I think it’s, as we’re calling it here today, time to do something about it, so it’s good to—[Interruption.]

Anyway. There will be many communities in Wales that have lost community assets over the last decade without the legislation. I can provide a recent example of somewhere that looks set to lose the only pub in a very small community. The people behind the campaign to save the pub have asked me not to identify them just because there’s a tiny glimmer of hope that things may go their way, and they do not want to jeopardise relations with the current owner of the pub. Despite having financial backing, a solid business plan and a heavy backing from the community, the efforts to save the pub have so far been unsuccessful, and the pub looks set to be sold on the private market. When told about Plaid Cymru’s effort to get community right to buy legislation in Wales, my contact from the campaign said, and I quote, ‘A community right to buy scheme? That would have been so helpful. We would own our pub by now and would be sitting outside it enjoying the sunshine.’ So, please, in the Government response to this debate, I hope I do not hear a line that says that there is no need for legislation, or at least, try telling that to the people I’m in contact with, who are fighting to save the pub and the only community hub for miles.

There are examples of buildings being rescued, restored and returned to community use. I had the pleasure of chairing a Finance Committee stakeholder event in Llanhilleth Miners Institute last week. This tremendous building, gifted to the people from the contributions of miners, is an amazing resource, and a venue for people in the local area and beyond. There are other examples, but some of these community assets have been saved for the benefit of the local residents despite the odds being stacked against them. Let’s make things easier for communities to preserve their heritage and retain facilities. They should get, at the very least, parity with their counterparts in Scotland and England.

I was reminded of the importance of this during a visit in my region a few months back. I’d gone to visit a constituent who was spearheading a campaign to restore a community asset that has great potential and could transform the area. She told me about her efforts to garner interest in the project with a stall in a nearby town centre. The apathy she found in the people she spoke to left her very upset. In her words, ‘So many people have given up.’ I fear that, unless we act soon and empower our communities, we will not only lose those people, but also the generations that follow. We cannot allow this to happen. Diolch.