Pollution warning over M4 junction closure plan

THE proposed closure of Junction 41 on the M4 at Port Talbot will “spread the pollution” into residential areas and damage the town’s economy, county councillors have said.

In a motion which gained cross-party support at a recent Neath Port Talbot Council meeting, councillors voiced their opposition to the proposals put forward by Welsh Government.

The Welsh Government has said the junction could be closed in a bid to tackle illegal and harmful levels of air pollution in parts of Wales.

In January, the Welsh Government conceded in a High Court case brought by environmental law lobby group ClientEarth that it had failed to meet EU targets to cut air pollution.

A consultation undertaken by the Welsh Government on its proposals to cut roadside nitrogen dioxide concentration ended earlier this month.

At Neath Port Talbot Council’s full council meeting, Councillor Steffan ap Dafydd (Labour) put forward the motion that the local authority “opposes any plans by the Welsh Government to close any M4 motorway junction within the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, and in particular Junction 41”.

He said: “This council believes that the previous experimental closure of Junction 41 was damaging economically and environmentally to Port Talbot, the surrounding area and the county borough.

“The council calls upon the Welsh Government to work with the council to explore methods of reducing our own carbon footprint through such projects as the Flexis collaboration [a £24 million project, led by Cardiff University, which focuses on a low carbon future].

Receiving unanimous support for the motion, he said the council was concerned about the impact on accessing Baglan Moors, Aberavon and Port Talbot, and the environmental damage of closing the junction.

He said: “Closing Junction 41 in our opinion will not solve the problem of pollution.

“To us, the main result of closing the junction would be to spread pollution into the surrounding area. There are concerns from people who want to access shops, from small businesses and from people who want to get to work.”

Councillor Adam McGrath (Labour) warned that there would be “total congestion everywhere” if Junction 41 was closed.

Council leader Rob Jones said: “There is cross-party support in relation to this. We will inform the Welsh Government of our response, instructing the chief executive to formulate a letter on behalf of the council to the Welsh Government.”

A trial part-time closure of the junction took place in 2015 in an attempt to ease congestion.