Plaid Cymru AM Lindsay Whittle has warned a decision to axe financial support for two major events could damage efforts to attract visitors to Caerphilly.
The South Wales East AM was speaking following the decision of Labour-run Caerphilly council to end support of the Tour of Britain and BBC’s Proms in the Park. It was Lindsay Whittle, when leader of the council, who backed bids to bring the events to Caerphilly.
Lindsay Whittle said: “These decisions are penny wise but pound foolish. While the council may have to make cuts, this could really backfire.
“The Tour of Britain cycle race really put Caerphilly on the UK map with cycling enthusiasts travelling from all over the UK to watch the event. That resulted in money being brought into Caerphilly, benefiting businesses in the town.
“The BBC event was another attempt to raise the profile of the county borough. Viewers could see what a fantastic background the castle was and might then decide to spend some time in the town. That will now be lost to Labour-run Swansea council.
“This looks like an exercise which will save money but end up being counter-productive.”
Lindsay Whittle said that up to £40,000 could have been saved if the Labour controlled cut the number of Cabinet members by just one.
“Clearly Labour think an additional Cabinet member, who will also act as a second deputy leader, is much more important than promoting the county borough. It shows how out of touch they are.”
Labour has the maximum of 10 Cabinet members. There were nine under the former Plaid Cymru administration.
