Olympics Threat To Cathedral

Commenting on reports that last week Welsh culture minister Alan Pugh AM wrote to Westminster culture secretary Tessa Jowell to express fears that Wales could lose out on £20 million of lottery money. The Dean , The Very Revd Dr Richard Fenwick said:

"We have been getting more concerned over time that the Heritage Lottery Fund in Wales will have less money to spend on Welsh projects because of the escalating costs of the London Olympics.

"While we do not want to decry the Olympics we are very concerned that this ancient and unique building is deteriorating daily and urgently needs money spending on it."

Argus Cutting

ARGUS COMMENT...Olympic lottery

IT has always looked likely that the multi-billion pound bill for the London Olympics will eventually fall to all of us not just those living in the capital.

Now we learn that a real fear - apart from added taxes - is that Lottery grants to good causes in Wales will be hit.

The Assembly's culture minister Alan Pugh believes up to £20million could be lost from Wales.

That could mean plans to restore St Woolos Cathedral in Newport could take a knock, as well as many other projects across Gwent.

The Dean of St Woolos, the Very Reverend Richard Fenwick, was hoping that around £1million of the £2.5 million needed to restore the building would come from a Lottery grant.

His fear now is that the Olympics will get priority and schemes like St Woolos will be left behind.

It's hard to see how we in Wales will have any benefit from the billions that will be spent on the Olympics.

Yes, there is a chance some facilities here may be used by athletes for training.

But in the long-term, the London Olympics will not have any direct benefit to Wales.
That's why the government must in the regions come up with a solution that does not take money away from good causes, does not hit every tax payer in the pocket and only affects those that will directly benefit from all the new infrastructure London will get in the coming years.

Otherwise, the majority of the country will not be celebrating in 2012.
Instead, they will be counting the cost of games that have made their lives harder.