Latest news with #Gwynedd
BBC News
an hour ago
- Business
- BBC News
Council tax arrears see Welsh people owe £263m across the 22 areas
The amount of overdue council tax owed by Welsh families has increased by 139% compared to pre-pandemic levels and by nearly a fifth in the year to the end of March, according to Welsh government payments - which are called arrears - have also increased sharply every year since 2022 when the cost of living crisis began biting, with £263m in total outstanding. Gwynedd has the highest level of overdue council tax - an average of £373 per liable household, while Neath Port Talbot has the lowest at £ a monthly council tax payment can have serious consequences because under the current rules you become liable to pay the entire year's bill after just two weeks. Gwynedd council said it had the lowest council tax collection rate in Wales in 2024-25 at 93% and that a review was "ongoing" and action was being taken to "strengthen our recovery".The transferring of some self-catering holiday lets from cheaper business rates to council tax may also have affected the shoppers in Bangor said many people were struggling to afford council tax from Pentir has moved in with her daughter, and admitted: "I wouldn't be able to pay it out of my little pension any more."Christine Lewis Roberts, from Anglesey, said: "I think it's too much really, but then everything is. "Bills are going up and that's it."But Gareth Parry said councils had to find the money to keep services running, adding: "Everybody says it's a bit high, but that's the cost of things these days -councils have got to function."Eleanor Price from Gwynedd said the two week rule was "not enough time", adding: "If people are in difficulties, they are going to continue to be in difficulties." Council tax arrears across Wales stood at £103m for the 12 months to the end of March, plus another £160m in overdue payments from previous years, bringing the total outstanding amount to £ tax is the main source of locally-raised income for local authorities, and it is charged on domestic property with the amount charged depending on the value of the property, which was last assessed in government plans for a revaluation, which could see lower bills for some and higher ones for others, were delayed until 2028. Council tax is often criticised for being "regressive", or placing a disproportionate burden on poorer is a council tax reduction scheme for poorer people, which supported 258,685 households in 2023-24. Some properties are exempt, for example those occupied solely by students, while others - such as second homes - are sometimes charged a households qualify for a discount, such as the single person discount which reduces the bill by a quarter if a property is occupied by someone living alone. The Welsh government is currently running a consultation on proposals to soften the rules around include extending the period when a missed monthly payment triggers a liability to pay the entire year's bill from two weeks to two months, and requiring councils to communicate more comprehensively with residents over payment reminders and final Minister Mark Drakeford said the current rules are "too aggressive" and the government wanted to "tackle what is a fundamentally unfair tax".He said: "We want to change the rule book to give councils more opportunity to get alongside people who find themselves in trouble to prevent that from getting worse." The Welsh government is also funding a small pilot scheme covering Merthyr Tydfil, Blaenau Gwent and Newport, which offers interest free loans to eligible residents so that they can clear their council tax Plaid Cymru said in a statement: "Whilst interest free loans are better than prosecution, the truth is that it is ultimately only a sticking plaster solution within a system that disproportionately impacts people living on the breadline."Without fundamental reform of council tax - something which Plaid Cymru has long argued for and that was due to happen until Labour pulled the plug on reform - this unfairness will persist." What to do if you can't pay council tax Debt charities warn that council tax is a "priority debt", so do not ignore your council if you are struggling to pay You may be able to arrange a repayment plan involving smaller amountsSeek free confidential help from a debt charity such as Citizens Advice Ask your council if you are eligible for support from the Council Tax Reduction SchemeCheck if you qualify for a discount on your property The Welsh Conservatives criticised Labour's "failure to hold back rapidly rising council taxes that working people are struggling to pay"."The Welsh Conservatives will keep council tax low by introducing local referendums for councils wishing to raise the tax by over 5 percent, so that residents have the final say," a spokesperson said. The Welsh Liberal Democrats said: "Council tax is one of the most outdated and unfair taxes in the UK today. "Too many families have gone into debt because of the Welsh government's delays in changing the system."Reform UK said: "The rising council tax arrears aren't surprising when you consider how councils waste money and resist meaningful reform."It's time to slash council tax, cut the waste, and put control back into the hands of the people who earn the money."
