JULIE MORGAN
YOUR LABOUR CANDIDATE FOR CARDIFF NORTH
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR WALES ELECTIONS: MAY 5TH 2011
LLANISHEN RESERVOIR REPORT
Julie Morgan, Labour Assembly candidate for Cardiff North, is urging local residents to keep up their fight against the latest bullying tactics of electricity firm Western Power Distribution (WPD), who want to build over 300 homes on Llanishen Reservoir.
The site, which is both listed by CADW and protected by the Countryside Council for Wales for its rare wildlife, has been under the threat of development since 2001 – almost 10 years now!
Julie was the former Member of Parliament for most of this period and has actively supported the campaign to save the reservoir. Click here to read about some of the work she did as an MP. She is full of praise for the dedication and commitment shown by so many local people
WHAT JULIE IS DOING...
Since being adopted as your Labour candidate last October, Julie has kept up the pressure on WPD and has...
- Contacted all major shareholders in WPD’s US owner, PPL Corporation. She is urging them to raise the irresponsible actions of WPD with senior PPL executives.
- Written to E.ON, after it emerged they wanted to sell some of their electricity assets to WPD. Julie warned them about the poor reputation of WPD in Wales and is concerned now the sale has since gone ahead. WPD now has an even bigger stake in the UK, so cannot continue to ignore the views of local communities.
- Raised WPD’s failure to re-
fill the reservoir last month with Cardiff Council. This forced out Llanishen Sailing Centre, a highly acclaimed facility that was particularly popular with local children. The company claims it had to ‘inspect’ the structure, but now refuses to re- fill it until a planning appeal for its housing development is considered later this year. - Obtained information on the legal costs the company has imposed on public bodies due to numerous court challenges started by WPD. These costs must be met by Welsh taxpayers and have so far reached over £352,000 – and that doesn’t even include local authority costs. Julie believes that it is right that our public bodies stand up to such corporate greed because if WPD‘s lawyers override the planning process, it sets a dangerous precedent for our other green spaces. WPD must reimburse all these legal costs.
- Expressed concern at WPD’s attempts to move the main access road for the proposed development onto Lisvane Road, near Llanishen Village.
- Criticised the latest legal challenge by WPD against Cardiff Council’s plan for a nature reserve on land it owns around the reservoir site.
- Written to the Con-
Lib Dem UK government, to express concern at how the electricity assets owned by WPD were privatised by the last Conservative government in the 1990s. In Cardiff, this has left WPD free to engage in unregulated activities, such as housing development, with no adequate community voice or protection. - Submitted objections to WPD’s two latest planning applications – the cut off date was April 14th 2011.
HOW YOU CAN HELP THE FIGHT!
1. JOIN the Reservoir Action Group and donate to its fighting fund – find out more at www.llanishenrag.com
2. SIGN the internet petition -
3. CONTACT major shareholders in PPL Corporation, which owns WPD. You can find contact information for PPL investors below:
LIST OF PPL INVESTORS HERE.
MODEL LETTER HERE.
4. VOTE for Julie in the Welsh Assembly elections on May 5th and help her to continue defending our open spaces.
VIDEOS
Julie has made several videos about Llanishen Reservoir:
BARCLAYS AND PPL
Earlier this year, Julie revealed the fifteen largest shareholders in the US-
Since then, Julie has been trying to persuade Barclays to use its shareholding to put pressure on PPL to end the long running dispute at its UK subsidiary.
Julie explains: “I contacted the Chairman of Barclays and offered to travel to London
to meet the bank and speak up for long-
Barclays have so far claimed their investment in PPL is not big enough to exert any pressure. Julie disagrees and so will many of Barclays customers.
She will continue to encourage the bank to change its position and take a more active interest in its investment.
PRESS RELEASES AND PRESS REPORTS
February 28th 2011:
Candidate Concern at Reservoir Firm’s Bid for Expansion.
Click here.
February 22nd:
Countryside Council Reveals ‘Appalling’ £297,000 bill
Click here.
February 8th:
Julie Morgan Urges Shareholders to See the Light
Click here.
January 20th:
The Cost of the Fight at Llanishen Reservoir
Click here.
Article about PPL and E.ON and Llanishen Reservoir here. Guardian, March 2nd 2011.
Article about the cost of the Llanishen Reservoir fight here. South Wales Echo, February 24th 2011.
Article about Llanishen Reservoir here. Wales Online, February 16th 2011.
Article about Llanishen Reservoir here. South Wales Echo, January 21st 2011.