Environmental questions raised by new road building proposals for Wales

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A third Menai crossing in north Wales and a roads-based solution for the M4 around Newport in south Wales were announced by Deputy Transport Minister Mark Hooper in the Senedd.

Former Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford shelved plans for an M4 relief road around the city in 2019, citing environmental concerns.

Mr Hooper gave the go-ahead for a third Menai crossing to Anglesey and said an 18-month review would look at plans for a roads-based solution for the M4.

The minister said this would be in conjunction with a programme of other transport measures, like new railway stations and rail services in south Wales.

Mr Hooper said: “People want action, not endless discussion. We will carry out an 18-month study to consider a range of road-based solutions for the M4 around Newport.

“People on Ynys Mon and across the north of Wales have waited a long time for greater certainty about the future of the crossings.”

A Friends of the Earth Cymru spokesperson said: “We acknowledge that congestion on the M4 in south-east Wales during rush hour periods can be disruptive.”

But FoE said the long-term solutions lie in the range of measures highlighted in the Lord Burns report to ease congestion on the motorway.

Proposals included building new railway stations, rapid bus lanes, cycle lanes and improved rail services and bus networks.

Future generations commissioner for Wales Derek Walker said: “Welsh government transport plans must pass the future generations test.

“We cannot afford to go backwards on transport, particularly when a previous review into M4 congestion at Newport has already pointed towards more sustainable solutions.

“People were promised better public transport when the M4 relief road was roundly rejected.

“A third Menai crossing that improves connectivity for people today must fulfil Wales’s legal obligations to future generations, and I have written to the minister to ask how he has taken the Act into account.”

Welsh Labour’s Vikki Howells said: “It’s taken the Plaid government five months to realise there’s a traffic problem in Newport, and now it’s taking them another 18 months to come up with some answers.

“Since all Plaid seem capable of is yet another review, ministers should now devolve this decision out to local leaders, so people in Newport aren’t made to wait even longer for action.”

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