Llongyfarchiadau mawr to Treorchy on winning the title of the UK's best high street. It's great that the hard work in this Rhondda town has been recognised, and I'm glad to be able to recognise it here in the Senedd too.

Local traders have banded together with local councillors and other community figures to make things happen for themselves. The local chamber of commerce is thriving in a town where 80 per cent of the businesses are independent. Treorchy people have put their faith in the old Welsh maxim, 'Mewn undod mae nerth/In unity there is strength', the town centre is very well supported. People from all over the Rhondda and beyond use the town centre for shopping and for leisure, enabling Treorchy to become the thriving hub of commerce that it is.

The absence of the dominance of big chains has been a major contributor to the success of the town. It's hard to deny the adverse impact that large chain stores can have on small businesses and town centres. Treorchy has shown what is possible for struggling town centres across Wales. I very much hope that other towns in the Rhondda and further afield can learn those lessons and thrive just as Treorchy is. Diolch yn fawr.