Carmarthenshire County Council

Carmarthenshire County Council ( _cy. Cyngor Sir Caerfyrddin) is the administrative authority for the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales, providing a range of services under the control of elected county councillors that include education, planning, transport and streetscene, social services and public safety.

The Leader of the Council is Cllr. Meryl Gravelle, and the Chief Executive is Mark James. The council is based in County Hall in Carmarthen, the former Carmarthen Prison.

Political makeup

Elections take place every four years. The last election was 1 May 2008. [http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/uklocalgov/elec2008.htm]

Public confidence

Over the past few years the Council has had some bad press. Allegations of corruption within the planning department and the Housing departments inefficiency to house local peoplehave been well reported by the Carmarthen Journal.

Bribery trial

In November 2006, local property developer Kevin Green of Burry Port was brought to trial regarding allegations that he tried to bribe Chief Executive Mark James with £5,000 cash.

In summer 2005, Mr Green wrote to Mr James requesting a meeting to discuss ideas for affordable housing at land near a former cattle breeding centre at Travellers Rest. On 2 September, five days before the proposed meeting, Mr Green came to Mr James' office to talk through the arrangements for the meeting with the chief executive's personal assistant Liz Thomas. Geraint Walters QC, prosecuting then alleges: "Just as the defendant came to leave he handed Mrs Thomas a padded envelope which was addressed to Mark James. He said it was important Mark James received the envelope before the meeting - he said the envelope contained papers for Mr James' eyes only." [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/6121188.stm BBC NEWS | Wales | South West Wales | Developer's 'council bribe cash' ] ]

On opening the envelope, Mrs James found £5,000 in £20 notes, and nothing else. On Mr James's return to the office, the Police were called. Mr Green was arrested that same day.

ecession of Llanelli

There have recently been many decisions made by the Carmarthenshire authorities, including the Council that have been very unpopular and arguably damaging to the communities of Llanelli. In reaction, there have been calls to reinstate the local government district of Llanelli either as a county borough or as an area with city status, making the entire area independent of Carmarthenshire. These calls have so far been avoided or denied by politicians as it would essentially half the population governed by the unitary authority, causing an imbalance in the local government structure of Wales [http://www.llanellistar.co.uk/] .

References

External links

* [http://www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/ Carmarthenshire County Council]
* [http://www.llanfihangel-ar-arth.com/ Llanfihangel ar Arth Village Website]