Plaid Cymru leadership candidate Leanne Wood stepped up her call for Wales to be given control of its vast natural resources after it was revealed that the Crown Estate made a gross surplus of £13.7m over the last five years.
That is set to rocket once the Gwynt y Môr Wind Farm off the Llandudno/Rhyl coast becomes operational.
The Crown Estate has also confirmed to Leanne Wood following a Freedom of Information request that it has signed options for three wind farms at Lys Dymper with Wind Power Wales, at Llanllwni with RES Renewables and Cilfaesty with RWE Power. Planning applications have been submitted for Lys Dymper and Llanllwni.
The AM for South Wales Central believes Welsh people through the Welsh Government should have control of the country’s vast natural resources.
The Crown Estate, which owns the seabed up to 12 nautical miles off the Welsh coast plus 3,000 acres of land, should hand over its responsibilities and rights to the people of Wales.
The latest annual report of the Crown Estates showed its Welsh holdings generated a gross surplus of £2.5m in 2010-11 – up £200,000 on the previous year – with the surplus over the last five years of £13.7m.
Leanne Wood said: “Wales’ natural resources are our greatest assets and the people of Wales through the Welsh Government should have control of them. Profits generated from wind, sun and water – which could be enormous in the years to come – should remain here to benefit people in Wales.
“During the height of the coal industry, enormous profits were generated from the natural resources of Wales yet almost all of the money bled out of the country and lined the pockets of people elsewhere. This cannot be allowed to happen again.”
A beneficiary of increases in profits for the Crown Estate would be the Queen who will receive 15% of profits generated in return for the ending of the Civil List following a deal with the Treasury in 2010. A Daily Mail report referred to the deal as “a masterstroke,” and said it could net the royal family an extra £37.5 million every year.
Leanne Wood added: “As a committed republican, I believe it would be wholly wrong for the royal family to reap a larger proportion of the profits generated by the Crown Estate.”
Among high profile party members that have declared their support for Leanne Wood are former Plaid President Dafydd Iwan, MP Jonathan Edwards, ex- MP Adam Price. Assembly Members Bethan Jenkins and Lindsay Whittle, former Plaid chief executive Gwenllian Lansdown Davies and Allan Pritchard, the Plaid leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council, have also backed the Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales Central’s leadership bid.
Leanne Wood also received the most nominations – 14 – from constituencies and branches across Wales for her leadership bid.
Further information on Leanne’s campaign can be found on her website at www.leannewood2012.com
