A local Assembly Member has led a debate put forward by the Welsh Conservatives in the National Assembly on the rural economy which focussed on the wide-ranging issues affecting rural Wales including agriculture, broadband and community banking.
Russell George, AM for Montgomeryshire has called on the Welsh Government to do more for those living and working in rural Wales.
Focussing his remarks on the current Superfast Cymru broadband rollout and the recent spate of bank closures in Montgomeryshire, Russell George said:
"The BT Superfast Cymru project is clearly a very ambitious scheme in that it aims to deliver fibre broadband at a minimum speed of 24 Mbit/s to 96% of the Welsh population by June 2016. I welcome this ambition as it has the potential to revitalise the economy of Mid Wales.
"I welcome that many more people in Montgomeryshire now have access to superfast broadband.
"However, I am also fearful that rural areas of Montgomeryshire will be left behind and that the digital divide between rural and urban areas of Wales will expand, leaving businesses in Montgomeryshire at a competitive disadvantage compared to their urban counterparts in Cardiff and Swansea.
"I’m also aware that some industry commentators believe that the Superfast Cymru project will fall significantly short of its ambitious target with 170,000 premises in Wales missing out.
"This is why I have called for the Welsh Government and BT to publish a detailed timetable for the rollout of the remainder of the project to provide clarity to residents and businesses in rural areas who are yet to benefit from a broadband upgrade."
Montgomeryshire has also suffered recently from the regrettable recent closure of several high street banks in Llanidloes, Montgomery and Llanfair Caereinion. With the closure of the HSBC branch in Machynlleth imminent, Mr George added:
"A vibrant rural economy is vital for economic prosperity and nowhere is that more clear than in community banking. Bank closures are often the death knell for rural communities and we need the Welsh Government to step up to the plate and facilitate a new model of community banking to ensure that this trend doesn’t continue.
"The combination of bank closures has the potential to devastate Montgomeryshire’s town centres and have a detrimental effect on residents and businesses.
"Small businesses, particularly those engaged in retail activity, third sector organisations and elderly or disabled residents are the most disadvantaged by bank branch closures and online or mobile branch banking does not always adequately replace permanent high street facilities.
"I recognise the pressure which high street banks are under as a result of technological developments and other factors. All the more reason for them to come together to explore a new innovative model of community banking which will see them share buildings and services to ensure they continue to serve their customers in rural areas of Mid Wales."