Thursday, February 04, 2010

Can Powys survive?

One question that flows from the rumpus about secondary school modernisation in Powys is whether Powys is a sustainable entity for delivering public services. Its clear that in some policy areas, Powys as a county is being disbanded. Firstly we had mental health, which had been delivered by the Powys Local Health Board. For whatever reason this has come to an end. Montgomeryshire is now considered to be a part of North Wales, and mental health is now managed by the Betsi Cadwalladr University Health Board. And now we learn that the new renal dialysis unit proposed for Welshpool is also to be provided and managed by the Betsi Cadwalladr Trust. alongside this dismembering process, work is progressing on merging the Powys LHB with the Powys Council (target date 2012) but the question that's emerging is whether there will be anything left of the LHB to merge!!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, the weird phoney 1973 "Powys" may not! The historical Powys may well do.

lilyanne said...

Mid Wales is becoming a black hole.Our hills are to be covered with wind farms,
and then our valleys will be drowned.

James Dowden said...

Well, if we go back into the dim and distant past, Ystradfellte parish was administered as part of Neath Rural District despite being in Brecknockshire. Counties based upon who was the feudal overlord of which piece of land in the 16th Century have inevitably created some incredibly frayed edges and incoherent areas.

We need to ask some serious questions:
1) What is a principal area for?
2) How do our communities group most naturally for:
a) delivering those functions best; and:
b) representing the people best?