Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:32 pm on 16 October 2018.
In terms of taking forward a number of different issues, we've seen through the community asset transfer process a number of community assets that are having life breathed into them afresh. I visited the Blaenavon Workmen's Hall some time ago and it's extraordinary to see it reborn again. In my own constituency, Llanhilleth Miners Institute continues to be a centre of the community. You know, you drive across the Valleys or you move across the Valleys, you have Maesteg Town Hall and the miners welfare in Ystradgynlais. You can name a number of different facilities that are at the heart of those communities. What I hope we'll be able to do is to ensure that they remain at the heart of their communities.
In many ways, the cultural issues that the Plaid Cymru Member for South Wales West has already referred to are at the heart of our ambition. But if we are to succeed, then the infrastructure that is being described is absolutely essential: the transport infrastructure, an infrastructure of facilities—whether it be public toilets or whether it be visitor centres or cafes, restaurants, hotels, accommodation—has to be in place. It is this sort of infrastructure that we would be looking towards developing and putting in place over time. That is why, in developing the concept, we are working with, not simply local authorities and NRW and other public bodies, but working with all of those people who are able to deliver and support those facilities across the Valleys region.