Last week in the Senedd the Welsh Government announced a consultation on cutting business rates for smaller retail shops – a move that could benefit around 13,000 businesses across Wales. Shops with a rateable value under £51,000 would pay less – helping level the playing field with the growth of online retailers, which is great news for the smaller shops that are at the centre of many of our high streets and our communities. Larger properties may pay a little more, but vital public services like schools and hospitals will be protected from any increase. The consultation is open until August 12 – have your say at www.gov.wales/node/68251/respond-online.
I’ve been talking about our high streets here in North East Wales a lot recently, following my visit to Cracked Coffee, the newest addition to Mold’s high street. Our towns matter, they matter to me and they matter to many people – they are part of who we are and where we come from. That’s why I not only support our town centres on a local level and how I live my own life, but why back in 2020 I set up the Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns initiative – a programme and an approach to breathe new life into town centres across Wales. The scheme has seen investment in a number of town centres in our corner of the country and works in collaboration with local authority partners – Flintshire alone has been in receipt of £853,000 for projects to revamp town centres and previously received support to re-open Holywell high street. It was recently announced that the programme is to be extended with an extra £31.5m of funding for towns across Wales, which is great news.
Ahead of the bank holiday weekend, the Welsh Government unveiled ambitious plans for Network North Wales, a ‘metro’-style transport system linking the Dee and Mersey hubs and bringing together trains and buses into one timetable – the plan is a cross-border approach to transforming public transport in North Wales, including metro style services on the North Wales mainline and a new, direct rail link between Wrexham and Liverpool. Network North Wales is a hugely ambitious and transformative programme of work to better connect communities, with more rail and bus services, new stations, new transport routes, new trains, new buses and new technology. Transport is such an important issue for our communities so I’ll be keeping a close eye on developments – the plan is that from next year, pay-as-you-go ‘metro’ services will start in North East Wales, much like they have in the south.
It was great to recently welcome Senator Sue Lines, President of the Australian Senate, to the Senedd recently. We discussed my work as Chair of the Standards of Conduct Committee and restoring trust and transparency in our political system and we also shared insights on the recent Australian elections and looked ahead to the next Senedd elections. There are lots of common challenges and opportunities to learn from each other and it’s always great to share experiences with people from other nations.
During Mental Health Awareness Week recently, the Welsh Government announced a new initiative in which every football club in Wales will be able to access one of nearly 1,000 mental health awareness training places. The e-learning course from Mind Cymru and UK Coaching will be delivered to football clubs with the support of the FAW and the courses will provide coaches with the knowledge and confidence to support people living with mental health problems. I’ve said many times before that looking after our mental health is important, but it’s also vital that support is there for everyone if and when it’s needed, so this is great for football clubs in our corner of North Wales.
On the football theme, a new exhibition has opened in Mold Museum which celebrates the history of Mold Alexandra FC, one of the oldest football clubs in Wales, formed in 1929. I’m proud to be a club sponsor and I think the new exhibition will be interesting for anyone who loves sport in the town.
Finally, a group of parents from Ysgol y Foel in Cilcain are doing the gruelling three-peaks challenge (Ben Nevis, Scarfell Pike and Yr Wyddfa) to raise money for the school’s play equipment – if you can spare a few pounds, you can help sponsor them at www.justgiving.com/campaign/3peakshike2025.
As always, if you would like advice and/or support, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on any of the following contact details – 52 High Street, Mold, Flintshire, on 01352 753464 or by email hannah.blythyn@senedd.wales. You can also keep up to date via my Facebook page – www.facebook.com/HannahBlythyn. Constituents are, of course, welcome to contact my office to arrange an appointment to see me, you don’t need to wait for an advice surgery.