M4 land purchase prompts objection from port owner
PORT operator Associated British Ports has confirmed it is lodging objections against the compulsory purchase of land it owns in Newport to make way for the proposed £1bn M4 Relief Road.
The operator of the Port of Newport, will be formally lodging its objections to the Welsh Government and the UK Government Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin against the compulsory purchase of approximately 87 acres of land through the centre of the port, to make way for a six-lane motorway bridge.
The proposed 137-metre high bridge across the River Usk is needed so not to affect shipping traffic in and out of the port.
It will be for the next Welsh Government to make a final decision on the project, which the current Labour Welsh Govenment supports – although it is not a commitment in its Assembly Election manifesto.
Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Liberal Democrats are opposed to the socalled Black Route.
Plaid are supporting what they say is the cheaper, Blue Route option through the middle of Newport – but it is only a dual carriageway.
They say this could direct more funding for infrastructure projects into other parts of Wales.
However, the Welsh Government, supported by business organisations such as CBI Wales, say a new stretch of motorway south of Newport is urgently needed to relieve business damaging growing congestion on the existing M4 in South Wales, particularly around the Brynglas Tunnel.
They say the Blue Route, for which a detailed cost has yet to be calculated, would cause huge traffic problems in Newport and physically divide the city.
There are concerns over the maintenance of the existing M4, including ageing bridge structures. The motorway serves over two-thirds of the Welsh population and around twothirds of total GDP.
The UK Government has assigned £500m in new borrowing powers for the Welsh Government to part fund the project. A deal could also be struck to mitigate the impact of VAT.
There is also a contingency of more than £100m on the current projected cost of just over £1bn. The Black Route would stretch for 15 miles.
The proposed 137 metre high bridge across the River USk is needed so avoid impact on shipping traffic in and out of the port .
Matthew Kennerley, director of Associated British Ports South Wales, said: “The loss of almost 20% of our total land area would be a potentially devastating blow for the Port of Newport.
The route corridor will cut right through the heart of the port, effectively severing it in two, and imposing a critical height restriction on access to the north dock which would physically exclude around 50% of vessels that currently utilise this area.
“The Port of Newport supports around 3,000 local jobs and contributes £186m to the local economy every year. We need to protect the port and ensure that it can continue to grow, creating more jobs and prosperity for local people.
“ABP has repeatedly expressed its serious concern at the impact on the port and we have been left with no option but to object formally to the proposed M4 route.
“The combination of the significant loss of port land, the restrictions that would be placed on vessels able to enter North Dock under the new motorway bridge and the wider disruption and limitation of the port’s operational capacity and flexibility add up to a very serious problem for the port and everyone who relies on it.
“It will also have a major impact on investment, development and expansion plans in the future.
“We believe that viable alternatives to the black route exist and that a solution can be found that significantly reduces the negative impact on Wales’ most strategically important general cargo port.
“A compromise is possible, a route that ensures that the Port of Newport, and the businesses which rely on the port, continue to have a bright future.”