Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:29 pm on 30 November 2022.
Certainly. I completely agree with you. Seeing the devastation of those businesses—. Clwb y Bont only just recently reopened its doors. I was asked, on the day that it was opened, 'Is Clwb y Bont safe in the future, now?' Well, no, it isn't. If there's a small flood, yes, because there are flood protection gates there, provided through funding, but it wouldn't have helped if we'd have seen the amount of water that came during that fateful night.
I think for many, many businesses, they are still traumatised now by having experienced floods and, in some instances, having suffered multiple floods. I think Sioned Williams recently relayed, in terms of her region, in terms of that example. So, I think we do need to look, in terms of resilience; it's not just the economic situation. But in light of the climate emergency, we need to do everything possible because small businesses and our town centres are what make communities. It's where people come together, it's where we are able to meet, enjoy and have a key role to play in terms of our climate emergency response. So, I'm very happy to be able to support this today, but also to put that plea, in terms of, please consider also those businesses that are at risk of continued flooding. They need our support as well.