Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:01 pm on 22 November 2022.
Trefnydd, in your initial answer, you mentioned the importance of reducing the risk of floods in the first place, so I wanted to draw your attention to the flood defences at Newton beach in Porthcawl. Residents living on Beach Road there have contacted me, worried about Natural Resources Wales's shoreline management plan, which says, and I quote:
'the short term policy is to hold the line, through maintaining the existing defences, until they reach the end of their effective life. Given the medium and long term policy, no defence improvements would be undertaken, therefore there will be an increased risk of flooding to the residential properties and assets inshore.'
In other words, the policy here is not to improve the sea defences at all, which NRW's own report concedes will significantly increase the likelihood of flooding in the area, which you can imagine causes a huge deal of concern to local people with their homes located there. Surely it's better that we take preventative action to defend against flooding, rather than reacting to a situation when it becomes too late. So, can I ask Welsh Government whether you'll liaise with Natural Resources Wales and the local council to come up with a plan that doesn't rely on people's homes being flooded?