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

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:32 pm on 8 December 2020.

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Photo of Lee Waters Lee Waters Labour 4:32, 8 December 2020

Well, can I pay tribute to Rhianon Passmore for championing the Cwmcarn forest drive and making a very robust case for investment there in her constituency? I think the pandemic and the lockdown have shown us how important having quality landscape and environmental facilities on our doorstep has been to so many people during a very difficult time. I think the Cwmcarn forest drive has been an exemplar, really, in how people have been able to use the outdoors to nourish their well-being, as well as create a different relationship between people and nature. And it's important that we see the Valleys regional park network as the complementary side of the city region's economic focus. The two need to work hand in hand, and certainly that was the example of Stuttgart, which is where the city region movement really earned its spurs, and I know it was somewhere that Alun Davies visited when he was Minister to take inspiration for the gateway projects.

That is why I think it's so important that the regional park is now under the umbrella of the city deal and Anthony Hunt, indeed, the leader of the authority, is the leader of the group that is looking at the regional park to make sure that the point she makes about the economic potential that there still is from this initial investment is fully realised.