An action plan to bring thousands of jobs to the south Wales Valleys was launched today.
The plan is the result of a year’s work by the Ministerial Taskforce for the South Wales Valleys and has as one of its aims to get an extra 7,000 people into work by 2021.
But today’s launch comes just weeks after the Welsh Government refused to extend a financial guarantee to the Circuit of Wales scheme which backers said could have created thousands of jobs.
The action plan has been developed following feedback from people living and working in the Valleys.
What's in the plan
It sets out a range of aims and actions in each of the three priority areas, including:
closing the employment gap between the south Wales valleys and the rest of Wales by getting an additional 7,000 people into work by 2021;
launching three pathfinder projects to look at how services and local delivery can be better joined up in Ferndale, Glynneath and Banwen;
exploring the development of a Valleys Landscape Park with the potential to help local communities use their natural and environmental resources for tourism, energy generation and health and wellbeing purposes.
Minister's comments
Alun Davies, the Minister for Lifelong Learning and Welsh Language, said: “Our Valleys, Our Future is not simply a plan for the Valleys. It is a plan from the Valleys.
“From the start, I have been clear this taskforce will not be another case of the Government deciding what is right for the Valleys. If we are to succeed, local communities and local people must be at the heart of our work.”
The taskforce was set up a year ago to work with communities and local businesses across the valleys to deliver lasting economic change in the region, create quality jobs closer to people’s homes, improve skill levels and bring prosperity.
It aims to maximise job opportunities in businesses such as retail, care and the food industry, and encourage and provide support for existing and potential entrepreneurs.
What other parties say
The Welsh Conservatives said that ministers would need to convince Valleys communities that their new action plan is more than just a “glossy PR exercise”.
Shadow Economy Secretary Russell George said: “For a generation and more, Valleys communities have been let down by a lack of strategic leadership at the heart of Welsh Government.
“This is a part of Wales which has seen huge sums of investment from EU schemes, and yet that money has on the whole been wasted, and there is little evidence to suggest that previous initiatives have been anywhere near transformational.
“That’s part of the reason that so many people here voted to Leave the EU last year.
“This is Labour’s latest effort to reboot their strategy for the Valleys – and I wish them well. But coming just weeks after they scrapped the Circuit of Wales, it’s hard to see this as anything more than a glossy PR exercise.”
Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said it was vital that the initiative did not “get added to the list of previous broken promises and failed projects”.
“We’ve said that the city region deal must begin its job creation and improved infrastructure work on the outskirts where the employment and spending is needed more.”
Automotive technology park
Also today Economy Secretary Ken Skates chaired a meeting with industry figures and local representatives to discuss a planned £100m automotive technology park in Blaenau Gwent.
The technology park was announced last month following the decision to refuse support to the Circuit of Wales.
At the meeting yesterday were representatives from sports car manufacturer TVR, Ford, General Dynamics and technology firm IQE, as well as some from the Ebbw Vale Enterprise Zone, Blaenau Gwent Council and Cardiff University.
The meeting was called to develop more detailed proposals for the technology park at Ebbw Vale, which the Welsh Government will invest £100m in over 10 years.
The park is expected to create up to 1,500 full-time jobs.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Skates said: “Our plans to invest £100m in an Automotive Technology Park in Blaenau Gwent have the potential to transform the local economy and create up to 1’500 jobs and I am keen to progress them as quickly as possible.
“Today’s meeting provided an ideal opportunity to bring key players from industry, local government, academia and the local Enterprise Zone together to agree our direction of travel and set key targets and milestones that will help drive this pivotal project forward.
“It was a very productive meeting that confirmed our collective ambition to shape and deliver a project that can genuinely regenerate the local economy.
“Delivered well the project can not only create r the high quality jobs the area needs but also play a key role in shaping the future of our automotive industry here in Wales.”
The Welsh Government will publish a full business case for the Automotive Technology Park later this year.
