4. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on Welsh Government plans for regeneration in South Wales West? OAQ(5)0137(CC)

I thank the Member for his question. We are currently developing proposals for a new capital regeneration programme. This will complement other strategic investments already under way and build on the success of earlier schemes.

Thank you very much for that answer. The high street in Swansea is clearly a key gateway to the city for visitors as they arrive by train at Swansea’s high street station—the clue’s in the title. It’s benefited from Vibrant and Viable Places funding, over recent years, however not every building in the high street is in pristine condition. The Palace Theatre is a grade II listed building, which has been empty for years and is falling into disrepair. People have been waiting many years for any sign of action. Can I ask you, Cabinet Secretary, what actions you are taking in conjunction with the City and County of Swansea to try and resolve this frustrating situation?

I think that Swansea city council has done a fantastic job in terms of the way that they’re starting to regenerate their community, and £11.76 million has been issued to Swansea council from the Welsh Government in terms of partnership. Public and private investment, totalling around £69 million up to 2017, will be invested in that community, and we are actually seeing a difference in the high street vista. I know where the train station is because, when you come out of the train station and turn right, my plaque is on the side of the wall, when I opened it with regard to Vibrant and Viable Places, so I am familiar with the area.

What’s important here is that we have community intervention, looking at what’s good for the community and how we can make sure that that involvement is continued, but well done, Swansea council.

Cabinet Secretary, Vibrant and Viable Places, as projects in Port Talbot, has seen the regeneration of areas of my town, and you’ve seen for yourself some of the work in the Green Park area. These have been an attractive vision for the local people and for future investors. The announcement two weeks ago by the Ministry of Justice of the siting of a new prison in Baglan, which is less than a mile away from these targeted regeneration projects, could—and I say ‘could’—reverse the positive impact of these projects. I understand that the land being considered by the Ministry of Justice is Welsh Government-owned land. When asked by the MoJ if it would sell the land, will the Welsh Government say, ‘No’ and keep its focus on targeted regeneration in Port Talbot?

I’m grateful for the Member’s acknowledgment of the investment that we’ve made in his constituency, and I’ve been around with him on some of those visits. Again, that is another area that has been dramatically turned around by the Government’s investment.

The matter of the prison is a matter for the MoJ. The planning system is as appropriate as it is for any other system, whether that be a prison or a high-street shop. The land is open to offers by any organisation, and if the MoJ wishes to pursue that, it will be a matter for the MoJ and we will treat that accordingly, under the planning terms and conditions.

Cabinet Secretary, I’m familiar with ‘buddleia towers’ as well and I can’t say that I’m over-impressed by Swansea council’s intervention there. But the city deal is better news for Swansea. Perhaps regrettably, it doesn’t address traditional infrastructure or metros, focusing instead on digital highways as drivers for innovation and regeneration. As a result, I’m wondering whether it might not be for Welsh Government, at a strategic level, to kick start an examination of how to improve Swansea’s air quality, examining it within a regional transport plan compatible with the aims of the city deal. Would the Welsh Government look at this so that ideas like monorails and trams and electric taxis and LPG buses don’t disappear from your line of sight just because no-one can agree whether it’s the transport portfolio, the regeneration portfolio or the communities portfolio that takes responsibility for this?

We’ve got a very joined-up Government and we’ve got a very joined-up community in terms of our interventions with local authorities too. I think the Swansea bay city deal is fantastic for that area and, again, it will be about integrated transport solutions and opportunities of employment. The metro concept is a principle of how communities can be joined up even if they’re not directly affected by the metro. And there is the new franchise condition: how do we make sure that buses or trams, or whatever that may look like for the future, are planned for? I’m sure that the Swansea bay city deal will have that vision as we move forward. It’s got a great team around that provision, with all authorities signed up to that. I hope that that will go from strength to strength post May.