Lessons on the Gwynedd doorsteps

By Wena Alun-Owens
BBC News website

As Wales goes to the polls to elect new councils on 1 May, we profile some of the counties and key local issues.

The future of schooling in Gwynedd is sure to be one of the hot topics on the doorsteps as the county prepares to go to the polls on 1 May.

A plan to reorganise primary school education is one of the main issues being discussed by candidates and voters alike.

Federalisation of the 55 schools is part of a county-wide reorganisation of primary education which also involves 29 primary schools closing - as the council has to balance finances with falling pupil numbers.

Parents, governors and school supporters have campaigned heavily against the proposed changes.

Protest group Llais Gwynedd is contesting seats in the council election in a bid to stop the reorganisation.

GWYNEDD COUNCIL

• Plaid Cymru: 43 seats
• Independents: 14
• Labour: 9
• Liberal Democrat: 6
• Independent Nationalists: 2
• Unaffiliated: 1

Waste disposal has also been on the agenda with the county tip at Cilgwyn near Caernarfon earmarked for closure this summer.

Despite local opposition councillors voted to use Llwyn Isaf in Clynnog for three to four years as a medium-term solution.

The council has also been pushing through recycling schemes, which has not always proved popular with local residents.

Cultural attractions have also been in the news with the friends of the oldest museum in Gwynedd expressing concern about its future due to cuts in council funding.

Edge-of-town

Supporters of Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery in Bangor claimed the plan to withdraw funding came out of the blue, although they have now been told they can stay open for another year, until March 2009.

Edge-of-town developments near Bangor raised concerns about developments in general in and around the city, and the impact on businesses already established in the area.

Further south in the county the council, and a private consortium announced possible plans which could create new jobs in Pwllheli with expansion of the town's marina.

Affordable houses, road improvements and improving the economy so that young families stay in the county area also on the agenda.

Local politics seem to have created enough interest in Gwynedd for more people to put themselves forward as candidates.

Four years ago 150 people put themselves forward to represent their local communities, which this time has gone up to 168.

Three distinct areas

The council business is run by a cabinet system, backed up by committees and decisions are ratified by the full council where all 75 members can be present; this meets six times a year.

Currently of the 15 board members 10 are from the majority Plaid Cymru group and the rest are one Liberal Democrat, three independents and two Labour.

The county of Gwynedd is made up of three distinct areas of Arfon, Dwyfor and Meirionnydd.

Arfon is the most densely populated and the county council head offices are in Caernarfon in the shadow of the ancient castle.

Gwynedd's rural nature is indicated by the fact just over two-thirds of its area is in a national park, the highest proportion of any local authority in Wales.

There is also 301 kilometres of coastline, making Gwynedd the largest coastal authority in Wales.

The county also has Snowdon, at 1,085m (3,559ft) the highest mountain in Wales and England and Wales, while the largest lake in Wales in Llyn Tegid near Bala, which is four miles (6.4km) long.