English: Thank you, Llywydd, and thank you, Laura, for giving me a minute of your time. No doubt, there will be some things that will be repeated among the contributions. Two years of pandemic and the growing trend of online shopping have added to the changing way that people use our towns. This has brought huge challenges to our high streets and its businesses. But, businesses can't address the future alone. Concerted efforts from the Welsh Government, together with local authorities, need to be stepped up throughout Wales. We can see, just by looking at Abergavenny, what a vibrant high street can look like. It is becoming widely recognised that, to re-energise our high streets and towns, we need to transform them into something more than just traditional town centres, changing them into vibrant, popular visitor destinations. The ambience of the town, the wide variety of experience that it offers, its diverse hospitality sector, its niche shopping experiences and the coffee shops are the ingredients to making a successful visitor attraction. But, we need short-term incentives to help these sites, such as continued relief with stifling business rates. We welcome what is happening at the moment in Wales, but that needs to be continued, and also looking at things, as I have raised here in the Chamber with the Minister for Economy, like the high-street voucher scheme, where we can enable people to invest and spend in their local high street. However, the immediate priority has to be getting adequate financial support into the businesses that have been hit most. If Ministers fail to do this in a way that truly recognises the difficulties they face, the very fabric that makes our towns what they are will be lost. We must guard against Wales being haunted by any ghost towns.
Welsh: Diolch, Lywydd, a diolch, Laura, am roi munud o'ch amser i mi. Mae'n siŵr y bydd rhai pethau'n cael eu hailadrodd yn y cyfraniadau. Mae dwy flynedd o bandemig a'r duedd gynyddol o siopa ar-lein wedi ychwanegu at y newid yn y ffordd y mae pobl yn defnyddio ein trefi. Mae hyn wedi creu heriau enfawr i'n strydoedd mawr a'u busnesau. Ond ni all busnesau wynebu'r dyfodol ar eu pen eu hunain. Mae angen cynyddu ymdrechion Llywodraeth Cymru, ynghyd ag awdurdodau lleol, ledled Cymru. Gallwn weld, drwy edrych ar y Fenni, sut y gall stryd fawr fywiog edrych. Cydnabyddir yn gyffredinol, er mwyn ail-egnïo ein strydoedd mawr a'n trefi, fod angen inni eu trawsnewid yn rhywbeth mwy na chanol trefi traddodiadol yn unig, fod angen inni eu newid yn gyrchfannau bywiog a phoblogaidd i ymwelwyr. Awyrgylch y dref, yr amrywiaeth eang o brofiad y mae'n ei chynnig, ei sector lletygarwch amrywiol, ei phrofiadau siopa arbenigol a'r siopau coffi yw'r cynhwysion i wneud atyniad llwyddiannus i ymwelwyr. Ond mae angen cymhellion tymor byr i helpu'r safleoedd hyn, megis rhyddhad parhaus i ardrethi busnes sy'n llyffetheirio. Rydym yn croesawu'r hyn sy'n digwydd ar hyn o bryd yng Nghymru, ond mae angen parhau â hynny, ac edrych ar bethau, fel y nodais yma yn y Siambr wrth Weinidog yr Economi, fel y cynllun talebau stryd fawr, lle y gallwn alluogi pobl i fuddsoddi a gwario ar eu stryd fawr leol. Fodd bynnag, y flaenoriaeth uniongyrchol yw cael cymorth ariannol digonol i'r busnesau sydd wedi cael eu taro waethaf. Os bydd Gweinidogion yn methu gwneud hyn mewn ffordd sy'n cydnabod o ddifrif yr anawsterau y maent yn eu hwynebu, fe gollir yr union wead sy'n gwneud ein trefi yr hyn ydynt. Rhaid inni warchod rhag creu trefi anghyfannedd yng Nghymru.