Astronomy

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 2:00 pm on 29 September 2021.

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Photo of Darren Millar Darren Millar Conservative 2:00, 29 September 2021

I'm very disappointed to hear that response, Minister. You'll be aware that star gazing and astronomy is a passion of many people across Wales and, in fact, it's something of a passion of mine. I took it up— [Inaudible.]—lockdown while were in the early stages of the pandemic, and one of the things that I think is very striking about Wales is that we have some wonderful areas with dark skies, where astronomy really is something that people can enjoy to the fullest. One of the areas that's blessed with dark skies is, of course, the Clwydian range and Dee Valley area of natural outstanding beauty, which, hopefully, will soon be becoming a national park in north-east Wales. And I would like to call upon the Welsh Government to consider establishing a national observatory for Wales in the Clwydian range and Dee Valley national park in order to promote scientific research in astronomy and, indeed, to encourage visitors and others to take an interest in visiting north-east Wales. Can I ask that you reconsider the prioritisation of astronomy to look at whether this can be something that the Welsh Government can bring forward in the future?