You are right there are too many MPs Dai, but too many councillors as well. And too much money has been wasted on road schemes such as the boulevard which stupidly still has traffic lights which means there has been no improvement at all in traffic flow, along Oystermouth road overhead pedestrian bridges were removed and in one particular place replaced with a traffic light controlled pedestrian crossing just 20 yards away from an existing T-Junction controlled set of traffic lights. That is criminally stupid. Again on the traffic lights situation we have on the Kingsway is another needless road block for traffic flow, a one way system can and does work as I have seen it implemented well in other cities but none of those had effectively the same level of traffic jamming procedures in place, those other one way systems were much bigger in scale and the pedestrians were removed from the roads to allow full traffic flow. But now with plans to undo this one way system we can say it yet another waste of money. What wouldn't be a waste of money would be see the one way system extended so the boulevard went only to the bridges towards Fabian Way as an exit, coming from Fabian Way a two lane one way to the Kings Way, where the Kings Way comes out by Tesco it goes down to Oystermouth road leading to the Mumbles. To get into the city from the Mumbles the route should end by Guildhall forcing traffic up a redeveloped St Helens way road system into the city. All with no traffic lights and pedestrians forced up and over the road by use of pedestrian fence barriers at the curbs. It is then the drivers responsibility to read the road signs and get in lane to enter and exit this one way system, which as it constantly flows, cuts the time of travel hugely. But I stress, Swansea is particularly poor at road planning but it also a wider UK problem with central government as you state being another driver in our problems. We have much to learn from other countries who are now mastering the use of one way systems, it's why Swansea adopted it but there mistake was keeping good old fashioned UK's calamitous love of traffic lights to stop the traffic moving and allowing pedestrians the chance to go across the road system instead of over and not disturbing it. I went to that open building thing a few weeks back where you can see their plans and give ideas of our own, the whole concept of this I have written was like a alien language to them. There was even a model of the city where I tried to explain in Leymans, the two councillors were perplexed by the whole thing but the four business leaders who were self employed and SEVEN citizens also there gathered around, listened to me and actually tried to help explain my advice. They got it first time and I know they saw it too!! The envisioned it as I was explaining it on the model. Our councillors are either inept, or too stupidly stubborn to accept they made a big mistake. Possibly both. I guess that is where the politics comes in
Yet the 'most powerful man on the planet' has to go cap in hand to the republicans who control government policy to give his policies the go ahead.
"nobody has wasted anything"??? The council spent nearly a million pounds in court fees and compensation trying to stop a friend of mine expanding his business. Needless to say the council lost. Who are these petty minded cretins? As if Swansea of all places wouldn't benefit from extra business. Swansea Council is an embarrassment.
The Council continually invest in the infrastructure but fail to maintain it until it needs replacing .Thats ok in their eyes if theirs another EU grant available but what a waste of money.
Its a fact that councils have to rely on EU grants so if we leave the EU then we councils will be up the creek without a paddle, As been said there are at least double the amount of MP's we dont need plus that bedroom for ex mp's called the house of lords that is well over populated if it should exist at all. we have 2/3 more councillors than is needed and as for that thing in cardiff then that is a big white elephant that is a huge drain on the welsh economy. Billions and billions of pounds are wasted in the UK and Billions and Billions are wasted in giving foreign aid to some countries that has more millionaires in their country than we have, Billions are also wasted in supporting places around the world like the falklands and a few other minor places. We are supposed to be one of the richest countries in the world and we are but only 10% actually experience that and yet we have a chronic housing shortage that if you could afford one are over the top priced and council housing are few as they have been sold to housing associations who charge rents many cant afford, we have lack of quality jobs and the jobs that are available are no more than the minimum wage, we have the biggest growing business manned by volunteers called the Food banks where more and more each day have to rely on or go hungry. So If you look closely and think about it our country is run by the toffs who have never experienced any form of hardship in their lives and have no concept of poverty or the real world.....Nobody in this country should be poor if these people whether its the queen,Mp's, councillors or the bosses you work for were to run this country a rich country properly.......they wont of course as they only look after themselves...
Looking after these must cost a fair bit then Dai. Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands. The UK is not alone in the number of politicians, Federal, State and Local over here, frigging joke. By the way, what the fk does the House of Lords do anyway??
