Councillors discussed the plans as part of Monday’s finance and resources scrutiny committee meeting. The Community Enterprise Development Grant Scheme (CEDS) had been running since 2002 but a report presented by principal leisure manager Mally Tidswell said it was now rarely used and there had only been two applications to secure any of the money during 2019/20. Mr Tidswell said more than £57,000 of the annual £99,500 grant money would be used to fund repayments in capital financing for the first £739,600 of work, which is considered most vital. He said the remaining money would be kept as a reserve and used in later years to pay off more capital financing as needed.
Mike Priestley, Independent Conwy county councillor
Picture: CCBC - clear for use by all partners A councillor who stuck up for a colleague found out he was losing his Labour membership via an email bearing the wrong name – then had party subs taken from his bank the day after. Long-standing councillor Mike Priestley received an email saying he couldn’t stay in the Labour party if he didn’t rejoin Conwy county council’s Labour group. Both he and Cllr Ronnie Hughes quit the group after party colleague Cllr Penny Andow was ousted from a prestigious committee using a “bingo machine”.
The Year in Review begins with January and February.
Thursday, January 2, ‘2020 market confidence’: The year started off with huge optimism for traders in Conwy after planning permission was granted for the Colwyn Bay Market to be held weekly another three years. There were hopes the market could take place four or fives times a week instead of two and that new ways could be found to grow and develop it. Cllr Chris Hughes, of Glyn ward, said: “It has been my ambition to have the market grow and have food stalls and craft stalls and from time to time themed stalls.” It was not foreseen that traders would have no choice but to close for much of the year.