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Peter Black repeats call for government action in Port Talbot

Speculation that the Tata steel board will not approve a rescue package for the Port Talbot plant has underlined the urgent need for the Welsh Government to build on the new Enterprise Zone by setting up an urban regeneration company for the area, the Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black has said.

Mr. Black called for such a company to be set up shortly after the announcement of 750 job losses at Tata in Port Talbot, however little progress appears to have been made by the Welsh Government on this. When the steel works closed in Newport in 2003, the Welsh Government had acted decisively by setting up Newport Unlimited, an Urban Regeneration Company, to help counter the impacts of the decline in heavy industry and manufacturing. Mr. Black asked the Minister in the chamber to actively consider a similar response to job losses in Port Talbot.

“During the ten plus years that Newport Unlimited was in place it contributed to attracting £230 million of private investment to the area and^] was credited with the transformation of the city's river frontage and attracting the Ryder Cup golf tournament to Newport in 2010,” said Mr. Black. “It is my view that a similar initiative could make a massive difference in helping to revitalise Port Talbot. It is now urgent that the Welsh Government act on this.

“The new Enterprise Zone for Port Talbot is very welcome, but I believe that we need to go the extra mile and that the additional funding and focus that an urban regeneration company can bring to the area could make a huge difference.

“The Welsh Government needs to put its money on the table by investing in Port Talbot through such a company and by providing the business rates relief that Tata needs to reduce its costs and to help it become viable.”

Kirsty Williams' reaction to budget speech

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams responded to George Osborne's budget announcements:

Frankly, the proposed cut in the tolls is pathetic. Once back in public ownership, there is no need whatsoever for there to be tolls on these bridges. The Chancellor is cynically acting as if he is doing commuters a favour, but the fact is that he wants to keep this unfair tax on entering Wales. Only the Liberal Democrats will completely scrap these tolls.

The lack of any real progress on the Swansea Tidal Lagoon is yet another nail in the coffin of the Tories’ green credentials. The Liberal Democrats ensured that the Coalition Government fully backed the Swansea Tidal Lagoon project. With the Tories on their own, all we have seen is minister after minister talking this project down. The Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon must go ahead. It will lead to thousands of new green jobs and supply energy for 120 years – over three times as long as a nuclear plant.

The Port Talbot enterprise zone is good news and I hope will go a long way in helping rejuvenate the area. The Labour Government must pull its weight and set up an urban regeneration company for Port Talbot to help counter the impacts of the decline in heavy industry and manufacturing.

It’s clear for all to see that North Wales has been neglected for too long and has not been getting its fair share of infrastructure projects. I welcome any progress in improving transport links in the area, however the people of North Wales need more than a sentence of warm words ahead of an election.