4. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport: Update on the Valleys Taskforce

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:35 pm on 8 December 2020.

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Photo of Lee Waters Lee Waters Labour 4:35, 8 December 2020

Well, an important element of what the taskforce has done, which has been behind the scenes really, has been stitching together different bits of Government activity on the Valleys footprint to make sure we have an integrated approach, and that's not something that really makes it into a ministerial statement, but I think that's been one of its key contributions within Government. The example Mick Antoniw cites is a really good example of that.

The bringing together through masterplans for Caerphilly, Merthyr and, I believe, Pontypridd, has been a really important long-term development for shaping where the metro developments lie, and Pontypridd will have a huge asset in having a train service pretty much every five minutes, once the metro service is fully up and running. We can see the development already taking place, and the TFW headquarters in the town is a real example of that. The pulling down of the unsightly buildings in the vicinity of the train station will, again, open up space and potential for further redevelopment. So, I think transport and the masterplanning of it, and tying that together with other Government initiatives has been a real success story of the taskforce, but their fruits may not be possible to see for a couple of years yet.