Funding decision likely to mean axe for road plan
THE Welsh Government has said it will not fund a proposed controversial new road.
The road in the Vale of Glamorgan would link Sycamore Cross on the A48 with Junction 34 of the M4, but there has been a campaign against the plans and a 12-week public consultation last year raised concerns about the impact on the environment and local communities.
The proposals have drawn criticism from villagers in Pendoylan whose houses would be knocked down, cyclists using country lanes which could be blocked off, and Coed Cymru which has warned that ancient woodland would be felled to make way for the road.
Now, the Welsh Government is pulling funding as part of its new Transport Strategy that was announced on Friday, making it unlikely that the plan will go ahead.
In a letter, Economy Minister Ken Skates said: “I can confirm that the Welsh Government will not continue to provide funding to the Vale of Glamorgan Council for further WeITAG work on ‘Transport Improvements from Junction 34 to A48,’ as the scheme is not in line with our grant criteria or the transport policy framework we have set in the Llwybr Newydd.”
Vale of Glamorgan MS Jane Hutt, who has campaigned against the plans, said: “Good news thanks to the Vale community campaign I backed and supported! Good news for the environment and future generations.”
The case for the road was that it would improve transport across the region, including to Cardiff Airport, St Athans Enterprise Zone, and new housing developments.
But it would probably cost around £66m to build, and was dependent on funding from the Welsh Government.
In response to the news that the funding was no longer being provided, one campaigner said: “Fantastic news.
“This scheme was utterly, utterly pointless.
“Regardless if there was anticipated extra demand from the Valleys via Miskin,
a short five-minute journey east or west at that junction would give people the option of joining either the A48 or the A4232.”
In a report to the council’s cabinet, which meets today, detailed responses were given to the main concerns raised in the consultation.
The Vale of Glamorgan Council has said transport planners must analyse further how the road would fit in with the new context of Covid-19 and the climate emergency.
The cabinet will be asked to approve this further analysis, before moving on to writing up a full business case for the road.
Responding to the report, campaigners against the project have renewed calls for the Vale Council to scrap the plans for the road altogether.
A spokesperson for Vale Communities for Future Generations said: “Why the Vale of Glamorgan council is persisting in wasting public money on keeping this outdated road plan alive is hard to understand.
“The sheer volume of recent objections to the proposal clearly indicates the public has other priorities.
“The original 2017 Vale council assumption was that the road was needed for better vehicle access to Cardiff Airport – which was denied by the airport management.
“Since then the airport’s passenger numbers have shrunk, millions of pounds of public money has been spent by the Welsh Government on propping it up financially and the future of air travel globally is uncertain post Covid-19 pandemic.
“These are hardly the circumstances under which to continue promoting an expensive and environmentally destructive road building plan that was developed before the Vale of Glamorgan council and the Welsh Government declared a climate emergency in 2019.”
The spokesperson added: “It is time for this plan to be recognised as a prime example of outdated thinking, and finally scrapped so that Vale of Glamorgan council can prioritise spending on environmentally sound projects.”