2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:32 pm on 16 October 2018.

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Photo of Bethan Sayed Bethan Sayed Plaid Cymru 2:32, 16 October 2018

I was wondering if we could please have a debate regarding general traffic and pollution control measures on major roads here in Wales? This is in the context of the fact that, last night, I arranged a packed public meeting about the proposed closure of junction 41 westbound. Now, this will affect the people of Port Talbot detrimentally. But there are other roads in Wales where I think that we need to be talking about pollution levels, and how we can better engage the public in these types of consultations. For example, we've got the report out at the moment on the changes proposed for the M4 near Port Talbot, but it's quite a long and hefty report, and it's quite detailed, and it's quite hard to read on occasion. And I think that—. When the consultation ends on 2 November, how are we going to get people engaged and enthused on trying to alleviate some of these problems, if we don't have enough time, or enough respect, potentially, from Welsh Government, to come out and talk to the community about that? Now, we fought this campaign already in 2013-14. We stopped the closure from happening; now, it's reared its head yet again, so the public are rightly annoyed at this proposal. So, I'm keen to try and engage them in a positive way, to look at alternatives to the closure, to look at environmentally friendly alternatives to the closure, so that we can be informed in the debate, as opposed to being bystanders to a decision that has already been made.