The Welsh Local Government Association’s Rural Forum is made up of the Leaders of the nine rural authorities – Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Ceredigion, Powys, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Monmouthshire. The Rural Forum have been working in Partnership with Aberystwyth University on developing a ‘Vision for Rural Wales’ outlining the challenges, opportunities and Key Policy Asks to develop a thriving Rural Wales. This project is a Horizon 2020 funded project, titled Rural-Urban linkages (ROBUST) with 11 different European partners.
This first digital discussion kicks off a series of podcasts to disseminate the learning from the ROBUST project in Wales, particularly focusing on the key themes of the Rural Vision for Wales. The focus of this initial discussion is to highlight the role of local authorities in rural economic development, how the Rural Vision was produced with cross-party support across rural authorities, and an initial introduction to the key themes.