Assembly slammed (From South Wales Guardian)

Assembly slammed

9:34am Wednesday 15th July 2009

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THE National Assembly has been attacked for overlooking deprived smaller communities in the Upper Swansea Valley.

The criticism has come from Tory parliamentary hopeful Suzy Davies who described last week’s announcement of the boundaries of the western valleys as a Strategic Regeneration Area as “a missed opportunity”.

Ms Davies - Welsh Conservative candidate for Brecon and Radnorshire - said that while she was delighted Ystradgynlais had been included in the strategic plan, she was disappointed Assembly chiefs had not looked further up the valley.

“I’m absolutely delighted Ystrad’s been included, but am not convinced that the benefits this will bring the town will necessarily be enjoyed by those communities further up the valley,” she said. “That’s why I wanted them included in this new area.

“There are some isolated villages there with a fair measure of deprivation, which could have been included in this initiative.

“With the Assembly under constant criticism for its lack of interest in this part of Wales, this truly is a missed opportunity to bring substantial investment to our remoter communities.

“Instead, money is gravitating to parts of Wales which already receive a huge amount of public money.

“Regeneration takes imagination, yet I fear the same old thinking is at work here.”

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