By Mark Isherwood

MS for North Wales

I visited Brymbo Enterprise Centre to meet the Centre Manager and discuss the work of Brymbo & Tanyfron Regeneration Trust. The Trust, a charity, runs the Centre, which includes a day nursery, Post Office, Sports Hall and business offices. Discussion included both their success and the challenges they face in providing accessible services.

I attended the latest meeting of the working group campaigning for Flintshire County Council to remove the barriers to the Wales Coast Path in Flintshire faced by disabled people and others, and deliver access for all.

The 2010 UK Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination against disabled people, and Welsh law and guidance expresses the rights of disabled people to participate fully in all aspects of life, requiring work to remove barriers that get in the way.

As Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning, I met energy company Centrica to discuss challenges and opportunities for renewables in the planning system in Wales, energy storage and the need for energy security at every step of the energy transition.

I also visited the 2024 Royal Welsh Show for a series of meetings, which included National Farmers' Union (NFU) Cymru, with discussion including Rural Development funding, the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) and TB control; Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW), with discussion including the need for a Young Farmers Scheme, for a Farm to be economically viable and for the SFS to be accessible; Adferiad, a charity for people with mental health, addiction, and co-occurring and complex needs, with discussion including their ‘Let’s Get Physical’ Health Care Campaign, their Veterans’ services, and the need for both preventative health and care services, and greater health and social care integration; and RSPB Cymru, where, as Wales Species Champion for the Curlew, I received an update on the RSPB’s ‘Curlew LIFE’ Project in North Wales, working to halt Curlew decline. It was good to hear that 23 nests are there this year, up from 15 in 2023.

The Curlew is considered to be the most pressing bird conservation priority in Wales and across the UK. Multiple and multi-species benefits can be delivered through Curlew conservation action, without which the Curlew is predicted to be extinct as a viable breeding species in Wales by 2033.

Other visits at the Show included the Army in Wales; the Openreach Wales team, for an update on their delivery of ultrafast Full Fibre broadband; and, as an Honorary Associate Member, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) Welsh Branch Reception.

For my help, email Mark.Isherwood@senedd.wales or call 0300 200 7219.