Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire councils together pay £105,589.29 in fees to the Crown Estate each year to allow public access to their land, according to new data.

The figure was revealed via freedom of information requests by the office of Cefin Campbell, Plaid Cymru MS for Mid and West Wales, who said the information reinforces his party's call for the devolution of the Crown Estate to Wales.

Currently, Crown Estate profits are received and handled by UK Treasury.

In a question to Jayne Bryant, the Welsh Government's Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Housing, in the Senedd today (Wednesday, 19 February), Cefin Campbell MS asked: “Currently, local authorities - in the face of the challenges of the cost-of-living crisis and the increase in national insurance contributions - are considering cuts to public services in order to avoid shortfalls in their budgets. In the case of Ceredigion, the council faces a deficit of around £5 million, and is considering raising council tax by up to 14%.

“Do you agree with me and my colleagues in Plaid Cymru, therefore, that it is impossible to justify the fact that councils in south-west Wales send over £100,000 over the border to the UK Treasury and the royal family every year, and that the process of transferring responsibility over the Crown Estate to Wales should start as soon as possible?”

In response, Ms Bryant said: “Our position is that management of the Crown Estate should be devolved to Wales.

“Taking control of the management of the Crown Estate assets in Wales would allow Welsh Government to have greater autonomy over the speed and direction of the development of Welsh-sited Crown Estate property, and we would have access to the opportunity to better align the management of the Crown Estate in Wales with the needs of Welsh citizens.”