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Caernarfon statue of David Lloyd George is vandalised
A statue of David Lloyd George, the UK's only Welsh prime minister, has been vandalised. The statue, which stands on the Maes in the centre of Caernarfon, Gwynedd, was covered in red paint. The graffiti painted on the statue had slogans calling for "Free Palestine" and labelling Lloyd George a has since been removed with local authority Cyngor Gwynedd checking CCTV cameras in the area and passing relevant information to the police. The statue, a few yards from Caernarfon Castle, was erected in 1921 while Lloyd George, who represented the town at Westminster, was still prime minister.A Liberal party politician, he was the MP for Carnarvon Boroughs, as the seat was then known, from 1890 to 1945. He was prime minister from 1916 to 1922, and led the UK through the First World bronze statue was created by Sir William Goscombe John.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Teenager rescued after getting stuck on cliff next to Criccieth castle
A teenager has been rescued after getting stuck in a "precarious position" on a had been part of a larger group who were jumping into the sea from boulders near Criccieth Castle in Gwynedd on Monday evening, prior to climbing on to a higher ledge and being unable to climb teams from Criccieth and Abersoch were called just after 21:00 BST, as well as a coastguard helicopter, and rescue teams were able to haul the youngster to safety teenager, who tried to help, was also assisted out of the water suffering from the effects of the cold. The 13th Century Criccieth Castle stands on a rocky headland overlooking Tremadog Bay, with cliffs rising 30m (98ft) from the RNLI said it was happy to see both teenagers safe after the experience but warned of the risks involved with tombstoning. In a statement, it said: "Diving off the boulders and cliffs around the castle is common-place during the summer months, however anyone going on to the rocks should be aware of the grave danger."It's a high-risk activity that has the potential to end in injury or tragedy," the statement added.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
More parking and toilet upgrades at Llyn Tegid near Bala
Plans to increase parking capacity, enhance security and upgrade toilet facilities at a popular lake have been applications to improve a warden centre and car park on the north shore of Llyn Tegid near Bala, Gwynedd, and another car park on the east shore were approved by Eryri National Park Authority on bays will be marked out on the Llangower car park, on the eastern shore of the lake, to increase capacity from about 60 to 90 spaces, while automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras will be added at both were no objections to the plans, although conditions were applied to avoid polluting the lake during construction. On the north shore, the application concerned a car park and warden centre and called for permission to install solar panels, grey timber cladding and insulation on the two-storey warden well as the introduction of ANPR cameras, the scheme would also see CCTV and a new entrance gate Llangower, the plans would see the removal and upgrade of the existing toilets, more parking spaces, and installation of cladding, as well as security cameras and a new case officer Richard Thomas said any risk of pollution to the lake could be mitigated by the use of pollution prevention measures during were no objections to both the proposals. This article was written by a trusted journalist and then edited for length and style with the help of AI, before being checked again by a BBC Journalist. It's part of a pilot.
BBC News
21-06-2025
- BBC News
Y Felinheli pub landlord finds hidden tunnel in basement
A landlord who found a secret tunnel under his pub hopes it can be used to create a space celebrating the area's cultural Bennett made the discovery beneath Yr Heulyn pub, part of Port Dinorwic Marina in Y Felinheli, Gwynedd, which he bought as part of a consortium last tunnel formed part of a railway that transported slate from the nearby Dinorwic Quarry, once one of the biggest in the world, to the harbour."We want to bring back that cultural heritage to the area – make it a working museum in effect," he said. Mr Bennett, who lives locally and has kept a boat at the harbour for the last eight years, said he had seen the area "declining". When the previous owners of the marina went into administration, he and a group of investors bought it as part of plans to rejuvenate it. This has included infrastructure upgrades as well as the opening of Yr Heulyn, a pub which was previously a tapas restaurant on the at old photographs of the area, Mr Bennett said he suspected the old railway ran close to the venue and one afternoon decided to look closer in the venue's basement to "see what we could find".The group broke through a thick plaster wall, behind which they found the tunnel with "thousands" of discarded bottles in it. The most recent bottle dated back to 2003, which is when Mr Bennett believes the wall was put up. Slate has been quarried in north Wales for thousands of years but demand rapidly increased during the Industrial Revolution when it was used for the roofs of factories and workers' Wales slate was said to have "roofed the 19th Century world", including prominent buildings such as Westminster Hall and the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, Australia. Dinorwic Quarry – located on the edge of Eryri National Park, also known as Snowdonia – was once the second largest quarry in the world before it closed in 1969. Although the tracks were removed, the tunnel had been part of a railway used to transport slate from the quarry to the harbour, where it was either exported or sent around the UK. Mr Bennett said the investors were still deciding what to do with the space, but that they wanted to use it to "celebrate the cultural heritage of the area"."It has potential as a museum, or maybe an extension of the pub – it would be a fantastic spot as a speakeasy pub hidden away, but we haven't got that far yet," he said.
