<p>The Environment in Inner Urban Areas</p>

1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd on 14 September 2016.

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Photo of John Griffiths John Griffiths Labour

(Translated)

7. Will the Minister make a statement on Welsh Government policy to improve the environment in inner urban areas in Wales? OAQ(5)0026(ERA)

Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 2:02, 14 September 2016

Thank you. Our policy is to deliver programmes that bring together local people, groups, businesses and organisations to deliver services to improve where they live or work. Empowering people to protect their own surroundings helps us tackle environmental inequality. I also issued a written statement yesterday on the launch of a 12-week consultation on how Wales can do better in the management of air and noise pollution.

Photo of John Griffiths John Griffiths Labour 2:03, 14 September 2016

Thank you for that, Cabinet Secretary. I believe the doorstep environment, as it’s termed, matters very much to very many people in Wales, given the number of people who live in those particular environments. I believe that if they feel positive about their environment and view it as a quality environment then they are far more likely to feel interested and engaged in the environment in general, and that translates to good recycling performance, for example. So, I wonder if you could tell the Chamber, Cabinet Secretary, how the work of Cynefin, for example, which I think did a lot of good work in terms of those doorstep environments, will be built upon as we go forward, given that that particular scheme no longer exists?

Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 2:04, 14 September 2016

Yes, thank you. The Cynefin programme piloted a new way, I think, of involving communities in the local delivery programmes and services that were intended to benefit them. We’ve now extended our contract with Severn Wye Energy Agency for a 12-month period in order to take forward a delivery support programme across Wales that will build on the learning and the expertise that was developed in the Cynefin programme. I think the momentum that we did see in the Cynefin programme must be spread through the influence of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and that momentum must carry on. We are now working with the FG commissioner to further spread best practice in community involvement.

Photo of Elin Jones Elin Jones Plaid Cymru

Neil McEvoy.

Mohammad Asghar.

Photo of Mohammad Asghar Mohammad Asghar Conservative

Thank you, Madam Presiding Officer. One way of improving the environment in inner urban areas is to encourage the setting up of community green spaces. Tesco is using the money raised by its carrier bag charge to support community participation in the development and use of open spaces. Will the Cabinet Secretary join me in congratulating Tesco, and what more can the Welsh Government do to increase the number of community green spaces in inner urban areas in Wales?

Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 2:05, 14 September 2016

Yes, thank you, and I certainly will commend Tesco. I visited one in my own constituency, supported by Tesco. We are very much committed to working with local communities in order to enhance green spaces in our urban areas.

Photo of Julie Morgan Julie Morgan Labour

The greening of the urban environment, I think, is very important for the health and emotional well-being of residents, and I wondered if the Cabinet Secretary was aware of the community garden movement in New York. I saw some of the community gardens in the lower east side over the recess and it was absolutely staggering how every tiny little bit of spare land was converted to vegetable growing, flower growing, beekeeping—absolutely stunning, and I wondered if there was some way that we could follow that.

Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 2:06, 14 September 2016

Yes, absolutely. I wasn’t aware of it particularly in New York, but I would be very happy to ask my officials to give me a briefing and also speak to Julie about it. [Interruption.] Or go there—I wasn’t going to say that. [Laughter.]