Plaid Cymru politicians have cautiously welcomed the Welsh Government announcement this week to reverse its own decision that will now see the boundary of the Valleys Taskforce area extended to include the Amman and Gwendraeth Valleys.

However, the announcement does not mention the inclusion of a 'strategic hub' in the Amman and Gwendraeth Valleys, despite Plaid Cymru securing a commitment on this from the Welsh Government last year.

Since 2016 the Welsh Government's Taskforce for the Valleys has worked to identify strategic locations across valley communities in order to create areas of focussed public sector investment which then unlocks private capital, leading to jobs, opportunities and wealth creation across the region.

Having announced seven hubs in Caerphilly, Neath, Ebbw Vale, Merthyr Tydfil, Cwmbran, Bridgend and Pontypridd, local Plaid Cymru politicians Adam Price AM and Jonathan Edwards MP made the case for the inclusion of the Amman and Gwendraeth, stating that "valley communities do not stop at Neath".

As part of Plaid Cymru's formal budget negotiations with the Welsh Government, and following a series of questions to the Cabinet Secretary at the National Assembly, written representations and one-to-one meetings, the former Cabinet Secretary Alun Davies AM, confirmed last year that an additional strategic hub would indeed be located in the Amman/Gwendraeth area.

The election of Mark Drakeford as the new First Minister of Wales saw the former Cabinet Secretary ousted, with Ammanford Valley-born Lee Waters AM taking over the project as Deputy Minister for the Economy and Transport.

In January this year, through written correspondence and questioning by Plaid Cymru AM Helen Mary Jones, Lee Waters confirmed the Welsh Government had "no plans" to extend the Valleys Taskforce boundary to include the Amman/Gwendraeth.

Carmarthen East and Dinefwr AM Adam Price said: "I personally met with the previous Cabinet Secretary on several occasions, in which he recognised the merits of including the Western Valleys within the Taskforce boundary and a formal budget agreement between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Government was made.

"I was deeply concerned that this agreement was reversed by the new Minister earlier this year.

"My colleagues and I subsequently challenged the new Minister to reconsider as a matter of urgency, and I welcome the reversal of his own decision which will now see the Western Valleys included within the Taskforce boundary.

"However there remains concern about the lack of detail on this announcement and particularly the omission of an Amman/Gwendraeth strategic hub.

"This creates an uncertain situation where the full implementation of the agreement is subject to the whim of the Labour Minister. This requires further clarification from the Minister. "

Member of Parliament Jonathan Edwards said: "This Labour Welsh Government is playing politics with the communities of the Amman and Gwendraeth valleys.

"Earlier this year they pulled those communities out of this investment opportunity and have now several months on issued a press release to claim credit.

"The reality is that were it not for the Plaid Cymru campaign this investment would have stopped at Neath.

"Plaid Cymru councillors on Carmarthenshire Council together with Adam have identified a number of projects to tap into the Western Valleys investment to boost the local economy.

"The importance of placing a strategic hub in the Western Valleys is to act as a catalyst for this focussed investment, so we need urgent reassurance that the strategic hub will remain a part of the original agreement."