The Welsh Government has today published the final version of Future Wales: the national plan 2040 | GOV.WALES together with an updated Planning policy Wales | GOV.WALES, now PPW11.  The Wales Spatial Plan and TAN 8 (Renewable Energy) are revoked and PPW10 is superseded.

After nearly a year of providing £50 million of emergency heritage support to over 950 organisations in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the National Heritage Lottery Fund has reopened its funding for new projects with grants from £3,000 to £5 million.   More information can be found on the National Lottery Heritage Fund website.

Welsh Government plans for a default 20mph speed limit on Welsh roads have moved a step closer as eight pilot areas to trial the change have been confirmed. The pilot areas include Abergavenny and Severnside and will have a phased start from this summer until the end of the year. They come ahead of the planned national rollout for April 2023, and will help develop enforcement arrangements and overcome unforeseen issues before the full rollout.  The pilots will focus on community engagement, meaning that as well as developing enforcement arrangements they will communicate the value of the new speed limit, making the case for reduced speed leading to more cohesive and safe communities.  The County Council made bids for the pilots and will implement them.

Monmouthshire County Council is to host a series of online discussion and information sessions aimed at small community growers, market gardeners, allotment holders and traditional farms in addition to businesses interested in using local produce. Featuring key speakers, the first session will be held at 4pm on Thursday 18th February and it will open discussion on key aspects of food development in the county. The meeting will be held via the Microsoft Teams communication platform.

Businesses and producers interested in participating in the first session should contact Monmouthshire’s Rural Food Development Officer, Deserie Mansfield – DeserieMansfield@monmouthshire.gov.uk – or telephone 07816 066046 by 12noon on Thursday 18th February.

Welsh Government has set out its legal commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, but is pushing to “get there sooner” as it gets ready for COP26 (26th United Nations’ Climate Change Conference of the Parties) in November. The move comes following a recommendation by the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC), that revealed net zero emissions, previously thought unachievable and unaffordable by experts, was now possible with ambitious policy and a ‘Team Wales’ effort.  The new evidence from the CCC says greater reductions within the industrial sector will help achieve this goal, as a large proportion of Welsh emissions come from a small number of big emitters, such as Port Talbot steelworks.

The report also highlights the need for everyone in Wales to do their bit to drive emissions down, with more than half of the recommendations being partly or fully driven by societal or behavioural changes.

Welsh Government has already announced a suite of measures this year to respond to the climate emergency and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.  These include plans on achieving cleaner air, putting an end to harmful agricultural pollution, a decisive shift away from fossil fuel extraction and towards green energy, working towards a net zero public sector in Wales by 2030, and going beyond recycling and making Wales a zero waste nation.

The Minister’s statement is at Written Statement: Wales’ pathway to achieve net zero emissions (9 February 2021) | GOV.WALES