COLUMN: “More clarification needed on Pant-Llanymynech bypass”

Montgomeryshire’s Member of the Senedd, Russell George, provides us with an update on the roads situation, and believes we did better than most following the First Minister’s axe on projects…

“We recently discovered which projects survived the axe after the Welsh Government published the outcome of its road review – and, thankfully, Montgomeryshire was luckier than other areas where ministers made the wrong calls.

Shortly after the Senedd election in May 2021, the Welsh Government announced it was freezing all roadbuilding projects in Wales and, so, banning new ones, while they were assessed in accordance with the priorities of its new climate change department.

This was really surprising given the complete lack of action to improve public transport, especially in Mid Wales, something that really should come before even thinking about banning roadbuilding.

We had to wait until last month, nearly two years since the freeze was imposed on us, to find out the results. Sadly, Wales has been badly impacted by very poor decisions, ones that will have a negative impact on our economic growth, levels of investment, and ability to travel.

The ban and decision to force current and future roadbuilding projects to meet a far-too-high thresholds to be approved is an anti-growth, anti-job, and anti-business mistake.

However, Montgomeryshire seems to have been the lucky outlier where the right decisions have been made, not only on what was approved but, also, what wasn’t.

First, is the plan to improve road safety at the Moat Lane T-junction in Caersws where the A489 meets the A470, which include plans for a roundabout replacement as well as a linked scheme to build a stand-alone bridge over the river.

It is absolutely crucial this scheme takes place; not only for congestion, but addressing the concerning number of fatalities there over a number of years. I have also been supporting proposals for a stand-alone footbridge over the river, and this scheme is now linked to the road improvement scheme. There are safety concerns at this point as well, because pedestrians have to walk over this stretch of trunk road, where there is no capacity for a footbridge.

Whilst I am pleased that these schemes survived the road review axe, it does not mean they will happen for certain. This was confirmed to me when I questioned the First Minister on the matter in the Senedd.

So, we are not out of the woods yet and we must still work to ensure that ministers are satisfied, and I believe the merits of the scheme and the problems it seeks to rectify speak for themselves and I will continue to lobby for and raise both schemes with Ministers.

The same goes for plans to improve the A44 between Llangurig and Aberystwyth, which ministers gave the thumbs-up to despite the road review panel stating it shouldn’t. I was surprised, but glad, that ministers stepped on this project because it was known to be one of the most dangerous routes in the UK, so look forward to seeing safety changes made.

I do want to get more clarification on the Pant-Llanymynech bypass, which is a joint venture between the UK and Welsh governments, although the vast majority of this road would be in England. I continue to campaign relentlessly for this essential project alongside my colleague Craig Williams MP and await to hear more from Cardiff Bay and Westminster.

There are other schemes that have been axed, such as the A470 Llangurig and Llanidloes schemes, that I don’t think were required and were progressed without public support, but I hope ministers will explore other improvements such as increasing the number of lay-bys on this stretch of road to support improved traffic flow. We also saw changes on the A470 by Machynlleth also scrapped.

I understand that some – a small minority, I believe – would prefer there were no new roads built. But there is no reason why the countryside and environment, which we are very proud of in Montgomeryshire, cannot be protected and preserved whilst we also build roads.

Roads also don’t mean prioritising the car – they are there also for buses and cyclist. Additionally, similar land need would be required to install railway lines. If the Welsh Government want to pursue this route, they should at least make sure we have good public transport first.

We need roads to connect people with jobs, public services, and each other. They provide freedom for people to go about their business and grow the economy.

Roads allowed our nation to become prosperous and it would be incredibly unfair, let alone counterproductive, for me to then work to prevent current and future generations benefitting too. Without growing the economy, we won’t be able to fund pensions, healthcare, and many other things. 

Simply put, we need roads and banning roadbuilding would be a huge mistake that will drive down investment and see us fall behind other parts of the UK and the world, further harming Wales’ place as Britain’s weakest economy.”