Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:42 pm on 8 June 2016.
No, this is a legal requirement; it’s not something that we can escape without the threat of judicial review and nor would we want to escape it. It is part of the process of moving forward with a solution to the issue of the Brynglas tunnels. I don’t think it affects the steel industry in any way, shape or form, but it is right to say that, for many businesses, and, indeed, when we’ve looked at bringing major events into Cardiff, the issue is raised of congestion in the Brynglas tunnels.
The other issue, of course, is that if the tolls disappear on the Severn bridge, the natural brake on traffic that exists there would simply be piled onto the Brynglas tunnels, making the situation worse. So, there is no easy solution other than to look at ways to bypass those tunnels.