It’s time for investment in island’s sporting facilities
I’M passionate about sport. From coaching juniors at Clwb Rygbi Llangefni to watching Cardiff City FC, from running to cycling, sport and physical activity plays a big part in my life, for its social and health benefits.
I even won another cap for ‘Wales’ last weekend, as the Assembly beat the French Parliament in a Parliamentary Six Nations encounter in Caerphilly!
Investment in better facilities is something that I have consistently pushed for in my time as your Assembly Member.
Recently I’ve been working with community groups in Holyhead and Amlwch, trying to secure new all-weather pitch facilities. I also had a very, very good meeting two weeks ago with representatives from Sport Wales and the FAW Trust on this.
Vitally, they clearly see Anglesey as a top priority for them in delivering all-weather pitches.
Last week I met again with community groups from both areas, and I’ll also be arranging meetings for clubs from both areas to discuss the projects with Sport Wales directly.
Sport Wales and the FAW Trust are very keen to work with me on this. It will take time, of course, and the way we reach the goal is likely to be different in both areas, but the key thing is that we’re heading in the right direction. It is going to take a lot of work and collaboration from Sport Wales, the FAW Trust, the County Council and many others, and I think the Anglesey Charitable Trust has a significant role to play here as well. The Charitable Trust has been a key investor in sport on the island over the years, and its funding is vital in helping to bring the Island Games to Ynys Mon in 2025.
And with those Games in mind, I strongly believe that now is the time to make a new investment in sporting facilities on the island, including significant contributions towards all-weather pitches.
I know members of the trust support this aspiration, and I’m writing to them this week to make the case for this.
Investing in all-weather pitches is the kind of investment we need to see for the wellbeing of our future generations, and to give the people of this island the best opportunities to be fit, healthy and enjoy being active through sport.
A relatively small amount of investment from the Trust could make a big difference.