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The ugly prospect of the Vale Council merging with the Labour controlled Cardiff Council has now been reborn by the Welsh Government.

Its a real pity we couldn’t dump the Welsh Government as some of the policies coming out of Cardiff Bay are an absolute joke.

Can you really imagine these two councils merging, it would be a disaster for Cardiff and the Vale.

Here we have two councils, one Labour the other Tory whom are both as incompetent as each other.

You have Cardiff council looking to bring in a congestion charge to enter Cardiff which will probably kill off Cardiff, and you have the Vale who are looking at the possibility of reducing our black bag collections to two bags per fortnight, plus maybe introducing car parking charges to town centres within the Vale.

Both of these councils just cannot stop taking money from residents and give nothing back.

The thing going for Cardiff is that it has its own leisure complexes which the people do enjoy.

Here in the Vale we have nothing, no cinema, no bowling alley, no outdoor lido. The council in the past has had the opportunity to give the people of the Vale these things but have refused.

Just like Cardiff council the Vale needs people who will breathe life into our town.

Merge with Cardiff? Not on your nelly.

DJ Radford Coleridge Crescent Barry

Car troubles

AS a parent of two young kids, I feel many Barrians are missing the point when it comes to the pollution risks in our town.

Whilst it is obvious that the incinerator will create additional pollution, it will be a drop in the ocean compared to vehicle pollution.

The new development in the Waterfront will add thousands of additional cars to our streets.

This is bad news for a town dominated by steep hills, where cars are regularly in low gears and high revs to get up them.

The Vale of Glamorgan Council need to end the cars dominance of our town.

Rat runs should become dead ends to force cars onto major roads. Doing so will make many short journeys more difficult and encourage walking. It will also improve safety.

In addition the High Street and Holton Road (from the Windsor to council offices) should be car free.

Doing so would create fantastic space for retailers and a better environment and experience for customers.

To those Barrians who worry that the incinerator will damage their children’s future, I would say its already happening thanks to vehicle pollution. The incinerator just adds another couple of per cent.

It’s cars that run people over and it’s car pollution which is responsible for a lot of ill health and this will get worse with the new homes being built and the new retail outlets which all come with huge car parks.

This town needs to put pedestrians first, second and third.

Doing so would improve health, help local shops and improve child safety.

So whilst saying ‘no’ to the incinerator, we must also call time on the cars dominance.

Mike Pemberton

Bedlington Terrace

Barry

Town’s purpose

Councillor Goodway presents some valid points which may prompt a wider debate in Barry.

The vibrant dockland that exported coal no longer exists and the surrounding land has been used to build thousands of houses without the supporting infrastructure and an inappropriate industrial factory.

The council should be looking to make better use of the water facilities and developers should be encouraged to come forward with more innovative schemes like the refreshed Pumphouse.

Councillor Goodway says councils should ‘revisit the purpose of their towns’, but unlike Cardiff, Barry Town Council was stripped of its influence during local government reorganisation in the 70s.

We are forced to rely on a council with wider ambitions for the whole of the Vale and I believe that has inhibited the quality of the town’s development.

We have lost the purpose for which the docks were built but the town is ‘not without a purpose’ since that is about providing a decent living environment for the Barry community.

We need homes where young families can grow a shrub or two, with space for the kids to be able to kick a ball.

We need an improved infrastructure with some leisure facilities, economic activity and a highway network that can cope with growth.

We have a wonderful coastline with lovely beaches and a Barry community that has become far more engaged with what is happening to our town: two valuable assets in moving forward.

Dennis Harkus

Cornwall Rise

Barry