Amey Consulting sets out ambition for creating a cohesive network of thriving Welsh communities

30 Jun 2022

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Amey Consulting has today launched its second white paper on ‘Creating Cohesive Communities across the Cardiff Capital Region’.  

The paper, undertaken in collaboration with Maple Consulting, has the vision of bringing about a region of sustainable, interconnected and decarbonised communities that are responsive to the new patterns of living, work and leisure, emerging from the Coronavirus pandemic.   

Among the key recommendations are: 

• The creation of new markets for public transport  
• The development of community hubs interdependent with new and improved transport infrastructure 
• Investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure 
• Embedding the circular economy in the Cardiff Capital Region 

Crucial to success, Amey Consulting argues, will be the need to effectively distribute social, economic, and environmental value at every step of community-making processes and unlock public and private collaboration outside of specific existing infrastructure schemes.  

Speaking on the launch of the publication, Dr. Gerardo Puente Barragan, Head of Amey Place, Amey Consulting said: 

“The opportunities to create thriving and cohesive communities in Wales are significant, but they must be deliverable. While Amey Consulting’s strong presence in Wales means it is well-placed to successfully deliver integrated programmes of social, economic, environmental and transport infrastructure improvement, it cannot do it alone. The key will be to properly engage with the myriad communities, partners and stakeholders to properly understand what is truly needed and how best to deliver it, capturing added value for communities at every stage of the process. This paper starts that conversation, and I hope it will stimulate discussion that leads to real and lasting change”.  

Martin Lamb, Director, Maple Consulting said: “The pandemic has changed the way people live, work and spend leisure time in the region. These changes, coupled with the climate emergency and pressing need to decarbonise, do however, offer the opportunity to do things differently. This could imply greater use of public transport and placing it at the heart of the communities it serves, where public services, community spaces, retail and leisure offerings can be co-located appropriate to individual community’s needs.”     

The paper is the second in a series of white papers published by Amey Consulting on ‘Creating Cohesive Communities across the Cardiff Capital Region’. The first, published in January 2021, reported the findings of a consultation with 68 local organisations and captured insights from across various market sectors, focussing on infrastructure challenges in Wales and the priorities needed to aid recovery in a post-pandemic future.  

The recommendations will be explored further by Amey Consulting with the public and private sector delivery partners and the infrastructure consultancy will seek funding to take forward pathfinder projects.  

The paper was part funded by the European Regional Development Fund.  

You can download the paper here.  

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