Thank you to Dai Lloyd for bringing this debate forward this afternoon. I think it's the third debate that we've had on similar areas. We've talked about cavity wall insulation and leaseholds, and now this issue today. These are issues that do concern our constituents, and it's very appropriate that we discuss them here at the National Assembly and, more importantly, that we seek solutions to these problems.

I'm going to tell you about one example in my own constituency, which is a perfect example of what we're talking about this afternoon. The Caeau Gleision estate in Rhiwlas is an estate of 80 houses built between 1975 and the early 1980s. The cul-de-sacs there are now in an appalling condition, to say the least. I haven’t seen any ducks in residence yet, but there are large, water-filled potholes and there are huge problems. The roads and cul-de-sacs on this estate have never been adopted by the local authority, namely Gwynedd Council, and there are nine of these cul-de-sacs on the estate. Over a period of time, the surface laid by the developers has been washed away, leaving large potholes and puddles, and rock in some places, or the hard-standing. That is all that is left. From what I understand also, there are pitch fibre pipes that have been laid to carry surface water away, and whilst these kinds of pipes were recommended at the time, they have now become damaged and they’re not fit for purpose. They need to be repaired.

There are individuals on the estate who have tried to tackle this problem. They’ve been in touch with the county council, and the MP and I as the Assembly Member have been trying to help them, but unfortunately we haven’t had much success to date. The response that we get from Gwynedd Council is that the roads and cul-de-sacs are unadopted and therefore, in the current economic climate, they don’t intend to do anything about the situation. By now, because of the condition of these roads, the estate as a whole appears to be very unkempt, despite the fact that the residents are keeping their homes as neat and tidy as possible.

We in the constituency have tried to do some research into this area to see what’s possible and we’ve been studying a book by the author Andrew Barsby, a book called Private Roads, and this includes a number of suggestions as to how residents can take action, but it depends, to a great extent, on having ownership of the road, which isn’t always an easy process. The developers disappear over time, and it can be a very expensive process for individuals, of course. According to the book Private Roads, if it’s not possible to gain ownership of a particular road, then it is possible for local residents to make improvements to the state of the road, but they do run the risk of prosecution on the basis of unlawful trespass.

So, it’s a difficult situation, and I welcome the proposals put forward here, particularly the idea of the establishment of a taskforce and having a work programme in place so that we can tackle this problem in a meaningful way and resolve a problem that exists in all constituencies, I would assume. Thank you.