English: My comments relate to section 2 of the motion, which refers to parking charges. Empty town centres and boarded-up shops are an all too familiar sight across Wales, despite attempts to liven things up with a little bit of tinsel and Christmas lights at this time of year. The decline of the high street across Wales reminds us that we need a strategy from the Government to support local businesses in our communities. As we've heard, it is becoming increasingly difficult for commercial operators to survive on the high street. Whilst developments on the outskirts of towns flourish, and online shopping is on the increase, high-street retailers are seeking support from Welsh Government. In my constituency, in Bangor, one in five shops is empty, although I have to say that there are signs that things are improving since establishing the business improvement district in that area. In another town, Caernarfon, it's a story of success as independent, niche operators create excitement. So, the picture isn't an entirely bleak one. Following an agreement on the budget between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Government, a fund of £3 million has been established that will enable local authorities to pilot the use of parking facilities for free in town centres across Wales. This will also enable local authorities to assess the actual effect of this on the regeneration of town centres. I hasten to add that it's not free parking every hour of the day, every day of the week, every week of the year, in all car parks: that isn't the answer. That's not a realistic thing, to start off with, and it could also militate against the intention, with office workers misusing the scheme and parking there through the day, for example, meaning that there wouldn't be room for people who want to come to the town centres to shop. Evidence from Welsh Government itself has shown that out-of-town destinations that offer free parking benefit at the expense of town centres. Lots of councils across Wales do offer free parking schemes over the Christmas period in an attempt to attract people to spend their money in town centres. Gwynedd Council, for example, this week has stated that it wants to offer free parking across the county to encourage people to visit our town centres over the Christmas period. But what our motion today notes is our success in establishing a new fund that will allow local authorities to offer free parking facilities at specific times in towns across Wales. In Plaid Cymru's opinion, this will be a fund that will allow local authorities to make a bid for a grant to offer free parking for a few hours to support towns that really need that support. We would need specific criteria to ensure that specific towns qualify for this scheme. I think that the best way forward would be to create a pot of money that local authorities could bid for, and then to have criteria for the funds. For example, a council would put a bid in for £100,000, say, to offer free parking for three hours a day for a year in a small, convenient car park near the town centre, and the funds then would go partly to compensate the council for the fees that they would lose. The bids would have to be measured against criteria - for example, a high street that has lost such and such amount of footfall for such and such a time, a car park near the high street, and an explanation of why the council thinks that it would make a difference. The council would have to measure the success of the scheme as well in order to increase the evidence available related to the effectiveness of offering free parking in increasing use. The fund should allow councils to trial the scheme in specific areas. So, that's an outline of some ideas about how we should go about implementing this fund, and we look forward to being part of that discussion, if possible, so that we do develop a scheme that is viable and is genuinely going to have an effect., We need a holistic strategy to regenerate our high streets. Offering free car parking as a policy on its own, of course, isn't going to solve the whole problem. But Welsh Government does need to try and pilot these kinds of alternative schemes to try to overturn this historic decline.
