6. Will the Minister provide an update on the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre in Llanbedr? OQ59050

Thank you for the question. 

We remain committed to supporting the aerospace centre. We continue to work closely with Gwynedd Council, the site operator and other partners to help attract investment to the site. We recognise its global potential to the space sector for Wales, and in attracting economic activity to rural Gwynedd.

Thank you very much for that response. The Government, of course, has invested millions in developing the Snowdonia aerospace centre in Llanbedr, and the Government has great ambitions for developing Wales as a leader in space technology. But experts in the area and the tenants on the site say that delivering these ambitions will be impossible without improvement to infrastructure to reach the site. In the absence of any public funds to build the link road, it's very difficult to see how the Government's ambitions are nothing but a pipe dream. So, what credible plan does the Government have in place for the Llanbedr centre, or is the Minister happy to see the Meirionydd coast being nothing more than a playground for visitors? Thank you. 

No, that's absolutely not the vision of me individually, or, indeed, the Government. We have seen over £3.5 million of public investment in the site since 2012. We also have seen a range of activity, including remotely-piloted aircraft systems and unmanned aircraft test and evaluation programmes as a result. We're looking for the leaseholders of the site to work with us in actually designing the future, because there are other parts of our growing space sector that are interested in the future use of Llanbedr as a site for them. It's not all about Spaceport Cornwall. You'll have seen the flight that didn't quite make it into space, but one of the companies on there was a Welsh company. They also look at the potential, not just in Cornwall, but what they could do in Llanbedr as well. So, I think the challenge is how we get to that point, with the right investment partner, to actually see that potential realised. So, I don't take the downbeat view that the Member has in his supplementary. I think there is still a really positive future for significant economic development activity around that site for his constituents and beyond.