Powys Fadog – Pawn in a game of political vendetta

Some of you will have heard or read about the Welsh Government’s troubles in relation to the Powys Fadog community Project in Llangollen.

I’ve already written about it here, but things have obviously progressed since then.

The news story is about the Wales Audit’s report into the financial viability of the Welsh Government’s (formerly the WDA) decision to purchase the old River Lodge Hotel.

Most people will have heard the news items or read the articles relating to the report without any previous knowledge or understanding of the whole affair, and it’s fair to say that the report is critical of the Government’s decision to purchase the old River Lodge.

But this is only a very small part of the story. The sad thing is that there is so much more to it which deserves to be heard.

The Report had a narrow remit – it was to look at the financial viability of the purchase of the River Lodge. This might be OK for political purposes. But this is not about politics – it’s about people, a dream, and years of dedication to nurture and develop the dream, being dragged along by officials only for it to be dashed with years of what in any other circumstance would be wasted work, but because of some people’s dedication to the dream it is still alive against all odds.

What about the people involved? Where does this decision leave the individuals and the project? They are left in limbo.

Furthermore while the report had a narrow remit it has been reported as a ‘whole story’. Unfortunately this isn’t the case. The report picks out parts of a far big story, and puts them together for its own purposes. The story of Powys Fadog is therefore unfairly reported with information given to the public out of context.

There is no direct mention in the report, for instance, to political interference and the motives behind preventing the Powys Fadog Project. This is crucial to understanding what happened to Powys Fadog.

There is a far bigger story here which needs to be told. I haven’t got the time tonight, unfortunately, to go into details or elaborate any further, just to put on record my disappointment in the report and its handling of the individuals involved. I could gloat and point a finger at the failures of the Welsh Government. I might well do that some other time (!) the sad truth is that there are individuals involved who are being used as pawns in a political vendetta. That is the shame of Powys Fadog.