Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:19 pm on 7 March 2023.
I thank the First Minister for that response. The impact of the phosphate regulations is having a significant impact on people across Wales. You will be aware of the impact of the regulations on housing developers, particularly social housing, with some 700 social homes being held up because of these regulations.
But I want to look specifically at the development of the Llyn Tegid railway in Bala, which is being held up because of the Dee. Now they have succeeded in collecting hundreds of thousands of pounds internationally to bring the rail line into town, which will be a significant economic boost for the area. They’ve been given planning consent and have done the preparatory work for the new station. Indeed, Natural Resources Wales themselves have done a great deal of the preparatory work to allow the railway to come into the town. But the phosphate regulations mean that this development cannot proceed, despite the fact that they aren't going to build additional toilets in addition to what's publicly available already. There is a very real risk that this plan could fail. What advice would you, therefore, give to the Llyn Tegid railway in light of this?