Vale commits initial funds of £200k to Pont y Werin

Last night the Vale of Glamorgan Council committed £200k of initial funds towards Pont y Werin.

This was very good news for us indeed, because just one week earlier, it looked as if the Vale would not provide any financial support: In response to an email from me asking for re-assurance that the Vale is financially committed to our bridge, the council leader explained that there was no money to spend. Penarth residents were up in arms at this news and put considerate pressure on their councillors to get the Council Executive to change. Our councillors did listed to our calls and managed to bring about a change.

In particular, Cllrs Lis Burnett and Mark Wilson have worked hard to secure funds, and especially Cllr Chris Williams, executive member for Transport (and vice-chair of the Pont y Werin steering group) has thrown his weight behind our cause.
Apparently Alun Michael, MP, and Lorraine Barrett, AM have also got involved.

It is reassuring to see that our representatives really did represent us and listened to our concerns.

£200k is of course a small sum and we have still some distance to go, but it's a good first step.

The steering group is working hard in getting together detailed costings, planning permissions, and tender processes for the design. Our goal is to start building in January 2009. Time to get busy!