dealing with its assets.”

Chairing the meeting, Hermitage Cllr Graham Rogers (Lab) said: “I can understand your frustrations in relation to this particular item.

“All we can do is request, we can’t demand.”

Cllr Jones also asked for members of the committee with farming experience and a farming union representative to attend the February meeting to help with scrutiny.

Brymbo Cllr Gary Brown (Lab) suggested that if there were financially sensitive details that needed to be discussed, that could take place in a ‘Part 2’ private section of the meeting not open to the public or press.

But the sense of frustration at the delay in being able to scrutinise the topic was underlined by Coedpoeth Cllr Anthony Wedlake (Lab), who felt it was a political choice by the council leadership and called for answers.

Coedpoeth Cllr Anthony Wedlake. Source - Wrexham Council (Image: Wrexham Council)

He said: “I think it does need a political response and statement.

“We go to full council, some of us go to executive board and we get lectured by the political leadership of this council that we should ask our questions in scrutiny.

“Then when it comes to scrutiny we have the same political leadership not being prepared to share the information, to allow us to actually scrutinise and represent the interests of the public who use our services and pay for the services we provide.

“I think it’s very important to make that political point in terms of the lectures we receive and the actual action that we see with our own eyes in this scrutiny committee. I think it’s important to make that point.”