This week Robin secured a debate in Parliament under the motion “this House has considered the strategic importance of the North Wales Coast Line to the United Kingdom.” Robin secured the debate following his request in Parliament last month that the West Coast Main Line be rebranded as the North Wales and West Coast Mainline to reflect North Wales’ strategic importance. During the debate, Robin called for investment into North Wales’ rail connectivity to be prioritised, highlighted the disparity between investment into South and North Wales over recent decades and repeated his call for the renaming of the West Coast Mainline franchise.
Opening the debate, Robin said:
“In my first words in Parliament, delivered a month after being elected to represent the people of Aberconwy, I highlighted how: ‘In the past 20 years, the people of north Wales, and the people of Aberconwy, have grown used to being overlooked and underfunded.
“In December 2019, constituencies and communities across north Wales had elected a blue wall of Welsh Conservative MPs, which stretched from Clwyd South and Wrexham in the east right across to Ynys Môn in the west. Like all my Conservative colleagues in North Wales, I am determined to secure the opportunities of the levelling-up agenda, which was at the heart of the 2019 manifesto. It is inevitable, then, that much of our focus has been on the strategic north Wales coast main line. We seek investment for it as a key part of securing levelling up in north Wales.”
After highlighting the disparity in investment in rail infrastructure between North and South Wales, Robin commented:
“In recent months, we have seen more evidence of this disparity. The consequences of north Wales being overlooked and underfunded have been highlighted in two incidents: the closure by the Welsh Government of the Menai suspension bridge between Anglesey and the mainland, and the effective relegation of the north Wales coast main line to branch-line status by the withdrawal of through-train services from Holyhead to London.
“For so many across north Wales, levelling up is so much more than the investment, jobs and opportunities that it promises. It is something that I have personal experience of: the chance to stay at home in our communities. I am a proud Welshman—born, raised and schooled in Bangor—but like so many of my friends and so many who I speak to today, we still have to choose to move away to pursue a career. Levelling up would mean it would not have to be that way.”
In his closing remarks, Robin concluded by saying:
“Sir Peter Hendy in his Union Connectivity Review prioritised investment in the north Wales Main Line. Realising the benefits of HS2 only underlines the importance of priority investment in the North Wales Main Line. The positive impacts on residents, visitors, students, business and the environment have all been set out for that investment.”
Aelod Seneddol Aberconwy yn galw am flaenoriaethu buddsoddiad i Reilffordd Arfordir Gogledd Cymru
Yr wythnos hon, sicrhaodd Robin Millar, sef AS Aberconwy, ddadl yn y Senedd dan y cynnig “mae’r Tŷ hwn wedi ystyried pwysigrwydd strategol Rheilffordd Arfordir Gogledd Cymru i’r Deyrnas Unedig.” Sicrhaodd Robin y ddadl yn dilyn ei gais yn y Senedd fis diwethaf i Brif Reilffordd Arfordir y Gorllewin gael ei ail-frandio fel Prif Reilffordd Arfordir y Gogledd a’r Gorllewin i adlewyrchu pwysigrwydd strategol Gogledd Cymru. Yn ystod y ddadl, galwodd Robin am flaenoriaethu buddsoddiad yng nghysylltedd rheilffyrdd Gogledd Cymru, tynnodd sylw at y gwahaniaeth rhwng buddsoddiad yn Ne a Gogledd Cymru dros y degawdau diwethaf ac ailadroddodd ei alwad am newid enw masnachfraint Prif Reilffordd Arfordir y Gorllewin.
Wrth agor y ddadl, dywedodd Robin:
“Yn fy ngeiriau cyntaf yn y Senedd, fis ar ôl cael fy ethol i gynrychioli pobl Aberconwy, tynnais sylw at y canlynol: ‘Dros y 20 mlynedd diwethaf, mae pobl Gogledd Cymru a phobl Aberconwy wedi arfer cael eu hesgeuluso a’u tanariannu.
“Ym mis Rhagfyr 2019, roedd etholaethau a chymunedau ledled gogledd Cymru wedi dewis wal las o Aelodau Seneddol Ceidwadol, a oedd yn ymestyn o Dde Clwyd a Wrecsam yn y dwyrain i Ynys Môn yn y gorllewin. Fel fy nghyd-aelodau Ceidwadol yng Ngogledd Cymru, rwy’n benderfynol o sicrhau'r cyfleoedd sydd ar gael drwy’r agenda ffyniant bro, a oedd wrth wraidd maniffesto 2019. Mae’n anochel, felly, ein bod wedi canolbwyntio cymaint ar brif reilffordd strategol arfordir y gogledd. Rydym yn chwilio am fuddsoddiad ar ei gyfer er mwyn sicrhau ffyniant bro yng ngogledd Cymru.”
Ar ôl tynnu sylw at y gwahaniaeth yn y buddsoddiad mewn seilwaith rheilffyrdd rhwng Gogledd a De Cymru, dywedodd Robin:
“Dros y misoedd diwethaf, rydym wedi gweld mwy o dystiolaeth o’r gwahaniaeth hwn. Mae canlyniadau diystyru a thanariannu gogledd Cymru wedi cael eu hamlygu mewn dau ddigwyddiad: Llywodraeth Cymru yn cau pont grog Menai rhwng Ynys Môn a’r tir mawr, a’r ffaith bod prif reilffordd arfordir gogledd Cymru wedi’i israddio i statws llinell gangen drwy dynnu gwasanaethau uniongyrchol o Gaergybi i Lundain.
“Ar gyfer llawer o bobl ledled Gogledd Cymru, mae ffyniant bro yn golygu llawer mwy na’r buddsoddiad, y swyddi a’r cyfleoedd y mae’n eu haddo. Mae’n rhywbeth y mae gennyf brofiad personol ohono: y cyfle i aros gartref yn ein cymunedau. Rwy’n falch o fod yn Gymro—wedi fy ngeni, fy magu a’m haddysgu ym Mangor—ond fel llawer o’m ffrindiau a’r bobl rwy’n siarad â nhw, rydym yn dal i orfod dewis symud i ffwrdd i ddilyn gyrfa. Byddai ffyniant bro yn golygu na fyddai’n rhaid i ni wneud hynny.”
Gorffennodd Robin drwy ddweud:
“Yn ei Adolygiad o Gysylltedd yr Undeb, roedd Syr Peter Hendy yn rhoi blaenoriaeth i fuddsoddi ym Mhrif Reilffordd gogledd Cymru. Nid yw gwireddu manteision HS2 ond yn tanlinellu pa mor bwysig yw blaenoriaethu buddsoddiad ym Mhrif Reilffordd Gogledd Cymru. Mae’r effeithiau cadarnhaol ar breswylwyr, ymwelwyr, myfyrwyr, busnesau a’r amgylchedd i gyd wedi cael eu nodi ar gyfer y buddsoddiad hwnnw.”