Minister for Local Government and Communities says better infrastructure is critical to the well-being of Wales
07 | 11 | 2011
“We need to build a fully
sustainable transport system.” This was one of the key
messages put forward by Carl Sargeant AM, Minister for Local
Government and Communities at Wales’ premier business networking
event, the Hugh James Exchange.
The Minister provided the key note
speech at the event, held at Cardiff’s Hilton Hotel on Wednesday [2
November], which was debating the hot topic– ‘Is poor
infrastructure holding Wales back?’
Speaking at the latest Exchange, Mr
Sargeant asserted that effective infrastructure in Wales would add
many benefits to businesses in terms of social mobility, employment
and better access to services. The Minister described his
remit of transport as “huge” and said that in order to be
effective, we must have collaboration across governments and
strengthen our relationships with partners: “If we get the approach
right, it will unlock opportunities in Wales.”
The Minister was keen to point out
that he is the Transport Minister for the whole of Wales and
although many of the proposals, including rail electrification,
centre on the Cardiff city region, he is aware that there are great
transport infrastructure opportunities in north east Wales such as
Wrexham and Deeside.
In terms of more borrowing powers,
the Minister said these powers are essential for Wales in
order to “unlock the opportunities to stimulate the economy”.
Mr Sargeant said we should have the same powers as Northern Ireland
to tackle infrastructure issues; however, there is no point in
Wales having the extra powers if the money won’t come with it. The
Minister concluded: “It is not about devolution, it is about not
being disadvantaged”.
As well as the keynote speech by
the Minister, a distinguished panel of experts debated the
implications for businesses. Panellists were:
- Adrian Clark – Chairman Designate,
Cardiff & Co
- Mark Barry – M&G Barry
Consulting, Board Advisor on Transport and The Economy to the
Cardiff Business Partnership
- Russell Evans - Head of
Network Strategy, First Great Western
The key points put to the panel
involved the rail electrification and Cardiff International Airport
and whether we in Wales are doing enough to support it.
The topic of the airport created
lively discussion, and it was agreed that speciality markets need
to be created for Cardiff in order to draw people into the area.
Adrian Clark believes it’s not a one-to-one partnership: “If we are
going to attract people and businesses into Wales, we need to get
groups of people together in order to create a vibrant
airport”.
A lively Question and Answer
session from the audience of business professionals also took
place. Questions asked by the audience ranged from whether the
electrification would mean cheaper tickets for passengers, to
whether Wales had missed a trick by not re-routing the M4 around
Newport in order to eliminate some of the bottle necking of traffic
during peak times.
Mark Barry said that we need to
connect the region for people to live and visit as currently we’re
not doing so. Better access to Heathrow is vital while here in
South Wales, we need to “encourage more inward commuting to support
economic growth”.
The overriding view from the panel
was that yes, poor infrastructure is holding Wales back, but we all
have a role to maximise business links in Wales. The Minister
believes we need to ensure we get the right scheme in place to add
value to Wales.
Gareth Williams, Senior Partner at
Hugh James, said: “The Hugh James Exchange is now one of the main
events in the Cardiff Business Calendar, focusing on the key issues
for businesses in Wales. The calibre of our speaker and
panel, as well as the topicality of the debate, ensured a fantastic
turnout from a wide range of business people in Wales. We were
delighted that the Minister's address provoked such a vigorous
debate amongst our distinguished panel and audience.”