Council set to relaunch petitions scheme

Monday, 22 December 2025 22:18

There's been calls for an online petition scheme for Vale of Glamorgan residents to be made more visible.

According to a report, just ten petitions have been submitted to Vale of Glamorgan Council's website since the scheme was introduced in 2022 - but only three were considered 'eligible'.

Four were rejected because they involved planning or licensing - while three were withdrawn because the aim of the petition had already been met.

Now, the Participate Vale scheme is being relaunched - with plans to no longer allow signatures from external websites as they cannot be verified as coming from local residents.

Plaid Cymru's group leader on the council said 'greater visibility' was needed in order to let residents know about the scheme and be able to use it to influence decisions by the local authority.

He told a meeting earlier this month: "Online petitions are an important modern day way of residents contacting and expressing their views to the council, and there are more than enough people within an opinion on what the council does!"

"However, as only three eligible petitions had been submitted in the three years since the original scheme started, it's clear that more publicity is needed."

"One of these was about the RLDP, which has been dealt with in an earlier report, one about traffic issues in Cowbridge and one about protecting the Old Harbour in Barry, which will be heard in a future scrutiny meeting."

"Other recent paper petitions have included school crossings, Citizens Band (CB) radio and allotments in St Athan."

"Hopefully the Vale Council's new petitions scheme will be more successful as a way of getting people involved in the council."

A Vale of Glamorgan Council spokesperson told Bro Radio News: "The council recognises that petitions are one of the most common ways people seek to influence our work and we welcome this."

"It is just one of a number of ways residents can get involved in local decision-making, and we will be promoting and raising further awareness of these opportunities in early 2026."

The petitions scheme can be found on the Participate Vale section of the council's website.