A Greenprint for the Valleys - Plaid Cymru

Introduction
Plaid Cymru recognises the need for urgent and direct action to reverse the decadeslong
structural neglect and decline in the upper parts of the valleys.
For there to be a future for the valleys, those people unable to commute easily to work
because of their distance from Cardiff need local jobs in flourishing and vibrant
communities which can offer a future for their children.
This ‘Greenprint’ suggests ideas for the development of a plan that aims to bring
together the natural, human and communal resources that are readily available in every
community throughout the valleys. By pooling our collective skills and resources, we
have the potential to create job and training opportunities, better homes, more
transport options, cheaper energy and food as well as stimulating the local economy and
cutting our green­house gas emissions, thereby helping Wales’s contribution towards
the future wellbeing of the planet.
Together, can we build the foundations for the creation of a radically different economic
infrastructure based on the values of co­operation, self­sufficiency and living within our
means, both individually and ecologically?
In drawing up these proposals, inspiration has been provided by the ideas of DJ and
Noelle Davies, early pioneers of Plaid Cymru; Robert Owen, the ‘grandfather of cooperatives’;
Raymond Williams; the Transition Towns Movement; the voluntary sector;
the 1930s New Deal in the USA, in particular the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA); the
Women’s Land Army’s ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign; the Green Valley project in Brecon
and a multitude of small­scale community co­operatives, social enterprises and
networks that exist all over Wales and beyond.
Can we put our collective ideas into action in a defined area in the upper parts of the
valleys, with proven successes being rolled out more widely throughout Wales? Plaid
Cymru wants to hear your thoughts and ideas. What would encourage you to get
involved? Please send us your views.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Leanne Wood AM, Plaid Cymru
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