4. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government: The Wales Coast Path

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:25 pm on 14 May 2019.

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Photo of Hannah Blythyn Hannah Blythyn Labour 4:25, 14 May 2019

Llywydd, I’m afraid I’m going to have to start by saying that I fundamentally disagree with the Member: I don’t at all regret that Wales beat England to the mark on this. But I absolutely agree with Huw and thank Ramblers Cymru, not just for the walking festival that ends this weekend, but also for the ongoing role they play in terms of not just the maintenance and looking after our coast path, but also the initiatives they bring forward to encourage people to benefit from it as well. And, on that, I think everybody could—. On the accessibility issues, I think there is, like you said, that balance between making sure we don’t have vehicles that aren’t meant to be there, but actually making sure that as many people as possible, across Wales and beyond, can make the most of what’s there on many of our doorsteps. So, like I said, it’s certainly something that should be considered with stakeholders and local authority partners and NRW as we take forward some of the access reforms.

One of the great benefits of this portfolio and my previous one is that I get to have what are called meetings, when I get out and about in the fresh air, and I get to enjoy this to see what’s happening in practice and, talking about actually how we introduce communities who don’t usually use the outdoors, as part of that, I’ve seen a number of really good examples of best practice across the length and breadth of the coast, but also inland, in our national parks as well. So, it's certainly something that I want to see replicated in communities elsewhere. Perhaps this focus on some of the new, shorter walks and circular routes that are more accessible by public transport and facilities might be a means to encourage more people to literally take that first step and to enjoy our Wales coast path. I’m certainly more than happy to have a conversation with my colleague the Minister for Economy and Transport with regard to actually how we, in terms of TrawsCymru, make sure that, you know, all modes of transport, our feet and our public transport, can match up to best promote our coast path in the future.