Saturday 10 February 2018

Poor infrastructure divides Wales but do Unionist want this ?

In a recent Blog I asked the question

Are Labour and Tories planning to divide Wales economically?

I wrote that .

"This follows  plans by influential business leaders and politicians from across both sides of the Welsh border have met to discuss how economic opportunities from the Northern Powerhouse Region can be maximised for North Wales".

This has been followed by  claims that 

A "western powerhouse" between Cardiff, Newport and Bristol can boost job prospects across the whole region,and  the Welsh secretary has said. Alun Cairns has set up a Severn Growth Summit in Newport, with 350 delegates.
He believes it has the potential to rival the Northern Powerhouse or "Midlands Engine".

Compare this with the claims that the drive time between north and south Wales is a "barrier" to increasing international tourism, according to a UK travel trade body.-  

As the BBC reports.

UK Inbound chief executive Deirdre Wells believes Wales attracts one million foreign tourists a year, spending an estimated £330m annually.
But she said authorities "should do more" to improve south to north links, which is currently a four-hour drive.
The Welsh Government said it was investing in the road and rail network.
Sean Taylor, the founder of Zip World in Snowdonia, told UK Inbound's tourism trade conference in Cardiff that travelling between the south coast cities of Cardiff and Swansea to north Wales was difficult.
 They point out
The A470, which is largely a single-carriageway road between Cardiff and Llandudno, is the most frequent route for travellers between Wales' two most populated coastal areas - but Ms Wells wants infrastructure to be improved.
"I think we can be doing more to make these transport links as good as they possibly can be," she said.
"We do have a default setting on promoting commuter lines but actually the leisure business [does] a huge amount to bolster the sustainability of transport."

She said that the reliance on east to west road connections makes the entry points particularly important.
"There are some fantastic new routes into Cardiff [airport] and that always helps when you have the ability to fly people into the destination directly," she added.
The Welsh Government said it was marketing three road trip routes to tourists to showcase Wales.
An official added:
"This is… alongside the investment we continue to see across our trunk road network, the procurement of an improved rail service and our ongoing offer of free weekend bus travel across the TrawsCymru bus network."
What a pathetic statement  but it is also indicative  of a policy by both Labour and Tories who cannot envisage a Wales united by infrastructure  to boost nit only tourism  but our economy,y  and let's face it our sense of unity.

How can a government of any Nation  think that dividing it  into economic regions and annexing it to parts of another one is sound practice.

Could it be that both Labour and Tories are conspiring to prevent any rise in the sense  of a economically united Wales by dividing it?

I think the truth probably is  it simply a lazy attitude and lack of vision in that they think that more or less allowing parts of Wales to become part of "English Power Houses". means the hard work can be conducted by those across the border running their versions.

So it may not be some Machiavellian  plot to further colonise Wales, but it does not make it any more poor planing of our future.

 

 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure you are right. So many schemes seem specifically designed to undermine Welsh identity. I live in the Valleys and there are very many English people here who have been dumped by social services, for example.