Welsh: Mae fy sylwadau i yn ymwneud â chymal 2 yn y cynnig, sy'n cyfeirio at barcio. Mae canol trefi gwag a siopau wedi'u bordio i fyny yn olygfa sy'n llawer rhy gyfarwydd ar draws Cymru, er gwaethaf ymdrechion i fywiogi pethau efo ychydig bach o dinsel a goleuadau'r Nadolig yr adeg yma o'r flwyddyn. Mae dirywiad cyson y stryd fawr ledled Cymru yn ein hatgoffa bod angen strategaeth gan y Llywodraeth er mwyn cefnogi busnesau lleol yn ein cymunedau. Fel yr ydym ni wedi'i glywed, mae'n dod yn gynyddol anodd i fasnachwyr oroesi ar y stryd fawr. Tra bod datblygiadau ar gyrion trefi yn ffynnu, a siopa ar-lein ar gynnydd, mae masnachwyr y stryd fawr yn crefu am gefnogaeth gan Lywodraeth Cymru. Yn fy etholaeth i, ym Mangor, mae un o bob pum siop yn wag, er mae'n rhaid imi ddweud fod yna arwyddion bod pethau'n gwella er sefydlu'r ardal gwella busnes yn y ddinas. Mewn tref arall, Caernarfon, stori o ffyniant sydd i'w gweld wrth i fusnesau bach annibynnol, 'niche', greu bwrlwm. Felly, nid ydy'r darlun yn un cwbl ddu. Yn dilyn cytundeb ar y gyllideb rhwng Plaid Cymru a Llywodraeth Cymru, mae cronfa o £3 miliwn wedi cael ei sefydlu a fydd yn galluogi awdurdodau lleol i beilota defnyddio cyfleusterau parcio ceir am ddim yng nghanol trefi ledled Cymru. Bydd hefyd yn galluogi awdurdodau i asesu gwir effaith hyn ar adfywio canol trefi. Rwy'n prysuro i ychwanegu nad parcio am ddim pob awr o'r dydd pob dydd o'r flwyddyn ym mhob maes parcio ydy'r ateb. I ddechrau, nid yw hynny'n beth realistig, a gallai o hefyd filwrio yn erbyn y bwriad, efo gweithwyr swyddfa yn camddefnyddio'r cynllun, ac yn parcio yna drwy'r dydd, er enghraifft, gan olygu na fydd yna le i bobl sydd am ddod i mewn i'r canol i siopa. Mae tystiolaeth gan Lywodraeth Cymru ei hun wedi dangos bod cyrchfannau y tu allan i ganol trefi sy'n cynnig parcio am ddim ar eu hennill ar draul canol y trefi. Mae llawer o gynghorau ledled Cymru yn cynnig parcio am ddim am gyfnod dros ŵyl y Nadolig mewn ymdrech i ddenu pobl i wario yng nghanol eu trefi. Mae Cyngor Gwynedd, er enghraifft, yr wythnos yma wedi datgan ei fod am gynnig parcio am ddim ledled y sir er mwyn hybu mwy o bobl i ymweld â'n trefi ni yn ystod y Nadolig. Ond beth mae ein cynnig ni heddiw yn ei nodi yw ein llwyddiant ni i sefydlu cronfa newydd a fydd yn galluogi awdurdodau lleol i gynnig cyfleusterau parcio am ddim ar adegau penodol mewn trefi ledled Cymru. Ym marn Plaid Cymru, cronfa fyddai hon a fyddai'n galluogi awdurdodau lleol i wneud cais am grant er mwyn cynnig parcio am ddim am ychydig oriau ar gyfer cefnogi trefi sydd wir angen y gefnogaeth yna. Mi fyddai angen meini prawf penodol er mwyn sicrhau bod trefi penodol yn gymwys. Buaswn i'n meddwl mai'r cynllun gorau fyddai creu pot o bres mae cynghorau wedyn yn bidio amdano, a bod yna feini prawf ar gael ar gyfer y pres. Er enghraifft, byddai cyngor yn rhoi bid i mewn am, dyweder, £100,000 er mwyn gallu cynnig parcio am ddim am dair awr y dydd am flwyddyn mewn maes parcio bychan, hwylus wrth ymyl y stryd fawr, a'r arian wedyn yn mynd yn rhannol i ddigolledu'r cyngor am y ffioedd y maen nhw'n eu colli. Mi fyddai angen i'r bidiau gael eu mesur yn erbyn meini prawf - er enghraifft, stryd fawr sydd wedi colli hyn a hyn o 'footfall' ers hyn a hyn o amser, maes parcio a fyddai'n agos at y stryd fawr, ac eglurhad ynghylch pam fod y cyngor yn meddwl y byddai'n gwneud gwahaniaeth. Byddai angen i'r cyngor orfod mesur llwyddiant y cynllun hefyd er mwyn cynyddu'r dystiolaeth sydd ar gael ynglŷn ag effeithlonrwydd cynnig parcio am ddim er mwyn cynyddu defnydd. Dylai'r gronfa alluogi cynghorau sir i dreialu'r cynllun mewn llefydd penodol. Dyna amlinellu'n fras rai syniadau ynglŷn â sut y dylid mynd ati rŵan efo'r gronfa, ac fe fyddwn ni'n edrych ymlaen at fod yn rhan o'r trafod yna, os yn bosib, er mwyn i ni ddatblygu cynllun sydd yn hyfyw ac sydd wir yn mynd i gael effaith. Mae angen strategaeth gyflawn er mwyn adfywio ein strydoedd mawr. Nid ydy cynnig parcio am ddim fel polisi ar ei ben ei hun, wrth gwrs, ddim yn mynd i ddatrys yr holl broblemau. Ond mae angen i'r Llywodraeth fentro efo polisïau fel hwn - polisi amgen, gwahanol - er mwyn ceisio gwrthdroi'r dirywiad hanesyddol.