Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:31 pm on 13 October 2020.
Thank you. Yes, I'll try and be brief in response. We have, as part of the latest 'Planning Policy Wales' issued, about two years ago now, put the hierarchy of road use within that guidance, which puts pedestrians at the top and cars at the bottom, and making sure that is implemented in all new build, I think, is going to be crucial for making sure that this problem doesn't keep popping up. Because one of the problems we do have, as Vikki Howells correctly identified, is that new-build estates build in the problem and it is often impractical—. We've all walked these as part of our many happy weekends canvassing our constituencies, where, in many estates, it would be very difficult to implement a ban, which is one of the reasons why we favour the pragmatic approach. So, Vikki is right to highlight the problem.
And the commercial vehicles, in a sense, is another manifestation of the fact that we have developed a car-centric society, and that's—. We're trying, in a sense, to deal with the symptoms of the problem here, both with the 20 mph speed limit proposal and with pavement parking, but unless we deal with the problem at its root, then we're going to keep having these manifestations. And that's why, I think, the focus on modal shift in the forthcoming Wales transport strategy is essential, not just for tackling climate change, because it is a crucial part of that, but also in rebalancing our society away from the focus on car ownership as the be-all and end-all, and dominating the way our communities look and feel.