This month I joined local Monmouthshire Cllr Val Smith and construction workers at a “cutting the turf” ceremony for the new vistor and watersports centre being built at at Llandegfedd Reservoir near the village of Coed y Paen in my constituency.

It’s an exciting project that has (for different reasons!) been 40 years in the offing. When it’s finished next Autumn the state of the art facility will provide a welcome refuge for visitors and water-users alike. This centre together with other potential developments such as circular walks around the area will greatly enhance the reservoir as a tourist destination.

The visitor centre is not the only engineering project I visited recently. As Chair of the Assembly’s Business and Enterprise Committee I was also invited to the Severn Tunnel to discuss the challenges posed by electrification of the Great Western Rail Line, a welcome and vital upgrade to one of the key transport routes into Wales which promises major benefits for our economy.

The 4 mile 628 yard long tunnel is a remarkable engineering feat and a testament to the vision and ability of the Victorian engineers who built it way back in the 1880s.

It’s well documented that their job was massively complicated when in 1879 workers broke through the “Great Spring” leading to the loss of a number of brave workers’ lives and delaying completion of the tunnel for over a year.

What’s lesser known is that some of the huge quantity of water still being pumped out of the tunnel night and day is used by the Coors brewery in Magor as it’s hard and perfectly suited to brewing.

The importance of brewing and pubs to the economy was highlighted at a recent “Pub is the Hub” Campaign at the Assembly. Pub is the Hub helps local pubs diversify when they are often the only community facilities left in rural areas when shops and post offices have closed.

Some pubs are opening convenience stores in their premises, post office counter services and also educational facilities surrounding local history. Some pubs are even home to libraries. This is how a community working together can strengthen and grow. As the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibson said: “A community is like a ship, everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm”.

If you are involved in running a rural pub and would like to know more then please contact www.pubisthehub.org.uk.

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