Tory MP calls for new city region ‘straddling the border between England and Wales’
A Welsh Conservative MP has called for a new city region “straddling the border between England and north Wales”.
David Jones said that the Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart, should work with the Welsh Government to bring the project to fruition.
He referred to a 2012 report by Dr Elizabeth Haywood, City-regions, which suggested that city regions be created in the south east of Wales and Swansea Bay and that the existing Mersey Dee Alliance be strengthened in the north east of Wales.
He said that he had recently met with UK Government Minister Neil O’Brien, the Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, to discuss how such a cross-border city region might be pursued.
“I strongly urge my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to work with colleagues in the Welsh Government to reassess that report and to work to create that city region, with a formalised role for the Mersey Dee Alliance, to produce coordinated policies for the whole region,” he said.
“I think the proposal has widespread support in north Wales and north-west England, and it would do a great deal to improve still further the economic potential of what is already one of the most important industrial areas of the country.”
Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes said that he supported the proposal, saying that “such cross-border interaction is vital for my Clwyd South constituency”.
Currently, there are two city deals and two growth deals in operation in Wales, which are agreements between the UK Government, Welsh Government, and the local authorities in the city region.
The Cardiff City Region deal covers ten local authorities in the south-east of Wales, and includes a £1.2 billion investment fund. The Swansea City Deal covers the local authorities of Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and City and County of Swansea and ncludes £1.3 billion in funding.
A North Wales Growth Deal was signed in December 2020 and covers the local authorities of Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey and Wrexham County Borough.
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As Riff Raff said, “I think you’d better…….”
Dim. No. Nope. Not the one. What Cymru needs is a super modern infrastructure plan that uses tried and tested transport technologies (so no monorails, hyperloops or other nonsensical technogrifts, I’m looking at you when I say that Elon Musk) in innovating and exciting ways so that Cymru may have a greater cohesion that serves the modern citizen of Wales and has minimal impact on the environment. If we were to build a new city it would have to be within the existing borders of Cymru, involve only local Welsh companies exclusively where possible, it would have to be an… Read more »
Yet another attack on Wales as a country, there was some idiot commenting on here yesterday, denying any comparison between the language used by Russia against Ukraine and the language used by westminster against Wales, all you need to do is open your eyes and stop drinking the cool aid?
Nay nay and thrice nay
A non starter for several reasons, and the first being, that Hart, the viceroy, by his own admission, knows very little of how government works.
Oh dear David …suggest you pop over to the Wirral or Chester areas and ask their views. 🤡 – you may get a shock !
. Suggest you keep to your Colwyn Bay base and await the next election ☝️
This is definitely not in the interests of the people of Wales
When our border and our nation are sovereign let’s hope that this specimen is on the other side of it.
This sounds a decent idea, North Wales taking over Liverpool. Though I don’t know what the mayor would think when we took his budget off him.
Someone who lives in cloud cuckoo land. The worst ever Secretary of state for Wales that we have ever had, even worst than John Redwood. An MP who was encouraging his Colwyn Bay constituents to follow English Covid restrictions rather than the Welsh Government. Unprincipled, arrogant and cretinous.
Years ago, my idea was for a coastal city, say, Prestatyn – Conwy. Idea was attract small industry due to obvious leasure attractions for owners. These other ideas are more like big slums in the making. I won’t say where, but any architecture follower will know of the current title holders?
David Jones is a serial offender on this. “Mr England and Wales” as some called him when he was Secretary of State. This is all part of the levelling down Wales agenda to portray our nation as a Brit region. A genuine existential threat that we should all take very seriously.
I reckon the Tory Unioinists sit in a small room and plot means of eradicating Wales. Putin with tanks Westminster Unionists with a cup of tea and a laptop, the same agenda just different country and method.
I wish David Jones would devote his energy to Colwyn Bay instead – in his own constituency. Several streets are filthy, the antisocial behaviour is becoming frightening and there are strong smells of drugs wafting from several buildings along the main road through the town!