I HOPE everyone reading this column has had a safe and happy Christmas and is enjoying the start of the new year.
Many local challenges face us in 2011 and none more apparent than the state of our roads across Powys and Wales.
This week alongside my conservative colleagues in the Assembly I have called for a change to road maintenance in Wales and an end to the culture of continuous short-term fixes for potholes.
As Powys County Council and other local authorities across Wales work to repair roads damaged by another bout of cold weather it is becoming clear that we cannot forever react to road damage but we must switch to a preventative road repair model.
Across Powys and indeed Wales we are now in a position where local authorities are continually struggling to get on top of road repairs. A little under two years ago, Newport Council (Conservative led) invested in a preventative road repair scheme.
The decision has paid off, the work has proved a huge success, and money has been saved in the long run.
This is the kind of proactive lead Labour-Plaid should be following and working towards. While finances remain tight, it is the way in which money is spent that is of paramount importance. We must tackle this now and look at long term solution not just cheap and cheerful fixes.
Away from the roads, 2011 looks to be a very busy year indeed – school modernisation, the future of our rural services and the seemingly persistent threat from windfarm developers, like at Pentre Tump, near Llanfihangel-Nant-Melan, where only a couple of months ago the energy company withdraw their appeal against the planning refusal, but vowed to come back with a new application in 2011.
This is all against the political backdrop of two referendums and an Assembly Election in May.
The first referendum will be on March 3 – on whether the National Assembly for Wales should have full law-making powers in the devolved areas, like the Scottish parliament. I am supporting the ‘Yes’ campaign and it was a pleasure to help launch the national campaign for a ‘Yes’ vote this week.
Looking back to the 1997 referendum we have certainly been on an extraordinary journey. And I believe the next step on that journey should be a ‘Yes’ vote on March 3.
Much effort has been made to ensure the National Assembly is an open and accessible institution. Democracy by its nature should work in a clear way and at the moment the LCO system is anything but!
The second referendum on changing the Westminster electoral system and the Welsh General Election will happen on the same day. I have mixed feelings about voting on both issues on the same day but it does keep costs down.
Any way I look forward to a year of campaigning and discussing these campaigns with many of you – Happy New Year.