Tidal power scheme to be unveiled in 2015 budget World first proposed for Swansea Bay could increase government’s green credentials but chancellor is also offering subsidy for North Sea oil firms please log in to view this image The Tidal Lagoon Power company wants to build its first generating scheme in south Wales, after which it envisages repeating the technology elsewhere. Photograph: Phil Rees/Alamy Terry Macalister Wednesday 18 March 2015 08.48 GMT George Osborne will use the budget to unveil an ambitious and costly plan to build the world’s first tidal lagoon to generate green energy. The move comes alongside controversial measures to lower taxes for North Sea oil schemes in a bid to stem plummeting levels of UK oil exploration and production. The government will announce on Wednesday that it is entering formal negotiations on funding a £1bn project to produce electricity from turbines in Swansea Bay, south Wales. The Tidal Lagoon Power company will be offered the chance to discuss subsidies similar to the “contracts for difference” used on the planned Hinkley Point C nuclear plant in Somerset. However, the project, which has the initial support of some environmental groups, is likely to generate its own concerns because it will need a subsidy of about £150 per megawatt hour (MWh) – compared with the £98 agreed for Hinkley and wholesale electricity prices of £50 per MWh. The final cost will depend on a range of factors, but proponents appear to have convinced the Department of Energy and Climate Change that if they can successfully build a prototype in south Wales, they will be able to roll out the concept much more cheaply at other locations as part of an eventual £12bn programme. The Swansea Bay scheme envisages an area of 4.4 sq miles (11.5 sq km) cordoned off by a breakwater. It would have a generating capacity of 320MW with an annual output of 420GWh and a design life of 120 years. Power would be generated as the incoming and outgoing tides – the daily equivalent of 100,000 Olympic swimming pools of water – passed through turbines. Advertisement The project would require a five-mile (9.5km) sea wall up to 20 metres high, but the Tidal Lagoon Power company says only a little more than half of this wall would be visible from land at low tide, with a few metres showing at high tide. Osborne will also try to boost job and exploration prospects in the North Sea by changing the fiscal regime. He is expected to introduce an investment allowance that could drive down taxes on some oil schemes from 60% to 30%. There are also hopes of a cut in the 30% supplementary tax charge on North Sea profits, which could reduce total taxes on some oil companies from 60% to 50% – still much higher than standard corporation tax. Osborne used the autumn statement to make an initial cut to the North Sea supplementary charge – from 32% to 30% – but it was widely interpreted as being too little, too late. Advertisement There has been a huge drop in exploration off the Scottish coast, made worse by the halving of the oil price. Hundreds of jobs have been lost and there are fears that producing fields could be dismantled earlier than necessary. Critics will argue that it is contradictory to cut offshore taxes as Britain tries to wean itself off fossil fuels to counter the effect of climate change. But the chancellor could point to the tidal lagoon plans as evidence of the government’s commitment to green energy. The wider tidal plans include four more, even larger, lagoons with an overall capacity of 7,300MW – enough to meet 10% of the UK’s electricity needs. The inclusion in the budget is a triumph forEd Davey, the energy and climate change secretary, who has been pushing the Swansea Bay project in the face of initial scepticism from Osborne and the Treasury. Davey believes tidal lagoons can provide another leg to a clean energy strategy involving solar, offshore wind and nuclear together with carbon capture and storage (CCS). please log in to view this image Oil platform in the North Sea. George Osborne is to give subsidies to exploration companies. Photograph: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty Images The tidal scheme is not certain to proceed. Even if the Swansea Bay scheme can secure firm funding, it will need planning permission. The application is with ministers and a decision is expected shortly. An equally ambitious plan to build a Severn Barrage – linking the English and Welsh coasts – was debated for many years. There were concerns about the economic viability of the project as well as opposition during the planning phase from the RSPB wildlife charity and others. It was eventually halted. Outlining the project for the first time last year, Mark Shorrock, Tidal Lagoon Power’s founder and chief executive, said it was essential to build more than one tidal lagoon: “Economies of scale bring immediate advantage. A second lagoon will require a lower level of support than offshore wind, for a renewable power supply that is both long-lived and certain. “A third lagoon will be competitive with the support received by new nuclear, but comes without the decommissioning costs and safety concerns.” A second project would cost £2.3bn and be based in Colwyn Bay, with a third costing £4bn and located in the upper Severn estuary. Two more at a cost of £4.5bn would follow, on as-yet-unspecified sites. Upfront money is expected to be raised through infrastructure funds run by Macquarie Group and other pension funds. The long-term cost of the project, however, will eventually come from energy customers through household fuel bills.
