The Mersey Dee Alliance

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:55 pm on 30 November 2022.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 2:55, 30 November 2022

Thank you. I would certainly agree with you on that final point and I know it’s really important that we have partners working together in relation to the Wrexham-Bidston line, and that includes, obviously, Transport for Wales, Merseyrail, and the Welsh Government itself.

In relation to a summit, probably at the current time, while the north Wales transport commission is having a look at what it needs to do following the publication of its progress report—. I met with the chair of the commission, and currently he is looking to talk to stakeholders around cross-border transport, because it is, as you say, so important for north Wales, and I would encourage stakeholders from the cross-border region to certainly engage with the commission.

You will know very well, as you, obviously, chaired the sub-committee previously, that it’s really important that, at that committee, we invite people to come in from outside to give presentations, so I have asked officials to ask both Steve Rotherham and Andy Burnham to come along to the committee. I think it’s very important that ministerial colleagues hear about the links we have with the north-west of England and how important they are for north Wales, and particularly north-east Wales, and, obviously, the local authority leaders also attend that committee. So, I’m hoping, either at the next committee meeting or the one after that, that both the mayors will be able to come along to that.