Welsh Conservatives have today launched a Charter for Rural Wales.
The Party has set out its commitments to rural areas in Wales, with each pledge aimed at supporting and sustaining rural communities across the country.
The Charter commits a Conservative Assembly government to:
- Protect key public services in partnership with rural local authorities
- Give communities the opportunity to take over the running of community assets such as village halls, community centres, pubs and post offices, assisted by tailored business support
- Develop a planning policy that gives communities a stake in economic and social development, including the release of more land for affordable housing
- Protect public access to woodland, and prioritise new forestry planting in areas where it delivers maximum benefit, such as reducing flooding risk and enhancing biodiversity
- Support the future of family farms through a range of measures including securing the future of direct payments, the elimination of wasteful red-tape, and ensuring the flawed Glastir agri-environment scheme is fit for purpose
Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs, Brynle Williams AM, said:
“Rural communities face massive challenges in the years ahead, and Welsh Conservatives are dedicated to securing their future.
“We want to support our rural towns and villages, and make them even better places to live, work and raise a family.
“All too often, people in rural communities have been treated as an afterthought by Assembly Governments.
“This Charter sets out our commitment to these communities and what steps we would take to improve quality of life and revitalise rural Wales.
“As part of the Charter’s on-going development, we will seek the views of farming and rural organisations across the country – including the NFU, FUW, Countryside Council for Wales, CPRW & WLGA.”
Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Assembly, Nick Bourne AM, said: “Rural communities do not get the level of support they need.
“Time and again successive Labour governments in Wales have simply not helped these areas. Their views and opinions are not treated in the same way as other communities.
“Let’s be clear – rural communities are absolutely essential to the future of our country. They have a vitally important role to play and the Welsh Conservative Charter for Rural Wales recognises that in full.”
