Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 2:05 pm on 10 January 2018.
Cabinet Secretary, I don't know if you are aware, but the B4286, known locally to us as the Cwmavon Road, one of two main arteries into the Afan valley, was actually closed due to a landslide following the stormy weather over the Christmas period. This resulted, importantly, in no injuries, but it did cause large, major traffic problems, with long queues on occasion. That did concern me, as to the accessibility of our emergency services during those peak times. I wanted to praise the local authority. They have done tremendous work. They have removed about 200 tonnes of rubble, mud and wood and actually got the road open again, and at the same time, keeping the safety of residents and users as their core aim. That's fantastic work. But, if this had occurred a further two miles up the valley, it would have blocked off the Afan valley, basically. As such, it would have closed communities' accessibility and that of emergency services to them. Will you work with the Cabinet Secretary for local government and with local authorities to look at areas that may be of concern to see what we can do about ensuring that this doesn't happen again?