8. Debate: Valleys Taskforce

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:41 pm on 17 September 2019.

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Photo of Lee Waters Lee Waters Labour 5:41, 17 September 2019

I'm happy to write to the Member with the exact details of the plan. The main focus is going to be a new timber-framed building that will be a site for outreach and community involvement, as well as considerable environmental schemes too, but I'm happy to give him the full details of that. It is a site that was a late bid. We reopened the bidding to allow new bids. I was initially sceptical about doing that, but such was the quality of the bid and the depth of the community engagement in drawing up the bid that I was persuaded, rather than to share all the money equally to make sure everybody had something, to fully fund good-quality schemes, and I was pleased that that was the one that I agreed to fully fund. And the whole point of these sites is that they will be launch pads to encourage local people and visitors to explore the surrounding areas, to create a necklace of parks. And as part of that, we will be returning to the original idea of the Valleys regional park coming from the city region development in Stuttgart where they have landscape parks, where they put promoting the landscape alongside traditional economic development to improve the whole place. I'm delighted that, in taking forward that concept, Cardiff capital region have agreed to absorb the governance of the Valleys regional park into their own structures. So, we're not creating new structures from scratch for the sake of it, but we're giving ownership and returning this to local authorities so that they can take this forward beyond the life of the grant, because I'm conscious that the last time the Valleys regional park existed was part of the Objective 1 funding, and when that funding ran out, the concept slowed down. So, I don't want us to do that again, which is why I'm keen that, having announced the funding, we now hand the project over to local authorities.

And then a final example of adopting good practice: I was very impressed by the work Bridgend council have done in their local area of community connectors. So, instead of having traditional park rangers through the Valleys regional park, we will be adopting the approach of Bridgend of having community connectors to signpost people to their local environment. Huw David, the leader of Bridgend, told me how this approach involved working with local GPs to encourage people to take green exercise, and this social prescribing model encourages people to get out and meet people, improve their well-being and resilience. And I'm pleased that Bridgend will now take the lead in spreading this model across the whole Valleys regional park.

I'm grateful to the leader of Torfaen, Councillor Anthony Hunt, in agreeing to lead this work on behalf of the city region, and for involving Neath Port Talbot, Swansea and Carmarthenshire in that work, even though they're not part of the capital region. And I'd also just like to finally single out the contribution that Jocelyn Davies has made in this area in particular, the former AM for south-east Wales. She has made a significant contribution to the development of thinking around the park.

So, Dirprwy Lywydd, to close, spreading good practice, engaging, listening and acting on good ideas are the ways we are working to make lasting change in our communities. This is no panacea, but we are making progress, and I looking forward to discussing what more we can do. Diolch.