The Maintenance of New Housing Estates

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:31 pm on 24 May 2022.

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Photo of Rhys ab Owen Rhys ab Owen Plaid Cymru 1:31, 24 May 2022

Diolch yn fawr, Brif Weinidog. This particular issue is from an area that you know probably very well and you probably spent some time there during the recent elections—the Mill estate in Canton. Now, the residents there have to pay an annual fee of £102 for the maintenance of a park that borders the estate, unadopted highways and green spaces and so on. And, of course, this is on top of the council tax they need to pay. Now, I know my friend Hefin David has done a lot of work with this over the years, because these residents don't even receive a detailed breakdown of what they need to pay, and, of course, they're paying for services that other people living in Canton are receiving, in effect, for free through the local authority. 

Now, the Mill was held up as good practice, quite rightly, by the Welsh Government, of a mixed estate with affordable housing and freehold purchasing. Will the Welsh Government commit to bringing this bad and unfair practice to an end by encouraging and facilitating the adoption of maintenance by local authorities? Diolch yn fawr, Brif Weinidog.