If we left the EU we'd have more money for grants as we contribute more to the EU budget than we take out. I was about to pick apart the rest of your nonsense but have concluded that I really can't be bothered to waste more time than is necessary to point out what a stupid, pompous, bigoted ignoramus you are. You imply that you are on Swansea council. If that is true it wouldn't surprise me at all. People of your calibre is what we seem to be saddled with here in this city. I'd think twice about employing you to pick up dog **** for a living, frankly.
55282 It sounds like this is going to be pushed through. Which is excellent news. Once the Swansea Lagoon is built and it's success is assessed I hope they waste no time in incorporating any lessons learnt (re: efficiency etc.) and rolling these out across the country as quickly as possible....with government clearing the path to make the process as painless as possible. If these projects are executed well there is no reason why the people behind this new industry can't get tenders to build these across Europe and beyond. An exciting opportunity. Good luck to all involved.
How will the building of this effect the getting in and out of Swansea, (with regard to the city centre). I think it is great for the city, jus wondering what impact it will have on the city when being built and excuse my ignorance, what benefits to Swansea.
EU Economics (Penclawdd style) Dai gives £50 a week to DragonPhil. Phillip then gives Dai £40 back each week in the form of vouchers which means he has to spend £10 on his 'leccy, £20 at CKs and £10 at the Royal Oak. Phillip pockets £10 to spend on whatever he ****ing feels like. Dai is eternally grateful and is adamant that he is getting a good deal...."Where would I be without Phillip?!" he tells everyone at the Roma fish bar. Dai has **** for brains. The End.
Go away kid this is not a children's forum as its a bit too grown up for the likes of you....now be a good boy as it's time for you to get ready for bed..night night...
OK "grown up", two simple ****ing questions for you. 1) Explain where the EU gets it's money from. 2) How much money does the UK contribute and how much money does it receive? Simple ****ing questions aren't they. Come on and dazzle us with your superior understanding.
The energy it will produce will either go directly to the National Grid (most likely due to the proposed capacity of 420GWh ,) or via the local network which is operated by WPD , to say that it has the capability of supplying 10% of the generation is probably true but it won't be used solely to benefit the good people of Swansea due to the fact that we are connected nationally via a Grid system it just means that power will be generated within the bay then as required used nationally .The subsidy cost looks greater than the proposed Hinckley Point C nuclear Power station which is still in the planning stage and will involve the construction of a new transmission line something which won't be visible to us but has upset a few locals in Somerset .The problem with nuclear even when it's decommissioned the spent fuel has to be managed and that comes at a cost. The benefits to the city imo will mean an additional visitor centre for tourists to visit and perhaps a small work force to manage the maintenance & site management but that won't be significant in terms of numbers . we may benefit in the construction phase but that's dependant whether we have the skill base in place and equipment ,|The stone is to be mined in Cornwall so there'll be local employment there and I would imagine the stone will be transported by sea so maybe the docks will benefit in mooring and maintenance .
There is not a town or city in the UK who dont have boarded up shops and empty buildings so Swansea is not different to anyone else, Towns and cities are slowly but surely moving their trade to more affordable premises to the outskirts of towns where there are purpose built parking facilities as to try and park and do your shopping in towns is a nightmare. As these stores move out the charity and betting shops move in and that's the way things are today and if you open your eyes you will see plenty of work going on in most areas of Swansea.....Even down the gower where i am lucky to live things are going on and i for one would never want to live anywhere else.. we are lucky to live in the Swansea area......
this will be a cash cow for a chosen few>>>>>>>>and not many of them will have come from the local area I tell thee......... let hope it has no ill effect on the gower coastline over the coming years hey............now that really wouldn't be worth it so that thy English can get more affordable energy bills
What the **** are you going on about? Are you going to answer my questions then Dai or do you just concede that you don't know what you're talking about? I reckon you will scamper away with your tail between your legs as usual Does pretending you have a Scooby about anything make you feel good?
If I'm a "prick" who "understands absolutely nothing" about the subject it should be very easy for someone as informed, wise and important as yourself to put me right shouldn't it? Well shouldn't it?!?! There's an old saying that could have been written for you Dai 'box office'.... "Empty Vessels make the most noise"
