6. Will the First Minister provide an update on how the year of legends will benefit north-east Wales? OAQ(5)0617(FM)

Firstly, our tourism strategy sets out our priorities in supporting the tourism industry, including capital and development funding, along with marketing and promotional opportunities. We know that the Year of Legends provides an opportunity for us to build on that foundation.

Thank you, First Minister. As part of the Year of Legends, we are awaiting with great anticipation the winning design for our new Welsh Government-supported installation at Flint Castle. I’m sure everybody in the community is looking forward to this latest legend descending on the shores of the castle, but there was another local legend of old that the constituency and particularly the community of Mold are rightly proud of. The Mold gold cape was found in 1833 by workmen quarrying for stone in a burial mound, and is currently part of the British Museum collection in London. It’s previously left the British Museum to be temporarily exhibited in Wrexham, but it’s never actually made it back to Mold to be temporarily exhibited in the town where it was found. First Minister, as we commemorate and celebrate the Year of Legends, do you share the view of many of my constituents that it would be great to see the gold cape return to be exhibited in the town where it was discovered?

Yes. The gold cape is famous, of course, and I’m sure the people of Mold would like to see the actual gold cape there, rather than it being commemorated in the name of a pub. [Laughter.] It was in Wrexham. The difficulty at the moment, of course, is that there’s nowhere in Mold for the cape to be exhibited, and that is what needs to be resolved first. In order for that to happen, the local authority in Flintshire could look at taking the lead and talking with us as Welsh Government to see what could be done in order to provide a facility with the right atmosphere, in terms of the atmospherics, and in terms of the right security in order to provide a home for the gold cape, even if temporary, in the years to come. We’re more than happy, of course, to work with the local authority and with local people to see how we can move this forward to bring the cape home, and for the people of Mold to be able to see the cape in its home town.

A good question from the Member there for us in north Wales. First Minister, Visit Britain has launched Where Stories Become Legends, an international film tourism campaign with Warner Brothers, to coincide with the release of the ‘King Arthur’ film, parts of which were filmed in Snowdonia. How is Visit Wales using the Year of Legends campaign to collaborate on this? And what future plans do you have to promote the region of north Wales, home to some of the most dramatic and beautiful landscapes in the world that are available to the film industry and its fans?

Well, ‘King Arthur’ was a film, if I remember rightly, that we supported as a Government.

Yes.

It was a film that we took a stake in. It’s a film that, yes, has been located in Wales and also a film, of course, that has benefited from, I believe, post-production in Wales as well. The Member asked what we have done particularly for the north of Wales, well I can say that just about £0.5 million has been made available in this financial year for projects in the north: so, five projects via the regional tourism engagement fund, totalling £0.25 million, and a further £265,000 via the tourism product innovation fund to support six project across the north as well. I can say that, since April 2013, the tourism investment support scheme has made offers of funding to 48 businesses in the north, totalling nearly £8 million. That’s brought in additional investment of £12.5 million and assisted 551 jobs in terms of them being secured, with another 433 jobs being created.

Whilst it’s quite appropriate that we attract people to celebrate and become more aware of our legends and the stories we have to tell in north-east Wales—to refer back to the original question—there is a significant market also in the north east of Wales, in the north-east of Wales, and, very often, the local people don’t appreciate the history and the assets that we have in that area. So, may I ask, while this project promotes the whole of Wales more widely, shouldn’t the Government, at the same time, do far more to promote our heritage and history at a local level? That happened with the National Trust in my day. The number of visitors increased significantly, and, of course, the number of people who were volunteering and felt ownership of those assets also increased, which strengthened the wider offer within north-east Wales.

As part of the project—well, it’s true to say that we never appreciate what’s on our doorstep. As regards the projects I’ve already alluded to, many of those projects are working in order to raise awareness of local history by local residents. And a lot of work, of course, is being done by voluntary organisations also to do that. But, of course, it is vital that we ensure that people know what’s there, and have an interest in their own history so that they can act as ambassadors for their own areas and regions, and ensure that more people come and stay and spend money.