Abergele....Questions raised regarding vendettas against Gwrych Castle as Right Of Way Debate Drags on!

 

So a house, castle, care home, farm etc falls into dereliction and the vandals and delinquents move in and usually destroy the area, and then people trespass on the land, dog walking, camping etc, and then believe they have a right to walk there even though they have been trespassing! 

Someone then buys the property to restore and convert and those illegally trespassing on land that they never got consent to do so, then make the new owners' lives a living hell by claiming that they have a right to walk on the land! SOUNDS INSANE, YET THIS IS THE CASE!

So with so many other walks available in the area one wonders how people managed when the castle was a home and on private land?

Sadly Abergele seems to have a nasty underbelly lurking in its shadows, and this is led by 3 or 4 people who are causing a lot of damage in the town. I hope the council do the right thing and turn this right-of-way hate campaign down, and I hope the castle start legal action against those doing this, however I doubt they will, they are far too nice for that and far too professional to behave like some residents in the town. 

Rights of way and accessing land

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Contents

1. Overview
2. Use public rights of way
3. Use your right to roam
4. Access private land

Overview

You have the right to access some land for walking or certain other leisure activities.

You can:

• use public roads and pavements or public rights of way, for example footpaths or bridleways
• use your right to roam on open access land including mountains, moors, heaths, downs, common land and some land around the King Charles III England Coast Path

If neither of these apply, you may still be able to access private land if:

• the land was used as a public right of way in the past - check old maps and documents
• the land was accessed by the public for at least 20 years and nobody has asked them to stop (to prove this they would have to prove the owner knew)
• the landowner has given permission (‘permissive access’)
• https://www.conwy.gov.uk/en/Resident/Leisure-sport-and-health/Coast-and-Countryside/Public-Rights-of-Way.aspx https://www.conwy.gov.uk/en/Resident/Leisure-sport-and-health/Coast-and-Countryside/Public-Rights-of-Way.aspx

AN ABERGELE councillor who is a landowner and member of Conwy’s licensing and planning committees is forbidden from debating his public-right-of-way application on the grounds of a famous building.

Cllr Andrew Wood, the vice chair of Conwy’s licensing committee, applied for four routes to be made public right of way on Gwrych Castle’s grounds in Abergele and Llanddulas.

Cllr Wood has made the application under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and a special licensing committee meeting is set to take place on Monday August 5 to decide the matter.

But council officers are recommending the committee refuses the application, following an independent report concluding there is insufficient evidence to support public-right-of-way routes.

Cllr Wood argues the land has been enjoyed by the public for decades before it was fenced off in recent years.

The castle was used as the location for I'm a Celebrity in 2021.

The committee heard how ‘the parcels of land’ belong to landowners such as the castle and Natural Resources Wales.

Cllr Wood didn’t ask for permission to vote at next week’s committee meeting, but applied for dispensation.

If dispensation had been granted, it would have allowed him to speak and write to council officers and speak and answer questions whilst remaining in the room at next week’s licensing meeting – despite a personal interest in the matter.

But at a special standards committee meeting on Monday, Cllr Wood was refused permission to take part, due to the fact he is a serving councillor and a significant landowner in the area with a vested interest.

Numerous letters of objection to the public-right-of-way application were also published in a council report, some accusing Cllr Wood of devaluing properties neighbouring the land and even causing people to sell their homes - claims which he says are erroneous.

Speaking at the special standards committee meeting, Cllr Andrew Wood, who owns various plots of land adjacent to the castle, including the allotments, said he was applying for the right of way for the good of the community and the 500 or so people backing his application.

Cllr Wood also explained he had compiled a report supporting his application thousands of pages in length that only he would be able to explain.

“Irrespective of whether I’ve enjoyed them (the land for recreation) or not, it is the fact that I need to be able to – I’m asking to be able to represent the 500 and odd statements from people all around the town and ask questions (at the licensing committee),” he said.

“And that is important because when we go to council, council reports, we often have the officers there to answer questions on their reports. This report is predominantly mine.

“A lot of those photographs, all these plans, I’ve drawn up myself. I would say I’ve done the vast majority of work over the last four years in stages. It is me that has the incumbent knowledge of this.”

He added: “All I’m here for, like yourself, is to take questions and be able to explain. I’m not here to muddy the waters. I just want to help the process.”

Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust Ltd’s solicitor sent a letter objecting to Cllr Wood’s plans, a sentiment echoed by several other objectors who wrote to Conwy.

One objector wrote: “Andrew Wood’s involvement in this matter presents a significant conflict of interest, given his status as a landowner with allotments situated within the Gwrych Castle grounds. His ability to engage with officers and participate in meetings regarding his own applications raises concerns about potential bias and attempts to influence the political system for personal gain.”

The committee retired to discuss the matter privately.

On the committee’s return, chairman Clive Wolfendale said: “The land in question and the rights over it and its use in the future is a matter of close personal interest to you (Cllr Wood), given that you have used the land for over four decades for a range of recreational purposes, and you were very clear and open about that, and we took cognizance of that in terms of our decision making and the fact that this clearly remains a matter close to your heart.

“Our conclusion is, and we are unanimous in our judgment, that your application to speak to officers is not supported, nor is your application to write to officers or the council, nor is your application to speak or ask questions at the council or committee meetings, nor your application to remain in the room during any debate.”

The special licensing committee takes place at Bodlondeb next Monday, August 5.

From....https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/24484634.landowner-forbidden-speak-gwrych-castle-rights-of-way-debate/