I sincerely hope that the leader of your party doesn’t get her way and stops nuclear energy in Wales. I sincerely hope, for the people of Ynys Môn and the whole of north Wales, that the facility is built. The fact of the matter is that the economy of the region is also built on a strong tourism base, and tourism in north Wales right now is experiencing record success, and it’s also based on a vibrant food and drink industry, which, again, is experiencing record success. So, the industry of Ynys Môn and north Wales is in prime position to take advantage, not just of emerging nuclear energy initiatives, but also in the tourism, agriculture and food and drink sectors, if only Members would listen.

I can honestly say, Presiding Officer, that the decision taken over the Circuit of Wales was the most difficult and challenging decision that I have ever been involved in during my lifetime in Government. It was challenging and difficult because the community for which the project was promised is one that is in need of new opportunities, new growth and regeneration, and, perhaps above all, new hope.

I’ve set out the reasons why we could not go ahead, but importantly, in doing so, I’ve also set out an alternative plan, an automotive technology park, in which we will invest £100 million over the next 10 years. This is an investment in the future of Blaenau Gwent that can support economic growth right across the Heads of the Valleys region, and I want our work to demonstrate that Wales is a good place to do business and that Blaenau Gwent and the Heads of the Valleys offer great untapped potential for those investors.

The focus of the project in the initial stages will be threefold and based on evidence from businesses, from local government partners, from industry and academic experts, and from the Ebbw Vale enterprise zone. All elements will be subject to satisfactory business cases and due diligence. They are, first, to develop a new facility designed to encourage entrepreneurship and to grow the number of SMEs; secondly, the development of an advanced manufacturing facility specifically designed to cater for any number of inward investors, many of whom are in the high-tech, ultra-low-emissions sector and who are currently exploring opportunities here in Wales; and, thirdly, to support the refurbishment of an existing building in the enterprise zone that can act as a skills and apprenticeship training centre to make sure that we provide the pipeline of skilled people to take up quality jobs, looking to a future in which we innovate, incubate, launch and grow more Welsh companies, commercialising much of our home-grown intellectual property. I believe that we can support economic growth in the Heads of the Valleys and stimulate the prosperity that I think everybody in this Chamber would want to see.