00:00Well, I think we were obviously concerned as an organisation because naturally we knew the impact that it would have on the canal and on its users.
00:10I think today kind of demonstrates the fact that a whole range of users that have come here from whole tyre companies, people that live on the canal businesses, shops and pubs etc.
00:23As well as the canal societies, to see such a turnout today really shows the importance of the canal to the local community and the value that it is.
00:34Because we know that the canal is worth £30 million in local economy, 3 million visitors to it last year.
00:41It runs to the heart of the record because that's the park, so tourism is important, the heritage of it, the environment.
00:47And I think what we're hoping from the fact that the debate is happening today, that as Councillor Jan Butler and Mark put forward those questions to them,
00:59to get the response that we did in such a short period of time is absolutely fantastic and just shows how important the canal is to the local community.
01:07And I think what we're hoping from today's debate is that the Welsh Government will bring together those organisations, you know,
01:17National Resources Wales through Cymru because there is a solution.
01:21At Canal River Trust we are having to put in shorter measures, we've made adjustments, we've found funding for this year,
01:31but of course it means that you're robbing people to pay Paul, that you're needing to take money from one area and we can't sustain that.
01:38So it's about finding a sustainable solution to the question of the water resource.
01:45We want to see a healthy us, you know, we don't want to pit the canal against the river, everybody wants to see a healthy river us.
01:53But at the same time, they're kind of complementary for systems, they're not competitive in any way, they've been complementary for 225 years.
02:02And, you know, there's a solution that needs to be found that is not one that puts the burden of responsibility for the cost onto the Canal River Trust,
02:13because as a charity we can't afford that long term, saying we've put in the short term measures,
02:19but it's about finding, from today's debate, a step forward to finding a sustainable solution to the abstract solutions for the long term.
