6. Debate on the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee Report: 'The Future Development of Transport for Wales'

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:10 pm on 3 July 2019.

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Photo of Joyce Watson Joyce Watson Labour 4:10, 3 July 2019

The first thing I want to do also is to send my condolences to the families of those two men who just were killed today, and to concur with everything that was said earlier in terms of the way that we feel here today—that people going to work expect to come home from work.

I want to say that—and to carry on from where my colleague left off—I do welcome the Transport for Wales initiative, because it does mean, quite clearly, that there will be a focus on transport in its entirety in Wales, and that can only be a positive thing, and we're seeing positive things that have already arisen from that. But I want to focus firstly on going forward, particularly when we're looking at the climate emergency that's been declared. We're talking about cleaner air and we're also talking about decarbonisation in the transport system. So, there's a logic—and it's been accepted—that we must align the transport policies with all aspects of planning, and, again, Hefin just talked about that for his region. But we must talk about it for all areas—[Interruption.] Yes, okay, he hasn't got a region; I've got a region. But we must talk about it in the round, because transport—. If we're going to build—and I hope we are—many, many more houses for people, and if we're going to talk particularly about affordable housing within that, we must allow those individuals, whoever they are and wherever they live, an opportunity to travel by either public transport or to walk or to cycle.

Too often in the past—we've all seen it, and the now Deputy Minister has spoken about it previously as a backbencher—we've seen estates being built and there is absolutely no access or no consideration about the way that people are going to travel around those houses. The same can be said when we're building schools, hospitals, or anything else for that matter. Because, if we're going to get serious, we have to get serious at the start, in the pre-planning phase. I have every confidence that the Deputy Minister will have his eye very firmly on that agenda, and that's a good thing, but we need to be sure that it's happening on the ground. Do we need—when we're looking at a national plan, and a regional plan and a local plan, and, you know, are we having conversations with local authorities who'll be drawing up those plans locally, ensuring that the members who are on the planning committees fully understand what it is that they should be looking at, when they're deciding an application, in the round? Because, whilst we're here engaged in this, and we've done a committee inquiry into it, it doesn't necessarily mean that the people who will be asked to implement it on the ground will be as clear in their understanding as we might be. So, I suppose that's my real question to you. Thank you.