A RHYL councillor has won his fight to have a say on the future of the town’s community centres.
Cllr John Bellis, a member of Rhyl Community Association’s management committee, had to declare an interest and leave the council chamber when Rhyl Town Council discussed the centres.
And with the council setting up a working group to look at the viability of Rhyl’s community centres, Cllr Bellis, and other councillors who sit on the committee, wanted a say on their future. But after a decision by Denbighshire County Council’s Standards Committee on Friday, dispensation has been granted.
Cllr Bellis said: “They have granted dispensation to all the councillors on the management committee. We will be able to take a full part in discussions. I’m really pleased, thrilled to bits.
"It allows us to represent our residents, otherwise they would have been unaware of what was going on. I think the Standard Committee understood that. I was a member of the association before I became a councillor, the majority of the members of the management committee are town councillors.
“They don’t have any personnel or prejudicial interest in the centres, we are just acting on behalf of the residents. We want what is in the best interests’ of the residents.”
Rhyl Community Association manages the Wellington Road, Ffordlas and Tynewydd centres which are used by more than 1,200 residents a week.
Cllr Bellis said: “Each of them is fully-booked in the evenings. The reason why they are so popular is because we have an affordable rent and because it is so affordable, the community are making use of it.
“Other facilities in the town are more expensive, and we are talking about deprived areas, and without this they wouldn’t be able to hold meetings and parties.”
Cllr Bellis said it was unfair that as owners of one of the community centres Rhyl Town Council, through its members, can have a say, but members of Rhyl Community Association as tenants, could not.