Conwy council's new leader to stamp down on 'luxuries'

Sam Rowlands said the council would "stop doing the things that might be seen as a luxury"

The new leader of Conwy council has said tackling housing, social care and schools are his key priorities.

Sam Rowlands also pledged to stamp down on what people might see as "luxuries" when it comes to council schemes.

He ousted former independent leader Gareth Jones on Monday, weeks after Mr Jones had sacked him for trying to bring more opposition members into the cabinet.

Conservative Mr Rowlands has promised changes at the authority.

Conwy has been run since 2017 by a cabinet made up of Conservatives, independents, and former members of Plaid Cymru who quit the party in order to form the coalition.

The Abergele councillor, who works part-time as a banker, said he would be speaking to his employer with the aim of giving "full-time attention" to his leadership of the council.

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Mr Rowlands, who previously served as cabinet member for finance, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he was looking forward to getting to grips with his new job.

He promised "significant investment" in social care, while housing would see a "better link" between the local development plan and housing needs.

Mr Rowlands also pledged "to make sure residents have the services that they need".

He added: "We'll stop doing the things that might be seen as a luxury.

"We will use the corporate plan to identify between needs and wants, and look through all of our services and get rid of anything we don't necessarily need at the moment."

However, the new leader declined to give examples of what might be cut.

The council has faced criticism in recent months for building new £35m offices while cutting domestic rubbish collections to one a month.