Council may withhold 'immoral' Crown Estate fees

Money earned by the Crown Estate goes toward the Royal Family

A council could stop paying to use land owned by the Crown Estate - which helps fund the Royal Family.

Last year Cyngor Gwynedd, the authority in Gwynedd, paid it more than £160,000.

But now there are calls from councillors to stop paying until talks are held on devolving control over its land and profits to the Welsh government.

The Crown Estate says it works with the Welsh government to create financial, environmental and social value for Wales.

Powers over revenue and management of Crown Estate resources in Scotland were handed to the Scottish government in 2017.

A motion will be put to the Plaid Cymru-led council on Thursday, arguing paying is immoral given the council’s current financial predicament.

Plaid councillor Dewi Jones, leading the motion, said: "To have to continue to pay these fees, I feel this is immoral.

"Especially as we face having to cut services again whilst the Crown Estate’s profit more than doubled last year."

Payments, he said, should end until after a discussion on devolving control of Crown Estate land in Wales, and profits going to the Welsh government.

The amount paid to the Crown Estate to access different parts of the coast in the county varies.

In Bangor it is £35 a year to access the city’s beach front.

Plaid councillor Dewi Jones believes the fees are immoral

But Pwllheli marina costs £144,000 a year.

Dylan Llywelyn, born and bred in the town, dubbed the setup "shameful".

He said: "When you look around Pwllheli, and other towns like it, you think to yourself could that money be used to better the community?

"Realistically the answer is 'yes'."

Not everyone agrees. Pam Parry moved to Pwllheli more than 40 years ago.

"The Crown Estate owns a lot of land, as long as we make the best use of that land, I don’t see an issue with it," she said.

"It’s just like paying rent to any landowner."

What is the Crown Estate?

The Crown Estate owns more £603m of land in Wales.

That includes:

• 65% of Wales’ coast and riverbeds

• The seabed up to 12 miles out to sea

• 50,000 acres of land

• 250,000 acres of mineral deposits

• Any gold and silver

Profits of the Crown Estate - a property business owned by the monarch but run independently - go to the Treasury. The level of profit is used as a benchmark to calculate the funding given by the government to the Royal Family in the Sovereign Grant.

"The Crown Estate is land owned by the crown - not to the reigning monarch personally," said historian Dr Elin Jones.

She added: "The income that comes from that land in England and Wales goes towards supporting the Crown and the government of the United Kingdom - and a percentage of it goes to support the Royal Family."

Dylan Llywelyn dubbed the payments "shameful"

A section of the motion to be presented to the council on Thursday is calling for control of Crown Estate land and profits in Wales to be devolved to the Welsh government.

Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire's Tory Senedd member, Samuel Kurtz, said: "Companies that want to come to Wales, to invest in a green industry here, they don't talk about the need to devolve the Crown Estate.

"They are talking about planning permission and how we can improve planning permission in Wales - bringing in more people with the skills needed for green industries.

Dr Elin Jones said a percentage of Crown Estate cash supported the Royals

"That’s what we should be focusing on."

The Crown Estate said it works closely with the Welsh government and others in Wales, to ensure it delivers on its remit to create financial, environmental and social value.