10. Short Debate: Making a pitch for the future: the benefits of artificial grass sports pitches in Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:46 pm on 27 January 2021.

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Photo of Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas Independent 5:46, 27 January 2021

(Translated)

As I said, this has been a very challenging time, and sport has been hit particularly. I was pleased to be able to announce a package earlier this week of £17 million, which will mean that the total funding for the sector will be more than £40 million since the beginning of this crisis. We are entirely supportive as a Government of what was said earlier during this debate.

Wales, according to Sport Wales's figures—and they're always right, of course—has 84 3G pitches; those are full-size pitches. There are 77 artificial turf pitches for hockey, and 116 other artificial pitches, and that's across Wales. But I'm not sure if 'artificial pitches' is the term that I would favour in either English or Welsh, because they are all-weather facilities. They are still playing fields. We should perhaps not call them 'fields', but I would like to call them all-weather facilities. In the weather that we have here in Wales, that's crucially important, of course. We must have modern facilities in order to ensure that people's participation in all weathers in sport in Wales can occur.

Therefore, the investment that we have already put in place for these facilities does show the possibilities available. At the moment, as you will know, we have a collaborative sports facilities group, led by Sport Wales, which includes the Football Association of Wales Trust, the Welsh Rugby Union and Hockey Wales, to establish artificial playing surfaces—I've just rejected that term, but they are involved with providing all-weather surfaces across Wales, and, in addition to the £3 million invested when the group was established, there has been an additional £731,000 invested in turf pitches across Wales through the new £5 million capital fund I announced last year. That means that the FAW Trust has been able to support 77 3G artificial football pitches, with a target of 100, as we've heard, by 2024.

So, what gives me great joy this evening is that there is three-party support for that project, and if I can do one thing at the end of my term as sport Minister, it would be to ensure that sport is always an issue that all parties in Wales will support without argument, and also support the way in which we can develop these projects. So, I'm grateful to Jack Sargeant, Rhun ap Iorwerth and Laura Jones for their contributions to this debate. Thank you very much.