Call to scrap £65m road upgrades

THERE are calls for the Welsh Government to scrap £65m worth of road improvements that will help connect Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.

Plans have been tabled that would see a bypass created off the A40 in west Wales between Llanddewi Velfrey and Penblewin roundabout, at a cost of £45m, and further improvements made between Penblewin and Redstone Cross – a section that a Welsh Government study found to be “substandard” – at a cost of £20m.

A public inquiry has opened into the larger scheme, between Llanddewi Velfrey and Penblewin, giving objectors and supporters an opportunity to air their thoughts on the proposals before an independent planning inspector.

However, one group has called for the whole scheme to be scrapped, even though the Welsh Government says it will provide “real benefits” to residents who live in the area, just west of the Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire border.

Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth has written to the economy and transport minister Ken Skates asking that the scheme be abandoned because, they claim, it would “increase CO2 emissions from traffic by 8%”.

They also argue that the Llanddewi Velfrey to Penblewin bypass would in fact only save motorists 1020 seconds on their journey, and that it would destroy woodland.

In the letter, addressed to Mr Skates, the group said: “Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth is asking that you scrap the plans to spend £65m on the bypass from Llanddewi Velfrey to Redstone Cross.

“This scheme is estimated to increase CO2 emissions from traffic by 8%.”

The group is also arguing that the improvement in road safety that the Welsh Government wants to see in the area could be achieved without creating a new bypass, but instead by creating cycle routes, improved public transport and safe access for pedestrians.

The Welsh Government has previously said that work is expected to start on the route next year and be completed by autumn 2022.