Pontypridd MP Champions Former Coalfield Communities at Event in Parliament

Alex Davies-Jones MP, Member of Parliament for Pontypridd, hosted an event on Wednesday evening in Parliament celebrating former coalfield communities like Pontypridd.

Last night (30th November), the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Coalfield Communities and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT), together with support from the Industrial Communities Alliance (ICA) held a “Celebrating the Coalfields” event in Westminster to highlight the positive work being done to improve communities in former coalfield areas.

It saw a number of community groups across the UK meet with Alex Davies-Jones MP and other Parliamentarians to showcase the good work being done by Third Sector organisations in former coalfield communities.

As well as celebrating the work of these organisations, the reception provided a foundation to reinvigorate the work of the Coalfield Communities APPG under Alex Davies-Jones as its Chair.

The event came in the same week as National Coalfields Day (29th November) which shared the same theme as last night’s Parliamentary event. It also served to promote the Coalfield Communities APPG inquiry into levelling up former coalfield communities, with attendees encouraged to provide evidence by visiting
appgcoalfields.co.uk.

The event also allowed the Coalfields Regeneration Trust to promote its £15 million offer to the Government to be match funded to create a £30 million fund to generate jobs and economic growth in former coalfield communities. This would be achieved through the CRT building industrial starter units for SMEs and reinvesting the rental income from these units into social programmes to support people into work.

Alex Davies-Jones MP, Member of Parliament for Pontypridd and Chair of the Coalfield Communities All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) said:

“I was delighted to host such an uplifting and inspirational event, showcasing the good work being done in former coalfield communities. The Coalfields Regeneration Trust do vital work in communities like ours and I am delighted to support and celebrate that good work.

“As Chair of the Coalfield Communities APPG, I know how important it is for MPs from our coalfield communities to come together to stand up for the people we represent so I would like to thank all community groups and fellow MPs for attending this important event.

“We share so many challenges, but our communities have a strength of character and a proud heritage which we can use to build a better future with the help of organisations like the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and the grassroots community groups who joined us at this event.”

Gary Ellis, Chief Executive of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust said:

“I would like to thank all of those MPs and Parliamentarians who joined us for the Celebrating the Coalfields event. In particular, I would like to thank Alex Davies-Jones MP for her dedicated support to the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and her leadership of the Coalfield Communities APPG. The Coalfield Communities APPG gives the communities we serve an important voice at the heart of Westminster.”

Cllr Keith Cunliffe, Chair of the Industrial Communities Alliance (ICA) said:

“As the Secretariat for the Coalfield Communities APPG, we are pleased to have supported the Celebrating the Coalfields event.
“Our communities face many of the shared challenges and are too often overlooked, so it is when we all stand together – celebrating the good and demanding better – that we can achieve the greatest good for former industrial areas.”